Widescreen usage

gilt1234 · 12-18-2008, 05:59 PM

VALVe's game utilize wide-screens very well, but Steam does not. I am sure that most gaming systems are put together with wide-screens and frankly it is hard to find a 4:3 screen nowadays. Can you guys update Steam to utilize all of my expensive real estate please.

Scared · 12-18-2008, 06:19 PM

Steam is only a program and cannot have widescreen support. However you are free to expand the window as large as you want it to take up all that real estate.

However if you are talking about the store or community only being a fixed width, there is nothing that you can do about that. I have a widescreen and the width of my Steam window is slightly bigger then the width of the community/store width and it looks fine for me. I never have Steam open (visible) unless I am launching a game.

Smurfy12 · 12-19-2008, 07:28 AM

According to the Steam Hardware Survey, 4:3 monitors are still in the majority.

praetorian42 · 01-01-2010, 03:36 PM

I'm aware that this thread is a year old. But it's one I was about to start, very related to the latest post.

I tallied it up quickly and it seems roughly 50% of users in the steam december 2009 survey are now using some sort of widescreen. They aren't all the same widescreen ratios, but about 50% are higher then the 1.33:1 now.

Will there be widescreen layout options in this upcoming new steam UI I hear about?

Scared · 01-01-2010, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by praetorian42

Will there be widescreen layout options in this upcoming new steam UI I hear about?

No one knows, they seem to be keeping the UI update mostly under wraps (besides the fact that they are working on it).

IceDragon · 01-01-2010, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkDamo

No one knows, they seem to be keeping the UI update mostly under wraps (besides the fact that they are working on it).

Don't forget! http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Valve_Time

xqyz · 01-01-2010, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by praetorian42

Will there be widescreen layout options in this upcoming new steam UI I hear about?

What exactly would those "widescreen layout options" be exactly? Steam looks pretty damn neat on my 16:10.

Vithigar · 01-01-2010, 06:59 PM

I don't really understand what is being asked for here. The majority of the information presented in the steam client is text and table based, fitted to your window size. There isn't an appreciable distinction between a wide or a 4:3 presentation for such an interface.

Also.... this implies people maximize the steam window. I don't think I've done that once in my entire life. It doesn't even have a maximize button.

praetorian42 · 01-01-2010, 07:18 PM

I've always got it maximized, just double click on the bar across the top and it fills the screen.

One is looking at community page, I'd enjoy if more space to each side was used, rather then long scrolling down 4:3 pages.
The games page could have more options located right on that page, such as recent servers you played on or a selected group of your favorite servers.
The my media page could have a large player on the right with the list of videos on the left. sorta webpage frame style
speaking of which, the forums here frame-style would be nice. if anyone has hotmail and a widescreen I enjoy seeing the entire email but still being able to see my inbox. gmail almost has it but they just leave the different boxes, not what in the current box you're looking in.
same thing with the steam store, better use of space so that almost-too-tiny video player might be standard youtube video size.

you know, the usual better use of screen space.
playing an FPS you're staring at the center of you're screen with the crosshairs, but isn't it nicer having a wider view to each side?

hell, this quick reply box I'm typing in, I always drag it open so it's wider and taller because it's standard (for a 4:3) is just ridiculously tiny considering the entire size of my screen.

Vithigar · 01-01-2010, 07:29 PM

I can only speak for myself, but I prefer to multitask, and being able to make Steam's window small without losing any information makes that a lot easier. Given a minimalist UI vs. one with lots of bells and whistles I will choose minimalist every time.

Epsilon · 01-01-2010, 07:32 PM

The problem with making layouts is that it's really hard to design something which looks good and is functional for every possible size it needs to be displayed at.

For instance, most pages on the web just give up and have a fixed-width page that's about 960 pixels wide, so that it'll fit onto a standard 1024 pixel wide display with a bit of room to spare.

If you go with a design that expands to fill the space, you tend to have huge blocks of text or empty space that really looks awkward.

Worse, resizing can cause funky layout glitches. You don't want to create a design that looks great on a 1680X1050 display, and then has horrible overlapping elements on 1024x768.

Bear in mind too localization, you often have to allow more empty space than you'd think for languages that are a bit more verbose than English, like German.

triforcecwp · 01-01-2010, 11:33 PM

i think they should support windows 7's UI features. u drag it up it maxumizes, drag it to the left or right it takes up half the screen. im used to doing that with some things and when i try to do ti with steam i jsut sit there and go "ooo right it doesnt do that"

xqyz · 01-02-2010, 05:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by triforcecwp

i think they should support windows 7's UI features. u drag it up it maxumizes, drag it to the left or right it takes up half the screen. im used to doing that with some things and when i try to do ti with steam i jsut sit there and go "ooo right it doesnt do that"

I've never done that with any window since I started using the Windows 7 in the RC period. I don't even see a point in this feature for normal apps let alone steam. Also I like the way the steam window looks (with a decent skin that is, vanilla is plain ugly) and for your feature we'd have to give that up and go back to a normal window frame.

12-18-2008, 05:59 PM	#1
gilt1234 Join Date: Aug 2008 Reputation: 18 Posts: 311	Widescreen usage VALVe's game utilize wide-screens very well, but Steam does not. I am sure that most gaming systems are put together with wide-screens and frankly it is hard to find a 4:3 screen nowadays. Can you guys update Steam to utilize all of my expensive real estate please.

12-18-2008, 06:19 PM	#2
Scared Join Date: Sep 2004 Reputation: 1938 Posts: 7,516	Steam is only a program and cannot have widescreen support. However you are free to expand the window as large as you want it to take up all that real estate. However if you are talking about the store or community only being a fixed width, there is nothing that you can do about that. I have a widescreen and the width of my Steam window is slightly bigger then the width of the community/store width and it looks fine for me. I never have Steam open (visible) unless I am launching a game. Last edited by Scared: 12-18-2008 at 06:21 PM.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
rate hacking	dualcore1289	Source DS (Windows)	2	11-13-2006 09:11 AM
Does maps affect CPU usage?	What is a name?	Half-Life DS (Linux)	4	12-23-2005 04:29 PM

12-19-2008, 07:28 AM	#3
Smurfy12 Banned Join Date: Sep 2008 Reputation: 14 Posts: 725	According to the Steam Hardware Survey, 4:3 monitors are still in the majority.

01-01-2010, 03:36 PM	#4
praetorian42 Join Date: Sep 2009 Reputation: 123 Posts: 740	I'm aware that this thread is a year old. But it's one I was about to start, very related to the latest post. I tallied it up quickly and it seems roughly 50% of users in the steam december 2009 survey are now using some sort of widescreen. They aren't all the same widescreen ratios, but about 50% are higher then the 1.33:1 now. Will there be widescreen layout options in this upcoming new steam UI I hear about?

01-01-2010, 06:59 PM	#8
Vithigar Join Date: Nov 2007 Reputation: 26 Posts: 447	I don't really understand what is being asked for here. The majority of the information presented in the steam client is text and table based, fitted to your window size. There isn't an appreciable distinction between a wide or a 4:3 presentation for such an interface. Also.... this implies people maximize the steam window. I don't think I've done that once in my entire life. It doesn't even have a maximize button.

01-01-2010, 07:18 PM	#9
praetorian42 Join Date: Sep 2009 Reputation: 123 Posts: 740	I've always got it maximized, just double click on the bar across the top and it fills the screen. One is looking at community page, I'd enjoy if more space to each side was used, rather then long scrolling down 4:3 pages. The games page could have more options located right on that page, such as recent servers you played on or a selected group of your favorite servers. The my media page could have a large player on the right with the list of videos on the left. sorta webpage frame style speaking of which, the forums here frame-style would be nice. if anyone has hotmail and a widescreen I enjoy seeing the entire email but still being able to see my inbox. gmail almost has it but they just leave the different boxes, not what in the current box you're looking in. same thing with the steam store, better use of space so that almost-too-tiny video player might be standard youtube video size. you know, the usual better use of screen space. playing an FPS you're staring at the center of you're screen with the crosshairs, but isn't it nicer having a wider view to each side? hell, this quick reply box I'm typing in, I always drag it open so it's wider and taller because it's standard (for a 4:3) is just ridiculously tiny considering the entire size of my screen.

01-01-2010, 07:29 PM	#10
Vithigar Join Date: Nov 2007 Reputation: 26 Posts: 447	I can only speak for myself, but I prefer to multitask, and being able to make Steam's window small without losing any information makes that a lot easier. Given a minimalist UI vs. one with lots of bells and whistles I will choose minimalist every time.

01-01-2010, 07:32 PM	#11
Epsilon Join Date: Jan 2003 Reputation: 1795 Posts: 5,302	The problem with making layouts is that it's really hard to design something which looks good and is functional for every possible size it needs to be displayed at. For instance, most pages on the web just give up and have a fixed-width page that's about 960 pixels wide, so that it'll fit onto a standard 1024 pixel wide display with a bit of room to spare. If you go with a design that expands to fill the space, you tend to have huge blocks of text or empty space that really looks awkward. Worse, resizing can cause funky layout glitches. You don't want to create a design that looks great on a 1680X1050 display, and then has horrible overlapping elements on 1024x768. Bear in mind too localization, you often have to allow more empty space than you'd think for languages that are a bit more verbose than English, like German.

01-01-2010, 11:33 PM	#12
triforcecwp Join Date: Nov 2009 Reputation: 7 Posts: 61	i think they should support windows 7's UI features. u drag it up it maxumizes, drag it to the left or right it takes up half the screen. im used to doing that with some things and when i try to do ti with steam i jsut sit there and go "ooo right it doesnt do that"