TFT's and Gaming

[fog]

Ok this question has come up again due to the new menu options I've been adding to our current project.

I was adding a "windowed" option so thought I would do a widescreen option at the same time.

It's not implimented yet but right now I'm probably going to drop the idea of having borders and change to a proper widescreen resolution.

This would in theory make the game easier though (bigger screen area see ) so I may have to come up with a fancy formula (i.e very simple) to increase the number of on screen enemies in widescreen mode.

I'm not sure if that makes sense but we'll give it a go.

[dadrew1]

Widescreen versions seem that it would drastically change the games on here so far, unless the graphics are stretched to accomodate.  But, I think stretching the graphics on these games to fill higher res 3:4 monitors is fine, and on widescreen either stretching the graphics or making them 100% height and whatever aspect would be correct wide would be best.

[fog]

Widescreen versions seem that it would drastically change the games on here so far, unless the graphics are stretched to accomodate.

Well it would certainly effect mono if you had a bigger screen area to colour

But, I think stretching the graphics on these games to fill higher res 3:4 monitors is fine, and on widescreen either stretching the graphics or making them 100% height and whatever aspect would be correct wide would be best.

Well my laptop is widescreen and it's only after testing on that that I thought about adding the widescreen option.

I was just planning on stretching it as you suggest and in game it doesn't look too bad but some of the smaller text used on the main menu looks horrible.

It seems a bit extreme to add an option just because some menu text looks wrong but at least if the option is there,  nobody can complain about it

But it will change the game slightly so if it's included I will have to increase the enemy count to maintain the same difficulty.  I'll think on it.

[phaelax]

I don't use TFT or any kind of LCD, so my vote goes to fullscreen crispy with no borders.

I do have a laptop with a 17" wide screen, but its a mac, so no DX support.

Wow, i'm just so helpful today.

[fog]

lol 

I do have a laptop with a 17" wide screen, but its a mac, so no DX support.

Ooh me jealous.  You devloping for Macs then?  Assuming you're still coding.....IIRC you were working on an mp3 player.

[TheKhakinator]

I think that if you bought yourself a TFT, you deserve all the blur you get. Graphics cards should detect TFTs and blur more intentionally to punish you for your decision. There, I said it.

[fog]

I think that if you bought yourself a TFT, you deserve all the blur you get. Graphics cards should detect TFTs and blur more intentionally to punish you for your decision. There, I said it.

LMAO.  So you don't like TFT's then 

[las6]

nah, it's not that bad. Even my non-gaming (yet VERY expensive) monitor with 8/16ms timings can handle echoes. There's not so much blur as one would think, but the sharpness of the screen is actually much more distracting feature.

[TheKhakinator]

Personally, I find the colours are way uglier than on a CRT... but I've only used cheaper ones. I don't like the general performance compared with CRT's.

[dadrew1]

I wonder how Mono, Duo, Duotris, and Echoes would look on THIS LCD Monitor...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T221

[fog]

I wonder how Mono, Duo, Duotris, and Echoes would look on THIS LCD Monitor...

As crap as ever   Nice monitor though.

[dadrew1]

OK, can I take my vote back???

I just played a game of Echoes and played Mono yesterday on my work's 24" widescreen LCD monitor, and MAN... perfect!  Its amazing how the game being stretched out doesn't effect gameplay one bit.  The graphics being blurred from the changing of the resolution makes no difference either!  The problem is, the screen is so big and I have to sit sort of close to the monitor, and its hard to see what powerup is on the right hand side of the screen if you are on the left side!  YIKES!

Overall, I say to just continue stretching the graphics, even if it is widescreen.  This type of game with all of its blurry goodness is made to be stuck into a blurry environment.  This monitor is 1920x1200, and it stretches to widescreen, and I actually think I favor the 19:10 aspect ratio compared to 4:3.  Plus, even if this monitor ghosted during games (its 6ms, so it won't), it wouldn't hurt these games because of the inherent blur factor.

So my vote goes to STRETCH AWAY!  :-)

Drew

PS - I just played for the first time in like a month and got 1,110,150 points - whoohoo!  This game just gets nutz and ballz to the wall near the end :-)

[fog]

I'm using my widescreen laptop all the time now and beginning to think stretched is the way to go too.

It doesn't noticably distort the graphics, the blurring looks intentional........and it saves me having to worry about game balancing issues if I use a proper widescreen resolution 

[phaelax]

Ooh me jealous.  You devloping for Macs then?  Assuming you're still coding.....IIRC you were working on an mp3 player

Yea, I'm still working on that mp3 player, but I spend more of my coding time on my AIM libraries.

[fog]

Ooh me jealous.  You devloping for Macs then?  Assuming you're still coding.....IIRC you were working on an mp3 player

Yea, I'm still working on that mp3 player, but I spend more of my coding time on my AIM libraries.

Cool.  Good to know the old RGT/LLRGT/MN members are still keeping busy.