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[BarracudaATA]

This mod allows you to record jerk-free movies in Minecraft, no matter how slow your PC or how complex the scenery is. This is made possible by a temporary modification of the game timer that ensures a constant game time passed between each frame, disabling any synchronization with the actual time. In other words: performance doesn't matter for smooth videos anymore!

Technically, it can be compared with the startmovie command in Source engine or the fixed_time_step variable in CryEngine.

Here's a great introduction video by loook:


And Yogscast's review with more examples how to use Minema with other mods:


With this mod, you can easily record ridiculously complex scenes, like 32000 eggs and arrows spawned simultaneously at one point with random velocity:


If you always wanted to know how it looks like when you flood your world with thousands of creepers, take a look at this:


More videos:

Spoiler:

Another video with additional optimizations to render extremely memory/CPU intensive TNT explosions:


A trippy minecart ride with enhanced graphics by Sonic Ether's Unbelievable Shaders:


4096x2304 test recording with tiled rendering. Note that the full 4K resolution is very stressful for lower-end systems to play!


A short TNT explosion video, inspired by this Reddit post:


A nice domino effect video, inspired by this Reddit post:

If you tried to record that with tools like Fraps, you would get nothing more than a slideshow. Even if your PC is fast enough for the targeted movie frame rate, it usually produces less smooth results than Minema. But keep in mind that this mod is designed for intermediate users that need to record cinematic or experimental Minecraft movies rather than for "normal" gameplay movies.

Download

Minecraft 1.5.x (Forge only):
Minema v2.0-beta2 (direct link)

Move the zip file to .minecraft/mods. Don't extract the file!

Optional patches for minecraft.jar. They fix memory leaks and "memory connection overburdened" warnings when starting massive TNT chain reactions.

Minema patches for MC 1.5.2 (direct link)

It is highly recommended to also install a video encoder to heavily speed up recording and save disk space:

• Windows: Download the latest x264.exe (32bit/64bit 8bit-depth) from x264.nl and move it inside "bin" in your Minecraft directory.
  
• MacOS X: Download the ffmpeg package for your MacOS X version from ffmpegmac.net, extract the zip and move the ffmpeg file inside "bin" in your Minecraft directory. Make sure that ffmpeg is flagged to allow execution (chmod +x ffmpeg).
  
• Linux: For Debian and alike (Ubuntu, Mint, etc.), install the x264 package via "apt-get install x264". For other distributions, you may need to compile it manually with the source code from videolan.org.

Other downloads:
Old versions: List
Java source code: List

Please let me know about any forks of this mod you want to publish!

Download and installation notes:

• Click the adf.ly links to support me in the development of my mods, but feel free to use the direct links if you're in a hurry.
  
• Don't forget to remove the old installation when updating!

Usage

• To start and stop a recording session, simply press F4. The key can be configured in the key bindings menu. A "plop" sound indicates the start of a new recording session.

Recommended third-party mods:

• Camera Studio - for smooth camera movements during recording.
  
• Single Player Commands - for various configurations and commands.

Fan creations

Spoiler:

Mod reviews
SirCrest:


Tomask912:


iColor: http://minecraft101.info/minema/

Videos recorded with Minema
Ball_Lightning42:
http://www.youtube.c...ZPZ-Mb3zbe5psSa

SilhouetteSi:


erkott:


jkush321:


da_moe:


ModernPrestige:


snoooppuppy1:


MCExampleGamer:


Sevenedges:


Phicksur:


Mine123crafter


Phicksur


Nailhead:


fabsh:


loook:


Theyellowk123:


Placeb0:


Domino:


BigV3P:


Fogah:

Changelog
2.0-beta2:

• Re-implemented chunk preloading.
  
• Re-implemented smooth cam fix.

2.0-beta1:

• Rewrote most of the code for Forge.
  
• Replaced synchronization patch by a new method that should work together with most other mods.
  
• Improved capturing performance for multicore CPUs.
  
• Improved encoder detection that is now looking for more places for an installed encoder.
  
• Extended overlay information.
  
• Sound logging and capturing isn't supported yet, will be re-implemented later.
  
• Note: tested for singleplayer only, will probably crash if you try to capture movies in multiplayer. Will be fixed later.

1.6:

• Added optional patch to fix the tick synchronization in single player.
  
• The video capturer now automatically writes image files if the video encoder wasn't found.
  
• Localhost servers are now excluded from multiplayer restrictions.
  
• Cleaned up code to fix some potentional bugs and for better audio/video separation.
  
• Restructured minema.cfg for better understanding.
  
• Removed redundant capture.gui.preventPause option from the config file. (use F3+P instead)
  
• Fixed missing plop sounds.
  
• Fixed chunk preloading not working.
  
• Fixed capture not stopping when exiting the world.
  
• Fixed an exception when trying to capture sound when Minecraft was started with sounds disabled.

Spoiler:

1.5:

• Much better framerate locking (capture.limit.fps).
  
• The overlay is now rendered below the debug overlay when visible.
  
• Added capture.gui.lockMouse to lock the mouse during capture.
  
• Added capture.images.format and changed default image format back to PNG.
  
• The frame limit is now displayed in the overlay.

1.41:

• Added capture.sound.auto to control whether the sound should be automatically recorded or not.
  
• Added mod metadata for Forge.
  
• Fixed compatibility issues with Forge-ModLoader (version 3.3.8 or higher required).
  
• Fixed flickering when using tiled rendering while "Advanced OpenGL" is enabled in the options.

1.4:

• Added isCapturingVideo and isCapturingAudio methods to mod_Minema for other mods.
  
• Added capture.gui.preventPause to prevent the game from pausing if the window is not active.
  
• Added render.chunks.waitFor to freeze the game until all visible chunks are fully loaded (thanks to Hmpf for the help!).
  
• Fixed audio logging still running even if video recording is paused by the capture.skipGUI option.

1.32:

• Added two rendering options to change the entity rendering distance and the particle limit.
  
• Re-enabled multiplayer support with limited options.
  
• Limited amount of sounds played simultaneously in one frame for sound recording.
  
• Fixed some sound recording bugs.

1.31:

• Fixed uncaught exception on encoder startup errors.
  
• Fixed uncaught exception when changing window size during recording.
  
• Fixed sound logging and capturing sill being enabled when capture.sound.enabled is set to false.
  
• Fixed overlay always being recorded to video even if overlay.embed is set to false.

1.3:

• Added sound logging and recording.
  
• Added recording stats overlay.
  
• Added framerate limiter.
  
• Disabled movie recording in multiplayer due to synchronization problems (single frame and audio capture still works).
  
• Fixed a crash when returning to the main menu while recording.
  
• Fixed previous frame sometimes being visible when in tiled rendering mode.
  
• Videos are now always saved in separate sub-directories.

1.2:

• Added experimental tiled rendering feature for 4K, 8K and other high-resolution movie recording.
  
• Pressing Ctrl + F4 now creates a single image file based on the current settings.
  
• Reduced memory usage and improved frame capture speed.
  
• Dropped support for other image formats than TGA in favor of faster image writing.
  
• Extended maximum entity render distance and disabled entity frustum culling when recording.

1.1:

• Fixed recording error for window sizes that aren't divisible by 2.
  
• Fixed jerky/locked smooth cam movements for lower framerates.
  
• Added the "capture.skipGUI" option that pauses recording if a GUI screen is visible.
  
• Added the "capture.clearChat" option to clear the chat text on the screen before recording.
  
• Added profiling points for the debug screen profiler.
  
• The bundle now uses x264 instead of FFmpeg, which may speed up encoding.

1.04:

• Recording will now automatically stop when exiting the world.
  
• The sound will no longer be disabled during recording.

1.03:

• Updated for Minecraft 1.1.
  
• Removed Apache Commons IO dependencies.
  
• Updated default FFmpeg parameters to use a nearly lossless quality quantization.

1.02:

• Fixed a problem with the FFmpeg bundle not finding the ffmpeg.exe correctly for some systems.

1.01:

• A "plop" sound will now signal the start of a recording session.
  
• The default FFmpeg parameters now use high quality quantization parameter instead of lossless encoding because of compatibility issues with the H.264 stream.

1.0:

• Initial release.

Known bugs

• Most pixel shaders won't work correctly.
  
• After movie capturing is finished, the integrated server may go into a "fast-forward" mode to re-sync with the real time.

My other mods

• Dragon Mounts
  
• Mineshot
  
• Patch Collection

[TheEpicBlock]

Oh my. This is great! Hope this is better than Fraps. :s

[Domino]

I've been waiting on something like this for a VERY long time!!

Kinda wish there was a demo like feature. Like you press f4 to record a demo and then when you play it back you can press another key to record it into a video at any fps you want.

[yourfacey753]

This is awesome!We can use this to make server videos for our server,IMinecraft(see signiture for IP)
THanks man..
for u

[Amber Tonerre]

when im recording it lags as if i set off 5 nukes at the same time right in front of me can you fix this?

[BarracudaATA]

Domino, on 07 January 2012 - 07:01 PM, said:

I've been waiting on something like this for a VERY long time!!

Kinda wish there was a demo like feature. Like you press f4 to record a demo and then when you play it back you can press another key to record it into a video at any fps you want.

Oh yes, a demo recorder would be a great addition for this mod.

yourfacey753, on 07 January 2012 - 07:02 PM, said:

This is awesome!We can use this to make server videos for our server,IMinecraft(see signiture for IP)
THanks man..
for u

Keep in mind that I tested the mod for singleplayer only. In multiplayer, the client and server will most likely go out of sync, but you may give it a try anyway

[Amber Tonerre]

also it doesnt record video it pretty much takes screenshots very fast

[BarracudaATA]

Amber Tonerre, on 07 January 2012 - 07:05 PM, said:

when im recording it lags as if i set off 5 nukes at the same time right in front of me can you fix this?

Yes, it "lags" during recording because it takes some time to write all the image files, but the resulting video will play smoothly. You could try to change the format to jpg or use ffmpeg to speed up the recording.

Amber Tonerre, on 07 January 2012 - 07:06 PM, said:

also it doesnt record video it pretty much takes screenshots very fast

Fraps and other tools do exactly the same, but fast enough so that you barely notice it. You can use ffmpeg to write video files instead of images, but it's not trivial to use it with this mod.

[1x99]

:(it gives me so mutch lag!!! how do i fix it???      

[yourfacey753]

BarracudaATA, on 07 January 2012 - 07:05 PM, said:

Oh yes, a demo recorder would be a great addition for this mod.


Keep in mind that I tested the mod for singleplayer only. In multiplayer, the client and server will most likely go out of sync, but you may give it a try anyway

i do know it is for Singleplayer,we just want to show what we have on our server MAP.
but thanks for te warning.
for you again.   

[1x99]

:(it gives me so mutch lag!!! how do i fix it???      

[Domino]

BarracudaATA, on 07 January 2012 - 07:05 PM, said:

Oh yes, a demo recorder would be a great addition for this mod.

I think it would be a lot easier than doing the frame recording in game. You could record a let's play without worrying about fps drops and when you're done you can start it up and start capture.

Would also be nice for moving camera angles. Start demo, record cam angle, stop record then cap demo.

[BarracudaATA]

Looks like my website went down temporary. I hope it will be fixed soon...  

Edit: okay, it's working again.

[Sevenedges]

As innovative and well-intentioned this mod is, at it's present stage it simply isn't useful in practice. An external program like Fraps or CamStudio easily accomplishes what this mod tries to do at a much smoother progression without using images as a middleman. However the ffmpeg support opens some leeway for the gods who understand all that fancy toomfoolery, and with a little work and a tutorial here or there it could be user-friendly for the rest of the community.

I'll be tuned in for updates.

[Neon_ColorsFTW22]

So Cool! a in-game recording mod!

EDIT: Never mind more like a timelaspe mod but still COOL

[Domino]

Sevenedges, on 09 January 2012 - 12:47 AM, said:

An external program like Fraps or CamStudio easily accomplishes what this mod tries to do at a much smoother progression without using images as a middleman.

This is completely false. Realtime capturing won't allow smooth video like processing frames would. I edit cod, css and quake. I know what capping with fraps and frames is like.

With fraps or a real time recorder, you won't have the freedom to use any FPS you like. You're restricted to what the program and computer power gives you. With frames you can use any fps you wish since it's not realtime and can process each frame. If i tried to record quake at 125fps with fraps i would get random lag spikes. If i recorded a demo and then recorded frames afterwards i could use 30, 60, 125...hell I've used 5000 before to get a high speed camera type shot.


This mod isn't for realtime capturing. It's for people that want very smooth video without worrying about lag spikes and fps drops.

Neon_ColorsFTW22, on 09 January 2012 - 01:40 AM, said:

EDIT: Never mind more like a timelaspe mod but still COOL

This mod doesn't capture at timed intervals (like every 30 seconds or a minute). It records frames per second.

See the quote above.

[BarracudaATA]

Sevenedges, on 09 January 2012 - 12:47 AM, said:

As innovative and well-intentioned this mod is, at it's present stage it simply isn't useful in practice. An external program like Fraps or CamStudio easily accomplishes what this mod tries to do at a much smoother progression without using images as a middleman. However the ffmpeg support opens some leeway for the gods who understand all that fancy toomfoolery, and with a little work and a tutorial here or there it could be user-friendly for the rest of the community.

I'll be tuned in for updates.

The image writing isn't really the best solution, I agree. But I left that in because I wanted this mod to be as lightweight as possible (Unix philosophy: "Write programs that do one thing and do it well."). There's another mod that is more similar to Fraps, VideoCraft, which comes in a 21 MB package. Not really acceptable IMHO.

But I could create a separate package that bundles ffmpeg and the config for it for one platform only. In this case, Windows probably. (Edit: done)

Anyway, this mod will probably never be really user-friendly. It's a special purpose recording tool, experimental by design. I wanted to share it in case it's useful for anyone else here.

[Fogah]

Seems like your site is down again, maybe post a dropbox mirror :-)


Edit: never mind, tried to get the 1.0 version, which is why I got a 404 :-)



2nd edit: You bundled the 64 bit version of FFMPEG, which won't run on my 32 bit Win7 - Could you do a 32 bit version please?

[BarracudaATA]

Oh damn, I forgot about that. I'll update the bundle, sorry

Edit: Okay, same download link, but with Win32 builds now.

[Bardouli]

If you combine this with the TV Mod, you can create a TV Channel inside minecraft.

All we need is a true camera settings/editing/FX mod.

That's the next step!