Creating a ROQ video

[MagSul]

Prior Knowledge Requirements: Creating/Modifying/Opening .Pk3s

 

You know that video that sits in the center of the main menu when you play on Jedi Academy Multiplayer? You know those cinematics of Jaden flying his Headhunter fighter to Korriban in Jedi Academy Single Player? Those are ROQ files! This tutorial will go over a very short and very easy step by step on how to make these videos and add them to your game. If you're making an ROQ with the intent of having it play as a part of your main menu in multiplayer mode, I will also be including a guide on how to prevent overwriting the original video whilst still playing your new one, as well as explaining how to remove the pesky grid that covers the default video on the main menu.

• Firstly, you might want to download Quake Video Maker. (Yes, really, it's essential!) This can be found here
• Second, get the video you want to convert to an ROQ. This video must be of the .AVI file type. If it isn't, you're not going to get any further! If your video isn't a .AVI already, open up your video editing program and recompile the video in this format, or Google yourself an AVI convertor.
• Right! You have your video ready to convert to ROQ, now start up Quake Video Maker.

  From the top-left of the program, select: File > New. On the left, you should now be able to spot "Scene 1", on the right, you should see a lovely selection of fields. Don't touch anything yet!

• On the right-hand side, look for "Sequence Format" and click the "..." button. When you have done this, navigate to your .AVI file and select it.
• When the above step is done, click the "Scan Frames" button on the right-hand side of the program.
• By using the navigation buttons by the preview box, ensure that you're at the first frame of your video. Click "Mark Start", then go to the very last frame and click "Mark End". When you have done this, click "Apply"! If you take a peak to "Scene 1" on the left, it should now have a numerical value in beneath the frames heading.
• Next, shift your cursor to the top of the program and click Movie > Settings. Change the size of your video to 512 by 384. If you attempt any other dimensions, your video will not show up in game, sorry folks! When you've made the adjustment, click "Ok".
• Now! You should be ready to compile your ROQ video. Shift your cursor to Movie > Generate. When you do this, you'll be prompted to select a quality level. You should be able to guess the pros and cons of this. More quality means better picture but a larger file size and a waaaaay bigger compile time. Reducing the quality means less space and a quicker compile. If you want a decent quality video, move it towards the higher end and generate that video. Create a new pk3 file, then inside, create a folder named "video". Place your ROQ file in this folder and save your pk3.

Getting it in-game

So currently, if you play JKA Multiplayer, on the main menu you will see a video in the center of the screen. This video by default is a brief clip of the SP cutscene showing the Yavin Runner 2 flying past the camera to Yavin IV. If you open up your PK3, rename your ROQ file to ja01.roq, then it will overwrite the mentioned single player video, but will also function as the video shown in the main menu in multiplayer mode. How do we stop this?

 

Well, if you want a new multiplayer video without overwriting the original single player video, you'll need to open up assets1.pk3 from your Base folder. In the "Shaders" folder, you'll find ui.shader. Copy this file on to your desktop for a moment and open it up in Notepad. If you're using Notepad, tap Ctrl+F and enter the following: "gfx/menus/videologo" Doing so will instantly scroll you to where this text is written. It should look like this:

 

gfx/menus/videologo

{

{

videoMap video/ja01

}

}

 

Change ja01 to whatever you have named your ROQ file. When you have done this, create a new folder in your video pk3 named "shaders". Place your new ui.shader in this folder and save your pk3. Note: Do not place your ui.shader back in the assets pk3, this would muck things up if you ever wanted to uninstall your mod!

Note: If you have named your pk3 something that is spelt in such a way that it would come before an Assets file in your Base folder, place a "z" at the beginning of the pk3 name. This will push it to the back of the line in your Base folder and ensure it is read after the Assets file.

 

Removing the Grid

In Base JKA, the main menu video has a grid covering a small portion of the video that plays. If you browse through your Base folder and pop inside your assets1.pk3, you will find a folder named "gfx". Inside this folder, click the one named "menus". Two images affect the grid's appearance in the game. These are "main_background.tga" and "main_centerwindow.tga". All you have to do, is copy the images to your desktop or somewhere that you can edit them. Modify the images yourself to remove the grid. For that, you'll need an image manipulation program that recognises .tga images and can handle transparency. GIMP or Photoshop should do the trick!

 

Now, create yourself a .pk3 and place a folder named "gfx" inside it. Create a folder named "menus" and place it inside the gfx folder of your new pk3. The modified main_background.tga and main_centerwindow.tga go inside that menus folder. Then! We move that new (saved) pk3 into the Base folder OR the mod folder (e.g. Gamedata/japlus rather than Gamedata/Base)

 

Right, got all that? Good, now forget everything that you just read, download this little zip file that contains a .pk3 with the .tga files already edited by, me. All you'll have to do is follow the steps at the beginning of this tutorial to create your video, compile it and place it in a pk3. Copy the contents of the .pk3 that can be downloaded in the sentance above and merge it into the same .pk3 or, slap it in the Base folder on it's own to remove the grid over the default video.

 

There you have it! Someone fetch me a Jammy Dodger.

 

 

 

 

[Droidy365]

Hey guys, for some reason, I can't get this to work. At Step #5, I'm pretty sure it's supposed to show a mini preview of your movie. When I exported it, I got a silent red screen, rather than a movie. Please help.

 

 

 

 

@@MagSul

[MagSul]

Hey guys, for some reason, I can't get this to work. At Step #5, I'm pretty sure it's supposed to show a mini preview of your movie. When I exported it, I got a silent red screen, rather than a movie. Please help.

 

 

 

 

@@MagSul

When I get back, I can look into that for you. However this particular method skips on sound. It's more useful for a replacement main menu video mod.

 

There is a way to get roq videos with sound but it's not a process that I'm familiar with at the moment.

[Droidy365]

When I get back, I can look into that for you. However this particular method skips on sound. It's more useful for a replacement main menu video mod.

 

There is a way to get roq videos with sound but it's not a process that I'm familiar with at the moment.

Okay, thanks mate. The biggest problem with this is that is's just giving me a blank red screen, rather than a movie. It's about a minute something long.

[RebelChum]

@@Droidy365 Does it work in game?

 

Could it be a problem with the dimensions? Your QVM window shows, at the bottom leftish, WxH 512x384. Don’t they need to be in the powers of two just like textures? It may have to be 512x512 but I’m not sure.

[Droidy365]

@@Droidy365 Does it work in game?

 

Could it be a problem with the dimensions? Your QVM window shows, at the bottom leftish, WxH 512x384. Don’t they need to be in the powers of two just like textures? It may have to be 512x512 but I’m not sure.

I made the video 523 x 384 because that's what the tutorial says to do. I could try making it 512 x 512. That red window to the left is the result after exporting it as an AVI. And no, the exported ROQ doesn't work in-game, either.

Here's the AVI I attempted to import, if anyone wants to have a go (it's for my Sword Art Academy mod.)

 

EDIT: Ah, I see. QVM won't let me have any other size other than 512 x 384.

 

EDIT 2: I've worked out how to add soundtrack now, and it sorta shows up in-game, but not really...? It plays the music with a blank grey screen.

[RebelChum]

I see, is that because the source .avi is in 512x384?

 

I’ve only ever done .roq related stuff once and I recall distinctly that it had to be squared texture style because I raged at how awful it looked in game lol... was some time ago so I could be mistaken. Maybe it’s just an issue with the .avi. Good call uploading it. I can try doing it on my end and see if it works any better for me.

[DT85]

The RoQ must be 512x512.

[Siegfried]

Can you help me? Everytime i try to "Scan Frames" on a specific .AVI file my QVM crashes and shuts down... :/

I can send you the video link to download and try ot of ya want...

[Aldro Koon]

Can you help me? Everytime i try to "Scan Frames" on a specific .AVI file my QVM crashes and shuts down... :/

I can send you the video link to download and try ot of ya want...

 

It has to be uncompressed AVI fam. Get virtualdub, throw your file in there (mine was mp4 but i assume a compresed avi or whatever should work too) and save as uncompressed AVI.

That's how I made the JoF Cosmetic Mod video into roq.

That might solve your problem.

[Droidy365]

It has to be uncompressed AVI fam. Get virtualdub, throw your file in there (mine was mp4 but i assume a compresed avi or whatever should work too) and save as uncompressed AVI.

That's how I made the JoF Cosmetic Mod video into roq.

That might solve your problem.

Could you upload all the plugins you have installed for VirtualDub? Every time I try and import any video file, it comes up with some error.

[Aldro Koon]

Could you upload all the plugins you have installed for VirtualDub? Every time I try and import any video file, it comes up with some error.

 

It was quite a while ago when I did this and I haven't used it since so I really have no idea. But I uploaded a .zip of virtualdub that I found on my PC. Hoping thats the one and that it is of help.

If the uncompressed avi function isnt there when exporting then maybe you have to find it seperately. Just google for it. But its probably there I think.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vt07fdwh4ihk892/VirtualDub-1.10.4.zip?dl=0

[Siegfried]

It has to be uncompressed AVI fam. Get virtualdub, throw your file in there (mine was mp4 but i assume a compresed avi or whatever should work too) and save as uncompressed AVI.

That's how I made the JoF Cosmetic Mod video into roq.

That might solve your problem.

Actually i asked that when we were making the Cosmetic, leader! xDD 

Was trying to help, but you were way faster <3 <3 

[Aldro Koon]

Actually i asked that when we were making the Cosmetic, leader! xDD 

Was trying to help, but you were way faster <3 <3 

WTF how did I miss the date LOL my bad <3 

[Siegfried]

WTF how did I miss the date LOL my bad <3 

Its okay Leader! Love ya <3 

[archetek]

For anyone trying to make roq video files in 2019 or afterwards, I highly recommend using ffmpeg, starting with an uncompressed avi for best results

QVM as recommended above is not advisable for numerous reasons, e.g., it forces resolution, doesn't handle certain input files well, etc.

ffmpeg works great and includes the latest version of the roq encoder HTH

[Circa]

@@archetek I'm moving your comment to this thread, since it will be seen by more people, in our tutorial section.

[Wettergren (Vet)]

Anyone else having issues with creating a .roq video, but cannot find the right program to do so,
the following can be used very easily, and with quite a lot of optional, but nice settings:

- YTD (YouTube Downloader, by GreenTree Applications)
In order to create a video, simply follow this step-by-step guide

1 ) Open YTD and navigate to "Convert"
2 ) Drag your video into YTD (most movie formats are accepted), I used an .avi file
3 ) Click on "Convert to"
4 ) Select "Manual Convert (...)"
5 ) Click the red "Convert"-button
6 ) When prompted to enter the input data, you are able to change some things, these being marked with Bold.
YTD also gives some information on some of the abbriviations.

The original code looks something like this

Spoiler

ffmpeg -i %1 __________ -strict -2 -vf scale=420:-1 -r 14 -b:v 50k -ar 44100 -ab 56k -ac 1 %2.mp4

You must now change it to the following:

Spoiler

ffmpeg -i %1 -s 512x512 -strict -2 -vf scale=420:-1 -r 30 -b:v 50k -ar 22050 -ab 56k -ac 1 %2.roq

-s decides the height & width of the output (.roq) file (default size is determined by the input file). The size MUST be in the form of the ^2 (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, going higher than 512 can create some unforeseen issues)
-r decides the frame-rate, you'll normally want this to be 28-30 fps, but in case you have to compress the video size, you may want to go down to 15-20 fps (This obviously doens't work on videos that has a specific fps, like movies)
-ab decides the audio-bandwidth, this will also decrease or increase the file size
-ar decides the sound frequency, in order to create a .roq video, this value MUST be 22050 Hz
.roq decides the file output, in this case, it MUST be .roq

7 ) Now click "Okay"
8 ) This bit might take some time, depending on your file size, for comparrison, my video was 3:25 long, and had a file size of 99.9 MB, it took roughly 30 min. to convert
9 ) Enjoy ?
9a ) a note on the 512x512 dimensions, the movie will be stretched by JKA itself, so don't worry if you open the .roq file in VLC and think it looks wierd ?

[Droidy365]

So for the most part, this worked great! However, the audio sounded demonic... I don't know what went wrong...
It may be worth mentioning that my video was .mp4 format.

[Tayst]

On 11/25/2020 at 10:35 PM, Wettergren (Vet) said:

Anyone else having issues with creating a .roq video, but cannot find the right program to do so,
the following can be used very easily, and with quite a lot of optional, but nice settings:

- YTD (YouTube Downloader, by GreenTree Applications)
In order to create a video, simply follow this step-by-step guide

1 ) Open YTD and navigate to "Convert"
2 ) Drag your video into YTD (most movie formats are accepted), I used an .avi file
3 ) Click on "Convert to"
4 ) Select "Manual Convert (...)"
5 ) Click the red "Convert"-button
6 ) When prompted to enter the input data, you are able to change some things, these being marked with Bold.
YTD also gives some information on some of the abbriviations.

The original code looks something like this

  Hide contents

ffmpeg -i %1 __________ -strict -2 -vf scale=420:-1 -r 14 -b:v 50k -ar 44100 -ab 56k -ac 1 %2.mp4

You must now change it to the following:

  Hide contents

ffmpeg -i %1 -s 512x512 -strict -2 -vf scale=420:-1 -r 30 -b:v 50k -ar 22050 -ab 56k -ac 1 %2.roq

-s decides the height & width of the output (.roq) file (default size is determined by the input file). The size MUST be in the form of the ^2 (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, going higher than 512 can create some unforeseen issues)
-r decides the frame-rate, you'll normally want this to be 28-30 fps, but in case you have to compress the video size, you may want to go down to 15-20 fps (This obviously doens't work on videos that has a specific fps, like movies)
-ab decides the audio-bandwidth, this will also decrease or increase the file size
-ar decides the sound frequency, in order to create a .roq video, this value MUST be 22050 Hz
.roq decides the file output, in this case, it MUST be .roq

7 ) Now click "Okay"
8 ) This bit might take some time, depending on your file size, for comparrison, my video was 3:25 long, and had a file size of 99.9 MB, it took roughly 30 min. to convert
9 ) Enjoy ?
9a ) a note on the 512x512 dimensions, the movie will be stretched by JKA itself, so don't worry if you open the .roq file in VLC and think it looks wierd ?

Thank you so much! You just made this process so much easier. QVM was a big hassle, and finding a free GUI for ffmpeg seemed impossible. 

[qball13]

On 11/26/2020 at 4:01 AM, Droidy365 said:

So for the most part, this worked great! However, the audio sounded demonic... I don't know what went wrong...
It may be worth mentioning that my video was .mp4 format.

Yea, I am having a similar issue. It doesn't matter what I use to convert the video, whether it is QVM, roq.exe, ffmpeg, or YTD, the audio also sounds really bad in-game. When I play the .roq with VLC, the sound is fine, but when I put it into the game it sounds messed up. Ive made sure that the sound file is mono and 22050 Hz but I'm not really sure what else to do.

[fokai]

On 3/23/2021 at 7:40 PM, qball13 said:

Yea, I am having a similar issue. It doesn't matter what I use to convert the video, whether it is QVM, roq.exe, ffmpeg, or YTD, the audio also sounds really bad in-game. When I play the .roq with VLC, the sound is fine, but when I put it into the game it sounds messed up. Ive made sure that the sound file is mono and 22050 Hz but I'm not really sure what else to do.

I ran into a similar issue but I found the solution:

The audio file needs to be mono, 16 bit, and 44100 kHz.

[Nai]

Okay guys, i followed all of the topic but im still confused about the YTD method.

The audio sound like crap. but i need to export the .ROQ file in 22050 HZ so whats the best thing to do, export my video to mp4/avi and use the freq to 44100 HZ, then export to finally convert it to .roq in 22050 Hz ?

I have tried that but the audio sounded even worse.

Any tip on how to achieve a correct sound ?