My TV doesn't totally fit tate-mode shmups on the screen

[xghostsniperx]

Yea, it's hard to take screenshots without the picture getting all messed up.





So as you can see, my ship goes about halfway off the screen in Ikaruga. do you guys think this will really affect play? Or should I try to find an old computer monitor and maybe a set of VGA cables? I'm tight on cash, and I'd rather spend it on new shmups, so I'd rather not go that route.


I've only tried this on Ikaruga so far, so maybe it won't be the same on other shmups.

[elvis]

What you need to remember is that tate mode is very frequently designed for proper arcade monitors that allow for a higher rate of adjustment than your average TV (which frequently has no adustment tools).

Some games have multiple tate modes that include a scaled version fit for standard TVs. Under Defeat and Psyvariar are two examples (at least I think they are - someone correct me if I am wrong).

If you are a Dreamcast user, I strongly recommend going for a VGA box and a VGA monitor. The picture is amazing, and will allow you to scale the image via the monitor controls to fit. Yes, it's an expensive outlay if you don't already have a 31+KHz monitor, but it is well worth the experience. I currently play all my Dreamcast shmups on a 21" PC monitor laying down in it's side, and it's brilliant.

[Ghegs]

What you might want to try is to access your TV's service menu. This is what I had to do way back when.

Basically, a service menu is where you can adjust all kinds of settings for your TV. It's possible to mess your TV up completely if you just randomly change values. A good precaution is to write all the default values down after first accessing it.

As for actually accessing it, that might be a bit tricky. Unless your TV happens to have an easy access to the service menu via a dedicated button (unlikely), it's accessed by inputting a code on your remote control. Something like 062595 and [Menu] button. Try searching Google for your TV's make/model and "service menu" or "service mode".

In my TV, the settings I needed to change were under "Geometry"-heading. There were a bit cryptical titles for the values such as VAM, HSH, SBL, H60, V60...the important ones were H60 and V60 which control the Horizontal and Vertical area when the TV is in 60hz mode. I just changed the values one by one while keeping a shmup running in the background until the game was displayed correctly. This doesn't, however, mean that all games will be displayed exactly the same way (ESPGaluda still crops a little at the top), but you can find a good middle-ground that works for all.

The procedure's not that difficult to do, you just need to be careful doing it.

This link may or may not be useful...

http://www.epanorama.net/links/servicemanuals.html

[xghostsniperx]

Alright, thanks for the advice guys.

But my biggest question is: Will it really affect gameplay? I mean, I can still see all the enemies, its just that on the sides, they're slightly only half-on.

As I said, I'll spend the $30 or whatever on the VGA cables and whatever it costs for a monitor, but I want to make sure that the current TV I'm using is worthless for shmups before I do that.