Open the WINE virtual machine and adjust its settings to ensure it runs in full screen mode.
Open the WINE virtual machine and adjust its settings to ensure it runs in full screen mode.
I'm trying to run HOMM4 on Linux Mint with Wine. It works fine, but full-screen mode fails. The virtual desktop setup causes crashes unless it's turned off. The game only supports 1280x1240 resolution, which is lower than my laptop's 1080p. I hope it can stretch to full screen if I enable it in the game settings, but it doesn't. https://ibb.co/jCvtWw
There isn't a setting that lets HOMM4 operate without a virtual desktop.
I haven't played that game, but I've used Wine to run other games without a virtual desktop. Have you looked into PlayOnLinux?
It's operating on PlayOnLinux, which occurs with every game I've tried using virtual desktops. Probably I need to adjust the display size for those games. Cinnamon Desktop appears to have full-screen issues in certain titles, so a virtual desktop might be necessary.
I usually don’t run wine games without a virtual desktop, but I’ve had a few issues with older Windows versions. These were mostly from the XP era or earlier, and they’re tough to play on today’s systems. One solution was to use a low-res virtual desktop—higher resolution would cause crashes—and then adjust the Linux DE’s resolution to match. Enable the full-screen mode in the DE for a cleaner look. It’s a bit tricky, but it works sometimes.
You might also consider a software tool designed for older DirectX games that run on modern Windows with higher resolution displays. I remember hearing about a lightweight option called Cinnamon, though it has some transparency quirks. If you haven’t tried other desktop environments yet, KDE or Gnome could be worth exploring as alternatives.
I remember starting in 2003. I attempted to adjust the display settings to fit the game, but it only made the screen smaller and added those dark borders. The same problem appeared on my earlier Windows 7 laptop.
So are you adjusting the game to fit the screen vertically? I haven’t played HOMM4 yet—maybe I should have tried it sooner, but I’ve only been playing HOMM3 recently. It was a 4:3 format back then. Is HOMM4 also in 4:3? The screenshots I found seem to confirm that. So you’re likely trying to view it on a 16:9 monitor and want the full screen to appear. The strict player would say: no, don’t force it. Stick to the original aspect ratio. If you still want to stretch it, set your desktop to 4:3 resolution. Then tweak your monitor settings—there should be an option to push it to 16:9 (the exact steps vary by manufacturer). Your graphics card drivers might let you center everything instead of scaling, which is a common feature now. If your screen has black borders, check what resolution it actually displays. Does it match the resolution you’ve set? NVidia drivers can be configured to center content at lower resolutions, so it should work across most modern GPUs.
I hadn't realized I actually had HOMM4 on gog.com. I ended up installing it (and yes, I've tried this version before... I usually go with HOMM3). It looks a bit strange in fullscreen mode. There are problems such as the mouse cursor not staying inside the window, and pressing ALT+TAB might bring the game back to a working state. But no virtual desktop is needed here. I get the best performance when I set my Windows version to XP (with 7—it was even worse, like double mouse cursor issues). Still, after exiting the game, Wine doesn't restore the correct screen resolution, which is frustrating.
Here are some adjustments to your notes:
- Win XP performs much better than 7 in my experience.
- The game appears unstable when I frequently use ALT+TAB, but it functions smoothly if I click on the task bar instead.
- Occasional glitches occur when I ALT+TAB away; however, once focused properly and full-screen, there are no problems.
- At exit, I must manually adjust my desktop resolution.
- For running old Windows games, I finally discovered the right information online.
- The tool I found is dxgl (specifically a DirectX wrapper).
- I’m not certain it supports HOMM4, but it might be worth trying if it helps.
- There could be other wrappers available, or perhaps Voodoo wrappers are an option.