I've been having some fun with mmrestool.exe lately, and found that the highest *stable* resolution possible for the game (D3d) is 1600x1200 (win8.1x64), which is very nice but which splits the UI to the left and right sides of the screen, respectively, while also making the dialogue/character images and other text a bit too small for my liking. Several other resolutions, both > than and < 1600x1200 either work fine or else will crash after a few moments--hit & miss, but 1600x1200 is completely stable. The mmrestool 2.7fix patch also doesn't show some of the nice static graphics in the game, like the inside of shops and other buildings--although you can still converse with the shopkeepers and peruse the inventories and buy and sell with no problem. I found after going through a bunch of resolutions that I actually preferred the standard 640x480 resolution best because all screen elements are present and in their proper perspectives and sizes. However, playing M&M VII @ 1920x1200, with 8xFSAA, is breath-taking! If only the game wouldn't crash every time after running fine for about five minutes...;) (The MMResTool author pegged the problem correctly, the game-engine buffers aren't large enough for some resolutions, but he says he tested 1600x1200 and altered his program to get it to work properly, and it does. The guy had some great plans for M&M that he apparently just dropped for some reason.)

But another really cool thing that MMrestool can do for you with M&M VI is to convert all of the 2d textures to larger 3d (as in D3d) sprites--it operates on roughly 10,000 of M&M VII's files (I had no idea there were so many)! After that, you can run M&MVII in D3d mode simply by assigning 16-bit screen depth compatibility properties to M&MVIIsetup.exe (I also assigned it to run in Administrator mode) and initially running the game from there. After that I have been able to run the game directly from mm7.exe and the game continues to run D3d mode without difficulty (mm7.exe compatibility is set only for Administrator mode.)

I also run the game with 8QxFSAA & 16X AF forced through the Catalyst control panel, and the overall result is very satisfying for replaying this fifteen-year-old classic. http://www.celestialheavens.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9873&amp;highlight scroll to the end of the thread to obtain the latest version of the MMrestool (2.7fix).

I *love* the game @ 1600x1200...it's just the split and shriveled UI elements, the absence of building interiors, and the small maps that I don't care for. If you have some time, this is a fun tool to work with if you haven't already done so (I think I'm a late-comer to MMresTool.)

I've only tried MM7 right now, but 1680x1050 seems to be somewhat of a miss (Win7 x64). If you're outdoors and look all the way down, it crashes. Works fine indoors though. The game looks great, but the UI feels kinda weird and I miss the interiors of buildings as well. But I agree, it was fun to mess with.

I don't mean to derail the thread or anything, but I think the only way we will be able to see MM7 (and hopefully others) at modern resolutions without messing anything else up is with the engine remake.

Agreed. The fact that I still prefer 640x480, after all of that, speaks for itself...;) The MMRestool thing was strange--I also tried 1680x1050 and it crashed; tried 1440x900 and it crashed; tried 1280x800 and *it* crashed--and didn't see any point to 800x600/1024x768 as it still split the UI, omitted static backgrounds, etc. I read a post by the author where he mentioned he'd tested 1600x1200 and gotten that to work reliably, I tried it--it was the only decently high res that worked consistently without a crash. But still, split UI, missing backgrounds, etc. Definitely, new engine is needed.

Edit: well, changed my mind again...! Right now I've settled on 1280x960-- so far that seems stable while greatly improving the D3d game-play graphics without reducing to the UI, maps and other screen elements to an impractically small size. But, then, I'm playing on 27.5" monitor, too...;) Seems to hit a good balance and I actually do prefer the higher-res D3d graphics even without the static store/building interiors.

Edit 2: OK, I'm running 1600x1200 again and love it...;) I think this is where I'll stay.