Should the default FOV (Field of view) be higher?

[Dead3yez 0]

To me, this just seems like a really simple things that BIS seemed to have messed up in the past. Having a eyes sticking out two feet in-front of your face (being zoomed in) can really be an immersion killer in my opinion.

• Immersion killer
  
• FPS killer
  
• Lower awareness, esp when no 3rd person
  
• Perspective on your aim lost (without cross-hair)
  
• Much harder to manoeuvres vehicles through tight spots
  

Now, currently I use a setting of 1.2*defaultFOV and that gives me something much more enjoyable to play with and makes the game feel much better.

YES, I know I can change the FOV manually, obviously, but most people don't know how and if it can be changed without mods. I find the default FOV horrible and a lot of people don't even realise it can be changed.

Do I have to mention that you have to set the profile file to read only and alter the GUI scale too, if you want to keep that the same?

Leave your thoughts on this. Vote on the poll. I hope I'm not alone on this.

Older topics, how to change your FOV and such:

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=83527

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=94623

[nuxil 2]

i dont mind the current fov. since i use 3 monitors.

Get 2 extra monitors and you get a fov of about 270 deg,maybe not that much but not far from. you can almost see the hair on your neck. atleast it feels that way.

[hund 0]

Yeah, you're missing an option in this poll: "Buy two extra monitors". Problem solved ;D

[maturin 12]

How the heck does a narrower FOV kill FPS?

[NeMeSiS 11]

Yeah, you're missing an option in this poll: "Buy two extra monitors". Problem solved ;D

Will you buy them for me? :)

[Dead3yez 0]

How the heck does a narrower FOV kill FPS?

Have you ever actually zoomed in, in arma before?

You lose FPS because it actually forces higher LODs to load. You should try using the + and - buttons in first and third person and see what happens when you're running and FPS counter.

The effect that I'm specifically talking about can be demonstrated best when double tapping the minus key and comparing it to normal view.

Edited August 30, 2011 by Dead3yez

[maturin 12]

Have you ever actually zoomed in, in arma before?

You lose FPS because it actually forces higher LODs to load. You should try using the + and - buttons in first and third person and see what happens when you're running and FPS counter.

The effect that I'm specifically talking about can be demonstrated best when double tapping the minus key and comparing it to normal view.

Marginal changes in FOV aren't going to change much in the way of LoD. Those same changes can involve dozens of new 3D objects being drawn on-screen.

I get dramatically better FPS when zoomed, and though this is affected by my video card/CPU relationship, it's true for most people.

[liquidpinky 11]

Have you ever actually zoomed in, in arma before?

You lose FPS because it actually forces higher LODs to load. You should try using the + and - buttons in first and third person and see what happens when you're running and FPS counter.

The effect that I'm specifically talking about can be demonstrated best when double tapping the minus key and comparing it to normal view.

This can also be seen when driving a vehicle in third person then zooming out, your FPS will increase.

[st_dux 26]

The default field of view is not zoomed in. If it was, you could barely see anything on a normal monitor.

[metalcraze 290]

It's already zoomed out by default. No need to zoom out any further.

If that isn't enough you can always hit '-' on the numpad twice

[dmarkwick 261]

To me, this just seems like a really simple things that BIS seemed to have messed up in the past. Having a eyes sticking out two feet in-front of your face (being zoomed in) can really be an immersion killer in my opinion.

Zoomed in does not mean your point of view is moved forward, it means a smaller part of your current view is expanded.

But in any case, the "zoomed" view is actually the 1:1 "realistic" view, while all other wider views are artificially widened for gameplay and immersion purposes. As such, I think the FOV should be entirely optional, a slider would be a good solution, say ranging from 1 (1:1 view) to 5 (1:5 view) or whatever.

[CarlGustaffa 4]

For me, on a single monitor - it is fine, and none of the points apply to me. I never use 3rd person, and awesome freelook implementation requires a bit of work but I'm able to maintain situational awareness. In combat I have an assigned sector, and let others worry about the angles I can't cover. It's not perfect, but further zoomed out would be more troublesome for me compared to what I would gain.

[DieterWeber 0]

umm...... Not to go off topic or anything, but what disturbingness is that in the op's avatar? Looks a little lewd.

[sabre4809 0]

Like others have said, the default view is zoomed out. When you 'zoom'/hold right mouse, you get to what can be proportioned to normal vision.

Yes the FOV is narrow, but heck you have a small monitor to look through trying to simulate human vision, what do you expect?

[nodunit 397]

Yup, you can have a wider FOV and be able to pick out less on the horizon and in distance, or have a better understanding of what you are looking at and have lower FOV..full zoom basicly is more like what our actual eyes would be able to pick out in detail , just doesn't cover the width for reasons the above poster mentions.

Still I'm not sure how it worked in OFP but I rather miss it, the view seemed to work very well and you could see your weapon in a more natural way, perhaps the camera didn't have the same "lense".

[metalcraze 290]

It was no different in OFP when it comes to FOV. Right now the game just simulates you actually looking through ironsights (with it even leaning to the right a bit), not overlaying a 2D sprite

But it is different in VBS. VBS2 has even wider FOV by default which looks disorienting at times, especially considering that you can nearly see your shoulders.

[Haystack15 10]

for me, It did seem like the FOV in ARMA II was zoomed in a bit. Most of the time it seemed like it when I was in a vehicle. Like a Humvee or something with an interior.

Where as in ArmA, I was able to see the gauges without having shift me view downwards or zooming out.

But it was never really a bother for me, So I voted "It's fine".

Edited August 30, 2011 by Haystack15

[st_dux 26]

for me, It did seem like the FOV in ARMA II was zoomed in a bit. Most of the time it seemed like it when I was in a vehicle. Like a Humvee or something with an interior.

Zoomed in compared to what? Compared to an actual 1:1 representation of what you would see in real life, ArmA II is quite zoomed out by default. Zooming all the way in with iron sights gives you mostly proper FoV; obviously, given the limitations of monitor size, it would be silly to attempt to play at this FoV constantly.

[SPC.Spets 21]

more FOV makes me puke.... with that fisheye effect

[Beagle 684]

At a larger FOV you will be unable to indentify any human target more then 50m away. I have FOV on a wheel so i can choose with a thumb move all available FOV settings...no problem at all...but usually I tend to zoom a bit in...not out. In aircraft and vehicles I always zoom in 20%...the default FOV for Aircraft is nice for flying...but bad for spotting.

[Dead3yez 0]

As such, I think the FOV should be entirely optional, a slider would be a good solution, say ranging from 1 (1:1 view) to 5 (1:5 view) or whatever.

I was too dumb to think of this. Damn.

[commander jao 10]

Especially when in HMMWV the field of view isn't great. It seems like I'am driving with my noise to the windshield, with absolute no view of any dials. In Vehicles it needs to change, I don't mind it anywhere else though.

[liquidpinky 11]

An FOV slider would be ideal, with perhaps separate sliders for vehicles and on foot.

Allow for low settings in the 40s for us with triple monitor set ups too please.

[Colossus 2]

The current default FOV is a bit too close to my comfort, especially inside vehicles. I personally would prefer something of a middle-ground between default and zoomed out (-). I can of course see the disadvantage of having a broader FOV, however. It's harder to see soldiers at a distance and the vision can look a bit tunneled.

I still support having a zoom in though. As default view doesn't help much when you're trying to aim your A-10's gatling toward the enemy.

[falcon_565 11]

My biggest problem with the FOV right now is the fact that you can zoom your eyeballs. This exacerbates existing problems with spotting targets at unnatural ranges. The zoom ability is especially game breaking when viewing an object that is of higher detail than the surrounding terrain, objects like vehicles, personnel or placed equipment really stick out. You should not be able to have nearly the same visual acuity with you eyes as you get with a combat scope like the ACOG.