V-Sync locks the maximum framerate to the current refresh rate that your monitor is set to.
If you run a game at 100 fps with V-Sync on, but your refresh rate is 60hz - you will get a maximum of 60fps. If your refresh rate is 85, then your game will be locked to 85 fps.
It helps prevent screen tearing, which can happen if your game is running at a different FPS than your refresh rate is set to (ie: they aren't in sync with each other. I believe it only works while in full screen as well.
Technical definition "Vertical synchronization is an option found in most systems, wherein the video card is prevented from doing anything visible to the display memory until after the monitor has finished its current refresh cycle." - taken from wikipedia.
I believe what I said is correct, but someone correct me if I'm wrong/left out any information.
My window size is 640 x 325. I chose a height of 325 instead of 480 to achieve a widescreen effect.
The "Resize Display To Fill Window Size" option stretches the 325 height to fill the height of the screen. No widescreen effect.
The "Change Resolution Mode" switches to the closet resolution supported by your monitor. For 640 x 325 this will be 640 x 480. A widescreen effect!
BUT! I have a whole bunch of fog, shadows and other transparency effects and the FPS has dropped from 50 to 35.
Unless I choose DIRECT3D 8 or 9. But neither of these support the "Change Resolution Mode".
I remember for TGF there was an extension that allowed changing the resolution with an event. Anybody remember what it was called?
*******
SO! I can either fix the frame rate, or use DIRECT3D and switch the resolution via and event.
I'm using HWA by the way. Any ideas? I can upload mfa if you like.
Perhaps this would be easier to try the other way around: I could make an example that works for me and you could try it out. I'll put something here later
V-sync actually works quite well outside of fullscreen. I notice a big difference in tearing in windowed mode when I enable V-sync.
What happens, Chris, is that without v-sync, a common issue where the videocard renders the game so fast that the monitor will actually display two frames at once - splitting it down somewhere in the middle. It's not too noticeable in slow games, but in fast games - for instance, playing Sonic 3 in an emulator (not advocating anything), you'll see a very subtle but annoying split down the center of the screen as you run really fast.
V-sync fixes this by slowing the game down syncing the framerate up with the monitor, keeping the graphics card from sending a split image to your monitor and makes animations much more fluid.
Originally Posted by SiLVERFIRE V-sync actually works quite well outside of fullscreen. I notice a big difference in tearing in windowed mode when I enable V-sync.
What happens, Chris, is that without v-sync, a common issue where the videocard renders the game so fast that the monitor will actually display two frames at once - splitting it down somewhere in the middle. It's not too noticeable in slow games, but in fast games - for instance, playing Sonic 3 in an emulator (not advocating anything), you'll see a very subtle but annoying split down the center of the screen as you run really fast.
V-sync fixes this by slowing the game down syncing the framerate up with the monitor, keeping the graphics card from sending a split image to your monitor and makes animations much more fluid.
V-Sync works as a framerate limiter in windowed mode.
One way or another, the ENTIRE point of V-sync is to prevent taring. The technical explanation of limiting frames is irrelevant unless someone specifically asks "Why is my game only going this fast?"
So to answer the question Chris asked, in the simplest possible way...
When you enable v-sync, you're preventing screen tearing, ultimately smoothing out the framerate.
Fullscreened, windowed, whatever, this is how it works. At least this is how it should work, whether or not Clickteam did it correctly... is a different question entirely.
V-Sync only works in full-screen because windowed apps don't have control over the screen controls/buffer. A lot of video cards have a v-sync option that is on by default that you can toggle in its control panel/center, but I'm still not sure if that even affects windowed apps though.
Advertisement
Post Reply
Edited by an Administrator
