Launcher resolution

[SchnurreSteffi]

Hi follks!

I have just installed Plane Shift, and even before entering the game, i came across a Problem.
The Launcher is a fixed resolution window, and it is way too big.

I have a Netbook running at a native resolution of 1024x600 pixels. I can play games at that resolution (or 800x600 if they don't support 1024x600) at an acceptable framerate, but the launcher is so big that i don't see the buttons at the bottom.

So, to start PlaneShift, i have to rise the resolution way above the native one. That clobbers down performance and makes it look really awfull.

Don't you think 800x600 should be large enough for the launcher-window?
Or could it be resizeable? Or somehow detect the systems resolution on startup and then fit to that?
Or at least, place the buttons somewhere on the sides or top, so they can be reached even if the bottom is not visible?
 
As 1024x600 is becoming more widely used for small note- and netbooks, and they become more powerfull, more and more people will run into this pitfall.

I have also noticed that PlaneShift supports all sorts of 16:9 or 16:10 resolutions, but not 1024x600 pixels. It would be nice to run the game at that native resolution, it just looks better. But thats not really an issue, i just wanted to mention it.

Thank you very much, you do a great job there!

[bilbous]

You might look into setting your virtual desktop size to greater than your desktop resolution size as a stopgap measure. I am not certain how you might go about that in Windows as I do not use it anymore but it is fairly easy in Linux. That said I have never liked doing that because I always mouse into the edge of the screen causing it to scroll when I just want to click near the bottom of what is currently displayed. You might find that it helps, though, at least you would be able to access the buttons.

[LigH]

Are you certain that the game will run well on a netbook? -- Those have usually a rather slow CPU (at least Dual-Core is very recommendable), little RAM (less than 2 GB), and a very limited "office-grade" graphic solution (PlaneShift really requires Pixel Shader 2.0, works best on GeForce generation 6+, acceptable on ATI Radeon HD or intel GMA HD, but not really well on anything less).

Furthermore you should not run PlaneShift in fullscreen mode, it is known to cause some issues on some systems. But you can manually edit your configuration and enter any resolution you like to size the game window to almost-fullscreen dimensions. In your case maybe 950x540 (to leave a bit space for the window title and task bar):

Windows: %APPDATA%\PlaneShift\planeshift.cfg | Linux: ~/.PlaneShift/planeshift.cfg

Code: [Select]

...
Video.Fullscreen = false
...
Video.ScreenWidth = 960
Video.ScreenHeight = 540
...
Video.AspectRatio = 16:9
...
But with such a low screen height you may face another problem: In-game windows may not fit in the game window anymore.

[Dracaeon]

I ran Planeshift for ages on my way-under-minimum computer, and played fairly well, provided I set a few anti-lag measures [turning off sound, lowering quality, etc.]

[LigH]

Well, some people will have issues (like: maps loading for several minutes; freezes while moving, especially turning; pitch-black or even invisible landscapes outside the towns; extreme brightness or darkness).