HELP with Display Modes

Mentat · Post by **Mentat** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 12:27 am

Could some one please explain the different display modes? FS LOCKED, WM etc....

Thanks

Post by **Vice** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 1:40 am

From the game's instructions:

SCREEN MODE - This option offers four modes, Optimized (WM), Optimized (WM) Max VSync, Locked (FS), and Locked (FS) Max VSync mode. The Optimized modes run in a window and are generally considered the best modes to run the game in. The locked modes force the game to run in a full screen mode, regardless of what resolution you select. The Optimized modes let you see any Windows dialogue boxes that might open and supports alt-tab to toggle between the game and other applications. Running the game in a Locked mode may cause unpredictable behavior if alt-tab is used, but can allow the game to run in a lower resolution in full screen (although the performance benefit will likely be minimal compared to the Optimized modes running at a higher resolution). The Max VSync options remove the framerate limit so the game can run at framerates up to the refresh rate.

Mentat · Post by **Mentat** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 1:47 am

thanks for the info. Just never seen a game that offered those options before. what made you decide to set it up like that?

Post by **Vice** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 1:59 am

Legacy support mostly. On some older/low end configurations, particularly integrated 3D video, using full screen can sometimes improve performance a bit and/or resolve some display issues. Sometimes certain driver versions work better in one mode or the other. So if a player really wants to enjoy the game, but their system doesn't quite meet the game's minimum requirements, they can sometimes still get it to work or improve performance by using some of the optional display modes and settings, including 16-bit, low detail, lower resolutions, etc. Some players also want to use a monitor/display that requires a specific full screen resolution. Since there are compromises and advantages for both, I wanted to support both.

[Edited on 10-2-2009 by Vice]

Mentat · Post by **Mentat** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 4:16 am

something i was thinking about. Does this game take advantage of dual/quad core cpu? also what about 32bit and 64bit and ram usage. being that you are the dev. It would be so nice to see a game finally take advantage of those things. Where are you with those items?

Post by **Vice** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 4:26 am

Multiple cores can help performance, but 64-bit versus 32-bit wouldn't provide any significant benefits for this game unless, for example, you needed memory above 4 GB for a really memory hungry mod or something.

Mentat · Post by **Mentat** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 4:58 am

is there a maximum amount of memory that legends uses? also is the game optimized for dual or quad core cpus?

Post by **Vice** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 5:17 am

The default game typically uses about 1.0-1.2 GB of free available physical memory maximum. By optimized, are you referring to specifically threaded for? If so, none on a base code level (although there may be some on other systems such as mp). Additional cores tend to simply provide improved performance consistency and results, particularly with other tasks running in the background. You can try toying around with the affinity manually, but generally speaking, a default multi-core setup seems to run things with optimal results for what it's capable of.

TGS · Post by **TGS** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 7:57 pm

Another little feature I've noticed of the locked modes vs the optimized is that in locked the windows screen saver will not activate. Which I have had happen a few times when I've walked away for extended periods of time only to come back... hit the keyboard and realize that my game has effectively crashed and I've lost any progress I've made because for some reason the screen saver and evochron don't cooperate.

The screensaver seems to have the same effect on Optimized WM that alt-tab has on Locked FS mode.