[quote] they natrually look forward at where they are going.
That is very presumtious. I pan left and right before I go through a door way. Regardless of my FOV, I will make sure I see the same thing.
If I do, then there would be others who do it and similar things.
Besides if it is a doorway, a large FOV can't see through it until it passes through the door way. But the same goes for a small FOV, it can't see through it until it passes through it at which point it has the same opportunity to be looking in whatever direction it wants, hence the 3D.
Sure, the opertunity is there, but more casual gamers often won't explot it. Again, developers often create their envoriments with such considerations in mind, and narrowing the FOV for narrower aspect ratios would subvert such intents.
[quote][quote]So, why do WS users get the shaft and get reduced height of the game area instead of bars on the sides?
You are overlooking the fact that this game was designed to target the 16:9 widesreen aspect ratio. 16:10 widescreen users like yourself would need bars on the top and bottom to format your display to the 16:9 aspect ratio view the game was designed around. You aren't getting a reduced height of the game, you are getting more height than the intended 16:9 view because the developers chose make full use of your display rather than crop such narrower displays down to narrower FOVs or letterbox the game to maintain a fixed aspect ratio.
I wasn't actualy talking about Mass Effect, but in general...
All the games you metion were designed to target the 16:9 widesreen aspect ratio, just the same as Mass Effect.