On the whole screen resolution topic

[Ken Norris]

Hello Brent,

On May 8, 2004, at 8:53 AM, use-revolution-request at lists.runrev.com 
wrote:

> Date: Sat, 8 May 2004 09:49:46 -0600
> From: Brent Anderson <brentj84062 at earthlink.net>
> Subject: On the whole screen resolution topic
>
> Hello.
>
> I don't think I included enough details. The project it would be for is
> going to be a game that, if it weren't made for full screen, would be
> really terrible. It pretty much requires having the screen resolution
> changed. It would be changed back to the users previous setting when
> they quit.
============
Sooo glad to hear from you. I was unable to find the original message 
for some reason.

I think it would be a wise thing to include a dialog at startup if you 
actually change the user's monitor's resolution. The more recent games 
I've seen automatically query the user's current monitor setup and 
adjust the game's geometry to accommodate it rather than the other way 
'round. But that depends on the demands of the game as well. As already 
mentioned, some will need to operate at lesser resolution to get good 
frame rates, especially with standard video cards. I have a complex 
WWII flight sim (came with my flight stick) on a PC with wonderfully 
rendered terrain that just flat won't run at all with anything less 
than 500mHz and a fast 64mb video card. I had to trek off to the 
mainland to a Future Shop to get a new video card just to run that 
game. The game didn't mention that in the requirements.

At first, I thought the flight stick was broken. It would have been 
nice if they had a startup warning to tell me it's requirements were 
out-of-range for my machine and offer some solutions and/or settings 
options.

IMO, there is something very backward going on in society today: 
Increasingly crappy manners, because it doesn't seem to be taught to 
our children anymore, and which directly reflects how we respect each 
other. I'll always support software venues that treat user's and their 
gear with common respect, and, further, if anyone catches _me_ saying 
or doing anything otherwise (whether in my software offerings or 
personal behavior), I'd appreciate a note letting me know so I can work 
on the problem.

Ken N.