Code [Request] Downsampling Mutator

[Freezy]

Hello, would it be possible to create a mutator that renders the image at a higher resolution that your screen supports and then scales it back down to your screens max resolution?

Some thinking I did on this:
You would have to get the resolution set for the game, multiply the x and y axis with a factor, e.g. 2, hand the result to the rendering subsystem, let it do it's thing, catch the result before it gets send to the screen, scale it down (easiest would probably be to average a group auf 2x2 pixels into a single pixel) and send this result to the screen instead.

Is this even possible with a mutator or would this need sourcecode access?

I have some basic knowlegde of Java and read a bit about Unreal Script in the last hour, but I don't know where to start and guess my programming skills are not good enough to do it, hence the request.

 

[Ducky]

Can't be done by a mutator. It's a script language meaning slow execution times.

 

[Freezy]

okay, thanks for the quick response.

 

[Zetsumei]

I believe nvidia got an option that sort of works like that. Allowing you to run a game at a higher resolution while still displaying the game at your monitors native res.

 

[Mekhazzio]

Can't be done by a mutator. It's a script language meaning slow execution times.

That said, Unreal has an awful lot of built-in texture functions, and RO2 added behavior for scopes that might be able to be repurposed to this end. This could actually be possible.

 

[Ducky]

That said, Unreal has an awful lot of built-in texture functions, and RO2 added behavior for scopes that might be able to be repurposed to this end. This could actually be possible.

Possibly, but do we have client side only mutators in RO2? All clients would get down sampled if they play on a server that runs this mutator.

 

[Mekhazzio]

There aren't any mechanics for a client-only mutator, but you could set it up to where the server runs it, but it only takes effect for people who actually configure it on their client. You then get to pester all the major server operators to run it for you, which is unlikely to get much traction, but at least it's something.

 

[ro_sauce]

i'd run it for those who wanted it.

but you could always use nvidia's tool to force it.

 

[Freezy]

I didn't expect that much feedback on this
I'm using an AMD card, so no Nvidia tool for me. There is a work in progress tool for AMD cards too, but you have to create and install a custom .inf for your screen, even run your desktop downsampled for it to work and your screen has to accept the higher res signal and be able to downscale it.

A mutator or officially built-in function would be a lot less messy to work with.
UE has a upscale function (ScreenPercentage setting;currently broken in RO2, bug report: [url]http://forums.tripwireinteractive.com/showthread.php?t=83447[/URL]) but unfortunately it doesn't accept values above 100%, I tried it.
If this function could be enhanced to work with higher values and to downscale the image instead of upscale it, we would have a .ini setting for the more experienced user to check out and less experienced players wouldn't see it in the options screen, set it to the max and complain about the bad performance afterwards. But I guess it's not possible to modify this without sourcecode access.

A few games that have built-in downsampling for example:
Trine 2
The Witcher 2
Sniper Elite V2
Arma 2