Heroes V Widescreen Tip(s)

[Capt_Tripps]

Here's a tip for those of you running Heroes V on a widescreen monitor.

The problem with Heroes V on a widescreen monitor is that they just stretch the image to fit the monitor in anything but standard 4:3 resolution modes (800x600, 1024x768, 1280x960, 16000x1200). I monitor's native resolution is 1680x1050. If I run Heroes V at that resolution everything is squished (this makes the Dwarfs look shorter). Generally that leaves me with two standard options to get a non-stretched image (and a third, non-standard option).

- One, I can set my monitor/video card to scale the image and maximize. This puts black bars on the sides of the game image and makes the image look blurry (slightly). It's really just a low resolution image up-sized.
- Two, I can set my monitor/video card to not scale. The image is nice and sharp in this case, but I end up with a smaller game image with a black border all around.
- Three. Ideally, what I want is an image that is sharp, and uses the maximum amount of the screen possible. This will still leave me with black bars on the side, but with a nice crisp image. The solution is to create a custom resolution for the game to play at. A little quick math tells me that my ideal resolution is 1400x1050 (1400=1050/0.75). For my card (NVidia) I end up using a utility called Rivatuner to create my custom resolution. I make sure that I have my monitor's scaling set properly and reboot. I run Heroes V, select 1400x1050 under video options and I get my game at the best possible resolution and properly scaled.

For setting your scaling options, you should be able to use a combination of the settings on your monitor and the settings for your video card to get what you want. To create your custom resolution use Rivatuner (free). It should work for ATI or NVidia video cards. You will need to reboot after creating the resolution. http://www.guru3d.com/index.php?page=rivatuner

If you have any questions or comments, let me know.

legal: I am not responsible if you damage, destroy, spindle, or mutilate your computer . . .

[Gaping_MAW]

good info. It's hard to believe that they didn't program in widescreen support of some kind or other.. anything would have been better than letting the image stretch like they have done.

[Loco Blutaxt]

A little quick math tells me that my ideal resolution is 1260x1050 (1260=1050/0.75).

I don't want to appear pedantic but a little quick math tells me that your ideal resolution is 1400*1050 (1400=1050/0.75)!

But thanx for the hint! I'll try it!

Greetings
Loco

[Capt_Tripps]

Thanks. I got that, but for some reason my hands decided to keep typing 1260 and my mind decided to ignore the disparity. I fixed it.

[Gaping_MAW]

when I hunted around in riva tuner, I couldn't see how to do it. I opted instead for no scaling - best image quality, even if it sits in a sea of black.

[Capt_Tripps]

Here's how to make a custom resolution in RivaTuner:

At the top of the "Main" tab there should be a picture of a monitor with a drop-down menu below it. If you have more than one monitor and or video card, make sure that you have the monitor/video card combination that you want to make a custom resolution for selected.

About 1/2 the way down there's a label that says "Driver settings". Your video card driver type should be listed there. Mine says (aligned to the left) "ForceWare Detected".

To the right of that it should say "Customize..." followed by a triangle button. Click on the triangle button. Five buttons should appear on a fly-out menu. The fourth one should be a picture of a monitor with at green "+" sign. Click on it.

Enter the settings for the resolution that you want to create in the appropriate boxes. I entered
"1400" in the width box and
"1050" in the height box
"Custom ratio" radio button selected for the aspect ratio
All check-boxes selected for the "Bit depth" and
"60" for the refresh rate.

If you are unsure what your monitors refresh rate is, check to see what your current settings are and use that. You may also want to check to verify that 32 bit color is available at higher resolutions if you are unsure.

When you are sure everything is good to go, click the "Add" button at the bottom, close out RivaTuner and reboot. You should now be able to select your new resolution in Heroes V.

legal: Again, I am not responsible if you damage, destroy, spindle, or mutilate your computer . . .

[Loco Blutaxt]

Do you have to start RivaTuner before you have the created resolution or can you uninstall RivaTuner and the resolution is still there after once created?

[RO-BigBoss]

I have widescreen and his native resolution is 1440x900, in heroes 5 TotE i can set resolution 1440x900 so TotE have support for widescreen resolution from what i saw.

[Capt_Tripps]

Do you have to start RivaTuner before you have the created resolution or can you uninstall RivaTuner and the resolution is still there after once created?

I'm not sure about uninstalling, but you don't have to run RivaTuner after creating the resolution. It should be fine though.

I have widescreen and his native resolution is 1440x900, in heroes 5 TotE i can set resolution 1440x900 so TotE have support for widescreen resolution from what i saw.

It's not a question of whether or not you can select the resolution. The problem is that they render the screen out at 4:3 and then stretch it to fit widescreen. Compare the image at 1440x900 to 1024x768 with black bars on the side. See if one screen or the other looks streched or squashed.

[mr.dna]

Used the nVidia control panel to get 1400x1050, and at first everything looks a little squished compared to 1680x1050, but that's only until you realize that this looks more "real".

[Loco Blutaxt]

Unfortunately the RivaTuner tweak doesn't work on my PC. I'm pretty shure it works for other hardware configurations. Tomorrow I'll test if tweaking with Powerstrip works and if not I'll wait for Patch 3.1

Thanx for the tip again.

Greetings
Loco