OB Screen Capture Tips 101

[WhoGuru]

Screen Capture Tips

There are many tricks to getting the perfect screenshot. We'll try to compile them here in this thread.

There is a very helpful guide here, on Spellhold Studios: http://forums.spellholdstudios.net/index.php?showtopic=28507

For pose mods, check out the Pose Comparisons page: http://wurstwatten.org/oblivion-posing-mods/

Now, a few quick tips. Useful console codes:

TM - Toggles the menus on and off for clear screens.

TFC - toggles the camera free of the player and allows you to shoot from anywhere, any distance. Only use this in 3rd person mode.

TCL - Toggles the clipping off your character.

TAI - Click on any NPC or creature and this will freeze them mid-motion for action shots. This also works on the player character.

Now, I'll open the floor to all the Screenie gurus out there. Try to make your tips easy to understand, clearly explained.

[WillieSea]

You can open your console to freeze an action scene in place.

So, I use TFC when I am in third person mode. Then I move the camera where I want to take the picture from.

If I want the weapon swinging, or a fireball just leaving my hand, I can cast or attack from my TFC'ed camera position. I then use the console to try and stop the action at the right time.

Sometimes, the draw weapon or put weapon away animation stopped at the right time can prove an interesting picture too.

You can use the 'CLS' command on the console window to remove all the text that might be there.

[greenwarden]

Two mods that make screenshooting more fun for me:

Screenshooters Illumination by Pujangga (no link since the image gallery for it has images that are not PG-13)- drop a screenshooter's gem on the ground, or drop it after toggling collision off to make it float, and presto! Dramatic lighting! These gems come in a huge assortment of colors, and each comes with a close radius and wide radius variant. These open up many creative options for screenshot artists.

Flying Camera Mod by Ssenkrad (requires OBSE). Toggle flying camera mode, or toggle menus off, or do both, with the press of one button that you choose when you first load the mod. I love this mod!

I love the command "player.look hexIDnumber". This command forces your character to look at the object referenced by the hex ID. To find the hex ID of something, click on it while the console is open. Great for getting that over-the-shoulder shot of your character, catching sidelong glances, etc.

To stop the looking, open the console, click on your character, and type stoplook into the console.

[Victoria]

FOV command, this command works flawlessly in Fallout 3 but doesn't quite work in Oblivion in third person (will reset as soon as you move the camera). This command is very useful for extreme closeups. To get a console/menu free screenshot that holds:

1. Line up your shot, open console then type FOV <value> ie. FOV 5 will be a real closeup to what you are aiming at.

2. Use TM console command to disable menus.

3. Press escape (menu key).

4. Close console.

5. The pointer will still be visible so move it off screen and take your screenshot.

Example of FOV picture: http://www.tesnexus.com/imageshare/images/759307-1267963502.jpg

[darkstone]

Timescale Command

You`ve found the perfect place for a screenie,the view is terrific,the lighting is just right,you dress your character,fire up your pose mods,find the one you want,place your character,position the camera and.....the lights changed or you`ve missed that spectacular sunglare.

Using the console command set timescale to 1 will set the timescale to match real life and thus give you more time to set up your shot.To revert to default game time enter set timescale to 30

[Rowan]

WHOOSH is indispensable, as well as the flying camera mod. Lighting is best at dawn and dusk. Try to come up with a reason explaining the shot - your character should be doing something interesting. Also, screens are more interesting if the subject is off center.

[the-manta]

I find a better way to freeze the screen than just using the console is to open the menu, open the console, type TM then close the console, as this removes even the little white line that the console leaves.

[TardisChan]

For machinima or even screen capture, ronan's movie director mod rules. You can hotkey running, move, and even toggle menus and move your character around too. I use a green screen mod too, which I'll link to when I'm not at work. Lol

Edited May 26, 2011 by TardisChan