Skyrim - what is the optimal FOV for 16:10?

NukeDukem

NukeDukem

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1920x1200 and 2560x1600 players, what FOV do you guys use? I am at 1600p and am trying to decide what the best FOV is. I want a wide perspective, without sacrificing a big, "in your face" experience on what I encounter close up.

Just wondering what you guys use, I have heard much from 16:9 and 1080p users but not much from the higher rez/ 16:10 aspect ratio crowd.
 
Default is definiteIy a bit narrow, I don't mind it at 75, tried it wider but it didn't suit my taste.
 
Speaking of Skyrim FOV, I still can't get it to stick. I've tried ini and console but it never saves.
 
I have mine set to 95 right now (16:10 @ 2560x1600)

Usually I go with 100 degrees because 100.38 is the mathematical equivalent of 90 degrees at 4:3 converted to the additional width of a 16:10 screen (of the same height). 90 degrees was a fairly standard angle for all the early 3D FPS games I think quake was 90 and UT was 85

100 seemed a little bit too fisheyed for me this time around, 95 was low enough to remove that distraction for me, but as a general rule of thumb you want it as high as possible to mimic real human vision which is something like 170 degrees wide total, but not so wide that the fisheye effect is distracting.
 
MavericK96 said:
Speaking of Skyrim FOV, I still can't get it to stick. I've tried ini and console but it never saves.
Click to expand...

Edit: Disregard this, see below posts

Try this method (remove all other ones first)

goto skyrim.ini (not skyrimprefs.ini) -

[General]
...
fdefaultfov=xx

[Display]
...
fDefaultWorldFOV=xx

launch game. bring up a menu (hit tab), fov should change to the new values. Save the game. Every save/load thereafter should use the new fov.
 
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"Changing the FOV via the in-game console carries over between reloads and sessions." Editing .ini files does not seem to work. Use the console command fov x, where x = the FOV you want.

http://forums.bethsoft.com/index.php?/topic/1255692-skyrim-pc-ini-and-console-tweaks/

Skyrim uses the traditional hFOV (horizontal FOV), while some games, particularly those in the Battlefield series, are using vFOV (vertical FOV). The theoretical appropriate hFOVs for common aspect ratios are 106.26 for 16:9, 100.39 for 16:10, 90 for 4:3, and 86.3 for 5:4, but the vast majority of people posting about what FOVs they actually like for Skyrim and Oblivion report that 90-95 feels best for 16:10.

http://widescreengamingforum.com/fovcalc.php

Bethesda has an unfortunate tendency to use 75 for every resolution. If you get nauseous playing any game, the first thing you should look into is increasing FOV, for FOV of 75 or less can make that happen.

Edit: there is a lot of conflicting info out there on how to make FOV settings stick. I am not able to sort out what the correct way is, though the method limitedaccess notes above is probably it.
 
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evilsofa said:
"Changing the FOV via the in-game console carries over between reloads and sessions." Editing .ini files does not seem to work. Use the console command fov x, where x = the FOV you want.

http://forums.bethsoft.com/index.php?/topic/1255692-skyrim-pc-ini-and-console-tweaks/

Skyrim uses the traditional hFOV (horizontal FOV), while some games, particularly those in the Battlefield series, are using vFOV (vertical FOV). The theoretical appropriate hFOVs for common aspect ratios are 106.26 for 16:9, 100.39 for 16:10, 90 for 4:3, and 86.3 for 5:4, but the vast majority of people posting about what FOVs they actually like for Skyrim and Oblivion report that 90-95 feels best for 16:10.

http://widescreengamingforum.com/fovcalc.php

Bethesda has an unfortunate tendency to use 75 for every resolution. If you get nauseous playing any game, the first thing you should look into is increasing FOV, for FOV of 75 or less can make that happen.

Edit: there is a lot of conflicting info out there on how to make FOV settings stick. I am not able to sort out what the correct way is, though the method limitedaccess notes above is probably it.
Click to expand...

Actually the console way is correct and the easiest way. I just did some more stringent testing. I think the problem was previously I used the console to verify that my fov had indeed changed to the correct value, but I made the wrong assumption it was the .ini changes that got it to stick.

So yes from now on for Skyrim fov everyone pass on the console method. Hopefully this will cut down on the wrong information. Of course remember that the console disables achievements for that session. So save, and restart if that matters to you before playing on.

Default fov is 65 for those wondering.
 
For the record in my testing the FOV command in the console doesn't tend to stick, I suspect this behaviour might be down to crashing, I have a niggling feeling that the game isn't writing the settings back to the ini files immediately rather it's waiting until the game closes, it's just a theory that would explain non-sticking FOV for me as I literally never close the game correctly.

If custom FOV commands in the skyrimPrefs.ini file aren't working you might want to try adding the same FOV line (and section, if it's missing) to the Skyrim.ini file.
 
Here's how I got the FOV settings to stick.

1.In the SkyrimPrefs.ini file, add the following line to the [General] section at the bottom:
fDefaultFOV=XX

2.Then, open the skyrim.ini file, and add the following 2 lines to the [Display] section:
fDefaultWorldFOV=XX
fDefault1stPersonFOV=XX.XXXX

3. Get in the game, load your savegame, press ~ and type FOV XX. Press ~ again to close the console. Save and exit. Now load your game and the FOV will never default back.

Been using a FOV of 75 for 1920x1200. Tried 80 and it starts to fisheye.
 
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I don't like the fisheye effect, so I use fov 80 on my 16:10 monitor. What I really need is a curved monitor.....
 
I use 80, and there are still times when it doesn't stick, even with the .ini tweaks and using the console. Hard to pin down the root cause of it not sticking though.
 
evilsofa said:
Bethesda has an unfortunate tendency to use 75 for every resolution. If you get nauseous playing any game, the first thing you should look into is increasing FOV, for FOV of 75 or less can make that happen.
Click to expand...

Oblivion made me nauseous at the default FOV, along with the lag induced from (? triple buffering? VSync? I forget.)

Skyrim doesn't bother me at all; I switch from the default to 90 and my eyes simply don't care, to the point where I don't notice I'm playing at the default fov for hours at a time.
 
every post I saw had a different "magic combination" of fov commands to add in the ini, and none of them worked for me. certain events in the game like cutscenes/conversations/camera movement kept resetting it, so I just got fed up and pasted them all into every possible location. this way I got the desired fov to stay put, for everything including first/third person view, ui, books, etc no matter what. you will find that even books are easier to read zoomed back a bit, while the text is much sharper and focused.

foolproof way to get fov setting to stick:

paste all of this:

fDefaultWorldFOV=xx
fDefault1stPersonFOV=xx
fDefaultFOV=xx

into:

BOTH [display] AND [general] in

.\skyrim\skyrim.ini and .\skyrim\skyrimprefs.ini

and never open the console for this crap again, that's it.
 
Am playing on a widescreen 27" set on it's default 1900X1200 (16:10)
FOV 80 appeared to minimize the fisheye slightly more than 90 although 90 still looked good.

However,
I was perched atop a high rock shooting arrows down and away at a stationary enemy who was 30 yards away.
At fov 80 my arrows were missing the target and had no effect on him, but at fov 90 every arrow was striking
him and reducing his health bar.
I Saved the game and repeated this test multiple times, it was reproducible each time.

As a consequence of this test I set my fov to 90.
 
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Supersnake said:
Am playing on a widescreen 27" set on it's default 1900X1200 (16:10)
FOV 80 appeared to minimize the fisheye slightly more than 90 although 90 still looked good.

However,
I was perched atop a high rock shooting arrows down and away at a stationary enemy who was 30 yards away.
At fov 80 my arrows were missing the target and had no effect on him, but at fov 90 every arrow was striking
him and reducing his health bar.
I Saved the game and repeated this test multiple times, it was reproducible each time.

As a consequence of this test I set my fov to 90.
Click to expand...

Do this: http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1038062383&postcount=255

IMO "fixes" the arrows in this game. What you had happen to you wasn't an FOV related issue.
 
mas said:
every post I saw had a different "magic combination" of fov commands to add in the ini, and none of them worked for me. certain events in the game like cutscenes/conversations/camera movement kept resetting it, so I just got fed up and pasted them all into every possible location. this way I got the desired fov to stay put, for everything including first/third person view, ui, books, etc no matter what. you will find that even books are easier to read zoomed back a bit, while the text is much sharper and focused.

foolproof way to get fov setting to stick:

paste all of this:

fDefaultWorldFOV=xx
fDefault1stPersonFOV=xx
fDefaultFOV=xx

into:

BOTH [display] AND [general] in

.\skyrim\skyrim.ini and .\skyrim\skyrimprefs.ini

and never open the console for this crap again, that's it.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I will give that a try. Thanks to other posters as well for the help. I think I used some of those commands in one ini but I will try it all next. :D

Btw, I use 80 but that's at 16:9.
 
I think 80 or 85 might be best for 16:10. I was using 75 for awhile, but actually find 80 to be bit better. For me it took a bit of gaming with different settings to get comfortable with it. Might try 85 for a bit to see how it plays.
 
Q-BZ said:
Do this: http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1038062383&postcount=255

IMO "fixes" the arrows in this game. What you had happen to you wasn't an FOV related issue.
Click to expand...
Thank you, I followed up on that link to discover that you were right about my arrow accuracy problem not being FOV related.
I delved further into the matter and uncovered a very useful web article by a gaming enthusiast using the screen name Zemal. He addresses Skyrim's controversial manner of calculating the trajectory of fired arrows, and another phenomenon best described as bow angle. Within the lengthy article you can view a 7 minute video that demonstrates the arrow trajectory problem. Zemalf's blog displays a set of Skryim .ini tweaks that addresses arrow trajectory and bow angle. Currently the video and his explanatory article is located on his Home page: http://zemalf.blogspot.com

Regarding the link you pointed me to, that author cited an .ini tweak written in as "fVisibleNavmeshMoveDist=12288.0000". That .ini addresses distance that the arrow travels, which is a different variable.
==================================================================================================
The topic of arrow inaccuracy is being discussed in a lengthy debate filled thread over on the Bethesda forum:
http://forums.bethsoft.com/index.ph...ows-to-behave-more-like-oblivion/page__st__40


In that thread Zemalf credits the arrow trajectory/bow angle .ini tweaks as being designed by spookyfx.com
In that thread you will be able to "meet" Spookyfx himself. He is a highly respected modder who has modding experience with weapons accuracy, he designed the workaround that Zemalf cites. Spookyfx.com is there now (see post number 47) and is working on updating his Skyrim archery accuracy fixes.


Thank you Spookyfx and Zemalf!
I recommend reading Zemalf's article and video before diving into the Bethesda thread.
 
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PrincessFrosty said:
I have mine set to 95 right now (16:10 @ 2560x1600)

Usually I go with 100 degrees because 100.38 is the mathematical equivalent of 90 degrees at 4:3 converted to the additional width of a 16:10 screen (of the same height). 90 degrees was a fairly standard angle for all the early 3D FPS games I think quake was 90 and UT was 85

100 seemed a little bit too fisheyed for me this time around, 95 was low enough to remove that distraction for me, but as a general rule of thumb you want it as high as possible to mimic real human vision which is something like 170 degrees wide total, but not so wide that the fisheye effect is distracting.
Click to expand...


Thank you for this, PrincessFrosty. I have my 1600p screen Skyrim FOV at 100.38 like you suggested and its perfect, no fisheye that I can notice and the world around me really opens up and seems more "realistic". The purpose of this thread was to find out the optimal FOV at my res/aspect ratio in order to mimic a "real life" view of the Skyrim world. Your post really hit the nail on the head for me, thanks!
 
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Sorry to bring this thread back up, but I just went from a 24" 16:10 at FOV 85 to a new 27" 16:9 monitor and I'm trying to find a new FOV that doesn't fisheye too bad but also isn't too close. I was wondering what people have settled on for 16:9? I'm trying 80 on the16:9 27" and it's almost right but not quite, still fisheyes a bit, any more there is way too much fisheye effect.
 
AstroCat said:
Sorry to bring this thread back up, but I just went from a 24" 16:10 at FOV 85 to a new 27" 16:9 monitor and I'm trying to find a new FOV that doesn't fisheye too bad but also isn't to close. I was wondering what people have settled on for 16:9. I'm trying 80 on the16:9 27" and it's almost right but not quite, any more and I definitely start getting the fisheye effect.
Click to expand...



90 is perfect for me on 16:10 1920x1200. I would think in your situation, try 75 as a starting point.
 
Yeah the fisheye on 75 is not bothersome at all but everything feels a bit too close on such a big monitor, at 80 the view is right but I get a bit of the "world circling around me" fisheye effect. Maybe something in-between.
 
Just play around and find what you like the best. Just use the console and set a few values and see what you like. Personally I hate the low FOV, but I also tend to notice fisheye, I think I settled on something around 80, don't remember now.
Lengradde said:
I don't like the fisheye effect, so I use fov 80 on my 16:10 monitor. What I really need is a curved monitor.....
Click to expand...
Unfortunately a curved monitor would make things even worse since the games themselves aren't designed for it. The game would continue to stretch the peripheral, but if the monitor is curved it'd bring that peripheral even closer to your eyes, making the stretching appear even worse.

With Eyefinity/Surround becoming a big thing, I'm surprised we haven't seen any options for projection methods other than just the classical flat screen projection, as its really not appropriate for wide FOVs you get with large screen set ups.
 
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