Widescreen Resolution Game looks "Scrunched"

[Casper1]

Hey all -

just got my first laptop that can handle the game well...and all seems good!

One 'issue' i noticed was the screen looks "scrunched" at 1024x768 due to the widescreen 15.4" on the laptop (Dell E1505)

Any suggestions on how I can get this looking more normal?

Thanks!

[Krusty]

My monitor only supports so many modes. It's an LCD screen. If I run a mode it doesn't support, the hardware re-samples the image to fit the screen's physical pixels.

I'm guessing (wildly) that your wide-screen is re-sampling a 3:4 ratio output onto a widescreen display item, making it look flattened/squashed. You need to look into your video card settings and look for your "Digital Flat Panel Settings" screen. That's what it's called on my nVidia Detonator drivers. If you have ATI I don't know what it's listed under. I have options like "Display adapter scaling" or "centered output" or "monitor scaling" (default) or "fixed aspect ratio scaling".

You need to find the right one that will display the pixels properly, WITHOUT scaling them up sideways to fit the entire screen.

You will probably have black boxes on either side of the screen when you're done (like an opposite letterbox format).

[EDIT: Looking at my options, I think you should try "centered output"]


The other option is to set aces high to the exact resolution of your screen size. If it's 1280x768, for example, go to your

C:\Program Files\HTC\Aces High II\settings\video8.cfg

file. Open it in notepad. See the resolution settings? Change them manually. Save the file. Start aces high.

This will crop the top and bottom of your screen a bit, due to the way aces high handles wide-screen resolutions.

It's up to you which route you want to follow to remedy the situation.

[Blackwulf]

Or, you can go into your video settings screen for AH2, and check the box that says "show all resolutions" and then select the native resolution of your screen.  Be aware though, at widescreen resolutions, your field of view remains the same, so things appear just a bit closer than they do in "normal" screen mode, so you need to adjust lead and timing accordingly, but it's not too difficult.  
Also, there is an apparent bug with the F4U in widescreen, I can adjust my head position back to get roughly the same spot I was in before, to see most of my instrument panel, in all planes except in the F4.  In those, I appear to be "stuck" about half way back, and can only go forward from there.
Planning to post a bug report about it soon, after I finish trying various work-arounds.

Blackwulf

[Skuzzy]

Close Blackwulf.  When you set a resolution to an aspect ratio wider than 4:3, the game is clipped at the top and bottom to fill the width.  That is why most of the cockipit instruments are not visible.

Not a bug at all.

[AKFloppy]

So when does AH2 support aspect ratios of 16:10 or 16:9?  Widescreen monitors are becoming more available so is this support being considered or worked on for new versions?  I don't really want rob Peter to pay Paul when it comes to my views.  I want to gain something that is in perspective but shows more screen side to side.  Thx, AKFloppy

[Skuzzy]

Getting the field fo view past 90 degrees is a problem.  Most games used 75 degree field of view so it was easier for them to just bump the field of view.

Once you try to go past 90 degree, things get rather funky looking in DirectX.  Sort of fishbowl looking.