Dang that print is small

[grunt_GI]

So, old codger question..I don't recall if someone else has asked this...is there some way to make the orders text way way way bigger...argh, I can barely squint my 48 year old eyes to read the damn things even with my way cool bifocals.

Help is greatly appreciated.

[Schrullenhaft]

The text is a fixed size. You may need to set CMSF to run at a lower resolution (main menu > Options > Display Size, 'Desktop' is what your current desktop resolution is set to), which in turn makes the text appear larger.

[Jammersix]

Or we can just wait.

In twenty years, the squirts who programmed it won't be able to read it, and then they'll change it.

Patience is an old man's weapon.

[Brindlewolf]

There's a text mod in the Repository which might help with this.Doesn't alter the text but stretches the lettering out to make it more readable.Just the job.

[Buzz]

old codger's back in the fight with sight

Marco Bergman's "wide and tall" works for me.

http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=fileinfo&id=1020

[grunt_GI]

Thanks Buzz. I will try it

[Jammersix]

I must not know enough about sophisticated programming to understand why they don't just program in font size adjusment.

Oh, wait, windows. That's why not...

[Buzz]

Helps to get in the fight if you can read the instructions:)

Good Luck grunt GI

[Redwolf]

I must not know enough about sophisticated programming to understand why they don't just program in font size adjusment.

Oh, wait, windows. That's why not...

Rendering text in 3D applications isn't driven by all the fancy font frameworks available in the regular 2D application toolkits. Practically all 3D applications render text in a way that you can't scale the fonts. At best they provide two entirely separate sets of fonts. But then how do you fit the text into it's boxes? It's not that all of these are floating text boxes with scrollbars.

Having said that, the text in CMx2 is too small for anything but an old-style < 100 dpi desktop screen. My macbook is hard to use and the 30" display isn't that great either.

[Jammersix]

Rendering text in 3D applications isn't driven by all the fancy font frameworks available in the regular 2D application toolkits. Practically all 3D applications render text in a way that you can't scale the fonts. At best they provide two entirely separate sets of fonts. But then how do you fit the text into it's boxes? It's not that all of these are floating text boxes with scrollbars.

Well... What?

[Redwolf]

Well... What?

Care to point out a 3D game which allows you to scale text like a web browser does?

[Jammersix]

False.

If there is no other such game, that is not a valid reason (or rather, excuse) for yours to have faulty text.

I will admit that it fits your company ethos and standards, though. You're consistently a year or so behind with Macs.

Oh, and WoW. Not at good as it should be, but at least it has a few choices. So you pretty much lost on both fronts.

Have a nice day.

[Redwolf]

Did you ever actually write programs using opengl?

Not exactly a lot of support for floating/adjusting GUI elements in there that could take random text resizes. Unless you use some toolkit nobody else heard about?

[Jammersix]

You're boring me, Redwolf, and I'm not interested, the same way you wouldn't be interested if I tried to explain what a jack rafter is, let alone the calculations to lay them out and cut them.

If you aren't good enough to figure it out, you aren't good enough.

Now go away. I have many other things to do that, while trivial, are far more important than this.

[Redwolf]

Jim Rose, is that you?

[Guest]

Jammersix - hi. I'm the Mac programmer at BFC. What do you mean by "You're consistently a year or so behind with Macs"? I'm curious.

Also, Redwolf (who doesn't work for us, he was simply providing some helpful info, thanks Redwolf) is correct: with OpenGL freely scaling text / UI is a bigger problem than one might expect, and we've chosen to spend our resources elsewhere. "Good enough" isn't the question, it's "do we do this, and lose the programming time for other, more important features?"

And, the final nail in the coffin, due to the way OpenGL works, it probably wouldn't work very well, no matter how good we are or how much time we threw at it. I can assure you that both Charles and I are extremely experienced, very "good" at our jobs, and we - because of this - know which problems are rabbit holes and shouldn't be prioritized, as I assume you do in your line of work.

Hopefully that answers your question.

[Jammersix]

What I meant was this: I became aware that Shockforce for OS X was out on Christmas eve. How long has Shockforce for Windows been out?

I've been playing Combat Mission since the first version was released for Mac, and have watched the Windows versions show up a year or so before the Mac versions. (That is, when a Mac version shows up. When OS X first came out... well, never mind. You probably weren't involved in that regrettable series of decisions.) It's actually one of the reasons I bought one of the first Intel Macs-- just so I could install Windows, and play the then-current version of Combat Mission. I'm still waiting on a Mac machine/software combination that will let me play the Stalingrad scenarios.

Sorry, Redwolf sounded like he worked for you, or at least knew something about Shockforce development. My mistake. He's an easy guy to overlook, so that's what I'll do.

I'm not particularly interested in technical problems. From out here, you can play a given Combat Mission scenario on a Mac or you can't. And you can increase the size of the text from something the size of ant droppings to big enough to see with a large set of binoculars or you can't. But it amuses me that you put the technical issues in the same paragraph you used to call yourselves "very 'good'" at your jobs.

In my business, (I was a general contractor for 25 years, I'm just a simple carpenter by trade) we started with a goal, and then figured out how to do it. We rarely had the option of throwing our hands up in dismay, stating that it was a rabbit hole, calling ourselves Experts Who Would Know, and leaving for happy hour. That would have been nice.

(Another way of looking at that, of course, is that if you get to use that option and keep your income, then you've already won, and you have things to teach me about business.)

As I told Redwolf, I have a 3D Mac game in my hands that allows me a few options in text sizes. Not a lot, that's true, but I use a magnifying glass to read Shockforce text when I'm tired. (You'll see. If you're lucky. Surviving this long was only partly a matter of skill, riches and good looks. A lot of it was luck.)

Trotsky said that old age is the most unexpected thing that happens to a man. So someday, you won't be able to read the Shockforce text as it exists tonight, and it will surprise the hell out of you. My suggestion is that on that night, you find some kid who thinks it's not an issue worth spending any resources on, and beat the hell out of him. For both of us. When you're done with that, find me, and I'll buy you a beer. You'll probably be thirsty.

And yes, your explanation does answer my question. Thank you. Now go away. Dad owes me a beer.

[Buzz]

Jammer

Marco Bergman's "wide and tall" mod works well to make the CMSF MAC font readable.

Did you try it yet?

http://www.battlefront.com/index.php...leinfo&id=1020

[Jammersix]

I get an "Error 404, Object Not Found" from that link, Buzz.

[Redwolf]

You still didn't point out any other 3D game that has scalable fonts.

Why do you beat up the BFC guys over it?

What you need to do is make sure you get a computer screen not higher resolution than 90 dpi, or probably 80 dpi.

[Vanir Ausf B]

http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=fileinfo&id=1020

[Guest]

I'm not particularly interested in technical problems.

I think this nicely summarizes your post.

In my business, (I was a general contractor for 25 years, I'm just a simple carpenter by trade) we started with a goal, and then figured out how to do it. We rarely had the option of throwing our hands up in dismay, stating that it was a rabbit hole, calling ourselves Experts Who Would Know, and leaving for happy hour. That would have been nice.

I'm not a simple carpenter by trade. I'm a programmer, as is Charles. Between us we've got 40-some years of development experience. Count 'em... I'll wait... ahh, yes, that's longer than you've been a contractor. We don't leave for happy hour, we work around the clock to deliver CM, and we have to choose what to spend our time on, which is not something you needed to do in your line of work, apparently.

But you don't care about that, you assume our job is straightforward, or that we must be bad at it, fine. At least I'm wise enough to know that I don't understand *your* job. If only you were blessed with the same common sense.

Edited to add: Since CMBN, Mac versions of new products have been released at the same time as PC versions. So... you're wrong. CMSF Mac came out after CMSF PC because they're essentially different games - CMSF Mac is CMSF built on top of the CMx2 engine. But you knew that, right? Because you understand software development?

[Buzz]

Jammer, I tried the link I posted and it worked for me.

You can increase the print size going to the Repository search CMSF for "Wide and Tall briefing fonts" as this works on my Mac just fine.

Give it a try and I hope it works for you. Makes reading the briefs much easier. BTW: Not having to bootcamp to play CMSF on Mac is a great timesaver as I am sure you realize. If all else fails, Uncle Harold always said, "It is Happy Hour somewhere!";)