Suggestion: Require a representative preview of all newly posted paid scripts for quality control.
The preview could either be in the form of:
Cut down sample version of at least 20 seconds of the script
Screen recording(s) of at least 20 seconds of the script being played in OFS/JFS
Either method is a small effort compared to what it takes to produce a quality script.
The main objective is to make it easier to distinguish the paid scripts a buyer really want from the rest. But it should also make paid scripts more attractive and benefit content creators selling scripts, particularly the great ones. Many quality paid scripters already provide previews.
I guess they would add it to the site wide rules and the template for paid scripts. More rules means a bit more work for mods, yes. This is a downside.
Something should be done. Finding a paid script with little confidence that it’s high quality is disappointing. Patreon is certainly no help with the lack of information prior to pledging. I’ve been burned more than once; paid for scripts only to have to re-write half of it.
In terms of making a gif of scripts. I know of 3 options that I have done in the past.
Scriptplayer-
You have the option to make a gif of the scripted video with the script positions overlayed over it. Cons are the script overlay doesnt look that great and realistically the output will most likley be bigger than 8mb. So you will have to optimize it or convert it to a webp
oCam-
You can set the parameters on how the gif will be exported. Them just play your video on OFS and just export when your done exporting. Cons still need to optimize due to size and set up can be cumbersome
OBS (what I use now)
To me this is just easier to record. you can set the parameters on what will be recroded . It will export it as a video and then I just feed it to https://ezgif.com/ and optimize and convert there.
I do agree that a gif on a paid script showcasing the script along with the video shows transparency with the scripter and who ever is interested. Thats a big reason why I started to do it as well.
I think it should be encouraged heavily, but not a requirement. I’m sure moderators have enough on their plate. (I honestly don’t know)
If posting paid scripts with fgifs becomes the norm then those who don’t will either start adhering to the guidlines or fall by the wayside. In my eyes if the paid scripts category had a guide for posting scripts with the ability for users to flag posts without fgifs, I think it would self moderate itself away. Just a thought
I think this can be enforced by the community without putting work on the mods. Mods could just let it run. If its a rule you just ask for the sample and community will rate the script like games on Steam. First thing you look there is the overall rating. Overwhelmingly positive you can buy blind on Steam. You know which game is good and which has problems. So a rating post with thumbs up or down would be helpful additionally. My point is the community has to be empowered and allowed to preview and rate the paid script.
I would prefer samples as they can be checked in OFS. Gifs can be made so lowres that you can almost not see anything. There are some on the site like that.
I would vote for samples + rating post with thumbs up or down → no more sales of unsynced crappy quickly made unusable scripts.
I added such a review here. You now know exactly what you get. A good script that is too fast and has no advanced scripting. Could this sold for 5 bucks? For sure. Without matching endpoints? Ripoff.
Good point. It’s easy to add, there are enough tools out there to make such previews. Easy way is with ScriptPlayer, where you can overlay the scripts positions. Not the best quality of course, because of the gif limitations. I always used screen recorders. Currently, I am using this → Communicate Faster with Instant Video Messages & Screenshots
Not the best, but good enough. I record about 10 - 30 seconds. That keeps the file size >5MB and I can directly upload it here. There is no need to record in 1080p, because this will make the file size too big. Lowering the quality a bit, but not too much so everything is clearly visible.
I will do it from now for my threads in the paid section.
With OBS, can I only record a certain part of the screen? Or is it always a full screen recording? Full screen would mean a larger file size and I have a 1440p monitor, so it would record in 1440p. No way I could upload it here directly.
Example of how I record.
Would this be good enough? I put the simulator near the action to showcase the sections and how the script is during that part. Or should the script bar be included as well?
Checked Screenrec and that does not produce gifs and saves the movies offsite. So the movies will be lost if the link is broken @Falafel suggested screentogif maybe thats better as gif stays with the site?
That shouldn’t be the case. You just save the video internally and upload it directly here. If the video is over 5MB, then you would need to upload it somewhere and link it here. That is when the video wouldn’t work anymore, if the uploaded video gets deleted.
Also note that the screen rec doesn’t make gifs. It makes a video file. I prefer this method over making gifs, because videos give a way better quality.
You can now upload WebM and MP4 videos to the site. They hold much more info than GIFs.
About the software choice I now use ShareX to grab my screen and then use ShutterEncoder to compress it down to 7MB.
I also believes that this doesn’t need to be enforced as rule. If you are selling scripts you are responsible for your own sales, and should be motivated to add previews. There’s reputation as well, as a customer I can trust certain scripter’s content and I don’t need a preview for it.
Yes you can set it to record certain parts of the screen only. I usually try to leave the output resolution as 720p and then feed it to ezgif to optimize, webp conversion brings down the file size astronomically
What about Licecap was recommended on Reddit. Looks good. Test here is 2 seconds 30 frames use gif transparency. 3.7mb Only weird thing is you press record and it it asks filename and settings then.
