Uncertain about WoW's resolution.

[Deleted]

For the past two or so years I've been playing with a 1600x1200 resolutions and I was always under the impression that was correct. However a while ago some of my guild members pointed out that my screenshots looked a little funny and asked about my resolution. They said 1920x1080 was the resolution I should be using, and I believe they are correct because that's the resolution of my screen.

After switching main characters I decided to completely replace my UI with a brand new one and change the resolution while I'm at it. However I don't think this is correct. The ''new'' 1920x1080 resolution squishes everything down and I have the feeling I'm looking through a fisheye lens.

I'm merely wonder if something fishy is going on or if I'm just too used to my old resolution.

As a comparison, the first image is what my screenshots now look like (screenshots now do come out correct) and the 2nd one is roughly what it looks like on my screen.

http://i.imgur.com/9zGPI.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/2jKmA.jpg

[Sturmbringe]

Compare:

1920X1080, ULTRA, Nividia Gigabyte GTX 580 SOC:

To be exact:

HD, SD, 1080p, 1920X1080 native on a Phlips HD 32'' HDTV. Screen refresh 60 Hz, color depth 32 bit, connector: HDMI-HDTV

[Flaim]

the 2nd one is squeezed horizontally, the 1st one is how it's supposed to look like.

you're just used to the way everything looks like in the 2nd pic. after a few weeks of playing 1920x1080 you gonna look back and think "dafuq i have played all these years?!"


edit:
the techy part about that is your desktop res was always 1920x1080, but you forced the game to run at 1600x1200, so your machine had to rescale the image to make it fitting the desktop res.

if you changed your desktop res to 1600x1200 (and your montior would support it without stretching aswell) it would be scaled as in the 1920x1080 img, but would be cut on the sides (and respectively the ui elements were moved to stay in the img).

[Kaosbringer]

I have to agree with your friend. You none 1920X1080 screenshot looks like its been squish horizontally. It is also usually best to use your monitors Native resolution.

[Deleted]

I have to agree with your friend. You none 1920X1080 screenshot looks like its been squish horizontally. It is also usually best to use your monitors Native resolution.

The 2nd screenshot was a 1920x1080 resolution I re-sized/squished myself afterwards, that is what my screen currently looks like in 1920x1080, but I suppose that's more or less en error on my part. It's what it ''feels'' like to me.

Anyway thank all of you for your posts, everything just looks really weird in a 1920x1080 resolution and every time I look at my screen I think to myself that something is wrong. But it seems like the error is on my part. Time to build myself a new UI and hope I can get used to this.

[Deleted]

What resolution are you using in windows? (Right click desktop -> Screen resolution) Ideally you want wow to match this number.

You also need to figure out what aspect ratio your monitor is.
If its a 16/9 (widescreen) monitor you should use 1920x1080.
And if it's a 4/3 (think old standard CRT screens almost squarish in look) you should use a 1600/1200 resolution.

When you've found out what ratio your monitor it change the settings both in wow and in your Operative system.
If you cant find the specs for your monitor you can google a circle or a perfect square and then play around with the resolution until the circle has a prefectly round shape and/or the square has an equal size of all 4 sides.

[Veyne]

ALSO, if you're using a small HDTV as a monitor (my computer desk is essentially my entertainment system in my bedroom with all my consoles and blu ray player, etc... plugged into my monitor), there may be a "picture size" button on your remote or in your settings menu to choose betwen different "zoom" options. Your display may be squeezing your image because it's not set to the appropriate picture size setting.

In short, there is no "right" resolution. 1920x1080 is the typical "true HD" resolution, as it's the maximum resolution most HDTVs come in these days, but when it comes to choosing a resolution for your monitor, as long as things look right to you, then your fine. But if you want to optimize:

Find out if you have a "standard" (4:3) or a "widescreen" (16:9) display. If you have an older widescreen, you might have a 16:10 ratio screen, in which, if memory serves me right, 1680x1050 was generally the best resolution for the time. Once you know what ratio your screen is, find out what your monitor's native and maximum resolutions are. Look up a list of resolutions compatible with your ratio and experiment. Make sure your picture settings on your display are set appropriately as well.

Generally speaking, the higher the resolution is, the crisper your image, but also the smaller the details. In WoW it's not a huge issue because you can change the size of your UI and you can alter text size, but sometimes, if you have vision problems, high resolutions can be difficult to work with.

[ayako]

You should use whatever resolution is native if you're using a LCD. Typically it's the highest it'll go.

[Taryble]

Generally speaking, the higher the resolution is, the crisper your image, but also the smaller the details. In WoW it's not a huge issue because you can change the size of your UI and you can alter text size, but sometimes, if you have vision problems, high resolutions can be difficult to work with.

If this is a problem for you, choose the next resolution down that matches your display type (standard 4:3, widescreen 16:10, or official widescreen hd 16:9 - most modern monitors will be 16:9, since that's the official HD size).

[Deleted]

Again thanks everyone for the responses, but there is no use in replying to everyone individually after replying to the below post.

What resolution are you using in windows? (Right click desktop -> Screen resolution) Ideally you want wow to match this number.

You also need to figure out what aspect ratio your monitor is.
If its a 16/9 (widescreen) monitor you should use 1920x1080.
And if it's a 4/3 (think old standard CRT screens almost squarish in look) you should use a 1600/1200 resolution.

When you've found out what ratio your monitor it change the settings both in wow and in your Operative system.
If you cant find the specs for your monitor you can google a circle or a perfect square and then play around with the resolution until the circle has a prefectly round shape and/or the square has an equal size of all 4 sides.

My screen's resolution (normal monitor, no HDTV) is 1920x1080 and that's what windows is set to as well. What's really bugging me is that WoW now looks like I'm playing through a fisheye lens. It's very hard to determine if it's ''normal'' or not simply because I have nothing to compare it to. Looking at videos and streams of other people I can't tell much of a difference. But I couldn't with my older resolution either.

I ordered an awesome new mouse a few days ago which should arrive in a few days, after that I'm going to completely redo my UI and hopefully things will pick up from there.

[Wezmon]

You will get used to it pretty quickly. If you check this video or google for login screen images you can compare to yours to see if you have it wrong or not:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpdLsNQJnvc

[Deleted]

You will get used to it pretty quickly. If you check this video or google for login screen images you can compare to yours to see if you have it wrong or not:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpdLsNQJnvc

I have looked at other people's videos and such, but that video you linked just took all my doubts away instantly. That's exactly what my screen looks like right now, the black bars at the loading screen included.

Would it be possible this fisheye lens feel I get is because I'm zoomed out all the way?

[Taryble]

Possible - also, because you went from a 4:3 resolution that was being stretched to your monitor, to a 16:9 that fits properly, you're actually seeing a lot more of the stuff to the left and right of your character.

That is, you now have a wider "field of view" - instead of, say, 45 degrees, you're now seeing 60 degrees. Or, the way WoW does things, instead of seeing 5-10 feet to each side, you're now seeing 15-20 feet to the sides.

And yes, that would contribute to having something similar to a fish-eye view (since fish-eye lenses give a wider field of view, but they distort the image - which isn't happening here).