Resolution issues

This week, I faced a challenging bug in our game's settings functionality, specifically concerning screen resolution settings. Whenever players attempted to change the resolution, the settings would invariably revert to 640 x 480, irrespective of their choice. This issue was critical because it constrained players to a lower resolution, severely degrading the visual quality and player immersion. For a game that emphasizes aesthetics, this could deter users with high-end displays from fully engaging with and enjoying the game.  

The root cause of the resolution reset issue was identified as incorrect handling of resolution indices within our settings dropdown menu, compounded by duplicate resolution entries. To tackle this, I implemented a HashSet to filter out duplicate resolutions based on their width and height, ensuring that each dropdown option was unique. Additionally, I modified our event listener to correctly apply the selected resolution instantly, streamlining the user interface and allowing real-time adjustments. These changes not only fixed the bug but also significantly improved the user experience by enabling players to seamlessly select and maintain their desired resolutions, thereby enhancing the graphical fidelity and overall gameplay experience.

By Fraser Paterson
Date 4/26/2024