5shekelcheats VS advancedfx

I have used it since ~2007 in CS 1.6 when it was called Mirv Demo Tool, and now I use it to edit CS:GO fragmovies. It revolutionized content creation in CS 1.6 / GoldSrc and even to this day it is a necessity for serious video editors in games such as CS:GO.

I use HLAE (a third-party software) to record, which also allows you to access more types of effects and features in Counter-Strike games mostly.

You need to remember they also use HLAE, so its possible they used it to modify the game slightly and unlock some normally locked settings to make the game look better. As well as the live observer and the replay are two different CSGO instances.

For more advanced features and control, you can use HLAE:

The main tool I used is HLAE, which some people here probably have heard of. It is mainly used in the CS:GO frag editing community and it is extremely versatile. In this case I exported 3 sequences of uncompressed .tga files straight out of the game, one being the base layer with just the camera and the map, so no viewmodel, no players, and no swings. Second layer is nothing except the viewmodel and a green screen plane instead of the world. This way I can easily key out the green and keep only the viewmodel on a separate layer so I can composite it on top of the CGI (the swings and the terrorist) in case the viewmodel obstructs it. Otherwise the CGI would just be in front of the viewmodel when it's actually behind it. Third layer is just particles and effects, like muzzle flashes, smoke, debris etc. I have this for the same reason as with the viewmodel layer.

(https://github.com/advancedfx/advancedfx)

For movie making many professional movie makers still use HLAE these days (https://www.advancedfx.org/), which is free but very cumbersome to use, especially frustrating for beginners (no GUI). Something freemium like Allstar Studio might be easier for beginners (https://allstar.gg). Disclosure: I happen to be the lead developer of HLAE and also had chat with someone from Allstar Studio in the past.

It's pretty much a tool used to have more control in demos (mainly for movie-making). Camera on track and stuff like this. Just hit up their Website for more info.