640 x 480 Legacy Graphics Mode Option - Feature Request

[TitanGorilla-1990]

Could you please consider adding a legacy graphics option to SC Remastered that is separate from the current SD and HD modes? A graphics mode that restores SC Brood War version 1.16.1’s resolution of 640 x 480 with a faithful 1:1 replication of the original SC/BW 1.16.1 graphics and assets?

The current “SD” mode in SC Remastered seems to have an intermix of both HD and SD assets(e.g. cursor, and lack of dithering patterns that were present in 1.16.1). I understand the SD mode currently available in SC Remastered may have been modified to account for modern displays.

When SC Remastered was released in 2017, integer scaling wasn’t widely available, so the SD mode may have been modified for accessibility. However, ever since 2019 GPUs now have an integer scaling feature which allows the original graphics to shine on modern displays if enabled. Integer scaling allows the original 640 x 480 graphics of SC Brood War to be preserved on modern high resolution displays.

I believe many people who appreciate the original graphics of Brood War 1.16.1 and earlier, would be happy to have this feature, and if people were aware, may opt to use a true legacy graphics mode option with GPU integer scaling rather than the current “SD” option.

A legacy graphics toggle (or checkbox) option could disable the other graphical settings, restoring it exactly how the graphics were in 1.16.1. If selected, the UI could just allow the “Enable Color Cycling”, the gamma slider, and portrait preference options. This would restore the graphics settings exactly the way it was in 1.16.1, allowing a faithful 1:1 replica of the original Brood War 1.16.1 before SC remastered.

Please consider adding a legacy graphics option, I noticed a significant difference in clarity and visual fidelity when I enabled Nvidia’s integer scaling on Brood War 1.16.1 compared to the SD mode presently available in SC Remastered.

Thank you for your consideration.

[ege4-2214]

Hi! IIRC, with the free version of SC:R you get better graphics than the paid version of SC:R, namely the SD graphics of it. That’s as close as you can get, as there’s no active development team for SC:R.

[HappySack-11608]

If you want the original game in a higher resoultion than what Remastered provides, you should download and install an original copy of Starcraft 1 so you can play that instead of Remastered.

[TitanGorilla-1990]

A graphics update for the SD mode has been requested for years, yet Blizzard hasn’t acknowledged it. See this 2019 forum post:

Take a look what you've done to old graphics

I’ve been following as a silent customer these forums long enough but it’s been a while and I can’t keep my mouth shut after seeing how Blizzard is ruining and tearing this game apart. Watch JD vs. FlaSh on 1080p (one of the best games ever played by the way). How come you could F-UP 640x480 resolution SD graphics and deliver us a mess with a lame blurring filter option? Are you going to acknowledge that you downgraded SD? Don’t care about HD, could care even less about cartoon mode, GIVE ME B…

Since no fix has been addressed, I’m suggesting a simple checkbox that restores the original 1.16.1 graphics at 640 × 480. This toggle would leave the current SD and HD modes untouched, so it carries no downside for anyone.

I’d happily play the original Brood War client, but its Battle.net servers were retired and merged into SC Remastered’s servers. A legacy-graphics option for SC Remastered would allow the authentic BW visuals while still playing on official servers.

[Leviathan-1945]

@TitanGorilla-1990

yet Blizzard hasn’t acknowledged it.

SCR’s development ended in 2020. The team responsible for SCR has been gone since then as well.