running old pc games full screen problems

[nickfil]

I didn't know exactly where to put this. I hope it is in the right place.

so. I'm trying to run this old game, dungeon keeper. It runs fine, but it runs in 800x600. When you are 1680x1050 this is TINY and i find that i'm leaning closer and closer to the screen. Not because the game isn't clear but it is just so damn small.

The game doesn't have video options. It falls in an odd time period of pc gaming. It isn't old enough to run in dosbox, but it isn't new enough to accommodate different screen resolutions. I was hoping to find some kind option to have it stretch to the native resolution of the monitor. Somewhere in the drivers for the display or something like that?

I'm running dungeon keeper in windows XP via parallels for this. It is such an old game that I didn't want it to get access to the full horsepower of my mac, and I'm not sure if it'll run in vista. Therefore I haven't installed it on the pc side of bootcamp. I'm haven't heavily used a pc since 2002, so this kind of trouble shooting is a little over my head now. I just can't find where the options are for something like this.

I found this guide- and it had some tips at the end to change a few of the drivers, but it looks like it is a menu that isn't in xp.
http://my.opera.com/srr/blog/2008/06/06 ... mes-in-the

any help guys, or am i forced to squint?

[Erik_Twice]

^Damn, those are the hardest games to get running.

Are you sure you cannot run it with Dosbox? It requires 75Mhz so it may be possible to use it because DosBox let's you play up to 100Mhz games if I'm not mistaken, just give it a lot of power.

You can also try to pick up an old monitor and use that instead.

[Donjo]

In most cases, you will be forced to squint. As far as I can see it, you have three options.

a. You can turn on scaling in your monitor. This will stretch the game to full screen, albeit with a good bit of blurriness.
b. If the game has a ".ini" file in its folder, you may be able to edit it with notepad to attain the resolution you desire. However, this does not always work, and not all games have one.
c. Sometimes, fans make patches for older games to allow them to support higher resolutions. Games that have received this honor include Baldur's Gate and Fallout. You may want to look for one regarding this game.

If you are using an Nvidia Video Card, you can turn off scaling by doing the following:
1. Right click on your desktop, and click "Nvidia Control Panel"
2. Once the window opens, find the "Flat Panel Scaling Option"
3. Here, the "do not scale" option should be selected. To force the screen to stretch, select "Use Nvidia Scaling". If you wish your widescreen monitor to not stretch the game, you may also select "Use Nvidia Scaling with Fixed Aspect Ratio".

Sure, scaling could make the game look ugly, but it's usually better than a small window surrounded by black lines. I am not sure where these options will be for other video cards, so I cannot help you there. However, it is probably best to look for an option similar to "Flat Panel Scaling". I hope you can get things working!

[sneth]

um. have you tried setting your monitor to 800X600?

These games were designed with different resolutions in mind. I don't think you are gonna have much success trying to stretch the video.

You are right that this was in a wierd time for games. There is still an active fanbase, so your best bet is to prolly scan those sites.

[Niode]

I'm assuming you're talking about DK2 since DK and DK:Gold had a maximum resolution of 640x480.

If you are using Parallels you should create a new virtual machine and install windows 98 on it.

Once you have done this, install the game on the new VM. Open the graphics options (of the virtual machine in Parallels) and as long as you have VGA acceleration checked (and the maximum amount of video memory allocated). The game will then allow you to use 1024x768, however that is the maximum supported resolution for that game.

[nickfil]

I'm assuming you're talking about DK2 since DK and DK:Gold had a maximum resolution of 640x480.

If you are using Parallels you should create a new virtual machine and install windows 98 on it.

Once you have done this, install the game on the new VM. Open the graphics options (of the virtual machine in Parallels) and as long as you have VGA acceleration checked (and the maximum amount of video memory allocated). The game will then allow you to use 1024x768, however that is the maximum supported resolution for that game.

ha. I'm actually talking about dk:gold. 640x480 it is.

the problem i was having was that even when i would change the resolution, the mac's resolution was still be higher and unchanged, so windows would be full screen (the size of a postage stamp) with a black boarder. Thanks for the heads up that maybe i could mess with parallels to change it. There is an option that i checked so that parallels would change the resolution of the monitor, not just the os within itself. Lowest i could get was 800x600, so i still have a black boarder. But at least it is a little bigger.

and by the way- to anyone that cares, it is a pretty fun game. Like a reverse diablo. You build a dungeon, train creatures and gear up for a hero to come in and try to smash it. Had it when i was a kid and it still holds up.

[fast]

Im not aware if this works with parallels, and I am sure you tried it, but did you try alt-enter or F11 - you know classic full screen commands?

[nickfil]

Im not aware if this works with parallels, and I am sure you tried it, but did you try alt-enter or F11 - you know classic full screen commands?

wow. i didn't even think to try that. I'm pretty sure it won't work because those are quick keys for built in options that i would be able to find normally. I'll try it out though.

[fast]

Worth a shot.

[Funk, E]

You could always dual-monitor with a CRT.