How to - Change the font redenderer in Windows 7

If you're here, you know how bad the standard windows font rendered is. Let's change it to something better!
From the top of my dome, there are two nice alternatives you can choose:
MacType - https://code.google.com/p/mactype/
and
GDipp - https://code.google.com/p/gdipp/

To install Gdipp, you install it as any other program, just run the wizard and you're done! No options or anything. You might have to restart your PC for the changes to take effect.
Gdipp is outdated though, so in some newer applications, the text will not work at all.
(This might get updated in the future, but at the time writing this, it doesn't work)

You should atleast give it a try, if it fucks up any of your favorite programs, uninstall it.

Now on to my personal favorite, MacType.
Go ahead and download the latest version of MacType.
Start the installation wizard. Very straight forward. Select "Launch MacType" once the installation is done.
You'll now notice that it's in some Asian language, even though you selected English. In the upper right, there is a language selector, click that and find English.

Now, this is up to you, but I select the "Registry" option, so MacType doesn't have to be run as a separate operation. Tick the option you want and then click next.

These are the font render option that MacType gives you, these are all a matter of taste. Entirely personal to you. I prefer the standard one, "Default".

Select the one you want, then "Finish". Click "OK" and now you are done!
Restart your PC if you didn't see a difference.

This tutorial may work in Windows 8, but I have not tried it myself.

How to - Change Steam Skin

Are you tired of the good ol' Steam skin?
Look no further!

To change the skin is quite easy actually, it's a straight forward process.
First up you'll need to find a steam skin you want to use!
This is a great thread with a collection of skins:
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1161035

Download the one you want and extract the content with your favorite extraction program (I use 7Zip)
You should now have a folder with the name of the skin, drag that folder here:
%steaminstallation% /skins

It should now look something like this:











(I have 3 skins in the folder)
You are now pretty much done!

All you have to do now, is start up steam
Click the upper left button called "Steam" then "Settings"
Go to the "Interface" tab
Under "Select Skin", select the skin you just installed.
Now restart steam and the skin should now be in use!

How to install DayZ with ArmA 2 Free

Installing DayZ

DayZ is an nice little mod for the game Arma 2.

You may have heard about DayZ and you want to try it our for yourself.

Installing it can be easy for some but hard for others. Don’t fret, Gaugin is here.

For starters, you’ll need Arma 2 Combined Operations (Arma 2 and the standalone expansion pack,Operation Arrowhead).

Note: You don’t have to buy Arma 2, you can use the free version without any serious issues. The biggest difference is the textures. (In steam, the “Demo” is the free version).

I do recommend trying out Arma 2 before you buy Operation Arrowhead to see if this is your kind of game. Also, get used to the control bindings.
If you’re planning on buying Operation Arrowhead on steam, I recommend you using the steam version of Arma 2 free, to avoid any problems. NOTE: Steam has now removed  removed the link for the free version of ARMA 2. If you have steam installed, you can use this LINK
There are different ways of installing DayZ, but this is the method I use and I found it to be the most efficent.

Install and launch both Arma 2 and Operation Arrowhead. Once you get to the menu, you can close out. Remember, do this on both of them.

Now, go ahead and download this neat application called DayZ Commander. Once you have that installed and ready to go, go ahead and go over to the Settings tab. In here, you're gonna make sure that the link to all of the folders are correct! The DayZ folder should be listed as below, @DayZ inside of the ArmA 2: OA folder. If it doesn't exist, go ahead and create it yourself!

This is where most people are having issues, make sure the link to the ArmA 2 folder is correct, you may have to select "Override" and enter the correct location.

If you want to play the game through steam, go ahead and select the two steam-related boxes! the rest of the settings are totally optional and pretty self-explanatory. Now, go to the Install/update tab. If you're getting error messages, restart the application and go the tab again. If you're still having issues, go ahead and contact me! 

Since I already have the latest version, I can't do this myself but go ahead and click on the install button next to both ArmA 2 and DayZ. You're now installing DayZ. Go ahead and install any additional maps if you want to! Install any necessary DayZCommander updates, if they're available. Once DayZ and any updates are installed, you're ready to survive the zombie apocalypse. Just use the server-search function in DayZCommander and hop in on a server that you see fit!
Thanks for reading this review, if you have any questions, go ahead and ask in the comment section!

How to set up Dxtory

Dxtory is in my opinion the best real-time capture program out there. Ever since I found out about it, I've used it almost exclusively when I'm recording gameplay videos.
Being able to play my games in 1080p/60fps and the video file will be in 720p/30fps is a Godsend. This tutorial will show you how to set up dxtory for optimal performance and smaller file sizes.
Dxtory
Lagarith Lossless Video Codec

1. Download and install the stable version of Dxtory

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2. Download and install the latest version of Lagarith Lossless Video Codec (v1.3.27 at the time of this tutorial)

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3. Start up Dxtory

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4. Click the "Folder" tab
5. Click on "Add Folder"

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This is where you chose where all of your recording will be placed. It's recommended, but not obligatory, to not record to the same hard drive as the game is running on.
(Optional: In this tab you can also chose where your screenshots will be placed)
You're now done in this tab!

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6. Now over to the next tab, "Hotkeys".
Here you can pick what key on your keyboard will be used to record/take a screenshot (f9 and f11 for example). There's also alot more you can do, like "push-to-talk" and take HighSpeed Screenshots.
Over to the next tab.

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7. Click on the "Movie" tab, now here's where Dxtory really shines! In the "video codec" section, change the "Dxtory Video Codec" to the codec you installed previously (Lagarith Lossless Codec).

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Now click the configuration box, to the right of the drop-down box.

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Check the "Multithreading" box if you have a multi-core CPU. If you have a single core CPU, do not check this box. In the drop-down box the the right, I have YUY2 selected, it keeps the file size down with next to no quality difference. You're done here, click "OK".


8. For the rest, set the framerate to 30 FPS. Output should be "File Output" and "File Format" must be "AVI"(Unless you're gonna use Dxtory for streaming, more on that later :).
Unclude the cursor is optional, do whatever you like. Leave "Synchronize Video FPS" unchecked.
Scaling, click on "Size", since we want to use 720p to keep the file size down you have to put in the following: Width - 1280 and Height - 720
You're now done on this tab, phew! This tab should now look like this:

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9. The next tab is "Audio". Here's where you chose what audio source you want to record from. You can add several audio sources*, just click the big green + (I.E recording the game sound and your mic).
The game audio will most likely use your standard audio device, so pick that. "Audio Codec" should be "PCM", I always put the "Audio Format" to PCM 48000 Hz, 32bit, Stereo (On all of the audio sources).

10. (Optional) Screenshot tab, this tab speaks for itself, you really don't need to change anything here.
11. Now, the last tab of use, "Advanced Setting". Change the settings so that they match the following settings! Go ahead and play around with the "Processing Threads" option, see what works best with your CPU

You're now done! Enjoy the best vidya gaem recording software out there! If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
Video tutorial coming out soon, for all of you who dont like reading.

*If you're recording from two or more audio sources, you'll need to MUX the output file. This is included with dxtory (AVIMux ).

You can also drag the output file into (i.e) Vegas Pro, all of the audio sources will show up as
different audio channels.
Note - If you drag a clip with multiple audio-sources into Adobe Premiere, it wont work... sorry.