Easy fix for UI size and blur on 4K screens (Guide)

[draxo]

 

 

Zomboid is not a full 3D game. At least not yet. So changing the resolution will result in only changing zoom levels. This means that using 4K resolution is pointless. Here are 4K and 1080p at the same zoom level.

 

 

But as a side effect, 4K will make the UI so tiny that you'll have to use binoculars to read it. 
Solution: use 1080p. But we will have two problems with that. First, Zomboid behaves strangely sometimes and refuses to change resolution in fullscreen if the desktop resolution is not equal to the game resolution. Second, everything on screen will be stretched in an unoptimal way, resulting in blurry text and icons.

 

We can stretch two birds with one stone by using something called Integer Scaling. You can read more about it here. But what it basically does is enlarge every pixel by multiplying it by 4. So every original pixel will be displayed as 2x2 pixels. The result of this approach is blur-free scaling. Additionally, a big plus of this method is that it has close to zero lag and performance cost. Some modern AMD and Nvidia GPUs have integer scaling option in driver settings. Or, you can use the IntegerScaler app.

 

 

How to use it:

 

1. Check that Windows scaling does not affect the game.
Right-click ProjectZomboid64.exe - Properties - Compatibility - Override high DPI ... Performed by - Application.
2. Extract and run IntegerScaler_64bit
You can get it here: IntegerScaler
3. Open up Zomboid and set resolution = 1080p, mode = windowed.
4. Press Alt + F11. (If you don't have F keys, you can right-click IntegerScaler in the tray and turn on scaling.)
5. Done.
You'll probably want to turn off "Lock cursor to a window" and choose the appropriate font size in settings.
Scaling will turn off when you'll exit Zomboid.
 

 

How to scale automatically:

 

1. Just create a text file called auto.txt in the IntegerScaler folder and put a path to ProjectZomboid64.exe in there like this:
D:\Games\Project Zomboid\ProjectZomboid64.exe
2. Create a shortcut for IntegerScaler_64bit and put it in the Startup folder. You can access it by typing shell:startup in the Windows Explorer address bar.
3. Now it will scale automatically when you open up Zomboid.
 

 

Changing zoom levels:

 

So everything works fine, but 250% zoom out is not enough for you? There is a mod for that in Steam Workshop called "More zoom levels and 360vision". With this, you can set up more zoom levels in the settings from 1% to 1000%. Go crazy. Just don't use the 360 vision.
To set it up, you'll have to:
1. Download the mod.
2. Make a backup of the MultiTextureFBO2.class file located in Project Zomboid\zombie\core\textures. Just right-click Send To - Compressed (zipped) folder.
3. Take the modified MultiTextureFBO2.class file from the mod folder and put it in Project Zomboid\zombie\core\textures.
4. Done.

You can always restore the original file from your backup .zip file if you want to revert the changes.

 

 

By using this tips you can improve performance, sharpness and UI size.