4:3 Gameplay Gone?

[Mysterio]

Devs,

Now that you've added widescreen support, is it no longer possible to play the game in 4:3 mode, which I preferred for its difficulty? I didn't see an option to disable widescreen.

Thanks.

[same]

same question

[squashysquish]

I finally picked this game up after placing it on my wishlist during Early Access and was really disappointed to find that they completely abandoned the 4:3 ratio after the full release. Sure, a lot of people complained because they associate taller aspect ratios with being old and therefore "bad," but it was a very smart design decisions and I wish it had at least been left in as an option for those who appreciate it.

[Aversion]

I played a little bit a couple of days ago and I couldn't figure out a way to make it 4:3 again. I never really minded the 4:3 and I understand the design decision but I also don't mind the widescreen either. The game still draws me in like it used to. It would be nice to have the option available to play either way though.

[squashysquish]

I'm greatly enjoying the game, already having put in 8 hours in the last couple days, but it's immediately clear that the widescreen negatively affects the balance. You can shadow walk about 2 times as far into the upper corners as the bottom ones. This is always a problem in 3/4ths view games, but the wider screen amplifies the issue. It's just an unnecessary blemish on an otherwise great game.

[Willie D. Longpong]

Being a dev must be like trying to bail water with a colander.

Unfortunately, I too see the value of 4:3 for balance. It looks like I've missed it.

[squashysquish]

It's sad because I can imagine how disappointing it must have felt as the developers to make this deliberate, thoughtful decision that improved the quality of your game in a way that many people wouldn't think of, only to have dozens of people ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ at you for surface reasons.

[mmmPenguin]

Not to keep being 'that guy' but Ubermosh years ago had this very same debate and I haven't played that since it went widescreen. It threw everything out of whack balance-wise. A shame LoF caved on this issue too.

[eat ur mom 4 lunch]

Seems like this would be an easy fix for the dev. Even if they're too lazy to add a menu option to let you switch between widescreen and 4:3, they could add a beta branch that lets you download/play the old version. Takes almost no effort, and I've seen devs take this approach before for people that prefer older versions of games.

[Hobbes]

For you luddites who seem to think stuffing horrible vertical bars on this game is a good idea, I'm sure the dev will provide you with a way to do so soon enough. The rest of us are now actually able to enjoy the game we wanted to enjoy all along.

Vertical bars belong -exclusively- on Bullet Hells like Ikaruga. That's the only justifiable place where I can forsee them being reasonable. Here they had no place and I am firmly glad they're gone. Now I can actually review the game and do a write up on it without putting the phrase in "The game is essentially being forced into an idiotic ratio because the devs couldn't be bothered to make allowances for the PC market and went chasing that sweet sweet iOS cheddar."

[squashysquish]

Can you articulate why you think nonstandard aspeect ratios are valid in strictly bullet hell games, but not a title like this?

[Willie D. Longpong]

Originally posted by Hobbes:

For you luddites who seem to think stuffing horrible vertical bars on this game is a good idea, I'm sure the dev will provide you with a way to do so soon enough. The rest of us are now actually able to enjoy the game we wanted to enjoy all along.

Vertical bars belong -exclusively- on Bullet Hells like Ikaruga. That's the only justifiable place where I can forsee them being reasonable. Here they had no place and I am firmly glad they're gone. Now I can actually review the game and do a write up on it without putting the phrase in "The game is essentially being forced into an idiotic ratio because the devs couldn't be bothered to make allowances for the PC market and went chasing that sweet sweet iOS cheddar."

Well, if your aim was to come off as an insufferable fraud, let me be the first to congratulate you on a job well done.

[Mysterio]

Originally posted by Willy D. Longpong:

Well, if your aim was to come off as an insufferable fraud, let me be the first to congratulate you on a job well done.

It's his MO. Don't take his bait.

[Willie D. Longpong]

Originally posted by Mysterio:

It's his MO. Don't take his bait.

I see. Thanks for the warning.

[Hobbes]

Nothing fraudulent about me.

Remember, if you have to resort to personal insults, take a look at the profile.

Originally posted by squashysquish:

Can you articulate why you think nonstandard aspeect ratios are valid in strictly bullet hell games, but not a title like this?

Easy, let's look at some competing examples in the same space -

Enter the Gungeon, arguably the most popular one at this point - 16:9, no problem with this resolution and the threats from the sides do not feel any less than from the verticals.

Cryptark - Same deal, 16:9, again, handles vertical and horizontal without suffering any form of threat reduction in the 2D space.

Teleglitch - If anything the fact it's on a widescreen means moving up and down the screen is MORE OF A HAZARD than from left or right.

The choice here to go 4:3 was strictly due to iOS, nothing more, nothing less.

[squashysquish]

Originally posted by Hobbes:

If anything the fact it's on a widescreen means moving up and down the screen is MORE OF A HAZARD than from left or right.

Uh huh.