Widescreen Gaming Forum

You can't. But if I had programmed it, I would have made max zoom in Ben-Hur mode look like this:

In other words, pillarbox it instead of making it vert-.

But: If it was pillarboxed, would that mean that the game would be impossible to certify since there would be no way for it to expand for triplehead aspect ratios?

And yes StingingVelvet, some Republicans too :wink:

But: If it was pillarboxed, would that mean that the game would be impossible to certify since there would be no way for it to expand for triplehead aspect ratios?

It would only be pillarboxed when zoomed all the way out. If you zoomed in at all, it would fill all your screens, and be hor + compared to a narrower AR at the same zoom level.

Unless I'm very mistaken, Defcon shouldn't have been certified in the first place.

The MGL says Defcon is Hor+ while The_cranky_hermit said (in 2006) that it's anamorphic when zoomed out, Vert- when zoomed in... :?
Looks like plain old Vert- to me. The HUD scales correctly, but that doesn't make the game either anamorphic or Hor+ whatever the zoom level.

Besides, the game (v1.43) won't run fullscreen at any resolution. I can see Windows' taskbar in "fullscreen" 1680x1050, while only the left screen is active in all "fullscreen" TripleHead resolutions (and I can see my wallpaper & taskbar on the other two), so I can't see the menu or launch a game. (If this happens to you : close the game with Alt+F4 then edit preferences.txt in the game's install folder.)

So, I took the following shots while playing Defcon windowed in Wide TripleHead. Please note that each individual bar in the HUD can be freely moved around (coordinates are saved in your preferences file), so don't mind them being all grouped on the left screen.

5040x1050, windowed, max zoom out


5040x1050, windowed, max zoom in, as far north as I could get (this is Tunisia = exact same limit as the max zoomed out view)

in any situation where widescreen is vert - and vert - is not desired, you can just zoom out a little bit to make it hor + (again, this doesn't work well in 3D games). So I think this game should be classified as "Hor +."

Also,

Besides, the game (v1.43) won't run fullscreen at any resolution. I can see Windows' taskbar in "fullscreen" 1680x1050,

This isn't a problem for me in the demo. I don't see any taskbar when running fullscreen.

Strange. I suppose the game hates me.

I don't want to argue, but "Hor+ if you don't zoom out to the max in 4:3" doesn't make sense to me. Screenshots say it's Vert-, and even though it may not hinder the gameplay in widescreen thanks to the zoom, it should be graded as Vert-. I mean, why not be the cold tyrant some people seem to think you are ? :lol: ;)
I understand it's a 2D game and all though, and it's not certified anymore, so let's move on.

and even though it may not hinder the gameplay in widescreen thanks to the zoom, it should be graded as Vert-.

What about first person shooters that are vert - by default, but can become hor + if you increase the FOV (the exact same thing as zooming out)? We've always considered those games to be hor +.

Since you can zoom out, DEFCON is hor + if you want it to be. Much like how an FPS with an FOV setting is hor + if you want it to be. My last three screenshots (in 2006) show hor + behavior.

Since you can't zoom out as much as you want, and since you have the exact same north-to-south degree of freedom in a set AR whatever the zoom level, and since the greater the AR, the smaller the north-to-south DOF, Defcon although it may play just fine in widescreen will never be Hor+ in my book. (I dare you to apply all that to your shooters analogy !) ;)

Since you can't zoom out as much as you want

Sure you can. You can zoom out until you see the entire EARTH. Who could want to zoom out more than that? You can't nuke space in this game, much to Klaatu's relief.

since the greater the AR, the smaller the north-to-south DOF,

Not really. 16:9 has the exact same "DOF" as 4:3. This statement only applies when you go above 16:9. What does north-to-south have to do with hor + anyway?

It has to do with the gameplay, although has you say, it's only a problem above 16:9.
Sorry, I suppose you're right, the game is Hor+ "if you want it to be". Gosh I hate 2D.

New grade, to reflect new rules:

Calculated grade: B+

Half the world getting cropped off in TH is a blemish

CCE: 100%