NnT Letterboxing - Black Bars in 16:10

[GCCRacer]

Hi all,

I saw this topic was touched in another thread, but not really answered by the devs... although one of them seems to suggest that he doesn't have this problem.

Cut to the chase: running 1920x1200, I get black bars top and bottom of the screen, the game is rendered 16:9 and not 16:10. For a properly designed PC game this isn't a nice thing to have because back then we paid good money for 16:10 screens. The game recognizes my resolution properly in-game settings, so it's not a matter of drivers.

Is Oddworld NnT fully capable of multiple resolutions, or is it always letterboxed by design?

regards

[FrustratedAssassin]

The game forces 16:9 so that 4:3/16:10/any other aspect ratio gets the exact same screen space. This is in order to make sure some people don't have it easier or harder based on the monitor they own. This is very important in a game like Abe's Oddysee.

[GCCRacer]

Thanks, I get the sense of what you are saying, but Wil here claims he runs without black borders and fully usrs 16:10
http://www.oddworldforums.net/showth...=21662&page=24

I'd love to have an official statement either way.

Apotheon, another current sidescroller, accepts all resolutions. Same for Mark of the Ninja.

[Nepsotic]

Imagine what it feels like with a 21:9 monitor...

[Phylum]

Are you using Nvidia drivers?

[Wil]

My mistake, guys. I do have letterboxing at 16:10; I had changed my resolution for recording and wasn't paying attention to that when I checked.

I'll ask about it tomorrow.

[Nate]

Moving this thread to Oddworld Help.

[GCCRacer]

Are you using Nvidia drivers?

Nope, AMD.

Wil, yes please if you can find out an official statement? I have a support ticket open since Sunday (sent to support@oddworld.com) and not recieved an answer there either.

If the letterboxing is going to stay then I says it's a shame. PC Gaming shouldn't be strictly 16:9 enforced.

[Phylum]

Would you prefer they cut some of the width off in a game where what you can and can't see is basically the deciding factor in whether or not you can interact with it? Should they re-tweak the entire game to run at 4:3 and 16:10 too?

[GCCRacer]

Why would that be necessary?

Again, there are multiple platform/side scrolling 2D games currently on the market that support different aspect ratio. 16:10 would add a bit of visibility on top and bottom, it wouldn't change the gameplay in any major way.

[Phylum]

Because the gameplay in NnT is so heavily dependent on what you can and can't see. Chant suppressor and possession radii are determined by what you can see. "A little bit" might be counter-intuitive in places.

Also judging from how some of the backgrounds look, they're based around very specific cameras and viewports. It may seems silly, but adding height might actually be significant with how the scenes are layed out. Some of the camera paths would probably need to be rejigged slightly to keep the same look and feel.

[GCCRacer]

Okay, if there are specific mechanics at work here, then yes, I get your point.

I don't like the fact though that this wasn't mentioned anywhere before. I still think PC Gaming is about supporting all available resolutions, so if a game specifically decides to use letterboxing it should be mentioned.

[Wil]

Ok, got it confirmed. New 'n' Tasty is limited to 16:9 for so that puzzles don't break. Chant suppressors aren't bound by the screen edge, but possession, Slig shooting, GameSpeak and opening bird portals all are.

Sorry about the confusion there.

[GCCRacer]

Thanks for the effort to get an official statement. Not my prefered answer but at least I can stop looking for "fixes"...

[FrustratedAssassin]

The answer was pretty much obvious IMO.

Gamers with ultra-wide screens would not only get a huge advantage/disadvantage for long corridors, JAW would also have to build level geometry that isn't normally seen for 1-screen-long areas, like most secrets. and some regular Rupture Farms areas.

Making a game is hard shit.

[GCCRacer]

16:10 isn't ultra-wide, or anything uncommon. There are a lot of current jump/platform/sidescrollers that do this resolution so no, the answer wasn't obvious...

[Job McYossie]

The answer was pretty obvious to me. 16:10 is not ultra wide, it's actually less wide than normal, so we'd get a vertical advantage, and 4:3 would have a massive vertical advantage.

Though I would personally be into the possibility of stretching the image a little to fit 16:10.

[Havoc]

Stretching is bad, m'kay? Unless you're... you know what, never mind.

[Nepsotic]

Into BDSM? A cat? What?

[FrustratedAssassin]

What I meant wasn't that 16:10 is ultra-wide, I was saying people with like 21:9 screens would get a much wider view of what is ahead.