What screen options will Xbox360 version have? no black bar

[Saner]

ya I hate it when a game shrinks/stretches a screen for the sake of resolution, therefore having black bars on the top and bottom if your TV is not widescreen. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif

do you think there will be more comfortable options available? http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/anime2.gif


and what about font size? a friend complained FF11 for Xbox360's text is too small. I only played FF11 so I wouldn't know how bad the difference is.



but hopefully PSU for Xbox360 has plenty of screen options, or at least the default making use of every millimeter of my TV screen instead of some cinemascope look. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif

but not only that, what if that version looks a bit more blurry than it should be? like the PC version the Xbox360 version should have options if you want or don't want added filters and such just to make things look smooth at the cost of sharpness.

but ya, ya'll know more of technical stuff, so any better info regarding this version's visual options?

also about the font sizes....we'll need some xbox360 screenshots of like the shop menus, usually those give a better idea if the font is just right or too small.

http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_salad.gif

[Yachiru]

Could anyone even give you screen shots when the game isn't even out on 360 yet? x_x

[Saner]

well there is this one

http://phantasystaruniverse.jp/xbox360/image/ss_04.jpg

[AC9breaker]

Here ya go Saner. A got some contacts who works for Sega and he hooked me up with PSU360 in game screenshots. But I'm only gonna show one cause I don't wanna get him in trouble.



http://www.apocalypse-tribe.com/ac9breaker/Xbox_Screenshot.jpg
I don't know, looks real to me!
Hope that helps!

[Saner]

http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_lol.gif oh me oh my. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_lol.gif

[CpwninOBrien]

lol thats awesum drawing http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_lol.gif

[Kou-Diacyper]

Yes, no, maybe.

[darthplagis]

gotta say it looks nice, none of those blocky edges the PS2 has to put up with.

i would imagine that standard display options are available (HD, 60hz pal(for EU, as dolby pro logic 2 is on ps2 its definatly on the xbox (yay i will hear when ohnma pops up behind me). as for screen size the xbox does that @ initial start up in the config menus.

[McLaughlin]

Font size preferences are different for every person. Just because one person is blind doesn't mean the font has to be upped to 32 so the guy can read the Welcome message. As for screen size, every other multi-console game supports Widescreen, why should this be any exception.

[qoxolg]

I am already used to the black bars.. -_- cause I am playing on a 19" CRT monitor and DoA4 is the only game supporting 4:3 high-res, but widescreen does have it's advantages.. stupid thing is that on a SDTV, games can run perfectly 4:3.. :/

If oyu have problems with reading fonts on your Tv, buy a VGA cable and play on your monitor, that really solves alot of problems



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: qoxolg on 2006-09-29 12:10 ]</font>

[drmcst45]

Dead Rising was damn hard to read and if PSU is anything like that or BF2 then i'm definitely getting VGA for my 19 inch monitor. I cant play PSU half-assed and not be able to read the weapons/items/armor that i'm picking up along the way ;0

[phunk]

You know it is possible to set up widescreen or fullscreen from the 360 itself.

[qoxolg]

the VGA cable was the best thing I bought for my 360 besides kameo http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif playing games with HD resolutions and without interlacing is just SOOOOOO much better.. it's not only looking better, but text is alot easier to read.. and most of you guys already got a monitor.. the VGA cable is worth every cent you pay for it..

[Shye]

On 2006-09-29 13:12, phunk wrote:
You know it is possible to set up widescreen or fullscreen from the 360 itself.



That's what I thought, too. Even the old Xbox had that in reverse, if you set your Xbox system to widescreen it would stretch the game (Doom 3 comes to mind as one that it does very well) better than letting your widescreen TV do it.

As for 4:3 off the 360, I know the setting is there but I'm not sure if all games will allow for it. PSO on the old Xbox wouldn't go widescreen through the Xbox itself (even with the setting on) when other games would, and I already know of some 360 games that are forced widescreen if it's set to anything other than 480.

Short answer: We'll have to wait and see? -_-

[qoxolg]

actually.. DoA4 is the only game that is not forced to be played widescreen http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif (when playing on 1024x768 or 1280x1024) actually all 360 games are designed for widescreen, and with 4:3 you get a slight disadvantage with racing-games and shooters.

[Shye]

A friend of mine has a 4:3 HD television. I'll ask him how he manages the next time I see him. I don't remember him complaining about everything being in widescreen, and from what I remember he has his 360 set to 720.

Maybe he uses the aspect zoom on his tv, or some version of aspect-fit.

[edit]:

I forgot the screen format option is grayed out in anything but 480p. However, I do remember some games that have 480p modes other than DoA4:

480p 4:3 Aspect Ratio:
Call of Duty 2
Oblivion
Condemned
Samurai Warriors 2
DoA4
Saints Row
Dead Rising
Tony Hawk's American Wasteland

720p+ Widescreen HD Only:
Ninety Nine Nights
Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires
Kameo
Final Fantasy XI
Perfect Dark Zero

These are just out of my own collection, and this is just for aspect ratio. 480p is Enhanced or Extended Definition and isn't really "high definition" but is still better than 480i

It's hard to say what options will be available since half my collection allows for a 4:3 aspect ratio (albeit in EDTV rather than true HDTV) but the other half doesn't allow for anything but widescreen.

Again, I guess it'll be a "wait and see" unless you don't want to put up with 480p resolution.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Shye on 2006-09-29 14:26 ]</font>

[qoxolg]

I play mt games 1024 or 1280 so that really is high-res http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif its alot sharper than 480p, and most demo's and most of my games play forced widescreen.. at the moment I hardly play any other games than Kameo http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif

but thanks for the info, I will try-out some demo's of games you listed 4:3

[Shye]

Yeah, when I was checking some of the games they didn't look so great in 480p, but were still better than standard definition at least.

You'd think with so many people using different formats and aspect ratios more games would offer both for convenience's sake. I think you, yourself (qoxolg), mentioned you play on a 19in monitor sometimes. Many people's computer monitors are 4:3 and would be considered higher resolution than "HDTV" but not widescreen.

-_-

I also happened to see my friend online and he couldn't tell how he was getting the 1080i format (presumable in widescreen, with no option to change it to 4:3) to be viewed in 4:3 on his screen. He said he didn't see anything getting cut off or being squished.

Ah the magical wonders of Xbox. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_mad.gif

I admit, I wouldn't be surprised if the 360 could work magic like that. As I mentioned before Doom 3 being stretched by the original Xbox (and not my television) looks like it was made for widescreen. The mind boggles.

[Saner]

PDZ is widescreen only?

hmm I could've sworn it takes up the whole screen. I have that game. I did visit a friend's house who had FF11 for this system and the font was horribly small. hopefully PSU doesnt end up like that.

well hopefully PSU supports fullscreen options instead of just widescreen only.

after all, not everyone is willing to throw extra money for cables and a monitor to finally be comfortable with a game. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

[qoxolg]

@Shye

yeah, 480p is alot better than teh interlacing crap of a TV, I just ran trough some resolutions and came to the conclusion that 1280x768 is the best option for HD on a 4:3 monitor.. it got more vertical lines than 720p , so the boarders are pretty small then http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

@Saner

On a SDTV every game gets 4:3, they just chop off the left and right side (THEY REALLY DO! O_O) I noticed that with PDZ, when you take cover in PDZ joanna is almost out of teh screen, and when playing widescreen you can see her standing to the wall..

anyway, my advice is still, buy a VGA cable for your 360 and not only all the text will be easier to read, but most games will look atleast 2 times better..

[trunkszero]

that 360 screenshot makes me want to get it for 360

[Saner]

anyway, my advice is still, buy a VGA cable for your 360 and not only all the text will be easier to read, but most games will look atleast 2 times better..



it already looks great even with minimal specs, I just want full screen with no tiny font.

if we have to pay more (buy VGA cables, etc.) to get the comfort most games already offer by default or in advanced visual options, then we're no different from those PC spend-a-holics. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif



the point of consoles is comfortable and affordable fun without having to pay extra for what should already be provided (this is of course not counting fees, I don't mind fees at all but of course that's for online play, all games should provide even the most basic visual resolution options.)

Not everyone needs widescreen and the best resolution to have fun. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

[Invisible1122]

Microsoft demands that all 360 games are widescreen capable and support some kind of HDTV. They wouldn't let SEGA realase this on the 360 if i wasn't.

[Shye]

My previous television (an eleven year old Sony non-flat entry-level 32in) was by far the best television I ever owned. It was even better than my current widescreen HD. -_- It wasn't sharper, or have a high resolution, but it was solid for what it was. I didn't even mind that it only had one S-Video input.

I've had nothing but headaches after switching to HD. I like how clean and clear it is, but there are just so many other problems that I never had on my old system. I can appreciate the progress made, but with it came a host of format, resolution, timing, cable and various other problems.

As for PDZ being widescreen "only" I only checked the back of the box on that one and it mentioned 720p widescreen as the only format.

Again, I think like with Doom 3 and other games on the old Xbox, the 360 may actually have a system in place for changing up widescreen/4:3 aspect ratios. I'm sure it does cut off some things on the side to keep the middle from being scrunched in, but are the static HUD items still in the same part of the corners?


http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/2609/pdzke3.jpg


This isn't to scale, I just put the lines in but... if the 360 didn't have some way of moving at least some items on the screen when changing it to 4:3 (or there wasn't code in-game for it) then the HUD radar and HUD clip info would be cut off along with Jo.

So anyone playing PDZ on a 4:3 television may be getting the benefit of whatever magic makes Doom 3 look good widescreen on the old Xbox. Maybe.

I'll have to switch up formats and see what happens when I play a few of the widescreen only games in 4:3. I was expecting them to be black-barred but now I'm not so sure.

[edit]:

Yeah, I just tried it in 4:3 and they do move the HUDs in closer. She's cut off on the sides when she takes cover, as was mentioned, but some things were fine... just in a square format over rectangle.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Shye on 2006-09-30 06:29 ]</font>

[qoxolg]

I knew that http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif cause I first played the game on my SDTV before I got the VGA cable, but my TV is only 37cm (to lazy to make it inches http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif) which is very small, so even with small black bars the 19" CRT is looking ALOT better, every time I play @ friend who plays on SDTV my eyes start to hurt, especially cause his TV doens't support 60hz!

I am still saving up my money for a 24" widescreen dell, after I bought a MBP >_> buying a HDTV would be pointless for me cause in the netherlands the best they sell is 720p/1080i.. and I wan't to hook up my computer and my dreamcast on the same screen as well..

but yeah.. if you play on a SDTV you don't have to worry about bars, cause they will cut off the left and right parts of the screen. The text also gets bigger in most games when playing on low res, I hope that awnsers your questions?

[Saner]

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/2609/pdzke3.jpg


This isn't to scale, I just put the lines in but... if the 360 didn't have some way of moving at least some items on the screen when changing it to 4:3 (or there wasn't code in-game for it) then the HUD radar and HUD clip info would be cut off along with Jo.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Shye on 2006-09-30 06:29 ]</font>


ah ha! no wonder sometimes I had a hard time seeing my character in 3rd person when using the Cover feature for corners. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/anime2.gif

well at least the HUD is readjusted to fit within the visible area you see on a normal TV, I'm 100% comfortable with PDZ's default view mode.


but how would this work with PSU? If it's widescreen by default.... well I just wonder if there will be visual options to like adjust the HUD and font size and stuff because it's really bad if you want to squint often to read things. especially for menus and shopping.

[HyperShot-X-]

On 2006-09-30 18:25, Saner wrote:
..but how would this work with PSU? If it's widescreen by default.... well I just wonder if there will be visual options to like adjust the HUD and font size and stuff because it's really bad if you want to squint often to read things. especially for menus and shopping.



should work the same way as PDZ(720p only), all games on X360 can be selected to display either on normal TV or HDtv and they are required to be programmed to display in 4:3 and* 16:9 respectively. If PSU will support 720p only but displayed on 4:3 480i TV then the left & right space will be cutoff as mentioned already and HUD will be readjusted automatically to show inside 4:3 screen.

The font type might be still hard to read especially for those living in the 19th century who still use RCA jacks on normal TV that came with X360 premium package(might be ur case, Saner http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif). It will look much better if ur tv has s-video input but u have to buy s-video cable for x360 separately.

If u decide to buy VGA cable to play PSU on ur 4:3 pc monitor as qoxolg suggested, keep in mind all widescreen only games will get 'black bars' on top and bottom same for PSU if it is not supported in 480p 4:3 mode like DOA4 does, but at the same time high def resolution can be displayed for much clearer and sharper image.


The best option to take full advantage of your X360 is to upgrade to widescreen monitor or HDtv for true high def 720p 16:9 display with component cables(comes with the premium pack).
I play my X360 games and watch widescreen DVD movies on Samsung LTN226W 22" HD Flat-Panel LCD TV (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000D9MR5/qid=1080362178/br=1-18/ref=br_lf_etk_ce_av__18//103-7168808-7471066?v=glance&s=electronics&n=10287801) and they just look freakin' amazing,.. "..16 ms response time for ultra-quick pixel changes (great for action movies and games)", no motion blurr latency whatsoever and decent color depth & contrast compared to CRT monitor as well as anti-glare screen, eventho it was a bit expensive due to DVI for pc hookup & PiP features that i was looking for. I'm sure you can find less expensive ones around $500-600 range nowdays.

Good luck with all of u looking to upgrade to HDtv and don't miss out on HD gaming era for PSU !!! http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_lol.gif


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: HyperShot-X- on 2006-09-30 21:35 ]</font>

[McLaughlin]

It'd be great if I was allowed to play on the HDTV in my living room. But alas, should I be caught, I'd be hung by the neck until dead >_>

Stuck on the 27" Toshiba in my room.