Concr3te

Hey everyone,

Some of you might already know about this fantastic tool, called XFire. But there are also still people who don't know about it yet or hardly ever use it. This is particularly written for those who haven't ever heard about it and to remind people of it's usefulness.

XFire is basically an IM program, like there are quite a few. This means it has features like messaging, group messaging, voice chat and being able to directly transfer files, to your friends and community members. However, it's also got other, more interesting functions.

Features:

• Being able to see what games and on which server other people are playing, as well as the ability to join on them.
• In-game messaging, similar to Steam Overlay.
• Gaming stats (how long you've played different games, these stats are displayed on your profile page on the XFire website).
• An XFire "clan" system, like a group you can join with fellow gamers from Focused.
• A "Patch Channel", which automatically downloads the latest patches for your installed games.
• List of recently visited servers and ability to add favorite servers from within XFire.
• A screenshot feature, which enables you to make screenies and automatically uploads them to your profile page.
• A beta video feature which allows you to record your games much like FRAPS.
• FPS monitor and clock overlay.

I have been using this program for almost a year now and I am very satisfied with it. When -F- members are playing a game, like BF or TF 2, I can immediately see on what server they're on and join them. And I also use it to stay in touch with my cousin, who lives in the other side of the country.

Download:

XFire can be downloaded very easily by clicking on the link below, it will bring you to the official XFire website. (File size is 3 Mb).


Interface:

An example of one of those online profiles can be found here:

My Xfire profile

You can also add your XFire username to your forum profile, so people can see your XFire icon and status under your posts along with your other IM accounts.

Below are a couple of screenshots (taken with XFire) detailing the features of the in-game overlay:


All overlays can be "pinned" on top of your screen, so they are always in view even while gaming, or they can be hidden so they only show up when you invoke the overlay key combo (you can set this yourself). You can also use the transparency slider on each overlay element to set how opaque they are on the screen. In this example, they are all at about 50%.

In this screenshot, you can see:

• Top left: FPS meter.
• Top right: Clock.
• Bottom left: Contact list.
• Bottom right: Alerts window.

Here is an example of the "pinned" FPS meter after I hide the overlay:


We have an XFire Group for Focused Gaming which places fellow members in a group at the bottom of your friends list for easily seeing where your friends are playing or from where you can permanently add new people to your friends list.

All you need to do is login to the XFire site with your username and password and request entry to the group while on the group page.

If you really want to promote Focused Gaming, you can also set your custom status to "focusedgaming.com", so all of your XFire friends can see where you're from and might take the time to check us out.

HBrutusH

Would this be the place to post our Xfire names?

Bommando

I think it would be far easier for everyone to just join the group, since you can just add people straight from there once it appears in your list.

EDIT: You can also add your XFire username to your forum profile now, so your XFire status shows up next to your other IM accounts. The icon even changes to the game you're playing if you're in-game, so people can see straight from the forums if you're playing.

XCannon

Ah yes xfire, I guess they finally got the TF2 bug fixed. I haven't used it since I started playing tf2.

Bommando

Yep, even the overlay works as long as you don't have FRAPS running at the same time.

I have updated the OP with a couple of overlay examples. Do check XFire out if you haven't already, it's really feature-rich and stable. I hear a lot of people asking how to take screenshots and such in each game, when you could just do it all from the same place on XFire.

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NorCalRoach

I haven't used x-fire in a while (about 3 years ago). At the time it was pretty buggy. I couldn't get the voice chat working properly and the sound quality was bad even when I increased the sound quaility. I also had problems when teamspeak was running at the same time. Does the program work well w/ Teamspeak running at the same time?

Zoopy

I never had any problems with Team Speak and Xfire, although I never use the Xfire voice chat.

L10N

Wait so I won't see messages or anything in game with fraps running? I guess that is the root of my problems then.

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Concr3te

I have been using Xfire voice chat quite alot and the sound quality is perfect. No issues with it while running TS either.

Concr3te

This is a little third party plugin for Xfire I found when someone in my friends list used it:

Xfire Plus

I'm not entirely familiar with all it's features but I do know that I've you've always wanted to show everyone in your friends list what kind of music you're listening, this could be something for you. Theres also a plugin which enables you to run both MSN Messenger and Xfire simultaneously.