I'm trying to get Borderlands 2 on Mac, the Steam version, to run at full resolution (2880×1800) on my rMBP.
In-game, the max resolution for some reason is set at 1440×900, half of the full resolution.
I've tried these launch options in Steam:
-w 2880 -h 1800
-width 2880 -h 1800
but neither set the game resolution.
I manually went into the .ini file and set the resolution, but when the game starts up it sets it right back to 1440×900!
What else can I try?
ETA:
I can use SwitchResX to run the entire OS in non-retina mode, so its resolution would be 2880×1800, but without retina, and I can then set the game resolution that high and it looks BEAUTIFUL, but I'd rather not use this app. Is there any way to bypass the game's limit?
Best Answer
It appears that Borderlands 2 can see only up to the current resolution. So if you have it set to the default, it can see up to 1440x900. If you go to the display preferences and set the resolution to "More space", it can see 2048/1280 (which is pretty close to full retina, and is easy to do).
To run at full resolution, download the Change Resolution app mentioned in Bora's answer. Then, change the resolution to 2800x1800. Then, start Borderlands 2. You will be able to set it to this resolution in the options.
Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to remember the setting. Furthermore, unless you have eagle eyes, you're probably going to want to move the resolution back down again when you are done. But changing the resolution tends to mess up your window sizes. There are tools that can help you with that, though, if it comes to be an issue.
A few caveats on running at full retina:
The game will be a bit choppy. You may need to actually pick one of the options below 2880x1800, just so it runs smoothly enough. Quitting all other programs and unplugging any external displays first can help. Also try adjusting some of the other video options. It will be even slower if you run multiplayer. Also, make sure your computer is plugged in, or else the video card and CPU will run at reduced capacity to try to save power. I personally just run at the default 1440x900 when playing multiplayer, as it's otherwise unplayable, but run retina when playing by myself, as it works reasonably well then.
The game literally thinks that you have a giant 2800x1800 monitor. So some things are going to be really small. In particular, the mouse and any caption text will be a quarter their usual size. This was also the case in Borderlands 1.
Certain game elements will not be retina. This applies in particular to the loading screens. It's not going to kill your game experience, but if you're going to show off the retina to your friends, do it with actual gameplay.
Like I said, it won't remember these settings. You have to change the resolution before you start Borderland 2 each time, and then go in and change the resolution.