screen magnifier

[DRG]

The next patch ( yes, there will be another patch released this year for both games...) contains further changes that make screens easier to read. This was accomplished by increasing the contrast between the text and the background and it sounds simple enough but it makes a BIG difference especially after using the changes for awhile then loading a version of the game without the changes

so THIS



becomes THIS



I cannot read anything on any screen WITHOUT my glasses unless the fonts are at leastTHIS BIG and the old screens worked for me but these ones definitely work better and we hope they will work better for everyone else as well but out of curiosity I looked at the Magnifier tool that is included with win8.1 and what follows *MAY* apply to other version of the magnifier but IDK..... but they do apply to anyone running the game with win8.1 who may still have difficulty reading the text on some screens.

The first step is setting it up. If it's not set up correctly it won't work correctly

1/ Press the windows key and '+'....... that turns Magnifier ON. You can move the Icon that appears to wherever make you happiest on the screen. I put it at the bottom right

2/ Click on the OPTIONS Icon and set the "how much the view changes" slider to 100%. This is important to maintain a clear font.

3/ While in Options set Tracking to "Follow the mouse pointer" and click OK at the bottom of the screen. It would be MOST EXCELLENT if Microsoft added a "Centre on screen" option as well but they don't ( but it would be very handy with this game ) NOW SET "VIEWS" TO FULL SCREEN

4/ Start either winSPMBT or winSPWW2. You can have Magnifier on or off when starting the game. To turn it ON see 1/ above. To turn it off at any time in game or not, simply press the window key and ESC on your keyboard.

5/ The secret to making this work well with the game is setting the "how much the view changes" slider to 100% AND putting your cursor IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SCREEN when you use the function and this is why I say it would be nice to have a "center on screen" option

6/ With Magnifier set up like this you can zoom in and out but pressing the Windows key and either '+' or '-' and if the cursor is in the middle of the screen anyone can double the size of the screens in the example above with a quick press of two keys on the keyboard and they will fill your screen. You can also do it while playing if you like

[Stian]

Just popped in to say that I am looking forward to these changes! Still playing the game from time to time.

While I don't have the need for the magnifier (yet...), I do find the background conflicting a lot with the readability of the font, so great to have the clean black background.

Thanks for keeping the game alive!

[DRG]

I didn't notice a big difference at first but when I have to open an older version of the game to check something I find the difference going back quiet startling.

[ERISS]

Originally Posted by DRG

The next patch increases the contrast between the text and the background

Thanks. Good idea, it's a last solution yes, if fonts can't be increased or bold, nor their whole window made bigger or as the game is too old to be easily made DPI aware.

[Tarasque]

Hahaha sorry for laughing, but i am not posting much on this forums.
I came here to write a message about how painfull it is for me and today to purchase troops with this game.
I am playing SP since 1995, and what was easy before is now impossible, like reading.

I have windows 7 64/bits so i am not sure i can find a solution for my problem but i will look into it later today since i am at work right now.

Anyway, Thank you !

[ERISS]

Originally Posted by Tarasque

how painfull it is for me and today to purchase troops with this game.
I am playing SP since 1995, and what was easy before is now impossible, like reading.
i am not sure i can find a solution for my problem

Do like me: play in 800x600. Big resolutions are almost useless for this game engine as we hardly can read the texts. Or you must have a huge monitor.

[DRG]

My monitor is1920x1080, and I play the game set to desktop
I wear glasses,
without my glasss screen text has to be THIS BIG and it's fuzzy ( and I have to squint to make it ( sort of...) readable )

I read the game text just fine with my glasses on > down to this ... NO PROBLEM

I REALLY ( really, really ) DO NOT understand why this issue is raised over and over. With my computer glasses on I have NEVER had a problem reading text on the game screen or any other internet screen text

Don