Ahoy there mateys, and welcome to this quick introduction to setting up your streams for PC!
This guide is written very much from a perspective of someone starting out their streaming journey, but there might be tips/tricks/advice that applies to some more experienced streamers (and some tips/tricks that I’ve missed too).
You might have come here because you’re a PC gamer, or because you want to know more about using a console and capture card. Regardless, the tips below will apply to you.
Before we go in to detail about the different options, there are a few things that you’ll need regardless.
- A PC
- A twitch account
- Sea of Thieves
See, it really is simple to start out!
Which software to use
This is the first step in your decision making, and you may find yourself start off with one and then swap over to another.
OBS Studio
OBS Studio is probably the best well known broadcast software, and is released under Open Source license.
StreamLabs
StreamLabs is built on top of the OBS software, and comes pre-loaded with the ability to add alerts, widgets and other elements directly within the client. It also includes a Chatbot for chat moderation, and additional Streamer views to help manage your stream. Streamlabs operates a Freemium model, with some additional features/customisation tied to a paid subscription.
SE.Live!
Built on top of the OBS software, and comes pre-loaded with the ability to add alerts, widgets and other elements directly within the client. It also includes a Chatbot for chat moderation, and additional Streamer views to help manage your stream. Built by the team behind StreamElements.
Setting Up
For the purpose of this guide, I’m going to work on the assumption you pick OBS Studio
You will need to connect to your Twitch account when you launch OBS for the first time. Open Settings, click on Stream and choose the “Connect Account” option.
You’re going to need a scene for your gampeplay, and also scenes for while you are starting your stream, ending your stream, a BRB, and maybe even one for just chatting with your viewers.
You can set these up manually or import them from a StreamElements, or from a third party seller.
Setting Up Scenes
Find the “Scenes” section and click the “+” to add a new scene. Name the scene something that will help you identify what it will be when you begin broadcasting.
You will end up with multiple different scenes that you can switch to depending on what you are currently streaming, and you can switch from scene to scene within OBS.
Be sure to check out the Creator Crew asset packs for the most up to date graphics and audio for using in your scenes!
You can also set up transitions that will happen between each scene change.
Set up Stream Alerts
Stream alerts are great for letting everyone watching know that someone has followed, subscribed or donated to your channel or charity cause.
For more info on how to set up your Stream Alerts in Stream Elements, check out this Youtube video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LVRd2X4HvU
Set up a Chatbot or Cloudbot
A chatbot will help you moderate your chat and allow your viewers to use commands for pretty much anything you programme it to do! It will also help you set up stream labels that will allow you to keep track of recent viewer events (such as “most recent subscriber”).
For more info on how to set up StreamElements Chatbot, click here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgfswUlk9HU&t=103s
For more info on how to set up StreamLabs Cloudbot, click here - https://streamlabs.com/content-hub/support/chatbot-and-cloudbot
So that's it! A quick intro to streaming using PC. If there are any questions or comments, please let me know down below and I'll do my best to answer. I'll also try to keep this updated with any tips/tricks/recommendations that others might have.
So until next time, may the wind be in your sails and your barrels full of pineapples!
