About two years ago I saw a short article from another simracer (Zeos...IIRC) which completely changed how I view seating positions in the simracing cockpit. After experimenting with his suggested angles I quickly came to the realization that good FOVs accounts for almost 60% of the immersion levels of simulation racing. It also has a profound effect on your sense of speed and how you react to what the car is doing at any time....and yet it is often most overlooked. As with anything, compromises are made. Smaller FOVs mean you don't see as much or indeed through most corners, so it forces you to be more precise. I generally use around 40-50 degrees for most sims and they take on a whole different look and feel. It still amazes me that you can get such a sense of elevation (on tracks with it of course)... along with so many other visual sensations. Anybody here running TrackIR with reduced FOVs? How do you find it works out for you?
I am still experimenting with it in rf2 tbh. In the skippy its much closer then the William F2 (30 vs 50/60) and in tintops I tend to lengthen it a bit just so I can see more when turning in and hopefully spot others more easily. As passionate I am about simracing, i'm equally lazy about pov's and ffb, I just don't give it much effort at all whilst I know I should
I go to a point I feel things look realistic, currently on fov of 30 With the centre monitor 760mm from my face ( 3x 27" monitors ) P.s it's a waste of time stating fov without also stating eye distance !%!?!
It is a must have for me. Be it single screen or triscreen, I have always used TrackIR. Lobbied for it in race sims years ago. Live for Speed was the first one to add it. I helped to get it in F1C via 3rd party. A miscommunication is the only reason support for it wasn't in F1C to begin with. I'd feel like I was driving with blinders on without it. I recommend it to everyone. Well worth the price when it comes to added immersion. It is something you have to experience to really understand.
I may have to give it another go. I already own TrackIR but only ever used it for flight sims, since it was always a bit disorienting (for me) during cornering. With reduced FOVs and a shallow profile it might just be the last bit of the puzzle.
immersion comes from sound too and that needs to be finished ASAP like multiviewer. FOV of 29 with triples and 560mm from screen.
Small tip: never alter your FOV between cars. It will probably be more confusing then it is helpfull since it changes the perception of how far cars are away from you, how shallow or tight corners are, the distance of brake distances, ... All these things alter when you change the FOV. rF2 is great in that aspect because you have a very large margin where you can change the car seating position.
I currently run 27-30 FOV on a single 27"screen with TrackIR and have no problems. I use flat profiles with no deadzones.
I adjust FOV more than I adjust setups trying to find the magic compromise that blends a sense of speed, spatial awareness, and immersion. Currently, this week only, I'm running 55 deg on a 50 inch monitor (TV). The only salvation is maybe Occulus Rift. I agree that higher FOV distorts spatial relationships, but lower FOV diminishes the sense of speed. With wife, child, and mortgage my cheapo solution to the conflict between space and speed has been to replace my monitor with ever larger TVs rather than the more expensive triple monitor setup. In the US Vizeo E series TVs are relatively cheap and have low lag according to reviews for gaming TVs. Mine works well. SW
As far as TrackIR is concerned, unless you have a reason to be looking up or down, it is usually best to limit the profile to the axis that is used for looking left and right. This helps eliminate potential issues that could occur if you happen to look to far down or up while racing. It works great in Rf2 though, so there is no reason not to use it if you already own it.
I like small FOVs because they make stuff look more real, but the drawback is that I don't get the exaggerated sense of speed. Hence why you want to drive fast cars in games in a first place.
Sometimes I need to look up, in some cars to see the mirror. I use full 6DoF. Maybe not so much the Z axis, but all the rest I do use, including Roll. It just gives me a more natural feel while playing to have full 6DoF. Certainly doesn't make me any quicker, lol, it's just more enjoyable is all.
Yeah you're probably right. I'm just not sure about it yet, hence the changes. Its like what Samuelw said, trying to find that sweetspot. Also I am keen on beeing a safe driver for others (and myself) so i'm willing to accept a compromise in realism/immersion/whatever if it means I can see a bit more and with that avoid collisions.
Firstly I came in here for an argument I agree. You keep the FOV AND HORIZON MODIFICATION(rF2Data>Userdata>Player>player.plr:: Seat Pitch="5.00000" // Cockpit camera pitch orientation (degrees)) the same throughout and then just shift around your seat position to find your Zen place. I would also recommend the Real Head Motion Plugin to help with immersion. Driving around in real life you can usually keep your eyes pointed forward while the car bounces around you. The default rF2 view with a low FOV can shake around the whole screen and moves very un-naturally. Here is my copy of the plugin with modified settings. http://www.mediafire.com/download/n7qo3qcv3iwd5l7/rF2+-+RealHeadMotion102513.rar Fast cars feel fast no matter the fov. You just have to pull from the pool of your own experiences sim-racing. So drive some slow cars with low FOV and then take out a fast ones.
After many tests the perfect FOV is 40. Put the car seat back. Is very real. After seeing many real videos I came to the Conclusion That 40 is the perfect FOV. My monitor is 24 inches. Tested in a 40-inch TV and got the same thing. Perfect!
Well the FOV should be determined by math, not testing and feel. Also do you move your seat position back to match the cockpit around you or just to fill up the screen with rendered carbon fiber? I usually move it all the way forward until I have just the top of the dash and either a windshield banner or side pillar in view for movement reference.
I want to see what the driver would see, not what his onboard camera shows. FOV should be calculated according to screen size and distance from it.
Seat Pitch = 5 is much better. Thanks. Also giving the Real Head Motion Plugin a whirl. The Real Head Motion Plugin looks neat but will take some getting used to. Wanting to avoid reinventing the wheel has anyone experimented with other values for Seat Pitch? SW
I sit below my screen center just a bit so angling the camera UP 5° like I am looking at my screen center is how that plays out. If you sat way above your screen center you would put in a negative value.
