Widescreen Method

The following terms were coined by the members of the WSGF to describe how widescreen support is enabled in a particular game.

Native

A game with native support offers access to widescreen resolutions through in-game menus.

.ini

With .ini support, a configuration file must be editing. Values may changed and/or lines added. Changes include adding widescreen resolutions, or setting a proper widescreen FOV. The name comes from the fact that configuration files often have "ini" as their file extension. "Cfg" is also a common file extension.

Cmd Line

This type of widescreen method enables widescreen by launching the game's executable with specific parameters, usually specifying the resolution. Creating a shortcut and adding parameters is often the easiest way to do this.

Console

A game whose widescreen method is "Console" is a game where enabling widescreen requires typing a command in the ingame console. The command is usually one that increases the FOV. Most games with this solution "forget" the FOV setting as soon as you quit the game, and require the command to be typed in every time you restart the game. Many of them "forget" it at the beginning of each level, or even during cut-scenes.

Registry

A game with Registry support requires editing the Windows registry. Caution and familiarity with the Windows registry is advised for these solutions, because changing the wrong thing in your registry can prevent your software from working, and as a worst case scenario, can render your system unstable and require a reinstall of Windows. The common directory structure to find any potential registry keys is ""HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\\

Hack

This type of game requires a small 3rd Party program to change a specific part of the game code, or memory address. Hacks are often created so that users to not have to manually edit HEX code to add widescreen resolutions (often replacing a "low-end" resolution such as 640x480 or 800x600). Examples include tools such as those released by Toca Edit (Racer_S) ,the UniWS from the WSGF or the Multi-Game Widescreen Fixer released by Dopefish.