[Lykurgos88]

I was looking at this page:

http://www.hard-light.net/wiki/index.php/Command-Line_Reference
(parameter -fov value)

And I found out that Freespace Open actually HAS a way of changing in-game field of views. Now, I know from experience that older games usually need some sort of "manual" change of "Field of view" to really give a true widescreen experience with 16:9 resolutions. Usually this means changing .cfg or .ini (etc) files in base directory.

However, this wiki page doesn't give any suggestions for different monitor aspect ratios. The recommended values are only explained generally, not specifically. Also the input value is really really strange compared to other games, where you usually enter a direct angle value (like 90°).

So have any of you experimented with this? What would you recommend for different monitor aspect ratios?

Thx in advance 

[Familiar]

Default 0.75 is ok. If you found fisheye disortions on left|right, make it lower. What else to say?

[Lykurgos88]

Freespace 2 was originally designed for 4:3 aspect ratio only, combined with a fov value of 0.75. AFAIK there is no engine-based automatic increase in fov value, when you select wider aspect ratios. So 0.75 might not be the optimal for 16:9 aspect ratios. I have tried to calibrate the fov value back and forth, but due to the nature of the game (being located in space with only a limited amount of 3d objects) I find it difficult to calibrate the optimal fov.

I was just wondering, if anyone has gone through all the experimenting, so I could save some time. Also it would be perfect, if fov values were directly linked with aspect ratios (like in some modern games), and -fov parameter was just a "last resort overrule".

[Luis Dias]

It was also for a time where screens were 15 inches, 17 inches tops. Now we dwell in the era of 23 inches + 16:9 monitors.

[Familiar]

Wiki says it's vertical fov, not horizontal anyway. So it does not matter wide screen or not.
If you don't use any cockpit mod, it's up to you what fov to use.

[Phantom Hoover]

OK a) the input value is still just the angle of view, it's just measured in radians rather than degrees, and b) the default FSO AoV is waaaay too big, suggest you set it to 0.55 and adjust from there.

[Lykurgos88]

Gah, this could explain a number of things. The only time I have witnessed a vertical FOV value before was in Battlefield: Bad Company 2, so I somehow missed the little detail on the wiki page and just assumed it was horizontal. No wonder I was getting such weird results.

But wait a second. So is the 0.75 value too big for 4:3 aspect ratio, or is it too big for 16:9? Can you explain what you mean by this:

...So it does not matter wide screen or not.

'Cause my intuition says that with vertical fov, you'll have to actually decrease the angle value the wider your screen is. So if you recommend a value of 0.55 for 16:9, that would mean that 0.75 would be actually too narrow and not too wide / fish-eyed.

Ugh, this is so confusing. Why can't all games use simple horizontal values? 

I'm currently away from my home computer, so it'll take some time to continue experimenting.

[Fury]

Assuming vertical fov of BF:BC2 applies to FS2 as well, then you could simply use same fov calculator as here: http://www.rjdown.co.uk/projects/bfbc2/fovcalculator.php
On my 1920x1080 screen it gives me 59, which I can only assume translates into 0.59 in FS2.

[Kobrar44]

Default FoV in FS is 60 degrees represented by value 0.75 and it scales linearly, so 1.125 will actually be 90 degrees, and 0.55 is 44 degrees vertical. Your 59 degrees is more or les the default value actually. Fisheye FoV is a social construct.


EDIT: default horizontal fov on 4:3 is 75 degrees. Default 16:9 horizontal is 90 degrees. To get 75 horizontal on 16:9, you need to set vertical fov to 0.58/0.59.

[Fury]

Huh, I didn't know FS2 uses a multiplier (1.25 apparently).

[Kobrar44]

FoV parameter is actually value*9*pi radians/4. To get actual pi radians, you need to multiply it by 4/9. FI. 0.75*4/9 = 0.3333333333 pi radians = 60 degrees. FSO is weird.

[Lykurgos88]

Apparently I forgot the existence of this thread so sorry for a slight necro, but I think I might provide with some useful comparison screens in case someone in the future decides to search this forum with a keyword "Field of View".

So first a few notifications:

1) I was initially 100% wrong since, wider resolutions DO in fact automatically increase the horizontal field of view in game.

Comparison (first is 4:3 resolution, second is 16:9 resolution, both using default vertical fov of 75):




2) Different fov parameter values have no effect on in-game cutscenes. However, wider resolutions do have an effect in overall visibility.

3) Outside of cutscenes (aka in normal gameplay) a -fov increase is out of the question, since the fish-eye effect grows too strong. On the other hand, smaller fovs result in less situational awareness:

Comparison 2 (Fov parameters of 30, 60 and 90 all using a 16:9 resolution)





4) Conclusion? Well this has been a waste of time all along. My arrogant intuition led me to believe that a game this old can't possibly have a dynamically changing horizontal fov with wider resolutions. But I'm glad I was wrong this time. Saves people a lot of headache. The original Fov value is good for most purposes, so I don't recommend to lower it down as much as the HLP wiki suggests. That results in way too much zoom. A decrease of 0.05 to 0.15 should be more than enough.

BTW this following website is very good for getting solid widescreen experiences for older games. You should definitely check what else it contains:

http://www.wsgf.org/dr/freespace-2

EDIT: Forgot a detail.

[The E]

The info on that site is very outdated though. Someone should try updating it.