Does anybody play SMAC with 800x600 resolution?

Alex · October 21, 2001, 12:06

Ok, I know this is not the most exciting question in the world, but I am just curious.

I play SMAC that way.

SPasmofiT · October 21, 2001, 12:29

NO!
Stop doing it! It's WRONG! Plain WRONG! What type of person are you?

Is this what were you asking for?

Cybergod · October 21, 2001, 14:28

Well, I suppose you would to speed up the game. I used to but I am really interested in the base read outs (the each base's data on psych, econ. and labs) so I HAVE TO have the larger resolution on.

Lefty Scaevola · October 21, 2001, 15:19

At 800 X 600 res you actually get one bit of base info tht you DO NOT at higher resolutions (?planet knows why?). At the res in the part of the base screen that list the bases bacilities, you get a little symbol next to the network node when it has already been connected to an alien artifact.

MariOne · October 21, 2001, 15:46

Quote:

Originally posted by Lefty Scaevola
At 800 X 600 res you actually get one bit of base info tht you DO NOT at higher resolutions (?planet knows why?)

What a mistery... can't we refer to the fact that the programmers of the game were hired by a company named Firaxis?
Would that be the only mistake they made in implementing the game?
And we're not talking about designing an AI, or complex programming architecture and functions.
We're talking about the basics, about elementary API, text display primitives, and how to adjust text font to make it fit in a restricted area, or.... (Astounding! Unthinkable!!!!) how to make a long line *WRAP*!!!!!!!!

This is a telltale of the care and the attention to detail they put in it.
Oh, but of course finding out, dodging and working around their innumerable bugs cemented our feeling of community...

I actually sometimes have to switch to 800x600, when I want to see whether a faction (I have infiltrated) has a free node near the artifact they brought to their territoy...
(beware, you have to save, exit, switch res and reenter)

Alex · October 21, 2001, 21:56

Well, my problem is that I have a 15" monitor, and on 1024x768, everything gets really small. I also noticed the bits of info you get with 800x600, which, oddly enough, are not present on a higher res.

But of course speed is relevant to me, considering my jurassic system (K6-2 500, 64 megs RAM). On small or regular maps there is no problem, but whenever I try to play on huge maps, if I'm at 1024x768, everything soon gets to a crawl.

So I wonder that a new and larger monitor would not necessarily solve my problem.

Sikander · October 22, 2001, 00:01

Alexnm,

Why don't you pick up some of that cheap memory for your machine? My desktop at home runs SMAX just fine, even on huge maps with lots of units etc. I have a P2 350 mhz machine, but the 128 meg of ram seems to keep things moving along. Memory prices seem to be dropping recently, and I bet you can upgrade for around 50$.

Lefty Scaevola · October 22, 2001, 11:02

350mz, 64mg take over an hour to run a samc-x turn with a huge map and large empire. 1 gz, 256 mb only a few minutes.

Alex · October 22, 2001, 12:00

Sikander,

yes, I´ve been thinking about that, I just didn´t know that 128 M can do such a difference. Well, maybe I´ll have to start my upgrading efforts sooner than I thought (DSL is on my plans too).

Well, there´s always the monitor thing... (and no, the monitor prices have not dropped here... that´s the price you pay for underdevelopment, I guess

)

Phobos · October 22, 2001, 15:02

How do you change to higher resolution?? It may be a stupid question but I have never been able to figure that out....!

Plz help me!

Alex · October 22, 2001, 21:58

Quote:

How do you change to higher resolution?? It may be a stupid question but I have never been able to figure that out....! Plz help me!

Well, do you mean in Windows or just in the game? I suppose it's in SMAC... The game will use your actual screen resolution - if you're using 800x600, SMAC will use this resolution by default once the game is started - same goes to 1024x768.

But you can "force" the game to use a higher res tweaking the file "alpha centauri.ini", which is located in SMAC main directory (IIRC). Open "alpha centauri.ini" and look for the line "Video Mode=800" and change the line to "Video Mode=1024". This will force SMAC to always start at 1024x768, no matter what your screen resolution is. And, of course, save the file on exit.

If that line does not exist in "alpha centauri.ini", create it.

I may be wrong, though; if it's the case, I'm sure someone will help you out.

Sikander · October 22, 2001, 22:59

Quote:

Originally posted by Alexnm
Sikander,

yes, I´ve been thinking about that, I just didn´t know that 128 M can do such a difference. Well, maybe I´ll have to start my upgrading efforts sooner than I thought (DSL is on my plans too).

Well, there´s always the monitor thing... (and no, the monitor prices have not dropped here... that´s the price you pay for underdevelopment, I guess

)

Yes I was surprised at how much difference memory makes, and how little difference clock speed makes for most applications. I paid about $3000 for my machine in 1998, though a lot of that went into my 21 inch monitor and graphics card, sound card etc. It's always embarassing to admit what you paid for a machine in the past, the prices and tech change so quickly.

Here monitors are coming down, driven by the price drop in flat screens. You can get a monitor for about 66% of what you would have paid just last year (approx.), and the flat screen prices have dropped even more, just under 50%.

I'm toying with the idea of getting DSL too, but so far I am too cheap to make the leap. I really hate increasing fixed costs. Besides, I have DSL at work and try to do most of my surfing there. A small price to pay for domestic tranquility.

666'srevenge · October 28, 2001, 01:31

I have to play it on a messed up version of 800x600 it works fine but the sound lately is all messed up how do you get it to were it will play on 640x480?