Game resolutions

[duty]

This is partially inspired by a post regarding 4:3 resolutions, but got me thinking about the game resolution, in general.

A quick search of the forum doesn't expose a lot of discussion on this topic and I would like to see the community's input.

Have many people adjusted the resolution of their projects? How has that impacted their development?

 

[Eliaquim]

Hi there!
Here are some threads that talk about resolution on the forum:

Best Screen Resolution

What do you guys think the ideal screen resolution be? Default? Something bigger like most other games? Is it worth having to deal with incapability with certain plugins? Do you find games with the default resolution to be 'n00bish'?

forums.rpgmakerweb.com

Preferred screen resolution?

I have my game planned out and I'm starting to make it happen on RPG Maker MV, but there's still one question that is bugging me: what screen resolution would be preferable to make the game in? I thought HD 720 would be tolerable, but now I'm worried that it'd affect the way I do the sprites...

forums.rpgmakerweb.com

Deciding optimal screen resolution

Please note, I am only thinking of screen resolution for a PC/laptop, I shall not be developing for mobile. IN VX Ace the largest resolution you could get was 640 x 480, so discussions about the pros and cons of different sizes passed me by. I shall be moving toMZ when I have finished my...

forums.rpgmakerweb.com

 

[duty]

Here are some threads that talk about resolution

Much thanks. My bad for trying to scan the current general discussion board, only.

 

[ZombieKidzRule]

Hi there!
Here are some threads that talk about resolution on the forum:

Best Screen Resolution

What do you guys think the ideal screen resolution be? Default? Something bigger like most other games? Is it worth having to deal with incapability with certain plugins? Do you find games with the default resolution to be 'n00bish'?

forums.rpgmakerweb.com

Preferred screen resolution?

I have my game planned out and I'm starting to make it happen on RPG Maker MV, but there's still one question that is bugging me: what screen resolution would be preferable to make the game in? I thought HD 720 would be tolerable, but now I'm worried that it'd affect the way I do the sprites...

forums.rpgmakerweb.com

Deciding optimal screen resolution

Please note, I am only thinking of screen resolution for a PC/laptop, I shall not be developing for mobile. IN VX Ace the largest resolution you could get was 640 x 480, so discussions about the pros and cons of different sizes passed me by. I shall be moving toMZ when I have finished my...

forums.rpgmakerweb.com

Thanks for these links! I read them all along with a few others referenced within the threads. It seems like maybe 1104 x 624 was a fairly common suggestion.

But I still have a couple of questions. And I fully admit that I really don't understand the differences in resolution. I don't even know what my current laptop default resolution is! I use a 17' gaming laptop and it has what it has. My son's tease me because I buy really nice gaming laptops to play old person games!

How important is it for me to figure this out when I am still new and still learning the engine (RMMZ)?

Would using the default setting in MZ be problematic to change once you get deep into a project?

I don't quite understand the problems associated with changing your mind mid project. Are there less problems starting with the default settings and changing up later or vice versa? Changing the default settings to higher at the start of a project and then changing down?

I read about things like partial tiles on the edges of the screen and slight black lines and stretching and tiles not looking right. But being very inexperienced in this area and never really paying much attention to it with the games I have played, this is all very nebulous to me at the moment.

Sorry if these are very basic questions.

Thanks for any clarifications!

 

[dragoonwys]

@kvngreeley
Don't have to apologize about the questions at all! They are pretty basic but legit questions.
There is nothing wrong with MZ's vanilla resolution, if you design a whole game around that then it shouldn't be a problem. Especially with how you can just go larger screen in a modern rpgmaker game, so smaller default sizes isn't too big of a deal now.

What most people talk about when it comes to a game's resolution is actually what measurements that will give you a particular screen aspect ratio, i.e the ratio between the height and length of a screen.

This isn't a unique thing to RPGMaker and its for designing digital stuff as a whole, but in simple terms, it's a question of, do you prefer MZ's original resolution where it looks closer to a square? Or do you want a more modern day wide screen resolution where it looks more rectangular, is it ultra wide or something that fits sunggly on your phone screen? These are the different aspect ratios people are usually referring to when it comes to game resolution.

The pixel size that ends up creating that ratio is a 'it depends' situation because some people prefer to have the character take up more of the screen while others want more map in view instead. (You are only widening the view area of the game when you change resolutions in rpgmaker, not actually making the game graphics itself larger or smaller). But as you can see there are averages people found out that usually looks good.

If your resolution doesn't fit the screen's aspect ratio, example you use a square ratio when the player full screen's on a wide screen rectangular monitor, you'll end up with black bars filling up the extra space. Not that that's bad, its just the basic's of how computers work.

Changing your screen ratio mid development isn't recommended mostly because of all extra work it will end up giving you. The things you need to reposition or resize, such as pictures or objects that should or should not be seen on the map now being in the screen or off screen.

 

[Frostorm]

Fwiw, I use 960x540 simply because it's 1/2 of 1920x1080 (or 1/4 if we're talking area). It's a bit small real-estate-wise, but I chose it because I didn't want my battle maps to be too large. 960x540 gives me 20x11 tiles of playable area. Well, it's actually 20x11.25 tiles so there'll still be 6px black bars on the top and bottom, which is barely noticeable. However, I don't really see any other people using such a resolution so ymmv.

 

[TheoAllen]

There are two reasons to change the resolution ratio to any size

• What ratio you're comfortable working/playing with.
• Why your game needs it?

The first reason is to keep you sane. You can keep 4:3 resolution if it means you're comfortable working with it even though people demand 16:9. Though, it is an option to either cater to yourself and people like yourself or other people's taste.

The second reason is for the game design aspect. Using a widescreen ratio, you have to fill the empty space with something so it doesn't feel empty. Except, you already have something in mind. For example, extra space for description and perk tree so you don't need to scroll through, everything is displayed on a page. Very convenient.

Also, if you're using 1080p resolution by default, you're alienating people who are still using a 768p monitor. And yes, they do exist.