Matrix Games Forums

I have laptop with native resolution of 1920x1080. When I started the game, it started full screen but then it shrinked to a window which displays only part of the screen. Only selectable resolution is 1280x720. It does not work in full screen and in windowed mode, there is only part of the information. When I try to select “full screen” from the menu, it gives error message: “could not set the video mode”. Is there any fix for this problem or should I refund the game because it is unplayable. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling but it did not help. I bought also SC WAW, and it runs fine fullscreen but there also is only that one resolution 1280x720 in selection screen.

Hi Vol,

Sorry to hear about the trouble.

From your description, your native resolution is 1920x1080, however since the game is reporting 1280x720, this indicates that you have a 150% scaling in effect for your laptop. Essentially even though the OS is telling you 1920x1080, when you scale at 150% the actual resolution you are using for your laptop is 1280x720.

However the game should in this case just report to you your default 1920x1080 in the setup and even in the SETTINGS screen. I suspect you are running an older version of the game on Steam.

Could you try updating your version within steam by going to your Steam Library and then right clicking on the game in your list and selecting Properties. From there click on the Local Files tab, and then clicking on the Verify Integrity of Game Files button.

Let me know if this updates your game and if it works after that,
Hubert

I have version 1.16.03, which I believe is the most recent. I have done verifying before and did it again and there is no problem. The problem was with scaling. After changing it back to 100% game runs without a problem in 1920x1080 and there is multiple resolutions to select. I am happy with that. Now it works even with 150% scaling at 1280x720.

Great!

I would just like to report I have the same issue due to scaling but this was introduced by an update, as the original versions of the game did not do this. Just an FYI

Hi Delaware,

Sorry to hear about the trouble and with the latest update we introduced the ability to change the screen resolution. However with those that were running scaling there appears to be this backwards compatibility issue upon first starting up the game again after the update.

I believe the simplest workaround is to navigate to the USER folder for the game and open up the SC3.ini file. Typically the folder can be found here:

C:\Users\<username>\Documents\My Games\Strategic Command WWII - War in Europe

If you then change the following lines to this, save the file, and then restart the game, it should be fine after that and going forward with the game:

#ORIGINAL_SCREEN_WIDTH= 0
#ORIGINAL_SCREEN_HEIGHT= 0
#WINDOW_WIDTH= 0
#WINDOW_HEIGHT= 0
#BIT_DEPTH= 0
#FULL_SCREEN= 0

Please let me know how it goes, and sorry again about the trouble.
Hubert

How to change that game scaling? My computer show only one available resolution 1536x864 with info 250% scaling detected. Please help.

edit: my screen is 42' with natural resolution 3840x2160

I found it in the windows settings (I have win 8.1) and after changing it to 200% it is better. When changed to 100% all the letters in the game were too small for me, not for my old eyes. I can say that I solved the problem.

Great to hear

After so many years this bug still persists...

I have 150% scaling on windows and the game doesn't allow me to set full screen. It is either too small or it fits over the screen boundaries.

If I disable scaling then the text and icons in game are too small if I set the game to my monitors resolution 3440x1440. Also my my desktop icons get reset if I set scaling back to 100%... Super annoying.

I tried to edit the Sc3 file but the game just shows an error and overrides it with default values.

Can you tell me which resolution the game decides upon by default, or which listed options there are, when you launch the game?

e.g. in the SETTINGS screen, when running at 150% resolution scaling

Thanks sir for your fast reply.

Available are only 4, 2016x864 and 1280x800 are the only 2 playable, but the window is much smaller than the screen. The other two are zoomed in to the extent the buttons are not visible.

It looks like what is happening is that the game wants you to try and be able to run at your default 2560x1440 but with the 150% scaling, it actually will display as 640x480, which is less than what the lowest supported resolution actually is, which is 1024x768.

So both those 2560x1080 and 2560x1440 will display with not showing everything on screen as you've noticed.

The other two will work, but will not fill your window as you've also noticed.

It's a tricky thing for the game to get right with your combination of desired resolution and windows scaling applied, e.g. the game uses automatic detection to determine supported resolutions, and really only the ones that don't fill your entire window are going to work at that scaling, unfortunately.

You could try maybe 125% scaling or even 100% scaling to see if that helps?

This can be done in your Windows display size settings.

Ive made another post about this exact problem, but I dont want to clutter the boards, perhaps that one can be deleted?

Game crashes after selecting scenario and choosing options. I'm running at 2560x1440 native, but it doesn't matter what I choose. No scaling, no matter what resolution I choose at startup or under settings on main menu. I'm sure there must be some viable combination but for the life of me I cant find it.
No mods, fresh installs. I have over 400 hours playing but haven't in a while. Both world at war and WW2, same issue.

Thanks for any help!

EDIT- the error I get is FAILED(Initialize_terrain_surface): Segmentation Violation

Can you try updating your video card drivers to see if this helps?

Also just to double check no mods are installed and set to be active, and to try and disable full screen and/or try another resolution to see if that might help

Thank you for the response!
No mods installed, completely fresh install. Newest drivers. I'm almost positive it's a screen resolution issue. I have two other computers that run at a native 1080p and the games run just fine but for some reason, I can find no combination of full screen, no full screen, on my main pc which is native 2560x1440. Id prefer to play in 1920x1080 because, as someone else mentioned, my eyes are like 300 in dog years, but I can find no combination that works- changing desktop resolution, full screen, not full screen, changing the settings in game, nothing works. I have to assume I'm not the only person out there playing on a 1440p monitor. Does anyone have settings they'd like to share for 1440p, nvidia 4080, latest drivers, no mods?

Thanks again!

Edit- And to also clarify, setting the screen scaling in desktop settings to 100% doesn't fix anything either.

Edit 2, Actually got it to load to the map ONE time using 2560x1440, 0% scaling and choosing 2560x1440 and the full screen selection in the choice box before game loads, but on the map screen it said FAILED (draw_text_on_map) segmentation violation. I tried to reproduce the outcome but alas, could not.

Okay, I'm stumped. Thanks!

Hi Chuikov,

Thanks for the added details and I am stumped as well as it seems to be the only report at that resolution with 100% scaling that is producing these kinds of issues for you.

The only thing I can think of is as already suggested, 100% scaling, updated video card drivers, no mods running to see if those are the issues, and turning on or off full screen in game to see if that helps.

You could try deleting the SC3.ini file in your USER folder for the game to see if that helps, as that will be rebuilt when you launch the game and perhaps there is a setting in there that is causing an issue and a clean start might help?

It is typically found here:

\Users\<username>\Documents\My Games\Strategic Command WWII - War in Europe

If you go to your SYSTEM->DISPLAY settings, could you tell me what the settings are for the following two values?

e.g. for scaling and resolution, as an example as seen below?

Again, fresh install, deleted all associated folders before reinstall. No mods. Up to date drivers.

My scale is at 100%
Display Resolution is 2560x1440

Both of these values say Recommended

Always crashes saying Segmentation Violation

I have tried 1920x1080, 100% scale- Same
Basically, any setting I choose, same error.
I can play on another pc I have that is native 1920x1080, 100% scale.
I have upgraded my pc a few months ago, i9 13900kf, 4080 gpu.
I have successfully played on THIS monitor before on previous pc, i9 6700k 2080 super gpu but now, nothing works. No combination I can find. Always some variation of segmentation error.

If anyone has vaguely similar setup, I sure would like to know the settings.

Thanks for your continued help!

Have you tried one of the 'Compatibility Modes' for the game? e.g. right clicking on the game EXE or desktop shortcut and selecting Properties, and then the 'Compatibility' tab. From there, you'll find several options to experiment with to see if this might make a difference.