4K and other Resolution Issues.

[ralphtricky]

There are two possible fixes.

Fix #1, Full screen mode with resolution change. This will increase the size of the entire screen, but it may make things a bit fuzzier.

Edit your Documents/My Games/The Operational Art of War IV/Opart 4 file and add the following three lines to the end. 1024 and 768 are just examples, you can put in anything that your monitor supports. You can find those by right-clicking on the desktop and going to Display Settings. There should be a drop down list of supported values.

ChangeScreenResolution=Y
ScreenY=768
ScreenX=1024

Fix #2, change the fonts.

Edit your Documents/My Games/The Operational Art of War IV/Opart 4 Fonts file and replace the contents as a starting point. We'll add some of the best from the community into a patch, and they can, of course, be downloaded from the forums.

There are examples here. I'll try to update this post as better ones become available.
tm.asp?m=4378941

Long term, I'm going to look into an option to 'rightsize' all the dialogs, or probably just the graphics on the dialogs. I don't have an ETA for that, and it may make things blurrier. Rightsizing the graphics will be the first thing I try. I need to fix the 'critical' bugs first.

[zakblood]

might be a good idea to make this a sticky, as over time, it may get more than a few hits etc.

for windows 10 etc, it may also be noted that atm this is some issues with high DPI settings and some higher res used, 4k and above, no fixes or patches out atm but there are work arounds

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http://www.ficpa.org/content/News/BizTechNews/TechTips/Fix-Fuzzy-Text.aspx

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https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2900023/some-desktop-applications-may-appear-blurred-on-high-dpi-displays

started with windows 8 ^^ but same error applies to windows 10 all versions.

not seen in 1920x1080, but higher ones and higher DPI, the problem happens more often, not an game issue, more of a windows one.

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https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-adjust-high-dpi-scaling-in-windows-10/

for me so far, this one link above gives a good reasons why it works and doesn't work and some advice on what can be done so solve or at least get round some of the issues with windows 10 anyway, with a slight alteration and does it in guide format so is easy to follow...

[cdcool]

That's it in a nutshell

[cdcool]

Does fix #1 make the fonts larger?

[zakblood]

just be glad you didn't buy one of the newer demo'ed 16k monitors running at 15260×8640 using 64x more memory than 1080p

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16K_resolution

enjoy, and laugh, you know you want to[:D]

[cdcool]

[:D]

[aperfecturkel]

ORIGINAL: cdcool
Does fix #1 make the fonts larger?

It does, in a way - scaling the resolution down and setting ChangeScreenResolution to "Y" will force Windows to change its desktop resolution when the game is launched; this will render a smaller area, but stretch it to the size of your display, inherently bumping the size of everything. It'll also make things blurrier, but for people with 1440p, the drop to 1080p isn't that dramatic.

The thing that was throwing me off is that I expected "full screen" mode to hide the OS elements like the taskbar and Alt menus at the top, but it's more of a way to force an automatic resolution change in Windows when the game is running. I had originally started looking for the FS option not to change res, but just to cover up the taskbar and such for a more immersive experience without having to change any OS settings myself. But that's okay!


As to the DPI scaling issues, they...tend to hit games that use the Windows UI and fonts, like CMANO for example. Unfortunately a whooole lot of grog games with older pedigrees rely on that UI, so Win10's DPI scaling (which, to be fair, is MASSIVELY improved over Win8's) has started becoming a problem for grog gamers with newer rigs.

The CMANO devs, I know, have been working hard to rework their UI to play well with the scaling for higher-DPI displays. I think Ralph's effort to 'rightsize' elements of the UI is a great idea.

[cdcool]

ORIGINAL: aperfecturkel

ORIGINAL: cdcool
Does fix #1 make the fonts larger?

It does, in a way - scaling the resolution down and setting ChangeScreenResolution to "Y" will force Windows to change its desktop resolution when the game is launched; this will render a smaller area, but stretch it to the size of your display, inherently bumping the size of everything. It'll also make things blurrier, but for people with 1440p, the drop to 1080p isn't that dramatic.

The thing that was throwing me off is that I expected "full screen" mode to hide the OS elements like the taskbar and Alt menus at the top, but it's more of a way to force an automatic resolution change in Windows when the game is running. I had originally started looking for the FS option not to change res, but just to cover up the taskbar and such for a more immersive experience without having to change any OS settings myself. But that's okay!

I don't like the way that sounds

[aperfecturkel]

Indeed - it works, buuut I wouldn't call it optimal. I saw your up-sized font INI post, and that's I think the better tack to take if it's just the fonts that are too small and not the other UI elements. Though in my experience, if set too large, the fonts in some places - buttons, mainly - start to outgrow the area they're allotted.

I've found a decent up-tick for my 1440p display is a 2pt increase for each font, except for the Huge Map place-names (which I left default). Noticibly larger, without expanding over the borders of their button. [:)]

[cdcool]

ORIGINAL: aperfecturkel

Indeed - it works, buuut I wouldn't call it optimal. I saw your up-sized font INI post, and that's I think the better tack to take if it's just the fonts that are too small and not the other UI elements. Though in my experience, if set too large, the fonts in some places - buttons, mainly - start to outgrow the area they're allotted.

I've found a decent up-tick for my 1440p display is a 2pt increase for each font, except for the Huge Map place-names (which I left default). Noticibly larger, without expanding over the borders of their button. [:)]

yep, the Fonts are a personal preference and can overlap if too large. I have it on two computers with two different 4K monitors, the fonts need to be adjusted a bit for one of them. Also depends on your Windows settings, I have the Display Fonts set larger on one, which may look huge on one and not on the other.

[kaliyama]

Is there a link to a post describing what the 4K issues actually are?

[ralphtricky]

ORIGINAL: kaliyama

Is there a link to a post describing what the 4K issues actually are?

Basically, the screen elements aren't scaled to take up 10% percent of the screen or anything similar the way that some engines allow you to do. They are set to exact pixel dimensions and user defined font sizes. If you can read 10 point font on your current monitor you should be fine. It was tested on a 40 inch 4k monitor in the art department and worked fine there [8D] If you have problems you may need to look at using a smaller resolution or increasing the font size. I'm also working on a better solution that will be released 'soon'. I'm not sure yet exactly what that will be, I've got a couple of ideas. If someone has a 109 inch 16k monitor I can borrow, I could get done faster [:D]

[cdcool]

Needed are definitions of what each setting is associated with and a picture for the Opart 4 Fonts.ini

[kaliyama]

Yeah that would be murder on my eyes you'll post here when it's fixed?

[zakblood]

you can now alter in manually, but yes it's being worked on so if you wish to wait, that's also fine

[DanNeely]

Could someone post a few screenshots of what the game looks like in 4k with larger fonts but otherwise native resolution? A 4k screen is going to be my xmas gift for myself, so I'd like to know what game would look like before putting down any money.

[zakblood]

4k screen is rather a strange one, as size alters a lot, as you can get a 4k screen at 23,8in at 2560x1440 Resolution

but which may not look as good as a 27in at 1920x1080 Resolution for many reasons, the panel, how the screen has been made and designed etc

look for

Contrast Ratio Brightness Response Time Analogue Input DVI-D Input HDMI Input Year On-Site Warranty.

and compare

i use a 32" 1920X1080 IPS WIDESCREEN LED MONITOR plus a 40" 1920X1080 VA FREESYNC CURVED WIDESCREEN LCD and 5 others ranging from 29" to 22" and laptops for testing with 14 and 17" screens.

2 different tech's, LED and LCD

but other parts are different as well, the price, the response times, the contrast ration etc and the list goes on.

LCDs allow displays to be much thinner than cathode ray tube (CRT) technology. This is because an LED TV uses light-emitting diodes for back lighting as opposed to the CCFLs of conventional LCD TVs. While in LCD fluorescent lights in an LCD TVs are always behind the screen.

so which one is better? that's a wallet call and depends on your budget, larger is always better than smaller, faster response time is always better than slower, in FPS anyway,...

so to confuse you even more, what do you use now? etc tech and size, and are you going bigger in screen size or just in resolution?

as i've known many people who went from a 27 or 29" monitor to a same size just to get a higher resolution find out it wasn't worth the effort for what they got, so look first and ask yourself, what games do i play, and how many support it?

eg: so if your like me who uses 1920x1080 in 1 or 2 sizes, 32" and 40" and then goto a 27 or 29" just to get 2560x1440 Resolution or bigger 2560X1080 or 3440x1440 or 3840X2160

then expect some serious draw backs unless you pay top end and don't get one with slower or lower Contrast Ratio Brightness Response Time less Analogue Input less DVI-D Input less HDMI Input and a 1 Year On-Site Warranty only.


but hopefully someone will post a 4k screen shot and host it somewhere for you, as the best shot will be too large to host here i'd guess

[cdcool]

ORIGINAL: DanNeely

Could someone post a few screenshots of what the game looks like in 4k with larger fonts but otherwise native resolution? A 4k screen is going to be my xmas gift for myself, so I'd like to know what game would look like before putting down any money.

Just get it, I have two 4K monitors, each needs different font settings and the looks great on both.
You may need or want to change some fonts and make them larger.

[DanNeely]

I've seen other people complaining that it's still bad; which is why I'm asking for screenshots so I can make my own mind up.

[cdcool]

ORIGINAL: DanNeely

I've seen other people complaining that it's still bad; which is why I'm asking for screenshots so I can make my own mind up.

I posted a screen shot in the other forum, in a related related topic. I don't see anything to complain about.