Matrix Games Forums

First off, great job in recreating this classic. And releasing it just before I go on vacation is fortuitous timing indeed!

One area where the graphics engine still shows its age, though, is in its zoom levels. Back in "the day", the standard resolution was 8x6 or 10x7 and the zoomed in view was perfect for that. Now with the standard being 16x12 and TOAW using the existing screen resolution, I find the hexes to be too small even on a 20" LCD monitor. However, the zoomed in view is usually perfect for the zoomed out overview.

I would Ideally like to see another level of zoom so that I don't need to strain to see the specifics of the units.

Again, thanks for a great job with TOAW; this feature would really push it over the top!

I agree 100%, even running it at 1280x960 on my 21" CRT makes it pretty darned small!

Yes! I'm running 1600x1200 and thinking about breaking out the "Magnifier" from the Windows Accessibility utilties to do a zoom with...

ORIGINAL: Mad Gonzo
I would Ideally like to see another level of zoom so that I don't need to strain to see the specifics of the units.

That's the first thing I wanted during my first play session. I use a 19" LCD flat panel at 1280x1024 and I am 51 years old. I need all the zoom I can get at times. [;)]

Serves you lot right for having such huge monitors!

Really, is there any way to get 1 more level of zooming in? Can the engine handle this?

And while we're talking about the size of things, I'd like to see the playback feature use the larger map size.  So I can see the battles better, etc.

ORIGINAL: AstroCat

Really, is there any way to get 1 more level of zooming in? Can the engine handle this?

Ralph's the coding wizard, but I doubt it is a trivial matter, since the graphics are BMP files, in two sizes. If there was a way to get a third party piece of software to overlay it, like the aforementioned Microsoft magnifier, then that might be the easiest method. Otherwise, the game would need a very extensive overhaul. TOAW IV anyone?[:D]

I am playing at 16x12 on my 15" laptop, and lemme tell you, thank god (MS?) for the magnifier, but it does work, and by placing it under the star circle it doesn't even obscure anything. Pretty good stuff.

Yair

Well, the magnifier works, but it's a bit awkward. Too bad the game can't display it like this natively:

Too pixelated for my tastes, and it would drive me up the wall. My eyes aren't quite as good as they were even 5 years ago, but I would rather look at the smaller images.

When I was using 1600x1200 on a 15" screen, it got to where it was no longer very fun to play for great lengths of time, due to the eye-strain, but once I moved up to a 1680x1050 on a 17" screen I could again go for hours at a stretch. I've tried non-native resolutions of 1024x768 and though the icons are bigger, the fuzziness from the interpolation just bugs the crap out of me.

Give me another year though, and I may be the one crying for a magnifier, and having to swallow my pride...

...that, or finally breakdown and buy some reading glasses.

ORIGINAL: JAMiAM

Too pixelated for my tastes, and it would drive me up the wall. My eyes aren't quite as good as they were even 5 years ago, but I would rather look at the smaller images.

When I was using 1600x1200 on a 15" screen, it got to where it was no longer very fun to play for great lengths of time, due to the eye-strain, but once I moved up to a 1680x1050 on a 17" screen I could again go for hours at a stretch. I've tried non-native resolutions of 1024x768 and though the icons are bigger, the fuzziness from the interpolation just bugs the crap out of me.

Give me another year though, and I may be the one crying for a magnifier, and having to swallow my pride...

...that, or finally breakdown and buy some reading glasses.

I've been using reading glasses for years with my 21 inch CRT running at 1600 X 1200. That makes things just fine. Time to lose the vanity, we all get old and need a bit of help [:D][:D][:D]

What's a couple of bucks for a pair of glasses? They really do make a huge difference... who needs the eyestrain anyway?

It isn't a question of reading glasses. I am 32 and don't need them. It is just that at 16x12 on a 15" monitor, the icons are too small to see the information on. As an aside, I use the magnifier with the window sized very small, just to get a better look at the unit icons.

JAM,

I was afraid that might be the case with the bitmaps.  However, at this point I would gladly settle for the same BMP files blown up to 4x the size (i.e. twice the pixels on each axis).  At 16x12 it would be like viewing the old game in 8x6 (perfect!), albeit with more real estate for the map as there is no need to resize the menu interface.  I'm sure if you put the new zoom level in the engine and just "supersized' the same graphics, one of the enterprising netizens would refine the graphics further as a mod.

We're willing to deal with the pixellation; it would look no worse than it would under the magifier, and it would save us the trouble of using it.

And just to amplify, I have 20/15 vision and I'm using a DVI connection on the LCD monitor (so the image is crystal clear).  Reading glasses won't help me.

Regards,

WOW, thanks WhiteOwl, I've never investigated the magnifier before. Wish I knew about this when I was playing HOI2DD. Just added it to my start menu. I have Battles in Normandy, and it has a magnifier in it that I liked except for holding down the cntl key during use (violates the one arm rule). I don't find much problem with TOAW3 on 19", but it's good to know the MS magnifier is there.

ORIGINAL: WhiteOwl

I am playing at 16x12 on my 15" laptop, and lemme tell you, thank god (MS?) for the magnifier, but it does work, and by placing it under the star circle it doesn't even obscure anything. Pretty good stuff.

Yair

Can't we just get a built in magnifer like in the Decisive Battles games?

How about we use darker letters instead of the white ones seen below.  Can anybody read this easily?
 

No I can't, I did go in and lighten all the background boxes for the icons in that window. That's helps some. I also went in and made the green ---> red colors more distinguishable for that windows and the counters.

I use the highlight option and the new fonts, together it helps but not perfect. I also have to drop my resolution down to 1152x864, so after all that messing around it seems to be playable to some extent.

VIEW > OPTIONS > TEXT CONTRAST > MAXIMUM fixes this exact issue with the top right box.

This fixes it better: