RPGMAKER Game Resolution is so small! How to fix?

[Zeriab]

Having the option to scale where each 1x1 pixel is transformed to appropiate 2x2 would be awesome. Then 640x480 would become 1280x960 and 544x416 would become 1088x832.

Such an option is technically simpler than a lot of other suggestions in this thread, does not appear to have too great an impact on performance and would require no extra work on the spriting side.

*jigs*

 

[Andar]

Having the option to scale where each 1x1 pixel is transformed to appropiate 2x2 would be awesome. Then 640x480 would become 1280x960 and 544x416 would become 1088x832.

And that already exists with a legal option (resizing by windows functions) as a script without breaking the EULA (in fact, biggest problem of that script is that it only looks good if you resize by factor 2, all other resolutions possible in resizing just distort the game)
That script is even discussed here on the board, in a topic where it was asked whether it would break the EULA.


And, as I said earlier. that option doesn't change the internal resolution, only the external display.

 

[hyde9318]

I would like to put my two cents in before I go...

Lol, okay. Joking aside, serious now. Think back to Minecraft coming out for the xbox 360. The game promised local multiplayer, only for us to figure out after we bought it that local multiplayer is only available when you connect to hdmi. Their reason for this was because they thought text on standard definition televisions was hard to read for multiple players, so they assumed people would not want it. The problem was, all of us were perfectly okay with losing some text to be able to play with friends on the same couch.


Same thing here really. Saying the character and tiles look too small on a larger screen is telling people how it should be. RPG Maker is, and always has been, about making the game YOU want. If a developer wants his game to be HD 720 or 1080 at the cost of some tiles looking much smaller, my god I say let him do that. And what if, say, I wanted to make my own custom resources for a game, I wanted HD and was prepared to make my tiles large enough? I wouldn't be able to do that because the restriction is there. I don't see why just having the option of going into bigger resolutions means that you have to. I just feel people should have the option.


Now, I don't see what was holding Ace back. Why can XP go bigger, but Ace is limited (and all workarounds I have seen break EULA)?

 

[Kurisu]

Wasn't there a script posted by some anonymous genius that actually changed resolution to anything you wanted WITHOUT tampering with .dll and breaking the EULA? I am pretty sure I have it somewhere on my computer...

I remember it had a bunch of it's own problems but boy it looks good.

Personally I'm very unhappy with 640x480 resolution. I stay with VX Ace because I'm really used to it and would be too much pain to convert everything I made to another system, but this resolution thing is really lame. We should be given a choice. If I want to work my ass off by making 64x64 tiles, so be it!

By the way, how could a 2D game lag in 2014 (maybe an RTS with 1000 units on-screen, but...)? I'm sorry but there's really no reasonable excuse

 

[Tsukihime]

By the way, how could a 2D game lag in 2014 (maybe an RTS with 1000 units on-screen, but...)? I'm sorry but there's really no reasonable excuse

Actually, if you used any scripts that increased resolution you will probably find yourself lagging just from having to move around the map. At least, on my 6-year-old laptop, that is the case.


While I would like to imagine it being 2014 means everyone has super high-end computers that will make even the slowest, most inefficient piece of code run really fast, that...isn't the case.


So aside from graphic issues like perceived character sizes and other things, performance is quite an issue as well.

 

[Zalerinian]

By the way, how could a 2D game lag in 2014 (maybe an RTS with 1000 units on-screen, but...)? I'm sorry but there's really no reasonable excuse

RPG Maker uses exclusively the CPU for all processing. Graphics and script logic is all done by the CPU. That's why RM has a lot of speed issues, the graphics card isn't used for the games. That's one of the biggest reasons why that a bigger resolution right now would lag.

I personally would love higher resolutions for RM, but the problem is that the CPU has to update your operating system, and window isn't always a very lightweight system and any other programs that are running on top of running your game. According to task manager, RM uses probably between 40 and 60% of my CPU (i7 First generation, 2 physical cores, 2 logical, for a total of 4) when it is active. Though I can't say exactly how much is for graphics and how much is for scripts, I'm willing to bet that most of that is graphics processing. A larger resolution definitely creates processing issues.

I'm not sure specifically how RM is made, but I think it would be a good idea to have the whole graphics system rewritten in the SDL library. It's cross platform (a pretty big issue, I suppose. Not one of my top favorites), and it allows you to use the GPU for graphics processing. The only difference is that they'd have to write the system in C++ (I believe it currently uses C#), but the difference in speed would probably be well-worth the effort.

 

[Dalph]

Are you kidding me?  Who would ever want to buy a game made in RPGMaker that is so low in resolution?

Smart people don't judge a game by its resolution pal.

And I actually don't give a damn too about it...graphics is the last thing that matters in a videogame.

 

[OceansDream]

The funny thing is I was like "The resolution is so big why can't I use 320x240 and 16x16 tiles". Since RPG Maker was assumedly made for people to make sort of similar games to theSNES and early PS1 RPGs. 640x480 is a pretty big resolution in comparison to like... 256x224 or so. 

Who would ever want to buy a game made in RPGMaker that is so low in resolution?

Judging by how many people still like the old SNES and PS1 RPGs, whose resolution was 256x224.... I'd say quite a bit. Perhaps for nostalgic purposes or that they do like the look. It's obviously not for everyone, but I think more people than you assume do still like that look.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

just play it in Full screen... really... 

 

[Tuomo L]

RPG Maker uses exclusively the CPU for all processing. Graphics and script logic is all done by the CPU.

Um, not to sound like a dick but WHY is this the case?  Not only is it terribly backwards way to approach it, it means that no one can run a game well even if you'd have best computer ever.

Seriously, developers get flak from bad optimization all the time, stuff like this isn't minor problems but rather something our consumer will complain to us. 

Also I can't really play RPG Maker on Full Screen because it lags insanely much despite me having 8 core system and being able to play almost every game out there lag free. The engine is like it's made for computers in 90's instead of modern computers. Does anyone know if Ace has Hyperthreading and multi core support?

 

[Archeia]

Also I can't really play RPG Maker on Full Screen because it lags insanely much despite me having 8 core system and being able to play almost every game out there lag free. The engine is like it's made for computers in 90's instead of modern computers. Does anyone know if Ace has Hyperthreading and multi core support?

I use dual core and i7 and never got this problem.

Anyway, VXAce gets really slow like, 1024x576 is fine when you only have a few things shown but if you start stacking parallaxes, even in a powerful pc it gets really slow. RM would need graphics card support in order to do HD. We'll just have to see or wait for the next RM.

 

[Tuomo L]

I use dual core and i7 and never got this problem.

Can it handle more than dual cores? Can it read QUAD and further cores? 

And I've been reading STEAM support forums and people have literally backed away from buying the program because of the limited resolution! This is NOT the way to ensure getting across bigger audiences like "supporting old machines" but rather alienating more crowds from your product.  

 

[Archeia]

Intel i7 is like...7??? So yeah.

 

[Tuomo L]

Intel i7 is like...7??? So yeah.

Well if it support I7 it should support my setup too, I wonder what's causing the lag then. 

 

[amerk]

And I've been reading STEAM support forums and people have literally backed away from buying the program because of the limited resolution! This is NOT the way to ensure getting across bigger audiences like "supporting old machines" but rather alienating more crowds from your product.  

Unfortunately, the problem lies solely with EB. All anybody here on this site, over at VXAN, Steam, and even Degica can do is offer support for what is included and condolences for anything that is not, but should be.

I'm quite sure Degica has been in contact with EB about a lot of the features people have requested; now it's up to EB to act on those suggestions. I don't know how the Japanese market is, and whether or not they are asking about these same features, since EB tends to listen to them first.

At the same time, I understand the frustration. As much as I love RM products, it really needs an overhaul. A complete new program built from the ground up with little to no existing code so that it can implement several new features that are otherwise difficult (if not nearly impossible to add) to the current programs.

However, I wouldn't hold out for these features being added anytime soon to Ace. As Archeia pointed out, all we can really do is hope that these get added to the new maker, and I only see that happening if they (being E are willing to rewrite a lot of the code from scratch.

 

[Tuomo L]

So yeah, this has been in my mind lately but I think I finally found a perfect script here. I've tried many scripts and many things but nothing has come even close to as good as this.

http://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?/topic/14081-fullscreen/

Here's what I took as a test.

Huge picture link

 

[Zeriab]

I agree, Zeus81's fullscreens scripts are the best of the ones I know. The stability is unfortunately the best. I suspect it is because you can easily have windows message enter first through the RGSS(3) player, which then does its own window manipulation.

Enterbrain would have a much easier time where we as scripters have to do nasty workarounds and hacks.

 

[Tuomo L]

You know, I don't really want to know what TotalBiscuit would have to say about RPGMaker games and their resolution considering he already went on quite the spree about Long Live the Queen.

"Look at that, it renders at 1024x600. 600! It's less than I-Pad ONE. That's... terrible, are you kidding me?" 

 

[Dandydan]

 we should not forget that the RM's userbase isn't exactly unlimited. How much are you willing to pay to get rid of that limitations? How much is the average user willing to pay for that? 

There is an inherent conflict in the marketing statement that VX Ace is simple enough for a child and powerful enough for a developer. The contradiction lies in the fact that both the child and the developer spend the same amount of money on the program but each group approaches VX Ace with a radically different set of expectations. The child treats the engine more like a game and thinks its cool when they finished a project their mom and dad can play. The developer is dreaming of dollar signs or fame. I do not know that this different set of expectations can ever be fully reconciled because putting in all the bells and whistles risks overwhelming and thus alienating the child and leaving them out risks frustrating the developer, who always wants more.

The seminal question then is whether there is a large enough market to support a major elevation of VX Ace, especially when free versions of other game development programs exist on one hand and then there is Unity Pro on the other hand. I too would like an elevation of graphics quality but I understand that this may not be the most profitable use of scarce resources at Enterbrain.

 

[milsorgen]

I guess I don't follow, while editing you are obviously viewing your maps and various graphical assets at resolutions much higher than 480p and everything looks fine. Why doesn't this translate over into the gameplay?