A full screen way to combat the Steam Overlay glitch?

Bump.. sorry for digging the grave here but would be interested in this as well.

I think the "change the resolution" option can do it

How people are doing? I've checked Concrete Jungle and it appears to be using Ultimate Full Screen object.

Some observation I got testing Ultimate fullscreen with the steam overlay
x You can avoid freezing if you delay going fullscreen some frame ticks. If you go fullscreen in the first frame loop it tends to crash or show wrong scaling.
x Zero problems with my game if I choose 0 = best fit (allowing screen distortion)
x Steam overlay is displaced if you choose Ultimate fullscreen options with black borders (for example if you choose 1 = pixel perfect fit, and it´s not possible with the players desktop resolution)
x Steam overlay flickers while changing the alpha blending coefficient of a layer, even if it has reached full transparency (255)
x I have an in game option menu using subapp. The subapp is displayed over the steam overlay, have not found a workaround yet, despite closing the supapp if the user activates the overlay

Thanks for your input Julian82, I've read/downloaded example of Ultimate Fullscreen other day with the lens shader on the other frame, and also played your Outbuddies game (cool retro game BTW). I have it all written down with the examples I've found (so I don't need to search for it all over).
Regarding STEAM, their hardware survey tells me that: Please login to see this link.

The 16:9 resolution is completely dominant
1920x1080 - 38.21%
1366x768 - 24.76%
1600x900 - 6.05%
Total of 69.02% of 16:9 that is, a game made in any of this resolution would stretch alright in about 70% of Steam users. This number might be a big bigger as I haven't checked aspect each one of that list. The resolution 1366x768 seems to be most cost effective (size to produce game artwork vs users using that display or aspect).

Now regarding Clickteam Fusion, using that resolution, the simplest options we currently have (and please correct me if I'm wrong) are:

1)If game is going to Steam, without Ultimate Full Screen, the default change resolution mode should only be performed at start of game, or need to restart if ticked a full screen checkbox during gameplay.

2)If using ultimate full screen, and want to enable changing resolution without restarting game, choose 0/best fit allowing screen distortion, that at this point should be minimal since the res. picked is already 16:9 and would fit most of monitors. Also distortion should be minimal on the rest then (at least the 16:10 resolutions...)

edit: I've been thinking, in case of a pixel art game, I suppose the best scenario would be to use ultimate full screen on the terms above (option 2). If the art is made at resolution of 320x180, it can be stretched 400% up to 1280x720 without anti-aliasing to avoid bicubic sampling etc. Then the ultimate full screen would mainting its sharpness.

SevenSails: Yeah, if you don´t want to allow a flexible frame size using UF with distortion allowed seems to be the only way to have a solution that does not crash at least. And for most steam users it will look good as well, if you choose a 16:9 ratio.

If you go for a flexible frame size the weird scaling template I posted in this thread might be an option, I updated it recently. Please login to see this link. Anyway people are having trouble to get it implemented and I honestly can´t tell why it´s working at all.

The only thing that really bugs me with the screen distortion is not the distortion itself, but a very ugly texture flickering that appears if you have a scrolling game with pixel distortion. This is not a Fusion exclusive problem at all, it´s a natural issue with scaling (low res) pixel art. A very good (bad) example on Steam of this issue is Xeodrifter, the tiles just look super weird when scrolling.

Here´s a good article on the topic: Please login to see this link.

Thanks Julian, it was this example I was referring to. I've saved it and also the explanation for reference. What I'd really steer away is the part of "people are having trouble to get it implemented" because it doesn't matter what it is... I'm sure I'll be one of these people LOL XD
Mostly I'd go with the cleanest solution and it seems.. use the default change fullscreen command using event editor/global value?
With Ultimate Full Screen it seems that if I do not allow distortion, what happens at different resolution? It will put a black bar? If so, this sounds good to me, considering in 16:10 it will be minimum, and 4: 3, well they should be used to either distortion or blackbars these days.
So without UFS extension in which case I'd have problem using the default full screen command? Only if I try to change at runtime (due to Steam overlay)?

I´m actually not very familiar with Fusions built in fullscreen options, all I ever used was Ultimate fullscreen and the strange template I posted. I also never used change resolution mode so I cannot comment on the issues that could occur with these options.

If you don´t allow distortion using UF black bars will be added, which will be ok for most users. Steam overlay will look normal, but when users try to click it the mouse coordinates will be wrong (that´s what I meant with "steam overlay will be displaced")

Sorry to high jack this thread a bit, but I am just starting my next oroject which will be primarily PC and use Steam. It is a pixel art game and I currently use UFS with no distortion. Am I in for trouble? Also, how important is Steam overlay support?

You can test, just build your app and add it to your steam library, then you can run with the overlay! As I said, a common issue would be wrong mouse coordinates when you navigate the overlay resulting in problems when trying to click the buttons. This will only happen if UF has to add black margins, if your resolution is scalable integer only to the users desktop you´re fine.

by the way: Treasure Buster was my mobile game of the year, looking forward to seeing a game of you on steam!

I really don´t know how many people actually use steam overlay, especially for indie gaming. I would say as long as it does not cause a crash minor bugs like wrong mouse coordinates are forgivable. There´s also an option to ask Steam to deactivate the overlay completely for your game, I doubt many people would complain about this, but I could be wrong..

Julian82, the steam overlay displacement is when, say, you want to click and close an achievement message? Also, I assume that the display would be more noticeable the larger the black bars? I mean, a 16:10 monitor would have a thin black bar, as a 4:3 res. would be more problematic...

So you can't ctrl+printscreen?

What about FRAPS? or other program such as GreenShot?

Quote from Del_Duio

The Steam Overlay is very important for one reason alone I can think of:

Another big one is being able to use the steam messenger. A third is being able to get help with the game via the steam browser or guides. Also, looking at the game's achievements if you're achievement hunting.

As a consumer the steam overlay is a big part of why I like playing games on steam, and I definitely miss it in games where it's disabled. It's super convenient to be able to do the above without having to tab out or exit a game.

So, to sum it up: Steam Overlay should not be disabled and there is no reliable way to use Ultimate Full Screen with Steam Overlay. We should use the default full screen method and try to use a 16:9 resolution to fit most of res. possible.

Quote from Julian82

You can test, just build your app and add it to your steam library, then you can run with the overlay! As I said, a common issue would be wrong mouse coordinates when you navigate the overlay resulting in problems when trying to click the buttons. This will only happen if UF has to add black margins, if your resolution is scalable integer only to the users desktop you´re fine.

by the way: Treasure Buster was my mobile game of the year, looking forward to seeing a game of you on steam!

I really don´t know how many people actually use steam overlay, especially for indie gaming. I would say as long as it does not cause a crash minor bugs like wrong mouse coordinates are forgivable. There´s also an option to ask Steam to deactivate the overlay completely for your game, I doubt many people would complain about this, but I could be wrong..

What resolutions do you recommend?
Selecting the right resolution is always my biggest headache and UFS always distorts my **** in the end... I never thought going fullscreen would be this much of a headache.