Full Screen Issues Using A Second Monitor

xhunter

Something has changed since the last beta I played in with using fullscreen on a second monitor and it is really annoying. I have my Macbook Pro set up so the screen is not mirrored on my second monitor. I drag ESO to my second monitor and choose the fullscreen setting. That works fine. However, the game doesn't keep the mouse pointer within the screen and as soon as I move it to the right side, it moves to my Macbook Pro's screen and makes ESO become windowed. When I move my mouse back to ESO, it becomes fullscreen again.

In the beta, the game would keep the mouse within the game screen and would not go to windowed when I went to my laptop's screen to open something like Safari.

This is extremely annoying and I was wondering if anyone could offer any advice.

I'm not even kidding when I say this is a deal breaker. That is how frustrating this is.

EDIT: Also, I get a really, really nasty framerate drop (down to 9) when it isn't the active window. Again, didn't have this problem in the beta. Very disappointed.

EDIT2: I also get a ridiculous framerate drop when in most menu. Overall, the game runs significantly worse than it did in the beta. Was the beta not full resolution/effects/etc.?

Moonraker

xhunter wrote: »

EDIT: Also, I get a really, really nasty framerate drop (down to 9) when it isn't the active window. Again, didn't have this problem in the beta. Very disappointed.

EDIT2: I also get a ridiculous framerate drop when in the "Controls" menu.

It is meant to drop the framerate down when ESO is in the background to avoid the processor/ GPU working when it's not in focus. That's normal, like in WoW.

xhunter

Moonraker wrote: »

xhunter wrote: »

EDIT: Also, I get a really, really nasty framerate drop (down to 9) when it isn't the active window. Again, didn't have this problem in the beta. Very disappointed.

EDIT2: I also get a ridiculous framerate drop when in the "Controls" menu.

It is meant to drop the framerate down when ESO is in the background to avoid the processor/ GPU working when it's not in focus. That's normal, like in WoW.

Interesting. Good to know. Still doesn't explain why I get framerate drops in menus when the game is the active window.

EDIT: And something else I have discovered - if I make ESO the active window while using my laptop screen, ESO goes fullscreen on my laptop screen and leaves a black window on my second screen. This leads me to believe that there is something wonky going on with how the second monitor is being handled (whether it is due to ESO or Mac OS X).

xhunter

Does anyone have any fixes/suggestions/whatever to try to resolve these issues (poorly handled second screen, framerate drops while using in-game menus)?

xhunter

I've taken some screenshots to help explain my situation:

This is what happens when I go to my laptop screen (right) by moving the mouse to the right side of the screen:


In the beta, it never went into windowed mode on the second screen just because I was using something like Safari on my laptop screen.

This is what happens on the second screen when I make ESO the active app on my laptop screen with the ESO window on my second screen:

When this happens, I get ESO full screen and full functioning on my laptop screen. I then have to click in the giant black window and it will eventually flip over to the correct screen.

And I did a quick recording on my second screen to help demonstrate what happens:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYycsTAiz_s

Moonraker

xhunter wrote: »

Does anyone have any fixes/suggestions/whatever to try to resolve these issues (poorly handled second screen, framerate drops while using in-game menus)?

There was some issues with using multiple screens after 10.9.2 including MBP. Check this Apple discussion thread which had a solution I think.

Are you referring to the last beta test weekend of previous ones? Nothing has changed as far as I am aware in the Mac client in handling of the screen settings Previously some changes went in to add more functionality like Command-Tab etc.

You give no details of your system setup i.e. graphics card etc so hard to be more specific.

I am not sure at all why you worry about lower FPS when in menu window? Anything that reduces GPU use will help cooling which is more important surely than high FPS in backgrounds of Control menu.

xhunter

Moonraker wrote: »

xhunter wrote: »

Does anyone have any fixes/suggestions/whatever to try to resolve these issues (poorly handled second screen, framerate drops while using in-game menus)?

There was some issues with using multiple screens after 10.9.2 including MBP. Check this Apple discussion thread which had a solution I think.

Are you referring to the last beta test weekend of previous ones? Nothing has changed as far as I am aware in the Mac client in handling of the screen settings Previously some changes went in to add more functionality like Command-Tab etc.

You give no details of your system setup i.e. graphics card etc so hard to be more specific.

I am not sure at all why you worry about lower FPS when in menu window? Anything that reduces GPU use will help cooling which is more important surely than high FPS in backgrounds of Control menu.

Thanks, I'll check out that link.

It was two betas ago, I believe. The one before the most recent one.

Sorry, I didn't think to provide that info. It is a MacBook Pro 15" w/Retina Display (most recent model). 2.6GHz Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M 2048 MB and Intel Iris Pro 1024MB. The second display I am using is the ASUS VS247. Any other particular specs that would be noteworthy?

I'm not overly worried. It just seems awfully weird that I would lose 40-60fps just because I am editing my controls. Not a deal breaker, just strange. If it is intentional to give the CPU/GPU/fans a rest, that is fine.

Moonraker

xhunter wrote: »

It was two betas ago, I believe. The one before the most recent one.

Sorry, I didn't think to provide that info. It is a MacBook Pro 15" w/Retina Display (most recent model). 2.6GHz Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M 2048 MB and Intel Iris Pro 1024MB. The second display I am using is the ASUS VS247. Any other particular specs that would be noteworthy?

It may be related then to the change in how the screen works with Command-Tab which brings Fullscreen to Windowed which was made to follow the Apple GUI standards more accurately. That was implemented for the last beta mass test. I'm not sure how this could change the external monitor behaviour as I don't use one to test.

Hopefully someone who does use a second monitor can provide an answer. I would also submit a Ticket and see if they can provide any information.

revvek

I have a Mac Pro with dual screens. Primary, and one to the right.
Every time the cursor shows and I need to go scroll on the right etc I often cross into the second screen. It then drops the game to windowed mode as described.

It also has never blacked out the second screen, as it seems like it should in full screen? Would prefer to see black, some dark game texture, or a usable map.

Hope a patch to resolve this shows up soon. I need to send feedback in game still on this, but it's good to know I'm not alone.

Moonraker

@xhunter and other with the issue.

I have contacted the developers and they explained to me that the change was implemented as a 'feature' so it's not a bug as such.

They further explained that the idea was to let you easily move your mouse to screen 2 and type in chat etc.(why it automatically windows to enable access)

The problem is it keeps getting bumped and not working as anticipated.

They have read the thread and my reports and will look to revert it to previous behaviour if that is preferred. This will mean not being able to click on Screen 2 but should make it work as before.

There is no timescale yet as there is a lot going on as you can understand. But they are aware and will look to implement the above.

I hope that helps explain the current situation and let you know that things are happening.

xhunter

Moonraker wrote: »

@xhunter and other with the issue.

I have contacted the developers and they explained to me that the change was implemented as a 'feature' so it's not a bug as such.

They further explained that the idea was to let you easily move your mouse to screen 2 and type in chat etc.(why it automatically windows to enable access)

The problem is it keeps getting bumped and not working as anticipated.

They have read the thread and my reports and will look to revert it to previous behaviour if that is preferred. This will mean not being able to click on Screen 2 but should make it work as before.

There is no timescale yet as there is a lot going on as you can understand. But they are aware and will look to implement the above.

I hope that helps explain the current situation and let you know that things are happening.

Thank you for all your help!

If they revert it to the way I used it a few betas ago, that would be ideal for me. It allowed me to play the game without any of this swapping to windowed just because I wanted to look something up on Safari about ESO. I like having my laptop screen not being used by the game so I can use Safari for game-related searching.

Moonraker

xhunter wrote: »

Thank you for all your help!

If they revert it to the way I used it a few betas ago, that would be ideal for me. It allowed me to play the game without any of this swapping to windowed just because I wanted to look something up on Safari about ESO. I like having my laptop screen not being used by the game so I can use Safari for game-related searching.

My pleasure @xhunter.

From what was said I believe that is how it will be, basically reverted as before.

I expect this wont be a priority right now but it is now on the list. if I hear anything along the line I'll post it here.

xhunter

Moonraker wrote: »

xhunter wrote: »

Thank you for all your help!

If they revert it to the way I used it a few betas ago, that would be ideal for me. It allowed me to play the game without any of this swapping to windowed just because I wanted to look something up on Safari about ESO. I like having my laptop screen not being used by the game so I can use Safari for game-related searching.

My pleasure @xhunter.

From what was said I believe that is how it will be, basically reverted as before.

I expect this wont be a priority right now but it is now on the list. if I hear anything along the line I'll post it here.

I totally understand. I would rather have fewer crashes and fixed quests before fixed dual monitor issues.

Thanks again for all the help!

RickDangerous42

From my point of view, I'm totally happy with the "full screen dropping to maximized", if only the actual rendering would stay in that maximized window. Right now the bug, that I have at least, is that the window is on the main display but black, the rendering is on the secondary screen, and the keyboard locks up, and so the ONLY thing I can do is do a hard restart of the Mac. And this is happening so often that it should not be all that hard for devs to replicate.

Moonraker

RickDangerous42 wrote: »

From my point of view, I'm totally happy with the "full screen dropping to maximized", if only the actual rendering would stay in that maximized window. Right now the bug, that I have at least, is that the window is on the main display but black, the rendering is on the secondary screen, and the keyboard locks up, and so the ONLY thing I can do is do a hard restart of the Mac. And this is happening so often that it should not be all that hard for devs to replicate.

Hi, can you post your System details which would help give some comment;

Apple icon (top left of menu bar) > About This Mac > More info…

RickDangerous42

Moonraker wrote: »

Hi, can you post your System details which would help give some comment;

Apple icon (top left of menu bar) > About This Mac > More info…

iMac
27-inch, Mid 2010
Processor 3.2GHz Intel Core i3
Memory 16 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Graphics ATI Radeon HD 5670 512 MB
Software OS X 10.9.2 (13C64)

Moonraker

RickDangerous42 wrote: »

Moonraker wrote: »

Hi, can you post your System details which would help give some comment;

Apple icon (top left of menu bar) > About This Mac > More info…

iMac
27-inch, Mid 2010
Processor 3.2GHz Intel Core i3
Memory 16 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Graphics ATI Radeon HD 5670 512 MB
Software OS X 10.9.2 (13C64)

Thanks. Have you tried other games this way and is it only happening on ESO?

Check this Apple Discussion thread relating to black screen issues in 10.9.2 update;

Multiple display problem in OSX 10.9.2

General Apple multiple display troubleshooting:

Apple computers: Troubleshooting issues with video on internal or external displays

RickDangerous42

Moonraker wrote: »

Thanks. Have you tried other games this way and is it only happening on ESO?

Check this Apple Discussion thread relating to black screen issues in 10.9.2 update;

Multiple display problem in OSX 10.9.2

General Apple multiple display troubleshooting:

Apple computers: Troubleshooting issues with video on internal or external displays

This is only happening with ESO (perhaps not fair since ESO is the main fullscreen app I use), and the referenced threads are not the kind of issue I'm seeing.

Moonraker

RickDangerous42 wrote: »

Moonraker wrote: »

Thanks. Have you tried other games this way and is it only happening on ESO?

Check this Apple Discussion thread relating to black screen issues in 10.9.2 update;

Multiple display problem in OSX 10.9.2

General Apple multiple display troubleshooting:

Apple computers: Troubleshooting issues with video on internal or external displays

This is only happening with ESO (perhaps not fair since ESO is the main fullscreen app I use), and the referenced threads are not the kind of issue I'm seeing.

Then I am not sure what else to suggest than making a Support ticket and bug report in-game so the developers are aware.

I checked with another Mac player using an external display and they reported not having any issue. Comment here. So perhaps it is related to a specific graphics card or model.

FatalDarkness

I'm playing the game on a Mac Pro (4,1), OS X 10.9.2 with an Nvidia 680GTX and three monitors. In this configuration, full screen is impossible. As long as I am in "FPS mode" I am able to stay in full screen for awhile. However the moment I perform an action that puts the mouse into "Cursor mode" the game automatically switches to windowed mode. This is very frustrating and forces me to keep the game in windowed mode since full screen cannot be maintained. I'm considering trying with the extra displays unplugged, but this is not a very convenient solution.

Moonraker

FatalDarkness wrote: »

I'm playing the game on a Mac Pro (4,1), OS X 10.9.2 with an Nvidia 680GTX and three monitors. In this configuration, full screen is impossible. As long as I am in "FPS mode" I am able to stay in full screen for awhile. However the moment I perform an action that puts the mouse into "Cursor mode" the game automatically switches to windowed mode. This is very frustrating and forces me to keep the game in windowed mode since full screen cannot be maintained. I'm considering trying with the extra displays unplugged, but this is not a very convenient solution.

As I said above the current implementation should be reverted at some point,

Can you confirm if you have a dual CPU Mac Pro?

FatalDarkness

Single physical CPU, 2.93 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon.
Thanks.

Moonraker

FatalDarkness wrote: »

Single physical CPU, 2.93 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon.
Thanks.

Cool. Just wanted to check it was no dual CPU.

Chamomile

When I start the game, it always starts in the wrong window (my laptop screen). Then I have to Command+F to get out of fullscreen & drag to my other screen. Then, if I take the cursor to the laptop screen, it takes the game out of fullscreen mode (hate that). & if I do anything on the laptop screen, when I go back to the external monitor to continue playing, the game fullscreens in my laptop monitor & I have to Command+F twice to get it back on my external. I wish it would stay fullscreen 100% of the time so I could switch seamlessly between the game and not be taken out of fullscreen if I want to do something on my laptop monitor or even if I just accidentally move the cursor too far. It seems like bad programming to take the game out of fullscreen without me explicitly telling it to.

System specs:
Macbook Pro Retina 15", Early 2013
2.7 GHz Intel Core i7
16GB 1600 MHz DD3
NVIDIA GeForce GT650M 1024MB
OS X 10.9.2
Samsung 24" LED TV/Monitor connected via HDMI

Moonraker

Chamomile wrote: »

When I start the game, it always starts in the wrong window (my laptop screen). Then I have to Command+F to get out of fullscreen & drag to my other screen. Then, if I take the cursor to the laptop screen, it takes the game out of fullscreen mode (hate that). & if I do anything on the laptop screen, when I go back to the external monitor to continue playing, the game fullscreens in my laptop monitor & I have to Command+F twice to get it back on my external. I wish it would stay fullscreen 100% of the time so I could switch seamlessly between the game and not be taken out of fullscreen if I want to do something on my laptop monitor or even if I just accidentally move the cursor too far. It seems like bad programming to take the game out of fullscreen without me explicitly telling it to.

System specs:
Macbook Pro Retina 15", Early 2013
2.7 GHz Intel Core i7
16GB 1600 MHz DD3
NVIDIA GeForce GT650M 1024MB
OS X 10.9.2
Samsung 24" LED TV/Monitor connected via HDMI

I posted above in this post the details for how it ended up to this current implementation and that following the feedback it will be reverted to the original behaviour.

Unfortunately there is no one prefect way as different people tend to do and prefer things differently. From the feedback here already, it will be reverted to how it was, which may not suit all but seems to be the preferred option. Apple standards vary from version to version which means there is on one standard way which makes it more about user preference than a strict standard.

Windshadow_ESO

I like it better this way can hit cmd f if it gets out of sync… shows how you can not keep everyone happy I guess

Chamomile

Moonraker wrote: »

I posted above in this post the details for how it ended up to this current implementation and that following the feedback it will be reverted to the original behaviour.

Unfortunately there is no one prefect way as different people tend to do and prefer things differently. From the feedback here already, it will be reverted to how it was, which may not suit all but seems to be the preferred option. Apple standards vary from version to version which means there is on one standard way which makes it more about user preference than a strict standard.

I read your post above & it's not the fact that it pops out of fullscreen mode that bothers me the most (although that is very annoying & I'm glad they are reverting), but the fact that it keeps trying to run on my laptop monitor when I am explicitly telling it to run on the external. I have to push "." to release the mouse, then move down to whatever other application I'm using, then move the cursor back & press CMD+F twice before it is back on the proper screen. It shouldn't be a five step process just to reply to an iMessage or switch my Teamspeak channel.


This is what happens EVERY time I try to do something (even just a click) down on my laptop screen & then go back up to the external monitor.

christerb16_ESO2

I'll chip in as well. System info:

iMac, 27-inch, Late 2012
3.4GHz Intel Core i7
NVidia GeForce GTX 680MX 2048 MB
OS X 10.9.2 (13C64)

I have "Displays have separate Spaces" enabled in System Preferences->Mission Control, which may be relevant.

I have two external displays connected (both running at 1920x1200 over display port -> DVI adapters), and full-screen mode simply does not behave properly at all.

Switching into fullscreen looks ok initially, with the game in my primary screen, and the secondary screens showing the desktop and apps as expected. Moving the mouse out from the game window switches the game to "maximized" mode, which is strange, but not a deal-breaker. However, clicking on any window outside the game (such as a browser) and then moving the mouse pointer back into the primary screen (where the game is displaying) full screens the game on the secondary display leaving the original window showing on the full screen black and maximised, sort of like the screenshots posted by Chamomille.

To fix this weird state, I have to move the mouse out of the primary screen and then back again, at which point the game full-screens properly again.

Effectively, this swapping back and forth makes full-screen unusable for me and I end up having to play in maximised mode instead. It would be great is maximised mode could remove window borders and hide the menu bar (which is absolutely technically possible given that other games do that).

In previous betas I've participated in, the full-screen mode prevented keyboard input into applications on external screens so it was sort of pointless as a mode for me then as well.

In the end, this isn't a total deal-breaker for me, but it would be nice for a proper full-screen (or maximised window that actually filled the whole screen) to be available to improve immersion.

Moonraker

@christerb16_ESO Thanks for the detailed post. I know the development team checks the forum and have taken on board the comments here. I understand that they will be looking at any bugs associated with this when reverting the way it works.

Getting things like Spaces, Mission Control, Fullscreen (proper fullscreen) mode and Maximised all working together within a cross-platform UI is complicated and hard to get the balance right for everyone. But the detailed feedback gives them some reference point at least.

Pro5per

I have the same problem, iMac 27 and a secondary monitor.
It's really annoying.
But on the other hand, on a Windows 8.1 PC with Dual Monitors it works FLAWLESSLY.
Hope they can do the same for the Mac because it's getting very frustrating.

Moonraker

Pro5per wrote: »

I have the same problem, iMac 27 and a secondary monitor.
It's really annoying.
But on the other hand, on a Windows 8.1 PC with Dual Monitors it works FLAWLESSLY.
Hope they can do the same for the Mac because it's getting very frustrating.

I mentioned above the issue was noted and from reading this thread, the development team
will be looking to revert the changes back to the beta implementation. See above.

It may work on Windows 8.1 but then the PC client is not currently true Fullscreen where the Mac client is, which may or may not present issues when it is introduced. Also, Windows operates differently for screen navigation in the OS (Apple guidelines which change from OS version) which presents some decisions when designing the support.

Main thing it is recognised and will be reverted and checked for any bugs.