NOTE: Updated on 25/03/2015, version 2.0.1
Info: Age2Stream is a piece of software that enables automatic scene switching for XSplit, FFSPLIT and Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) applications, in accordance to state of "Age of Empires II" game. It may be of significant value to everyone that streams "Age of Empires II" matches, never to forget to switch a scene (and annoy viewers) again!
DOWNLOAD: age2stream_v2.0.1.zip (1.24 MB)Info: Age2Stream is a piece of software that enables automatic scene switching for XSplit, FFSPLIT and Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) applications, in accordance to state of "Age of Empires II" game. It may be of significant value to everyone that streams "Age of Empires II" matches, never to forget to switch a scene (and annoy viewers) again!
Age2Stream fully supports "Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings", "Age of Empires II: The Conquerors" and "Age of Empires II: Forgotten Empires".
Preview (main window):
How to use:
- Unpack the packed file (WinZIP, WinRAR)
- Start [c]age2stream.exe[/c]
- Configure scenes you would like to use for up to 6 game states - Game OFF, Game Menu, Playing (Single), Playing (Multi), Watching Rec, Game Inactive
That`s all - minimize application (it will minimize to system tray - bottom right, near the clock), launch your stream application (XSplit/FFsplit/OBS), start your favorite online client, and let Age2Stream do all the hard work for you, changing XSplit/FFsplit/OBS scenes as you play.
By clicking on program`s icon
in system tray the main window will appear again, and you can reconfigure or close the program (note that all settings will be saved for future use).
By clicking on program`s icon
Version changelog:
2015-03-25, version 2.0.1
- Added support for Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) v0.651 Beta (both 32bit/64bit)
- Added support for Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) v0.613 Beta (both 32bit/64bit)
- Added automatic stream application recognition
- Muted mic/spk/music indicator color changed from green to dark red (more intuitive)
- Launch stream application on start not working (fixed)
- Added support for FFsplit and Open Broadcaster Software (OBS)
- "Age2XSplit Scene Switcher" evolves to "Age2Stream Controller"
- Added extra controls to allow/disallow microphone/speaker muting and music pausing
- Windows 8 support improved (fixed microphone/speaker muting bug)
- XSplit v1.2 support improved
- XSplit v1.1 support improved (fixed microphone muting bug)
- Game state checking logic improved
- Game state checking logic improved
- Unable to set hotkeys in "Alternative Mode" (broken in v1.1.0, fixed)
- Game state checking logic rewritten
- Age2XSplit not finding XSplit once the broadcasting has started (fixed)
- Background image displaced when users use values other than 100% for the size of text and other items in Windows settings (fixed)
- Initial release
About the program (features):
[border]Game State[/border] - Age2Stream enables you to pre-set scenes for 6 states of "Age of Empires II" game. Once the program recognizes that the game state has changed, it can change your XSplit/FFsplit/OBS scene accordingly, automatically. Small black bar to the left of game state name will indicate currently active game state. Supported game states are:
[border]XSplit/FFsplit/OBS Scene[/border] - Select XSplit/FFsplit/OBS scene (by name) to switch to on given game state. By default, scenes are named "Scene 1" to "Scene 12", but real XSplit/FFsplit/OBS scene names will be shown (and saved) once you start the XSplit/FFsplit/OBS application. Even if you rename the scenes inside XSplit/FFsplit/OBS later, names will be automatically updated in Age2Stream, too.
XSplit/FFsplit/OBS Scene Hotkey (Alternative Mode): Instead of selecting XSplit/FFsplit/OBS scenes, set hotkeys for scene changing. This should be the same hotkeys you setup in XSplit/FFsplit/OBS application. Note that if you already have the hotkeys set in XSplit/FFsplit/OBS, you need to close XSplit/FFsplit/OBS first before setting the hotkeys in Age2Stream (because XSplit/FFsplit/OBS is intercepting the hotkeys set, and Age2Stream can`t get them).
- Game OFF - "Age of Empires II" game (application) is not running at the moment. This is usually the case when you are in a game room / lobby, waiting for other players.
- Game Menu - "Age of Empires II" is running (and it is the active window), but no game (match) has started yet. You could be browsing the game menus or changing game settings, but no actual game (match) has started. Example of this state is also the pre-match settings screen (single or multi-player), where players pick civilizations and choose other match related settings.
- Playing (Single) - Single player game is in progress (and "Age of Empires II" is the active window). You could be playing a single player game in order to demonstrate a certain strategy to your viewers, or even playing a campaign as a walk-through guide.
- Playing (Multi) - Multi-player game is in progress (and "Age of Empires II" is the active window). The most common game state when playing versus other players online. Note that this state is active when the actual game starts (you get to see your villagers and Town Center), not on multi-player pre-match settings screen (which is recognized as "Game Menu" state, as described above).
- Watching Rec - You are watching a previously recorded game (and "Age of Empires II" is the active window). Useful when doing showcasts of already played matches from recorded game files, analyzing games to help viewers improve their own playing style, or for any other situation when you stream a recorded game.
- Game Inactive - "Age of Empires II" is running (no matter the actual in-game state), but the game itself is not the active window. For example, this can happen when you Alt + Tab out of the game, or when you minimize the game. Once the game becomes the active window again (you Alt + Tab back into the game, or restore the game window, or even close the game), the correct game state will be set.
[border]XSplit/FFsplit/OBS Scene[/border] - Select XSplit/FFsplit/OBS scene (by name) to switch to on given game state. By default, scenes are named "Scene 1" to "Scene 12", but real XSplit/FFsplit/OBS scene names will be shown (and saved) once you start the XSplit/FFsplit/OBS application. Even if you rename the scenes inside XSplit/FFsplit/OBS later, names will be automatically updated in Age2Stream, too.
XSplit/FFsplit/OBS Scene Hotkey (Alternative Mode): Instead of selecting XSplit/FFsplit/OBS scenes, set hotkeys for scene changing. This should be the same hotkeys you setup in XSplit/FFsplit/OBS application. Note that if you already have the hotkeys set in XSplit/FFsplit/OBS, you need to close XSplit/FFsplit/OBS first before setting the hotkeys in Age2Stream (because XSplit/FFsplit/OBS is intercepting the hotkeys set, and Age2Stream can`t get them).
[border]Active[/border] - Select if you want scene switching to be active or not for the given game state. This makes it easy to set scenes (or hotkeys) for all the game states, but not necessarily use them all. Only those game states that are checked as "active" will trigger the scene change in XSplit/FFsplit/OBS.
[anchor]ForceSceneChange[/anchor][border]Force Scene Change[/border] - If checked, overrides any manual scene changes and forces scene based on the current game state. When unchecked, you can still change the scene yourself, once Age2Stream has changed it. Age2Stream won`t change the scene again until the game state has changed. When checked, you can`t change the scene manually as Age2Stream will immediately change it back to scene that corresponds to current game state. This could help to force the correct scene if you have any problems with wrong scene switching during the stream, for example by pressing XSplit/FFsplit/OBS scene change hotkey by accident, while playing.
[border]Mute Mic[/border] - If checked, mutes XSplit/FFsplit/OBS stream microphone on given game state. Age2Stream will correctly recognize the current XSplit/FFsplit/OBS stream microphone state. Works only if "Allow microphone toggle" option is checked.
Mute Mic (Alternative Mode): If checked, mutes computer`s (system) microphone on given game state. Age2Stream supposes that computer`s (system) microphone is not muted when Age2Stream is started. Works only if "Allow microphone toggle" option is checked.
[border]Mute Sound[/border] - If checked, mutes XSplit/FFsplit/OBS stream sound on given game state. Age2Stream will correctly recognize the current XSplit/FFsplit/OBS stream sound state. Works only if "Allow sound toggle" option is checked.
Mute Sound (Alternative Mode): If checked, mutes computer`s (system) sounds on given game state. Age2Stream supposes that computer`s (system) sound is not muted when Age2Stream is started. Works only if "Allow sound toggle" option is checked.
[border]Pause Music[/border] - If checked, pauses music/media playing on given game state. Useful to have some music playing in the background while not playing the game, and then pausing when the game starts to let viewers enjoy "Age of Empires II" game sounds, or hear commentator`s voice a bit better. Note that Age2Stream is sending "pause/play" signal to active media players that support it (WinAMP, Windows Media Player, ... etc), but it can`t recognize if the music/media is already paused - if so, it will unpause it instead. Checked by default for game states Playing (Single), Playing (Multi) and Watching Rec. Works only if "Allow music pause" option is checked.
[border]Start Minimized[/border] - If checked, when you run Age2Stream it will start minimized to system tray (bottom right, near the clock). Useful when you already have all Age2Stream settings set, and just want to launch it and start streaming.
[border]Start with Windows[/border] - If checked, Age2Stream will start on Windows startup, minimized to system tray.
[border]Launch Stream App...[/border] - If checked, XSplit/FFsplit/OBS will be launched on Age2Stream start (Age2Stream will start minimized to system tray). Note that XSplit/FFsplit/OBS won`t be launched on Windows startup. When clicked, it will prompt user to select XSplit/FFsplit/OBS application executable (located wherever you installed XSplit/FFsplit/OBS).
[border]Force Game to Front[/border] - If checked, it will maximize (restore, actually) "Age of Empires II" game window and bring it to front (make it active) on multiplayer game start, not to miss it if the game (match) launches while you`re not looking. Checked by default.
[border]Pause Recorded Game[/border] - If checked, it will pause recorded game on start (at 00:00:00), not to miss the first seconds of the game. Checked by default.
[border]Alternative Mode[/border] - Select this option only if Age2Stream does not work for you (it doesn`t change XSplit/FFsplit/OBS scenes on "Age of Empires II" game state changes). Note that some Age2Stream features work a bit differently when program is running in "Alternative Mode", see specific feature description above for more info.
[anchor]ForceSceneChange[/anchor][border]Force Scene Change[/border] - If checked, overrides any manual scene changes and forces scene based on the current game state. When unchecked, you can still change the scene yourself, once Age2Stream has changed it. Age2Stream won`t change the scene again until the game state has changed. When checked, you can`t change the scene manually as Age2Stream will immediately change it back to scene that corresponds to current game state. This could help to force the correct scene if you have any problems with wrong scene switching during the stream, for example by pressing XSplit/FFsplit/OBS scene change hotkey by accident, while playing.
[border]Mute Mic[/border] - If checked, mutes XSplit/FFsplit/OBS stream microphone on given game state. Age2Stream will correctly recognize the current XSplit/FFsplit/OBS stream microphone state. Works only if "Allow microphone toggle" option is checked.
Mute Mic (Alternative Mode): If checked, mutes computer`s (system) microphone on given game state. Age2Stream supposes that computer`s (system) microphone is not muted when Age2Stream is started. Works only if "Allow microphone toggle" option is checked.
[border]Mute Sound[/border] - If checked, mutes XSplit/FFsplit/OBS stream sound on given game state. Age2Stream will correctly recognize the current XSplit/FFsplit/OBS stream sound state. Works only if "Allow sound toggle" option is checked.
Mute Sound (Alternative Mode): If checked, mutes computer`s (system) sounds on given game state. Age2Stream supposes that computer`s (system) sound is not muted when Age2Stream is started. Works only if "Allow sound toggle" option is checked.
[border]Pause Music[/border] - If checked, pauses music/media playing on given game state. Useful to have some music playing in the background while not playing the game, and then pausing when the game starts to let viewers enjoy "Age of Empires II" game sounds, or hear commentator`s voice a bit better. Note that Age2Stream is sending "pause/play" signal to active media players that support it (WinAMP, Windows Media Player, ... etc), but it can`t recognize if the music/media is already paused - if so, it will unpause it instead. Checked by default for game states Playing (Single), Playing (Multi) and Watching Rec. Works only if "Allow music pause" option is checked.
[border]Start Minimized[/border] - If checked, when you run Age2Stream it will start minimized to system tray (bottom right, near the clock). Useful when you already have all Age2Stream settings set, and just want to launch it and start streaming.
[border]Start with Windows[/border] - If checked, Age2Stream will start on Windows startup, minimized to system tray.
[border]Launch Stream App...[/border] - If checked, XSplit/FFsplit/OBS will be launched on Age2Stream start (Age2Stream will start minimized to system tray). Note that XSplit/FFsplit/OBS won`t be launched on Windows startup. When clicked, it will prompt user to select XSplit/FFsplit/OBS application executable (located wherever you installed XSplit/FFsplit/OBS).
[border]Force Game to Front[/border] - If checked, it will maximize (restore, actually) "Age of Empires II" game window and bring it to front (make it active) on multiplayer game start, not to miss it if the game (match) launches while you`re not looking. Checked by default.
[border]Pause Recorded Game[/border] - If checked, it will pause recorded game on start (at 00:00:00), not to miss the first seconds of the game. Checked by default.
[border]Alternative Mode[/border] - Select this option only if Age2Stream does not work for you (it doesn`t change XSplit/FFsplit/OBS scenes on "Age of Empires II" game state changes). Note that some Age2Stream features work a bit differently when program is running in "Alternative Mode", see specific feature description above for more info.
Author`s endnotes:
Age2Stream is made upon request by DreaIVIS (topic), while it is inspired by similar applications made by HellGreen ("Auto Scene Change for XSplit & Starcraft 2" (link) and "XSplit Scene Control" (link)) and R1CH ("XSplit Scene Manager", link).
I hope you`ll find this program helpful, and enjoy using it in either occasional or every day streaming.
All the best, BugA
p.s. Please note that program`s logic grew more and more complex as I added new features, so if you find any unwanted or illogical behavior, or any bugs, please report so we may desinsect them. Also feel free to comment, share your opinions and ideas for possible improvements.
[hide][/hide]I hope you`ll find this program helpful, and enjoy using it in either occasional or every day streaming.
All the best, BugA
p.s. Please note that program`s logic grew more and more complex as I added new features, so if you find any unwanted or illogical behavior, or any bugs, please report so we may desinsect them. Also feel free to comment, share your opinions and ideas for possible improvements.