FPS games & high resolutions

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Ive been having a similar thought: If you are playing BF2 on a large display eg 24'' or over is it then easier to make kills? cos im using a 19tft and im sure some players have an unfair advantage, I keep getting cracked in the head with one shot and I find this impossible to do myself? maybe im just no good :o
 
Soldato
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I wouldn't have thought so, as you are keeping the ratio the same as you increase the physical size of the monitor, so the aspect ratio's should still look the same.

e.g. games should look the same on all monitors, but don't decrease as the resolution rises.
 
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It's all scaled though, so no it wouldn't. A resolution of 1280*960 on a game might look sharper than the same game on 640*480, but everything will still be the same size on the monitor itself. Player models won't be any bigger or smaller, and neither will the level, so it won't really make the slightest bit of difference, other than affecting your framerate.

However, I do know a lot of people that intentionally use a fairly low resolution on many FPS games, purely for the fact that the HUD and crosshair aren't scalable, and therefore are larger and easier to see at lower resolutions.

I suppose you could make the argument that a larger monitor is beneficial though, since although you don't see anything extra, you do have a larger area to look at, and thus more chance of spotting something small. That said, you could also say that it doesn't help since you might not be able to focus on the whole screen at once. :p
 
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nO}{8 said:
at a smaller resolution the pixels on screen are bigger so they are easier to hit, no?
But it's not the pixel you are aiming at. It's the polygons that make up the other player. Which as people have said, are scaled.
 
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This thread had got me thinking so ive just been back to BF2 and had a muck about on single player, I usually play on 1280x1024 with high detail and 2xaa on, I dropped to the lowest res 800x600 and low detail and I can definately say that its much easier to make headshot kills, although it looks terrible, I dont know why but with low settings I could align an enemy head and make a kill always within 1-2 shots, on high detail it seems a bit hit and miss and Im looking at a good 4-5 shots before they drop. Could someone else try this and then tell me if im imagining things or not :confused:
 
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If the monitor is phsyicaly larger, the models that are displayed will also be bigger.
The same image is displayed over a larger area so the models would appear bigger (but not in relation to the rest of the image)
 
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Depends on the game. Some people still play Quakeworld in 320x200 software rendering because the player models are bigger (partly due to being 'blockier'). It's just a visual thing whereby some people want bigger player models because they are easier to spot at a distance - but of course the hit boxes remain the same. Conversely some people prefer SMALLER player models, because then they are a closer representation of the hit boxes.

Personally I reckon high resolution helps for long-range 'sniping' with instant hit weapons like the railgun. You tend to a get a little more precision when lining up a shot compared to low resolution where, at long range, your target may only be represented by a few pixels instead of a few dozen.

Bigger monitors are not so much an advantage because they offer higher resolution, but more because they are, well, bigger :) Everything is larger and this allows you to use higher FOV for example. I found that back in 2000, moving from a 14" to a 19" meant I could boost my FOV by a good 10%, to a level where previously players would appear too small.
 
Soldato
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unfair advantage.. the same could be said for keypads or mice mats! lets not go down that road where people with nice setups are said to play unfairly.

in any game with a fixed FOV, change the res as much as you wish you won't get any new content on the screen, just what was already there will be more refined. i'll be back with a great example i found yesterday when looking at flash8 features..

edit: here it is..
http://www.sephiroth.it/tutorials/flashPHP/fillRect/
 
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I've noticed I'm far better on my mates pc playing BF2, he runs @ 1600x1200 with 8xAA & 16xAF I seem to be deadly with the sniper.

On my own pc, I play @ 1024x768 with 2xAA & 2xAF,due to memory limitations,and find I simply don't hit my targets as well, I've even tried my pc on his connection, wondering if it was net related....

To my eyes, the sharper the image, the better shot you seem to get.
 
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DaveyD said:
I play CS usually at 800x600, seems easier to play to me most of the time, but I do tend to play in 1024x768+ on all other games.

your a good player daveyd, whats say you try playing cs at a uber high res and compare the difference, I bet the lower res wins out. It feels better somehow.
 
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nO}{8 said:
your a good player daveyd, whats say you try playing cs at a uber high res and compare the difference, I bet the lower res wins out. It feels better somehow.

Yeah, I've played it at 1600x1200 and it felt horrid... looked nice, but you had to do a lot more movement to get accurate shots as the moust accuracy was increased somewhat.
 
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I think this is in your mind. It ture that some bits of a game are not res scaled but this will be menus gui's or sometimes the hud.
Anything in 3d will look the same size whatever the res.
A good reason for a low res to feel better is that the fps will be much higher, and all movment in the game will be smoother. so its easyer to track targets etc.

She looks the same size in both pictures no?.
I used max aa and af, I'm not sure I could even tell which one is low res! let alone that there is a size difference.

vsres.jpg
 
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