Trying to get back into the game - quick question re: graphics (Full Version)

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Peterk1 -> Trying to get back into the game - quick question re: graphics (3/23/2008 3:52:45 AM)

Hello all,

I am an old time Steel Panthers player....still remember coming home with the original game all those years ago (in 1989 was it?). I don't think any game ever gave me a rush like that did although 2 or 3 have come close (but no cigar).

I'm trying to get back into the game and have downloaded 8.2 with a goal to get back into the swing of things and start playing a couple of the Mega Campaigns (have Lost Victories and Operation Watchtower lying around; bought them years ago but never played them).

I'm having a hard time getting back into it though. I've tried playing a variety of scenarios and a campaign but end up turning off after a few turns. The reason seems to be mainly that my eyes can't handle the graphics. I remember the graphics on the original game were very sharp but now it seems very pixelated and its really pretty impossible to make out anything on the map...smoke and flaming buildings are particularly badly rendered on my monitor. Just wondering if this is the norm and everyone is just used to it by now....or if it's a consequence of using different drivers and having a different monitor than I did back then.








junk2drive -> RE: Trying to get back into the game - quick question re: graphics (3/23/2008 5:00:30 AM)

CRT or LCD? Widescreen?

SPWAW runs in 800x600. Your monitor may stretch the full screen and cause your complaint.

Plus you are 20 years older...



Peterk1 -> RE: Trying to get back into the game - quick question re: graphics (3/23/2008 6:19:28 AM)

It's an LCD. Have a feeling that's it.
I've set windows to run it in 800x600....so that's not it. Looks horrible when I do that too.

> Plus you are 20 years older...

If you mean, my eyesight isn't what it used to be....that's probably not it. :)
If you mean I may have become jaded in that time, have higher expectations, get disappointed more easily...yeah, that may be it too.

...but I really think it's the LCD that can't cope.





junk2drive -> RE: Trying to get back into the game - quick question re: graphics (3/23/2008 7:03:29 AM)

All of the above [:D]

Maybe someone with an LCD can offer advice.



FlashfyreSP -> RE: Trying to get back into the game - quick question re: graphics (3/23/2008 4:15:35 PM)

Try using the Enhanced Mod. We replaced most of the old icons with newer versions, that "stand out" from the background.



Reg -> RE: Trying to get back into the game - quick question re: graphics (3/24/2008 6:39:35 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Peterk1

It's an LCD. Have a feeling that's it.
I've set windows to run it in 800x600....so that's not it. Looks horrible when I do that too.


Unfortunately that's exactly it. An LCD screen is made up of 1280 x 1024 matrix of physical pixels (for the average 17/19" monitor) and just can't be display a 800x600 picture without some sort of resizing the picture to the LCD matrix 'native' resolution. This is called Interpolation and can be done by the video card or within the monitor itself but unfortunately (depending on your hardware) picture clarity can turn to s...

If you run SPWaW in a 800x600 sized window on a 1280x1024 screen (like you can when you run it under Linux) you will be amazed how good it looks on an LCD but you will have desktop visible all around the edges!!

A CRT handles different resolutions by changing its scan rates and displays the actual screen resolution. CRTs are still the way to go if you want clear displays in multiple resolutions for this reason. Different horses for different courses!!

Hope this helps,



Reg -> RE: Trying to get back into the game - quick question re: graphics (3/24/2008 6:50:25 AM)


If you are interested in doing doing it this way, the link is: SPWaW on GNU/Linux!

Here is an example of SPWaW running in a window under Redhat Linux:

[image]local://upfiles/446/8A6ADCA996644867A0EDBA65F29C05C8.gif[/image]



Reg -> RE: Trying to get back into the game - quick question re: graphics (3/24/2008 7:54:31 AM)

After thinking about it, I have a far simpler solution.

LCD monitors have another method of displaying lower resolutions where they display the required number of pixels in the center of the screen and just black out the rest of the LCD matrix.

Have a look at the picture of the XP requestor below and see if your monitor has the same options which should be accessible under monitor properties.

  • The picture shows the 2nd option selected which will give the best clear display of low resolution screens but with a black border.

  • The 1st and 3rd options look the same but select whether the video card or monitor resizes the display to fill the monitor screen. Which is better will depend on your hardware. (The Monitor Scaling option appears to be the default).

  • The 4th option is to fill the screen without distortion such as sideways stretching into widescreen displays.

For further information see: Definition of Interpolation

In my case I have a Samsung 940 monitor, Asus 6600 video card on a Windows XP machine.

The requestor was accessed up by right clicking on desktop and selecting the 'Settings' tab, selecting the 'Advanced' button (next to the screen resolution pulldown). The 'GeForce 6600' tab was then selected which brought up the pictured options page.

Best of Luck,


[image]local://upfiles/446/81598109BC5D4EE883CE0A2DC370F27A.gif[/image]



Goblin -> RE: Trying to get back into the game - quick question re: graphics (3/24/2008 1:59:24 PM)

Thanks for the tip, Reg, it is appreciated. [:)]


Goblin



Peterk1 -> RE: Trying to get back into the game - quick question re: graphics (3/24/2008 8:51:23 PM)

Thanks guys.
Got some options to look at...for now though, I'm kind of getting used to it the way it is. Just played through Lost Victories opening battle...wasn't that painful.




Reg -> RE: Trying to get back into the game - quick question re: graphics (3/25/2008 11:53:37 AM)


I downloaded the picture below from this link.
http://prad.de/en/monitore/shownews_lex81.html

This really shows the degradation that can occur from Interpolation which makes everything blurry but really affects high contrast items like fonts.

As I said, some hardware conversion algorithms are better than others but there will always be some loss of quality which is why I always recommend using your LCD monitor's 'native' screen resolution wherever possible.

[image]local://upfiles/446/666FACE709D94DE980CBEAEAAD93C3B6.gif[/image]



tracer -> RE: Trying to get back into the game - quick question re: graphics (3/26/2008 10:52:06 PM)

There's a thread about this same topic posted at the Depot: http://www.spwaw.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=16975



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