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CMx1 screen resolutions


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I found the below quotes in a CMSF thread and responded there, but also just realised that I could copy it to CMx1, where it might be of more use.

Typically the CMx1 games will support discrete resolutions of 800x600, 1024x768, 1152x864, 1280x1024 and 1600x1200 (and there may be a few others).

The CMx1 games max out at 1600x1200, so most likely they will suffer 'stretching' on most current widescreen monitors. This would especially be true if the entire display is being used at a non-native resolution. So if your widescreen supported 1680 x 1050, then the highest resolution you would be able to run a CMx1 game would be 1280x1024.

This might only be of interest to Schrullenhaft, but today, whilst playing about with my Samsung XP netbook (crappy intel GMA 3150 integrated graphics) but capable of displaying a maximum of 1920x1080 on an external monitor, I plugged it into a 4:3 monitor capable of 1600x1200. I then noted that CMBO offered me a resolution of 1400x1050! I've never heard or read of this particular CMx1 resolution before, and going by Tech Support's above comments, it indeed seems to be one of those rare "few others" that might sometimes get overlooked. And it isn't a mirage either - I tried both 1400x1050 and then 1280x1024 to check there was an apparent difference in the resultant picture.

So I thought it worth mentioning, that if you have a screen with a pixel height of 1050 or 1080, you might (with some playing about with your desktop resolutions) be able to get 1400x1050 instead of having to stick with 1280x1024.

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I run my CM1 at the highest res offered which is 2200xsomething IIRC. I tried it at 1600x1200 and can't detect any difference other than the UI controls are much smaller.

Is there some problem/danger with running at max res offered?

Are you saying 1400x1050 makes the game unit proportions "look right"? If so, how did you play with your desktop res to get that?

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Hiya Erwin (Had to look up your "IIRC" = if I remember correctly??). Well, IIRC, CMx1 max resolution was 1600x1200! So are you talking about the game's DirectX 3D Testing offering you 2200xsomething? (see attached preview pic) Somehow I'd doubt it anyway because if the game could offer it, then the next one up from 1600x1200 would be 2048x1536. So are you instead merely talking about what max resolution your screen can run at using image upscaling of a 1600x1200 game? Image upscaling would make a 1600x1200 game image appear less sharp on a screen taller than 1200 pixels, but a very good quality monitor could compensate enough to minimise the blur and still look nice, but the game itself would still be running at 1600x1200.

Or, if you really are running a CMx1 game at 2200xsomething, I wonder if the max resolutions of CMBO, CMBB and CMAK differ?

-

post-18354-141867624782_thumb.jpg

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Erwin, it's still interesting that you can apparently go to 2048x1536 on CMAK. Here's me quoting myself about de-stretching the image on widescreens:

I've got a Samsung netbook (which admittedly only has an integrated intel graphics card, but the concepts might be a similar-enough...). On that I had to find the display settings' "aspect ratio" options which then gave me the options to alter the "panel fit". There were 3 options - and I found that by changing from the default "Full Screen (no border)" to the option "center image" (the other option was "maintain aspect ratio"), the games run centered on the screen instead of stretched. On some bigger machines these graphics options instead come under "image scaling" of the graphics card... Either way, you probably need to find an option somewhere in your display settings called something like "center image" or turn off one called "image stretch".

Or, your monitor might have its own separate controls for this. With newer NVidia or ATI wide-screen capable graphics cards (which I don't have so I'm guessing) there maybe simply an option to "do not scale". But you get the idea, you need to find scaling and aspect ratio options somewhere, and play around with them.

If no joy send me your exact graphics card, OS, and monitor model and I'll try to have a gander....

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One option that works for CM1 (nVidia) is "no scaling". I get black bars on the right and left, but the proportions are correct. ( I did not change any resolution.)

Unfortunately that messes up my CM2 screens, so have to swap back and forth depending on game.

The 3rd choice "Aspect Ratio" seems to make both CM1 and CM2 look correct.

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Yes, if you de-stretch the screen (remove scaling) you'll get black bars either side because you're running a 4:3 game on a 16:10 widescreen.

Your "aspect ratio" setting is probably the setting that means (and should be called) "maintain aspect ratio". This could work better if you're playing both widescreen and non-widescreen games without wanting to keep changing your graphics settings. But "maintain aspect ratio" can cause problems with other issues (desktop settings or switching between programs), depending on your graphics card and what other software you have. There's no one-size-fits-all answer - it depends on your needs, your other software, and what monitor and what graphics chip you got. That's why I previously mentioned the "mantain aspect ratio" option but on my netbook ended up going for "center image" (i.e. "no scaling"), because "maintain aspect ratio" screwed my Samsung netbook display up completely (screen went black) every time I finished a game. And "no scaling" is always the safest to try first anyway...

But strange how "no scaling" screws up your CMx2 - did you delete any CMx2 prefs file (if CMx2 has one), or howsoever it's done, to reset its own graphics/resolution?

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When I say no scaling "messes"... I mean that I get a smaller image with black frame all around.

So far "Aspect Ratio" doesn't appear to have any ill-effects.

I was hoping there was a setting that allows CM1 to fill the screen horizontally, but cuts off top and bottom (like many movies on DVD do) to get the widescreen look but with correct proportions of the units.

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What resolutions can CMx2 run at? I've no idea but (stupidly??) assume it has widescreen capability(?). If so, it must surely have a max resolution closer to your 2560x1600 monitor?

Or else you are going to have to accept that you'll need to alter scaling or aspect ratio settings depending on whether playing CMx1 or CMx2.

Jeez, Erwin. Filling the screen horizontally without image-stretch but by instead cutting off top and bottom of the game sreen is highly unlikely to be possible. Graphics chips and monitors are not designed to intentionally incorrectly display an image resolution! But there's a small chance that depending on the way your monitor and your graphics chip interprets each other, you might incidentally/accidentally get the game to display that way (I've managed it by luck before now, with a chip capable of a greater resolution than the screen could manage) and then you'd need to adjust the monitor's Vertical and Horizontal display settings so that you get the interface buttons visible on the game screen.

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P.S. to my previous last para: If I recall, sometimes if a monitor will accept a much greater desktop resolution from your graphics chip than it can display, it will let you have it and then allow you to navigate the larger desktop with your mouse - e.g. as you move your mouse up and down the screen, the larger desktop will scroll to let you see another part of your desktop. However, it probably won't happen with a laptop display, but only with an external monitor, and even then only (of course) where your chip's maximum "external monitor" display resolution is greater than your external monitor's maximum resolution. But even then, there may still be a chance it might not work if the software program you are trying to run is designed to also detect your monitor rather than just your desktop-size.

I managed it with one previous setup I played with a few years ago and I think I ran CMBO for the hell of it, but in-battle scrolling/navigation was difficult as sometimes the cursor would be in a part of the overall battlefield-screen that was actually off the monitor's visible screen. I suspect you'd either find the same and/or that the carefully aligned vertical positioning you'd want would then wander around somewhat as you moved your cursor around the battlefield.

Basically, things like games and in-game navigation aren't really designed to work that way.

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You're welcome Erwin. Actually, I kept on thinking about how to possibly fulfil your unusual desire to display CMx1 so that it fills across a 16:10 widescreen but 4:3 aspect ratio maintained, so you end up cutting off the top and or bottom of the in-game screen.

There is something else you can try. Go into your NVidia control panel, look for something called "manage custom resolutions", then click on "create", then click on "advanced settings", then look for a "manual" settings button (at least, that is what it's all called on my old NVidia card).

In there, you'll find some parameters (probably called "back-end parameters") which dictate (among other things) how many pixels and where they start/offset/porch on your screen. At your own risk, play with the settings and click on the "test" button (you might have to click agreement to an Nvidia disclaimer first). On my old machine, it then tries the new custom settings, sometimes changing the screen, sometimes nothing happens, sometimes the screen goes ominously black. However, in "test" mode you should then be asked if you want to keep the custom setting and if you don't answer (because maybe your screen went blank etc, your screen should revert back to your normal/previous settings after 15 seconds. If you end up accidentally clicking "OK" instead of "test", and the screen goes wonky or black, you might have to do a hard shutdown (holding in the main on button for 4+ seconds) and/or restart in safe mode to change settings back. I didn't have to because my NVidia was configured not to start in custom mode).

I was only prepared to try it on an old 4:3 monitor as I don't want to risk damaging the only decent widescreen we have (a 32" tv). And so I can't even suggest what settings to adjust in which direction first. But at your risk, if you want to explore all those settings, go ahead....

Once you've accepted a custom setting you should see it listed whenever you open your NVidia control panel and click on "manage custom resolutions" again, and then you'd probably have to select/deselect it before and after the game.

It might prove useful on a small widescreen. But what would likely put me off bothering with your bigger widescreen, would be that even if you can get all the above to work, you might have to accept 2048x1536 as your max CMx1 resolution (??). Which, being smaller than your screen, might leave you with a blurry (low-resolution-looking) game as it'd be spread across the entire width of your high-resolution screen.

And don't blame me if your screen blows up!

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Sorry. I checked and the (CMAK) in-game res offers me max 2048x1536. My monitor is max 2560x1600.

I just wondered if there was a way to make the CM1 image in the correct proportions rather than stretched.

I'm surprised. I have the same 30" monitor resolution and don't get this offer.

You need to configure the screen to leave black stripes left and right instead of stretching. It isn't a game setting. It is a screen setting. You can set this either in the in-monitor menu or in the NVidia control panel.

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You need to configure the screen to leave black stripes left and right instead of stretching. It isn't a game setting. It is a screen setting. You can set this either in the in-monitor menu or in the NVidia control panel.

We're well past that bit of advice Redwolf - please read a short thread before jumping in - we're onto Erwin's unusual desire to force a 4:3 game to fit the widescreen horizontally, cutting off top and bottom of the in-game image, because he drank too much schnapps. But all the same, I'm glad Erwin's toying with settings also helped another soul increase their resolution, and made the thread worth starting.

And Erwin! Another reported 2048x1536 means you weren't just suffering from a North-African desert mirage. And getting back to the point of the thread, I wonder what other 4:3 resolutions are possible (above and below this) that aren't already widely known? We now know at least these are possible:

800x600, 1024x768, 1152x864, 1280x1024, 1400x1050, 1600x1200 and 2048x1536.

(And I think Schrullenhaft somewhere else pondered that CMBO alone might be able to software-render at 640x480 - but I doubt such a low res would be of any use...)

But yes, Erwin, stick with 4:3 with black side bars - you'll soon get used to it, buddy, and your in-game resolution will look sharper on your screen that way. But I'd like to know if you've played out a battle at 2048x1536 and seen that it all works ok.

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My settings have been 2048x1536 literally for years - actually since I got a computer with card that could power my hi res 30" monitor which was almost 4 years ago.

I never worried about stretching the CM1 games horizontally. But, I am playing with the correct proportions (R and L bars) now, and that's fine too.

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Right. Back to the core purpose of the thread. Just for the hell of it I tested CMBO, CMBB and CMAK at software-rendered 640x480, and Schrullenhaft's notion was correct in that you can run CMBO but not the others at that res. See attached pic. I suppose it might be of residual interest to someone cobbling together a low-spec mobile device?? The ground tiles don't look right and the buildings look a little pixelated (though this might be corrected with smaller bitmaps? or look better depending on your rig) but otherwise it isn't too bad. Perhaps we'll be able to play CMBO on smart phones or smart watches...

If anyone finds any other CMx1 resolutions not yet listed in this thread, please feel free to add.

post-18354-141867624794_thumb.jpg

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Right. Back to the core purpose of the thread. Just for the hell of it I tested CMBO, CMBB and CMAK at software-rendered 640x480, and Schrullenhaft's notion was correct in that you can run CMBO but not the others at that res. See attached pic. I suppose it might be of residual interest to someone cobbling together a low-spec mobile device?? The ground tiles don't look right and the buildings look a little pixelated (though this might be corrected with smaller bitmaps? or look better depending on your rig) but otherwise it isn't too bad. Perhaps we'll be able to play CMBO on smart phones or smart watches...

If anyone finds any other CMx1 resolutions not yet listed in this thread, please feel free to add.

Why would you target the soft renderer?

A modern mobile device has a 3D chip, and it is much more capable than combining CPU (weak in mobile devices) with 2D painting (Linux framebuffer in Android).

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Redwolf, I'm not targeting anything, just putting information and queries out there about resolutions and how to obtain them, just in case it's of use to someone. And I've been asking if anyone has found other resolutions. And in my last message I was just confirming, for posterity and completeness, for what residual use it might be to anyone, something that Schrullenhaft some while ago suggested might be possible about software rendering of CMBO but not CMBB or CMAK. And in my message it is very clear that I'm merely pondering/querying what potential use it could be to anyone, hence the "??" in my last message.

And if you had read the message and the thread all this would have been perfectly plain to you. And so, regrettably, I have to suggest to you (yet again in this thread, and from my experience of your antics in other threads) that you read things properly instead of being selective and/or over-eagerly jumping in to show off. And may I also beg that you avoid inventing arguments just to show off some nugget of knowledge. Because all of it would only serve to put you in a poor, overly-competitive light instead of a constructive one, and make people prefer to disengage with you - as now, sadly, shall I.

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What did I do now? I was just asking a question. I was curious who you wouldn't aim for the hardware 3D resolutions.

Anyway, as a PSA: the 2048 resolution was actually crashing my NVidia-equipped gaming computer, as in hangs with sound loop. I updated the drivers today and whatever NVidia has in their auto-updater today fix0red the hang.

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  • 1 year later...

I have a scaling problem not mentioned here - the only option I get after killing the prefs file is 1280 X 1024 at 75 Hz.

This results in filling my wide screen monitor (1680 X 1050) with awful looking Squat units. - I have to ALT/TAB in order for graphics to run properly (Very slow if I do not do this)

 

I set the Nvidia GT 740 to no scaling and Monitor to control scaling.

If I try to set the GPU to control scaling, I then get an option of 1280 X 1024 at 60 Hz and the splash screen looks great at the 4:3 ratio. BUT after ALT/TAB to get graphics to run everything locks up.

Anyone got any ideas one this one (I could not find this situation in the previous comments)

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Changing compatibility mode for the game gives you new graphics options as well I have found out.

 

As far as this scaling talk you are talking about I have never heard about any "scaling" control in any games. Don't you use nvidia control panel??? Play with the settings in the panel, turn off anti-aliasing and vsync etc.

Edited by user1000
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Here is a bit more information for anyone who has the time to try and solve this.

Firstly, I have an HP W22 monitor, Geforce GT740, Windows 10, and a powerful PC. I have been playing this game for many years (Since CMBO first came out) without any problems.

The problem started when I got the GT740 AND Windows 10. I got a message from GE Force Experience that I have to update driver for Windows 10 to 355.60 which I did.

I have tried literally hundreds of settings on the Nvidia control panel, Killing the prefs file every time, the thing that keeps occurring is that at start up the only options I get are 1280 X 1040 75 and 60 Hz. I choose the 60hz option, load a game and I get a full screen with awful graphics (Poor resolution and Squat units). Also game is jerky, I ALT/TAB and game speeds up perfectly.

All the above with or without anti-aliasing, with or without vert sync, No Scaling controlled by the display. I never get the option for a 4:3 scaling at any resolution.

 

If I switch scaling to be controlled by GPU, I do get the correct screen display at correct scaling etc BUT the performance is really slow, if I ALT/TAB which normally speeds things up the system locks up and only way out is to use task manager to X-out exception error window and kill CM task.

Any help will be greatly appreciated...

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