Demo Record Plugin
If you installed a Source Unpack version of Portal, you do not need to install this plugin or setup auto run, it's already installed.
The Demo Record Plugin is a Source Engine plugin that automatically records demos for you. Demos are recordings of your gameplay that can be played back in-game and used externally for timing purposes.
Installation
Download the correct version from the releases on GitHub. If you're on Unpack, you should already have the plugin, if you're
on Steampipe, you need to download speedrun_demorecord-2013.dll.
Next, go to your Portal installation directory, and put the .dll in the portal/ directory.
Usage
With the plugin installed in the directory, go into the game console and type plugin_load speedrun_demorecord-<version>,
and replace <version> with which version you downloaded.
You should see a message in the console like:
[Speedrun] Speedrun_demorecord Loaded
Now you will have access to these commands:
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
speedrun_start | Loads the save stored in speedrun_save, or speedrun_map if no save is found, and starts auto recording demos. |
speedrun_stop | Stops the currently running speedrun if there is one, ending all demos. |
speedrun_map | Sets the map to start a speedrun from, defaults to testchmb_a_00. |
speedrun_save | Sets the save to start a speedrun from, defaults to none. |
speedrun_segment | Enables segmenting, where the plugin will start recording when you load a map, and stop recording when you exit the map, useful for IL. |
speedrun_dir | Sets the directory where demos will be stored, defaults to ./, meaning the base directory. |
It's recommended to set speedrun_dir to something like demos, that way your base directory doesn't get overcrowded with files.
Most runners use something called "vault save", which is a save that skips the first 53 seconds of waiting in the vault. You can learn more about this here.
The basic usage is to load the plugin, and type speedrun_start to start a speedrun. If during your speedrun, you want to
"reset", just execute that command again. Once you finish a run, you will see a folder named <year>.<month>.<day>-<hour>.<minute>.<second>
(example: 2023.05.10-05.03.58) in your speedrun directory, which contains all the demos for that run.
Auto Run
It can be annoying to have to remember to load the plugin every time you start the game, so most players use a VDF file to automatically load the plugin.
First, go to your Portal installation directory, and navigate to portal/addons/. If the addons folder doesn't exist, create it.
Then create a file named speedrun_demorecord.vdf with the following contents:
Plugin
{
file "speedrun_demorecord-<version>.dll"
}
While appropriately replacing <version> with the version you downloaded. Now when you start the game, the plugin
will automatically load.