Widescreen Gaming Forum

in the FOV calculator, they ask you for the original aspect ratio. what is this? is this the resolution you were using immediately before switching to a widescreen resolution? or do games have an original aspect ratio that must be researched before entering it?

The default FOV in any game is always optimized for 4:3, so that's what the "original aspect ratio" should be. I'm not even sure why the FOV Calc gives you the option to select anything else.

The default FOV in any game is always optimized for 4:3, so that's what the "original aspect ratio" should be. I'm not even sure why the FOV Calc gives you the option to select anything else.

why is the default FOV for PC games set at 4:3 when pretty much all PC monitors are 5:4?

4:3 is the majority, not 5:4. All standard CRT monitors are 4:3, and all standard LCD monitors aside from 17" and 19" ones are 4:3.

so why is it that my games appear to have a bit of a fish eye view effect when changing the FOV to around 95 on my 16:9 screen? its even apparent at an FOV of 80. its as if everything to the right and left ends of the screen are stretched.

ive tried both call of duty and jedi academy and they both do this.

cant really find a way to remedy this other than to set the fov down to the point that the screen is ridiculously zoomed in so that no stretching is noticable.

OK in Jedi Academy, I believe the original FOV is 80. I have a 16:10 monitor and with 1920x1200 resolution I have my FOV set at 90.4. It looks fine to me. There's a slight fisheye on the left and right edges of the screen, but you can't do anything about it. It's just how the game is. However at 90.4 FOV most of the screen looks right, and the camera zoom is what it should be (if you keep it at 80 it's too close to the character).

4:3 is the majority, not 5:4. All standard CRT monitors are 4:3, and all standard LCD monitors aside from 17" and 19" ones are 4:3.

That is true, the problem is that 17 and 19 inch LCD's are 5:4 and unless my eyes decieve me, almost all computer monitors are 17 inch and 19 inch LCD's. And even out of the extremely few CRT's still in mainstream use, most of them are 17 inch and set at 1280x1024 resolution (even though the screen is physically 4:3).

OK in Jedi Academy, I believe the original FOV is 80. I have a 16:10 monitor and with 1920x1200 resolution I have my FOV set at 90.4. It looks fine to me. There's a slight fisheye on the left and right edges of the screen, but you can't do anything about it. It's just how the game is. However at 90.4 FOV most of the screen looks right, and the camera zoom is what it should be (if you keep it at 80 it's too close to the character).

what happens when you go to a resolution less than 1920x1200? does the screen become jumpy and blurry when moving around and hurt your eyes?

>>unless my eyes decieve me, almost all computer monitors are 17 inch and 19 inch LCD's.
"Almost all" is a big overestimate. I would estimate that 60% of NEW monitors are 17" or 19" non-widescreen LCDs, about half and half of each. But the majority of monitors currently in use by gamers are old ones, most of which are CRTs, though LCDs are replacing them at a steady pace. Furthermore, most of the widescreen solutions which require manually adjusting the FOV are either based on the Unreal engine or Quake III engine, which debuted in 1998 and 1999, respectively. CRT use was even higher back then.

>>And even out of the extremely few CRT's still in mainstream use
There are LOTS of old CRTs still in mainstream use, just not so many still being sold.

>>most of them are 17 inch and set at 1280x1024 resolution (even though the screen is physically 4:3)
Every 17" CRT I've seen has a recommended resolution of 1024x768. A game running at 1280x1024 on a 4:3 screen will be distorted no matter what the FOV is.

[quote]OK in Jedi Academy, I believe the original FOV is 80. I have a 16:10 monitor and with 1920x1200 resolution I have my FOV set at 90.4. It looks fine to me. There's a slight fisheye on the left and right edges of the screen, but you can't do anything about it. It's just how the game is. However at 90.4 FOV most of the screen looks right, and the camera zoom is what it should be (if you keep it at 80 it's too close to the character).

what happens when you go to a resolution less than 1920x1200? does the screen become jumpy and blurry when moving around and hurt your eyes?

No... the only thing that happens if you go under 1920x1200 is the image is less detailed... the motion is unaffected. I don't know why low resolution would hurt your eyes....