Multi-Monitor Support with a twist suggestion

I was curious if the game was going to have built in multi-monitor support. I know some games allow you to expand your in game visuals across more than one monitor, or even allow for another monitor to show a view pointing in a different direction.

What I always thought would be extremely useful in an MMORPG would be an option to assign a 2nd monitor as a support monitor. It would have a blank background or background image, and you could pull over any of your in game windows to it like your full Map, which you could resize, quest journal, inventory, guild windows, etc... Having all that up and available on a secondary monitor without blocking your view in game would be amazing. Perhaps the dev's will consider it.

They could also sell background images for the support screen in the cosmetics shop.

What do you think?

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Yuquiyu

Pannath wrote: »

I was curious if the game was going to have built in multi-monitor support. I know some games allow you to expand your in game visuals across more than one monitor, or even allow for another monitor to show a view pointing in a different direction.

What I always thought would be extremely useful in an MMORPG would be an option to assign a 2nd monitor as a support monitor. It would have a blank background or background image, and you could pull over any of your in game windows to it like your full Map, which you could resize, quest journal, inventory, guild windows, etc... Having all that up and available on a secondary monitor without blocking your view in game would be amazing. Perhaps the dev's will consider it.

They could also sell background images for the support screen in the cosmetics shop.

What do you think?

this is a wonderful idea! id love to see this implemented

Vhaeyne

Since monitors come in a wide range of resolutions, most game engines these days will support nearly any resolution you can throw at it. Unless the Devs are purposely restricting resolutions for some perceived anti-cheat reason or to try and enforce a uniform gameplay experience. You normally only see this in cross-play games or ports from the console.

If you combined your monitors with you NVidia or AMD settings. Most games will see your array of monitors as one big monitor. You would not thing something like factorio or EVE would support 5760x1080, but they do.

As for your specific Idea about having a second screen just for the UI, I have not ever seen it where you can just designate another monitor with a random BG the way you describe.

Maezriel

Vhaeyne wrote: »

As for your specific Idea about having a second screen just for the UI, I have not ever seen it where you can just designate another monitor with a random BG the way you describe.

The closest I could think of would be support apps like the GTA V one where you can have a map up or customize your car and the like.

Noaani

I like this as a general idea.

I have no doubt at all that the game will support basically any resolution, but the ability to designate a monitor as a support screen with only UI elements is novel.

ariatras

I don't see why they wouldn't have it. I hope they add it if they don't.
Personally I don't use two monitors (lack the space) but if I did have two, the other would probably be having youtube or some such open. Which would take me out of the game xD

Pannath

The point isn't whether they'll support multiple monitors. I think they probably will.

What I wanted was the ability to set one of the monitors as a support monitor which won't be showing your in game view like I said. But it's still adjacent to the in game view, so you can just drag windows that would normally block what you see over to it or back if you chose and leave them open. I think this would be extremely useful.

daveywavey

So, essentially, you want an Inventory Window, a Map Window, a Game World Window, etc.

And then you can resize the Game World Window to fit one screen, and have everything else on another?

Pannath

Not exactly. The game view of what your character can see, or what is around you would be assigned to one window and it's dimensions are unaffected by having a 2nd monitor being used by the game. The other monitor would be assigned with a blank background, or maybe even a nice one with a picture, but they're still connected, so if you say open your map or inventory, character stats window, or any other window you can seamlessly drag windows you open to and from the other screen.

The resizing option was just to make the windows fit however you wanted on the 2nd screen. That way you could always have your full map up on a 2nd screen, and your quest journal, or other things you wanted to casually monitor without having it affect your in game view.

gygfo

Pannath wrote: »

What I always thought would be extremely useful in an MMORPG would be an option to assign a 2nd monitor as a support monitor. It would have a blank background or background image, and you could pull over any of your in game windows to it like your full Map, which you could resize, quest journal, inventory, guild windows, etc... Having all that up and available on a secondary monitor without blocking your view in game would be amazing. Perhaps the dev's will consider it.

Seriously, Devs! Do this! Excellent idea. Would love that.

Shoklen

I'd be completely down for a "support monitor" setup.

That said and the limited game programming knowledge I have; the second window would have to work outside the game engine itself and that could cause issues. Not so much as it "can't be done" but it might open up the system to modifications in ways that wouldn't be entirely sanctioned.

As far as I know you can not have two directx engines running with intercommunication and if current advancements in engines allow for this (Ive been out of the game for a few years, pun intended) it might not only increase security issues but also slight lag/latency times (two systems updating one another).

Could have the engine spit out xml to a read-only window which would work but for chat (since chat is a two way communication); but there could still be unforeseen integrity issues with data; and more so if there were two way communications between the game and support windows.

Just my two cents; I'd love to see it... Just not if it would cause data vulnerability or lag... If it can be done without those two (and other unforeseen) things from happening.... Rock 'n Roll, lets do it.

Pannath

Shoklen wrote: »

I'd be completely down for a "support monitor" setup.

That said and the limited game programming knowledge I have; the second window would have to work outside the game engine itself and that could cause issues. Not so much as it "can't be done" but it might open up the system to modifications in ways that wouldn't be entirely sanctioned.

As far as I know you can not have two directx engines running with intercommunication and if current advancements in engines allow for this (Ive been out of the game for a few years, pun intended) it might not only increase security issues but also slight lag/latency times (two systems updating one another).

Could have the engine spit out xml to a read-only window which would work but for chat (since chat is a two way communication); but there could still be unforeseen integrity issues with data; and more so if there were two way communications between the game and support windows.

Just my two cents; I'd love to see it... Just not if it would cause data vulnerability or lag... If it can be done without those two (and other unforeseen) things from happening.... Rock 'n Roll, lets do it.

I wouldn't see why you couldn't do it. I know you can restrict a visual image in a game to a smaller resolution while still having blank area around it in some games. So if you made the 'screen' area to be the resolution of 2 adjacent screens and said the in game visuals to the normal resolution of one of the screens with an alignment in the direction of where your primary monitor was, then you could have a solid blank area that was still part of the game but not showing what your character normally see's.

I remember original everquest visuals used to be like a box that was a smaller subset of the screen with the rest of the screen area as other stuff.

So there must be a way to do this, technology is much better now.

Atama

That EQ screenshot fills me with so much nostalgia. I forgot what the UI was like in that game. Seeing that brought back a flood of memories.

Shoklen

Pannath wrote: »

I wouldn't see why you couldn't do it. I know you can restrict a visual image in a game to a smaller resolution while still having blank area around it in some games. So if you made the 'screen' area to be the resolution of 2 adjacent screens and said the in game visuals to the normal resolution of one of the screens with an alignment in the direction of where your primary monitor was, then you could have a solid blank area that was still part of the game but not showing what your character normally see's.

I remember original everquest visuals used to be like a box that was a smaller subset of the screen with the rest of the screen area as other stuff.

So there must be a way to do this, technology is much better now.

I guess you could... do "spanning" across two monitors if they had the same resolution then just partition out the directx area to just the first monitor. Make a giant directx engine window covering both monitors but only setup the directx camera to the first. Both would have to be "full screen" for that to work and align properly.

I know i can create two "window-forums" (windows) and have them communicate back and forth. I know going back to eq1 and eq2 days directx couldn't span windows (or do it properly); Im not sure if this has ever been overcome over the years.

I also agree, super nostalgia for the screenshot! Here is one from my collection!

Pannath

Shoklen wrote: »

I guess you could... do "spanning" across two monitors if they had the same resolution then just partition out the directx area to just the first monitor. Make a giant directx engine window covering both monitors but only setup the directx camera to the first. Both would have to be "full screen" for that to work and align properly.

I know i can create two "window-forums" (windows) and have them communicate back and forth. I know going back to eq1 and eq2 days directx couldn't span windows (or do it properly); Im not sure if this has ever been overcome over the years.

Maybe spanning wouldn't be needed either. Games can have multi monitor support without spanning. I was just using the original EQ ui to show that some of what was shown on screen didn't need to be visual, it could be UI space only. They must be able to set a second screen as just UI, and still have your mouse and windows to be able to move smoothly between them.

p.s. Is that a lightstone in your inventory?

Shoklen

Pannath wrote: »

Maybe spanning wouldn't be needed either. Games can have multi monitor support without spanning. I was just using the original EQ ui to show that some of what was shown on screen didn't need to be visual, it could be UI space only. They must be able to set a second screen as just UI, and still have your mouse and windows to be able to move smoothly between them.

p.s. Is that a lightstone in your inventory?

From my experience the UI resides within the engine.. Then you have the engine camera, the section that actually draws the world; but both the UI and Camera reside within the same "engine window".

What your talking about may very well work.

a Greater Lightstone!

Pannath

Optimally you could even have more than just 2 monitors and you could just choose to set them as either a view extension / different directional perspective, or as a support monitor.

I can't tell you how many times I've been in MMO's and had my view blocked by bringing up my map or other windows, and while I'm running / mount traveling I'm constantly bringing up and down my map for example to course correct.

You could probably even drag additional chat windows over to the other screen, make them tall, top of the screen to bottom (just because it stretches from the top to the bottom doesn't mean it has to go all the way from left to right mind you) up the font size and use it like a feed for a specific channel you're monitoring.

There are so many things I'd use this functionality for.

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