Suggestion for next patch

[Imp]

Originally Posted by Rich

Well the graphics would be blurry and that's why the higher res is so nice. But just the fonts would be ok. Regardless, Don and Andy might prefer to simply increase the font size in the game rather than use 800x600. Whatever works best and is easiest to implement.

Simply guessing here fonts is probably not the issue as a simple if clunky workaround could just replace the ones it currently uses from your operating system using explorer or whatever. The tricky bit is probably finding the code & getting the window / graphics round it to resize to the font.

[Mobhack]

Originally Posted by Rich

Well the graphics would be blurry and that's why the higher res is so nice. But just the fonts would be ok. Regardless, Don and Andy might prefer to simply increase the font size in the game rather than use 800x600. Whatever works best and is easiest to implement.

800x600 for the background shape used for the dialogue windows, not the screen.

Don's rewriting a bit of SHPEDIT's code removed the 640x480 limitation that was there previously - probably only because the original DOS game was limited to 640. All I did was resize the image that displays icons so it can handle the maximum size we use without cropping, and added a bit of code to clear the background, so older images did not 'overlay'. Plus the MBT palette gets loaded automatically now, so one step is removed.

So there is the possibility for more display space on those screens - or perhaps to use a larger font. (We are looking into the utilities that came with the VFX libraries - which use a bitmap font made up from an LBM image, and not Windows Truetype - the VFX graphic libraries date from the 90's after all).

Larger dialogue windows would probably mean ditching 640 mode support - but who uses that these days anyway (other than on postage-stamp sized mobile phone screens)?.

Andy

[Rich]

1. I have two pair of glasses. One for normal distance with bifocals and one for computer use which is "mid-distance" with bifocals.

2. Desktop 1920x1080.

3. Windowed. The magnifier doesn't work with full screen.

4. I have tried lower resolutions and need to 1024x768 full screen before the font is readable without straining although 800x600 is better.

[DRG]

1/ I cannot see anything ( at all ) on the screen without my glasses and I also have a special pair just for computer work

4/ I have a 16 inch CRT monitor ( measured diagonally ) and run the game 1152x864 windowed without any trouble. I have a copy of the game on my daughters computer to test widescreen. She has a 19 inch screen ( measured diagonally ) runing at 1440x900. When I run the game at desktop on her machine I can read the text perfectly. In fact, it's sharper on her monitor than it is on mine. When I run on my monitor the screens like the battle set up screen are 6.75 inches wide. On my daughters screen they are 7 inches wide. Again, I have NO problem reading any of the text on any screen and I'm blind as a bat without my glasses


I have no idea why you would have trouble reading 1024x768 on a 24 inch monitor. All I can suggest, and I'm not being a smartass, is get new glasses. I had to just recently and now everything is crisp

Don

[Rich]

I last had my eyes checked about six months ago and my glasses prescription is as good as it's going to get and it's not 20/20. I'm 65, a few years ago I had a double hip operation, my eyesight and hearing have deteriorated over the years not to mention so many other things. I have no problems with other games on my monitor but understand SP is a remake from an older game and that could cause the font to be so small. Others on this forum have mentioned it as well.

If you folks could find a way to improve the font size it would be very much appreciated. Otherwise I'll continue to use the magnifier. It's a bit of a pain but at least it allows me to play the game.

[Rich]

Don, I just had a thought and took a look. It seems with the fonts there is no high contrast between the background and actual font. The easiest for me to read is white on the charcoal background. When there are colors involved like across the bottom it gets worse. I think probably if all the fonts were black on a white background it would help a lot. How difficult would that be to change? Is it something I can do?

[DRG]

There is no way to change the font or screen colours without the code. We will be aware of the contrast issue as we move forward. I do know there are some combinations that may not be optimal.

That said. My eyes are far from 20/20. I use a set of glasses specifically for the computer and, for me, they show the game font's clear and readable

Don

[Rich]

Don, whatever you can do to make the fonts easier to read would be great. My eyes aren't 20/20 even with glasses and there are probably others in the same boat.