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Wide screen Monitors

AuthorMessage
Explorer
Apr 21, 2012
73
I don't know if this has been asked before, but I'm going to ask anyway. Is it possible for Wizard101 to implement a wide screen option like they have done for Pirate101? Or would it require way too much work to make it worth while? I have a wide screen monitor and I miss out on allot of parts of a fight. Like missing how much damage is done to an enemy because the enemy is large. And that cuts off the part where it shows how much damage is done and like where it shows the word "pierced" above the enemy is cut off. But if it would require a major overhaul of the system, I'd understand why it couldn't be done. Thank you for your response.

Hunter WillowGrove
lvl 95

Delver
Mar 10, 2009
236
I agree, I have had the same issues for years and I don't like having to chose the shadowbox version of the game just to be able to see all the stuff. And I must admit that it must be annoying for my friends having me ask all the time, "What was the damage? My screen didn't show it."

Delver
Aug 21, 2013
234
Chrissy Th'Blesser on Dec 11, 2013 wrote:
I agree, I have had the same issues for years and I don't like having to chose the shadowbox version of the game just to be able to see all the stuff. And I must admit that it must be annoying for my friends having me ask all the time, "What was the damage? My screen didn't show it."
Shadowbox? I'm lost.

Armiger
Jan 11, 2012
2497
WiseOne70 on Dec 11, 2013 wrote:
I don't know if this has been asked before, but I'm going to ask anyway. Is it possible for Wizard101 to implement a wide screen option like they have done for Pirate101? Or would it require way too much work to make it worth while? I have a wide screen monitor and I miss out on allot of parts of a fight. Like missing how much damage is done to an enemy because the enemy is large. And that cuts off the part where it shows how much damage is done and like where it shows the word "pierced" above the enemy is cut off. But if it would require a major overhaul of the system, I'd understand why it couldn't be done. Thank you for your response.

Hunter WillowGrove
lvl 95
Widescreen is a good idea. A Simple solution for the damage issue is to move the damage to overlap the monster's feet instead of above the head, or into the middle of the circle, or anyplace else.

Delver
Aug 21, 2013
234
dayerider on Dec 12, 2013 wrote:
Widescreen is a good idea. A Simple solution for the damage issue is to move the damage to overlap the monster's feet instead of above the head, or into the middle of the circle, or anyplace else.
Definitely. When the creature is so tall that you can barely see the head on your screen when picking a spell, then there are definitely going to be times when the damage will be out of view. Have it at a certain height and far enough ahead of the enemy (even in PvP) that the damage is easy to see. Not too far ahead that it gets lost in the animation if it's taking up the circle though.

Delver
Mar 10, 2009
236
Fangs McWolf on Dec 12, 2013 wrote:
Shadowbox? I'm lost.
Sorry, Shadowbox is a term from movies when they try to format wide screen movies to play on square televisions. You wind up with the movie part of the screen in a wide screen area that is much smaller than the square TV screen so the top and bottom of the screen are black because that area is not used in the way that the usable part of the screen is more wide than tall. The only way to make it fit was to shrink it down so that the wide parts fit but that left space on the top and bottom. They started calling it shadow box because it sort of looks like those picture frames that are built for 3D objects to sit in. They call those shadow boxes and the term sort of stuck. With the invention of all the wide screen TVs today you don't see it very often.
When you set the resolution for the game to one that is not compatible with your monitor size you sort of get the same effect. You get a square game play area, but if you have a wide screen monitor, those unused areas are just black edges on the sides. It is kind of like a reversed shadow box effect. Try changing the resolution to different settings and you will see what I mean. IT won't do any harm to the game and you can always change it back.
I hope I haven't confused you further. You can always try Googling the term.

Delver
Aug 21, 2013
234
Chrissy Th'Blesser on Dec 12, 2013 wrote:
Sorry, Shadowbox is a term from movies when they try to format wide screen movies to play on square televisions. You wind up with the movie part of the screen in a wide screen area that is much smaller than the square TV screen so the top and bottom of the screen are black because that area is not used in the way that the usable part of the screen is more wide than tall. The only way to make it fit was to shrink it down so that the wide parts fit but that left space on the top and bottom. They started calling it shadow box because it sort of looks like those picture frames that are built for 3D objects to sit in. They call those shadow boxes and the term sort of stuck. With the invention of all the wide screen TVs today you don't see it very often.
When you set the resolution for the game to one that is not compatible with your monitor size you sort of get the same effect. You get a square game play area, but if you have a wide screen monitor, those unused areas are just black edges on the sides. It is kind of like a reversed shadow box effect. Try changing the resolution to different settings and you will see what I mean. IT won't do any harm to the game and you can always change it back.
I hope I haven't confused you further. You can always try Googling the term.
Ah so you mean like a reverse letterbox effect. Never heard it called shadowbox before.

I remember the first time or two that I saw letterbox I was annoyed by it but then I stopped and thought about it then figured, hey, I'd rather see the entire picture so it's actually a good thing. Ever since that point, I've avoided full screen whenever possible.

Googling the term shadowbox didn't return anything that stood out in regards to what you were talking about. Could just be a locale thing.

Delver
Mar 10, 2009
236
Fangs McWolf on Dec 15, 2013 wrote:
Ah so you mean like a reverse letterbox effect. Never heard it called shadowbox before.

I remember the first time or two that I saw letterbox I was annoyed by it but then I stopped and thought about it then figured, hey, I'd rather see the entire picture so it's actually a good thing. Ever since that point, I've avoided full screen whenever possible.

Googling the term shadowbox didn't return anything that stood out in regards to what you were talking about. Could just be a locale thing.
You know I think you are right. I just had a total brain hiccup I guess. The correct term is letterbox. I don't know where my brain came up with that and I totally stand corrected. My mistake. It is letterbox. Please accept my apologies for either showing my age or just plain making a colossal mistake. Well caught and trust me I will not make this mistake again, the blushing reflex is melting my glasses as it is.

Just a note, Well said on the full screen opinion. I will not buy any film in fullscreen. In order to do this the editor has to basically re direct the film and chose what parts to cut out of the film and we do not get to see the film the director shot. You truly get it and are a film purest it the highest regard.

*Wanders off outside to help dissipate the excess heat of continued blushing.*

Survivor
Aug 12, 2009
26
I play the game in 1280x720, 1366x768, 1920x1080. Taller enemies are all challenges to see the damage.

Delver
Aug 21, 2013
234
Chrissy Th'Blesser on Dec 16, 2013 wrote:
You know I think you are right. I just had a total brain hiccup I guess. The correct term is letterbox. I don't know where my brain came up with that and I totally stand corrected. My mistake. It is letterbox. Please accept my apologies for either showing my age or just plain making a colossal mistake. Well caught and trust me I will not make this mistake again, the blushing reflex is melting my glasses as it is.

Just a note, Well said on the full screen opinion. I will not buy any film in fullscreen. In order to do this the editor has to basically re direct the film and chose what parts to cut out of the film and we do not get to see the film the director shot. You truly get it and are a film purest it the highest regard.

*Wanders off outside to help dissipate the excess heat of continued blushing.*
Just because I haven't found any references to shadowboxing for videos doesn't mean that you were using an incorrect term. I still learn of new things that I hadn't heard of before but when looking it up, I see it's been around for many many years and has just somehow eluded me.

Avoiding fullscreen versions of something made in widescreen isn't from being a film purest, it's more from not wanting to wonder what I'm not seeing. I like to see the whole picture for selfish reasons and sometimes you can't help but lose something important when it's converted. If it's focused on a person and nothing happening on the sides, no loss. If it's two people talking to each other and they are on opposite sides of the screen, you are missing one (or both!) of those talking.

One thing I do like about it though (full screen version of a widescreen movie) is how it sometimes pans over when someone is walking. It has an interesting affect and you can tell it's done as part of the conversion. Other than that, no benefits.

Survivor
Dec 06, 2011
17
I had that issue. The best I can get is a full screen, minus the damage sometimes, and with a flicker on the white screen that comes up before the KI logo. I live with that in order to get the best detail, I don't see the point of having HD display on a notebook/pc and have to watch in poor resolution. It would be helpful however, if there were some kind of 'optimise settings' button which accounts for screen size and graphic card capability. But it's a small issue for me at least. Playing with the settings and many combinations as I think the OP suggested should enable most people to get a good setup, with so many different monitor/graphic card combinations out there it can't be easy to code the game to work perfectly for all of us.

On the letterbox thing, I can't stand having huge screen sections being just black, whether it's a movie or a game or anything. I'd rather stretch the picture or miss bits than feel like I'm peeking out of a visor! Each to their own on that one though :)