Runner Setup Guide

Comms Through Runner

Intro

This guide will get you set up to send your game footage, audio, and camera/vtube model (if being used) to your event's live stream. Please read these instructions carefully and complete your set-up well ahead of time.

Portable OBS

You'll use STUK's portable version of OBS that has the required scenes and sources prepared - you'll just need to apply your game capture, mic, and camera/vtube feeds to it. To get started:

Download the zip file which will have been shared by the marathon organisers.
Extract the files to a suitable location.
You can now delete the zipped folder.
Run the file 'OBS Start'. If Windows asks if you're sure you want to open the shortcut, click 'Yes'.

Profile & Settings

You'll be streaming to a dummy Twitch channel. You should not need to touch any stream or output settings unless told to by this guide, or a tech volunteer. The first thing you should do is select the appropriate Profile from the menu at the top of OBS:

NVENC or x264?

If you have an NVIDIA graphics card you should select an 'NVENC' profile.
If you don't have an NVIDIA graphics card you should select an 'x264' profile.

Profile Number

The profile numbers have the following settings:

60fps, 6000kb bitrate, 1920x1080
60fps, 4500kb bitrate, 1280x720
30fps, 2500kb bitrate, 1280x720

If you have great internet, choose option 1. If you struggle with uploading, choose option 2 or 3. If you're unsure, check your internet upload speed at https://www.speedtest.net/ and use a profile with a lower bitrate than your internet upload speed.

NOTE: If you are part of a race or co-op run, please only select option 2 or 3.

The only setting you'll need to change is the Stream Server. Navigate to the Stream menu in the settings area; "Twitch" will already be selected as the Service. Click "Use Stream Key" and in the Server dropdown that appears, select the Twitch server closest to your location (do not leave it on Auto). A volunteer will advise your Stream Key when they are ready for you to go live. Leave the other settings as they are.

If you'd like to make a local recording of your run, please also go to the Output settings and select a 'Recording Path' in the 'Recording' tab. We don't want any long ending cutscenes or credit sequences playing out on stream, so if any are included as part of official timing you should make your own recording to use as a PB submission.

Scenes and Sources

Game Setup

To prepare your sources, select the 'Game Setup' scene, and edit one of the green sources.

PC Game: if you're playing your game on your PC (including an emulator) use this source.
PC Window: only use this source if PC Game does not work for your game.
Capture Card: use this source if you're running on a console or external PC via a capture card. If you use OBS to listen to your capture card's audio, you should also select your capture card on the "Capture Card Monitor" audio source. This will only be heard by you, and won't go to the stream, so you're welcome to set the volume of this source to your liking.

Your gameplay should stretch to the edge of the screen. If your game feed has some sort of border, e.g. you're seeing black around the edges, right-click on the source you set up, click 'Filters' and use the 'Crop' filter to crop each edge as necessary so that only the game is showing.

Capture Cursor is disabled by default, so if you're playing a game where the mouse cursor should be seen, right-click the source, click 'Properties' and then tick 'Capture Cursor'.

For all sources, audio will automatically be captured and shown on the Audio Mixer. You're welcome to hide any unused audio sources in the mixer. You should notice that the audio for the game is only being picked up in one channel on the Audio Mixer; this is intended as your mic audio will be sent down the other channel.

You should adjust your game sound and/or the OBS sound level so that normal gameplay audio peaks towards the top of the green area (-30 to -20) - occasional loud sounds hitting the orange area are fine as long as it's not consistent. If you've already adjusted your in-game volume and the OBS volume and gameplay audio is still too quiet, you can right-click on the game source, click 'Filters' and adjust the 'Gain' filter until the volume is correct. Please do not touch any of the other filters.

Second Screen

If you're playing a game with more than one screen, such as a DS/3DS game, a bingo run, or playing two games together, set this up on the Second Screen scene the same way as the Game Setup. Ensure you've let Staff know you plan to use this if it wasn't obvious in your submission.

Mic, Discord & Webcam/Avatar Setup

Audio

You will be capturing and streaming your own microphone. This ensures that you are all synced with your gameplay and webcam. Ensure the Microphone source is pointed at your own microphone. As with gameplay, you'll see the audio is only picked up in one channel.
The audio levels should be peaking in the orange area of the audio meter - occasional raised voices or shouting peaking just into the red is fine as long as it's not consistent.

Webcam/Vtube/Avatar

If you're using one, set up your Webcam, Vtube Model or Avatar with one of the green sources. Ensure your webcam or Vtube model is set to a 16:9 resolution, such as 1280x720 or 1920x1080.
If you're using a green screen background, right-click on the source you've used, click 'Filters' and adjust the 'Chroma Key' filter as necessary.
You can ignore this step if you don't want to use a webcam or image. The marathon logo will instead fill the space on the stream.

Streaming

When you go live, you'll need to stream the "STREAM SINGLE SCREEN" layout, this should automatically include all the sources you already set up. Do not worry if your game is stretched or squished, this is corrected on the restream side. If your run includes a second screen, you should instead stream the "STREAM MULTI SCREEN" scene.

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