Difference between revisions of "Trailer"

From The Battle for Wesnoth Wiki
(Online presence: Another upload, what a coincidence...)
(File format: Hopefully making the advice more relevant and easy to follow)
Line 15: Line 15:
  
 
== File format ==
 
== File format ==
The video files' extension is .ogg.  Thought ogg was a music format?  Well, sort of.  Ogg is the name of [http://xiph.org/ Xiph.org's] "container format" for audio, video, and metadata.  When it holds vorbis-encoded audio, the file is called "[http://www.vorbis.com/faq/#what ogg vorbis]" - Vorbis is the name of an audio compression code.  The actual video codec used is called [http://www.theora.org/theorafaq.html#10 theora]This ogg file has Theora-encoded video and vorbis-encoded audio.
+
The video files' extension is <tt>.ogg</tt>, which indicates that it uses the Ogg container format.  Ogg is capable of containing a range of codecs, but it usually holds audio encoded with the Vorbis codec and/or video encoded with the Theora codec.  Our trailer contains both.
  
This means [http://www.videolan.org/ VLC], for one, can play this file, but its performance lags a little. 
+
If a file contains just audio, it is normally called an "Ogg Vorbis" fileIf it also contains video, then it is normally called "Ogg Theora", although "Ogg Theora+Vorbis" might more accurately convey the fact that it is a video with a soundtrack.
Other apps to try:
 
* [http://mplayerplug-in.sourceforge.net/ mplayerplug-in] works too, needs [http://www.mplayerhq.hu/ Mplayer],  also .
 
* Realplayer and its fully open-source cousin Helixplayer (Real and Helix now have the same sort of relationship that Netscape and Mozilla once had - Realplayer is about 90% open source these days)Xine (this is what I use).
 
* Anything based on the libxine or gstreamer libraries (e.g. Gnome's Totem, KDE's Kaboodle or Xfce's Xfmedia).
 
* You can also get Directshow plugins for Windows Media Player and other Directshow-based apps.
 
* Basically, any reasonably up-to-date GNU/Linux system should play this out of the box, and Windows and Mac should play it with only a little effort. In Gentoo you have to set the useflag USE="theora" to be able to watch the video.
 
  
The file formats and codecs described here are open source/open standards, thus they are given preferential treatment by this project on philosophical grounds.
+
We use these codecs because they offer high quality at small file sizes; plus they are free and Open Source, which fits in with the philosophy of ''Battle for Wesnoth'' as free, Open Source software.
 +
 
 +
The following links may be helpful for further information:
 +
* [http://www.vorbis.com/faq/#what FAQ at Vorbis.com]
 +
* [http://www.theora.org/theorafaq.html#10 FAQ at Theora.org]
 +
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogg Article on Ogg at Wikipedia.org]
 +
 
 +
===Playing the file===
 +
Wikipedia has a guide to viewing Ogg files which you may find helpful: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Media_help_%28Ogg%29 link].
 +
 
 +
====Linux and similar Unix-based systems====
 +
If you have a reasonably recent Linux system, you will probably be able to play the video immediately.
 +
 
 +
Linux distros vary so much that specific advice may not be helpful, but a good approach is just to try playing the file in your favourite player.  If it fails, try another one.  If they all fail, use your distro's approved installation method (e.g. Synaptic, YaST...) to search for the relevant libraries (libtheora and libvorbis) and a decent player (VLC, Kplayer, Mplayer, Xine, Kaffeine, Helix, Totem...).
 +
 
 +
====Windows and Macs====
 +
Usually, you won't be able to play the trailer until you install some software with Ogg support.  There are several available.  The simplest option is probably to install the [http://www.videolan.org/ VLC] player.

Revision as of 05:26, 18 February 2007

Here is a video showcasing some of the artwork, gameplay, and music of "The Battle for Wesnoth." Its purpose is to publicize the game and show people what they're missing! You are free to distribute the video to online video sites. Since the art used was licensed under the Gnu General Public License (GPL), the video itself is a GPL'd work, and you are obligated to indicate this when distributing the video.

Trailer based on Wesnoth 1.1.2, by Radoz

It is really based on 1.1.2, not 1.2 sadly. So while very good and still fitting, it doesn't show the latest features until someone creates a new trailer. Are you the one who can do it?

Online presence

If you distribute the video somewhere, post the link here. You may have to convert the video to another format first (leading to some loss of quality), because some sites do not support OGG Theora.

The video had previously been uploaded to YouTube, but was removed, and replaced with the message "This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Viacom International Inc." Note that this claim is false. The EFF has a page on Viacom video takedowns.

File format

The video files' extension is .ogg, which indicates that it uses the Ogg container format. Ogg is capable of containing a range of codecs, but it usually holds audio encoded with the Vorbis codec and/or video encoded with the Theora codec. Our trailer contains both.

If a file contains just audio, it is normally called an "Ogg Vorbis" file. If it also contains video, then it is normally called "Ogg Theora", although "Ogg Theora+Vorbis" might more accurately convey the fact that it is a video with a soundtrack.

We use these codecs because they offer high quality at small file sizes; plus they are free and Open Source, which fits in with the philosophy of Battle for Wesnoth as free, Open Source software.

The following links may be helpful for further information:

Playing the file

Wikipedia has a guide to viewing Ogg files which you may find helpful: link.

Linux and similar Unix-based systems

If you have a reasonably recent Linux system, you will probably be able to play the video immediately.

Linux distros vary so much that specific advice may not be helpful, but a good approach is just to try playing the file in your favourite player. If it fails, try another one. If they all fail, use your distro's approved installation method (e.g. Synaptic, YaST...) to search for the relevant libraries (libtheora and libvorbis) and a decent player (VLC, Kplayer, Mplayer, Xine, Kaffeine, Helix, Totem...).

Windows and Macs

Usually, you won't be able to play the trailer until you install some software with Ogg support. There are several available. The simplest option is probably to install the VLC player.