1920x1080

[just kidding]

Is there any way to make this game run in the full HD?

[Vurt]

i have not found a way to make widescreen, would be cool

[Dragonator]

I don't think there is. I've been looking for a way too, but unless the devs return to the game and add this to the rendering engine (not very likely), or a really big fan makes a mod (which is not that easy), I don't really see this happening.

[MrSpock78]

Baseline (Widescreen) Solution & Issues



There is no native support for widescreen in game settings, but you can edit config.ini file (located in My Documents/My Games/Sid Meier's Pirates!/ in Windows Vista) and set the game to any desired resollution.
Changing the resolution in config.ini file (i.e. 1680x1050):

[User Settings]
Gamma = 1.000000
KeypadStatus = 1
DisplayShadows = 1
TrilinearFiltering = 1
DisableShaders = 0
AdvancedLighting = 1
WindowWidth = 1024 -> 1680 (instead of 1024)
WindowHeight = 768 -> 1050 (instead of 768)
WaterDetail = 3
WorldDetail = 5
ObjectDetail = 2
MasterVolume = 1.000000
MusicVolume = 1.000000
SFXVolume = 1.000000
DanceVolume = 1.000000
IsSlowMachine = 0
MyName = Misa
3DAudioDriver = Creative Labs EAX (TM)
CustomSail =
CustomFlag =

http://www.wsgf.org/dr/sid-meiers-pirates-2004

[Savatage79]

Will it look ok if you change the resolution like that?

[weezard]

I've changed resolution to 1680x1050 (my monitor's native resolution) and while the game starts and the 3d graphics is nicely scaled, the 2d user interface is not. User interface elements go off the screen, so you can't click them and there is an offset when clicking GUI elements, for example you have to click lower than the position of an element on screen.

I don't recommend changing aspect ration from the default one.

[Marta Threadbare]

Found a solution that works better than editing the .ini. It's specified also in http://www.wsgf.org/dr/sid-meiers-pirates-2004

"Using Racer_S's universal resolution changer (version 2) and keeping the configuration .ini file at a 4:3 aspect ratio resolution, the HUD will stay onscreen. Changing the configuration .ini file to the aspect ratio of the desired resolution will cut off the HUD. "

Use the link from that page to download it. It's just extracting it where the Pirates!.exe is and editing the resolution.ini. Works almost perfectly, except some buttons look "displaced" (the "back" knife for example, you see it in one place, but to click it you have to click about 50 pixels to the left). But at least the HUD and texts are shown complete.

Tested only on the old boxed version at 1280x768, but should work in the Steam version too.

[MaximilianPs]

if you have a 1920x1080 monitor you could use 1440x1080 to keep 4:3 (but it will be stretched in any case I guess)

[Lillebror Dildo]

1440x1080 seems to just not launch at all

[GrafLukas]

Originally posted by Lillebror Dildo:

1440x1080 seems to just not launch at all

It works for me.

I think what happens is the game takes the width and applies 4:3, regardless of height. So by putting 1920 as width the game wants 1440 as height, hence the displaced HUD.

It is a pity there is no more active modding community. I would appreciate updated HD textures. I have played this game a lot back in the day and enjoy coming back every once in a while.

[ethelredhardrede]

1440x1080 yes, but anything where you stretch the screen messes up the interface.

It is designed for 4x3. You can use other ratios but they all break the onscreen interface and have to played from keyboard only. It was a PITA when I tried it.

This what I posted, here or at Reddit before

Sid Meier's Pirates

This may work for other video cards but this is using an Nvidia 1060. Also works on my new Nvidia 3070

Open NVIDIA CONTROL Panel
Display / Change resolution
Customize button.

IF you don't see that, I didn't, you should a resize or perhaps resolution tab on the page that I can no longer see. You can create a custom resolution from there. AFTER I did that I found the Customize button and not such tab. See details below

IF you click on the Customize button you will get a pop up panel. Set the Enable resolutions not exposed by the display Check Box, or don't as it does not seem to matter.

Instructions for this are based on my 1920 x1080 LCD monitor.

Set horizontal pixels to 1440
Vertical lines to 1080
Leave everything else alone
Click on the Test button
IF OK then hit the OK button or whatever it was. Let it time out if your screen is screwed up.

You now have a screen with black pillars on the side. IF you had previously added
Fullscreen = 0
To your Pirates config file THEN you probably should try it that way first. I did.

Then I set that line to
Fullscreen = 1

Save the config file

Launch Sid Meir's Pirates in Full Sceen. With a fully functioning mouse. And in the Video panel for the game you should now have a 1440 X 1080 option, Try it, it worked for me.

The only real issue is that you will have to reset you Nvidia control back to have a full 1920 by 1080 screen again. I kept the control panel open and can flip back and forth between the custom seting that is now in resolution list and the full. You will have to restart most programs to get them to look right.

OK I wrote all that without fully adjusting the Nvidia control panel. It seems to work but now the Control panel is back to having scaling and size tabs. Its the size tab that is needed to get the custom resolutions.

By Setting or unsetting the Override the scaling mode set by games and programs you can get the screen to fully adapt to the changed resolutions.

Set the Override tick box change resolution drop down to the custom resolution and click on the Apply box to play Pirates

When finished

Unset the Override tick box to get back to you native resolution.

To have a working mouse the resolution must have an 4 to 3 aspect ratio. Hence the 1440 X 1080 for 1920 by 1080

Suggestions for

4k - 3840 X 2160 set custom resolution to 2880 X 2160


Tested on my new monitor it works
2560 X 1440 set custom resolution to 1920 X 1440