Resolution question

captain-pike · Post by **captain-pike** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 7:28 pm

This question is probably for Vice, unless someone else has run across the same problem. Currently I'm using a widescreen monitor at 1900 x 1200. Soon I will be switching over to a projector that is widescreen as well but, the resolution is 800 x 480. I did a test today with the projector and couldn't manually set the resolution to 800 x 480. I had the option of 640 x 480, 800 x 600, 1024 x 768, and optimized. I know optimized is supposed to set the resolution at the same settings as the desktop. However, I don't think that it is. The reason being, the text for the menus and ingame are extremely small. They also look distorted leading me to believe the game isn't running at the native resolution. My question is, can I manually set the resolution to 800 x 480? Maybe in the config files or some hidden way?

tha_rami · Post by **tha_rami** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 7:52 pm

Try looking for a file ending in .cfg in the game directory, open it in notepad and change the line with the resolution to 800x480. Maybe it works?

captain-pike · Post by **captain-pike** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 8:45 pm

Originally posted by tha_rami
Try looking for a file ending in .cfg in the game directory, open it in notepad and change the line with the resolution to 800x480. Maybe it works?

Thanks, I gave it a shot. The text still isn't rendering correctly. It must be running native when optimized. Something else must be causing the text problems then. I miss typed earlier the native resolution of the projector is 854 x480. Has anyone else seen something similar?

tha_rami · Post by **tha_rami** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 8:55 pm

I guess waiting for Vice is your best option, in that case.

MMaggio · Post by **MMaggio** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 9:27 pm

Capt. Pike. Can you U2U me?
Or, better yet, contact me via ICQ if you have it.

[Edited on 9-28-2008 by MMaggio]

Post by **Vice** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 9:46 pm

So your native desktop resolution is set to 854 x480? If so, that should be what the game picks up with the optimized mode. However, 854X480 may not be a detected/compatible resolution with the DirectX system used. Please download and run this program, which will display all available detected (via DirectX) compatible 3D resolutions available on your system:

http://www.starwraith.com/ShowResolutions.zip

Then just let me know if 854X480 appears on the list.

Edit: Also, keep in mind that 480 vertical pixels is really low resolution, so many graphics details will appear very blocky/pixelated, including 3D rendered text. A resolution of at least 1024X768 is recommended, preferably 1280X960 or higher, or similar widescreen resolutions.

[Edited on 9-28-2008 by Vice]

captain-pike · Post by **captain-pike** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 12:51 am

Thanks for the response vice. The native on the projector is 854 x 480 but windows runs at 848 x 480. It looks like 848 x 480 is supported by DirectX. I think I'm expecting too much out of an old home theater projector. I was going to use it for my upcoming simpit project. I'd probably be better off buying a cheap projector with a 1280 x 720 or 1366 x 768 native resolution. I'm trying to keep the aspect ratio 16:9 instead of 4:3. For now, I'll just keep using my large LCD running 1900 x 1200. I'm totally in love with the game btw.

Post by **Vice** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 1:04 am

Ok, interesting, I guess six pixels makes the difference. Depending on the distance you sit from the screen, 16:9 would probably be better for your project, plus it just looks really cool

1280X720 would be much better, 1920X1200 is great. Is the LCD too small to meet the requirements of your design?

One other option is to use the custom text mod option to change the size of the in-game text font for a larger appearance. This might make it look better and more readable at 848X480. It has to be balanced to not be so large as to overwrite other lines of text, but you can probably bump up the size a few points for easier viewing. A different font (like arial) might also look better at the lower resolution. To try this out, create a text file in the game's program folder with the filename setfont.txt and in the first line enter the specific name of the font you want to use (arial for example), then on the second line enter the point size (try 12 or higher), in line 3 enter the number 0 and in line 4 enter the number 1, then save the file, launch the game. Each time you make a change to the file, relaunch the game to apply the new settings. You might need to tweak the size and/or font setting a bit to get a look you like, but you should find a combination that looks good on your system at that resolution.

Glad you're enjoying the game

[Edited on 9-29-2008 by Vice]