Use of Monitors (Dualscreen..., more than 60 FPS ...)

[ssilk]

Factorio currently supports one monitor / screen only and only "normal" screen frequencies/resolutions.

Multiple Screens / Dual screen

There is also one game, that is always used as best example for such: Supreme Commander (supported two independent screens/windows, which it referred to as primary and secondary, including independent resolutions; one monitor could be setup as big map view).

Related Lists

viewtopic.php?f=80&t=16566 Alerts, Alert-Info (Map), visible/audible Indication
viewtopic.php?f=80&t=16592 Game Setup, Game Configuration, Init Screen
viewtopic.php?f=80&t=17779 Detach Logistic Item Listing From Right Pane
viewtopic.php?f=80&t=18153 Information-Layers (for map and/or normal view)
viewtopic.php?f=80&t=19987 More Game Information (Statistics, Monitoring, Graphs)
viewtopic.php?f=80&t=22760 Support for Color Blinds / Better Visibility ...

Suggestions

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=793 Supreme commander overview
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2917 Save screen/window size
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8826 Borderless Window Mode / Full Screen Window Mode. [included for the informational aspect]
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=9242 Multiple Monitor Gameplay
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=12479 Dual screen support/use
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=24992 Multi Monitor Support
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=25938 Multi Screen - Map on one side, player on the other
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=42220 Multi screen support
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=48074 Borderless Window
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=48980 Multi Monitor support


Related stuff

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18851 Multiplicative instead of additive (colored) lighting
viewtopic.php?f=80&t=22760 Support for Color Blinds / Better Visibility ...



Support of higher (lower) frames per second (FPS) / Change game update speed (UPS)

You need to know: Factorio distincts between game-update speed and frames per second. Normally both should be equal (60 fps/ups). The update frequency is the internal simulation and quite CPU-heavy. The speed of that update depends on the size of your factory, while the frame-frequency is hard work of your graphics-card plus CPU (normally second CPU) to display the hundred-thousands of little sprites per frame.

For a more technical description please refer to this nice blogpost: https://www.factorio.com/blog/post/fff-70

It will be very unlikely, that Factorio will support more than 60 frames per second (60 fps) by default, cause 60 Hz is also the game update frequency (60 game ticks is one second, see wiki https://wiki.factorio.com/index.php?title=Game-tick ).

Of course it is possible. For example: If the game-tick will be increased to 120 Hz (doubled) any game-internally speed, duration and rotation needs to be halved. The problem is then just, that that with dividing by two, not every number will result in the same value after doing two operations, instead of one. There are computational inaccuracies, the determinism changes. Multiplayer will be only possible, if everyone plays with 120 Hz. The same would be true for halfing the speed (reduce UPS), the idea is pointed out here:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=19918 Why isnt there a setting for changing default UPS?

Suggestions

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8429 FPS Limit and GUI scaling
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=24826 Above 60 fps (120 or 144).


Screen resolutions / Window sizes / GUI size / Calibration

If you change the resolution you need also to change the size of the GUI/UI, but also the game graphics/textures etc.; that must go hand in hand, so I mixed both together!
You need to know, that there are plans to have a high-res variant of Factorio: https://www.factorio.com/blog/post/fff-64

Related Lists

viewtopic.php?f=80&t=16592 Game Setup, Game Configuration, Init Screen

Suggestions

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=818 [UI] making UI scalable / additional UI icons and font
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1670 add double size interface for very high res monitors
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2131 Configurable HUD
viewtopic.php?f=66&t=2633 scroll bar and limit max gui size
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2917 Save screen/window size
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3360 Level of Detail and higher resolution textures please
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6882 Could Factorio window geometry be saved upon exit ?
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7175 Adjusting the Darkness of Night
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7779 Screen resolution change ability in full-screen mode
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8429 FPS Limit and GUI scaling
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=20315 Console contrast improvement (it's hard to read right now)

viewtopic.php?f=80&t=25229 Use of Monitors (Dualscreen..., more than 60 FPS ...)

[Terukio]

I am 100% for each of the suggestions mentioned here. I understand that the UPS cannot (or not easily) be changed but would love multi-monitor support!!!

[Slayn25]

I am 100% for each of the suggestions mentioned here. I understand that the UPS cannot (or not easily) be changed but would love multi-monitor support!!!

+1

[Nexarius]

Did you guys make any progress here?

I would really like multi monitor support.

[TuckJohn]

Multi-monitor support would be awesome.

[Nexarius]

Multi-monitor support would be awesome.

It would really be the best.

I have 3 screen on my gaming pc and it's just a bit annoying that I can only use 1 screen for factorio. (2x Full HD and 1x 4k)

[malventano]

Going >60 would be difficult given the UPS issue (and there would be no benefit anyway), but I'd like it if FPS was not locked at 60 in a non-full-screen manner so that VRR displays (freesync / gsync) could benefit from the reduced judder at 60 (or lower) FPS. Currently, if you play Factorio full screen on a 75Hz, 100Hz, or 144Hz panel, the game draws at 60 while the panel free-runs at its maximum rate, which introduces some pretty nasty judder since 60 is not evenly divisible into 75/100/144. Factorio is the only game I've come across that does not output in a way that these newer technologies can lock onto for a full-screen game. My only guess is that Factorio is not using 'exclusive full screen', which would solve this particular problem. Switching Factorio to exclusive full screen mode may also increase rendering performance since Windows desktop overhead is reduced in this mode.

Note the difference in smoothness, more easily caught with slow motion capture:
- 60 Hz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQreQvci9Aw
- 100 Hz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fmk1x3eDF9o

Perhaps I should submit this as a bug report? Expecting users to change their refresh rate just to get this one game to render smoothly seems wrong...

[Nexarius]

The train preview window already has a second factorio screen. Could you add that for a real second screen to always have open on the side?

[BufloSolja]

Man, having multiple monitors set up to have various info (prod screen/electrical info/etc.) would be sooooo awesome! Would definitely increase the feeling of it feeling like a real factory/production process as well. Now I only want to be able to list hours played in factorio and saves as formal process control experience...

[AsherMaximum]

If this is implemented, I'd like to see it implemented in a way that would support large format displays (TVs, ultra wide monitors). This could be done by relying on the user to use their graphic card software to merge their displays, and then in the game allowing the space to be divided up into multiple windows - main game window, world map window, statics window, etc.

Perhaps this could be achieved with floating windows - take the current production stats window, logistic network windows, and allow them to be moved around, resized, and locked. Make the map view a window, instead of replacing the main game display, and allow it to be locked and moved as well. Also needed would be settings to offset the players position from center, and allo the hotbar to be repositioned. Actually, it would probably be best if all the display items in the main game window could be repositioned, including the crafting queue and chat area.

[Nexarius]

Sadly it's never gonna happen. The devs are obviously ignoring this.

[Koub]

Sadly it's never gonna happen. The devs are obviously ignoring this.

You seem to know what's happening in Wube's office quite well, more that most if I may say so. Do you have a source for this, or are you just expressing your own feelings as a fact ?

[Nexarius]

Sadly it's never gonna happen. The devs are obviously ignoring this.

You seem to know what's happening in Wube's office quite well, more that most if I may say so. Do you have a source for this, or are you just expressing your own feelings as a fact ?

They talk about other features for months / years before finishing and releasing them to the public and they have never mentioned multi monitor support anywhere.

1.PNG (45.1 KiB) Viewed 24569 times

It's been suggested over 3 years ago so draw your own conclusion from that.

[Argo]

This needs a bump-up. It's an awesome idea to be able to utilize more than one screen in game. Overview of your factory processes, a bit bigger map, fast control over trains positions... Would be highly useful.

[BlueTemplar]

I wonder how viable is running multiple Factorio instances on a single PC, playing multiplayer with them, then using one of them to show the map ?
I guess that you would quickly get bottlenecked by memory though ?

[Nexarius]

I wonder how viable is running multiple Factorio instances on a single PC, playing multiplayer with them, then using one of them to show the map ?
I guess that you would quickly get bottlenecked by memory though ?

1) You need 2 accounts

2) It only works if you computer can run the world with 120 UPS (2x 60UPS)

[BlueTemplar]

1.) No, you don't. Only for Wube server's matchmaking.

2.) It's not linear.

[In_Rust_I_Trust]

Assuming that there isn't some post elsewhere on the forums or in the news section that talks about this feature, I assume there's been no Dev feedback on this potential feature.

I'll just chime in and say that multi-monitor setups sound like an amazing feature to add, and that this feature, and the extra information density that it would allow for sounds like it would fit really well into the kind of game Factorio is.

[grapereader]

Is there even a remote chance of this being implemented after 1.1? With a few mods installed the UI becomes a huge overhead... if only we could throw a few important windows onto another display...

Disagree with the points made in the 1.1 post about lifetime upgrades not being worth it. If there's one thing that requires engine work and could reduce friction over the next few decades, assuming this game is a classic, it's this.

[MartinMaxKing]

There is a "simple" solution to that and somewhat suggested already. Not ideal but better that 1 screen.

Create separate program to display some additional info inside it on secondary monitor.
You can call it "factorio display" or whatever I will just call it secondary program.
This will be available only for multiplayer games. So u have to play multiplayer game with yourself/you secondary program or any other multiplayer game.

Connect secondary program to game with already existing multiplayer options as another "player".
Run both (game and secondary program) in window modes.

On secondary program display map and if secondary program in window focus then move on it with virtual invisible player same as in editor mode.
Additional features could have:
-displaying chat/log
-windows with available recopies or research tree just to see them
-windows displaying production, power stats etc
So on secondary program you could not craft or build anything, this would be just to display stuff.

It would be similar as running second game on second computer
but bcs it would be 2 on 1 computer player input must be lower to minimum, also including displaying map with lower resolution.
Tbh even map can be skipped, just displaying game stats, game chat/log would be enough.

And bum - we have secondary program to show at least some info from the game
Now someone has to code it... please? pretty please..