Grandpa needs a little reassurance

[Lawnmower2]

Only waiting for the new PSU to arrive.

Over the weekend I will hopefully complete upgrading my system to include a Gigabyte Geforce GTX980Ti and an X34 Predator G-sync 3440x1440 monitor. My first venture out of 1920x1080, and I now have the choice of either replaying Tomb Raider 2013 or playing Witcher3 Hearts of Stone (Gog version 1.12), or purchasing the Rise of Tomb Raider. I'm a keyboard and mouse user.

As far as I can see it shouldn't be any problem for me to play Rise of Tomb Raider on Ultra-wide 3440x1440 assuming I can live with the 16:9 cut-scenes, but re Witcher 3 I am having a hard time working out exactly what I would have to do despite having read the 'Witcher 21:9 Broken' thread thread a few times.

I've never used Hex editing or tinkered with ini. files but my understanding of these is a little clearer than it was a few weeks ago when I joined this Forum. My issue is knowing exactly what to do with the fixes so that they are properly implemented. You guys make it seem so simple and I see a posted link followed by a "Holy ##it! It worked!" I worry I don't know how to make it work.

I am tempted initially to go for Rise of Tomb Raider - enjoy my new system, and then take things as they come with the guidance and links I see on this Forum.

Beyond that, I guess I just take the bull by the horns and see what happens with hex and FWS and ini and stuff - posting here if I hit any problems.

Meantime thanks for assistance to date and for some fascinating and helpful threads.

[Amoveo]

I'd highly recommend the Witcher 3 since it's a great game and we can help you out with any issues you run into.

Removing Black Bars from Cutscenes
Download either the 2560x1080 or the 3440x1440 exe based on your intention.
Find your Witcher 3 exe (Likely places include C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common and wherever you install GOG games.
Take the exe you downloaded and replace your Witcher 3 exe with it (this is totally reversible but you can copy the original exe somewhere else for safekeeping if you feel better.)

Then in order to fix the UI to make it move to the far corners of the screen see here.

Moving the UI to the edges
Go to Documents\The Witcher 3
Open the User.settings Folder with notepad.
The seventh line from the top should be uiHorizontalFrameScale=1, change it to uiHorizontalFrameScale=1.3
Save the document
Right Click it and choose properties to open up a little properties window for the document
Check the Read-only box and click ok

3440x1440 is also pretty tough for a gpu (even a 980 Ti) to keep up with. If you find that the game feels choppy I'd recommend knocking the resolution down to 2560x1080 and using that exe for a great looking game with everything running smoothly.

Good luck!

[Lawnmower2]

That is helpful,Amoveo. Thank you.

Sorry to seem stupid but when you say to consider reducing the resolution to 2560x1080 where would I do that? The X34 manual doesn't give 2560x1080 as a resolution choice.

[Amoveo]

Monitors advertise their maximum resolution, the best thing they can display, but you can change what games display on a case by case basis. In in-game settings menus you can almost always change the resolution to a different one. Since the Witcher 3 displays 21:9 resolutions by default you can just pause the game select options then probably video and change the resolution.

This way the Witcher will be in 2560x1080 while your other programs will still run in 3440x1440 to get the most out of that nice monitor you bought.

[Lawnmower2]

So far, so good. New Poer supply connected, new graphics card in and functioning. Will move on to monitor tomorrow. Thanks.

[Lawnmower2]

Re removing the black bars as per your penultimate post above, I can't find my Witcher3 exe in GOG. I just don't have one. I go from GOG to Witcher to bin to x64 and in there is an Application (44,938kb) called witcher3 with a small icon. I can create a shortcut for this and the game launches when I hit that shortcut.

Is that witcher 3 file the exe I am looking for even though it doesn't say exe?

[Amoveo]

Yes the witcher3 file that starts the game is an executable file (exe.) Take the exe of your preferred resolution (2560 or 3440) rename it witcher3 and put it in the folder where the original witcher3 exe was. This will replace the original exe with the modified one and the cutscenes should display without black bars.

If that doesn't work you'll have to mod your exe to make your own modified version, which is slightly trickier but still pretty simple.

[Lawnmower2]

It worked-it worked. Thank you, Amoveo. What a fantastic picture I'm getting. It's Hearts of Stone I think I'm playing the start of (Sheesh- you would think I knew!)

But I'm now going to take your advice and go for the 2560 x 1080 to ease any pressure on my card and see how that goes.

But thank you again, and I'll come back to confirm all okay or if I encounter any difficulties.

[Lawnmower2]

I tried that 2560 but Geralt doesn't look right compared to the 3440 version and I've reverted to that.

Started a fresh Hearts of Stone adventure and the picture looks just great. The trees and the water are super -makes one want to just sit back and look...

I think at the moment I'm on HDMI input as opposed to selecting Display so my refresh rate is a maximum 60fps.

I'll tinker a tad more as I get used to things but so far I haven't twiddled with any of the X34 buttons on the basis that if it runs okay why fiddle.

Is there anything I should be doing, or be alert for?

Again, thank you for helping me.

[Amoveo]

With a 980 Ti you might be able to get a good frame rate at 3440x1440 so feel free to experiment. I only have a 970 so running at 3440 is pushing it for a 2015 game.

I'd recommend using a DisplayPort cable if you can get one, I believe that HDMI has a maximum of 50 FPS while DisplayPort will get 60 right away just from switching the cable and possibly more if you overclock with your monitor.

If you've got the annoying black bars out of the way and the HUD where you like it then you're good to go, enjoy your Ultrawide Witcher. Cheers!

[Lawnmower2]

Finally worked it all out. Those buttons are tricky for a while. Now running Witcher 3 very smoothly through the display port at 21;9 3440 x 1440 and 95 refresh rate.

100 was flickery but 95 smooth - so there I be. Thank you again for your help.

With a 980 Ti you might be able to get a good frame rate at 3440x1440 so feel free to experiment. I only have a 970 so running at 3440 is pushing it for a 2015 game.

I'd recommend using a DisplayPort cable if you can get one, I believe that HDMI has a maximum of 50 FPS while DisplayPort will get 60 right away just from switching the cable and possibly more if you overclock with your monitor.

If you've got the annoying black bars out of the way and the HUD where you like it then you're good to go, enjoy your Ultrawide Witcher. Cheers!