Scaling for 4K - concept art

[ralphtricky]

This is a proof of concept, I did this for the buttons first, but since everything is a component, the rest should be fairly simple. The buttons are fully functional. This is 1.5 magnification. You'll notice that all the text is still crisp. It will need to be paired with one of the font files on this forum.

You can stop here, the rest is inside baseball.

I built a complete dialog system for TOAW, most things will 'float' and be bigger or smaller to fit the size of the item. People are already doing this with the fonts to customize their experience. This is an extension of that. I plan to add a 'scalingFactor' which will let people upsize (or downsize) all the graphics in the dialogs. I plan on putting the first version out soon so that people will have a better experience. Now that I've done one, most of the rest should be simple, the ones which will cause me problems are the ones which rely on mouse position, mainly the unit dialog on the top right which lets you mouse over the units to see the full stack. I plan to put this option into the font file so that someone could post one complete file for a favorite resolution.

Ralph

[Meyer1]

Looking good, thanks.

[Aetius_Varras]

Thanks[:)]

[Shadrach]

Wow, that's awesome, a really great idea [:)]
If this can work then TOAW will truly be put into the modern era and will be the high-end benchmark to judge other games by (well it already is). Other wargames tend to ignore scaling totally to the detriment of their users.

Couple of questions:
- Is the font size also scaled relative to the dialog or will it still only use the font size from the ini file?
- Is there an individual scale for each dialog or will it scale all from a set number? Personally I am fine with one factor, but others might want different settings for each one.
- It will only scale the dialogs, not the map graphics? Because I think it will be better if those are sharp like now.

Really looking forward to seeing this in practice. [:)]

If you need someone to quickly test, I'll be happy to give some feedback. I have one 27" 2560x1440 @150% scaling, one 1920x1200 @125%, and a 4K TV connected, usually at 1080p @150% but can change to 4K for testing.

[zakblood]

thanks for the work and quick fixes ralphtrick, hope more see the post and appreciate how much effort and time your company has put in to sort out any small issue that have popped up so quickly

[&o][&o][&o]

[cdcool]

Looking good!

[alwaysdime]

Sweet! I can't wait.

[ralphtricky]

ORIGINAL: Shadrach

Wow, that's awesome, a really great idea [:)]
If this can work then TOAW will truly be put into the modern era and will be the high-end benchmark to judge other games by (well it already is). Other wargames tend to ignore scaling totally to the detriment of their users.

Couple of questions:
- Is the font size also scaled relative to the dialog or will it still only use the font size from the ini file?
- Is there an individual scale for each dialog or will it scale all from a set number? Personally I am fine with one factor, but others might want different settings for each one.
- It will only scale the dialogs, not the map graphics? Because I think it will be better if those are sharp like now.

Really looking forward to seeing this in practice. [:)]

If you need someone to quickly test, I'll be happy to give some feedback. I have one 27" 2560x1440 @150% scaling, one 1920x1200 @125%, and a 4K TV connected, usually at 1080p @150% but can change to 4K for testing.

This a scaling of 1.5x.

The maps aren't affected. There is 1 scaling factor. It's stored with the fonts. I'm hoping the community can provide different files for different resolutions. I decided to scale the individual graphics so that the text can still be crisp.

The exception is the counters on the map unit panel on the top right. I scaled those even though they have text because of the complexity of scaling the text separately. I may provide an option to use huge counters for those sometime in the future, although that makes the question of whether or not they should be scaled in that case, I would say they wouldn't be scaled in that case.

[Meyer1]

Thank you.

[gbaby]

It is strange, but I don't want any changes at all. The default is perfect for my setup.

The only issue I have is the mouse pointer positioning gets whacky in the combat planning panel as the text updates on panel after selecting a unit, window/panel resizes to fit text, and the pointer hot spot remains static but panel contents shifted left. I can still select units I want, but have to be to the right of the unit. Makes it a bit difficult sometimes, but nothing I can't live with.

[Meyer1]

ORIGINAL: gbaby

It is strange, but I don't want any changes at all. The default is perfect for my setup.

The only issue I have is the mouse pointer positioning gets whacky in the combat planning panel as the text updates on panel after selecting a unit, window/panel resizes to fit text, and the pointer hot spot remains static but panel contents shifted left. I can still select units I want, but have to be to the right of the unit. Makes it a bit difficult sometimes, but nothing I can't live with.

Monitor size and resolution that are you using? Because at 27 inch and 2560x1440 things are pretty small right here [:)]

[Meyer1]

As a workaround I'm using the "magnifixer" software, so that I can have a fixed magnifier above the Unit panel.

[ralphtricky]

ORIGINAL: gbaby

It is strange, but I don't want any changes at all. The default is perfect for my setup.

The only issue I have is the mouse pointer positioning gets whacky in the combat planning panel as the text updates on panel after selecting a unit, window/panel resizes to fit text, and the pointer hot spot remains static but panel contents shifted left. I can still select units I want, but have to be to the right of the unit. Makes it a bit difficult sometimes, but nothing I can't live with.

That's fixed in the patch.

[gbaby]

ORIGINAL: Meyer1
Monitor size and resolution that are you using? Because at 27 inch and 2560x1440 things are pretty small right here [:)]

2560x1440 on a 32 inch. I have three of them, but only using one with TOAW IV. The default sizes seem to fit perfect, haven't adjusted a thing.

[gbaby]

ORIGINAL: ralphtrick

ORIGINAL: gbaby

It is strange, but I don't want any changes at all. The default is perfect for my setup.

The only issue I have is the mouse pointer positioning gets whacky in the combat planning panel as the text updates on panel after selecting a unit, window/panel resizes to fit text, and the pointer hot spot remains static but panel contents shifted left. I can still select units I want, but have to be to the right of the unit. Makes it a bit difficult sometimes, but nothing I can't live with.

That's fixed in the patch.

Great!!! But I'm not waiting for anything, got the bug to keep playing as it is, no matter what. Superb UI updates, worth the purchase just for that, though I do like all the gems added.

[Meyer1]

ORIGINAL: gbaby

ORIGINAL: Meyer1
Monitor size and resolution that are you using? Because at 27 inch and 2560x1440 things are pretty small right here [:)]

2560x1440 on a 32 inch. I have three of them, but only using one with TOAW IV. The default sizes seem to fit perfect, haven't adjusted a thing.

Thanks. 32 would be nice... Wonder if I would like the curved ones. Nowadays most of those size monitor are curved...

[Shadrach]

Maybe in the future I will find myself a nice 32", 1440p, IPS, 100hz, low response-time screen and bring her home. But for now too bloody expensive, and 4K is out of the question for various reasons, liike the power needed to run ut, the fact many games (like this one) don't fully support it, and Windows itself isn't really ready for it. (also 4K is kinda stupid, ssshhhhh)

1440p on a 27" is really nice though, and TOAW4 is fine with larger fonts, with a couple of minor issues, like the Unit Info box.

I've found the bigger the screen gets, the more head movement you must do to take it all in, which could lead you to need to sit further away again, and the circle continues. And with a larger screen, more of that eye-searing glare at night, so you need to run f.lux just to be able to look at it.

Can't imagine how 3x32" would look, pretty cool I guess, but all that white light, man.

[gbaby]

ORIGINAL: Shadrach

Can't imagine how 3x32" would look, pretty cool I guess, but all that white light, man.

Not as bad as you think. The monitors have their own eco and ergo sensors (BenQ BL3200PT) and keep adjusted for dark rooms, bright days, etc.

You do not have to sit further away and there is no eye strain. Being 61, I can't handle too much eye strain these days. But being retired, I spend a lot of time gaming with these monitors and I'm not blind yet!

At 2560x1440, you really do need the exra realistate and 32 inches seems a perfect fit for TOAW IV, for a change.