In-between working on the new website control panel and anti-cheat improvements, we have also been working a little bit more on a higher resolution client. We have decided to go with a resolution of 1024x768; as we believe this keeps the same look and feel to the game, whilst still providing a considerable increase in field of view compared to the default 800x600 resolution. There is still a bit of work to do regarding fixing up some of the smaller maps, but if all goes to plan then we should be able to include this with our next update. Below are some screenshots of what we have got so far. Some changes to note are: Name/job area has been made bigger to properly fit jobs like I/L mage. HP/MP/EXP bars slightly increased in size. Quick slot moved permanently to the right of the UI and redesigned to blend in a bit better. Show/Hide quickslot button removed and hotkey disabled. Chat box has been increased in size. Equip/Item/Ability/Skill/Hotkey buttons increased in size. Any comments/feedback/suggestions welcomed. Last Maple Tree (taken with in-game screenshot function):
I actually did reply in-game after the screenshot was taken! That would likely be a very complex modification to make, if it's at all possible. But I definitely agree that adding additional keys would be pretty cool. ... And just in case anyone didn't know - or was wondering, there is already a function to change the quickslot hotkeys via the Key Config UI if you don't want to use the default 8 hotkeys.
Those screenshots look incredible, Matt. Good choice going wth 1080. Dare I say I’m more excited for the res changes than any of the other updates in line. While we’re at it is there any way to make it so that the movement keys can be changed if desired? Like to WASD instead of the arrows?
I like it. Can you speak to how resource intensive it is re: multiclienting? Would you release two clients for separate resolutions as previously mentioned or would this be a permanent switch?
Can be changed but we would want to give an option for this, so custom client probably. The higher resolution client should have little to no impact on performance. Because of how the game client works, most parts of a map outside of the field of view are already loaded regardless of resolution - It's essentially just showing you more of what what was already there in the first place. It would be easiest for us if we could permanently move to 1024x768 and no longer offer a 800x600 client, however this is not something fully decided on. I do strongly believe that the vast majority would prefer to use the higher resolution over the original, and if we have to possibly provide two installations/separate wz files it could become quite cumbersome when it comes to doing updates.
Does this extend the visibility on mini map as well? Right now we'll have things cut off / not rendering as well (fm and some larger map) until we move closer.
I'm wondering this as well. Genuinely excited to see this change. I just hope it doesn't push back the autoban priority.
although i could get used to this and am ok with this new resolution, im not really a big fan of this change. two reasons - 1) it remind me of post big bang maplestory 2) the characters are really too small compared to the screen, i think one part of why old maplestory was so successful was that you could tell what the other person was feeling based off their character's face expressions which promoted the social aspect of old maplestory