Issues with 640 X 480 resolution
Geo
Join Date: 2013-03-24 Member: 184353Members
Join Date: 2013-03-24 Member: 184353Members
My GPU isn't the best, so I often play at 640 X 480 resolution. This gives me problems beyond poor visual fidelity:
1. Text size is too big: Player chat often isn't fully displayed onscreen, it cuts off on the right side. When searching for servers the text overlaps with itself. Tips displayed during the loading screen get cut off on the sides. UPDATE: text size solution here: "Low resolution user interface" forums.unknownworlds.com/discussion/comment/2050206/
2. The map is so big that it gets cut off at the bottom of the screen, obscuring at least one room. I wish for a separate, lower-resolution map for 640 X 480.
3. The arrow icons used to represent players on the mini-map are not optimized for 640x480, and it is very difficult to identify the direction they are pointing (especially annoying for a newbie like me when trying to travel to a destination). If they were fully colored instead of hollow, this wouldn't be an issue.
4. When playing as commander, chat text displays behind the command interface, and the command interface is so unnecessarily large that it covers half the screen.
The issues with playing commander are not too problematic for me because the command role does not require a high frame rate, so I can play it at 800 X 600 (but it sucks when I have to exit the command station in order to quickly help fight off an in-base attack, for that reason I'd rather be playing at 640 X 480).
I do not want to buy a new GPU, I do not have the money for it. I don't think these problems are impossible to fix.
1. Text size is too big: Player chat often isn't fully displayed onscreen, it cuts off on the right side. When searching for servers the text overlaps with itself. Tips displayed during the loading screen get cut off on the sides. UPDATE: text size solution here: "Low resolution user interface" forums.unknownworlds.com/discussion/comment/2050206/
2. The map is so big that it gets cut off at the bottom of the screen, obscuring at least one room. I wish for a separate, lower-resolution map for 640 X 480.
3. The arrow icons used to represent players on the mini-map are not optimized for 640x480, and it is very difficult to identify the direction they are pointing (especially annoying for a newbie like me when trying to travel to a destination). If they were fully colored instead of hollow, this wouldn't be an issue.
4. When playing as commander, chat text displays behind the command interface, and the command interface is so unnecessarily large that it covers half the screen.
The issues with playing commander are not too problematic for me because the command role does not require a high frame rate, so I can play it at 800 X 600 (but it sucks when I have to exit the command station in order to quickly help fight off an in-base attack, for that reason I'd rather be playing at 640 X 480).
I do not want to buy a new GPU, I do not have the money for it. I don't think these problems are impossible to fix.
Comments
I know you said you dont want to buy a new gpu but I would urge you to at least have a look as there are plenty sub $100 cards that would kill the gpu you have now.
He could easily find something like an used GTX 260 for $35. Hell, even an old 8800 GTS would be better and would set him back $0-20.
Its a pain to scale the interface for such low resolutions that are so infrequently used. (0.01% of all steam users, according to their hardware survey)
Developers' time is better spent optimizing the game so that it can be ran at higher resolutions.
That being said.. what others said holds true, even with power supply costs you could easily keep it below the cost of a game, ~60 bucks, for a new GPU.