[Scummvm-tracker] [ScummVM :: Bugs] #17254: SCI: KQ6: High resolution graphics mode scales text and low-res graphics unevenly (200→440 vertical stretch)

[ScummVM :: Bugs]

#17254: SCI: KQ6: High resolution graphics mode scales text and low-res graphics
unevenly (200→440 vertical stretch)
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Reporter:  dfabulich  |       Owner:  (none)
    Type:  defect     |      Status:  new
Priority:  normal     |   Component:  Engine: SCI
 Version:             |  Resolution:
Keywords:             |        Game:  King's Quest 6
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Comment (by dfabulich):

 My PR was closed.

 The PR was AI assisted and disclosed as such, as required under the rules
 of the repo. https://github.com/scummvm/scummvm/blob/master/AI-
 GUIDELINES.md Everything I've written here on the ticket was written by
 hand, and I wrote the commit message by hand.

 I fully understand the code that the PR changed. It's not even very much
 code. I could walk you through it on a whiteboard in a coding interview.

 If it would help, I'm happy to rewrite it by hand.

 On Github, sluicebox had this to say about the PR:

 > my first thought is that no one would ever want this. my subsequent
 thoughts are unprintable.

 bluegr added:

 > Nobody would want this, and this insanely high resolution (for an old
 game) would only work for users with 4K monitors.

 This isn't correct. The 3200x2200 image is only an internal buffer, and
 the OpenGL backend shrinks it to whatever window you have. On a 1080p
 monitor, KQ6 in this mode opens at 1570x1080. I've attached a screenshot
 at 1080p.

 Of course the PR looks the very nicest on displays that can render
 3200x2200 natively, including my own MacBook Pro, but a 4K monitor isn't
 required to enjoy the benefits of this fix.

 I also took a minute to test the PR on the most underpowered device I have
 that supports ScummVM, a Samsung Galaxy A15 Android phone.
 https://browser.geekbench.com/android_devices/samsung-galaxy-a15-5g Its
 single-core performance is 7x slower than my laptop, and its GPU is slower
 by more than 100x.

 It performed just fine. I watched for dropped frames and audio stuttering
 and didn't see any. I've attached a screenshot from the phone, too,
 rendered at 1570x1080. I didn't do an end-to-end playthrough on Android
 (but I absolutely would, if that would help somehow).

 Overall, I don't understand how sluicebox and bluegr could both agree that
 "no one would ever want this." I assume that doesn't mean "nobody wants
 bug 17254 to be fixed," since the ticket is still open.

 Before submitting the PR, I played through King's Quest 6 manually on my
 branch, and it was fantastic, by far the best experience I've ever had
 playing KQ6, a game that I've loved for 34 years.

 Getting the high-resolution portraits working with correctly scaled text
 made the whole thing magical. If you love this game even half as much as I
 do, I wish you'd give it a try.

 I considered rendering at 640x400 and downscaling the portraits to fit,
 but the portraits are drawn pixel by pixel (including single-pixel
 catchlights in the eyes, for instance), and any 440 -> 400 shrink either
 blurs or drops those details. That's why I went with the large buffer.

 I'm open to other approaches! Is there any implementation that would fix
 this bug and that you'd be willing to consider?
-- 
Ticket URL: <https://bugs.scummvm.org/ticket/17254#comment:6>
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