538's Blog

I've been receiving quite some questions (both as comments and PMs) about how I am making these screenshots, and several people asked me to write a guide about it, so you can read something like that inside the spoiler tags below.

+ Show Spoiler [Guide to making high resolution screen…] +

Please note that I still dont have any photoshop skills, and all this is just one way of doing things. I'm using GIMP2.6 to assemble the pictures, you can download it (100% legally) for free here. I will not adress Photoshop's automerge feature, nor Starcraft's resolution hack, even though they might very well be easier alternatives.

While this guide is not too detailed nor comprehensive, I've still made a title banner for it to make it look more professional

+ Show Spoiler [The very beginning] +

(surprise-surprise) Load up the replay you want to make screenshot(s) of. Once you're experienced with making these, finding a replay and finding the perfect spot in it will be the most time-consuming part of the whole process. Once you're paused at the desired spot, plan how many screenshots will you want to make (it will be 2by3=6 in my example), then starting in one corner, use the arrow keys to first snapshot the entire row (keeping track of the edges, so you cover all the area with your screenshots), then moving up to the next row, and so on.
Keep in mind that due to the irregular shape of the control panel, the space you're able to use from each shot is pretty much only this much:.
Some tips:
- Try not to have units selected when watching the replay, because you'll lose space due to the resource/supply indicators, that can be pretty annoying. Once you select a unit in a replay you can only empty your selection if a unit dies, clicking on the ground wont work. (for example, switch to "spearhead" units that are likely to die very fast before a clash)
- Make sure your cursor is not in the aforementioned "useful" area, because the screenshot will contain the cursor too. You do not want to find 9 cursors on your high-res screenshot when you're done
- Make sure you overlap your screenshots well, thats necessary anyway for merging them, and its better to waste some space then to go back to a spot in a replay to get some missing details. (going back to an exact frame in a replay is very hard)
- Due to the above, I've found it convenient to keep the replay paused at the spot, and SC running while I'm assembling the picture, so its easy to go back if something's missing still.
- This usually wont be an issue, but wait until the "screen captured to..." text has disappeared from the screen before taking the next shot

+ Show Spoiler [The next steps] +

I'll show a 2x3 example from a random TvP game. After making the screenshots, I'm opening them all in GIMP. (thumbnails from now on, click on them for full versions) Then create a new image (File>New) with the desired size. (the example will be a 2x3 picture, so 1400x2000 pixels should be more then plenty. When estimating, keep in mind that a single screenshot is exactly 640x480 pixels. Also, you do not want to open way too big canvases either, because these things chew up memory fast.)

Then one by one, just copy them to the large canvas, and join them to the already existing parts. Its a good idea to start with the top rows, going lower step by step, it will spare you a lot of time (just think about it).

+ Show Spoiler [joining the pieces together] +

This is the part that most people presumed awkwardly complicated and tiresome, but I've found that its very easy and fast with a little practice.
After I've copied the new (second) shot to the large canvas, I want to merge it right away to the rest.

Let's start zooming in (Ctrl+mousewheel forward) and find some control point that will help us with this.

You can see how the Dragoon's right side is visible on the right shot, that will be a perfect joining point. Let's zoom in further to find some characteristic pattern:

It's a piece of cake from now on, just slide them over each other precisely:

If you zoom out (Ctrl+mousewheel) you should see that the two images are merged perfectly. You can continue adding the new pieces one by one.

+ Show Spoiler [finishing touches] +

After all the pieces are merged, you won't be seeing a regular rectangle right away -since the overlapping areas make each row's width different-, just use the rectangle select tool and select the area you wish to save as your final product:

Open a new image once again, now exactly the size of your selection, and copy and paste your selection onto it, and you're pretty much all done, save it in the file format of your choice.
(I'm using .jpegs, with the settings below:

)

+ Show Spoiler [all done] +

Our final product:
If I've left out anything important, or I wasnt clear enough somewhere, please let me know in the comments (/PM), I'll try to answer there or add it here.

No poll this time, I'm already lost in these ten pages of BB-codes, here's to hoping it works as intended

I'm back with a new batch
I've been having a hard time finding good replays, and I didnt have enough time to make "rigged" replays yet, as it was very well suggested in the last thread. Please do send suggestions, you can even pm me a replay of your own if you think there is some nice moment in there worth snapshoting, or should you make a rigged replay for this sole purpose
I've also cut a few of them to wallpaper size, in the sizes most requested (1680x1050, 1280x1024, 1900x1200), though I still dont have any photoshop skills, so don't have high expectations

(links to previous pictures can be found in my first and second blogposts, please check them out if you're new to this)
Once again, I'm using thumbnails, click on them for full resolution.

- Stork (teal) vs Bisu (red), and the head of Python:

A smaller battle of theirs later in the same game:


- A group of ret's MnM leaving the ruins of a zerg base:

A small blood bath from the same game:

+ Show Spoiler [wallpaper 1900x1200] +

I had an idea to turn this into a wallpaper, I dont really like the outcome, but maybe you do:

No poll this time, sorry folks

I've made some new high resolution screenshots, and since there are like 6 of them I've decided to make a new post about them, not just update the previous one. This batch features playes like ret, Xiaozi (yes, finally a TvZ!) or Strelok, and other surely just as good players, but I didn't/couldn't check/remember their names

Links to the previous screenshots:+ Show Spoiler +

Poll: What size wallpapers would you like to see, should I make some?
(Vote): 1680x1050
(Vote): 1440x900
(Vote): 1280x1024
(Vote): 1024x768
(Vote): I only use hot chicks for my desktop anyway!

Poll: A new blogpost for a new batch of pics, or one post updated regularly?
(Vote): Just update one post again and again.
(Vote): Keep them coming like this.
(Vote): You're overdoing it with polls.

[UPDATE 03.06, 06:00 KST] I've managed to turn off photobucket's auto-resizing, and reuploaded the pictures, I've added a "full resolution" link to all of them in the spoilers, please check them out, they are a lot nicer, my whole point was keeping the detail but raising the resolution.
***

A while ago there was a thread where someone made a screenshot of an entire map (Blue Storm) with lots of nice battles going on at once. I've found it pretty cool, and I immediately decided to try something similar (taking screenshots of a replay, then assembling them, I just didnt do a full map, only 9 screenfuls or area). I also posted the results in the thread, but nobody seemed to care

Anyway, I enjoyed doing it -and the results-, so I've made some other screenshots like that since, and I thought I'd make a blog about it, maybe someone is interested.

The thing is, imho Starcraft has very nice graphics, its just that the resolution is considered very low by now. The reasons why I decided to do just some screens instead of a whole map is because you can see more of the nice detail this way, and its also a lot easier to make

(edit: note that you can view the full resolutions by copying the adress of the pictures and opening them in a new tab/page)
(edit2: seems like I'm unable to get the original high resolution pictures from photobucket. Am I the only one having problems with this? Maybe I should use some other method for uploading them or an other hosting site? let me know.)
My first try, a battle between Reach and Flash in the middle of BlueStorm:+ Show Spoiler +

(Click here for full resolution)
+ Show Spoiler [wallpaperized to 1280x1024, stretched] +

(Click here for full resolution)

+ Show Spoiler [wallpaperized to 1280x1024, cut] +

(Click here for full resolution)

(Click here for full resolution)

Below is my current wallpaper, a stripe from this one on black background:+ Show Spoiler +

(Click here for full resolution)

(Click here for full resolution)

(Click here for full resolution)

Poll: Does anyone care?
(Vote): Yes!
(Vote): No.
(Vote): I like voting, but the low number of options here is just disappointing.