Dual monitor problem for games

[dusktreader]

I'm an avid UrbanTerror gamer and also a long time Ubuntu user. I recently tried a virtual Kubuntu guest install, and I thought the KDE integration looked great. So, here I am kicking Gnome to the curb for my 10.10 install.

So, the display configuration in the settings was very nice and easy to get the multiple monitors working. The only problem is, I can't find any configuration options for multiple metamodes. In Ubuntu 10.04 and previous, I could simply modify the xorg.conf file to add a custom metamode for my games so that they would only display on a single monitor.

My question is, how do I set this up in Kubuntu 10.10? I really don't relish the idea of not playing in full-screen mode.

Thanks!

[abalone]

Re: Dual monitor problem for games

I'm still using an /etc/X11/xorg.conf with metamodes for fullscreen games. I didn't know it was supposed to be a problem, but then I upgraded rather than reinstalled for 10.10. Is this something that doesn't work anymore, or that works only with nvidia drivers?

[oshunluvr]

Re: Dual monitor problem for games

There are some settings under display in system settings, but only very basic ones. You can set modes in your xorg.conf files and/or on the fly with xrandr. I think your xorg.conf options are limited by the particular video driver you use.

I have an nvidia card and use "twinview" on dual 19's. My metamode line is:

Option "MetaModes" "1280x1024,1280x1024; 1280x1024"

This very basic setup allows a program calling for full screen to turn off my left monitor and display only on the center one. You could be more fancy and ad other resolutions but I have no need of them.

Using xrandr is a bit more work to setup but has more flexibility. You could write launch scripts for various programs to allow custom settings.

[dusktreader]

Re: Dual monitor problem for games

Fixed it by embedding xrandr commands into the lauch script.

Now I just need to get the drivers for my nVidia 8800 GTS working right with games. I swear, it's these little things not working out of the box that keeps linux from gaining more than 1% market share. I've been using linux for long enought that doing these fixes is old hat. Trying to convince a new user about the wonders of the foss world is hard when, after a basic install, they can't watch movies, listen to their music, or play games. It's getting better, but if these little issues that are important to entry level users had been resolved a few years ago during the Vista fiasco, linux could have made massive gains. I can't help but feel that we missed the boat.

[oshunluvr]

Re: Dual monitor problem for games

I agree in many ways - if we can't get the basics right out-of-the-box we'll never hit the main stream or see big gains in usership.

Do you have an xorg.conf yet? Here's mine - (8800gt)...

[dusktreader]

Re: Dual monitor problem for games

Yes, I had to add an xorg.conf because I went with the proprietary nvidia drivers for my GPU. I'm at work, but I might post it later on.

On a side note, the nvidia 185 proprietary driver works beautifully with (K)ubuntu 10.10. UrT has never run so smooth on my system before! Now, if only the install wizard gave an option to download and install this driver when it detects and nvidia GPU.