Support for lower resolutions for portable PC's

I know it isn't supported as such, but as smaller portable pc's are becoming popular, it's more and more desirable to be able to run the game at a lower resolution. Case in point is the SteamDeck, which I have been able to run GalCiv IV on. My problem is that many UI components don't scale down, so you are left with UI windows that you can't click on because the overlap others. I can force a higher resolution such as 1920x1080 and the Deck will scale it down, but you end up with bad performance. In comparison, I have no issues running Stellaris and Endless Space 2, albeit with small text and some small UI elements. Please consider supporting a more scalable UI for this aim. Thanks.

37,134 views 16 replies
Reply #1 Top

I just turnned everything down and reset my nVidea Control panel/Manage 3D settings to as low as it would go for this game.

I am about the stratagy; not the eye candy.

Reply #2 Top

It's not really full about performance. It's weird that the UI can't scale down. Other similar games don't have any trouble displaying at lower resolutions. 

Reply #3 Top

I appreciate the feedback. Unfortunately, the UI was designed with 1920x1080 as a minimum and GC4 has a LOT of screens so there isn't any current plans to make a smaller resolution.

I haven't tried it on a SteamDeck, are the text heavy screens readable?

Reply #4 Top

Yes, the problem is that the UI doesn't fit in some screens (main UI is fine though). The alternative is to run at 1920x1080 and it's perfectly usable, but performance and battery life is subpar as it's a much higher than native res.

Reply #5 Top

I want to emphatically second this.

There will be an army of players wishing the same.

Strategy like Gal Civ is perfect for the SteamDeck and other handheld consoles. Sit back, relax, take it easy and play at your own pace. Lovely.

But we can't because of the UI not scaling. 

Reply #6 Top

Hey all,

I have good news! The team here at Stardock is working on 720p support and it is currently expected to be ready sometime in February, although that planned date is of course subject to change.

-RealMutter/Mperlmuter

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Reply #7 Top

Quoting mperlmuter, reply 6

Hey all,

I have good news! The team here at Stardock is working on 720p support and it is currently expected to be ready sometime in February, although that planned date is of course subject to change.

-RealMutter/Mperlmuter

OH MY GOD. 

Thank you so much. I am so happy right now. 

Reply #8 Top

This will help my temps tremenously.

Reply #11 Top

Hi all, 

I hope the 720p resolution is working well for those using it! I'd love to know what you think of it along with any other game-related suggestions for improvement if anything comes to mind.

RealMutter/Mperlmuter

Reply #12 Top

Haven't tested but I now have a Legion Go which is a different aspect ratio and the target resolution is 1280x800p or 1920x1200p. While the second one works, the performance was still not great and the UI scaling was small. Please also check this usage case.

Reply #13 Top

Quoting mperlmuter, reply 11

Hi all, 

I hope the 720p resolution is working well for those using it! I'd love to know what you think of it along with any other game-related suggestions for improvement if anything comes to mind.

RealMutter/Mperlmuter

 

So far so good.

I am using on an original Steam Deck but with Windows 11.

Scaling seems to be working perfectly. Font size is obviously on the smaller side but perfectly readable without much issue.

Performance is much better than using a higher resolution like I have been. Battery life does still drain fast with the game though.

I was receiving a repeatable crash once I switched builds. This occurred when starting a new game, after selecting a race. Clicking the next button crashed the game. I went into the tutorial (which loaded fine), then tried again to start a normal game...this time it worked. Worked every time since. So not sure on that one.

But yes, I am so grateful for the 720p mode. You've opened the game up to Steam Deck users for sure. It looks superb to me. Thank you again!!!

Reply #14 Top

On the Go, 800p is only working in windowed mode. If you change to Fullscreen it defaults to the highest display resolution no matter what.

Reply #15 Top

Only way I have to play the game at Fullscreen is to use an application like Lossless scaling that scales the window.