Factorio Forums

Not sure when this started, it has been since 10.2 as that was the last time I had played some game. I updated to 10.12 today (did a full uninstall and redownloaded the installer). I then fired up the game and it game up on my secondary monitor on the left.

I have tried primary / secondary and secondary / primary and it always starts on the screen on the left.
I tried switching the cables on the video card and then pri / sec to sec / pri and still always on the left.

Windows 8.1, GTX 580 video card with driver 9.18.13.4052 release 7.2.2014.

Not sure what has changed but I can't really play on the left monitor as it's not in a "gaming" position. it's my extra that other things go on while I'm playing. Is there something I'm missing or something in the game that makes it always start on the left monitor? Are there some setting I can change to correct this?

That was changed in 0.10.10:

Fixed that it wasn't possible to start fullscreen game in other than the primary window. There is now settings in config in category [graphics] section: preffered-screen-index. Changing the value changes the display adapter (monitor) that is used. If many people use this feature in the future, we can put it in the graphics settings ingame as well (viewtopic.php?t=5048).

Thanks that did it.

Though the "fix" is incorrect in one respect. It ALWAYS started on the left screen, whether it was primary or not. The left screen must always be index 0 is my guess.

Now to see what's changed!!

Marconos wrote:Thanks that did it.

Though the "fix" is incorrect in one respect. It ALWAYS started on the left screen, whether it was primary or not. The left screen must always be index 0 is my guess.

Now to see what's changed!!

I second this notion that the configuration is bugged. My primary monitor is my RIGHT monitor, but the game was constantly starting on the left monitor after this update which is not primary.

Is it what you use as primary or what Window detects as such? Right-click on the desktop, click Screen Resolution and check the numbers there. When unconfigured, factorio will use the screen labeled as 1 there now. I think before this change, it would use the screen marked as your main display in that window (which could be the one Windows detects as #2)

Hmm.. that is weird, perhaps something kovarex will have to look into again after all then

The numbers in the config file correspond to how windows indexes the monitors and not the numbers shown in the resolution display. I don't know how the windows index of a monitor is decided (order it's plugged in maybe?) but the resolution number is just a number assigned to the graphics card connections on a given graphics card.

I did 1 / 2 thing in every combination possible. Even switched the inputs on the dang video care. Always went on the left monitor no matter what I did.

Marconos wrote:I did 1 / 2 thing in every combination possible. Even switched the inputs on the dang video care. Always went on the left monitor no matter what I did.

Switch the number in the config file. Just keep incrementing it from 0 until it's on the right monitor.

Rseding91 wrote:Switch the number in the config file. Just keep incrementing it from 0 until it's on the right monitor.

Yes, he said that works. But it's a bug that the game can't guess the correct monitor.

DaveMcW wrote:

Rseding91 wrote:Switch the number in the config file. Just keep incrementing it from 0 until it's on the right monitor.

Yes, he said that works. But it's a bug that the game can't guess the correct monitor.

How would the game know the correct monitor? Not everyone has their "primary display" as their main monitor. That's why the config option was added in the first place - the auto setting of "use the windows primary monitor" wasn't correct for some people.

Rseding91 wrote:How would the game know the correct monitor? Not everyone has their "primary display" as their main monitor. That's why the config option was added in the first place - the auto setting of "use the windows primary monitor" wasn't correct for some people.

Now it's incorrect for a LOT of people.

And the config file is the only solution - giving the game hints through Windows settings and video cables does nothing.

Confirmed bug here as well. Factorio always used to open on the correct, primary monitor in fullscreen, now it does not, whether I set the index to 0 or 1. (Or 2).

Rseding91 wrote:

DaveMcW wrote:

Rseding91 wrote:Switch the number in the config file. Just keep incrementing it from 0 until it's on the right monitor.

Yes, he said that works. But it's a bug that the game can't guess the correct monitor.

How would the game know the correct monitor? Not everyone has their "primary display" as their main monitor. That's why the config option was added in the first place - the auto setting of "use the windows primary monitor" wasn't correct for some people.

We are not asking the game to startup on a non-primary monitor. That is what the setting should be used for when you want to run the game on a secondary. It SHOULD properly startup on whatever monitor you have as primary, that it currently does not do, which is the bug I am talking about.

The game should default to the primary monitor and allow the user to choose otherwise in the options.

FYI, using the "preffered-screen-index" (sic) setting in the config file introduces new issues for me. The game runs fine windowed or in full screen with the default config (index zero, leftmost monitor in a 3 monitor setup). If I change the config to an index of 1, for the center monitor, it moves to the correct monitor but introduces the "starts-minimized-and-will-not-maximize" or "30x30-pixel-window" bugs. Working around the bugs in the manner that is recommended in the posts for these issues will eventually allow me to play maximized, but the maximized game stops about 100px above the taskbar and start menu, and refuses to fill the screen.

I added gui option (in graphics settings) to select the screen.

somabva wrote:FYI, using the "preffered-screen-index" (sic) setting in the config file introduces new issues for me. The game runs fine windowed or in full screen with the default config (index zero, leftmost monitor in a 3 monitor setup). If I change the config to an index of 1, for the center monitor, it moves to the correct monitor but introduces the "starts-minimized-and-will-not-maximize" or "30x30-pixel-window" bugs. Working around the bugs in the manner that is recommended in the posts for these issues will eventually allow me to play maximized, but the maximized game stops about 100px above the taskbar and start menu, and refuses to fill the screen.

I don't know why this happens, it works properly for me, but maybe it is because the two monitors are exactly the same.
Isn't it possible, that your monitors have different resolutions? There might be some bug hidden.