I just discovered this wonderful site! Huzzah!

Anyway, I downloaded the Windows version of X-Com 1. Surprisingly, the sound works fine, but the image is smooshed and totally garbled. I suspect that the game is trying to run in 320x200 resolution and that my computer is not able to display that resolution.

Compatability mode options did nothing to clear this up.

I have an nVidia 7600GS video card running under Windows XP.

Any suggestions?

Did you run the patched EXE ("bandage" icon)?

Ah, thank you. That's must better! Only now the bottom third of the screen seems to be cut off.

Any ideas on how to deal with this?

Your description of the problem reminds me of something. Are you using an LCD monitor? I remember some people reporting such problems with this game and type of monitor.

Yes. I am using an LCD monitor, with a DVI connection.

Is it something to do with the refresh rate or something?

Not sure what is the exact cause.

Anyway, try using a CRT monitor.

Ah-ha! I've found it!

Sock this away for future reference: fiddling around with the "Flat Panel Scaling Options" in the nVidia control panel cleared it up.

• Use NVIDIA scaling -works
• Use NVIDIA scaling with fixed-aspect-ratio -colors correct, but bottom 1/3 of screen cut off
• Use my display's built-in scaling -works
• Do not scale -full screen shown, but the colors are a bit scrambled.

This game is in 320x200 resolution, right? I suspect that the software that handles scaling in the nVidia driver isn't designed to handle such a low resolution or doesn't handle such low resolutions as well in all cases, hence the squirrely behavior.

320x200 or 320x240, not quite sure which one. (8:5 or 4:3 pixel ratio).
It's possible that your drivers had trouble handling that resolution.

Where can I find Flat Panel Scaling Options?