Playing on a 4k Monitor

[bigsykedaddy]

Hello everyone. I am currently playing on a 4k Monitor in windowed mode at a custom resolution so it fills most of the screen (3640 x 1960.) I have read all the information there is out there on trying to make the game more playable at this resolution. I currently have it set to chat font size 5 (it's the largest I can get it to go, even after editing the .ini file.)

My question is this; If I open the VertUI files in photoshop and edit them to a larger size do you think that would work? If not, does anyone know a way to make custom UI elements a certain size and load them into p99? If that does work, how about the chat size, has anyone found a solution to go higher than 5?

I really don't want to change my monitor resolution every time I play so any kind of work around would be awesome. Thank you all in advance for your time.

If I end up figuring this out myself I will post an update here for others that go looking in the future. :)

[Knowmercy]

your essentially trying to figure out a way to change the "scale" of the UI. tmk dont know if its possible, probly pretty hard someone correct me if im wrong.

ask some of the UI gods about this, curious as well

[Tupakk]

PM paulgiamatti I don't know if that's the correct spelling. He would know for sure.

I'm sure there is a way to make the UI bigger but you might be stuck in the confines of CF5 because of the program.

[MiRo2]

Can only really change the size of images in the UI, all the data is from EQTypes, not entirely sure the max size you can set it at, will do some research. None of that would affect the chat font size though.

[Sage Truthbearer]

I don't think it's possible to change the size of the UI elements other than chatfontsize but let me know if so. They look small even in 1440p, can't imagine 4k.

[bigsykedaddy]

Thanks for the responses guys. Yeah I sent an email to the creator of Duxa to see if he could offer some insight. I tried digging around in the UI elements and seeing if I could change some of the numbers to make certain elements appear bigger. I'm not a coder so I don't know what I'm doing, but so far nada.

Yeah I used to play at 2560 x 1440 in windowed mode for years and that wasn't bad at all, but 4k I need a magnifying glass lmfao.

Thanks again for the help and I'll update this thread if I figure anything out :)

[MiRo2]

You can change the size of anything displayed in the UI. I haven't had a chance to test max sizes, and I don't have a UHD TV so I'm not sure what size would be appropriate. Here is the pull out of an EQType display in the UI, this one being current wieght, you would just change whats in the size tag.

<Label item="PW_CurrentWeight">
<ScreenID>WeightNumberLabel</ScreenID>
<Font>1</Font>
<RelativePosition>true</RelativePosition>
<Location>
<X>92</X>
<Y>79</Y>
</Location>
<Size>
<CX>30</CX>
<CY>10</CY>
</Size>
<EQType>24</EQType>
<Text>500</Text>
<TextColor>
<R>255</R>
<G>255</G>
<B>0</B>
</TextColor>
<NoWrap>true</NoWrap>
<AlignCenter>false</AlignCenter>
<AlignRight>true</AlignRight>
</Label>


But you need to realize that just changing the EQType size is just the begining, you will likely need to adjust its location, and probably the size/border of the UI item itself.

[bigsykedaddy]

You can change the size of anything displayed in the UI. I haven't had a chance to test max sizes, and I don't have a UHD TV so I'm not sure what size would be appropriate. Here is the pull out of an EQType display in the UI, this one being current wieght, you would just change whats in the size tag.

<Label item="PW_CurrentWeight">
<ScreenID>WeightNumberLabel</ScreenID>
<Font>1</Font>
<RelativePosition>true</RelativePosition>
<Location>
<X>92</X>
<Y>79</Y>
</Location>
<Size>
<CX>30</CX>
<CY>10</CY>
</Size>
<EQType>24</EQType>
<Text>500</Text>
<TextColor>
<R>255</R>
<G>255</G>
<B>0</B>
</TextColor>
<NoWrap>true</NoWrap>
<AlignCenter>false</AlignCenter>
<AlignRight>true</AlignRight>
</Label>


But you need to realize that just changing the EQType size is just the begining, you will likely need to adjust its location, and probably the size/border of the UI item itself.

Awesome thank you very much, I will definitely play around with this. If I get it to work I will post my settings so others with a 4k monitor can benefit as well. Is this in the EQclient.ini? Thanks again

[MiRo2]

It is in the UI files themselves, you'll need an XML editor to do it, there are several free ones available. I've heard you can do it in word pad too, but I've not tried it.

[ziffiz]

I was looking into this and successfully changed one component and then realized changing everything is basically building an entire UI and I dont want to tackle that. Would love it if someone else has time/desire to build a 4K UI.

[MiRo2]

I was looking into this and successfully changed one component and then realized changing everything is basically building an entire UI and I dont want to tackle that. Would love it if someone else has time/desire to build a 4K UI.

But you need to realize that just changing the EQType size is just the begining, you will likely need to adjust its location, and probably the size/border of the UI item itself.

Yep.

I might try a little bit of this as I have time, what main windows would you guys need?

[ziffiz]

I would say my top choices would be chat, hotbars, target and buff bars that are on screen most of the time. Inventory screen would also be big. The problem is anything left unaltered will have text too small to be readable at that resolution.

[MiRo2]

Modifying the chat boxes is only going to change the size of the borders, maybe the title, and the chat line pop up, it won't affect the actual chat font size. For that I would look into download a large font type (.tff) and loading a custom font via options. I'll look for some options after I get done with some errands this afternoon.

[MiRo2]

Just did some quick browsing, here is a crappy extra large font I downloaded for free to demonstrate the effects loading a different font can have. Chatfontsize is 5 in the box, resolution loaded is 1768x992.

http://i.imgur.com/zclSD4o.png

versus with Arial

http://i.imgur.com/xAN24NV.png

You would definitely want a higher quality font than this one though.

[bigsykedaddy]

The first picture isn't loading. The builder of Duxa got back to me and said it is possible but it's going to take a lot of work. So going forward I will be experimenting and hopefully slowly making progress. Once I get it to where I like it (which will take a while because I am not good with coding) I will post my settings in this thread to help others. Thanks for the replies everyone I appreciate it.

[Tupakk]

I can't wait to see this made. I play full screen on my 55" tv at about 15 feet away and it's hard to read the font on everything. So power to ya.

[Triiz]

It is in the UI files themselves, you'll need an XML editor to do it, there are several free ones available. I've heard you can do it in word pad too, but I've not tried it.

Can confirm you can edit in notepad or word but it's a pain in the ass. Notepad++ is what I've been using and I find it useful, not sure if there's something better (probably is).

Somewhere on EQinterface there is a link to an old program called SidlWildUI. This program allows you to load individual elements of your UI without entering the game, so you can see if your changes are going to fuck everything up. It also shows the specific lines of code for whatever element of the UI you have selected (inventory window for example). I didn't know anything about XML or editing UI's until recently, but have found this extremely useful. It is pretty buggy though.

[bigsykedaddy]

Can confirm you can edit in notepad or word but it's a pain in the ass. Notepad++ is what I've been using and I find it useful, not sure if there's something better (probably is).

Somewhere on EQinterface there is a link to an old program called SidlWildUI. This program allows you to load individual elements of your UI without entering the game, so you can see if your changes are going to fuck everything up. It also shows the specific lines of code for whatever element of the UI you have selected (inventory window for example). I didn't know anything about XML or editing UI's until recently, but have found this extremely useful. It is pretty buggy though.

Nice I definitely have to check this out. I think it will make my job a lot easier. Thanks for the heads up.

[Naethyn]

I play on a 4k monitor. I recommend playing with a center of screen approach that most modern MMO's take. Instead of health bars and everything at the edges of your screen, they are at the center bottom.

http://imgur.com/aPL1ckv.png

[bigsykedaddy]

I play on a 4k monitor. I recommend playing with a center of screen approach that most modern MMO's take. Instead of health bars and everything at the edges of your screen, they are at the center bottom.

http://imgur.com/aPL1ckv.png

Yeah my UI is setup pretty nicely, however just like in your picture everything is so damn small I can barely read it. When I get some free time I am going to edit some XML files and see if I can enlarge certain UI elements to make it more enjoyable for those of us who use 4k monitors. I will settings in this thread once I finally have time to mess around with it.

[khanable]

I play on a 4k monitor. I recommend playing with a center of screen approach that most modern MMO's take. Instead of health bars and everything at the edges of your screen, they are at the center bottom.

http://imgur.com/aPL1ckv.png

This is 3440x1440, which isn't 4k. Going to assume it's a 34" panel, which doesn't have too dense of a pixel/inch ratio (so UI elements at normal desk-sitting position are probably OK for most people).

People are using the term "4k" when the 4k resolution is really only a part of the problem. I think the issue is going to boil down to pixels/inch of the display and the viewing distance from the display.

The more common situations is as follows (at least as far as I can tell):

1) People using a high resolution with small physical screen size that sit within a meter of the screen (typical desk setup). An example would be a 28" monitor with a native 3840×2160 resolution ("4k"). EQ can absolutely run at that resolution, but the UI elements are very small as the pixels/inch is vastly more dense than a typical 1080p monitor of approximately the same size. Another example would be a baller af gaming laptop with a 15" 4k screen.. having an even more dense pixel/inch ratio (though I suspect the viewing distance would be shorter here, but same concept).

2) People using a 4k TV or other large display (50" or whatever size) at a viewing distance of a few meters. The issue here is more about the UI being small due to distance, rather than physical screen size. People sitting about a meter (typical desk settings) from a 43" with this resolution probably don't have too much of a problem with the UI elements.

There isn't really a 1-size fits all solution to this, as some pixel/inch ratio and viewing distance combinations may need a 2x UI scale, others may need a 1.5x, etc. I think for 90% of the people out there, using a 2x UI scale is going to be perfectly fine. As someone else pointed out, simply scaling the UI isn't going to solve all the issues. You'll need a larger font. I think the best route to go here is to find an open source clone of Arial and use FontForge to scale it 200% and then manually adjust the kerning, right & left side bearings, ascent, and descent of the font so that it doesn't look like balls (I've started researching this but it is so fucking boring oh my god). The next step, IMO, would be to start scaling the UI elements by 200% - don't have to worry about scaling the actual artwork used in the UI just yet, as the client is smart enough to autoscale them for now (they'll be blurry, but meh). Once that is fully working a revamp of the images used in the UI can be done (and you'll need to update the animations file to make use of the new dimensions).

It's a lot of work, and it's something I've been toying with here and there.. just throwing some more ideas at this discussion.

[ziffiz]

This is 3440x1440, which isn't 4k. Going to assume it's a 34" panel, which doesn't have too dense of a pixel/inch ratio (so UI elements at normal desk-sitting position are probably OK for most people).

People are using the term "4k" when the 4k resolution is really only a part of the problem. I think the issue is going to boil down to pixels/inch of the display and the viewing distance from the display.

The more common situations is as follows (at least as far as I can tell):

1) People using a high resolution with small physical screen size that sit within a meter of the screen (typical desk setup). An example would be a 28" monitor with a native 3840×2160 resolution ("4k"). EQ can absolutely run at that resolution, but the UI elements are very small as the pixels/inch is vastly more dense than a typical 1080p monitor of approximately the same size. Another example would be a baller af gaming laptop with a 15" 4k screen.. having an even more dense pixel/inch ratio (though I suspect the viewing distance would be shorter here, but same concept).

2) People using a 4k TV or other large display (50" or whatever size) at a viewing distance of a few meters. The issue here is more about the UI being small due to distance, rather than physical screen size. People sitting about a meter (typical desk settings) from a 43" with this resolution probably don't have too much of a problem with the UI elements.

There isn't really a 1-size fits all solution to this, as some pixel/inch ratio and viewing distance combinations may need a 2x UI scale, others may need a 1.5x, etc. I think for 90% of the people out there, using a 2x UI scale is going to be perfectly fine. As someone else pointed out, simply scaling the UI isn't going to solve all the issues. You'll need a larger font. I think the best route to go here is to find an open source clone of Arial and use FontForge to scale it 200% and then manually adjust the kerning, right & left side bearings, ascent, and descent of the font so that it doesn't look like balls (I've started researching this but it is so fucking boring oh my god). The next step, IMO, would be to start scaling the UI elements by 200% - don't have to worry about scaling the actual artwork used in the UI just yet, as the client is smart enough to autoscale them for now (they'll be blurry, but meh). Once that is fully working a revamp of the images used in the UI can be done (and you'll need to update the animations file to make use of the new dimensions).

It's a lot of work, and it's something I've been toying with here and there.. just throwing some more ideas at this discussion.

Good observations however I will say in regard to point 2. I am using a pair of 43" 4K TV's sitting about a meter away and I cant read a single thing on the UI at 4K. Frankly its a challenge at 1920x1080. So yes I could try to move closer, but its not really practical without changing out my desk/chair setup.

The reason I went to these large TV/Monitors ironically was to attempt to make things larger and easier to see.

[khanable]

Good observations however I will say in regard to point 2. I am using a pair of 43" 4K TV's sitting about a meter away and I cant read a single thing on the UI at 4K. Frankly its a challenge at 1920x1080. So yes I could try to move closer, but its not really practical without changing out my desk/chair setup.

The reason I went to these large TV/Monitors ironically was to attempt to make things larger and easier to see.

if you're having issues with 43", 1080p, at a meter-ish away then you are definitely the third, smaller category of folks that need like 2.5-3x :p

but it kind of illustrates the point tho, there isn't a 1-size fits all solution to this

[Tupakk]

I can't wait for a 2x UI with fonts. I have been dealing with 3 meter distance for a few months in my living room setup and it's killing me. I made a macro just to force tell windows to chatfont 5.

Also this can't be anymore boring than the HD face makeover y'all are doing :)

I have no problem being your test dummy

55" tv playing in 1600 900 reso at roughly 3 meters

[khanable]

I can't wait for a 2x UI with fonts. I have been dealing with 3 meter distance for a few months in my living room setup and it's killing me. I made a macro just to force tell windows to chatfont 5.

Also this can't be anymore boring than the HD face makeover y'all are doing :)

I have no problem being your test dummy

55" tv playing in 1600 900 reso at roughly 3 meters

do me a favor and post a screenshot, I don't even think 2x UI elements would fit within a 1600x900 window lol

[Tupakk]

do me a favor and post a screenshot, I don't even think 2x UI elements would fit within a 1600x900 window lol

I only play 1600 x 900 because it makes it a little bit bigger. I'm not opposed to switching it to a different resolution to fit whatever needs you need.

But I will on my break when I get home.

[Naethyn]

Good call Cucu. This is what I'm rolling atm. https://www.amazon.com/Asus-PG348Q-34-Inch-Ultra-wide-Monitor/dp/B01C83BE6U

I love it. I've used other monitors with high resolution and this is the only one I've used where the corners don't feel blurry while staring at the center of the screen.

[Tupakk]

Here is the link to the screenshot

https://puu.sh/wsnQM/a6a30b7048.bmp


Played in Fullscreen 1600x900

[Triiz]

. I made a macro just to force tell windows to chatfont 5.


You can change the default font size in the .ini so that every tell window will auto-load with chat font 5. Search "chatfont" then change it to 5.

Is there a reason you're using /chatfont 5 instead of /chatfont 6 if small text is your issue? I'm not on 4k so don't have any of the issues you guys have, but the text with /chatfont 6 is quite noticeably larger than /chatfont 5 on my display.

[Tupakk]

You can change the default font size in the .ini so that every tell window will auto-load with chat font 5. Search "chatfont" then change it to 5.

Is there a reason you're using /chatfont 5 instead of /chatfont 6 if small text is your issue? I'm not on 4k so don't have any of the issues you guys have, but the text with /chatfont 6 is quite noticeably larger than /chatfont 5 on my display.


5 is readable for me its the text in the UI that I have a hard time reading.

[bigsykedaddy]

This is 3440x1440, which isn't 4k. Going to assume it's a 34" panel, which doesn't have too dense of a pixel/inch ratio (so UI elements at normal desk-sitting position are probably OK for most people).

People are using the term "4k" when the 4k resolution is really only a part of the problem. I think the issue is going to boil down to pixels/inch of the display and the viewing distance from the display.

The more common situations is as follows (at least as far as I can tell):

1) People using a high resolution with small physical screen size that sit within a meter of the screen (typical desk setup). An example would be a 28" monitor with a native 3840×2160 resolution ("4k"). EQ can absolutely run at that resolution, but the UI elements are very small as the pixels/inch is vastly more dense than a typical 1080p monitor of approximately the same size. Another example would be a baller af gaming laptop with a 15" 4k screen.. having an even more dense pixel/inch ratio (though I suspect the viewing distance would be shorter here, but same concept).

2) People using a 4k TV or other large display (50" or whatever size) at a viewing distance of a few meters. The issue here is more about the UI being small due to distance, rather than physical screen size. People sitting about a meter (typical desk settings) from a 43" with this resolution probably don't have too much of a problem with the UI elements.

There isn't really a 1-size fits all solution to this, as some pixel/inch ratio and viewing distance combinations may need a 2x UI scale, others may need a 1.5x, etc. I think for 90% of the people out there, using a 2x UI scale is going to be perfectly fine. As someone else pointed out, simply scaling the UI isn't going to solve all the issues. You'll need a larger font. I think the best route to go here is to find an open source clone of Arial and use FontForge to scale it 200% and then manually adjust the kerning, right & left side bearings, ascent, and descent of the font so that it doesn't look like balls (I've started researching this but it is so fucking boring oh my god). The next step, IMO, would be to start scaling the UI elements by 200% - don't have to worry about scaling the actual artwork used in the UI just yet, as the client is smart enough to autoscale them for now (they'll be blurry, but meh). Once that is fully working a revamp of the images used in the UI can be done (and you'll need to update the animations file to make use of the new dimensions).

It's a lot of work, and it's something I've been toying with here and there.. just throwing some more ideas at this discussion.


Yeah in my case I have two 27" monitors that run at 3840 x 2160 so the font is too small. I am also going to work on this when I finally have some free time. I hope I can fix it for those of us who play on monitors at least.

[skwayb]

Having a Surface Pro 4 I am hoping something comes. The text is hard to read on the hi res screen. I mainly play on an external monitor but be nice to play on the SP4 from time to time.

[Duckwalk]

Any fixes out for this issue? I picked up a surfacebook and the ui elements are incredibly small. Havn't yet figured out how to scale up the ui elements big enough that they are readable without putting your face inches away from the screen. Halp !

[eezl]

even with /chatfontsize at 5? also, you can change your font to one that is larger, gotta experiment.

[deezy]

so i've taken up the 4k challenge and have been editing my xml files to upscale the UI. The one thing I'm having the most trouble is with spell gems no matter which window they might appear in. does anyone have a solution for up scaling spell gems?

[enesis]

I play at 4k and have a similar problem with the text inside the UI. I have found that you can modify individual .xml files to increase the font size within the related UI window. I use Notepad++ to edit .xml files. Go into the UI directory for the skin (I use duxaUI) and start clicking around. Backup your original UI Folder and then find the .xml file related to the pet window, playerUI, or whatever, and take a look at the variables inside. You can search for "size" and it will put you in the neighborhood of what you need to start modifying. Make a mental note of the X/Y ratios if you are going to start changing window sizes. Keep track of the default orientation if you are changing multiple lines of next within a window.

You can use "Load UI" to check your progress without restarting the game. If you mess something up you can either load your backup/original UI file or undo the most recent change(s) in the text file and restart. I have made only a few changes to the pet window and HP/Mana figures in Player UI. All the changes I have made have been a product of trial and error.

[Loftus]

Sorry for necroing this thread, but I am encountering the issue of 4k resolution but I want full screen windowed and to get this you need to run EQ at the TV native (3840x2160).

I've increased to "/chatfontsize 6" (didn't know 6 was an option, thanks), but it only addresses a portion of the problem. What remains are exceedingly tiny UI elements like spells, health, etc. You get the picture.

Has anyone developed a UI for P1999 for native 4k yet?

[Grimgor]

Sorry for necroing this thread, but I am encountering the issue of 4k resolution but I want full screen windowed and to get this you need to run EQ at the TV native (3840x2160).

I've increased to "/chatfontsize 6" (didn't know 6 was an option, thanks), but it only addresses a portion of the problem. What remains are exceedingly tiny UI elements like spells, health, etc. You get the picture.

Has anyone developed a UI for P1999 for native 4k yet?

Have you tried this? https://www.project1999.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2813046&postcount=6

[Loftus]

Thank you for the reply. My scale in Windows 10 is currently set at 250%.

It would appear the key here in WinEQ, a program I do not use.

Can you show me the overall thread? The link is to a specific post and I cannot see the rest of the the thread.

Thank you!

*EDIT* Nevermind - I see the way to get to the thread. Trying to get to Deezy's UI now.

[deezy]

*EDIT* Nevermind - I see the way to get to the thread. Trying to get to Deezy's UI now.

https://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=350475

[chriscase26]

Hi folks,
Not sure if this thread is too old for me to bump, but here goes.

I've done what I think is the right setup for a 4k system -

- Installed and using WinEQ
- Set windows font size to 200%
- Downloaded Rustle2 and unzipped it under my game uifiles directory
- Set my display resolutions in eqclient.ini
- Logged on, set chat size to 6, and loaded skin rustle2.4k

I do see some good effects and the graphics look pretty good, but my basic problem is with all the text on the buttons and in the chat input area itself. These are all off in some way that causes them to be basically unreadable. It's particularly unenjoyable to type into the chat window without being able to read what I'm typing. Also all the menu options during login and trying to set things like music volume are similarly unreadable. I can mostly guess what to do to log in but it certainly makes using the client less enjoyable. Has anyone solved this? Am I missing something here?

[bigsykedaddy]

Hi folks,
Not sure if this thread is too old for me to bump, but here goes.

I've done what I think is the right setup for a 4k system -

- Installed and using WinEQ
- Set windows font size to 200%
- Downloaded Rustle2 and unzipped it under my game uifiles directory
- Set my display resolutions in eqclient.ini
- Logged on, set chat size to 6, and loaded skin rustle2.4k

I do see some good effects and the graphics look pretty good, but my basic problem is with all the text on the buttons and in the chat input area itself. These are all off in some way that causes them to be basically unreadable. It's particularly unenjoyable to type into the chat window without being able to read what I'm typing. Also all the menu options during login and trying to set things like music volume are similarly unreadable. I can mostly guess what to do to log in but it certainly makes using the client less enjoyable. Has anyone solved this? Am I missing something here?

Awesome, I'm gonna give this a shot. Thanks for posting this info. I just came back so I'm gonna see if I can get it looking right as well.

[Vormotus]

You guys need Shawk UI.

It is the velious UI upscaled the way it should be for us playing in much larger resolutions ... it is a work of art!

Please check this video:


euyRGggvrWY

You can get the download links for it in the video description or here in eqinterface:

https://www.eqinterface.com/downloads/fileinfo.php?id=6847

Personally it is my go to UI ...

My only wish is there was a halfway version of it . It literally magnifies the Velious UI by 2.0 times, I would love a 1.25 and 1.5 upscale to complement this one which is 2.0 times magnification, and I have other smaller but also biggish p99 setups where this ui is actually a bit big

Man I love this UI so much, it is exactly what this game needs, everybody else keeps using the same scaling for uis, Shawk is the only one that decided to go full upscaling.