Display doesn't quite fit widescreen

[Torchiest]

First of all, wow, this game is pretty neat, definitely uniquely positioned in the RTS world, especially considering when it came out. I've completed three missions and am throroughly enjoying it so far. But I've noticed a minor issue. I have a 24" ASUS widescreen monitor that natively displays at 1920x1080. In game, I've got it set to 1280x720, which should be the same 16x9 ratio and work fine. But it looks like the game is extending down a bit below the edge of my monitor. Has anyone else had this issue? Not sure if I should try adjusting the resolution or what, and if I did, which direction would I adjust it?

[Lou the Lou]

The game doesn't officially support widescreen resolutions. I've read that the GoG version has been patched to do so, but the Steam version is the original, as far as I know, so you're better off playing in a 4:3; I play at 1024x768, and it plays and looks fine.

[Nielk1]

I've discovered a few things. From another topic I saw that the issue is that "steamapps\common\Hostile Waters Antaeus Rising\HostileSetup.exe" is set for WIN98 compatability mode when it needs WINXPSP3.

I discovered that the instruction to set this is in the installscript.vdf in the same folder, but changing it there has no effect as the file is re-generated when you launch the game from steam.

You can however change the compatability mode on the exe and launch it from that EXE directly outside of steam to gain access to a full list of resolutions.

I will report back if I find a way to resolve this issue with steam launching. Sadly the installscript.vdf regenerates and re-runs whenever you try to launch the game directly from Steam.

If the dev/publisher could alter the setting in the install script that would fix it.

Of course they may have set the mode to WIN98 to solve another issue...

[Big Van Man OnlyVans]

Originally posted by Nielk1:

I've discovered a few things. From another topic I saw that the issue is that "steamapps\common\Hostile Waters Antaeus Rising\HostileSetup.exe" is set for WIN98 compatability mode when it needs WINXPSP3.

I discovered that the instruction to set this is in the installscript.vdf in the same folder, but changing it there has no effect as the file is re-generated when you launch the game from steam.

You can however change the compatability mode on the exe and launch it from that EXE directly outside of steam to gain access to a full list of resolutions.

I will report back if I find a way to resolve this issue with steam launching. Sadly the installscript.vdf regenerates and re-runs whenever you try to launch the game directly from Steam.

If the dev/publisher could alter the setting in the install script that would fix it.

Of course they may have set the mode to WIN98 to solve another issue...

Did you find a way around this? I too am struggling to resolve this issue.

[Nielk1]

Originally posted by Simon Stainton:

Originally posted by Nielk1:

I've discovered a few things. From another topic I saw that the issue is that "steamapps\common\Hostile Waters Antaeus Rising\HostileSetup.exe" is set for WIN98 compatability mode when it needs WINXPSP3.

I discovered that the instruction to set this is in the installscript.vdf in the same folder, but changing it there has no effect as the file is re-generated when you launch the game from steam.

You can however change the compatability mode on the exe and launch it from that EXE directly outside of steam to gain access to a full list of resolutions.

I will report back if I find a way to resolve this issue with steam launching. Sadly the installscript.vdf regenerates and re-runs whenever you try to launch the game directly from Steam.

If the dev/publisher could alter the setting in the install script that would fix it.

Of course they may have set the mode to WIN98 to solve another issue...

Did you find a way around this? I too am struggling to resolve this issue.

No, I never did. If Steam is still configured in their database to set it to the wrong compatibility mode it will keep doing it every time you try to launch it from Steam. There's no way to work around it other than not using Steam to run the game or the data being fixed in the Steam database. The publisher (or developer) would need to fix this. It's a very easy fix though, if they can find where to do it. I'm guessing there's probably a webpage they have access to or they can just update some script file and push it.

The only option we have otherwise is to find a way to stop Steam from having the ability to set the compatibility mode on the EXE or stop Steam from being able to overwrite installscript.vdf and leave it as it is. I'm not actually sure if locking installscript.vdf would really work but the fact it exists implies it could.

[Nielk1]

Originally posted by Simon Stainton:

Originally posted by Nielk1:

...

Did you find a way around this? I too am struggling to resolve this issue.

Actually I fixed it just now!

After running the game, go to the game's install folder and edit installscript.vdf, change the WIN98 to WINXPSP3. Save and close the file. Right click the file and go to properties. Go to the Security tab. Click Advanced. On the Permissions tab click the Disable inheritance button and select to copy the permissions from the parent. Now edit all permissions by double clicking them and removing Full Control, Modify, and Write.

It is now impossible for anyone to alter the installscript.vdf file. You might actually have issues deleting the file or uninstalling the game without returning to the file's security setting and resetting them. This will prevent Steam from overwriting the install script and will make the change stick around even when run from Steam.

[Torchiest]

Awesome great work! Thanks for figuring that out.

[Sklaaw]

This is one of my favorite videogames and I am glad to see it finally incorporated on Steam. While adding Steam Achievements would have been a welcomed addition, it is nice that the title at least features a card set. Regardless! Launching the game from Steam initiates its launcher from which you can configure your "Hardware Setup". It features a multitude of formats including 1920x1080 to choose from. The game definitely looks great in HD-Widescreen Format -- but as you've pointed out, there is some minor complication*. As a veteran-player I can definitely say it's nothing which will deter anyone from enjoying the experience -- though playing at your native resolution may be cumbersome ... I have a 1080p TV but scale it to 1650, otherwise--As You've Mentioned...
I've followed your direction (to a T[?]) to no avail... :(
*Has this issue ever been fixed/resolved?
-Help?

Thanks.

[Photon777]

Choosing 1600x1200 worked for me. 1920x1080 didn't.