Do you have a monitor with 1024x768 res. or better for civ 3?

[Pilfur]

I'm with Solver. I just realized that one reason I can't run Civ3 on my laptop is because it only supports the lower resolution (It also would be right at the lowe end of machine power I believe - I don't claim to know much about this stuff).

How hard would it be for Firaxis to make a patch to let it run on lower resolutions? Is it that difficult a problem to solve? (Not rehetoric questions - I'm ignorant )

I'm not about to tear open my Laptop looking to replace the graphics card (as its still under warranty).

Also, realize that you guys are computer nerds (heh). The general public doesn't have as high end systems as you guys do Its cool to make a game that requires more tech, but make it worth that tech. Civ3, which I've played on my friend's computer, doesn't exactly aspire to graphics or sound hights - so why should it require high tech? Wastefull. I can run Age of Empires 2 and the Sims (my two other games of choice) on this laptop and they both look and sound much better to me. In fact, aside from the animated leader faces, I wasn't impressed with Civ3 graphics at all. CTP2 looked as nice (though it certainly didn't play as nice) - that didn't require advanced graphics capability.

[Asher]

Mine can do 1600x1200 on both of my beautiful 19" Trinitrons.
My 36" TV can "only" do 1920x1080.

I've been able to do 1024x768 on my monitor for...christ, I don't know HOW many years.
Seems like forever.

If you can't run 1024x768, you should upgrade anyway.

[jaw395]

Originally posted by Asher
Mine can do 1600x1200 on both of my beautiful 19" Trinitrons.
My 36" TV can "only" do 1920x1080.

I've been able to do 1024x768 on my monitor for...christ, I don't know HOW many years.
Seems like forever.

If you can't run 1024x768, you should upgrade anyway.

Why would I upgrade a 52" monitor to a 21"???

Yea, like they make a 36" tv that does 1920x1080 (if they do, it costs at least $15k), mabye 1920x1080 interlaced.

I do have a 21" monitor (that does up to 1600x1200@75hz) I don't use anymore (It's in my closet), I UPGRADED to a 52" (RCA MM52110) HighDef TV/Monitor (btw, only $1800 dollars), but it only does 800x600 and 640x480. My point was, I buy games everyweek (I can afford it). I prefer to play on a large monitor, every single game I have ever bought will run at my supported resolutions (with the exception of civ3). It wouldn't have been hard for them to write the program to take advantage of multiple resolutions. Look at most new games out there. Most new games support 640x480 up to 1024x768 or higher. At the most, they would have had to redo some textures, its a 3d game for godsake. All you have to do is scale the models. Of course if they didn't program there menus correctly, they would have to rewrite those as well. It just amazes me that I have many games with much better graphics, higher computer requirements (Max Payne) yet they can still scale the resolution down to 800x600. I just think they got a little lazy.

[Asher]

Originally posted by jaw395
Yea, like they make a 36" tv that does 1920x1080 (if they do, it costs at least $15k), mabye 1920x1080 interlaced.

True, 1080i mode is interlaced. I can always do 780p though, which works fine for me.

I do have a 21" monitor (that does up to 1600x1200@75hz) I don't use anymore (It's in my closet), I UPGRADED to a 52" (RCA MM52110) HighDef TV/Monitor (btw, only $1800 dollars), but it only does 800x600 and 640x480.

Why do you need such a big screen (and it's projection, ewww) to play your games?

Christ man, just use the 21" Monitor.
Especially if you can only get 800x600 on your TV, why bother with it? That's ancient, you can't do much with crap game resolutions like that.

[Pilfur]

Bah. I wanted to play this game on my laptop. Its hardly impressive enough graphically to require the higher resolution, so why does it? They are excluding customers from using their product here. Even if it is just a small part of it, restricting your market is never wise if easily avoidable.

So how easily avoidable would it have been? Would all the graphics need to be redesigned or could a simple adjustment utility be used to make it work at lower resolutions? How does this stuff work?

[Juggernaut]

19".
Works just fine, although it acts kinda weird sometimes.

[jaw395]

Originally posted by Asher

True, 1080i mode is interlaced. I can always do 780p though, which works fine for me.

Your brilliant, 780p isn't much better then 800x600, it's just wide (which most video cards don't do) so you would just have to do 800x600 stretched.

Originally posted by Asher
Why do you need such a big screen (and it's projection, ewww) to play your games?

Well, it looks pretty good to me, even if it's projection. And what do you mean why do I need such a big screen? Why do you need a 19" monitor, or a 17" for that matter? Why don't you just stick with a 15"?? I'll tell you why, it makes the game more immersive. What are you trying to do, pull arguments out of thin air? Why do you need a 36" television?

Originally posted by Asher
Christ man, just use the 21" Monitor.
Especially if you can only get 800x600 on your TV, why bother with it? That's ancient, you can't do much with crap game 1resolutions like that.

Yea, whatever. You can't really even tell the difference when playing a game between 800x600 and 1024x768. You may get a little more jaggies (that is why I have a geforce 3, I can run 4x antialias on any game, and it looks just as good as 1600x1200, or close anyway), so your argument is really pretty stupid. I guess you only buy games you can run at 1024x768 and higher. Whatever.

[Asher]

Originally posted by jaw395
Your brilliant, 780p isn't much better then 800x600, it's just wide (which most video cards don't do) so you would just have to do 800x600 stretched.

So get a device to convert the signal if you must?
How do you think the X-Box outputs to 1080i, 780p, 780i, 480p, 480i?

Well, it looks pretty good to me, even if it's projection. And what do you mean why do I need such a big screen? Why do you need a 19" monitor, or a 17" for that matter? Why don't you just stick with a 15"?? I'll tell you why, it makes the game more immersive. What are you trying to do, pull arguments out of thin air? Why do you need a 36" television?

Me pull arguments out of thin air?
Buddy, a computer monitor is entirely different than a TV.
I have a 19" monitor because I like using 1280 x 1024, and I can't do that on a 17" very well because I find it too small.
Having a 56" Television doesn't increase your resolution at all. Why bother with it for your computer?

I have a 36" Television because groups of people watch it, so it sits farther away.

Comprende?

Yea, whatever. You can't really even tell the difference when playing a game between 800x600 and 1024x768. You may get a little more jaggies (that is why I have a geforce 3, I can run 4x antialias on any game, and it looks just as good as 1600x1200, or close anyway), so your argument is really pretty stupid. I guess you only buy games you can run at 1024x768 and higher. Whatever.

No, not quite.
800x600 and 1024x768 do far more than "make less jaggies". You can fit more detail onto the screen (read: more mapspace visible at a given time, more interface and more gamespace).

Calling my argument pretty stupid because you don't understand what you're talking about is kinda silly, doncha think?

[Rakki]

the easiest way to settle this argument once and for all is for those people who can't even manage 1024 to go to their local internet cafe (if there is one), sit down at one of the suckers - and the screen will most likely be at LEAST 17, probably 19.

play around with it for an hour or two. (a few dollars investment).

then go home and squint at your little 15".

alternatively, just go over to a friend's place and try it out. I mean, I used a 15" for 2 years, and it's now on my parents desk but when i occasionally have to use it it's just CHUNKY.

[xobsidianx]

Higher resolution

Can one set the monitor to 1280 by 1024 (1260 by 1024?) to play civ3. If so how, thanks.

[mengo76]

Yeah, screw Firaxis for restricting the game to 1024 mode only...

What a waste of my 21" 1600x1200 !!!

Really, what was wrong with the Civ2 window-based interface? You could choose your own playing field size, position the map window where you wanted it, choose out of several different zoom levels instead of just 2, etc etc etc. Another real annoying thing is that if I am running 1600x1200 and playing Civ3, then Alt-Tab to another program, the desktop remains at 1600x1200 but only the top left corner (1024) is shown, so I can't even access my taskbar !!!

I sort of predicted/feared these backwards changes before the game came out, and wrote to the "civ team" asking them about it, but they never posted it in their "ask the civ team" articles or even replied to me........

(By the way I just tried the map/scenario editor thing. Great, it's a window interface.... but you can't zoom out and you don't even have a "world map" window, so how the hell are you supposed to know what your 180x180 (largest size) map looks like?)

Yeah, and why can't you choose your custom map dimensions ?!?!?


Ok I am way off topic, so I guess you can see how revolted I am.

[cerebros]

Well my 15" monitor that came with the PC i bnought in 1995 ran fine at 1024x768 (could actually run higher but things got too small), and i ran everything, including Civ2, at that res. If the monitor hadn't died last year i'd be using it now...

Anyone who has a 15" that can't run 1024x768 should either go and buy one that does, or do themselves a favour and get a 17" or higher... Tehy're cheap enough these days..