1336x/1360x/1366x/1368x768 resolutions

Which of the below resolutions should be coded and should any of them be included in the main VCMI package?

  • 1336x768
  • 1360x768
  • 1366x768
  • 1368x768
  • Yes, one of them should be included in the main VCMI package (we’ll see which, depending on votes and arguments)
  • No, none should be added to the main VCMI package, but be available separately for download (forum/bonus pack)

0 voters

Because the resolution created by Blake, upon Warmonger’s request should have probably been a 1366x resolution (but was created as 1336x due to - I guess - a typo in the request), I thought of redoing it as 1366x and perhaps have it included in the next standard resolution pack. Although not one of the most requested resolutions, it does seem to be used quite often in most of the new 15"-16" laptops on the market.

So I have created the files for 1366x768 (see archive attached), BUT because of some errors experienced with it, and because I wanted to make sure what’s the cause of this confusion between 1336 and 1366, I thought of digging a bit more on the net. And I was surprised to find out that people are talking about no less than four 13XX*768 resolutions. :neutral_face:

I’m gonna list here below what I found so far about each of them, adding arguments about including one or the other in VCMI, and then I’ll let you guys share your (perhaps more technical) opinions on this:

1336x768
Although there are many references to it on the net, they all seem to belong to forum posts or other comments from users, but apparently never in links to official technical specifications. This leads me to think that this indeed is just a typo (of amazingly high frequency though). If however I’m wrong, and there are monitors or laptop screens out there with this resolution, then it’s probably the better choice to include in the VCMI package. It’s maybe better to have the width just 30 pixels too short, rather have the game interface 30 pixels wider than the available display. To get an idea how the 1336x768 VCMI would look on a 1366x768 display, you can check Warmonger’s screenshot HERE.

1360x768
I came to know about the use of this resolution, when I followed this link posted by TowDragon in the 0.75 thread. It does seem to be used less often as compared to 1366x768 (1% vs 3% of all displays), but it is used. And based on the same principle I explained above, perhaps it’s better to have the interface 6 pixels too narrow, rather than 6 pixels too wide.

1366x768
This seems to be the most frequently used. On the other hand, I’ve seen many reports on the net of (older) graphic cards not supporting this resolution, but which do support 1360x768 or 1368x768 (see example). I myself had issues with this resolution. In windowed mode on the Adventure Map it works fine:
i4.photobucket.com/albums/y104/Zamolxis/VCMI%202009/th_2010-02-10_1366x786.jpg
However I have problems if I try to go to full screen mode (see console message) and the creatures are totally misplaced on the battlefield (and their graphics are messed up):
i4.photobucket.com/albums/y104/Zamolxis/VCMI%202009/th_2010-02-10_1366x768errors-BattleF4.jpg
Initially I though I may have done a mistake in the config or data files (still possible - I don’t know), or that Tow/TowDragon need to change some game settings. But after what I read on the net, and discovering that my display supports only 1360x768 (and none of the other 3), I’m suspecting actually an incompatibility with my graphic card, which makes this perhaps not the best candidate.

I have included however the files for this resolution version in the archive attached, if you guys want to test it as well.

1368x768
This one is less used than the previous two, but some graphic cards do support it as opposed to 1368x768, so I added it just for the record. Most probably won’t be the one chosen for the VCMI package. :wink:

Feel free to check the attached package, perhaps do your own research on the net, and then vote in the poll and/or share your arguments about choosing one or the other. :wink:
1366x768 for 0.75.7z (81.5 KB)

Hey, that great post explained a lot. I had no idea there can be so many similiar resolutions!

Your arguments sound resonable, the smallest 1336 resolution fits on all screens and won’t cause actual waste of space. I guess we should keep this one.
And please tell me what kind of additional files you don’t want to include in game package? They all seem the same and require unnoticeable amount of storage space.

Regarding 1336, I was hoping somebody knew for a fact that’s a common mistyping of the 1366. Otherwise I’ll dig a bit more on the net to make sure of it (if it doesn’t exist in reality, there’s no point of having something less than 1360). As for 1366 package attached to my post above, did you try it on your laptop. I’m curious is F4 and battles fail on my side because of my graphic card, or because of something else.

As for additional files, I was referring just to the .pcx files needed for each resolution. As you see, the archive above has 81KB (in 7z format). It’s not that bigga deal, but still, it’s almost 1MB for every 10 resolutions. For me, if the VCMI package is 1 MB bigger or smaller, it’s not really an issue, so from my part we can even have 20 resolutions in there. But I don’t know if that’s the case for everyone. I do (very vaguely) remember Tow saying once he prefers to have the main package as slim as possible. I don’t remember now the arguments and I’m not even 100% sure it was him (sorry if I’m wrong). In case I’m wrong, and there’s actually no problem to keep adding new resolutions with every release, then we should consider another naming convention for the future, to make it easier to tell which file is for which resolution (and perhaps it’s best to decide that before 8.0, so that we don’t have compatibility problems afterwards). My proposal would be to simply add the resolution in the name file, e.g.: AdvMap1366x768.pcx and AdRollvr1366.pcx & ZResBar1366.pcx (the last 2 being the same for all same-width resolutions). Unless someone can think of a more logic, efficient and/or intuitive system. :question:

LE: FYI - For now, I’ve included 1336x768 in the resolution package. At least with this one the battles look okay in windowed mode (can’t tell why I had the error I mentioned above with 1366x). I still get an error if I try to go to full screen, but that’s probably because of my video card, driver, or lack of capability of my monitor.

UPDATE:

Following Warmonger’s report on Mantis (#431) and further readings on the net on this, it seems that the better choice would be to go for the 1366x768 resolution.

Reasons:

  • It seems 1366x768 is the most frequently used resolution of the 4 discussed in this thread
  • Warmonger tested it successfully on his machine, which has has 1366x768 as native resolution

Concerns:

  • It’s actually the only resolution of the 4 for which I get errors in windowed mode (see screenshot), but it could be because of my old video card (it seems old video cards have issues handling this resolution)
  • Not enough testers checked this to confirm it works well on their machines (both windowed and full screen modes)
  • Particularly no tester with 1360x768 native resolution screen (which seem to exist as well) tested it, to confirm if it works

Direct download link HERE. (@Tow: the old files - AdRollvr1336.pcx, AdvMap1336x768.pcx & ZResBar1336.pcx - can be removed from the Data folder when building the next package)

Many thanks in advance to those willing to test this resolution and advise if no issues.