Who cares about FOV?

Really? I never got why PC gamers complain about this kinda stuff. Some say their entire perception is thrown off, but I never notice it. When I say this thoe...PC gamers just list me as a console gamer.

Can someone tell me whats the point of FOV? Does it really matter honestly?

. FOV is the degree from which you can see from left to right. Dante2710

thanks for clearly that up for me

He means "Field Of View" (F.O.V), here is a good example of the differences between FOV:-

Most console games have a FOV of around 65 where as a lot of PC gamers prefer a higher FOV. The reasoning behind this is pretty sound, most console gamers play on a TV which is quite some distance away from them so having a high FOV could make it difficult to play the game. However PC gamers practically sit right on top of their monitor so it is advantageous to have a higher FOV simply because you see "more of what is going on".

I think there is also an argument to be made that technical limitations come into play with consoles a low FOV = less to render on screen. As for whether it makes a difference or not to people, well that is a personal thing. I can't say I am about to go around burning down houses over it. I have always been a PC gamer and I have never bothered with consoles but FOV isn't really something I care about.

Well, beyond the fact that you can see more, which has its advantages, I get a bit of a headache when the FOV is too tight.ProudLarry

thanks for clearly that up for melawlessx

Troll thread?

FOV is VERY important for the feel of a game. Many games are too tight, like looking through mild binoculars the whole time. Makes the game unnatural looking and often gives me a dizzy or nausea sensation.

Hardly a troll thread. Believe it or not, some of us aren't familiar with FOV details. For me, this thread has been very informative. I plan to check out my BF:BC2 settings tonight.

go play operation flashpoint dragon rising and tell me you don't notice anything wrong with the FOV. Some FOV in games are WAY to small.

Are you seriously asking this? Please tell me you have BC2 set at 90 instead of 55. You must be new to PC gaming if you dont know why the FOV plays an important role. FOV is the degree from which you can see from left to right. Dante2710

Sorry I'm not as hardcore of a PC gamer as you. This kinda stuff I would NEVER notice. Unless of coarse someone like you would point it out. I still don't see the big deal thoe. I have not messed with my FOV settings at all.

Well, beyond the fact that you can see more, which has its advantages, I get a bit of a headache when the FOV is too tight.ProudLarry

If I a game has a default FOV below 75 and that is unchangeable, then I usually don't buy the game. At least not anywhere near full price.

When DICE announced that BFBC2 will have an adjustable FOV, that was just one more reason I started to plan buying it. Sure, they were just seizing the moment, but at a time when so many developers just don't care about what PC gamers have come to expect, the few that do, you have to reward them.

If I a game has a default FOV below 75 and that is unchangeable, then I usually don't buy the game. At least not anywhere near full price.

When DICE announced that BFBC2 will have an adjustable FOV, that was just one more reason I started to plan buying it. Sure, they were just seizing the moment, but at a time when so many developers just don't care about what PC gamers have come to expect, the few that do, you have to reward them.

giant11

Well FoV all depends on the aspect ratio of the monitor your using. If your playing on a 16:10 monitor and using an aspect ratio suited for a 4:3 or 5:4 monitor, you will notice that it looks odd (the view looks too zoomed in and like your playing the game through binoculars).

[QUOTE="giant11"]

If I a game has a default FOV below 75 and that is unchangeable, then I usually don't buy the game. At least not anywhere near full price.

When DICE announced that BFBC2 will have an adjustable FOV, that was just one more reason I started to plan buying it. Sure, they were just seizing the moment, but at a time when so many developers just don't care about what PC gamers have come to expect, the few that do, you have to reward them.

JangoWuzHere

While I agree with you in your statement, it doesnt mean the guy above is wrong for what he said. Good graphics options and the support for the PC as a platform in general are very good reasons to choose whether to buy a game or not.

[QUOTE="JangoWuzHere"][QUOTE="giant11"]

If I a game has a default FOV below 75 and that is unchangeable, then I usually don't buy the game. At least not anywhere near full price.

When DICE announced that BFBC2 will have an adjustable FOV, that was just one more reason I started to plan buying it. Sure, they were just seizing the moment, but at a time when so many developers just don't care about what PC gamers have come to expect, the few that do, you have to reward them.

mkaliaz

While I agree with you in your statement, it doesnt mean the guy above is wrong for what he said. Good graphics options and the support for the PC as a platform in general are very good reasons to choose whether to buy a game or not.

Yeah I'm all for that, I just don't see the point of FOV. Developers lock their FOV for a reason so other players don't get an unfair advantage. It also hurts the cinematic quality of games like in Bioshock.JangoWuzHere

Thats a good question. It does seem that it may give an unfair advantage to video setting tweakers. I didnt have a clue about FOV until tonight and wonder if i'm been hurting myself by the default settings in my BF:BC2 games.

I usually don't notice but when I do it is annoying. Metro 2033 had a horrible FOV by default. I don't expect every PC gamer to know about FOV but it is also wrong to assume only a minority of PC gamers care.

[QUOTE="mkaliaz"]

[QUOTE="JangoWuzHere"] I'm positive that the majority of PC gamers do not care about FOV settings.JangoWuzHere

While I agree with you in your statement, it doesnt mean the guy above is wrong for what he said. Good graphics options and the support for the PC as a platform in general are very good reasons to choose whether to buy a game or not.

The reason developers lock the fov/resolution is due to HW constrains, it's not the same rendering a game with a fov 65 than rendeing a game with a fov 90, more power is required to keep the framerate up on the latter and since consoles cannot be upgraded they need to make some compromises and work with what they have at hand. You can test this in TF2 in wireframe mode (create your own server and enable cheats). That's one of the things I dislike about console ports (the lack of options to tweak the game at will).

[QUOTE="mkaliaz"]

[QUOTE="JangoWuzHere"] I'm positive that the majority of PC gamers do not care about FOV settings.JangoWuzHere

While I agree with you in your statement, it doesnt mean the guy above is wrong for what he said. Good graphics options and the support for the PC as a platform in general are very good reasons to choose whether to buy a game or not.

Hurts the cinematic quality of the game explain to me how a game having proper widescreen support i.e increasing the fov depending on how wide the aspect ratio of the montior is hurts the cinematic quality of a game i fail to see how forcing a game to a 4:3 aspect ratio makes it more cinematic. Fact is it doesn't, infact a wider aspect ratio would add to the cinematic experience which is why you go to see a movie there all using widescreen projectors and not fullscreen ones because it creates a more cinemeatic experience and provides a more natural viewing experience as our eyes have a greater horizontal filed of vison then vertical.

As for why it matters if the fov is locked when playing on a widescreen monitor you ethier get a stretched image like in warcraft 3

Or you have end up seeing less as the top and bottoms of the screen are cut off like this technically a wider image but you see less. Both are undesirable the fov should increase proportionaly depending upon how wide the aspect

Both are undesirable the fov should increase proportionaly depending upon how much wider the aspect is from fullscreen for proper widescreen like the images below. Just one of those things you come to expect in this day in age with widescreen becoming the norm. On consoles FOV is locked low for technical reasons as a wider fov would mean more to render and to much a performance for the consoles. As for any type of balance issues i won't deny this will give you a slight advantage but its a very small one you can have eyefinity with 3 monitors if you a terrible player your not going suddenly become pro because of it hell might as well disable 5.1 audio cause its an unfair advantage, force all graphics settings ot low and limit framerate to 30fps to compesate for weaker computers so where all on a equal playing field. Really this isn't a big advnatage at all just look at all the pro gamers on pc there all playing at low resolution pn 4:3 monitors and can beat 99.9% of the players of that game if it was such a huge advantage you think they'd have all switched over to eyefinity by now. You really should go hear for some indepth articles that explains widescreen,FOV,and aspect ratios in greater detial which will teach you to importance fov if you still think its not a big deal then thats your opinion but you'll now be informed on the matter.

http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/wiki/FAQ

[QUOTE="JangoWuzHere"][QUOTE="mkaliaz"]

While I agree with you in your statement, it doesnt mean the guy above is wrong for what he said. Good graphics options and the support for the PC as a platform in general are very good reasons to choose whether to buy a game or not.

DJ_Headshot

Hurts the cinematic quality of the game explain to me how a game having proper widescreen support i.e increasing the fov depending on how wide the aspect ratio of the montior is hurts the cinematic quality of a game i fail to see how forcing a game to a 4:3 aspect ratio makes it more cinematic. Fact is it doesn't, infact a wider aspect ratio would add to the cinematic experience which is why you go to see a movie there all using widescreen projectors and not fullscreen ones because it creates a more cinemeatic experience and provides a more natural viewing experience as our eyes have a greater horizontal filed of vison then vertical.

As for why it matters if the fov is locked when playing on a widescreen monitor you ethier get a stretched image like in warcraft 3

Or you have end up seeing less as the top and bottoms of the screen are cut off like this technically a wider image but you see less. Both are undesirable the fov should increase proportionaly depending upon how wide the aspect

Both are undesirable the fov should increase proportionaly depending upon how much wider the aspect is from fullscreen for proper widescreen like the images below. Just one of those things you come to expect in this day in age with widescreen becoming the norm. On consoles FOV is locked low for technical reasons as a wider fov would mean more to render and to much a performance for the consoles. As for any type of balance issues i won't deny this will give you a slight advantage but its a very small one you can have eyefinity with 3 monitors if you a terrible player your not going suddenly become pro because of it hell might as well disable 5.1 audio cause its an unfair advantage, force all graphics settings ot low and limit framerate to 30fps to compesate for weaker computers so where all on a equal playing field. Really this isn't a big advnatage at all just look at all the pro gamers on pc there all playing at low resolution pn 4:3 monitors and can beat 99.9% of the players of that game if it was such a huge advantage you think they'd have all switched over to eyefinity by now. You really should go hear for some indepth articles that explains widescreen,FOV,and aspect ratios in greater detial which will teach you to importance fov if you still think its not a big deal then thats your opinion but you'll now be informed on the matter.

http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/wiki/FAQ

[QUOTE="JangoWuzHere"][QUOTE="giant11"] I'm positive that the majority of PC gamers do not care about FOV settings.mkaliaz

While I agree with you in your statement, it doesnt mean the guy above is wrong for what he said. Good graphics options and the support for the PC as a platform in general are very good reasons to choose whether to buy a game or not.

He might be right that a lot of people don't care about FOV, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't. They're definitely not helped by not having a decently wide FOV. The PC experience is reduced. You're getting 'less game' out of your PC, if you will. Also, a number of people get sick by having a low FOV and I'm sure that at least some of them don't know that the FOV is the reason.

Well, play halo 2, the fov is terrible, basicly the bigger the fov the more you can see without having to look around to capture the image of the entire area. It feels like your view is zoomed and kinda puts me off. I dont care much but it better not be terrible.dakan45

Halo 2 for PC had one of the worst FOVs I can ever remember. And initially there was no way to adjust it either, not even with existing halo 1 tools.

So what FOV do people recommend/use?

So what FOV do people recommend/use?

lostrib

I don't care if I see more or not since I'm not using a widescreen monitor, but if the FOV is too small (see: The Suffering, MoH: Pacific Assault) I get a terrible headache and can't play the game for more than a couple of minutes. The only way for me to play a game with a small (unchangeable) FOV is to plug in a gamepad and play from across the room.

I gotta say I don't use this and tbh it seems a bit like cheating since you could put it up really high and see a lot more then some one who doesn't has their fov changed.

[QUOTE="DJ_Headshot"]

[QUOTE="JangoWuzHere"] Yeah I'm all for that, I just don't see the point of FOV. Developers lock their FOV for a reason so other players don't get an unfair advantage. It also hurts the cinematic quality of games like in Bioshock.JangoWuzHere

Hurts the cinematic quality of the game explain to me how a game having proper widescreen support i.e increasing the fov depending on how wide the aspect ratio of the montior is hurts the cinematic quality of a game i fail to see how forcing a game to a 4:3 aspect ratio makes it more cinematic. Fact is it doesn't, infact a wider aspect ratio would add to the cinematic experience which is why you go to see a movie there all using widescreen projectors and not fullscreen ones because it creates a more cinemeatic experience and provides a more natural viewing experience as our eyes have a greater horizontal filed of vison then vertical.

As for why it matters if the fov is locked when playing on a widescreen monitor you ethier get a stretched image like in warcraft 3

Or you have end up seeing less as the top and bottoms of the screen are cut off like this technically a wider image but you see less. Both are undesirable the fov should increase proportionaly depending upon how wide the aspect

Both are undesirable the fov should increase proportionaly depending upon how much wider the aspect is from fullscreen for proper widescreen like the images below. Just one of those things you come to expect in this day in age with widescreen becoming the norm. On consoles FOV is locked low for technical reasons as a wider fov would mean more to render and to much a performance for the consoles. As for any type of balance issues i won't deny this will give you a slight advantage but its a very small one you can have eyefinity with 3 monitors if you a terrible player your not going suddenly become pro because of it hell might as well disable 5.1 audio cause its an unfair advantage, force all graphics settings ot low and limit framerate to 30fps to compesate for weaker computers so where all on a equal playing field. Really this isn't a big advnatage at all just look at all the pro gamers on pc there all playing at low resolution pn 4:3 monitors and can beat 99.9% of the players of that game if it was such a huge advantage you think they'd have all switched over to eyefinity by now. You really should go hear for some indepth articles that explains widescreen,FOV,and aspect ratios in greater detial which will teach you to importance fov if you still think its not a big deal then thats your opinion but you'll now be informed on the matter.

http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/wiki/FAQ

I gotta say I don't use this and tbh it seems a bit like cheating since you could put it up really high and see a lot more then some one who doesn't has their fov changed.

Empirefrtw

Where do you draw the line ? Those that can put their draw distances up higher can see farther. Those that buy mice with more sensitivity can turn faster. It's a slippery slope to call changing the FOV cheating.

Are you seriously asking this? Please tell me you have BC2 set at 90 instead of 55. You must be new to PC gaming if you dont know why the FOV plays an important role. FOV is the degree from which you can see from left to right. Dante2710

I heard that BC2's FOV is vertical, not horizontal

Lox_Cropek

That gif would disagree.

I don't like games with low FOV. Metro has a 45 degrees FOV I think. It's horrible.

I used to play Quake 3 with a 130 degrees FOV.

The human FOV is around 180.

I don't like games with low FOV. Metro has a 45 degrees FOV I think. It's horrible.

I used to play Quake 3 with a 130 degrees FOV.

The human FOV is around 180.

Baranga

[QUOTE="Baranga"]

I don't like games with low FOV. Metro has a 45 degrees FOV I think. It's horrible.

I used to play Quake 3 with a 130 degrees FOV.

The human FOV is around 180.

TerrorRizzing

LOL yeah that's true at times. The funny thing was I was 11 at the time and didn't realize but you go back now and notice it instantly.

Have higher sensitivity can be made up for but a larger fov is something huge like in starcraft if your units could see even a minor bit more into the fow in a rts game.

Pretty much as soon as I started playing MW2, the first thing I noticed was the FOV. Same with BC2.

I got used to it with MW2 because I had to, but now reading this thread does make me want to change my FOV for BC2... do you have to download some settings manager or something to change it?

Also, Crysis 2... the first thing I noticed on gameplay footage of that was how small the FOV was and how far over the gun you are, you've basically got your nose pressed against the head of the barrel I swear.

Pretty much as soon as I started playing MW2, the first thing I noticed was the FOV. Same with BC2.

I got used to it with MW2 because I had to, but now reading this thread does make me want to change my FOV for BC2... do you have to download some settings manager or something to change it?

Also, Crysis 2... the first thing I noticed on gameplay footage of that was how small the FOV was and how far over the gun you are, you've basically got your nose pressed against the head of the barrel I swear.

lucfonzy

[QUOTE="lucfonzy"]

Pretty much as soon as I started playing MW2, the first thing I noticed was the FOV. Same with BC2.

I got used to it with MW2 because I had to, but now reading this thread does make me want to change my FOV for BC2... do you have to download some settings manager or something to change it?

Also, Crysis 2... the first thing I noticed on gameplay footage of that was how small the FOV was and how far over the gun you are, you've basically got your nose pressed against the head of the barrel I swear.

Dante2710

Aha! Cool man, thanks

[QUOTE="JangoWuzHere"]

[QUOTE="DJ_Headshot"]

Hurts the cinematic quality of the game explain to me how a game having proper widescreen support i.e increasing the fov depending on how wide the aspect ratio of the montior is hurts the cinematic quality of a game i fail to see how forcing a game to a 4:3 aspect ratio makes it more cinematic. Fact is it doesn't, infact a wider aspect ratio would add to the cinematic experience which is why you go to see a movie there all using widescreen projectors and not fullscreen ones because it creates a more cinemeatic experience and provides a more natural viewing experience as our eyes have a greater horizontal filed of vison then vertical.

As for why it matters if the fov is locked when playing on a widescreen monitor you ethier get a stretched image like in warcraft 3

Or you have end up seeing less as the top and bottoms of the screen are cut off like this technically a wider image but you see less. Both are undesirable the fov should increase proportionaly depending upon how wide the aspect

Both are undesirable the fov should increase proportionaly depending upon how much wider the aspect is from fullscreen for proper widescreen like the images below. Just one of those things you come to expect in this day in age with widescreen becoming the norm. On consoles FOV is locked low for technical reasons as a wider fov would mean more to render and to much a performance for the consoles. As for any type of balance issues i won't deny this will give you a slight advantage but its a very small one you can have eyefinity with 3 monitors if you a terrible player your not going suddenly become pro because of it hell might as well disable 5.1 audio cause its an unfair advantage, force all graphics settings ot low and limit framerate to 30fps to compesate for weaker computers so where all on a equal playing field. Really this isn't a big advnatage at all just look at all the pro gamers on pc there all playing at low resolution pn 4:3 monitors and can beat 99.9% of the players of that game if it was such a huge advantage you think they'd have all switched over to eyefinity by now. You really should go hear for some indepth articles that explains widescreen,FOV,and aspect ratios in greater detial which will teach you to importance fov if you still think its not a big deal then thats your opinion but you'll now be informed on the matter.

http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/wiki/FAQ

TheGreatOutdoor