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25 December 2019

1v1 Deathmatch with Bot or Player - Recommended CSGO Workshop Map

If you are looking for a small and fun 1v1 deathmatch or aim map for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, this is what I would recommend. 

1v1 Aim_map

This in my opinion is the best I have tried for 1v1 or more with players or even bots. Practicing aim or warming up before entering a match on this map is even better after Valve's updates on improving Bots' behaviors.



Access to this workshop map is through link below:

I usually warm up 1v1 with a bot(or more) on this map with these commands:
  • sv_cheats 1
  • mp_roundtime 60
  • mp_buy_allow_grenades 1 (optional)

After loading the map and before selecting a team, run commands above and also bot_kick to remove all bots first. After that select a team and run command bot_add to add a bot.

Read also: Other CSGO Binds That Might Be Useful

This workshop map supports 3 modes; Casual, Competitive and Deathmatch.




22 December 2019

Simple Free VPN software for PC and Phone

A very simple VPN program I have used is Psiphon. In this post I am going to talk about Psiphon for PC. It requires only few clicks and you are connected to the VPN server. The installation is also straightforward. 


There are paid and free versions. The free version has a limited speed connection however you are free to connect for as long as you want. If I remember correctly, the mobile app has a limited speed of 2mbps so I am assuming it is the same for PC. The paid version gives you speed boost by purchasing PsiCash located at the bottom left corner of the psiphon window.




There are 24 available countries that provide servers for psiphon.



03 December 2019

Other CSGO Binds That Might Be Helpful

You can find many important Counter Strike Global Offensive (CSGO) binds on the internet but here I want to share my binds for this awesome game.

Quick Drop Gun Switch
alias +drop "drop"
alias -drop "slot1"
bind g "+drop"

Note that cl_autoweapswitch is set to 0. The purpose of this bind is to automatically switch to the new primary gun (Slot 1) when you drop your previous primary gun. This only works if you are close to the gun that you are planning to pick up.



Auto-inspect knife
alias +knifeinspect "slot3"
alias -knifeinspect "+lookatweapon"
bind 3 "+knifeinspect"

With this bind you only need to press button 3 and it will inspect the knife when the button is released. However this might not work if you have high ping.

Middle Range Grenade Throw
alias +midthrow "+attack;+attack2"
alias -midthrow "-attack;-attack2"
bind alt "+midthrow"

Note that I use "alt" button for this. This bind is helpful to prevent myself from messing up the middle range throw. This bind may not work if pressed very quickly as it will just simply do a left-click throw.


Stop Google Chrome Auto-Update

Getting the latest Chrome version is important for security reasons and performance improvement. However there are reasons for some people decided not to update and stay on the old version regardless of the better security provided for the newest one, such as compatibility issue of Internet Download Manager for example. 

To install and use an older version of Chrome is quite easy however we need to be quick as Chrome will check and install its newest version automatically. 



First step is to uninstall current Google Chrome from the computer and download the old version from the link below. 


When done installing the older version, Chrome will open but just close it. Quickly disconnect the internet to prevent it from auto-updating, or open task manager and go to services and search for gupdate and stop the service. This is the service that will check for update and then download the latest chrome. 


Next step is to go to Chrome's "Update" folder which by default is at:

Local Disk(C) > Program Files > Google > Update -- (For 32bit computer)
Local Disk(C) > Program Files (x86) > Google > Update -- (For 64bit computer)

Delete GoogleUpdate application. If you could not delete the application, make sure gupdate service is stopped first.


If you wish to go back to the auto-update chrome, simply download and reinstall a new Chrome.

Video below is an example of stopping chrome update.


19 November 2019

Show Multiple Clocks for Different Timezones on Computer

Having multiple clocks on PC for different timezones are really helpful to keep us track the time for something or someone that we follow and we do not want to miss it/them. These clocks will show the time of selected region(s), and no programs are needed to be downloaded to the computer. However only 2 additional clocks can be displayed.

Something like a scheduled live streams of our favorite streamers, or an upcoming/ongoing event at certain times in an online game, however the time was mentioned only verbally or in a written form like a tweet or a facebook post, therefore these clocks are useful in this kind of situation if we know their location and timezone.



In start, search for Date and Time by typing time in the search box.


Go to Additional Clocks tab and choose the time-zones of our preference.


Now when hovering the mouse cursor to the clock, it will show the additional clock(s) of our choice. 



18 November 2019

Show Ads Only on Subscribed Youtube Channels [Google Chrome]

Improve YouTube! (previously known as "ImprovedTube") is by far in my opinion the best extension to manage YouTube. There are many functions to select for better customization of your YouTube experience. 




There are many adblockers available however most of them block almost all ads or may need to be configured properly that requires many steps that look very confusing to some of us. With Improve YouTube!, only few clicks are needed. 



After installing the extension, click on its icon at the top right corner of Google Chrome to open its customization window. Click on Player.


In Player settings, scroll down until you see Ads. There are 3 options to choose.


How to Change Monitor/Desktop Color Depth (16 bit & 32 bit)

Changing color depth to a lower value might give you an increase in fps for gaming if your computer is running low on memory or you're still using a very old video card.

For nvidia cards, simply open Nvidia Control Panel and go to change resolution. The setting for changing color depth is at the bottom of the window.

nvidia color depth



If you do not have an nVidia gpu, right-click on the desktop and choose Screen Resolution.


Or another way to open Screen Resolution setting is to type in the start, search for Display.



On the Screen Resolution window, click on Advance settings. Color setting can be found in the Monitor tab of the next window.




17 September 2019

Fix Nvidia Shadowplay Not Recording or Will Not Turn On (Windows 7)

Shadowplay has been the best recording software for me compared to others. Instant Replay feature is what I like the most about it as I want to record and save great highlights of my gameplay at unexpected moments without having to record everything from the start and filling the hard drive space.

Several ways to fix this problem are as follows:

Restarting NVIDIA Share or IN-GAME OVERLAY


Open Geforce Experience and go to setting by clicking the gear button at top right side. Simply turning off and on In-game Overlay could fix the problem.


To restart NVIDIA Share, open task manager and go to processes tab. Find NVIDIA Share and click end process.




Turn On Desktop Composition on Windows 7


In start, right click on Computer and select properties. Click on Advance system settings on the left side of the window. In Advance tab, open Settings and make sure Enable desktop composition box is checked.

Check also if the display is running the highest desktop color depth 32-bit, or else desktop composition will not show up in this window.


After enabling desktop composition make sure to restart In-Game Overlay or restart the computer.


Reinstall Geforce Experience


There could have been corrupted files during the installation of Geforce Experience that was bundled with the nvidia graphic driver, which has caused the same problem in the past. 



10 September 2019

Several Ways to Reduce Input Lag

Input lag in simple words is the delay of signal from your mouse and keyboard being displayed on the monitor. Input lag is the worst enemy of First Person Shooter (FPS) games, you would want the lowest latency possible.

Several ways to reduce latency or input lag are as follows:

Nvidia's Low Latency Mode


The new feature of nvidia is low latency mode. Previously it was max pre-rendered and was replaced by this. Setting it to mode "Ultra" should give you the lowest latency.


For AMD users, the feature is called Anti-Lag. To configure the settings, read this guide.




Nvidia Profile Inspector


Another feature that could fix input lag is Frame Rate Limited Mode in Nvidia Profile Inspector.


There are 2 options you can choose:
- FLIP_BY_FLIPMETERING
- ALLOW_ALL_MAXWELL.
You can read more on this here or watch this youtube video by BananaGaming.


HPET Off/Disabled


High Precision Event Timer (HPET) may help in solving mouse delay problem as said by someone in the comment from this youtube video about HPET On vs Off Benchmark.

Few ways to disable HPET are through BIOS, Device Manager and Command Prompt.


MarkC Windows Mouse Acceleration Fix


This is a registry file that will remove mouse pointer acceleration on windows. Go to this blog to read more and download the fix.


Using Solid-State Drive SSD


I have been playing fps games like CSGO on HDD for more than a year before deciding to install SSD and upon switching to SSD the first thing I noticed was the improved responsiveness of my CSGO. Previously I have always felt there was a slight delay when playing fps games on HDD.

01 September 2019

Find Username and Password of Your Login Details

A web browser such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox will ask if you want to save your password when you successfully log in to a website like Facebook, Gmail, etc, if you have enabled the password saving setting.



Remembering strong passwords for multiple accounts on a single website is quite difficult and it is even more confusing if each account uses a very different username and password for every website that you registered. 



Google Chrome 


Click the 3 dots at the top right corner and go to Settings. You will see your saved usernames and  passwords in Passwords.


Mozilla Firefox


Click the 3 lines at the top right corner and go to Options. Select Privacy & Security and scroll down until you see Logins and Passwords. You will find usernames and passwords in Saved Logins.



In order for web browsers on another computer to show your login details, you need to login to the browser(s) on the first computer using an account like Gmail and it will save your data.

On the second computer and so on, login again to the same account you used for the browser and it will sync all information that has been saved from the previous computer.

Do not save your account login details on a public computer.

29 August 2019

XDM - Alternative to Internet Download Manager

Xtreme Download Manager (XDM) is a free powerful open-source download accelerator that functions similar to Internet Download Manager. The download speed of XDM is on par with IDM from my experience making it my second download manager on this computer.


Installation of XDM is straightforwad however after installing, a small addon is needed to install an extension for your preferred web browser. This extension is for browser monitoring to capture supported downloadable contents.



To install this extension, navigate to Tools > Browser Monitoring > Choose your preferred browser(s).



To use XDM, make sure Browser Monitoring (bottom right) is turned on after installing the addon.

How to Boot to Safe Mode If You Forgot The Button

Unless we are an advanced computer user, we rarely go to safe mode therefore we keep forgetting what button to press and have to google the button for Safe Mode again for our computer brand.



An easy way to boot to Safe Mode is through System Configuration Utility.

To do this, click start and type msconfig.


Go to Boot tab and check the Safe boot box as shown in the picture below.


Click OK and you will be asked to restart or not. 

27 August 2019

How to Calculate New in-game Sensitivity from New DPI

A modern mouse nowadays can have a range of DPI from 200 to 8000 or even more. The value can also be customized if the mouse has its own customization program such as Logitech Gaming Software. 



The formula for calculating new sensitivity:

Old sensitivity x Old DPI ÷ New DPI = New sensitivity


For example

     Old sensitivity: 3
     Old DPI: 400
     New DPI: 800

     3 x 400 ÷ 800 = 1.5
     New in-game sensitivity = 1.5



22 August 2019

My Equalizer Preset for Superlux HD681 using Peace Equalizer

Superlux HD681 is a budget headphones good for both gaming and listening to music and song. It has got quite a lot of positive reviews on Youtube and is recommended by many reviewers. In this post, I am sharing my equalizer setting for this headphones.

For doing this EQ preset, 2 programs are needed: 

Read more about both software above here. The reason this EQ preset is needed is because Superlux HD681 has harsh treble.



Open Peace after installing both programs. Select full interface of Peace when asked.


My EQ preset is simple, everything else is at its default value. Only 3 things were adjusted.
  • Pre Amplifying: -2.5
  • Frequency 4000: -4
  • Frequency 8000: -4
This other preset posted on Reddit might be interesting to you.

How I Record CSGO for Fragmovie on My Low-End PC

The low spec of my computer is Nvidia GTX650 2GB and AMD FX6350 processor at stock speed  of 3.9GHz. I game on the lowest setting at 1024x768 and get the average of 100-120fps but sometimes will drop to 80s when there is heavy smoke.

Fragmovie on the lowest setting is not suitable as everything will look ugly especially those jagged edges. It should at least be at medium setting to look good but then this will drop the fps to below 60 when doing a recording on a potato computer (without doing the steps below).

Read also: CSGO HLAE Commands for Fragmovie

Preparation


To record smoothly, the first thing I do is to close any unnecessary applications running in the background to reduce cpu and ram usage. Also to set the power plan to High Performance.


Recording Software


The next thing is I decide which recording program to use. I have tried Bandicam, OBS, Fraps and Nvidia Shadowplay. Among these programs, Fraps and Shadowplay give me stable fps during recording. Bandicam and OBS are good however they sometimes do not perform well which I do not know why it happens thus giving me stuttering recording even the game demo was playing smoothly.

Recording & Editing


I play the demo at 1/4 speed which means the replay is slowed down to 25% of its original speed. You can do this by pressing shift+f2 and click the 1/4 button. Recording at this demo speed will give me more video details (frames) per second so during editing when I speed up the recording to 4 times the video will play at normal speed and this will look smooth because I have more frames compared to recording at normal speed.

Recording at high settings on a potato pc will definitely drop my fps but the additional frames/details per second I get from 1/4 speed compensates it.

Audio is then also sped up to match the video length and pitch is locked to the length also so that it will sound normal. Here, the editing software needs to be able to do this such as Sony Vegas Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro.

Console Command


Slow motion is optional but it makes the video look cool. This is easier to achieve at high fps for recording simply by typing "host_framerate 1000" in the console and the demo will play very slowly and it is perfect for slowmo. Unlike playing 1/4 speed like above which is also slowmo effect, the audio from host_framerate will stay at the same original pitch. I would only recommend doing this when the clip does not need the game audio.

Others


Other thing that makes a CSGO video (not recording) smooth is motion blur. This is not the in-game motion blur, it is produced during editing. This motion blur is the Smart Resample in Sony Vegas and Frame Blending in Premiere Pro. However, this does not work well at video rendered below 60fps because it will produce ghosting effect. It would only look good if the recording is at 60fps or above and the rendering is at 60fps or above as well. Disable resample or frame blending if rendering is at below 60fps.

In addition, you might want to try a plugin called ReelSmart Motion Blur for the video editing software.

19 August 2019

My Review on Pixel Experience ROM for Redmi 4X Santoni

I have used Pixel Experience ROM on my Xiaomi Redmi 4X Santoni for about 2 weeks mainly for daily use. I do not game on this phone. If you're looking for gaming performance review, this is not it.

I flashed the rom using TWRP and used it for 2 weeks. Overall, I was happy with this ROM. It was fast and simple. Transition and animation were smooth and clean. I am a minimalist so Pixel Experience was beautiful in my eyes. 

However, there were 2 major problems I encountered. 

First, Facebook app was very laggy. Scrolling was stuttery all the time. This is not the normal stutter that even a high end android device sometimes experiences, it was worst like you're playing games at 10fps. Other apps like Twitter, Instagram or Whatsapp worked normally.



Second problem was screen rotation malfunctioning. Auto-rotation was turned on but the screen was not able to turn landscape. Apps that use fullscreen landscape mode by default or there is a button for fullscreen mode such as Youtube would work fine however app like camera where you would need to turn the phone for landscape will not function, from my experience.

Both problems happened on all 3 editions of Pixel Experience: Standard, CAF and GO. Below are the 3 PE that I tried.
  • PixelExperience_santoni-9.0-20190724
  • PixelExperience_go_santoni-9.0-20190422
  • PixelExperience_caf_santoni-9.0-20190607
Links:
Pixel Experience GO (From Masedisugianto Dotcom Youtube Channel)


UPDATE 24/8/2020
I reinstalled the exact same PE above and somehow the 2 problems did not happen this time. Everything was good and smooth.

16 August 2019

Disable Auto-Quality on Youtube, Set Preferred Video Quality and Player Size

An extension called Improve YouTube (also known as ImprovedTube) is the best I've found so far, to optimize Youtube to your preference. Unfortunately, at this date it is only available for Google Chrome but hopefully the developer(s) will soon make it for Firefox as well in the future.



This extension has many functions, my favorite ones are Playback Quality, Player Size, Volume and Adblock.



Playback Quality, Volume and Adblock are self explanatory. Adjusting Player Size to me is the most important as the default size on Youtube is 480p. This is a problem if you play videos at 360p or lower quality on the default player size causing the video to look blurry. With this extension, you can adjust the player size to match video quality thus making the video to look sharp and crisp.

There are other interesting settings that you may try yourself.



11 August 2019

Loud Awful Noise When Closing or Exiting an Application That Has Sound

First of all, this is not a fix or guide to solve the problem. I write this to explain the situation.

I started having this problem somewhere in July 2019. I looked up on Google and found very few have had the same.

This loud awful bad ugly noise is like buzzing, it is the noise of the very last millisecond of the sound of a game or music/video you hear before you exit or close the application. In my case, the sound will not stop until you open another application that produces sound. The buzzing happens when you close a video or music player without stopping it first, or a game exits when the background music is still playing. The sound will not appear in screen recording, can only be heard through my headphone.



Read:
  1. Awful sound after I close the music player
  2. Buzzing noise when closing applications
I did like almost everything I could found on google to try to fix this but none of them was working. I even ended up reinstalling windows. 

The problem was gone after reinstalling. That was what I thought until one day when I finished playing game and it happened again. Remember this was a freshly installed windows, no changes made to the computer besides installing gpu driver and windows update. This was when I discovered the source of the my problem. 

For me, it was because of nVidia (I was using the latest driver). I remembered that I turned on Shadowplay Instant Replay before playing the game. I tested my discovery, I turned off the Instant Replay and played a song and closed it without stopping first. No loud awful noise was happening. Then I tested again with Instant Replay turned on and the buzzing happened. Since then, I have not used Shadowplay Instant Replay and have never heard of the buzzing noise anymore.

At the time I write this post (18 Sept 2019), I did a test again and the buzzing was still happening.

Note: The buzzing does not happen as soon as Instant Replay is turned on and sound is played, it will occur after some time like minutes after.

My pc specs:
Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
GTX 650 2GB
Driver version 436.30 released on 10 Sept 2019


NVIDIA Strong Vibrant Colors For Gaming

One day you were watching a streamer or youtuber of your favorite game and you noticed that his game looked very colorful while yours looks washed out and dull. To make game looks vibrant and strong in colors, you need an NVIDIA graphic card.


Open Nvidia Control Panel and go to adjust desktop color settings.



The only setting to change is the value of Digital Vibrance. For me value between 70% to 80% looks the best but it is up to your preference.


09 August 2019

Quick Access to Power Plan (Power Saver, Balanced, High Performance) for Saving Power and Electricity

Windows Mobility Center (WMC) is a tool that places together several important settings in a window such as audio setting, screen brightness, battery and power scheme, and also wireless network.

WMC by default is enabled on laptops to help conserve battery power easier and quicker, but is not activated on a desktop computer. I have been using WMC to switch power plans quickly on my PC to match the processor power needed for the current task at the time; High Performance for gaming, Balanced for web browsing or doing tasks, and Power Saver when watching videos or just idling.


To enable Windows Mobility Center on a desktop computer, a modification is needed in the Windows Registry however some version of Windows do not have "regedit" installed. An easier way to modify the registry without regedit is by installing the registry below.


Double-click the downloaded registry file to allow modification to Windows Registry that enables the Windows Mobility Center.

Next step is to find the Windows Mobility Center. Click start and type "mblctr", right-click on it and select Open file location.


Drag mblctr in the folder to taskbar to pin for quick access.


The next step is to set the power of processor which will help in conserving power or electicity.

Click start and type Power Option.


Click on change plan settings and change advanced power settings.


Under Processor power management, set the minimum and maximum processor state.

Minimum processor state
  • Power saver: 5%
  • Balanced: 5%
  • High Performance: 5%
Maximum processor state
  • Power saver: 50%
  • Balanced: 80%
  • High performance: 100%
Click Ok to save settings. Now you may choose you preferred power plan from WMC based on your usage and leave the WMC open.





Refference: TenForums

08 August 2019

Fix Slow Opening Folders on Windows

A folder may take too long to open because Windows is processing thumbnails for videos and pictures even if they are not needed for the file types not related to both.



To solve this, go into any folder especially the parent or root that has many folders in it. In this example I select Download folder.

Right-click on any blank surface in the folder and choose Customize this folder.


In the Customize tab, under Optimize this folder for: select General Items and check or tick the box Also apply this template to all subfolders.


Click Ok to save.