Widescreen Gaming Forum

First of all, great forum! I've been lurking for answers ever since I got a widescreen monitor, and I've always found them here, but now I've hit a snag;

I went through the confirmed Hor+ solution for Contracts over here;
http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1405&highlight=hitman+contracts#1405

And I can change the resolution perfectly, but I have no clue what to put in the Hitman Contracts FOV tool. I've got a 1680x1050 (16:10) monitor, so I know to put that in the WSGF FOV Calculator - however I don't know the default FOV, so I have no point of reference to put in there.

The HC FOV Tool defaults the FOV to a value of 2, but that just turns everything into psychedelics, and the recommended 0,505 value is probably meant for 2 or more monitors/surround gaming. I've been tinkering forever to find out the game's default FOV (by alternatively switching the tool on and off, measuring 47's shoulder broadness, and adjusting the FOV accordingly, I shit you not, but it's been getting me nowhere).

From the solution thread;

Hello ...
The example below is for Surround Gaming... but you should be able to get get Hitman Contracts to work widescreen just follow the instructions below but put in your screens resolution ... and adjust the FOV tool to suit ... Very Happy

And it goes on to mention the values for surround gaming, but I haven't a clue to get it correctly for the widescreen 16:10 res. of 1680x1050
:cry:

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

edit: oh I'm using the latest Hitman 3 patch (174), running XP SP2 (if it matters).

I have some battles with stuff like this.

The camera distance with the Hitman Contracts should be default game. You should only need to change the FOV.

What you need to do is take a 4:3 screenshot and then line it up. If you can go as high as 1920x1200 you can get the numbers exactly and then use that for your 1680x1050 (both 16:10). The vertical screen edges should be exactlythe same.

I will try and fool with it some and get the values if you do not have any luck.

EDIT - I say use 1920x1200 because 1600x1200 is an exact vertical match. You can then use the 16:10 values for any 16:10 resolution.

For 15:9 you can also use 1024x768.

16:9 does not have an exact vertical match but you can use 1920x1200 and 1920x1080 to get it right.

I have some battles with stuff like this.

The camera distance with the Hitman Contracts should be default game. You should only need to change the FOV.

So I should check the "ignore" checkbox in the HC FOV Tool for the camera distance setting? (the TOCA Edit thing).

What you need to do is take a 4:3 screenshot and then line it up. If you can go as high as 1920x1200 you can get the numbers exactly and then use that for your 1680x1050 (both 16:10). The vertical screen edges should be exactlythe same.

I've taken screenshots on 1024x768 and 1600x1200, but I don't think my monitor can handle anything as high as 1920x1200 (or 1920x1080 for that matter), the screenshots ofcourse look fine (not in-game, where it's stretched, but afterwards in Photoshop), with correct proportions (i.e. 47 doesn't look like a chubby midget with comically oversized shoes :) ).

When I take a screenshot in 1680x1050 without the FOV tool it looks stretched even afterwards in Photoshop. I've tried every setting for the FOV tool with 0.05 increments from 0 to 2, but none seems to correct anything, really (it does change the FOV, but 47 and everything remains squashed vertically, like the aforementioned chubby midget).

I will try and fool with it some and get the values if you do not have any luck.

EDIT - I say use 1920x1200 because 1600x1200 is an exact vertical match. You can then use the 16:10 values for any 16:10 resolution.

For 15:9 you can also use 1024x768.

16:9 does not have an exact vertical match but you can use 1920x1200 and 1920x1080 to get it right.

No luck so far, but I'll keep on trying, thanks!

Okay I found out the source of the problem. The hack tool does not change the aspect ratio which is needed for proper Hor +.

Here is what is happening. The game wants a 4:3 aspect ratio. When your desktop has a 4:3 aspect ratio the game displays the ratio correctly. When you use a desktop without a 4:3 aspect ratio the game stretches the image to compensate. Even further, if you play the game in a 4:3 resolution with a non-4:3 desktop the game still stretches!

So if you have a 4:3 desktop the game will not stretch the image in widescreen. However, the game will only display based on what your desktop res is. So you need a higher desktop resolution than what the game is running at.

If you can do this the game is Vert -. That can then be fixed with the hack tool.



Huh? 8) What does all that mean?



Because the widescreen solution is running the game in a window the desktop aspect ratio and resolution are affecting the result. If someone found a way for widescreen without the windowed option this problem may go away.

If you want to play the game at 1680x1050 you would need a higher 4:3 desktop res(1920x1440) to get the game Vert -. You would then use the tool (FOV) to get the game Hor +.

A lot of work and a high maintenance solution.

1600x1200 with a 4:3 desktop


1600x1200 with a 16:10 desktop (stretched)


1920x1200 with a 16:10 desktop(stretched)


1920x1200 with a 4:3 desktop (vert -)

Ah! Thanks for that! So the best thing I could do if I really wanted to play this game at correct AR would be for me to set HC to a 1280x800 resolution and my desktop resolution to 1400x1050 (4:3) before launching the game.

Thanks! I'm going to try this tonight and will let you know if it worked! But man, this is a little more complicated than the original solution cared to explain :)

Sorry guys I can't be of much help ...
At the time I put up the post regarding the FOV tool I did not have a widescreen and so I could not test it although I couldn't at that time see why it should not work for widescreens.
I no longer have the game so I can't test it or check it out now.

Having read the posts above I can't work out what is going on and I certainly can't remember the details of how this game worked/behaved for me four years ago.


That said ... dunno if it will help as you guys seemed to have tried everything ...

What I usually do to get the Widescreen/TripleHead image correct compared to a 4:3/5:4 image is ...

I first take a screenshot at 4:3/5:4 ... from a saved point in the game that I can get back to.
This screenshot then needs to be scaled to match the hight of the Widescreen/TripleHead resolution that I intend to use.
So ...
I take a screenshot at say 1280x1024 ... I scale it in Photoshop to 1050 high to match the hight of my widescreen res ... 1680x1050.

I put this image up as a wallpaper in the centre of my Widescreen ... so that it is not stretched ...
I then use 3 bits of masking tape on the screen to point to key areas like the hight of the character and the width of the character.

I start the game up using the Widescreen/TripleHead resolution then tweak the sliders of the FOV tool to line up the image in the game with the bits of tape.

I hope that helps ... but it is very difficult to advise as I no longer have the game to check it out for you.



EDIT:
Did you guys see this ... maybe it will help ... ?
http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=39257&highlight=hitman#39257

Thanks Paddy.

If what i think is happening is true than the initial pic you took in 1280x1024 will have already been stretched by the desktop aspect ratio.

So your compariosn pics would look Vert - without the hack.

As I do not have triplehead resolutuions I cannot verify this behavior.

But since there are no pics available to show us otherwise I will assume for the time being that what I said applies to all aspect ratios including triplehead.

If what i think is happening is true than the initial pic you took in 1280x1024 will have already been stretched by the desktop aspect ratio.

Well normally screenshots of stretched games do not come out stretched ... it is the scaling to your widescreen that stretches them but the screenshots come out unstretched.
It could be different with this game or shots from within a window.
Run the game not in windowed mode at a 4:3 or 5:4 resolution take a screenshot see if it is stretched ... it shouldn't be.

It is my understanding that the game needs to run in a window for widescreen. Which I think it is the source of the problems.

EDIT

Ah, nevermind. The game does not need the window command to run. But it is still stretched.



So when it is run in a window it keeps the aspect of the desktop.

But if you run it at a 4:3 res not in a window and take a screenshot does it not come out unstretched at the 4:3 res ? (even though it might appear stretched on the widescreen whilst playing)