4 replies to this topic

[ClockworkMyr]

So as I'm now running an iMac with Windows on it that goes at 1920x1080, I was wondering if there was any possible hack to make it run at that resolution without having to go with 1280x720?

[Apache Thunder]

Why in the world would you want to run the game that high? The graphics in the game are low res and increasing resolution only makes them smaller. Unless you have a HUGE TV or large screen your playing the game on, I wouldn't recommend going above 1024x768. Because any higher, the interface gets smaller and harder to use. (modern games make important hud elements uniform in size in respect to the field of play, thus it's not a big problem to go ultra high res in most modern games)

I've tried that game at 1280x960 (monitor goes to 1280x1024, but I don't think the game let me use it, probably because that resolution is a 5:4 aspect ratio and not 4:3 as the game was designed for) and found it hard to click on certain things due to their small size.

I can't imagine trying to click on stray peep/employee on a 1080p resolution. He would be smaller then the size of a sugar ant on screen! Try clicking on something that small and is moving around on it's own at the same time. Not fun!

Also note this game probably doesn't support wide-screen natively, so even if you did get it to that resolution, it would appear stretched as the interface and HUD elements may not be coded to work in that aspect ratio. Hence why non 4:3 aspect ratio resolutions don't show up in the settings.

If you want high res game play, go with RCT3 as I believe that game should handle the higher resolutions better.

Edited by Apache Thunder, 29 September 2010 - 05:03 PM.

[Apache Thunder]

Just now checked and it does let me use the monitor's native res. But I still stand on my previous statement. Things get smaller the higher res you go.

[ClockworkMyr]

Could've sworn I had posted a reply to this.

Anyhow, I play on 1280x1024 and it's still easy to click a peep, so I thought 1080p would be quite managable even on a smaller-ish monitor.

[Apache Thunder]

From examining different resolutions. The game appears to maintain the "playing field" size by keeping them native to the graphics the objects uses. Thus on a 1024x768 resolution setting, a 1x1 shop building for example would take up 64x64 pixels and would still take that amount of pixels even at higher or lower screen resolutions. So the graphics pixel wise does not in size. The only difference is the HUD gets smaller and the overall area of the "playing field" gets larger letting you see more of the park with the higher res you select. So using a widescreen resolution also should not result in stretching either as the graphics is kept at native res internally. However the HUD may appear stretched though as I don't know how the HUD is coded in respect to what it does at different resolutions.

So when ran at 1080p resolution you have a small peep that is most likely no more then 64 pixels tall (no exact measurement, but I would guess that a peep is perhaps even smaller, 32 or less pixels tall). Now on a 20 inch monitor running at 1920x1080, that is very small. 1080p monitors squeeze all those pixels into a smaller space with the smaller size monitor you get. So it would get harder and harder to see and click things, the higher res you go. So unless you have a monitor that is more then 24-32 inches in size then you will have a hard time clicking on certain things if ran at a 1080p resolution. I think with my 17 inch monitor, things aren't a problem to see/interact with when on the monitor's native res. If the same size monitor could go as high as 1920x1080 however, things would get quite small in that same amount of space.

But since I don't know how large your monitor is physically, then I guess you might be able to navigate the game with no issue at that res after all. 1080p monitors are usually expensive and at least 20 inches or larger. I don't see very many sub 19 inch monitors running that high a resolution.

Now for a game like RCT3 or most other 3D applications, the mesh and view area you see is most likely not displayed the same way with different resolutions like RCT2/RCT1. A mesh is made up of vertexes/polygons and a texture is wrapped onto it. A 2D game consists solely of 2D images that are at a specific resolution.

But with a mesh it isn't strictly confined to the resolution of the texture that it uses, thus for a 3D shooter for example, you don't see more of the field of battle by going higher res. You simply see objects in the "distance" with better detail. (that and the edges of object faces also become more smooth at higher resolutions. (only exception is with a change in aspect ratio. You would see more left and right if you switch to a 4:3 res to a 16:9 res, but only if the game supports doing that, other wise it would just stretch everything to fill the change in aspect ratio)

So in this case going ultra high resolution most likely will not be a good thing for RCT2.

Edited by Apache Thunder, 05 October 2010 - 03:02 AM.