Widescreen Gaming Forum

How about a third opinion?

I have an Australian boxed copy of the (collector's edition) game (which should be the same as the US but with a different rating on the cover) and my copy is unmodified. No patch, no .ini tampering, and my copy appears to be Hor+. The main menu screen and logos that appear before it are STRETCHED which is bad, but in game, it's Hor+ by default.

Some pics here:

5:4- http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh32/lostn/5-4.jpg
16:9- http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh32/lostn/16-9.jpg
Char creation- http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh32/lostn/charcreate.jpg

16:9 was taken at 1680x1050 letterboxed.

Certify this game.

EDIT: I took some images of the stretched menu screens:

PSB 5:4- http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh32/lostn/PSB5-4.jpg
PSB 16:9- http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh32/lostn/PSB16-9.jpg
Menu Screen 5:4- http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh32/lostn/menu5-4.jpg
Menu Screen 16:9- http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh32/lostn/menu16-9.jpg

There is actually SOME Hor+ there, but the stretching is obvious. It's a combination of both. Those are some unfortunate blemishes, but the gameplay is still Hor+ out of the box.

No patch, no .ini tampering, and my copy appears to be Hor+.

Are the 2D screens hor + without .ini tampering? Does 1280x768 work without .ini tampering? According to the DR, they don't, which is why the game is not certified.

1280x768 (1.67:1) is not an available resolution to me or even one of the aspect ratio profiles in the game options, so I guess no it's not available without editing.

The 2D screens are Hor+ without .ini editing, but they are also stretched at the same time. Circles appear oval shaped. Who knows why they did this.

In my opinion, this game has done a very good job with widescreen support, offering letterboxed modes for people who's screens aren't as wide as they would like. I haven't seen a lot of games offer that option.

I'm not talking about the main menu and loading screens. I'm talking about character creation, lockpicking, the Special book, and computer terminals.

Ok so either I don't like to read, cannot find the info, or completely do not understand how to do this. (I think it's the latter) How do I Run Fallout 3 at 3840x1024? Does someone have an INI i can get or is there one on this site? Do you have to know video cards/monitors I have or wha? Little help for the noob would be greatly appreciated. I have heard of people getting in into 3840x1024 but the hud was jacked or something. Thanks in advance.

[url]http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/node/9611]

[url]http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/node/9611]

TYVM!

A new patch is out. I think nothing has changed regarding the widescreen behavior.

I had a slight issue with the patch install so I could be wrong. Feel free to chime in if you notice something different.

I never understood why there is this ... sometimes arrogant assumption that if you are in a widescreen resolution, you MUST be in the right resolution to see every pixel, even if it is not relevant to the game.

Now I will mention that I *DO* play in widescreen, including in Fallout 3. I have not found anything to be stretched, and I have found that while there ARE screens that have Ver- instead of Hor+ for interfaces, they are in the places where Hor+ would frankly not look as nice.

I believe the lockpicking screen was CHOSEN to be Ver-.
It lets you see the important bits better. Making it Hor+ would just put more dead filler background in. It shows plenty of vertical space to see the angle of your tool.

I believe the hacking screen was also chosen to be Ver-
Ditto for character creation.

Think for a moment what these things would look like with Hor+
They have a bit too much side space as it is.

These screens work better in a non widescreen resolution. That's not a programming oversight. It's the basic mechanics of putting a 5:4 game monitor (or fundamentally fairly square based mini game) into the game and trying to make it look good in widescreen.

Note that the PIP boy uses Hor+ because while it is at it's core a 5:4 screen, it is mounted on a horizontal based device. That makes it work better on a widescreen resolution because the whole image is wide.

They actually *gasps* ADDED dead space to a whole four 5:4 static screens. What a crime. Get over yourselves already. Your widescreen interfaces are larger and clearer for it. When there is a point to Hor+ (in the main game engine) you have it. Having tried both, I will tell you it is a signficiant advantage on top of making exploration more pleasant.

I would be more concerned that in extreme widescreen modes in first person, it can raise the gun slightly (which depending on gun can obstruct your aim more).

EDIT:I have not seen any actual SCREENSHOTS of this, but I am told that with extreme widescreen modes (multiple monitors, heavy letterboxing etc.), the Ver- could be enough to be problematic.

The fix?:
"edit fDefaultFOV=75.0000 to 150.0000 this changes the menus FOV not the game! so the pipboy, hacking terminals and lock picking screens appear how they should look. "

Conclusion? The devs made a decision. They have a setting to change that decision. It doesn't autoscale, if you go against their call, you have to set it yourself. Once again, get over it. I find the solution more than reasonable.

1280x768 (1.67:1) is not an available resolution to me or even one of the aspect ratio profiles in the game options, so I guess no it's not available without editing.

1280x720 is available, as is 1280x800. Regrettably, precisely 1280x768 is not. If you are letterboxing, I would suggest one of the aforementioned resolutions. If 1280x768 is your native screen resolution, definitely edit the ini files.

The 2D screens are Hor+ without .ini editing, but they are also stretched at the same time. Circles appear oval shaped. Who knows why they did this.

With latest patches, they should not be stretched. They were not for me ... however... several 2D screens have a mix of Hor+(background) and Ver-(foreground). Unless you are going multi monitor, the Ver- does not cut into the working area of the menu/minigame. It means for hacking, the black/green working area of the screen touches top and bottom of your display but is not cut off. Lockpicking is a little more controversial, as you see less of the hand picking the lock. The alternative, however, is enough dead space to really look kind of wrong.

I believe these are intentional choices (albeit made without consideration for multi monitor configs). There is an .ini setting to zoom them as you see fit.

In my opinion, this game has done a very good job with widescreen support, offering letterboxed modes for people who's screens aren't as wide as they would like. I haven't seen a lot of games offer that option.

Agreed. I also strongly suspect this is part of why they went Ver- on the menus mentioned. If someone has a non widescreen monitor, letterboxes, then gets a menu, it could get pretty tiny.