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Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Feel I'... - 8/24/2012 2:47:57 AM

jpinard

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I'm a new purchaser of the game who bought just before this current Matrix bundle sale. So I'm frustrated that I feel like I'm going blind trying to use the interface. My monitor supports 2560x1600 which I understand is unreaosnable. But I lowered it to 1920x1200 and increased sharpness to try and make it usable... but still the interface and text is way too small. I then dropped to a 1600 level resolution, but of course my monitor + NVidia cards do not support widescreen 1600 resolutions. So to my despair and needing the ability to SEE and try to read/understand the interface I'm running this game at a measly 1280x800.

The Dungeons of Dredmor developers showed you can add a single larger interface option for non-scaling res's if you put the effort into it. I do hope you will do the same because it is taking so much enjoymnment out of the game. I do like the game despite this major problem, but I can't play for long periods of time like I should.

Sincerely,
-jpinard

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 8/24/2012 4:28:42 AM

jpwrunyan

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You are not the first to comment on this. I am saddened that the font size hasnt yet been addressed despite the grumblings that have taken place over the past year. I understand that changing the font in menus could be a pain because then you would have to widen them or add space for word-wrapping, but just making the star labels bigger doesnt seem like it should be a problem. Nearby stars might overlap when you zoom out but that already happens even with the current small size.

Anyway, regardless of screen size, it would be nice to have a slider for controlling font size. This has the dual benefits of taking care of your issue and adding another slider to the game.

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 8/24/2012 11:08:46 PM

lart

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Has there every been an official reply on this? I really wonder why this isn't a bigger issue. Checking i.e. Steam HW statistics almost 30% run a resolution of 1920x1080 or higher, which makes this game IMHO unplayable.

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 8/24/2012 11:19:35 PM

WoodMan

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This issue has come up many times before and there was some official responses that this was not an easy issue to fix.

It was also strange how not everyone was having trouble. For example, I play at 1920x1080 and have absolutely no problem whatsoever reading any of the writing in the game! I used to play at 1280x1024 on my old screen and when I changed screen and resolution with it I can report that the size of the interface and writing etc did not change, all text is still the same size. The only difference is I can see more of the gameworld because the screen is bigger, interface etc is all still exactly the same size.

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 8/24/2012 11:52:29 PM

lart

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quote:

It was also strange how not everyone was having trouble. For example, I play at 1920x1080 and have absolutely no problem whatsoever reading any of the writing in the game!

I gave it another shot, and scaled down from 2560x1440 to 1920x1080 which adds an additional level of blur. I wanted to show you some screens as how unreadable the fonts are to me. Then I discovered that the screenshots I took are much sharper and crisp as the ingame ones, as if the in game fonts are somehow rendered/aliased differently which does not persists through the screenshots. Still I think that the in game fonts are way to small and not easily readable, especially the descriptions in the science tree. Granted that may be an issue coming with age and I realize it's not that easy to read text as in the former days.
To summerize, it feels like
- fonts are still to small
- ATI Radeon is messing something up with aliasing (default settings, latest drivers)
- Eyes are getting worse with age

quote:

I used to play at 1280x1024 on my old screen and when I changed screen and resolution with it I can report that the size of the interface and writing etc did not change, all text is still the same size. The only difference is I can see more of the gameworld because the screen is bigger, interface etc is all still exactly the same size.

Scaling down the resolution from 2560x1440 to 1920x1080 actually increases the font size, as everything gets larger. Also increasing the font scaling in windows works. Both of this does not really work well or only to a certain level, as everything gets more and more blurry.

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 8/24/2012 11:56:46 PM

unclean

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quote:

ORIGINAL: WoodMan
It was also strange how not everyone was having trouble. For example, I play at 1920x1080 and have absolutely no problem whatsoever reading any of the writing in the game! I used to play at 1280x1024 on my old screen and when I changed screen and resolution with it I can report that the size of the interface and writing etc did not change, all text is still the same size. The only difference is I can see more of the gameworld because the screen is bigger, interface etc is all still exactly the same size.

Pixel density and eye sight make a huge difference, I'm sure.

edit:

quote:

ORIGINAL: lart
I gave it another shot, and scaled down from 2560x1440 to 1920x1080 which adds an additional level of blur. I wanted to show you some screens as how unreadable the fonts are to me. Then I discovered that the screenshots I took are much sharper and crisp as the ingame ones, as if the in game fonts are somehow rendered/aliased differently which does not persists through the screenshots.

Sounds like monitor scaling. Either way it's still a choice between two different flavors of unreadable unfortunately.

< Message edited by unclean -- 8/25/2012 12:01:56 AM >

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 8/25/2012 12:57:49 AM

Pipewrench

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jpinard,

Did you hit the auto resolution button on your monitor? I had that problem once with my LG monitor.

Sorry you are having problems. At my age, going on 50 it has forced me to reduce the resolution to read the messages. I can easily play the game at the lower resolution and it takes nothing away from the experience.

btw: I am running 1280 x 960. Sad but the eyes are getting older.

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 8/25/2012 1:51:54 AM

WoodMan

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Link to the old thread: http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2970522&mpage=1&key=font

Give it a read through, there are several suggestions regarding windows font settings, graphics card settings, an external program that zooms fonts etc. Hopefully you can find something that helps there.

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 8/25/2012 4:22:06 AM

jpinard

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quote:

ORIGINAL: WoodMan

This issue has come up many times before and there was some official responses that this was not an easy issue to fix.

It was also strange how not everyone was having trouble. For example, I play at 1920x1080 and have absolutely no problem whatsoever reading any of the writing in the game! I used to play at 1280x1024 on my old screen and when I changed screen and resolution with it I can report that the size of the interface and writing etc did not change, all text is still the same size. The only difference is I can see more of the gameworld because the screen is bigger, interface etc is all still exactly the same size.

There is a drastic difference in font and interface sizes when you go to higher screen resolutions, so I'm confused at what you're trying to say. I have a massive Dell 30" u3011 specifically so I could run at or above 1920x1200 res and not have to use a magnifying glass. If nayone should be able to see text properly at higher resolutions it should be a monitor that is this gigantic (and only 16" from my face).

Pipewrench - I've used all modes via my monitor and Nvidia card: Scaled, 1:1, Aspect, Fill. The problem with running such a low resolution for myself is having so little on the screen at once and when the resolution goes up the little icon buttons are so messy it's really hard to make out what's what.

If the guys who made Distant Worlds would load up Dungeons of Dredmor and see how Gaslamp games made a simple scaling feature to double (or triplew) the size of the interface that would fix a lot. For those of your wondering, when you're in a game of Dungeons of Dredmor, click the little icon to the upper right of your picture. Both DoD and Distant Worlds are 2D only so you can see how this is very applicable.

< Message edited by jpinard -- 8/25/2012 5:11:27 AM >

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 8/25/2012 10:39:21 AM

WoodMan

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Have you tried running on two different screens or only on two different resolutions? Running at native resolution the only thing that changed was the amount of "space" or the map you can see. The writing/interface buttons and everything is all the same size as far as I can tell. Hard to explain wihtout screenshots but I don't think I have any with writing from my old resolution, I wasn't thinking I would ever need them to demonstrate the difference

< Message edited by WoodMan -- 8/25/2012 10:40:29 AM >

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 8/25/2012 8:26:57 PM

jpinard

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Woodman - I don't want to get in an argument, but when ANYONE runs 1280x800 then switches to 2560x1600 (or any higher resolution) the text and all interface elements become tiny. That is the way screen resolutions work. Most people don't have 2 monitors so it's not like we can just use a different one because Distant Worlds isn't readbale on the first monitor. But it could be you're saying something entirely different?

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 8/25/2012 9:22:54 PM

WoodMan

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Hey jpinard, I'm not trying to argue either.

The same happens on other games, too. There are many strategy games that look the same but let you see more when you increase resolution, instead of letting you see the same but bigger, as long as you are running at the native resloution. Run at anything under native resolution and you will of course increase the size of everything on the screen because it will use more pixels to display the same thing. I know this is hard to understand, I can barely understand it myself when I read this back, someone better at explaining these things should really type it not me.

A good example is the galactic history screens in Distant Worlds. On my 1280x1024 monitor it filled the screen. On my 1920x1080 monitor it has black borders, the actual writing is the same size still.

Another example, Baldurs Gate. When running at 1920x1080 (not officially supported) everything: all text, characters, enemies, cursors, pictures are exactly the same size as if you ran 1024x768 on a screen with a native resolution of 1024x768, you just get more of it on the screen. Same happens in Distant Worlds, I don't know how else to explain it

Edit: By the way, I'm not against Codeforce/Matrix introducing something to make the text larger, I'm all for it! Please don't get me wrong!

Just saying those with bigger screens are not in-fact reading smaller text than people with smaller screens. At least I noticed no change between my two screens anyway, except that I can see *more* on the bigger screen.

< Message edited by WoodMan -- 8/25/2012 9:39:42 PM >

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 8/27/2012 2:17:21 AM

jpwrunyan

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I am glad people still feel strongly about this. Squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Yeah yeah, non-post, I know...

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 8/27/2012 4:10:04 AM

jpinard

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Woodman - I physically measured the text on my screen. Each letter is much smaller at higher resolutions and I'm sure it's the same for everyone else. If you're going from 1280x1024 to 1920x1080 the text will not scale properly because you're using a totally different screen ratio (which is maybe why it appears the text is the same size for you).

1920x1080 = 1.78
1280x1024 = 1.25

That is like comparing apples to grapes. You need to use 1280 x 720 for a direct comparison vs. 1920x1080

< Message edited by jpinard -- 8/27/2012 4:11:01 AM >

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 8/27/2012 10:57:39 AM

WoodMan

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Nevermind you still don't understand what I'm saying. You can not test this by changing resolution, only by changing screen. If you change the resolution to anything other than the native resolution, of course the letters will get bigger. If you use the native resolution, things are the same, the interface is exactly the same only more space between the individual elements of it.

Please understand I'm not trying to be rude! Hehe, I'm just trying to explain it is all to do with the Native resolution. Anything less and you will get bigger writing. Using Native resolution the text appears the same, there is just a bigger gap between the text boxes. Note: I've only tried this on two screens, maybe I'm just going mad, anyway, doesn't matter

Edit: Let me clarify why I'm arguing the point! If text is increased and it is based on resolution, if what I'm saying is true it won't help lower resolution people. Thats all

< Message edited by WoodMan -- 8/27/2012 12:07:42 PM >

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 8/27/2012 1:36:07 PM

Bleek

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Hey you should feel for me, I'm on a 23" with 2048x1152... the fonts are REALLY small for me!

And yes DW tires my eyes as a result. :(

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 8/27/2012 1:46:37 PM

WoodMan

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lol, is that a CRT screen?

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 8/27/2012 2:57:18 PM

Cauldyth

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Bleek

Hey you should feel for me, I'm on a 23" with 2048x1152... the fonts are REALLY small for me!

And yes DW tires my eyes as a result. :(

If nothing else, you win the prize for the weirdest combined aspect ratio, screen size, and resolution that I've ever heard of!

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 8/27/2012 9:36:12 PM

Bleek

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I have a triple display of 23" high dpi Samsung monitors a whole 6,144 pixels wide.

They no longer make them because they cost too much to build. Shame.

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 8/27/2012 9:38:13 PM

Bleek

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quote:

ORIGINAL: WoodMan

lol, is that a CRT screen?

God no!

TFT of course.

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 8/28/2012 3:06:11 AM

Anthropoid

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I use a 42" big screen TV on 1024 x 768 res. Not a real problem, though I'm probably slowly destroying my eyes or something.

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 8/28/2012 9:53:14 AM

Bleek

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1024x768 ... that's tiny!

My 11" netbook has a higher resolution than that.

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 8/28/2012 8:34:43 PM

Anthropoid

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Yeh, but mine goes to elehvhuun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll7rWiY5obI

quote:

ORIGINAL: Bleek

1024x768 ... that's tiny!

My 11" netbook has a higher resolution than that.

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 8/29/2012 12:19:36 AM

omphaloskepsis

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I'm playing at 1920 x 1200, and have to agree the fonts are very difficult to read. It seems like a major oversight to not support modern display resolutions, but it's not a deal-breaker for me.

Also, Woodman, you realize that Baldur's Gate was released in 1998, right? Excellent game, but matching 1998 technology is hardly acceptable for a $60 (or $90) game.

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 8/29/2012 10:13:32 PM

Erik Rutins

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As a side note, Distant Worlds fully supports higher resolutions, but we do not currently have a solution for scaling the interface. It is unfortunately not a trivial task but this is one of the areas we have very high on our priority list to try to improve for the next expansion. I cannot promise, but we will try.

Regards,

- Erik

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 8/30/2012 6:37:41 PM

Darkspire

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Ok im blonde and large

So please excuse my denseness ...

Just want to know if ive got the meaning of this thread.

Text shrinks when you up the res, im on 1280x1024 on a 17'' flatscreen monitor. Text is small, if I drop to 1024x768 text is larger.
So far so good (I hope)
When you say 'native resolution' you mean the res that your monitor supports? So im on a rectangle screen but a widescreen extended rectangle monitor would have a whole different set of 'native' screen res's?
So when you say scale the UI / interface you mean one size of text that regardless of your desktop screen res the ingame text / UI / interface would stay one size?

Cant say thats a good idea, I play a lot of old DOS games and scaling the interface always looks like a 64x64 pic scaled to 800x600 , FUGLY

So would that would mean having an in game base scale, for example, 1024x768 and then any scaling is taken from that, up or down?

Sorry again for my blondeness

I like to understand things

Darkspire

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 8/30/2012 7:17:50 PM

WoodMan

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You should always run any LCD flatscreena at their native resolution, which is usually the highest one available in windows. On an old CRT screen when you increase resolution things get smaller. It was odd I can remember new games with better resolutions coming out all the time and usaing these new resolutions and it looked better each time. With the LCD you are stuck, you have one resolution you can run at and that is it. You can lower the resolution but it is not recommended, you can not raise it.

Check out the wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_resolution

On your old games that you spoke about that don't support up to your native resolution, if you want to keep the graphics quality you will have to play them in a window. So if you are playing a 1024x768 game you will want to play it in a 1024x768 window unless you want it to get pixelated and blurry.

< Message edited by WoodMan -- 8/30/2012 7:21:29 PM >

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 8/31/2012 3:05:48 AM

jpinard

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins

As a side note, Distant Worlds fully supports higher resolutions, but we do not currently have a solution for scaling the interface. It is unfortunately not a trivial task but this is one of the areas we have very high on our priority list to try to improve for the next expansion. I cannot promise, but we will try.

Regards,

- Erik

I got a note from Elliot saying they'd try to do something like what I posted in the other thread that mirrors what Gaslamp did with their 2d-interface for high resolution.

Thanks!

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 6/25/2013 11:57:01 AM

senceest

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I just bought the game, i am going blind, not sure if this game is meant for humans. Just bought the whole game with all expansions, cant get further from the tutorials, becouse i have to put my face into the screen. Really dissappointed, spended alot money for a game which seems great, but i just cant play the game as it is. In a way it is just wrong to sell it like this :(

tnx for nothing..

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RE: Please scale interface for higher resolutions - Fee... - 6/4/2014 1:33:27 AM

epmode

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I just picked up the new Steam release of Distant Worlds and I'm sad to report that this game is almost unplayable at 2560x1600. Fonts and icons are just too small. Dropping down to ~1080p and allowing my videocard to scale to fill my monitor isn't much better since it makes everything blurry. 1280x800 is much more readable (since it's an exact multiple of my default 2560x1600) but the resolution is just too low to adequately display the game.

My kingdom for real UI scaling. Or at least some kind of high-resolution UI option.

I know it's a big job but it's really important for forwards compatibility considering that high resolution monitors are a lot more common these days.

edit: Ah, I didn't realize that this was a year old thread. Sorry.

< Message edited by epmode -- 6/4/2014 2:34:17 AM >

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