Inside the Box: Field of View

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J. Kyle Pittman, a UI Programmer at Gearbox Software, explains field of view (FOV), what it is, how it works, the relationship between FOV and aspect ratio and more. Definitely worth clicking the link to read.

Let's talk about field of view (FOV). As a UI Programmer on Borderlands 2, I championed the effort to make FOV a player-adjustable setting in the PC version of Borderlands 2. I went into this with no idea of how far-reaching the ramifications might be, only knowing that this was one of the most frequent complaints we heard about Borderlands 1 and that my own experience with the PC version of BL1 had been soured by the narrow FOV.
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I had a problem with the FOV in HL2 making me get motion sickness, and a lot of people online had similar issues... after adjusting the FOV in the console I was able to finish the game without issue...

FOV makes a big difference
 
FLECOM said:
I had a problem with the FOV in HL2 making me get motion sickness, and a lot of people online had similar issues... after adjusting the FOV in the console I was able to finish the game without issue...

FOV makes a big difference
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I have an issue with the Bioshock series. Even with FOV fixes, they have always given me motion sickness as well. Not something I have experienced with other games out there; FOV definitely helps minimize it but, curious. I don't believe I had an issue with HL2 though.
 
I don't get motion sickness even from horrible FOV. Only my dad's driving gives me motion sickness.
 
I almost didn't play Metro2033 because everything was so zoomed-in and it just felt annoying. After adjusting to wider angle, the whole experience was more enjoyable and less distracting. I think it's crucial to give the option, due to the variety of screen sizes and how close people sit to the monitors and such... seems like it should be common sense.
 
Regardless of your actual monitor resolution or window size, when you look at the FOV slider in Borderlands 2, that's a horizontal FOV relative to our target 16:9 aspect ratio. If you're playing in 16:9, then it will accurately reflect the horizontal FOV you'll see. In any other case, what you'll actually get on the horizontal axis will be some other value that's scaled to fit whatever vertical FOV corresponds to the chosen horizontal value at a 16:9 aspect ratio.
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Seems like it would've been simpler to explain and easier for people to reason about if they had just gone with a slider corresponding to the vFOV. A fair number of people have gotten used to the idea of dicking with the vFOV after having tweaked BFBC2, and it's a more natural way to reason about what happens when you move to wider aspect ratios: if the vFOV value stays the same, then it stands to reason that the hFOV is going to increase as the aspect ratio widens. The added benefit is that you don't have to do anything in the UI to represent that the value's changed whenever the aspect ratio changes.

Still, kudos to Pittman for championing the option.
 
The only game I recall getting it right since this whole FOV problem started has been Battlefield 3. Other games, whether they let you change it in menu or config file, give a nasty fish eye effect.
 
Not surprising BL2 players need FOV explained to them but it sure is funny :D
 
It's nice to see the professional developers run into the same kind of "got to check everything and test everything 10 times" situations I run into modding. Oh yes, and FOV is certainly a huge deal. I hate super narrow FOV settings. I know some people that hate playing with anything less than 110. One of the first things I do with a new game is find a way to force it from to 90 if it's set real low like 70.
 
I wonder if a lot of them lock in the FOV on games to prevent cheating. I know back when I was a huge part of a UT community that played in these giant maps based around livingrooms, bathrooms, kitchens and other parts of the house people would change the FOV that would give them an "always zoomed in" kind of view. Since we played with the Enhanced Shock rifle or ESR (SSR in the later games) also known as the InstaGIB gun since it was a one shot, one kill no matter how much health, armor or where you hit the player. Since the levels would be so huge, being able to zoom with that gun like it was the sniper rifle gave a huge advantage at distance.
 
Skillz said:
I wonder if a lot of them lock in the FOV on games to prevent cheating. I know back when I was a huge part of a UT community that played in these giant maps based around livingrooms, bathrooms, kitchens and other parts of the house people would change the FOV that would give them an "always zoomed in" kind of view. Since we played with the Enhanced Shock rifle or ESR (SSR in the later games) also known as the InstaGIB gun since it was a one shot, one kill no matter how much health, armor or where you hit the player. Since the levels would be so huge, being able to zoom with that gun like it was the sniper rifle gave a huge advantage at distance.
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I know in Counter-Strike Global Offensive the only setting to change the FOV is locked with sv_cheats (cheats have to be enabled for it to be changed.)
By default it changes with the aspect ratio - something like 94 for 4:3, 100 for 16:10, and 106 for 16:9.
I figure a lower FOV can make hitboxes larger and a higher one can give added range for peripheral vision.
 
sardiax said:
I know in Counter-Strike Global Offensive the only setting to change the FOV is locked with sv_cheats (cheats have to be enabled for it to be changed.)
By default it changes with the aspect ratio - something like 94 for 4:3, 100 for 16:10, and 106 for 16:9.
I figure a lower FOV can make hitboxes larger and a higher one can give added range for peripheral vision.
Click to expand...

Lowering the FOV zooms in. Writing a script that lowers the FOV to around 20 and decreases mouse sensitivity is an old trick from the Quake days. Games that want you to rely on a scoped weapon will lock the FOV to prevent people from doing this.

Raising the FOV makes distant targets smaller in center of view, but widens your view angle so that you can see what's next to you easier. Again, back in the Quake days, people would play with high FOV's, like 100-110, in order to have a wider view angle.

Locking the FOV was a server option in a lot of games for competitive play to prevent players from doing this. Some game devs don't want anyone mucking with it at all. Personally I think some degree of adjustment should be permitted within reason. I tend to balk at games that don't let me adjust things so that I can enjoy what I'm playing.
 
sardiax said:
I know in Counter-Strike Global Offensive the only setting to change the FOV is locked with sv_cheats (cheats have to be enabled for it to be changed.)
By default it changes with the aspect ratio - something like 94 for 4:3, 100 for 16:10, and 106 for 16:9.
I figure a lower FOV can make hitboxes larger and a higher one can give added range for peripheral vision.
Click to expand...

I find that hard to believe. It makes no sense at all. Can you elaborate?

I think people that missed Quake - Quake 3 shouldn't bother with multiplayer FPS games at all.
 
I always set it to the highest it can go until it starts fishbowling and drop it by 5.

Thats on a 30" 16:10 though, usually anything over 90 would be fine. On the couch playing on a console I don't have a problem with most FOV settings for some reason.
 
dgz said:
I find that hard to believe. It makes no sense at all. Can you elaborate?

I think people that missed Quake - Quake 3 shouldn't bother with multiplayer FPS games at all.
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A low FOV doesn't actually make the hitboxes larger but it does give a zoomed in perspective - when targeting an enemy far away they could take up a larger portion of your screen.

Decrease your fov and adjust your mouse sensitivity and you've just replicated how a scope works in many games.
 
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