Setting up childhood games
Setting up childhood games
Hey there, I'm getting ready to set up some old-school games for my younger brother. These games are pretty classic, but running them on Windows 10 isn't working. Windows 7 works with compatibility mode, but I decided to install a VM with a Windows XP Pro SP3 32-bit version, which is what I usually used when playing these games. After setting up the virtual machine and installing the discs, I managed to get an installer that includes DX7 for running the titles. The issue is that even though I set the VM to fullscreen at 1080p resolution, the game only shows up at 800x600, making everything around it black. I've tried using Windows XP compatibility mode (like Windows 2000 and 95), but the resolution stays the same. Is there a way to force the game to display at 1080p or a similar equivalent for the 4:3 aspect ratio? Everything else seems fine—sounds and other features work. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Yours,
DaSchmitt
When mods are available sometimes there are options to set the display to 1080p. However, some versions remain similar to the menu in Battlefront II 2005, stuck at a fixed resolution (though I'm not sure what it is—probably around 480p). I can increase the game's resolution to 4K, but the menu stays locked to a specific size. If the game lacks resolution settings in its menus, it's likely using a standard resolution for that era. Forcing a higher resolution would probably cause the user interface to break, just like in Battlefront II 2005 where it fails above 1440p.
No, you cannot locate the configuration file within the data and adjust the resolution manually.
I've included an image here. It seems all the game files are packed into the executable, with some code in another file explaining character movement. The rest of the content is within that exe file. I assume you're not a tech expert, but I'm sure every file for the game is present in the folder shown.
There are some third-party solutions that might let you adjust the resolution of a specific .exe file and revert to the standard setting after closing. I haven't tested them myself, but others recommend:
http://12noon.com/?page_id=80
I downloaded it and tested it, my main success was:
dccmd.exe -force -width=800 -height=600 "C:\Program Files\THQ\Warner Bros\Scooby-Doo\Monsters Unleashed\Scooby.exe"
dccmd.exe -width=1920 -height=1080 -refresh=max -depth=max
pause
the pause happened because I was correcting issues and the command kept closing. I tried forcing the display to 800x600 and also attempted 1920x1080 and 1440x1080, but neither worked.
Bugger! Check if it locates the executable properly. Consider sending a shortcut to the desktop and setting its destination to the desktop shortcut.