Ubuntu

Screen resolution issue in Focal 20.04LTS

Asked by Jaime Cruz

I've been a user of Ubuntu since Precise 12.04LTS. Focal is the first time I am using Ubuntu without the Unity desktop (I installed it under Bionic, but my tests under Focal indicated too much was "broken" and even the Ubuntu Unity project has failings). Understand, I don't know if the issue is with Focal, or with the Gnome desktop but I've discovered if I play a game that goes into "Full Screen Mode" under a different resolution than my desktop, when the game ends and I return to the desktop the resolution remains the same as the one set by the game. I have to go into Settings -- Display and change the resolution back manually.

This occurs when I play the native Linux version of Rise of the Triad, Dark Places (Quake engine for Linux) or DOSBox. This was never a problem under Unity; the desktop always reverted back to the correct settings once the game ended.

Running Focal 20.04.2LTS with no proprietary drivers installed. The last time I needed proprietary drivers was with Precise; since then all LTS versions have run just fine with the open source drivers on my system.

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actionparsnip
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Best actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#1

You could make a script to run the game, then when it ends use xrandr to set the resolution back. It's a work around but should be OK.

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Jaime Cruz (jaime-cruz) said : 		#2

Thank you for that work-around. I'll have to give it a shot. It would be nice if the Gnome developers would address it though; I can't imagine I'm the only person experiencing this.

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Jaime Cruz (jaime-cruz) said : 		#3

Thanks actionparsnip, that solved my question.

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Jaime Cruz (jaime-cruz) said : 		#4

I don't know anything about writing bash scripts but I am a whiz with REXX from my decades working on IBM mainframes. I was able to create a quick and dirty little script in OORexx that queries the current display device and resolution, invoke the passed game, and then restore the previously set resolution. I only have a single monitor so I have no idea how it would work in a mult-monitor setup. If anyone is experiencing the same issue I'd be more than happy to share the script. Please note this is NOT a fix, it is a work-around for what I consider to be a bug in GNOME.