Does having higher resolution, mean more on-screen content? [PC Gaming]

[Jose_49]

I remember a couple of years ago seeing a World of Warcraft screenshot comparing the different resolutions, and noticing that there was indeed more content in higher resolutions vs fewer. I mean, the screen was displaying more content. (720p vs 1440p)

 

Then, I have tried doing this with other games, like Assassin's Creed , (1920*1080p vs 1400*900) the screen's content is the same. 

 

So, is this true for all games, or just for some like World of Warcraft... Furthemore, am I smoking or the thing that I saw was an illusion (can't remember well how did I find it)

[Nick H. Supervisor]

It wouldn't make any sense, would it?

"Guys, let's create a game with content, but only if you've paid <X> amount do you..."

Wait...

Honestly, I don't know. But sarcasm aside, I stand by my first sentence.

EDIT: For context and to avoid a fight over semantics, <X> would be the price of a higher resolution screen. But that ruins the joke. ;)

[Draconian Guppy]

 

[Nagisan]

I believe he means how much you see onscreen. It depends on the game honestly. As long as the aspect ratio between two resolutions is the same, as well as the field of view, then they should display the same thing.

 

If you increase FoV, you will see more as everything is "zoomed out" a bit.

 

Some games have a forced aspect ratio, so if it is forced 16:10 and you run a 16:9 monitor, the game will actually show more width-wise on your monitor than it would on a 16:10 (because it has to shrink the vertical size to fit 16:9, but can fit more along the horizontal size then).

[Nick H. Supervisor]

<Picture 2>

Using that example, are there games where someone with a screen resolution of 1920x1080 will see more in their field of vision within the game - using an FPS like FarCry 3, for example - than someone looking at the same view but with a screen of 1680x1050? Or will it be the same view range regardless of game and screen size?

[blerk]

Most FPS games I think keep the same amount of content but just squish/stretch the content appropriately to fit your screen.

[Draconian Guppy]

Using that example, are there games where someone with a screen resolution of 1920x1080 will see more in their field of vision within the game - using an FPS like FarCry 3, for example - than someone looking at the same view but with a screen of 1680x1050? Or will it be the same view range regardless of game and screen size?

The bigger the screen with small resolution, this happens:

 

 

 

 

 

I believe this image below answers your question better.

 

This is true, unless the game engine/graphic card does some sort of scaling, which the majority do.

[nub]

As far as gaming goes, how much of the world you see in a game depends on the FOV (field of view).

 

Different aspect ratios (4:3 vs 16:9) will display slightly different amounts of "content".

Wide screen monitors usually allow you to see more to the left and right.

 

If the monitors are the same aspect ratio, increasing the resolution in a game will not allow more "content" to be seen. It will simply be clearer and more detailed.

 

Here is an example of different FOVs in Halo CE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se95M2ySzDI#t=19

 

Outside of games. Higher resolution means smaller text, and smaller icons. Meaning you can fit more on the screen, but smaller is harder to read.

Windows automatically bumps up the DPI (dots per inch) on certain large resolution monitors which makes text and icons larger, for example 125% their original size

 

For maximum working space the best thing is a large monitor with a large resolution.

[Alpha_Tay]

some games can see more things with higher resolution, some other games not.

 

http://www.wsgf.org/

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_of_view_in_video_games

[Slammers]

Usually no, it would just mean it's easier for you to see the details, but FOV is generally the same. Depends on the game though.

Definitely though, if the UI doesn't scale with the resolution, it gets alot smaller at high resolutions, meaning you can see more of the game behind the interface or in a MMORPG etc. you can have alot more hotbars etc. on the screen at once without it getting full up. 

[Jose_49]

Thanks! So it actually depends on the game. Pretty sweet.