Need Help Changing video/lighting settings in Windowed mode

[BobSasZele]

Greetings,

When I run the game,New Horizons included, in Windowed mode, the video/lighting settings (contrast, gamma, brightness) stick to the default values, regardless of where the slider bars are set The values in the "options" file work in full screen, but not in Windowed mode.

Is there some option somewhere that I need to uncheck or check in order to make it work? Or is it impossible, because of some ridiculous limitation of the Storm engine? I remember having the same issue with CoAS.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Pieter Boelen]

I believe this is the trade-off of running on windowed mode.

Perhaps @ChezJfrey's Maelstrom engine for CoAS (and others) has this updated?

 

[BobSasZele]

I believe this is the trade-off of running on windowed mode.

Perhaps @ChezJfrey's Maelstrom engine for CoAS (and others) has this updated?

Thank you very much! It's good to finally know for sure.

 

[ChezJfrey]

DirectX 8 and DirectX 9 specifically disallow those settings while in Windowed mode: IDirect3DDevice9::SetGammaRamp (d3d9.h) - Win32 apps

That feature specifically uses SetGammaRamp function and from the docs:

In DirectX 8, SetGammaRamp will set the gamma ramp only on a full-screen mode application.

Though it also states that DX9 can replicate the behavior while windowed, if using swap chain,

For windowed gamma correction presentation, use IDirect3DSwapChain9:resent if the hardware supports the feature.

then goes on to state if certain flags are set, and the back buffer is floating 16 bit, etc., but then the docs also later state: Gamma Controls (Direct3D 9) - Win32 apps

When setting new ramp levels, keep in mind that the levels you set in the arrays are only used when your application is in full-screen, exclusive mode. Whenever your application changes to normal mode, the ramp levels are set aside, taking effect again when the application reinstates full-screen mode.

Which is directly contrary, since now it says that you still have to re-instate/use fullscreen to actually take effect.

In any case, if the front buffer supports 32 bit, the back buffer is set to match, and nearly all support 32 bit, so I never even bothered to continue to try converting to a 16 back buffer and experiment anyway...wasn't worth the trouble only to probably find that the last statement is indeed true and it still needs fullscreen.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

DirectX 8 and DirectX 9 specifically disallow those settings while in Windowed mode: IDirect3DDevice9::SetGammaRamp (d3d9.h) - Win32 apps

Ah, so that's outside the engine altogether!
Nothing much to be done about it then.

I never even bothered to continue to try converting to a 16 back buffer and experiment anyway...wasn't worth the trouble only to probably find that the last statement is indeed true and it still needs fullscreen.

Sounds fair enough to me.