/==============================================\ | Resolution Changer for BVE Trainsim v2.6.0.3 | | -------------------------------------------- | | Version 1.0.0.0 | \==============================================/ --------------------- - Table of contents - --------------------- 1. Quick start 2. What this program is for 3. How to use this program 4. How this program works 5. Which restrictions apply 6. Version history 7. Contact information 8. Source code ------------------ - 1. Quick start - ------------------ This program requires Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 installed on your computer. If you don't have it installed already, you can download it from here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=0856eacb-4362-4b0d-8edd-aab15c5e04f5&displaylang=en Place the program ResChangerBve2.exe, which was supplied in the package you downloaded, in your BVE 2 directory, usually C:\Program Files\BVE. Then start the tool from within your BVE directory. If you want to use languages other than English, please copy the language files, too. You can safely delete this readme and the source code folder if you don't need them. When run for the first time, you will be prompted to select the language you want to use. You can later change it from the 'Interface language' tab. You can make all the adjustments you want within the tool and then click 'Patch' to apply the settings or click 'Patch and run' to run BVE directly. Once you have applied the settings, you can run BVE.exe as usual. If you want to undo the changes you made and restore the original BVE settings, open the tool and click 'Restore'. ------------------------------- - 2. What this program is for - ------------------------------- BVE 2 was programmed with only one resolution (640x480) in mind. This program allows you to choose any resolution you want both in window mode and fullscreen mode, to choose between multiple interface layouts, to toggle on and off various interface elements and to change colors. All aspect ratios are supported, so you can play BVE on your high resolution widescreen monitor in 1680x1050, on your big screen HD TV in 1920x1080, as well as on your CRT monitor in 1600x1200. If you want to have a bigger window in window mode, you can do so, too. When increasing the display resolution, BVE's information bars on the right and bottom of the screen will move accordingly and the 3D view will be enlarged. You have the option to play BVE with cabs in their original size, which is the default. In this mode, the cab will be at the lower-left corner of the screen, which might only look good for 480x200 cabs (like the one used in the Uchibo route), but not for fullscreen cabs (480x440), which are overlayed over the 3D view. However, you can also play with properly resized cabs, which will then cover most of the screen, but they might require more system memory to run. ------------------------------ - 3. How to use this program - ------------------------------ After you have placed the ResChangerBve2.exe inside your BVE directory and opened the tool, you can do the following: To change the display resolution, go to the 'Display' tab. For window mode, enter any value you want in the width and height fields. There aren't any restrictions applying. For fullscreen mode, however, you should choose only those resolutions that are compatible with your graphics card and monitor. All compatible resolutions are easily selectable from a drop down menu. It's recommended that you use 32 bits and use the highest frequency available for a certain resolution, but you can also use any other setting and even enter your own by choosing 'Custom' from the drop down menu. BVE might run faster in 16 bits, but might also look slightly worse. Also, you can set the viewing distance to any value from 25 to 600 in steps of 25. BVE itself only allows values between 200 and 600 in steps of 100. Please note that after you start using this program, you can only change between window mode and fullscren mode from within this tool. BVE will always report that it's running in window mode and any change you make in BVE's Display Mode Configuration will have no effect. There are multiple layouts available you can choose from in the 'Layout' tab: (*) Classic: This style resembles the original BVE layout with the pane at the right side. For higher resolutions, the handle indicators and ATS lamps will be at the bottom-right of the screen and the signal preview, station preview etc. will stay at the top-right. (*) Condensed: This style removes the pane at the right of the screen and instead places the signal preview, station preview etc. to the right of the cab. The 3D view will occupy the full width in this layout. You cannot use this mode with resized cabs. You need to run at least in 800x600 to use this mode, but lower resolutions will also work when the cab is turned off. (*) Compact: This style removes both the right and bottom panes and hides almost all indicators, like the signal preview, the ATS lamps, etc. Only the handles and the station preview will be available, which are placed at the bottom-right corner of the screen. The 3D view will almost completely cover the screen. You need to run at least in 800x600 to use this mode, but lower resolutions will also work with resized cabs or when the cab is turned off. (*) Full screen: This style only shows the cab and nothing else. You should only use trains which indicate the status of the handles as part of the cab, or otherwise you might not know whether you drive forward or backward, accelerate or brake, etc. To open the menu inside BVE, you have to press the ALT key. You need to run at least in 800x600 to use this mode, but lower resolutions will also work with resized cabs or when the cab is turned off. The alignment of the interface elements might be slightly different in some layouts with resized cabs or when the cab is turned off. There are various interface elements BVE uses, for example the signal preview, station name preview, curve radius notification, pitch notification, marker images (used by routes to represent signs, special instructions, labels, etc.), speed limit preview and more. You can turn each of them on and off individually in the 'Appearance' tab. Note that the stop and shake indicators only work in 640x480 with the classic layout, and for some layouts not all of the elements will be available. You can select how the cab will be displayed by choosing one of the options in the 'Cab interpolation' drop down menu. The default is not to resize the cab at all, but to display the cab in its original size at the lower-left corner of the screen. When you choose to resize the cab, there are multiple quality options available, which will only affect the speed of conversion but not the speed of the game. Widescreen resolutions are not recommended in this mode, because there would be too little space left for the 3D view. You will have to use the custom route and train selection for this mode to work. However, you can also turn the cab off completely. You can enable a custom route and train selection dialog, which is displayed each time you start BVE. In this dialog you can choose the route as usual, but you can also change the train used for that route. This mode is required for resized cabs. To open a route, you will have to restart BVE so this custom dialog can appear again. You can change the color of the background the signal preview etc. reside on by clicking on the 'Color' button and choosing the color you like. You can restore the original color by clicking on 'Original'. ----------------------------- - 4. How this program works - ----------------------------- When run for the first time, the tool will create a backup of the original BVE.exe called BVE.exe.original. Do not delete this file as the tool requires it to work. This tool patches the locations and sizes of the various interface elements depending on the resolution and layout you choose directly to the BVE executable. A change of the window size or fullscreen display resolution is not currently possible this way, though. Therefore, when patching the game, your BVE.exe will be renamed Game.exe and a starter application will take BVE.exe's place. This starter application changes the display resolution (fullscreen mode only) prior to running Game.exe (the actual BVE), then starts Game.exe forcibly in window mode (so BVE can't change the resolution to its default 640x480) and then at run-time resizes BVE's window to the resolution you specified. The starter application will then terminate for window mode, or will wait until BVE closes and change the display resolution back for fullscreen mode. Please do not wonder why your BVE.exe will only be a few kilobytes in size and has a different logo, because it's the starter application. If you want to run BVE, still run BVE.exe and totally ignore the Game.exe that get's created. Running Game.exe directly would not get you higher resolutions, and worse, most of the interface elements could be off-screen. The starter application identifies the window that it's supposed to resize by its title 'BVE'. You shouldn't have any other Visual Basic applications running which have a window with the same title, otherwise the starter application might resize the wrong window. An Explorer window will not cause any problems. As none of the programs you might have running in the background (like anti-virus software) were probably written in Visual Basic and have a window called 'BVE' at the same time, there is basically nothing to worry about, but it's still mentioned here in any case. When the custom route and train selection dialog is enabled, the starter application will show this dialog each time you start BVE. When you choose to resize cabs, the starter application is also responsible for creating copies of the route (as reschanger2route.csv or reschanger2route.rw) and train (as reschangertrain). These copies will be modified to match the resolution and layout of your choice. BVE is then started to load this setup instead of the original route and train. The original files are not changed in any way. There might be a short delay when starting BVE and when BVE's window gets resized to the resolution you specified. ------------------------------- - 5. Which restrictions apply - ------------------------------- (*) When you choose to resize cabs, you will have to load routes using the custom route and train selection dialog at startup. Loading a route from within BVE will not give you resized cabs. (*) You need to change between window mode and fullscreen mode from within this tool. Settings in BVE will have no effect once you patched the game. (*) The stop and shake markers will only appear in 640x480 and only with the classic layout. (*) BVE.exe will be replaced by a starter application as described in section 4. This might cause a slight delay when starting the game and when the window size will be changed at run-time. (*) You should not have any other Visual Basic application running which has a window with title 'BVE' when starting the game. An Explorer window doesn't fall into this category and will not cause any problems. ---------------------- - 6. Version history - ---------------------- Version 1.0.0.0 (2008-02-25): (*) This is the first official release. -------------------------- - 7. Contact information - -------------------------- You can contact me via email: reschanger@gmail.com You could also consider reading or posting on the following forums: http://www.trainsimcentral.co.uk/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1717 http://railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=16516 ---------------------- - 8. The source code - ---------------------- If you are a programmer and are interested in what the tool does to your computer, you can take a look at the source code. If you want to modify the tool to your needs, want to redistribute it in any way, you have the possibility to do so.