Games changes my screen resolution - annoying

[jffyt]

I've got the game set to play in windowed mode on my monitor's native resolution (1920 * 1080). When I start the game, the resolution twitches to something smaller, then snaps back. But now my windows (like steam) are all resized to fit the smaller resolution. Sometimes my desktop icons are re-arranged. Bad behavior, game. Stop it.

[RiO]

Win7 Pro - x64 and I'm getting this as well.
Applications that mess with the desktop and especially the position of desktop shortcuts deserve a special little place in hell.

The game's windowed rendering also drops the Aeroglass effects and is rendered in the basic look & feel. My guess is the Unity engine's resolution detection is screwing with things here.

[Kelson]

I play in fullscreen mode and thankfully haven't seen any of this behavior. I wonder if it's an issue specifically with windowed mode. Win7 Pro 64-bit as well.

[RiO]

Originally posted by Kelson:

I play in fullscreen mode and thankfully haven't seen any of this behavior. I wonder if it's an issue specifically with windowed mode. Win7 Pro 64-bit as well.

You typically don't get the problem in full screen mode. The initial full screen resolution is set to 1920x1080, which generally speaking is what most desktop PCs nowadays have set as the desktop resolution, so there is no resolution switch going on.

There is some badly sequenced startup logic regarding the fullscreen/window mode switch and the setting of the resolution, which ends up affecting the desktop itself and hosing the window and icon layout.

Even if the game was configured for windowed mode, it will still start in full screen before quickly switching to windowed output. (This phenomenon may be limited to a quick single frame flash of fullscreen rendering, but on some systems it may also stand out quite a bit as there is a recurring issue with Unity games in general where they are stuck for a second or so on a black screen at startup before progressing.)

During this short period of fullscreen rendering the game does not default to the full screen resolution. Instead it seems to already be using the windowed mode resolution, which defaults to 1024x768.

The game's developers seem to have messed up the rather delicate order of switching to full screen mode, setting rendering output resolution and setting window resolution.

What should be occuring:

• Establish fullscreen or windowed mode
  
• If fullscreen:
  
  • Switch to fullscreen (at desktop resolution)
    
  • Switch screen to configured resolution
    
  • Switch rendering output to configured resolution
    
  • Link rendering output buffers to screen buffer.
• If windowed:
  
  • Create window at configured resolution.
    
  • Switch rendering output to configured resolution.
    
  • Link rendering output buffers to window buffer.

What the game seems to be doing instead, and is getting wrong:

• Switch desktop to configured resolution.
  
• Switch to fullscreen (at configured resolution).
  
• Switch rendering output to configured resolution.
  
• Establish fullscreen or windowed mode
  
• If fullscreen:
  
  • Link rendering output buffers to screen buffer.
• If windowed:
  
  • Switch to window at configured resolution.
    
  • Link rendering output buffers to window buffer.
    
  • Switch desktop back to original resolution.

[kudrun]

The reply and explanation RIO gave above is very well put. And is helping me understand a similar issue I'm having.

I am having a similar issue to OP with regards to the game Obduction. When i load it up, the screen flashes, changing the resolution. The in-game menus are now weirdly sized and don't fit on the screen properly and the in-game cursor is off centre. I can not navigate the menus properly and clicking on the screen, in game, somehow clicks on my desktop behind it.

RIO, is there any solution to this issue?

RESOLVED: I just forced the game to start in "Full Screen mode" by entering "-fullscreen" in the launch options within steam.

[Tromick]

What about these programs forcing the application start on windowed mode? Anyone can try these programs? I don't want to ruin my windows resolution and program sizes again.

https://superuser.com/a/481670/1022580

I hope these programs starting the game windowed mode before it goes to fullscreen.

[EPicat]

https://winaero.com/disable-fullscreen-optimizations-windows-10/
this is a really deep issues with a ridicoulous windows "feature" that overimposes itself over everything to change your resolution for fullscreen applications, and they removed the ability to turn it off so youre going to have to go to the windows registry editor and change one of the values so that you can go to the file executable propretes to disable the fullscreen optimization for that application. youre welcome.

[lord kebab]

what values do i have to change?