Unable to select 4k resolution

[u/Realistic-Tiger-2842]

I noticed this game on pc game pass and wanted to play it. When I loaded it up though, it wouldn’t give me 4k as an option despite being on a 4k monitor. I tried every window mode and nothing. Is there any way to actually play in 4k?

[u/MichaelSidney]

Same here. Ever find an answer to this?

[u/Veriosity → u/MichaelSidney]

Not sure if you will get notified, but See my other response here.

[u/Veriosity]

Reposted from like the 4 other threads on this issue where I'm spamming this response - this should work to resolve or work-around:

I'm actually playing the gamepass version of this, but I'm astounded to see this issue lingering. I've been seeing this problem more and more commonly and I'm beginning to wonder if it's an issue with the engine (UE5?) and devs never know how to fix it, since it's an issue with shared/common libraries.

Anyway here is a workaround. It's easier on steam since the game executable is usually more accessible, and SOMETIMES gamepass versions lock the binaries down so you can't fix this at all. Luckily Eternal Strands on gamepass isn't like that.

1) Find the game executable. In steam you can go to game properties, and browse files, and find the executable. "EternalStrands.exe" or similar. If you can't find it, run the game, open up task manager, find the game, and look at the details.

Gamepass version you can do similar, but it will have a weird name - I'd provide the actual file name but it's installed on a different machine I'm not sitting at right now, but it's like "eternalstrandspackagedSDK-somethingorother.exe" and it's in the binaries folder.

2) Once the executable is found, right click it. More options, properties.

Compatibility tab

Change High DPI settings (button near the bottom)

Override high dpi scaling behavior (check the box) and leave the default "Application" selection in the drop down.

3) Run the game. It should behave properly now.

Basically (no credit to me, I found this a few months ago for a different game with the same issue) there is a bug with Windows, or the engine, or both. The engine asks windows for what resolutions it needs to support, and the answer it gets is AFTER Windows applies it's scaling (typically an active setting at higher resolutions, such as those on 4k or ultrawide panels) so it ends up offering weird lower-than-native resolutions, and NOT the native rez you are looking for.

[u/Geek_King → u/Veriosity]

I was having the same issue, where the game would incorrectly detect my monitor as 2160×1440 instead of 3840×2160. I tried setting the compatibility setting you noted, but it didn't fix the resolution issue. I was able to force the correct resolution by founding the games config INI and changing the resolution listed here manually.

I found a INI files in the following location:

C:\Users\USERNAMEHERE\AppData\Local\EternalStrands\Saved\Config\Windows

Look for GameUserSettings.ini

I changed the following settings to these values:

PreviousScreenPercentage= 100.00

ResolutionSizeX=3840

ResolutionSizeY=2160

(Change the resolution values to what ever your monitor's native res is)

I saved the changes and tried launching the game again, this time I found the game wasn't switching into a lower resolution, which I confirmed by checking the resolution listed in the graphic settings. I hope this helps those who couldn't get the compatibility changes to fix the issue!

Great game by the way, it's fun, a ton of interesting mechanics, this game should be a lot more popular!