Blackmoor Vituperative

Here is how I play music (MP3 files) into a Google Meet.

Hardware

• Windows 10 desktop
• Wireless headset with over-the-ear type headphones

Software

• Google Chrome
• Audio Repeater Pro
• VB Cable A+B
• VLC Media Player

Setup

1. Install “Audio Repeater Pro (64 bit)” and “VB Cable A+B”. Don’t mess with the settings. Just install them.
2. Run “Audio Repeater Pro (64 bit)”. Use these settings:
   • Input Device: Microphone (Logitech G935 Gaming Headset)
   • Output Device: CABLE Input (VB-Audio Cable B)
   • Stream Format: Processing Format (default)
   • Stream Buffer: 40 milliseconds (default)
   • Process Audio: (not checked)
   • Stream Gain: 100%
   • Stream FX: FX Chain (default)
   • Bypass FX Chain: (not checked)
   • Click “Start”.
3. In the task icon area of the taskbar, right-click the speaker, and select “Recording Devices”.
   1. Right-click Microphone (Logitech G935 Gaming Headset), and select “Set as Default Device”.
   2. Right-click Microphone (Logitech G935 Gaming Headset), and select “Properties”.
      • On the “Listen” tab, set to UN-check “Listen to this device”.
      • On the “Levels” tab, set to 90.
      • Click OK.
   3. Right-click CABLE-B Output, and select “Properties”.
      • On the “Listen” tab, CHECK “Listen to this device”.
      • On the “Listen” tab, set “Playback through this device” to “Speakers (Logitech G935 Gaming Headset)”.
      • On the “Levels” tab, set both to 100.
      • Click OK.
4. In the “Playback” tab of the Sound application.
   • Right-click the headset, and select “Set as Default Communication Device”.
5. Run Chrome.
6. In Chrome, go to Google Meet, and join the meeting.
7. When the Meet window opens, click the three dots in the bottom right corner and click “Settings”. On the Audio tab, use these settings:
   • Microphone: CABLE Output (VB-Audio Cable B).
   • Speakers: Speakers (Logitech G935 Gaming Headset).
8. Open VLC Media Player.
   1. Add songs to the playlist.
   2. In the Audio menu, select Audio >> Audio Device >> CABLE Input (VB-Audio Cable B)
9. Invite people to join the hangout.
10. Play songs in VLC. Other people in the Hangout will hear them. To avoid drowning myself out, I set the VLC output level to about 80%.

Recording

Here are the settings I used to record in Flashback Express.

1. In the Tools >> Options menu, look in the Sound section.
2. Under Sound Source, select “PC Speakers (what you hear)”.
3. In the drop-down under “PC Speakers (what you hear)”, select the headset.
4. Now, when recording in Flashback Express…
   1. Under “Record”, select “Window”.
   2. Check “Record Sound”.
5. Still in Flashback Express, in the sound section, check “Record Sound”, and for the source select “Speakers (Logitech G935 Headset)”.

When done with the hangout

1. Close the Hangout window.
2. Click “Stop” in “Audio Repeater Pro (64 bit)”, and close it.
3. Close VLC Media Player.

What I am listening to while I work, at the moment: a podcast from Paul Gilmartin (one of the hosts from Dinner and a Movie), having a conversation with Frank Conniff (most well-known for his work on Mystery Science Theater 3000).

Paul: “Frank, how’re you doing?”
Frank: “Other than my crippling depression, I’m doing great.”

My final “podcast” from MystiCon 2011: myself, John Meagher, and Travis Surber on the Creating A Unique Magic System panel at MystiCon 2011, 2011-02-27 @ 11:00. Technically, John and I were the panelists, and Travis and his wife were the audience, but in practice the three of us just chatted for 45 minutes.

Creating A Unique Magic System podcast (mp3, 42 MB)

I still really hate my voice.

RSS podcast feed

I filled in on this panel at the last minute. Susan and I did run a LARP at SheVaCon back in 2003 or so that went really well: “The Hotel On Haunted Hill”. It’s where we met our friend Bob. But I am hardly an expert or anything, and honestly I did not expect the panel to be interesting at all. I was wrong about that: it was very entertaining, and packed with people.

This is my second “podcast”: myself, Rod Belcher, Bob Flack, Dave Lystlund, Owen Anderson, and Jestin Jeffries, on the Running a LARP panel at MystiCon 2011, 2011-02-26 @ 13:00.

Running a LARP podcast (mp3, 50 MB)

I had another panel at 15:00, on Game Publishing, but no one showed up. It was just me, Greg Porter, and John Meagher. John and Greg chatted about fonts and pull quotes for a bit, then I took off. I did not bother recording it.

RSS podcast feed

Oh, I nearly forgot: I was interviewed for a few minutes last night by Bethany Halle, of “Fire of Fantasy and Darkness with host Bethany Halle”. I am not sure why she thought I would be interesting, but since she appeared to be having technical difficulties (did I mention how badly the internet at this hotel sucks?), there probably wasn’t much harm in interviewing me rather than someone genuinely interesting.

My portion of the interview starts at one hour and twenty-five minutes (1:25) into the podcast:

The Fire of Fantasy and Darkness with host Bethany Halle – Highlighting the World of Fantasy

RSS podcast feed

My first “podcast”: myself, Greg Porter, and John Meagher, on the Game Development panel at MystiCon 2011, 2011-02-25 @ 20:00.

Game Development podcast (mp3, 51 MB)

I really hate my voice.

I am not a terribly interesting person. At best I am “a character”, but I haven’t actually done much worth talking about. However, I have the good fortune to know some genuinely interesting people. For example, Tee Morris.

I know Tee through RavenCon, a science fiction convention in Virginia which he and I had a part in founding in 2006 (my part in that being a bit smaller than his). He is also the author of a number of books, the most well-known of which is probably MOREVI. He also happens to be one of the authors of Podcasting for Dummies. In this case, I am the eponymous dummy.

Here’s the deal: I wanted to record our Friday night superhero game, because I think it’s going really well. I tried using a PC microphone I have had rattling around in a drawer since 1995. The results were not satisfactory. I went to H. H. Gregg and Best Buy and looked for an omnidirectional microphone, but they didn’t have them. I searched online for “omnidirectional microphone”, and all I really found was a Blue Snowball. Was this microphone good? Bad? Indifferent? Hell if I knew. So I called Tee and asked for advice, and now I am passing that advice on to you.

First off, he said the best choice for microphones for what I was doing is the Rode Podcaster. The Rode Podcaster is $230, though, which is way more than I wanted to spend.

A decent second choice, according to Tee, is the Samson CO1U. It’s $100, which, while more than I would like to spend, is not out of the question. So that was a strong contender.

However, Tee asked if I ever planned on recording on the go — recording a panel at a convention (MystiCon, for example, where I am appearing as a guest). It really hadn’t occurred to me, but you know, that might actually be pretty cool. His suggestion, in that case, was the Zoom H2 portable stereo recorder. Tee himself has the Zoom H4, which he loves, but he said that the H2 was much easier to use, that it has great sound fidelity, and that it also doubles as a USB microphone.

I read up on all three of Tee’s suggestions, reading reviews online on various web sites. I dithered a bit, but eventually went with the Zoom H2. It should arrive in a couple of days, and I plan to take it with me to MystiCon.

Thanks, Tee! I hope I haven’t grievously misrepresented you.

You might or might not know that Green Ronin’s DC Adventures book (published in August) uses the same ruleset that Mutants & Masterminds 3e will.

This demo session might give folks an idea what the game is like in play (more or less — they explain things that wouldn’t be explained if no one were recording it, and the role-playing is very sparse for the same reason).

“Vigilance Press Podcast has DC freelancer Jack Norris and artists extraordinaire James Dawsey and Dan Houser join them for a game of DC Adventures to see how it plays (and Jack gets to play Green Lantern). Check it out!”

http://mikelaff.podbean.com/2010/09/08/dc-adventures-actual-play-demo/