Resolution question

[wodin]

ORIGINAL: Llyranor

Just a clarification re: HTTR/COTA. The 3 default non-widescreen resolutions you can choose from might look stretched on a widescreen monitor (if that's the display option you go for instead of fixed aspect ratio), but you can actually change the resolution to pretty much anything you want by simply adding '-resolution 1920x1080' (or any other resolution, that just happens to be mine) as a launch command (in the target section of properties of the shortcut launcher).

I just tick the box use desktop resolution. Works great.

[Txema]

Joe 98,

Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against you. I recognize you as a fellow wargamer from these forums and I know that you are probably posting this out of loyalty to SSG and the excellent wargames that they produce. But this time I sincerely think that you are doing a disservice to SSG. Your last post is completely wrong. As me and other wargamers have posted:

- The Close Combat re-releases by Matrix Games do support wide screen resolutions and without stretching the game. I have just checked it in "Close Combat: The Longest Day", that is currently installed in my computer and works properly at 1920 x 1200 resolution. It is true that the menu screens are shown at lower resolutions, but just those screens. The actual battle is played at the chosen wide screen resolution (1920 X 1200 in my case) with no stretching, allowing the player to see a much larger portion of the map at the screen when playing.

- Conquest of the Aegean do support wide screen resolutions and without stretching the game. I have just checked it in my computer using 1920 X 1200 resolution, because I have it currently installed also. As in the case of Close Combat, the battle is played at the chosen wide screen resolution (1920 X 1200 in my case) with no stretching, allowing the player to see a much larger portion of the map at the screen when playing.

- War in the Pacific: Admirals Edition does support wide sreen resolutions and without stretching the game. This has been confirmed in this thread by "BigJ62", the guy that put the code to support the wide screen resolutions in that game.

- The upcoming Grisby's War in the East will support wide screen resolutions and without stretching the game. This has been confirmed in this thread by "Helpless", the guy that put the code to support the wide screen resolutions in that game.

Please, Joe 98, verify your statements prior to posting them. You have tried to show in this thread that most of the wargames recently released don't support wide screen resolutions, and we have shown you that you were wrong in an important portion of the titles listed in your post. Then you have stated that these titles allow wide screen resolutions but only if you want to play with stretched hexes or maps. In that post you were completely wrong. The bottom line is that the majority of the wargames recently released work perfectly in wide screen resolutions and a lot of customers are expecting that the new releases by SSG will work also properly in those resolutions, to provide crisp and clear graphics and a larger portion of the map displayed in the screen at a given time. I think that SSG should recognize that adding support for higher resolutions and wide screens must be a high priority for them because a lot of customers are asking for it and a lot of wargames are already offering it, and because their admittedly very good games deserve it !!!

SSG, please listen to your customers....

[Fred98]

ORIGINAL: wodin
Joe98 how come then CotA looks exactly the same on my widescreen and my old CRT and yet BiI looks terrible?

I have now learnt that most do not understand "screen resolution".

I have a CRT monitor that measures 19". It is a square screen that measures 28cm x 28cm

A few years ago I bought a 22" widescreen monitor. It measues 28cm high by (whatever) wide.

If I run Bttles in Italy ("BiI") , it looks EXACTLY THE SAME on both monitors. No difference!

Therefore I dont understand Wodin's comment above which I interpret as:

ORIGINAL: wodin
BiI looks wonderful on my old CRT and on my widescreen looks terrible.

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[JudgeDredd]

Joe - do you have black lines down the sides of your map area?

If I'm not mistaken, it could be that some people run it in a mode where it's not stretched (like you) but have black lines up the sides. On the other hand people might be running the game in another resolution which makes it look stretched (as Tzar007 has shown).

I don't know, as I only have a 17" flat panel and the game looks amazing. I'll give it a try at work tomorrow as I have a 22" monitor at work.

But I think what wodin and others are alluding to is that SSG should (in 2010) be providing games which can use all the real estate on widescreen monitors without black lines down the sides and without the stretching seen in Tzar007s screen shot.

[Fred98]

ORIGINAL: Tzar007

At screen resolutiuon 1680 x 1050

If anybody is seeing a stretched screen like the one above you need to "tick the box" in youre graphics software.

BTW the screen resolution on my widescreen monitor is 1680 x 1050 and I do not see the stretched screen above!

[JudgeDredd]

Can you show a screenie of the game running on your widescreen

[Nebogipfel]

hi judge,

don´t take it wrong.
If someone does like Chris, he has my respect too.

[Llyranor]

Yeah, you can make the SSG games look normal/unstretched at widescreen resolutions by using 'fixed aspect ratio' as a display option (which is why I do - I really dislike the stretched look), but the black bars are quite a waste of space.

[JudgeDredd]

So there are black bars at the sides? Which is what I think the people complaining about the res are on about - they have two options...utilise the entire space by stretching and therefore see the ugliness as shown above (and I would agree with that), or don't have it stretched, but lose all that nice valuable real estate on your screen and see a couple of ugly black bars down the sides.

Personally I have no problem with the black bars and would rather have that than the stretched look...however, I don't have a wide screen and therefore can't really justify my statement as I don't suffer from either issue.

Being a programmer I do understand about screen real estate and the differences, and I can guess what must be involved for a game company to produce a 2D map which covers all resolutions without looking stretched and ugly or having black bars down the sides...but we are in 2010 now and wide screen monitors are becoming the norm...so I agree with the view above that SSG should perhaps make this a priority task in the future.

However - my overall view is that the games are stupendous.

[TargAK]

These are the most common aspect rations.

•640x480 = 4:3
•720x480 = 15:10
•720x576 = 5:4
•800x600 = 4:3
•848x480 = 16:9
•960x600 = 16:10
•1024x600 = 17:10
•1024x768 = 4:3
•1152x864 = 4:3
•1280x720 = 16:9
•1280x768 = 15:9
•1280x800 = 16:10
•1280x960 = 4:3
•1280x1024 = 5:4
•1360x768 = 16:9
•1440x900 = 16:10
•1680x1050 = 16:10
•1920x1080 = 16:9
•1920x1200 = 16:10

Adding support for 16:9 and 16:10 would fill the gap. Heck just adding support for 16:10 would fix this for most users.

[Tzar007]

By Jove, we keep learning new tricks here. Never tried that before, but I went into the NVIDIA panel and checked the "fixed-aspect ratio" checkbox as suggested. Now Kharkov displays standard, not with the stretched look I've shown above. But as Judge Dredd and Llyranor mentions, I now have hefty black bars on each side of the screen (both probably occupies 20% of the screen). That's a terrible waste of real estate.

And you know what ? I have been playing for so many hours and hours with the "stretched" look that the regular looks funny now [:D]

It's somewhat cleaner since proportions are better kept, but everything is smaller too: the icons, the fonts, etc. I almost need to squint at the screen.

I am undecided which look I prefer. I guess I could use both.

[wodin]

Well if the game looks the same on a 19inch crt and a 19inch widescreen I must be tripping....I never tried it with black lines down the side...maybe this should be mentioned in the manual so people know how to use it.

Joe98 I've always liked you but it would be nice if you admit you are wrong about the other games....you implied they are all stretched and as the developers of the games have stated they are not on widescreen monitors and you don't need to have black lines down the side of the screen to stop them being stretched.

[strategicu]

You are right. I bought the best sony-vaio (laptop) and I am desperate vith the game ... Matrix, come on and add the support for 16:9

[JudgeDredd]

ORIGINAL: strategicu

You are right. I bought the best sony-vaio (laptop) and I am desperate vith the game ... Matrix, come on and add the support for 16:9

tbh if you bought a Sony Vaio, then least of your worries should be the resolution of a game! [:D]

[Fred98]

ORIGINAL: wodin

but it would be nice if you admit you are wrong about the other games....you implied they are all stretched and as the developers of the games have stated they are not on widescreen monitors and you don't need to have black lines down the side of the screen to stop them being stretched.

I admit I am wrong about COTA. I installed it again and checked

I have not re-installed WITP.

I am right about Close combat Longest Day

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[Fred98]

JD is right about the "Black Bars" as he calls them.

Here is what I see. The screen shot has lot a lot of clarity but note the hexes are not stretched:

Anothere thing to note: compare the hexes in the screen shot with the hex in my avatr. The lines are straight and not jagged.



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[Fred98]

ORIGINAL: wodin
.....maybe this should be mentioned in the manual so people know how to use it.

The issue does not fall within the game. The issue is with you're monitor and graphics card.

Before I bought my wide screen monitor, I asked in every game forum whether that game was compatible with a widescreen monitor. Every case was "YES"

However, just like Kharkov, it turned out to be "NO". Every game was stretched.

As I asked in every wargame forum how could it be stretched and I got no response and I finally got the answer on a computing forum. Tick the box in youre graphics cards software.

And so every wargame playes as a box 29cm x 29cm. Until I recently got War in Europe, This was designed for wide scren and fills the wide screen.

With SSG, I have complained that the graphics should use a higher resolution. I have complained that the game should fill a widescreen. The issues of higher resolution and of widescreen ore separate issues but always get confused.

PS: I have an old FPS that also sits in a square 29cm x 29cm. The develper brought out a new version and it fills a widescreen. So I know the difference betwen a sqare screen and a native widescreen game.

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[Fred98]

I just did some testing. My monitor officially a 22” wide screen monitor. It measures 29cm high by 47cm wide

Various screen sizes are as follows:

Kharkov: 29cm by 29cm Has black bars.

WITP AE: 29cm by 39cm Technically the developer is correct that it supports wide screen. But is not 47cm wide and therefore has black bars

Close Combat The Longest Day: 29cm by 37cm. Technically it has wide screen. But is not 47cm wide and therefore has black bars

Note they all have black bars. My memory is correct they all have black bars. I had made an assumption they were all 29cm by 29cm. I should not have assumed.

But none actually fill the screen !

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[JameyCribbs]

ORIGINAL: Joe 98

Close Combat The Longest Day: 29cm by 37cm. Technically it has wide screen. But is not 47cm wide and therefore has black bars

Then you are doing something wrong, because I own this game and it positively works with my 1440x900 widescreen LCD monitor without stretching or black bars.

Jamey

[wodin]

CotA fills the screen and isnt stretched....War in the East from what the developer says isnt stretched and no black bars.

My last post on the matter....just going around in circles.