Recording gameplay

When you record gameplay, you automatically record all the 3D elements and animations in that gameplay—and there can be thousands.

Basics

To record gameplay:

1. Make sure your player character is in position.
2. If you're in game mode, toggle it off (F11).
3. Click the record button underneath the viewport.
4. Set the recording options to filter out what you don't want to capture in the recording (you can take the defaults until you know what options you want to modify). Because, by default, the SFM records almost everything in the game world—which is a lot of data to maintain and process—it's sometimes a good idea to restrict what the SFM records.
5. Wait to hear four beeps; the final beep tells you that the SFM is starting its recording.
6. Do what you want to record in the game.
7. When you're done, press Esc to stop recording. The SFM will return you to movie mode.
8. To play the gameplay that you just recorded, press Spacebar. It will be displayed in the viewport.

Note:Not everything in the gameplay is recorded. For example, 2D elements like HUDs are not recorded.

Note:You can record multiplayer gameplay the same way. Make sure that all players are using exactly the same version of the game, and are on the same network.

Because the Animation Set Editor would become too crowded to easily find what you're looking for if it displayed all these elements, it displays only the animation sets you add manually. If you want to modify the animation of an element recorded during gameplay, you add an animation set for it by clicking the Add button (), clicking Create Animation Set(s) for Existing Element(s), and choosing the recorded element you want to modify.

Players and models

When you're recording in game mode, if you're playing with other players, you can all interact with each other as normal. After you've recorded the gameplay, however, the player characters become models: their motion is controlled by animation and the timeline, not by game logic. This means you can see them as a player in game mode, but you can't interact with them anymore.

Creating additional recordings

You can create as many additional recordings of gameplay as you like, but each one will be restricted to the duration of the currently selected shot. Wait till after the fourth beep, and then begin the gameplay you want to record. When you hear four more beeps, your recording is about to stop. After it stops, the SFM returns to movie mode.

Switching player characters in TF2

When in game mode, you can switch characters with the comma, and switch teams with the period, just as in the game.

Deleting takes

You can delete a specific gameplay recording by right-clicking the shot it's in on the timeline, clicking Cleanup, and clicking Manage Takes. Choose the take that you want to delete, and click Delete.

Note:Because shots are separate entities, if you delete a take after blading a shot, the take will be deleted only from the selected shot.

See also

• Movie mode and game mode