I have talked with several forum members in public and in private and tried to produce a better solution to the current Horizontal plus method that Grim Dawn uses.
1. The Problem
The currently known methods are.
Hor+ (horizontal plus) is the most common scaling method for the majority of modern video games. In games with hor+ scaling the vertical FOV is fixed, while the horizontal FOV is expandable depending on the aspect ratio of the rendering resolution; a wider aspect ratio results in a larger FOV. Since the majority of screens used for gaming nowadays are widescreen, this scaling method is usually preferred as wider aspect ratios do not suffer from reduced FOV with it. This becomes especially important in more “exotic” setups like ultra-wide monitor or triple-monitor gaming.
The opposite of this is :
Vert- (vertical minus) is a scaling method used by some games that support a wide variety of resolutions. In vert- games, as the aspect ratio widens, the vertical component of the field of view is reduced to compensate. This avoids distortion of objects in the game world but results in a smaller field of view on widescreen resolutions, and may become especially problematic with extremely wide resolutions, such as those common on multiple-display setups
Another :
Pixel-based scaling is almost exclusively used in games with two-dimensional graphics. With pixel-based scaling, the amount of content displayed on screen is directly tied to the rendering resolution. A larger horizontal resolution directly increases the horizontal field of view, and a larger vertical resolution increases the vertical field of view.[
These methods all fail to address the problem, and the problem is that these systems punish users depending on what monitor they have !
For example with Hor+ method, ultrawide 21:9 users benefit the most, while the rest 16:9, 16:10, 4:3 get increasingly less and less horizontal FOV.
Vertical minus on the other hand punished users with wide and ultra-wide monitors. The wider it gets the less vertical usable area they get.
Pixel based scaling means the more pixels your monitor has the bigger the advantage and more game environment you are able to see.
2. The Solution
Since i personally think you are a fantastic and one of the most dedicated team of programmers and game designers i know of, i will suggest to you a solution that will work if i am not mistaken.
This solution is a custom one that you will use for your unique product called Grim Dawn.
Firstly let’s consider 4 aspect ratios that people use and play games on : 21:9, 16:9, 16:10, 4:3
Each person wants the best experience with Grim Dawn regardless of what monitor he/she has.
What can you do about this ? The solution is simple. Address their problems individually and increase customer satisfaction.
For each aspect ratio you have to provide a custom solution in the form of custom horizontal and vertical Fov. (field of view)
The biggest complain of people is that better PC resolutions such as 16:10 or even 4:3 not the TV format 16:9 gets punished more in games.
In a logical and rational world, if 16:9 provides more horizontal FOV then 16:10 must provide more vertical Fov.
Hor+ rule is wrong, but easy to implement.
If i have 1920 x 1200 compared to 1080p i want 120 pixels more for vertical Fov, but that is called Pixel-based scaling and we don’t want that because some people have 2560 x 1600.
You want to give something to everyone. Don’t punish the widescreen users, but also don’t punish users with normal screens.
Set a custom vertical and horizontal Fov so the game looks fantastic and special every time for each aspect ratio category.
Play with values until you are satisfied with your results.
a) For all 21:9 screens (2560×1080 / 3840 x 1440) vast horizontal fov, normal vertical FOV. (similar to what you have now vertically if you want)
b) For all 16:9 screens (1366 x 768 / 1920 x 1080 / 2560 x 1440 / 3840 x 2160) generous horizontal FOV, but considerably more vertical Fov than 21:9.
c) For all 16:10 screens (1280×800 / 1440×900 / 1680×1050 / 1920×1200 / 2560×1600) above average horizontal Fov, even more dramatic vertical Fov than 16:9.
d) For all 4:3 screens (1024×768, 1280×960, 1400×1050, 1440×1080 , 1600×1200, 1856×1392, 1920×1440, 2048×1536) normal horizontal Fov, bigger vertical than 16:10.
This way you make Grim Dawn feel special, always in the sweet spot and add a unique flavor and experience for every major aspect ratio and monitor user.
This solution is not a zoom request but a proper way to represent every aspect ratio with a proper and unique vertical and horizontal Fov.
Is anything impossible to accomplish in my suggestion ?
Thank you.
