Screen size isnt correct when playing games ?

[MadMatt]

When I try playing games like Agony or Apidya and alot of other games about half a centimetre of the play screen is cut off, off the bottom of the screen this is in 640x480 screen mode if I change this to 800x600 it fixes the problem but i have loads of black space around the game area and it more to the right of the screen than it should be id rather play in 640x480 is there a way to correct this problem ? T.I.A

[Ian]

I'll assume you are using WinUAE, because I suffer from this problem with it as well.

Try turning off vertical centering in WinUAE options, if this doesn't work try using WinFellow to play those games you mention, as it has a much better way of handling screen sizes.

Hope this helps ya':D :D :D

[Malc]

The problem is that real Amigas operate at something like:

640x512

While running software in PAL, the video card in your PC may not be capable of running such a resolution but it is possible via your registry.

Hit your START button
Click RUN
Type regedit and hit return

The registry editor will now load, if you are unsure about this program then close it now.

Click the EDIT menu and select FIND

In the search box type:

640,480

After a short delay you should be presented with a list of screen modes. These are the standard display modes supported by your video card:

Left Click 16 (this represents the 16-bit colour depth)
Right click and select New Key
Type 640,512 as the name and press return

Now on the right hand side of the screen double click (Default) and press RETURN in the "Value Data" box.

Close the Registry Editor and restart your computer, now try WinUAE and click the Display tab. If your card supports the 640x512 resolution you should see it in the pull-down menu, if not then your card doesn't support it.

This does NOT work on Voodoo 3 cards. PJ of Agnus and AmigaEmuNews fame pointed this out and states that it works fine on his machine.

Try at your own risk, let me know if it works for you right here.

[ptrchiappe]

An easier way, if you're running windows in at least 800x600, is to run them in a window with dimensions 640x512.

Most of the games (probably all) don't need RTG and you can even see the leds on the bottom of the window.

Bye
Pietro

[Akira]

640x512 is HiRes Interlaced, a resolution used seldomly (if at all) in games. The real resolution most games use, is 320x256 (PAL).

However some games like Agony use a bit more trickery stuff, and mix 2 screen resolutions at once (lowres and lowres laced)

A window at 640x256 should catter for most gaming tastes though. You can have a Workbench screen (640x256, Hires mode), and a normal game screen, both showing properly.

I use 640x300 in Fellow, anyway. It's the best one I have found, for any need (since I use apps in WinUAE with RTG modes). The regedit method does NOT work on my Diamond Stealth 3D 3000 card. Perhaps it works only on newer videocards.

[andreas]

>640x512 is HiRes Interlaced, a resolution used seldomly (if at
> all) in games.

Well probably I've already found one which uses it: Lionheart, at least at the title picture with the text displayed below it. You can perceive that slight jittering which indicates it's interlaced. And all in all, this looks quite like a high resolution used.

[Ian]

640x512 in WinUAE = 320x256 on a real amiga, a very, very common resolution!!

Have you guys forgot about double pixels and lines???

[Malc]

Thank you IanCharge - maybe someone will trust me on this one.

:mad

[Ian]

I'm not sure if that was sacasm or a compliment Malc ...... But I'll take it as a compliment:cheese

The regedit method does work, but as Akira suggested only with newer, none 3DFX based cards, which I think the Diamond Stealth 3D 3000 is:kill

However for those of you who wouldn't touch REGEDIT with a ten-foot barge pole, there are a few things you could try:

1: The correct aspect option in WinUAE's display options.

2: An older version of WinUAE, as these don't have an extra (unneeded) border across the top, allowing more rome for the game GFX.

3: WinFellow, as this "Seems" to have a much better way of handling the Amiga screen resolutions.

P.S. For those of you wondering, the colour red means EVIL

[Malc]

It was meant as a compliment mate :)

[Akira]

I'd never use double lines are pixels. I like the graphics to be in a 1:1 ratio :) And Malc said teh Amiga uses 640x512, always. Well, not really always :)

Andreas, it could be. Perhaps it's using two screenmodes. I tend to think it's using interlaced (320x512) mode rather than hires interlaced, to allow a greater number of colours (since hires interlaced's max is 16 colors, and it slows down the machine too damn much, while interlaced does not). You can recognize it by looking at the pixel ratio. it should be squished vertically.

Uridium 2's loading pic (the one that shows the same art that appears on ads) is using 320x512, perhaps in HAM mode. Agony's 'intro' (the one which shows the publisher, makers and game title) is done in hires interlaced, 16 colors, if I am correct.

BTW Ian, yes, my videocard is old, but trusty :) Another method to get corerct screen ratios, is to use the latest Scitech Display Doctor drivers. Of course this is intended for DOS emu users (me :)), but it's real nice, since you can create the videomodes you want. So you can create 640x512, 640x256 or whatever mode you feel like. Works a treat using DOS Fellow!

[Malc]

Just out of interest Akira were does it say in my post "always use 640x512"?

[Akira]

Ok, it doesn't say 'always', but it says they use something like 640x512. i just thought about mentioning that they dont really operate at that resolution (usually) so such a window would leave borders.

Don't take the wrong side of the pole mate, why do you take it as a flame?

[Ian]

For the

BATTLE OF THE MODERATERS:D

Only 50 pence a ticket.:p

[Akira]

Heh, nice one :) I never meant to flame Malc, he just took the wrong side of it, methinks. :)

[Ian]

You can always count on me lowering the tone around here, with stupid little jokes like that;)

I just couldn't resist!!:cheese

[Malc]

Akira:

I'm not offended mate neither do I take what you said as flaming, I was just wondering if what I wrote sounded like I meant that real Amigas use that resolution all the time.

Like IanCharge said I was taking of course about the doubled line feature in WinUAE, I just didn't make myself clear I guess.

No problem matey :)

[ethylene]

On the subject of editing custom resolutions with Regedit:

I have found it's also good to add the value of 60 (or 50 for PAL) under the strings "Default" and "RefreshRate".

This also really helps with other emulators, in particular the latest version of Magic Engine (PC Engine emulator).

With my dated 8MB Intel740 AGP videocard, I don't get to use the custom resolutions in a lot of programs. But the refresh rates usually stick, resulting in really smooth vsync'ing.