Graphic settings

[Nero's Cat]

How do I set my graphics to the 1024 x 742 setting? At the moment I'm on the other setting currently (800 by something or other - I'm not sure off hand).

What is the practical difference between the 2 settings?Is one a default setting based on the age/speed of your PC?

Confused but grateful in advance

[Dressler]

IIRC, the first time you run CM after install, it asks you to choose a display resolution. It begins with the 800x600 (I believe) and gives the option to click "next" to move to the next larger size. Just go into your CM folder in C\Program Files and delete the "preferences" file. It will ask you to choose the resolution you want to use again the next time you run the game.

[Schrullenhaft]

It's correct that you need to delete the Preferences file in order to have CM prompt you to select a new resolution. However it is incorrect that CM will start at 800x600 and go to a higher resolution from there. In fact CM starts at your current desktop resolution and works down from there. The one difference is that CM may use a vertical refresh rate that may be much higher than your desktop setting. In fact it will usually use the highest refresh rate that the video driver supports at that resolution. It's possible that a refresh rate could be tried that your monitor won't support.

If you click 'Skip' or just leave CM alone (within 5-10 seconds it will automatically act as if you had pressed 'skip') it will try the next lower refresh rate until it eventually reaches 60Hz. At that point it will try the next lower resolution, but at the highest refresh rate supported by the video driver.

So if you want 1024x768, then it is suggest to set your desktop resolution to that resolution or higher. If you don't, then CM will never offer that resolution.

[Nero's Cat]

Thanks for that.

What exactly is the difference between the 2 resolutions - if I amend my preferences to 1024 x 724, will I be getting improved graphics? If so, is there a flip side - reduced frame rate perhaps? Or will CM simply not run on 1024 x 742 for me if my PC isn't geared up for it?

[Dressler]

Ah... I guess I didn't recall correctly.

[Schrullenhaft]

800x600 is the minimum resolution for CMBB and CMAK (CMBO will run at 640x480). Generally the next higher resolution for most videocards is 1024x768. The advantage with a higher resolution is that you'll be able to see more of the battlefield within the 3D window (a little bit more). The disadvantage is that the framerate will probably be reduced compared to a game running at 800x600.

For CM's purposes anything over 10fps is probably fairly good. This framerate however will vary drastically on your viewpoint (the level) and what exactly is on your map (buildings, trees, 'doodads', etc.).

Since I don't know what you have for a videocard, I don't know if your system will handle 1024x768 very well. Most likely, if you can run 800x600, then 1024x768 should be OK (but that's a guess).

[Nero's Cat]

Thanks very much for that - not sure what my system spec is off hand - is there any easy way of finding out? (I threw the box away almost immediately!)

[Schrullenhaft]

What PC model are you using (i.e. - a Compaq Presario 7642, etc.) ? Do you know which version of Windows you're running ?

You can usually go to the Start Menu > Settings/Control Panel > (Control Panel) > System control panel > Hardware tab or Device Manager tab (Windows 98/ME) > (Device Manager button - Win2K/XP) > in here will be listed all of your hardware devices. Click on the 'display adapter' and you should see which videocard model you have installed (or at least the chipset).

You can also find some more specific info on your videocard and monitor in the Display control panel > Settings tab > Advanced... button > in here there may be a specific tab for your videocard (depending on the drivers) or you can just click on the Adapter tab > under the Adapter Information heading there will be a Memory Size. This is the amount of video memory your card has (or how much it may be 'taking' from the system memory).