Board index › Topical Discussion › Games and Video Games

Impossible to read text at 4k in games

Page 1 of 1 [ 6 posts ] 

Previous topic | Next topic

Noca
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 9 May 2015
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,932
Location: Canada

23 Sep 2018, 8:36 pm

I got a better video card that can handle 4k resolutions but honestly I can't read s**t at 4k on a 43" tv sitting about 7 or 8 feet away. If I got closer I wouldn't be able to fit the whole screen in my field of view, id have to turn my head to look around the screen. How does anyone play video games at 4k and still be able to read text? Even at 2k resolutions s**t is hard to read.



Misery
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 21 Aug 2011
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,163

24 Sep 2018, 11:07 am

Theoretically, it's up to each individual game and it's developers as to whether or not they're going to have this problem. Supporting 4K is one thing. Supporting it PROPERLY is a whole other matter, and I suspect that more than a few developers arent doing that.

I remember a very similar problem awhile back when TVs started to increase in resolution... I *think* this was around the 360 era? Some games did exactly what you're talking about, they'd technically work, but the text would be nearly unreadable because nobody had bothered to fix the UI (and often, they wouldnt GET fixed anytime soon). I seem to remember the original Dead Rising having this very issue. Er... I think.

Anyway, obviously AAA games are most likely to support 4K, BUT, they're also the most greedy/lazy, so you cant really expect quality from them at all times... you can sure expect screwups though. If they get enough complaints though, they'll fix it... maybe.

For whatever game it is you're having trouble with, go to that individual game's site/forum/support section, whatever, and ask around about it. You might be able to find a workaround. At the very least you can add to any complaints that might be there to encourage them to not suck.


That all being said, I've never understood the point of 4k myself. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but... isnt it impossible for the human eye to even detect resolution changes past a certain point? It seems like 4k is well past that point.



Noca
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 9 May 2015
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,932
Location: Canada

24 Sep 2018, 5:06 pm

Misery wrote:
Theoretically, it's up to each individual game and it's developers as to whether or not they're going to have this problem. Supporting 4K is one thing. Supporting it PROPERLY is a whole other matter, and I suspect that more than a few developers arent doing that.

I remember a very similar problem awhile back when TVs started to increase in resolution... I *think* this was around the 360 era? Some games did exactly what you're talking about, they'd technically work, but the text would be nearly unreadable because nobody had bothered to fix the UI (and often, they wouldnt GET fixed anytime soon). I seem to remember the original Dead Rising having this very issue. Er... I think.

Anyway, obviously AAA games are most likely to support 4K, BUT, they're also the most greedy/lazy, so you cant really expect quality from them at all times... you can sure expect screwups though. If they get enough complaints though, they'll fix it... maybe.

For whatever game it is you're having trouble with, go to that individual game's site/forum/support section, whatever, and ask around about it. You might be able to find a workaround. At the very least you can add to any complaints that might be there to encourage them to not suck.


That all being said, I've never understood the point of 4k myself. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but... isnt it impossible for the human eye to even detect resolution changes past a certain point? It seems like 4k is well past that point.

I can notice the difference between 1080p and 4k on youtube videos, it isn't drastic but for me it is noticeable on a 43" tv. This game was from 2015 so maybe newer releases are made with 4k scaling in mind, hopefully.



Enigmatic_Oddity
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 4 Nov 2005
Age: 38
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,555

24 Sep 2018, 7:38 pm

I wouldn't really count on it. Steam is the the face of PC gaming and even they can't be bothered to make their interface scale to higher resolutions. And with Japan only having discovered Steam's or the PC platform's existence recently, you can continue to count on a lot of games only being scaled to 1080p.

You'll likely have to rely on mods. I remember few instances of really needing them; only Dragon Age Origins comes to mind as a particularly egregious offender on this issue, and older 2D games where the entire game assets just got smaller the higher resolution you went.



Misery
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 21 Aug 2011
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,163

24 Sep 2018, 9:10 pm

Enigmatic_Oddity wrote:
I wouldn't really count on it. Steam is the the face of PC gaming and even they can't be bothered to make their interface scale to higher resolutions. And with Japan only having discovered Steam's or the PC platform's existence recently, you can continue to count on a lot of games only being scaled to 1080p.

You'll likely have to rely on mods. I remember few instances of really needing them; only Dragon Age Origins comes to mind as a particularly egregious offender on this issue, and older 2D games where the entire game assets just got smaller the higher resolution you went.


Steam itself honestly doesnt count.

It's not about them not catching up. It's about it being buggier than a box of buggy glitch-bugs.

Valve cant even get the bloody thing working quite right half the time. OF COURSE they wont take the time to upgrade the UI for 4k. They're fully caught up on the tech. They just dont care enough to take the time to do it. And frankly even if they put the support in, it'd just bug out half the time.

Dont get me wrong, as a VENDOR Steam is fantastic. But the client program itself is a freaking mess. I wouldnt expect any USEFUL features added anytime soon. They're too busy NOT fixing stuff while adding features nobody needed.



Now as for games themselves? Dont expect anything other than the absolute newest games to at all take advantage of 4k. It just hasnt been around long enough. Not to mention that there are plenty of developers who just genuinely dont seem to consider it a good use of their time. Which makes sense... not everyone can even spot the difference it makes, but also 4k screens are expensive... alot of people just cant afford to make the switch. Or in some cases, dont have the space. I know I dont, my monitor is small for good reason. Nothing else would fit.



cberg
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 31 Dec 2011
Gender: Male
Posts: 12,183
Location: A swiftly tilting planet

24 Sep 2018, 9:18 pm

Steam might have a DPI scaling setting for the client but I don't think that would apply in games except maybe in 'big picture' mode, if they still have that. You can also always downscale your display temporarily.


_________________
"Standing on a well-chilled cinder, we see the fading of the suns, and try to recall the vanished brilliance of the origin of the worlds."
-Georges Lemaitre
"I fly through hyperspace, in my green computer interface"
-Gem Tos :mrgreen: