throwawayname
Member
I hate it, especially in Red Dead Redemption.
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Playing the FF15 demo: What is it HD Gaming & Size 6 point fonts?
- Thread starter Dice//
- Start date
threelights
Member
Noo, but I can't have my minimalistic UI taking so much space from the game!!! I'll miss the visuals!!!
Seriously, enlarge that UI.
Xenoblade on the Wii was great about it. I could see and read everything I wanted.
Seriously, enlarge that UI.
Xenoblade on the Wii was great about it. I could see and read everything I wanted.
bloodforge
Member
Stop sitting 80feet from your 40inch tv.
Yeah, that's definitely an issue in the HD era. Ridiculously small fonts. I guess designers are still figuring it out (Or I hope they are), but damn, this isn't even a knew thing. Mass Effect 2 had this issue, what, five years ago?
The FFXV demo doesn't bother me, but Type-0 and also FFXIV drive me nuts.
The FFXV demo doesn't bother me, but Type-0 and also FFXIV drive me nuts.
SerTapTap
Member
I kept hoping this would stop sometime last gen. I don't get why it hasn't ended. It's not in all games, and yeah this is a demo so I hope it's improved in the real game, but it's still a common enough problem in games.
I'm sitting 5 feet from my 42" and if I didn't already know their names I would barely be able to read the HP/etc display in FF15 demo
I'm sitting 5 feet from my 42" and if I didn't already know their names I would barely be able to read the HP/etc display in FF15 demo
It wouldn't hurt if developers just added a few options in regard to the presentation of a UI. It's fine on PC (ironically because PC games tend to allow so much customization) because you sit 2 feet away from a monitor and so even the tiniest of fonts is probably readable.
But for some reason, many developers, since the advent of HD gaming have kept the tiny PC font size in place. When you view an HDTV from it's intended distance, especially if it happens to be a 1080p game , the font is sometimes 6-8 pixels tall. It's not so much that it's impossible to read, but moreso that it's harder than it needs to be.
For those that like a super clean HUD and a minimal tiny font UI , just give them the option of switching.
In FFXV's case they could even make the UI small when not in combat and then , when a fight starts , it could get a little bigger.
But for some reason, many developers, since the advent of HD gaming have kept the tiny PC font size in place. When you view an HDTV from it's intended distance, especially if it happens to be a 1080p game , the font is sometimes 6-8 pixels tall. It's not so much that it's impossible to read, but moreso that it's harder than it needs to be.
For those that like a super clean HUD and a minimal tiny font UI , just give them the option of switching.
In FFXV's case they could even make the UI small when not in combat and then , when a fight starts , it could get a little bigger.
Iorv3th
Member
Because in a pc game you are normally sitting a foot or two away from the screen.
Langdon Alger
Banned
I have trouble reading the tiny font and UI in almost every game I play. I have no idea why the default font these days is microscopic. I'd give anything for adjustable font and UI sizes in games.
Trigonometrize.
Member
Sometimes I have a hard time reading the text in Oreshika. It isn't puny but they could've bumped it up a size or two.
Vulcano's assistant
Banned
I understood it of PC to console developers like Bioware, but it is weird coming from Jrpg developers.
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
I hate when I've got to get off the recliner and pull a different chair up closer to my TV to see those tiny little fonts.
Emulated Hype
Member
The hud in GTA5 is bad in general, last gen I had to completely rely on auto-aim otherwise it'd be sitting 3 feet from the tv just to see the reticle. The resolution bump helped a bit this gen, but it's still an eyesore.
I wish more devs and designers would look at how the skyui team fixed the menus and hud in Skyrim on pc. Hell, adapt Gophers ihud mod while you're at it and map the ability to hide the hud to some obscure corner of the touchpad.
I wish more devs and designers would look at how the skyui team fixed the menus and hud in Skyrim on pc. Hell, adapt Gophers ihud mod while you're at it and map the ability to hide the hud to some obscure corner of the touchpad.
makingmusic476
Member
I think XV's menus are beautiful, but that are practically impossible to read.
I hope they fix this before release.
I hope they fix this before release.
I think they assume everyone has massive TVs and that everyone sits close enough that it fills your view. Anyone with a TV on the wall watching from the sofa will struggle unless they've got some ridiculous 100inch projector or something... I do sit right in front of my puny 32inch TV so this isn't such an issue but it would be nice if they at least had 3 different font sizes so we can customise to our needs/tastes.
Also I've always thought many RPGs have pretty awful UI, it always looks so ugly usually with a horrible colour pallete and too much text. Good UI should be clear and concise, giving you glanceable information. If you need to squint at it and decipher icons and text it's not a good UI.
Also I've always thought many RPGs have pretty awful UI, it always looks so ugly usually with a horrible colour pallete and too much text. Good UI should be clear and concise, giving you glanceable information. If you need to squint at it and decipher icons and text it's not a good UI.
Langdon Alger
Banned
A lot if older people play video games these days. They aren't just for kids sitting a foot away from their 80 inch screens. They should make font sizes adjustable.
I agree. More accessibility options is always good.
Dice//
Banned
Don't see how bifocals can help more than just size options, but thanks for the helpful sass.
AuthenticM
Member
The "i"s are so fucking tiny and easily missed. They need to fix that.
TimeEffect
Member
My vision is blurrier now looking at the TV screen and I am really sad my eyes have gotten so bad.
But when I play with my glasses, text is super sharp and really small text is perfectly legible.
You might just need glasses.
But when I play with my glasses, text is super sharp and really small text is perfectly legible.
You might just need glasses.
Issue might also be that some TVs output HD resolution really bad (because 1 pixel is displayed as 1.5 pixels on screens or something like that, don't know the specifics). Always worth investing in a seperate (LED) monitor to play games.
I feel more comfortable sitting in front of a screen and not several meters away from it, when playing games, but I understand some people like to be far away in a couch or something, but developers don't develop games that way and are always close to the screen, so that's also why HUD can be considered too small.
I'm personally fine with the HUD size and lite-ness in FFXV, and seriously hope they don't clutter the screen too much. Having the option to scale it would be really cool, the more customization, the better!
I feel more comfortable sitting in front of a screen and not several meters away from it, when playing games, but I understand some people like to be far away in a couch or something, but developers don't develop games that way and are always close to the screen, so that's also why HUD can be considered too small.
I'm personally fine with the HUD size and lite-ness in FFXV, and seriously hope they don't clutter the screen too much. Having the option to scale it would be really cool, the more customization, the better!
Depends on how I'm feeling and what I'm playing. One of the theoretical advantages of comfy couch gaming is that I'm not stuck with a particular seat arrangement. I haven't paid to close attention to what I'm doing with my current setup, but when I was gaming on a 37" screen, my distance would vary from six to eleven feet.
Granted, I haven't had a ton of problems, but a few games have occasionally been annoying.
What really annoys me is fonts that stab your eyes. I'm looking at you, Halo 4.
Yeah, I'm curious too. I'm about 8 ft from a 50" with no issues. If I wasn't wearing my glasses there's no way I could read it, but with them on it's fine.
I'm 7 feet from my 47" and I can read everything.
You can change the sizes of every individual UI box in Final Fantasy XIV, including the dialog box
whiteninja
Member
I couldnt play the pc version of FFXIV on my tv because of this. I couldnt find any way to increase the text size and only certain parts of the UI could be enlarged but not by much. Is the console version any better?
BrokenEchelon
Banned
Japanese developers seem to have an infatuation with using terrible fonts in the HD era. Capcom especially.
I only like it when I'm playing on the big living room TV, since it results in less clutter. I think the UI in the XV demo is very aesthetically pleasing.
When I'm playing on the smaller HDTV upstairs, I start to notice these small fonts in a number of games, and it becomes frustrating to deal with.
When I'm playing on the smaller HDTV upstairs, I start to notice these small fonts in a number of games, and it becomes frustrating to deal with.
Neff
Member
It's been this way for a long, long damn time now. Developers like reminding us that we've (mostly) moved on from sub-30" TVs and show the fact off with microscopic text. It gives the impression of having more visual real estate than we used to.
Unfortunately, it can be very annoying, especially if you have a small TV.
I do miss big fonts, particularly the screen-dominating, impactful arcade style messages.
Unfortunately, it can be very annoying, especially if you have a small TV.
I do miss big fonts, particularly the screen-dominating, impactful arcade style messages.
This was a huge problem in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts at first. Thankfully, Rare later responded by patching the game to increase the font size.
Mind reader!
Mind reader!
You can change the text size in the chat box. For every other window in the UI, the font scales to size. I'll upload a picture in a second. This is regarding the PC version btw
No, just a readable one.
We want text that is readable being "far" away from the TV.
Is this bad? Does this take half your screen?
Exactly why is this better?
I get that some people (me included) play on really big TVs and / or close to them, but there is no reason there shouldn't be, at the very least, a big / small toggle for text.
Dice//
Banned
Brilliant examples
"You want a UI that takes up half a percent of your screen?" just doesn't have the same ring.
MagnoSauce
Member
Yep, and why does every mobile port of an old game have to have the most sterile, business-y looking font? It takes a pretty heavy toll on immersion. What would be wrong with a pixel-art type font?
A big offender to me here is the Ace Attorney Trilogy, even though it's on 3DS. Ugly new art aside, the new font is just an insult to the charm of the game. The Final Fantasy mobile ports are the archetype of this problem though. So ugly.
GravityMan
Member
A lot of people these days game in their living rooms, sitting on their couches with the TV on a stand or mounted to the wall on the other end of the room. For an average sized living room, the sofa is about 10 feet away from the TV for most folks. People in this situation should be looking at 55" - 65" 1080p TVs (bigger if 4K) for ideal viewing. 50" 1080p is cutting it close but is also alright. Smaller than that is too small.
FFXV wasn't too bad for me in this regard...most of the text was readable from my living room couch. The Witcher 2 was much worse (even with the font mod), which is why I either play it at my desk (monitor) or in my bedroom (sitting on bed 3-4 feet away from my 40" 1080p TV in there).
I do agree that a few adjustable font options is a good idea, but the UI team needs to plan for that from the get-go instead of shoehorning it in after the fact. I don't think anyone's asking devs to implement huge fonts that cover half the screen, just the option of a bit bigger or a bit smaller, with the defaults optimized for a 10-foot distance. Not everyone can afford to just grab a huge TV on a whim, and rearranging the living room isn't an option for everyone either (their SO may not like it, etc.).
FFXV wasn't too bad for me in this regard...most of the text was readable from my living room couch. The Witcher 2 was much worse (even with the font mod), which is why I either play it at my desk (monitor) or in my bedroom (sitting on bed 3-4 feet away from my 40" 1080p TV in there).
I do agree that a few adjustable font options is a good idea, but the UI team needs to plan for that from the get-go instead of shoehorning it in after the fact. I don't think anyone's asking devs to implement huge fonts that cover half the screen, just the option of a bit bigger or a bit smaller, with the defaults optimized for a 10-foot distance. Not everyone can afford to just grab a huge TV on a whim, and rearranging the living room isn't an option for everyone either (their SO may not like it, etc.).
foolishoptimist
Member
Devs knew they needed to test their games on a CRT TV back in the day. You had to deal with overscan. Fonts needed to be quite large to avoid blurring/bleeding.
The dev I worked for had an intentionally crappy quality CRT TV for QA. "If it works on that, it'll work everywhere, and pass all the checks."
But with HD tvs, the issues that faced CRT display are gone, so now devs are often not testing on a real tv, since a monitor is going to replicate any flaws. And if they are, they're often not setup to replicate a worst case living room scenario.
The dev I worked for had an intentionally crappy quality CRT TV for QA. "If it works on that, it'll work everywhere, and pass all the checks."
But with HD tvs, the issues that faced CRT display are gone, so now devs are often not testing on a real tv, since a monitor is going to replicate any flaws. And if they are, they're often not setup to replicate a worst case living room scenario.
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