In the late 90s, I wrote a book about my Dad’s upbringing in the small, port town of St. Helen’s, Oregon. As research, we did a couple of driving tours through “modern” St. Helens, with a tape recorder running, as he regaled me with loads of stories I had never heard before. There was something about that one-on-one time, with every turn along the roads unlocking a new memory, that was beyond special.
When he passed in 2012, I remembered that I had kept the tapes from that day, and after buying a used cassette player that I could hook up to my studio console and computer interface, I transferred them all to digital, and later shared them with the entire family. After all of this time, I still listen a couple of times a year, when I just want to hear his voice, as well as the love that comes through our mutual banter.
Knowing that TSTO is going to “die” on the 24th…the need/urge/panic to capture my town, which has given me so much pleasure through a very insane part of my life, is now “Job Number One” for the time we have remaining.
Here are three ways you can do the same.
First of all, Yes…there are rumors, and hacks, and some workarounds that will allow you to “host” your town on other servers. This is not for the faint of heart…or the Non-Tech-Savvy. Plus…it just keeps your town alive. It does not allow you to actually PLAY your town…which is tantamount to being outside the glass, as you watch a loved one in a coma, on life support. Meh…
LOW-RES SCREEN GRAB TOOL- EZ, But “meh” Results
This is the method EA gives us, by simply clicking the icon at the bottom of the “MOVE” page… You WILL NEED to have enough storage on your device to save the screen grab.
Be aware…to make this tool work, the final picture is LowRes (pixelated when you try to zoom in), and is not really suitable for printing and framing.
HIGH-RES- Cut and Paste- Great Results if you have the time!
This is not a new concept, and requires a bit of knowledge, regarding joining large pics together, using a graphics editing tool like PhotoShop or a Stitcher program. You will have to have a LOT of time to capture a full-size town. And about 4-8 times as much more time to stitch it together.
I strongly suggest doing the screen grabs and storing them off, even if you aren’t going to take the time to do the stitching. The High-Res pics are waaaaaay better than the aforementioned Low Res version. And in the end, you will have a town pic that is suitable for framing, or perhaps even using as wallpaper in your bedroom, bathroom, or “person-cave” (we don’t call them Man Caves anymore). At Full Resolution…the final town will be HUGE!! (the small example from my town is 24″ wide at 300 dpi…).
DIGITAL VIDEO RECORDINGS – BEST results for memories.
There are SO MANY aspects of TSTO that I will miss, that just a static screen shot isn’t going to cut it. Sounds, Music, Charcter Dialogue, and more…can all be captured. And as a bonus, with many of the programs, you can also record a narration of what you are capturing. This may have the added benefit of being a snapshot of YOU at this point in your life, and help your loved ones understand what the hell you have been doing the past 12+ years!
*None of my kids played. All of my grandkids tried to play, and moved on to more “sophisticated shooter games,” while affectionately remembering that I was obsessed enough to write a book about it.
But, I digress…
Again…You will need TONS of space on your device…and if you want to convert them to YouTube vids, or even edited MP4 videos, you will need an editing program. But, if you just want to save them, as is…they can be saved to your cloud storage, or device.
I will post a more detailed version of a “How To,” covering the program I use, on Monday.
SET SOME TIME ASIDE. Don’t let the final hours creep up on you. Call in Sick! Order In! Do whatever it takes to take the time.
DO THE SCREEN GRABS at the very least (after doing the low-res version as a safety).