Issue Report: TF2 dual monitor problems.

[Dosvelasnegras]

These are the problems and workarounds I have found while trying to work out using TF2 with my dual monitor setup.

Setup is 2 monitors: "Main" native 1440x900 (16:10), "Secondary" TV connected through DVI link 1920x1080 native (16:9). Native resolution AND ratio are different. Card is NVidia 8800GT 512MB with 310.14 drivers from ubuntu repositories. Ubuntu 12.04 64bit.

I tried 2 configurations:

- My normal one with each monitor in a different in a different Screen in the xorg.conf file, generated by nvidia-properties when selecting "Separate X screen" for the monitor configuration.

- Initial (clean distro install) one with clean xorg.conf which results in the same layout as if you select "TwinView" in the nvidia-settings panel.

Making 2 post, 1 for each configuration.

[Dosvelasnegras]

With the separate X screen configuration the game starts windowed with 640x480 size, with normal decorations and only close and minimize buttons. Window can't be resized. Game UI elements are small and hard to read. Game internal buffer(?) size is 1920x1080 (taking at screenshot with F12 results in a picture of that size with the GUI displayed normally). Trying to change the options is impossible because the mouse pointer looks that gets translated 1:1 from in window position to buffer position, giving only access to the elements inside the top-left 640x480 region of the buffer. The output with xrandr with both monitors on is (for both DISPLAYs):

$ echo $DISPLAY
:0

$ xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 1440 x 900, maximum 8192 x 8192
DVI-I-0 connected 1440x900+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 408mm x 255mm
   1440x900       59.9*+   75.0  
   1280x1024      75.0     60.0  
   1280x960       75.0  
   1152x864       75.0     60.0  
   1024x768       75.0     70.1     66.0     60.0  
   800x600        75.0     72.2     60.3     56.2  
   640x480        75.0     72.8     59.9  
DVI-I-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
TV-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DVI-I-2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

$ DISPLAY=:0.1 xrandr
Screen 1: minimum 8 x 8, current 1920 x 1080, maximum 8192 x 8192
DVI-I-3 connected 1920x1080+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 160mm x 90mm
   1920x1080      60.0*+   59.9     50.0     30.0     25.0     24.0     30.0     30.0     25.0  
   1280x720       60.0     59.9     50.0  
   720x576        50.0  
   720x480        59.9  
   640x480        59.9  

Turning the second monitor off (with "xrand --output <output> --off" or any GUI utility) doesn't help. With the second monitor off the output is:

$ echo $DISPLAY
:0

$ xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 1440 x 900, maximum 8192 x 8192
DVI-I-0 connected 1440x900+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 408mm x 255mm
   1440x900       59.9*+   75.0  
   1280x1024      75.0     60.0  
   1280x960       75.0  
   1152x864       75.0     60.0  
   1024x768       75.0     70.1     66.0     60.0  
   800x600        75.0     72.2     60.3     56.2  
   640x480        75.0     72.8     59.9  
DVI-I-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
TV-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DVI-I-2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

$ DISPLAY=:0.1 xrandr
Screen 1: minimum 8 x 8, current 1920 x 1080, maximum 8192 x 8192
DVI-I-3 connected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
   1920x1080      60.0 +   59.9     50.0     30.0     25.0     24.0     30.0     30.0     25.0  
   1280x720       60.0     59.9     50.0  
   720x576        50.0  
   720x480        59.9  
   640x480        59.9  

The only workaround in this case is to start the game -windowed and with -width and -height set to some "sane" values. Once inside the game and with a workable UI trying to change the resolution while selecting full-screen doesn't work either. Game won't list any "(native)" mode under any aspect ratio. Changing to running in full-screen results in a window of the selected size with a back buffer of 1920x1080.

[Dosvelasnegras]

When configuring the monitor in a TwinView (default) configuration we now get a full-screen window in the primary monitor, of the native (1440x900) resolution, but the back buffer is 1920x1080, and some elements of the UI are inaccessible because the pointer can only access to elements located in the top-left 1440x900 of the buffer. xrandr output for this setup is:

$ echo $DISPLAY
:0

$ xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 3360 x 1080, maximum 8192 x 8192
DVI-I-0 connected 1440x900+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 408mm x 255mm
   1440x900       59.9*+   75.0  
   1280x1024      75.0     60.0  
   1280x960       75.0  
   1152x864       75.0     60.0  
   1024x768       75.0     70.1     66.0     60.0  
   800x600        75.0     72.2     60.3     56.2  
   640x480        75.0     72.8     59.9  
DVI-I-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
TV-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DVI-I-2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DVI-I-3 connected 1920x1080+1440+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 160mm x 90mm
   1920x1080      60.0*+   59.9     50.0     30.0     25.0     24.0     30.0     30.0     25.0  
   1280x720       60.0     59.9     50.0  
   720x576        50.0  
   720x480        59.9  
   640x480        59.9  

$ DISPLAY=:0.1 xrandr
Can't open display :0.1

This situation can be easier workarounded by disabling the 2nd monitor ("xrandr --output <output> --off" or using any GUI tool). With only 1 monitor active in this setup the game correctly starts in full-screen with a 1440x900 back buffer resolution and lists 1440x900 as "(native)" resolution in the list of available resolutions.

[Dosvelasnegras]

System Information in the case of "Separate X screen":

Processor Information:
    Vendor:  GenuineIntel
    Speed: 2400 Mhz
    4 logical processors
    4 physical processors
    HyperThreading:  Unsupported
    FCMOV:  Supported
    SSE2:  Supported
    SSE3:  Supported
    SSSE3:  Supported
    SSE4a:  Unsupported
    SSE41:  Unsupported
    SSE42:  Unsupported
    
Network Information:
    Network Speed:  
    
Operating System Version:
    Ubuntu 12.04.1 LTS (64 bit)
    Kernel Name:  Linux
    Kernel Version:  3.2.0-34-generic
    X Server vendor:  The X.Org Foundation
    X Server release:  11103000
    
Video Card:
    Driver:  NVIDIA Corporation GeForce 8800 GT/PCIe/SSE2

    Driver Version:  3.3.0 NVIDIA 310.14
    Desktop Color Depth: 24 bits per pixel
    Monitor Refresh Rate: 59 Hz
    VendorID:  0x10de
    DeviceID:  0x611
    Number of Monitors:  1
    Number of Logical Video Cards:  1
    Primary Display Resolution:  1440 x 900
    Desktop Resolution: 1440 x 900
    Primary Display Size: 16,06" x 10,04"  (18,94" diag)
                                            40,8cm x 25,5cm  (48,1cm diag)
    Primary Bus: PCI Express 16x
    Primary VRAM: 512 MB
    Supported MSAA Modes:  2x 4x 8x 16x 
    
Sound card:
    Audio device: 
    
Memory:
    RAM:  3953 Mb
    
Miscellaneous:
    UI Language:  English
    LANG:  es_ES.UTF-8
    Microphone:  Not set
    Total Hard Disk Space Available:  117809 Mb
    Largest Free Hard Disk Block:  90293 Mb
    
Installed software:
    
Recent Failure Reports:
    

[Dosvelasnegras]

System Information when in TwinView and both monitors active:

Processor Information:
    Vendor:  GenuineIntel
    Speed: 2400 Mhz
    4 logical processors
    4 physical processors
    HyperThreading:  Unsupported
    FCMOV:  Supported
    SSE2:  Supported
    SSE3:  Supported
    SSSE3:  Supported
    SSE4a:  Unsupported
    SSE41:  Unsupported
    SSE42:  Unsupported
    
Network Information:
    Network Speed:  
    
Operating System Version:
    Ubuntu 12.04.1 LTS (64 bit)
    Kernel Name:  Linux
    Kernel Version:  3.2.0-34-generic
    X Server vendor:  The X.Org Foundation
    X Server release:  11103000
    
Video Card:
    Driver:  NVIDIA Corporation GeForce 8800 GT/PCIe/SSE2

    Driver Version:  3.3.0 NVIDIA 310.14
    Desktop Color Depth: 24 bits per pixel
    Monitor Refresh Rate: 59 Hz
    VendorID:  0x10de
    DeviceID:  0x611
    Number of Monitors:  2
    Number of Logical Video Cards:  1
    Primary Display Resolution:  1440 x 900
    Desktop Resolution: 3360 x 1080
    Primary Display Size: 16,06" x 10,04"  (18,94" diag)
                                            40,8cm x 25,5cm  (48,1cm diag)
    Primary Bus: PCI Express 16x
    Primary VRAM: 512 MB
    Supported MSAA Modes:  2x 4x 8x 16x 
    
Sound card:
    Audio device: Realtek ALC888
    
Memory:
    RAM:  3953 Mb
    
Miscellaneous:
    UI Language:  English
    LANG:  es_ES.UTF-8
    Microphone:  Not set
    Total Hard Disk Space Available:  117809 Mb
    Largest Free Hard Disk Block:  90295 Mb
    
Installed software:
    
Recent Failure Reports:
    

[Dosvelasnegras]

System Information when in TwinView and only the 1440x900 monitor active:

Processor Information:
    Vendor:  GenuineIntel
    Speed: 2400 Mhz
    4 logical processors
    4 physical processors
    HyperThreading:  Unsupported
    FCMOV:  Supported
    SSE2:  Supported
    SSE3:  Supported
    SSSE3:  Supported
    SSE4a:  Unsupported
    SSE41:  Unsupported
    SSE42:  Unsupported
    
Network Information:
    Network Speed:  
    
Operating System Version:
    Ubuntu 12.04.1 LTS (64 bit)
    Kernel Name:  Linux
    Kernel Version:  3.2.0-34-generic
    X Server vendor:  The X.Org Foundation
    X Server release:  11103000
    
Video Card:
    Driver:  NVIDIA Corporation GeForce 8800 GT/PCIe/SSE2

    Driver Version:  3.3.0 NVIDIA 310.14
    Desktop Color Depth: 24 bits per pixel
    Monitor Refresh Rate: 59 Hz
    VendorID:  0x10de
    DeviceID:  0x611
    Number of Monitors:  1
    Number of Logical Video Cards:  1
    Primary Display Resolution:  1440 x 900
    Desktop Resolution: 1440 x 900
    Primary Display Size: 16,06" x 10,04"  (18,94" diag)
                                            40,8cm x 25,5cm  (48,1cm diag)
    Primary Bus: PCI Express 16x
    Primary VRAM: 512 MB
    Supported MSAA Modes:  2x 4x 8x 16x 
    
Sound card:
    Audio device: 
    
Memory:
    RAM:  3953 Mb
    
Miscellaneous:
    UI Language:  English
    LANG:  es_ES.UTF-8
    Microphone:  Not set
    Total Hard Disk Space Available:  117809 Mb
    Largest Free Hard Disk Block:  90295 Mb
    
Installed software:
    
Recent Failure Reports:
    

[Dosvelasnegras]

xorg.conf for the "Separate X screen" configuration, as generated by nvidia-properties:

# nvidia-settings: X configuration file generated by nvidia-settings
# nvidia-settings:  version 310.14  (buildd@komainu)  Tue Oct 16 22:20:47 UTC 2012

Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier     "Layout0"
    Screen      0  "Screen0" 0 0
    Screen      1  "Screen1" RightOf "Screen0"
    InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
    InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
    Option         "Xinerama" "0"
EndSection

Section "Files"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    # generated from default
    Identifier     "Mouse0"
    Driver         "mouse"
    Option         "Protocol" "auto"
    Option         "Device" "/dev/psaux"
    Option         "Emulate3Buttons" "no"
    Option         "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    # generated from default
    Identifier     "Keyboard0"
    Driver         "kbd"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    # HorizSync source: edid, VertRefresh source: edid
    Identifier     "Monitor0"
    VendorName     "Unknown"
    ModelName      "Acer AL1916W"
    HorizSync       30.0 - 80.0
    VertRefresh     50.0 - 75.0
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    # HorizSync source: edid, VertRefresh source: edid
    Identifier     "Monitor1"
    VendorName     "Unknown"
    ModelName      "SAMSUNG"
    HorizSync       26.0 - 68.0
    VertRefresh     23.0 - 61.0
    Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device0"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce 8800 GT"
    BusID          "PCI:1:0:0"
    Screen          0
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device1"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
    BoardName      "GeForce 8800 GT"
    BusID          "PCI:1:0:0"
    Screen          1
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen0"
    Device         "Device0"
    Monitor        "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth    24
    Option         "Stereo" "0"
    Option         "nvidiaXineramaInfoOrder" "CRT-0"
    Option         "metamodes" "CRT: nvidia-auto-select +0+0"
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier     "Screen1"
    Device         "Device1"
    Monitor        "Monitor1"
    DefaultDepth    24
    Option         "Stereo" "0"
    Option         "metamodes" "DFP: nvidia-auto-select +0+0"
    SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

[EPIC VOID]

Can confirm with ATI Dualhead setup.

[Diversant]

Confirm. Same problem. Looks to me that multi monitor configuration is quite a problem. (I think that it's X server features which are not quite convenient for some applications) Managed to run Steam itself not in the middle of both monitors, but TF2 still needs some fixes.

[localvoid]

Confirm incorrect behavior with mouse pointer on open source radeon drivers(dualhead).

[fursn]

I can confirm this too (nvidia-310, 2x 1680x1050, separate x screens, no twinview).

[Frank]

The next client release (coming soon) contains fixes for multi-monitor issues. Please let us know if you see this with the new client.