Well this whole resolution thing is utter BS! I just wasted $40 on a games that looks like crap because it won't support 1280x1024??? My Hitachi 17" LCD (which is an awesome monitor) has a native resoultion of 1280x1024 and I have games such as Spaceward Ho! from 1996 that can change resolution and look good. Total BS...
Processing cycles for the AI? Please, most people have video cards cards at this point that with at least 16MB - 32MB of memory and can handle a 2d game without much issue. Couple that with a 700Mhz machine and there is ZERO reason you should have to give up graphics for AI... True you don't NEED eye candy but damn, there is no reason it shouldn't look good... BTW, this is on a Athlon 2800+ processor with a GF4 128MB card and 1GB of system memory so if people want playability on a P2-300 w/16MB of system memory and a 1MB graphics card, turn the resolution down or eye candy off if they want but for me to have to deal with crappy graphics? Come on people... Fatal flaw in an otherwise great game...
-Brian 
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#2
by Veteran wampyre - 7/21/2003 9:25:45 AM
if you'd been reading posts on this forum for the past four months or so you would have known the resolution the game allowed. Unfortunately, looks like you bought the game first, got on the forums later (like most of us do.) I think the game was made with the majority of gamers in mind (those with standard monitors, not LCD) and the resolution is just fine on those "old fashioned monitors.) Much smaller and you cant read the print anyway.
I have no idea what it would take to get resolution scaleable in a patch, but I'm pretty sure they would have to assess the need first. Maybe you could petition Stardock for a cyber poll (left of page, halfway down) so they could see just how many users out there really need the resolution changed. Bitching about it will get you nothing but a tempoarary feeling of satisfaction after you've "told them off." But you still have what you call BS graphics.
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#3
by Veteran wampyre - 7/21/2003 9:33:45 AM
Paul, where do you get your games? I've not found a money back outlet since EBX changed their (once excellent) policy. I used to return a fair amount of games but I bought 10 times more (and kept) than I returned. And I always returned them a day or two later...not like I played the game to the end and then returned it...I usually can tell a game sucks 10 minutes into it. Sometimes I'll give it another few hours to see if it gets better (99% of the time they dont.)
I'd be interested to know where to buy games that still hav a returen policy with money back or even a store credit vs "get another of the same game because you have a defective cd" or "sorry, you OPENED it."
Cheers.
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#4
by Citizen Quantum73 - 7/21/2003 9:46:46 AM
I realize that this is "my fault" for not doing more homework but wow, it is 2003 and I have not even seen a game with a fixed resolution in years! I am VERY frustrated! I have always had the option of upping the resulotion even if it made the game unplayable. My bad here but I forked out $40 and am stuck with this game. Best I could get is store credit. I used to buy a ton of games but I don't anymore so that store credit is almost worthless to me as I buy 1 or 2 games a year. I wait for the truly good ones to come out and all indications are that this is one of them. I am tired of playing Spaceward Ho! and MOO 2... 
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#8
by Citizen Quantum73 - 7/21/2003 11:23:03 AM
It would be whining if I had a P-233 and was crying because it wouldn't play the game in 1600x1200 32 bit color but I have a top of the line PC and monitor and this "new" game looks like crap. Since when were the high-end users nailed for having a "better" system?
And I agree, why put leather in an "off-road" vehicle unless maybe it is just a street Queen? What's the point...
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I have a high end system too and this game looks just fine. I only run 1024x768 because anything finer makes it hard to read. I for one am happy that the developers spent less time on eye candy and more time on developing a great game all around. Besides, there are plenty of so called "new" games out now that have worse graphics.
      
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Have you considered that your monitor is crap ?
Mine 18" Viewsonic VX-800 scale it's without any problem (I specially put my old 17" Iyamma CRT insted to compare)despite being native 1280x1024. Every LDC monitor has a "mini-CPU" that scales the image to native resolution, some do this better, some ... well not that good
Really , no need to get so agressive
If you believe that the resolution and look of this game make it not worth your $40 then you probably gought wrong game  , may be you not noticed yet but a majority of "fans" here would play this game even at 640x480 BW as long as it answers several cretereas (and it does ! ). Most of us are kind of people that "use" their imagination when playing, graphics only make this expirience richer, provide the paradigm box but nothing more.
Actually sometime very good graphics can hurt such game, ever wandered why movies made on best seller book usually much worse then book itself - it's because they limit your imagination to speciffic "world view" , speciffic paradigm , while the book let you fill all the blanks the way YOU want.
Same with this kind of games , if you think that ,well I have admit it , relatively mediore graphics make this game not worth to buy then you probably right you better be looking for the game from another style.
   
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#13
by Citizen Ares1001 - 7/21/2003 1:36:03 PM
For all of you who remember me, I'm the one with the 800x600 desktop resoultion... And it's a horrible pain to manually adjust the monitor in the horizontal and verticle scale just to see the game. But I do it, just for that. But I would pay money to be able to literally be able to see GalCiv without needing a new monitor, unless I could petititon StarDock for one? 
So, there you have my gripe on the whole window/fullscreen game. And it has been this way since forever, and I am not about ot get a new monitor for a game...that is just plain silly, and I slap any of you who tell me to.
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#14
by Citizen Quantum73 - 7/21/2003 1:43:14 PM
Blah, blah, blah, Hitachi 17" rated best LCD, best scaling, etc... I am spoiled! The LCD looks awsome even when scaling compared to other LCD's especially. Keep the graphics the same, add some "blank" areas, just increase the overall full screen support to 1280x1024 or higher...
And I have played MANY games just for their entertainment value and not graphics. I have Spaceward Ho! running on an XP2800+ system and quite frankly it looks better than Gal. Civ only due to the fact that it supports 1280x1024. Notice I said supports, not is optimized for... Big difference, much different programming needs, and really not much to ask for... I don't mind blank spots and tiny text/icons if it is crisp and sharp! 
As for being agressive? Whatever... $40 is $40 and since I can't get the money back, not that I want to really because this seems to be a good game, then if there enough people who want it, then voice your opinion and support some visual updates from the programmers. Dark Space would be a great example where gamer input really shapes the games next steps...
Can't we all just get along? Yeah, whatever... 
Anyone ever think it might just be fun to stir people up about something??? 
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#15
by Citizen Quantum73 - 7/21/2003 1:45:30 PM
And Shadowvv, I got the windowed mode to work over lunchtime. Looks much better but still need 1280x1024... Thanks for the suggestion...
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#18
by Citizen Quantum73 - 7/21/2003 2:32:17 PM
To Gengsta,
Well, I would bet that you would find it a little more of a "fatal flaw" if your machine which will play any 1st person shooter at 1280x1024 and play it well suddenly had a 2d game that looked something like Wolfenstein 3d on a 386 and whoa, turns out it was a "programming decision" to not support resolution changes, something that is industry standard not any sort of hardware issue... LCD sales are now outpacing CRT sales so if you don't think this sort of thing is an issue, you need to do a little research. Like it or not, by not supporting modern hardware properly the game designers will limit themselves in the end...
Do I need to say it again??? I think it is a great game and a great "first" outing for these guys... And as long as people want to discuss it, I will keep jabbering away so deal... Squeaky wheel gets the grease...
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#19
by Citizen Quantum73 - 7/21/2003 2:43:10 PM
Frogboy, I think your idea and my idea of "good" are completely different. Seeing as this Hitachi is one of the best LCD's available at any price and how my "crappy" is your "good", maybe you should be the one investing in a new monitor...
I just love how everyone gets all riled up over stuff like this...
Hitachi CML174 Quick Specs
Screen Size - 17.0 inch
LCD Type - TFT LCD
Viewable Area - 337.9mm x 270.3mm
Native Resolution - 1280 x 1024
Brightness - 260 cd/m2
Viewing Angle (H/V) - 160°/160°
Contrast Ratio - 400:1
Pixel Response - 16ms
Input Video Signal - Analog & DVI-D
Pixel Pitch (H/V) - 0.264mm/0.264mm
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#20
by Citizen Quantum73 - 7/21/2003 2:55:30 PM
Perhaps the poll should say something like "Would you like the game to support resolutions other than 1024x768?"
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Well looks like ViewSonic is winning
2nd person that see OK there, dear Quantum73 you probably need to learn a lesson that I had painfully learned myself some time ago - good technical characteristics it's only 1/2 way to the good product.
The only real test is to test and compare.
Btw: tech. characteristics of my ViewSonic is the same exept 21ms refresh time on mine versus 16ms on yours - this means that you will see the movies less blured, but nothing of what you listed even remotely suggest how you monitor microprocessor handle the scale, and this seems to be you problem.
No doubt your Hitachi monitor is good, but aperently it's not perfect
At least it has it's downs, it does not means anything except that you have a problem with this speciffic game (and may be few others).
LCD monitors are "not there" yet to be perfect for gaming, but they close ...
Now about resolutions ... well personally I'd like to be able play at 1280x1024 too but all things have their price - I do not need it if it would game appear 1/2 year later or significantly delay of the arival of Expansion Pack.
If it's easy to do at this point, I suppose StarDoc will implement it in some upcoming update, but if it will take a lot of time and affort ... well people stil play chess , don't they
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#22
by Citizen Quantum73 - 7/21/2003 4:14:11 PM
Good points Lord KiRon... I agree however really the second part of your post is the main point I was making. It should not be an issue at all to support 1280x1024 so why not just do it? Again, fine, design for 1024x768, but allow it do display in 1280x1024... Flexibility by letting the buyer decide what looks best. I have put up with a lot of odd looking screens just to have the resolution I like...
And BTW, I have never seen another LCD that comes close and I have looked at more than a few... Just like life, it's all about personal preference...
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All Sarcasm asside the average American's computer is the equivalient of a p3 (coppermine) at about .6-1 ghz, 128-256 ram, and an agp or even pci 16 mg graphics card. Like it or not, for a tbs to sell, it has to appeal to a bigger cross section of the computer community than the hard core high end (limited attention span) gamer
Why can't you just change your resolution to that of the game temporarily? It's mega easy to do. BTW, spaceward ho looks equally trashy and blurry @ all resolutions. That's a ridiculous comparison.
I just don't understand why people expect a tbs to look like a first person shooter graphics wise. It's about gameplay. My shelf is littered with games with great graphics that nevertheless play like junk. Chalk up another vote for gameplay over graphics. Besides, once you've seen a great explosion once, big deal. It's the same every time. I find myself wishing I could shut off the animations in some games (civ3) to actually make it run.
Try Moo3. It's stuck in 800 X 600. Graphics wise.
| And BTW, I have never seen another LCD that comes close and I have looked at more than a few... Just like life, it's all about personal preference |
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Try the viewsonic. It obviously blows yours away in scaling to it's native resolution.
      
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| Well, I would bet that you would find it a little more of a "fatal flaw" if your machine which will play any 1st person shooter at 1280x1024 and play it well suddenly had a 2d game that looked something like Wolfenstein 3d on a 386 and whoa, turns out it was a "programming decision" to not support resolution changes, something that is industry standard not any sort of hardware issue... |
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No, as a matter of fact, I wouldn't. The games I play most often right now besides GalCiv and D2X are Angband and ADoM. Yay 80×25 ASCII 'graphics'.
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