RTC and screen resolutions higher than 640x480.

[Gambit37]

RTC is locked at a target resolution of 640x480. 640 x 400 pixels of are used by usable gameplay space, the extra 80 pixels can show a background image but cannot be directly manipulated by the player.

If you set your config to run at 800x600 or higher, RTC generates a canvas of the specified size to draw on, but the available space isn't used: RTC simply places the 640x480 window in the centre of the larger space with black borders all around.

There was an inconsistent behaviour in v0.46 and below with this. Fullscreen mode would do as described as above, window mode would scale the screen to the target resolution. In the 0.47 beta I've been priveleged to play, it was changed so that both modes leave the game view at 640x480 regardless of specified resolution.

Some questions:

1) Why does RTC offer the use of higher resolutions through the config file when it doesn't actually support them?

2) Could RTC utilise the extra space (ie, could we design graphics for 800x600 and force players to run at that resolution)? It would mean much greater visual clarity. I would love to play a DM game at 1280x1024 with an exact 1:1 presentation. Yes, it would mean all images are much, much larger and memory intensive but modern CPUs can handle it.

3) Upon reflection, if RTC maintains support for higher resolutions but (2) will never happen, would it not be better to scale the graphics accordingly? (ie, go back to the behaviour that the window mode used to do)

I know I'm contradicting some stuff I asked for... just musing I guess...

[glecko]

so the 30 mins I spent trying to increase the screen size was for naught?? I thought it might be a platform problem (Mac running xp). It is really difficult playing on such a small screen. I could have sworn I played rtc with a much larger display.

[George Gilbert]

1) Why does RTC offer the use of higher resolutions through the config file when it doesn't actually support them?

The resolution setting in the config file is purely setting the video card resolution - not the resolution of the game itself.

It's there because when I first wrote RTC, video cards didn't all support a common set of resolutions and therefore it was required so that users could set it to the nearest value to 640x400 (what DM used) their video card did support.

The default value of 640x480 is just the most common resolution supported by most video cards that is closest to 640x400. That's all...

[Gambit37]

so the 30 mins I spent trying to increase the screen size was for naught?? I thought it might be a platform problem (Mac running xp). It is really difficult playing on such a small screen. I could have sworn I played rtc with a much larger display.

I have no idea about low resolutions running at full screen on the mac, but it's entirely possible on the PC. I usually play RTC at 640x480 fullscreen and it fills the available space. Well, it did on my old CRT, it's a slightly different story on LCDs

The resolution setting in the config file is purely setting the video card resolution - not the resolution of the game itself.

Is it not resonable to assume that setting the video mode will also set the mode for the game? All other apps work that way.

I'm kinda teasing. Kinda. I know that RTCs layout is inherently bound to a 640x400 playspace and that modifying it to be truly scalable at this stage in development is probably out of the question. Still, it's confusing behaviour as it stands...

[glecko]

how do I reset the size of the playing screen. ? the default is too tiny. how do I reset for fullsize?

[Gambit37]

What settings for resolution do you have in your Config file?

You need 640x480x24 and either the line FULLSCREEN:YES or no fullscreen line at all.

If you have this, and it still doesn't work, you must have your screen settings in such a way that smaller apps are not 'scaled up' to the monitor size. Check your monitor/display settings and make sure that any scaling is set to "Fixed aspect ratio".