Multiple resolutions in an AG

[DocBass]

We are currently deep in development and are considering the idea of offering multiple native resolutions for our game. These three resolutions would be 1600x1200 (which would look awesome), 1280x1024 and 1024x768. The purpose of offering these resolutions would be so that different people with different specs could enjoy the game with good performance. 1600x1200 would require a fairly good machine while 1024x768 would hopefully be manageable by just about anyone. An added bonus is that the game would age far more slowly since if you beefed up your PC in the future and wanted to play the game you could play the 1600x1200 version.

The question is what do you think of this? The only problem would be that there would have to be three executables and the saves would not work with each other. However this most likely wouldn't be an issue because most gamers would just stick with one resolution to play. Please let us know what you think of this, and if it would encourage a purchase. Thanks!

[lumi]

The only problem would be that there would have to be three executables and the saves would not work with each other. However this most likely wouldn't be an issue because most gamers would just stick with one resolution to play.
I think it would most definitely be an issue. Why do you need three executables with non-compatible saves when no other game has this problem?

[DocBass]

Actually I am not aware of any other 2D adventure game that offers multiple resolutions? Correct me if I am wrong but I do not know of any others that do what we are thinking of, so if it's not an issue with other games I am not aware of it. I mean this with all honesty, and am not being sarcastic. It's certainly not an ideal way to do things if it can be gotten around.

I spoke with the creator of the engine we are using (which is a commercial engine) and he said our idea was not feasible by way of doing it through one executable with compatible saves. We are still going to try to work around it but we shall see. The issue at this point is, is it worth it and will customers appreciate this? Our game looks far better at 1600x1200 than 1024x768 because more detail can be seen but we realize most players cannot utilize this resolution. We would like to offer it for those who can, and for the future when computers will easily be able to handle it.

[jp-30]

I spoke with the creator of the engine we are using (which is a commercial engine) and he said our idea was not feasible by way of doing it through one executable with compatible saves.

But what about 3 executables with compatible saves?

Isn't a savegame just an array/database of your character's location, objects and previous event triggers? Whay would that database be different for different resolutions?

I could see issues if a room / location in each res version all had to have a unique id code (hallway1024, hallway1600 etc), but if there were 3 executables, the room ID tags could remain the same. Couldn't they?

[DocBass]

But what about 3 executables with compatible saves?

Isn't a savegame just an array/database of your character's location, objects and previous event triggers? Whay would that database be different for different resolutions?

I could see issues if a room / location in each res version all had to have a unique id code (hallway1024, hallway1600 etc), but if there were 3 executables, the room ID tags could remain the same. Couldn't they?

Yes, and this is one thing I have thought of and I need to talk with him more about it. Obviously having three executables that can share the same saves would make it work quite well.

However, this really isn't a technical discussion and we are doing all we can to NOT have that sort of cumbersome situation. We just want to know if gamers would appreciate this feature, since we haven't seen it done in a 2d game as far as we know, and it would be a bit of work. If it would be appreciated, and hopefully boost sales, we would do it however.

[jannar85]

Wouldn't it require a lot of work to make this done in a 2D game? You'd need to store 3x of the same backgrounds and everything. I think it'd be better to work in if you'd developed your game in 3D.

[jcornwall]

I prefer a different approach, which makes my life and the developers' a little easier. Add a "Windowed Mode" which lets the user pick one of your resolutions and run a window of that size on their desktop.

While I appreciate that full screen makes for a more immersive experience, it can also run monitors at non-native resolutions (my LCD works best at 1280x1024, for example) and prevent the player from doing other things on their PC at the same time. Providing the option to choose between either is a good compromise, and also partly solves the resolution issue; a 1024x768 window on a 1280x1024 desktop looks fine.

[Litrick]

Being able to change resolution in crucial in any modern game i beleive :)
Also i think it is important now days to include support for widescreen resolutions:
1280 x 720, 1280 x 768, 1920 x 1080, as widescreen monitors and HD tvs continue to grow in popularity.

[stinking_dylan]

I think this is a very important factor, and one that needs a bit of lateral thinking to achieve in 2D games. As you stated, the easiest solution would be to have 3 different executables.

A far more satisfying solution would be to store the artwork at maximum resolution and resize it using resampling during the creation of each scene, then overlay the interface in a standard resolution (maybe provide an option of a large or small font). This would give far greater support for future resolutions and things like widescreen. This feature would obviously need to be intergrated into the development tool though.

I seriously think this is important enough to warrant discussion with your middleware provider. It would not be difficult to provide such a feature within the development tool which would become transparent to the developers.

But, if your going with multiple executables, I would choose 1280x1024. This seems to be the native resolution of the vast majority of LCD panels at the moment.

[MadTricks]

hmm i voted "It doesn't matter to me."
But...wait a sec..what game ?! ?

[Jackal]

Multiple resolutions were offered in The Silver Earring. Your pal Villain should know that, being one of his faves. :P

Personally, I wouldn't bother if it's that much hassle, unless the art style is a realistic one, which yours doesn't seem to be.

[Once A Villain]

Multiple resolutions were offered in The Silver Earring. Your pal Villain should know that, being one of his faves. :P

Ha ha, I told him to word it differently! :D But he said, "Let me handle it, I'm the technical guy." Which he is, of course. He writes damn good music too.

Still, if I was going to say it I would have just said "most" 2D adventures don't offer multiple resolutions and are locked into shamefully low ones like 800x600 (even lower at times)." The point, in general, is still true.

Personally, I wouldn't bother if it's that much hassle, unless the art style is a realistic one, which yours doesn't seem to be.

It has gotten A LOT more detailed since the last time we showed anything, and though it's hand drawn, it's still a realistic style. There is a loss of detail at lower resolutions. When we show our first pics they will be at 1024x768 resolution and I'm sure everyone will think they look fine, but...they haven't seen it at 1280x1024 or 1600x1200. Heh.

[RLacey]

Well, I have a monitor with a native resolution of 1440x900, so if you don't release compatability for 1024x768 (from that choice) then I simply wouldn't be able to play your game.

That said, offering higher resolutions might be nice.