Quest Journals sides are chopped off

[Kerulon]

Hi all!

Revisiting Raft from way before the journal was introdced (imo),
I've got a little technical problem with the scaling of the UI (here, the Journal):

The Quest Journals sides are chopped off!

On the left side (as i've seen a screenshot here in the forum)
you can see the *Found items*
My screen begins at *nd items*...

On the right side (according to said screenshot of the journal)
there are three 'bookmarks' at the top.
I can see only half of the third, which means the journal is
either not centered, or it's chopped off less than on the left side...

Needless to say, that i won't be able to access the 'next page' button
nor read the whole text on the right side of the journal
and won't see 'found items'.

I'm in the process of setting up the antennas so i haven't visited
the Oil Rig yet, but i doubt that the Journal will magically 'expand'
itself after getting my first entries (and maybe items?) from there...

I only found ONE other post regarding this UI issue and there was a
a post from the user *Anonymous Helper* stating:
"I'm not sure about 4:3 aspect ratio but 16:9 aspect ratio should work fine with this game."
And a sugesstion to use a mod from https://www.raftmodding.com/
to scale the UI (mod: UIScaler).

I have no idea, whether the orange color of his name here on the forum
indicates, that AHelper has any official affiliation (mod/dev etc.)
with Redbeet/Axolot (although, iirc, the color indicates 'mod powers'?).

Also: as raftmodding.com is:
"Not affiliated with Raft, Redbeet Interactive or Axolot Games"
and their required modloader (an executable) isn't signed thus prompting
alerts on *every* level (from browser to OS) of it being a risk/unsecure
AND the game forums section 'Unofficial modding' is a) *unofficial* and
b) in there are several recent posts claiming, that their modloader is being
detected as containing a virus by several different antivir suites,
i am *highly* hesitant to use it (!signed isn't much of a problem for me,
but in conjunction with the warnings from different antivir suites,
it makes it a nogo for me atm).

As there is no option to add a mod from the vanilla game settings (together with the
'unofficiality' of the forums mod section), i assume that the game isn't prepared
for mods by itself; thus one *has* to rely on a gamefiles modifying executable
(the RMLauncher)...

My normal screenresolution is 1280x1024 (ratio 1.25) and i've tested
several other, for instance 1152x872 (ratio 1.32) (FYI: Ratio 4/3 is 1.33).
The best solution i've found yet was 1600x900 (16/9 ratio 1.78)
But even there i got some choppage and i'm at *ound items* on the left side
(meaning i won't see the first column of quest items)
So; no, AnonymousHelper, 16/9 doesn't 'work fine with this game'...


TLDR:
- Journal doesn't scale correctly to fully fit into screen
rendering it almost useless ('quest items/journal entries/buttons' not visible)
- Resolutions from 4:3 up to 16:9 won't show a complete journal

I'm running @1280x1024 (almost 4:3) but also tested @1600x900 (16:9)
- what are your *working* screen resolutions?

Is there a config or something else, where i can enter a setting to make it work?

Are there any bug reports regarding this issue? Please devs, fix this!


Any workable suggestions would be highly appreciated!

TIA, regards, Kerulon

EDIT: spelling corrections

[Anonymous Helper]

4:3 and 5:4 resolutions monitors are almost extinct these days so it should not be surprised that there are no posts about those resolutions. 16:9 aspect ratio is (still) the industry standard used in most monitors. Most posts about the issue are made by people with ultra-wide monitors.

As for the issue, you could try starting Raft from your steam library and choose exclusively full screen mode then press Alt + Enter when in game (Alt+Enter takes game to windowed mode, pressing Alt+Enter again takes you back to fullscreen mode). This should cascade the game’s window.

https://support.redbeetinteractive.com/hc/en-us/articles/360007539891-I-have-an-extremely-distorted-or-large-resolution-

If that does not help, you could try various resolutions while in windowed mode to see if any of them work for you.

Third option is the UIScaler mod you're already aware of and as you already know, aren't official. The mod has helped some people with scaling issues on ultra-wide monitors so it's listed as one of the possible workarounds.

You could also ask around on Raft Discord to see if anyone there have further advice:

https://discord.gg/raft

If nothing helps, please submit a bug report so the developers can take a look here:

https://support.redbeetinteractive.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

The upcoming update contains fixes for widescreen issues. Whether or not there's one for the scaling issue or if that helps your case, we'll have to wait and see.

[Kerulon]

Thanks for the reply, Anonymous Helper!


Yes, i am fully aware that a 4:3 resolution monitor can be called ancient by now... ^^

Having tried practically all ratios between 4:3 and 16:9 without (full) success,
and even the 16:9 (1600x900) ratio (see post above) still chops off vital parts
of the journal, i have to come to the conclusion, that my max resolution (1600x900),
while the ratio being the 'industry standard' is simply too small a resolution
for the journal to fully fit in.

Hence my question for other players (who should mainly use a 16:9 screen ratio)
for their *working resolutions*.

You mentioned switching from full-screen to windowed-mode while in-game:
Does that have a *different* effect than starting in windowed and then changing ratios?
I suppose by 'cascading' you just mean 'switching to different ratios',
correct (sorry, i am no native english speaker ;)?
If that's the case: i already did that...

The support URL from redbeet you provide above shows a resolution of 1920x1080 (16/9)
in their answer and also mentions a 'cascading of the games window'.
This just means an *extremely distorted or large resolution* (the problem specified
in this FAQ article) will simply adjust to the normal desktop ratio, right?
(i assume you got the sentence you posted above from the text in that URL... ^^)

As for using a third party mod:
I have nothing but respect and admiration for fans of the game who go the extra mile
and put out helpfull mods. *Kudos to them!*

And while i will grudgingly allow my OS/browser/graphics driver to automatically check for updates,

my hesitation mainly lies in allowing an auto-updated executable from a practically unknown
source with i suppose less IT security than a hightech company (i know, they can also get hacked),
(whos server might get compromised or their domain name to expire and getting highjacked)
to a) phone home (how else whould the RMLauncher know about a new release?) and
b) having a potentially deadly payload for my system with the next update!
Getting called out for having a virus/trojan horse incorporated in their launcher
in the 'Unofficial modding' section of this forum doesn't help either...

I will test through *all* available resolutions for me in-game as suggested, but
i doubt it'll help (reason, see above: my max resolution (1600x900) is simply too small).
If being unsuccessfull, i'll write a bug report, thanks!


Regards, Kerulon

[Anonymous Helper]

Going windowed and back generally helps if game window is distorted somehow (overly large or small or otherwise distorted). IE. there have been cases where the main menu is largely out of screen (so the user can't change resolution) or game launches in small window for some reason.


I just tested various resolutions and the journal is usable in following resolutions for me:

1280x800
1360x768
1366x768
1600x900
1600x1024
1680x1050
1920x1080
1920x1200 (my native, 16:10 aspect ratio)

The other resolutions resulted in part of left and right side of the journal being outside of the window:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2203235288

This is what I get in 1600x900 resolution window:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2203241591

This is what I get in 1600x900 resolution fulllscreen:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2203241571

Can you post screenshot of your journal in 1600x900 resolution?

[Kerulon]

Update: Tested *Exclusive fullscreen* start -> Alt-Return -> windowed-mode

1600x900 (16:9) no change, still partly chopped, but strangely
1360x768 (16:9) and
1366x768 (16:9) show a full Journal! ... and
1280x720 (16:9) works also

So while this isn't a full fix, it's at least a workaroud, so
i can switch the resolution to correctly access the journal, then switching
back to a (windowed) full screen resolution (seeing the desktop while playing sucks)!
I really wish the devs would fix the journals scaling issue (-> will report as bug)...

Why does starting Raft in 'exclusive full screen' sometimes start
at the desktop resolution and sometimes uses the resolution specified in the settings?!?
One gotta love these unpredictable behaviors; makes testing SO much easier...
I suppose the reason to be the different specified resolutions at start-up.

And i just figured out, starting it @1366x768 (16:9) in full screen gives me black borders
on top and bottom, but at least i don't have to see my desktops icons... yay!
Toggling it in-game does the same now (this didn't happen last time. *grml*)... nice!
(suspect it to rely on the set resolution at start-up again, but didn't bother to test)

@Anonymous Helper:

After reading your post, i checked some more of your tested resolutions:

1280x800 works
1600x900 still partly chopped off (even after toggling fullscreen -> windowed)

The game only gives me one resolution above that (1600x1200) where the journal is chopped off
(possibly because of my 'ancient' monitor on this gaming rig ^^)...

Regards, Kerulon

[Anonymous Helper]

Originally posted by Kerulon:

Update: Tested *Exclusive fullscreen* start -> Alt-Return -> windowed-mode

1600x900 (16:9) no change, still partly chopped, but strangely
1360x768 (16:9) and
1366x768 (16:9) show a full Journal! ... and
1280x720 (16:9) works also

So while this isn't a full fix, it's at least a workaroud, so
i can switch the resolution to correctly access the journal, then switching
back to a (windowed) full screen resolution (seeing the desktop while playing sucks)!
I really wish the devs would fix the journals scaling issue (-> will report as bug)...

Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Originally posted by Kerulon:

Why does starting Raft in 'exclusive full screen' sometimes start
at the desktop resolution and sometimes uses the resolution specified in the settings?!?
One gotta love these unpredictable behaviors; makes testing SO much easier...
I suppose the reason to be the different specified resolutions at start-up.

No idea why it's happening to you. Exclusive full screen mode isn't the default mode (default mode is essentially borderless fullscreen window) so it's not as tested so there may be bugs and glitches that don't occur in default mode.

Originally posted by Kerulon:

And i just figured out, starting it @1366x768 (16:9) in full screen gives me black borders
on top and bottom, but at least i don't have to see my desktops icons... yay!
Toggling it in-game does the same now (this didn't happen last time. *grml*)... nice!
(suspect it to rely on the set resolution at start-up again, but didn't bother to test)

@Anonymous Helper:

After reading your post, i checked some more of your tested resolutions:

1280x800 works
1600x900 still partly chopped off (even after toggling fullscreen -> windowed)

The game only gives me one resolution above that (1600x1200) where the journal is chopped off
(possibly because of my 'ancient' monitor on this gaming rig ^^)...

Regards, Kerulon

Good to hear you found some resolutions that work for you. Weird that 1600x900 doesn't work for you when other resolutions do. Maybe it's the monitor Maybe it simply can't display that resolution properly.

Anyway, good that you can at least play the game now so have fun! Hopefully devs implement some sort of UI scaling similar to done by the mod. Would help with the issue and make game more future proof as display sizes and resolutions are only going to get bigger in future.