Last request(s)

[Pheonix Starflare]

Hi milo, I cant remember if you've already sent off a gold version of SS, but i have a couple of last minute requests I thought I'd bring up.
My new computer is a laptop with a wide-screen ratio (not true widescreen like a 16x9 tv, but more like a 16x10) and its slightly annoying that SS doesnt seem to work well with this screen. In several other games, if the screen is set to a resolution in a more normal ratio (1024x768 for example) black bars appear to the left and right of the screen, so that there is no distortion from stretching the image across the screen. In SS this doesnt happen (dont know if its a result of the graphics driver not doing something it's supposed to or stemming from the game itself) and there arent any resolutions in a close ratio. This means that normally round objects, like planets, appear ovoid and change shape when I roll, slightly disconcerting to say the least. So, i dont know how hard it is to add supported resolutions, or to add a check-box that tells SS you have a widescreen and to add bars to the left and right edges of the screen (again, if this is actually coming from the game and not the graphics driver).

The other thing relates (sorta) to joystick support. I dont know if anyone else has tried to play SS with a gamepad (i used to play mostly with an actual joystick, but I've gotten a new gamepad that I like (and will like more when the drivers actually work for it (the device-specific drivers actually cause it to cease functioning, while the default windows ones run it, but read the d-pad as a hat, one analog stick as the actual joystick, and the other as the throttle/z-axis)) and I'd sorta like to be able to map controls that are normally buttons (throttle up/down) to a joystick axis. Mapping the throttle to the axis doesnt work well, as when the stick is in it's rest position, throttle is at 50%, not zero. On a related note, it'd be awesome if at some point you could adjust joystick deadzone from within the game (and possibly have a seperate one for each axis?) as it would make trial-and-error adjustment of dead zones so much easer.
Now, some of my issues with the game pad may be able to be cleared up once the driver/profiler software gets working correctly (at least their tech-support seems to repsond to e-mails promptly). Also, as far as configuring joysticks, if there was another tab in the controls screen that listed all detected buttons/axis on the selected joystick and displayed what they were configured for, that would make it much easier, i think, even if you couldnt edit from that screen what button does what.

[Pheonix Starflare]

This is not a bump [;)]

[Pheonix Starflare]

Please milo, some type of response?

[Pheonix Starflare]

milo, i tried running Starshatter with -win at the end of the command line and the attached picture is what resulted. I'm not sure if that's what you intended.

[TheDeadlyShoe]

Why, what's wrong with it? Heh.

[Pheonix Starflare]

Its not centered at all. Now is this a real problem? no, but its frustrating that it cant figure this whole widescreen thing out on its own like most other games, and I thought milo'd want to know his suggestion had this effect.

[TheDeadlyShoe]

Ah. Well, I think -win is Windowed mode. There's no window drag bars, though...

[John DiCamillo]

The -win option is only there for debugging purposes (if I run the game full screen and have it stop at a breakpoint in the code, it will hang the computer). It was never intended as an end-user feature. I only suggested it to Phoenix as a possible work around for the stretching problem he is experiencing on his widescreen laptop.

Again, I have no idea why Starshatter behaves differently than any other game on your laptop. I haven't been able to find any useful clues on the Internet yet. Please try replacing the -win option with -d3d5. This will put the game back in full screen mode and maximize the amount of diagnostic crap it outputs to the error log. Then send me the error log.

[Pheonix Starflare]

Done and done. You're still milo@starshatter.com, right?