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Resolution problems when running under 1024x768

Posted: Sun Aug 08, 2004 9:54 pm
by Spunkman
whenever i try to run zdoom, or any other ports based on it (skulltag, zdaemon) under a resolution of 1024x768, the screen just becomes a mass garble of verticle lines. i can't make out anything on the screen, and have to switch back. my desktop is currently running at 1024x768 in 32 bit color, and my video card is a radeon9100. i don't have this problem anywhere other than zdoom. any ideas?

Posted: Sun Aug 08, 2004 10:09 pm
by MasterOFDeath
Go into a lower resolution so you can see the menu, and try turing on/off "use attached surfaces" and "direct draw pallete hack". Also, you could try playing in a window, if you already are, try fullscreen. If nothing still works, just play the lowest resolution your card can handle.

Posted: Sun Aug 08, 2004 11:30 pm
by GeeDougg
I got the same problem (GeForce FX 5200), and no, turning off attached surfaces doesn't help. And even playing in Windowed mode won't fix this one in my case.

Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 12:31 am
by Spunkman
geedougg wrote:I got the same problem (GeForce FX 5200), and no, turning off attached surfaces doesn't help. And even playing in Windowed mode won't fix this one in my case.
same here. and master, i'm saying that i can't go LOWER than 1024x768, so that is essentially the lowest i can go.

Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 12:40 am
by GeeDougg
Have you tried messing with your Video Card drivers? Try reinstalling them....

Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 1:43 am
by MasterOFDeath
Alot of recent cards seem to hate lower resolutions, especially ones lower than your desktop resolution. If you have higher resolutions avalable, try one of those. I have seen several people already get a new computer, try to run zdoom on it for the first time, and have to go in and edit the .ini manually or somehow get it in a window just so they could increase the resolution to the proper one.

This is a common problem that involves modern video cards, both GeForce(yuck) and Radeon. That is part of why the use attached surfaces and direct draw pallete hack are there. However, I believe Randy has fixed this problem and eliminated the need for those 2 options in ZDoom 2.0.64

[EDIT]Spelling errors.

Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 3:57 am
by Lexus Alyus
I tend to find that GL ports screw up in that resolution, yet my desktop and ordinary Zdoom use that res with no problems. I think the only solution is to just use a resolution thta actually works and stick with it. It's either a monitor incompatibility or a video driver issue... most likely your video drivers... try upgrading (I'll have to try that phenomina some time too :D).

I have strange problems. Ya see, I beleive that that resolution isn't actually the aspect ratio of my TV (it isa TV, diospite popular beleifs... it's a shitty samsung flat screen thingy... it looks great on my PC, but when I run the GC through it it looks total shite! Why is that?). Anyway, slightly related are the problems tht I get. In really low resolutions (I beleive it's 320x200) my monitor just says "Unsupported resolution" and then when I try the next res up from 1224x768 (1280x960) my screen actually goes off the edges! Basically everything ias really big and half the screen is just cut off (like, going beyhond the boundries of the monitor!). It happens if I use those resolutions in Zdoom too... and probably any other game. I'ts slightly off topic, but can somebody help me fix this? and no, I cannot afford a new monitor... besides, the only ones that would fit on my desktop are flat scrteens anyway... which are mondo money... this one I got cheap because my step dad sold it to me. It is okayu, but has those few minor problems that can make some things a pain.

:twisted:

Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 4:52 am
by TheDarkArchon
Spunkman wrote: I'm saying that i can't go LOWER than 1024x768, so that is essentially the lowest i can go.
IsZDoom choppy as Hell when you run it at 1024x768.

Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 8:34 am
by Xaser
Try running in a window.

Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 9:36 am
by HotWax
Lexus Alyus wrote:it looks great on my PC, but when I run the GC through it it looks total shite! Why is that?
Well, first you need to know the difference between interlace and progressive scan. Interlace is what TV's have done since the dawn of time (or for around 100 years, whichever's more recent ;)). Rather than updating the entire screen at once, they opt to update every other line of the screen each "frame". A normal TV signal is 24 "frames" per second, or 12 complete frames, ordered odd lines, even lines, odd lines, etc. The blending effect created by updating only half the lines per frame tricks your eyes into seeing a smoother stream.

This is all well and good until you try displaying digital graphics like this. Small text becomes all but unreadable and you lose the crispness you're used to seeing with computer monitors. Hence, digital televisions are capable of progressive scan. In this mode, every line is updated every frame, and framerates are unlimited. This allows a nice, high-quality digital signal to be shown at a very smooth rate.

The GC supports two modes of display; 800i and 800p. 800i means 800x600 resolution, interlaced. This is the highest a standard TV is able to display properly. 800p means 800x600 resolution, progressive scan; otherwise known as digital.

To put the GC in progressive mode, you'll need to purchase a component video cable from Nintendo. This is a very high-quality cable that has RGB connectors. You should find these color-coded connectors on the backside of your television, along with a set of standard A/V ports grouped with them in some manner. You plug the component cable into the GC's digital port. Plug the red and white cables from the A/V cable into the matching A/V ports. You can leave the yellow cord dangling as the component cable provides the video signal. Then plug the three component cables into the corresponding ports in your TV. Now you're all set.

To play in progressive scan, the game you're playing must support it. Luckily, every game made by Nintendo does, and most games after the first year or so of the GC's existance also support it. On newer games, there is a Progressive Scan Compatible icon on the case. Depending on the game, you may be asked when you turn on the GC whether to switch to progressive scan mode. If you're not, reset the system while holding the B button on the 1st controller. You should receive the prompt. Answer yes and your TV will switch into progressive scan mode. You shouldn't have to alter the setting for that game again unless you want to switch back for some reason. If you hold B and get no prompt, the game does not support progressive scan (or you've connected the cables improperly). Also, and I don't think this is the case with you, if you switch to progressive scan and get a garbled image, your television doesn't support it. Unfortunately, some TV's include component input and aren't progressive scan enabled. This is really stupid as there's no point to using component otherwise -- the signal quality is nearly identical to S-Video.

Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 7:16 pm
by MasterOFDeath
[somewhatofftopic]I wonder what it would be like if I could somehow hook up my GC, PS2, or XBox to my computer monitor... what would that look like? :P [/somewhatofftopic]

Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 7:56 pm
by GeeDougg
It would be like hooking your GC, PS2, and XBox to your monitor. And if I were you and I was doing that I'd just hook up a DreamCast as well.

Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 10:12 pm
by wildweasel
MOD: Pretty much the only way to hook up systems to your monitor would be if your card had a TV-In connector (S-Video, AV, whatever, like some ATI cards), or if there exists a peripheral that converts the signal to something a VGA monitor could read (like Dreamcast's VGA Box).

Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2004 12:43 am
by HotWax
I don't have personal experience with the PS2, XBox, or DC, so I'll just stick to the GC.

There are two ways to connect a GC to a computer monitor. The first is to get yourself a GameCube S-Video cable and plug it into the S-Video in on your video card, assuming you have one. Then of course you have to get a program to read that signal and display it. This is, from personal experience, a major pain in the ass, and it looks worse than it does on a TV since the image is distorted slightly and likely stretched by whatever software is displaying it.

The second way is to convert the GC's digital signal into the type of signal a monitor can read. Since PC monitors are naturally capable of rendering in 800p, you wouldn't think this would be too hard. Heh.

The most popular way I know of to do this is to purchase a GC component video cable, and then either mod it yourself or have someone else do it for you. The instructions for doing so are freely available, but it will mean taking apart the cable, soldering some connections, and replacing the RGB cables on the other end with a monitor plug. Once that's done, the GC will natively support your monitor's input mode. Now you just have to get the sound into the computer, somehow . . .

WARNING! Do not -- I repeat DO NOT -- purchase a "VGA box" or anything similar to it for your console systems. Such pieces of shit usually take an s-video or A/V input (read: LOW QUALITY) and stretch it, distort it, and pummel it into shape until your monitor can display it. THE END RESULT LOOKS LIKE UTTER SHIT! It is definately not worth your money. If you do find a converter that looks good, be 100% sure that it uses the system's digital output, NOT the standard S-Video or A/V output.

This has been a public service announcement. Thank you for your time.

Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2004 1:13 am
by Bio Hazard
HotWax wrote:The first is to get yourself a GameCube S-Video cable and plug it into the S-Video in on your video card, assuming you have one.
um, dont you mean a video capture card? i thought the one on the video card was out-only