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monitor's minimum resolution
Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 6:54 pm
by Dave Allen
My monitor's MINIMUM resolution is 800x600.
I just bought an old game on STEAM, Lords of Magic: Special Edition, and it runs ONLY in 640x480.
I've tried all the compatibility fixes, but the best I can get is a black screen with the game's cursor that I can move around.
Is it my monitor that is the problem?
Re: monitor's minimum resolution
Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 7:15 pm
by Anonymous Bosch
Dave Allen wrote: ↑Tue Aug 31, 2021 6:54 pm
My monitor's MINIMUM resolution is 800x600.
I just bought an old game on STEAM, Lords of Magic: Special Edition, and it runs ONLY in 640x480.
I've tried all the compatibility fixes, but the best I can get is a black screen with the game's cursor that I can move around.
Is it my monitor that is the problem?
You may be able to play it windowed if you use the
dgVoodoo 2 graphics wrapper. The
Lords of Magic entry on PCGamingWiki provides instructions on how to use it.
Re: monitor's minimum resolution
Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 7:28 pm
by Blackhawk
PC Gaming Wiki is your #1 stop before playing any game, and that goes triple for older titles. It will tell you any issues before you encounter them, and it will walk you through the fixes.
It is an essential site.
Re: monitor's minimum resolution
Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:43 pm
by Dave Allen
I followed (exactly) all the instructions to run LoM with the dgVoodoo 2 graphics wrapper, but still get a black screen with only game cursor. I then fiddled with settings. No luck. Also, tried another third-party, DxWnd. Still nothing.
five hours later, I've finally come across a game I can't play with my system, but I think its the monitor's limitation. And I don't have the will to swap out my monitor for one stupid game.
Thanks for trying to help, guys!
Re: monitor's minimum resolution
Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:59 pm
by Anonymous Bosch
Try posting about the difficulty you're having with Lords of Magic SE in the
Windows forum of VOGONS and/or their
dgVoodoo forum. The boffins there should be able to provide you with more specific guidance.
Re: monitor's minimum resolution
Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 10:01 pm
by Smoove_B
I'd also suggest checking the
GOG forums. They seem to excel at making these kinds of games work on modern hardware. If there are tweaks needed, I'm guessing you're going to find them there.
Re: monitor's minimum resolution
Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 10:05 pm
by Victoria Raverna
If you use Nvidia graphic card, you can try to set the resolution scaling to use GPU. With that, the GPU will try to scale any lower resolution to the default resolution of the monitor.
Re: monitor's minimum resolution
Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 10:50 pm
by Kasey Chang
Is this running through DOSBOX? You can probably configure DOSbox config to make it emulate a higher resolution window.
https://www.dosgamers.com/dos/dosbox-do ... resolution
Re: monitor's minimum resolution
Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 11:03 pm
by Anonymous Bosch
Dave Allen wrote: ↑Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:43 pm
I followed (exactly) all the instructions to run LoM with the dgVoodoo 2 graphics wrapper, but still get a black screen with only game cursor. I then fiddled with settings. No luck. Also, tried another third-party, DxWnd. Still nothing.
five hours later, I've finally come across a game I can't play with my system, but I think its the monitor's limitation. And I don't have the will to swap out my monitor for one stupid game.
Thanks for trying to help, guys!
Here's
another suggestion that may help you get the game running properly:
steamcommunity.com wrote:I had this exact same error message, tried all compatibility modes, disabling windows defender, etc. Ended up solving the problem by going to windows features in control panel (just type "windows features" in start bar and it should come up), then checking "Direct Play" under the "Legacy Components" tab. Started right up without needing compatibility mode or anything when I did that.
Re: monitor's minimum resolution
Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2021 1:54 am
by Dave Allen
LoM is not a DOS game, and the DirectPlay under Legacy Components in Windows features WAS checked.
I'll post in those forums next.
Re: monitor's minimum resolution
Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2021 3:32 am
by hitbyambulance
Dave Allen wrote: ↑Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:43 pm
five hours later, I've finally come across a game I can't play with my system, but I think its the monitor's limitation. And I don't have the will to swap out my monitor for one stupid game.
Thanks for trying to help, guys!
the thing is to not give up. there is almost always a way to get any given older Windows game to run under Windows 10. (and any DOS game is ably handled by DOSBox on any system, these days)
Re: monitor's minimum resolution
Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2021 11:17 am
by Dave Allen
I had an old update (from 2007) that was causing this.
I found a newer
update/patch (from 2017) that makes it work.
There was then mouse stutter/lag, but using the dgVoodoo video wrapper solved this. All good now!
