[TEC] Rendering / Resolution Question (Engine vs GUI)

RushTheBus · 03-08-15, 04:04 PM

Hi all,

I have a question regarding rendering and resolution. I'm currently running at 2560x1440 IPS panel w/ a GTX 980 and running "Ahnenerbe WideGui 1920 x 1080 Final." Just messing about i edited the d3d9.cfg to reflect 2560x1440. In that resolution the GUI was totally skewed the the image quality in the 3D scene was breathtaking.

I want to preserve the image quality in the 3d scene that the 2560x1440 resolution offers but don't want the GUI to be skewed (the entire right hand side of it was completely out of whack). Is there a way to have the GUI stretcher across a resolution edited by the d3d9.cfg (my monitor is set to scale via GPU in aspect ratio mode)?

That said, i also am curious to know how hard it is to adjust a GUI for high resolution displays. I'm a bit of a fidelity nut and i really am digging that QHD resolution.

Thanks for the input ahead of time.

Rush

BigWalleye · 03-08-15, 06:38 PM

It isn't difficult, but it is a lot of work. Most of the major elements of the GUI will have to be relocated in Menu_1024_768.ini. The individual components should be OK, but of course, they will be reduced in apparent size by 50%, so they will be harder to read and the gauges will be harder to set accurately.

All of the 2D screen backgrounds will have to be resized from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440. This includes not only the static screens, like the load screen, menu screens, crew status, etc, but also the periscope and UZO backdrops. You could just stretch them in a bitmap graphics program like Photoshop or Paint.NET, which would not cause any distortion but would visibly degrade image quality. If that result in unsatisfactory, then you will need to create your own screens at the higher resolution.

If you want to tackle this project, I'd suggest you PM either Ahnenerbe or VanJast, who have done the two 1920x1080 mods. They can give you a better idea of what is involved and possibly have some thoughts on how to do this most efficiently.

Good luck.

RushTheBus · 03-08-15, 08:24 PM

I appreciate the reply. I will give those guys a shout (hopefully they are still around). I was hoping that the 3d environment was somehow rendered in such a way where it could scale higher than the GUI had to.

The task doesn't seem difficult (just by looking through the files as they are mostly images) just exceedingly time consuming. If there is enough interest i may very well look into working on it.

RushTheBus · 03-10-15, 10:04 PM

Does anyone know if SH4 and SH3 are built on-top of the same engine? The reason i ask is because i also have SH4 and that game scales perfectly to my monitor's higher resolution.

Does anyone that has knowldge on the issue know if we could somehow port over a file or files to enable to much higher resolutions?

The d3d9.dll and d3d9.cfg files never seem to work in my favor.

RushTheBus · 03-10-15, 11:27 PM

I doubt anyone is actually watching this thread, but i'll post a bit of progress. After looking through a series of old threads here i decided to try to edit the 1024_768.ini file of Ahnenerbe's 1080p widescreen mod ( i shot him a PM but have yet to hear back).

I'm not a programmer, so i decided to try my luck for simply searching for every entry of "1920" and replacing that with "2560" and then doing the same procedure for "1080." After replacing 1920 w/ 2560 and 1080 w/ 1440 i activated it.

As i figured, the loading the screens were misaligned but the main screen was fine. I loaded up a naval academy mission and was kind of shocked. The UI looked stunning (far crisper and clean than it does on 1080p) and the UI elements were only misaligned slightly.

I really don't know where to go from there. Searching UI elements by their file-names in the 1024_768.ini file indicates position coordinates but i have no idea how to read them.

I would be happy to collaborate with someone on a project like this, as i really don't have much in terms of the technical programming ability involved.

Rush

pedalboat · 03-11-15, 12:11 AM

Yes, I'm watching and reading it. But the thing is that I don't have a widescreen monitor, but you and all the people with the same problem have my sympathy.
I can't be of help here.

banryu79 · 03-12-15, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigWalleye

I think that is a great idea! I believe that in the past someone tried to make such a beast for SH4. Dunno how it turned out. You might want to start there.

I can very slowly program a GUI application in Java, but I don't know the file format logic of the Menu_1024_768.ini.
The hard part is finding someone that can both program a software with a Gui and that understands very well the logic of the Menu_1024_768.ini.
Finally, he/she has to be willing enough to actually implement it and test it.
I am relatively new to the game (started playing it about one year ago) but, as an ex programmer I am a bit surprise, considering the size and level of activity of the border community here, and the age of the game/mods activity that a similar tool has not yet been created.
To me it means it is a task considered too much difficult (not likely) or to much time-consuming (more likely) to undertake (after all we are speaking about a tool to improve Gui mods-feasibly, not about a direct improvement of the game itself)...
Just my two cents.

03-08-15, 04:04 PM	#1
RushTheBus Engineer Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 206 Downloads: 211 Uploads: 0	Rendering / Resolution Question (Engine vs GUI) Hi all, I have a question regarding rendering and resolution. I'm currently running at 2560x1440 IPS panel w/ a GTX 980 and running "Ahnenerbe WideGui 1920 x 1080 Final." Just messing about i edited the d3d9.cfg to reflect 2560x1440. In that resolution the GUI was totally skewed the the image quality in the 3D scene was breathtaking. I want to preserve the image quality in the 3d scene that the 2560x1440 resolution offers but don't want the GUI to be skewed (the entire right hand side of it was completely out of whack). Is there a way to have the GUI stretcher across a resolution edited by the d3d9.cfg (my monitor is set to scale via GPU in aspect ratio mode)? That said, i also am curious to know how hard it is to adjust a GUI for high resolution displays. I'm a bit of a fidelity nut and i really am digging that QHD resolution. Thanks for the input ahead of time. Rush

03-08-15, 06:38 PM	#2
BigWalleye Sea Lord Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: On the Eye-lond, mon! Posts: 1,987 Downloads: 465 Uploads: 0	It isn't difficult, but it is a lot of work. Most of the major elements of the GUI will have to be relocated in Menu_1024_768.ini. The individual components should be OK, but of course, they will be reduced in apparent size by 50%, so they will be harder to read and the gauges will be harder to set accurately. All of the 2D screen backgrounds will have to be resized from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440. This includes not only the static screens, like the load screen, menu screens, crew status, etc, but also the periscope and UZO backdrops. You could just stretch them in a bitmap graphics program like Photoshop or Paint.NET, which would not cause any distortion but would visibly degrade image quality. If that result in unsatisfactory, then you will need to create your own screens at the higher resolution. If you want to tackle this project, I'd suggest you PM either Ahnenerbe or VanJast, who have done the two 1920x1080 mods. They can give you a better idea of what is involved and possibly have some thoughts on how to do this most efficiently. Good luck.

03-08-15, 08:24 PM	#3
RushTheBus Engineer Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 206 Downloads: 211 Uploads: 0	I appreciate the reply. I will give those guys a shout (hopefully they are still around). I was hoping that the 3d environment was somehow rendered in such a way where it could scale higher than the GUI had to. The task doesn't seem difficult (just by looking through the files as they are mostly images) just exceedingly time consuming. If there is enough interest i may very well look into working on it.

03-10-15, 10:04 PM	#4
RushTheBus Engineer Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 206 Downloads: 211 Uploads: 0	Does anyone know if SH4 and SH3 are built on-top of the same engine? The reason i ask is because i also have SH4 and that game scales perfectly to my monitor's higher resolution. Does anyone that has knowldge on the issue know if we could somehow port over a file or files to enable to much higher resolutions? The d3d9.dll and d3d9.cfg files never seem to work in my favor.

03-10-15, 11:27 PM	#5
RushTheBus Engineer Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 206 Downloads: 211 Uploads: 0	I doubt anyone is actually watching this thread, but i'll post a bit of progress. After looking through a series of old threads here i decided to try to edit the 1024_768.ini file of Ahnenerbe's 1080p widescreen mod ( i shot him a PM but have yet to hear back). I'm not a programmer, so i decided to try my luck for simply searching for every entry of "1920" and replacing that with "2560" and then doing the same procedure for "1080." After replacing 1920 w/ 2560 and 1080 w/ 1440 i activated it. As i figured, the loading the screens were misaligned but the main screen was fine. I loaded up a naval academy mission and was kind of shocked. The UI looked stunning (far crisper and clean than it does on 1080p) and the UI elements were only misaligned slightly. I really don't know where to go from there. Searching UI elements by their file-names in the 1024_768.ini file indicates position coordinates but i have no idea how to read them. I would be happy to collaborate with someone on a project like this, as i really don't have much in terms of the technical programming ability involved. Rush

03-11-15, 12:11 AM	#6
pedalboat A-ganger Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Cape Ortegal - Spain Posts: 74 Downloads: 130 Uploads: 0	Yes, I'm watching and reading it. But the thing is that I don't have a widescreen monitor, but you and all the people with the same problem have my sympathy. I can't be of help here.