Field Of View In Video Games

The field of view is usually specified as the angle of the horizontal or vertical component of the FOV. A larger angle indicates a wider field of view. However, depending on the FOV scaling method used by the game, it may only affect the horizontal or vertical component of the field of view. Horizontal and vertical FOV are calculated from the following formulas: r = w h = yellowish-brown ⁡ ( H. 2 ) yellowish-brown ⁡ ( V. 2 ) {\displaystyle r={w \over h}={\frac {\tan \left({H \over 2}\right)}{\tan \left({V \over 2}\right)}}} H. = 2 arctan ⁡ ( yellowish-brown ⁡ ( V. 2 ) × w h ) {\displaystyle H=2\arctan \left(\tan \left({V \over 2}\right)\times {w \over h}\right)} V. = 2 arctan ⁡ ( yellowish-brown ⁡ ( H. 2 ) × h w ) {\displaystyle V=2\arctan \left(\tan \left({H \over 2}\right)\times {h \over w}\right)} where r is the aspect ratio, w and h are the width and height, and H and V are the horizontal and vertical FOV. Different horizontal and vertical FOV values ​​can be confusing. This is because games often only refer to FOV, not horizontal or vertical FOV.

The average person's field of vision is about 170-180 degrees, including peripheral vision. Console games are typically played on televisions far away from the viewer, while PC games are typically played on computer monitors closer to the viewer. Therefore, console games use a narrow FOV of around 60 degrees because the screen fits in a very small fraction of the viewer's field of view. PC games typically have a wide FOV of 90-100 degrees because the screen takes up more real estate. viewer's vision. Narrowing the field of view is a technique that can be used to improve performance, as a common optimization technique called view frustum culling can reduce the number of objects to render. Many PC games released since 2000 have either been ported from consoles or developed for both console and PC platforms. Ideally, the developers will set a wider FOV in the PC release, or provide a setting to change the FOV to suit player preferences. However, in many cases, the narrow FOV of the console version carries over to the PC version. The result is an unpleasant sensation of looking through binoculars, which can lead to disorientation, dizziness and nausea.

The terms Hor+, static (formerly anamorphic), pixel-based, Vert-, and stretched are used to describe how different video games change the field of view depending on the rendering resolution aspect ratio. widely used in the discussion of The term was originally coined by members of the Widescreen Gaming Forum. Hor+ (horizontal plus) is the most common scaling method for most modern video games. Games that use Hor+ scaling have a fixed vertical FOV, but the horizontal FOV is expandable depending on the render resolution aspect ratio. The wider the aspect ratio, the larger the FOV. Since the majority of screens used in games today are widescreen, this method of scaling is generally preferred as it does not reduce the FOV for a wider aspect ratio. This is especially important in more "exotic" setups such as ultrawide monitors and triple monitor gaming. Static (formerly anamorphic) refers to when both the vertical and horizontal components of the FOV are fixed, usually to values ​​that are comfortable for widescreen images. When the resolution is changed, the image will be letterboxed or pillarboxed to maintain the field of view and aspect ratio. Modern games with static scaling typically have an aspect ratio of 16:9. Pixel-based scaling is used almost exclusively in games that use two-dimensional graphics. With pixel-based scaling, the amount of content displayed on screen is directly related to rendering resolution. Larger horizontal resolution directly expands the horizontal field of view, while larger vertical resolution expands the vertical field of view. Vert- (vertical minus) is a scaling method used by some games that support different resolutions. Vert games compensate by reducing the vertical component of the field of view as the aspect ratio increases. This avoids distorting objects in the game world, but it narrows the field of view at widescreen resolutions and can be especially problematic at very wide resolutions, such as those common in multi-display setups. Stretching refers to the fact that the FOV is not adjusted at all and the image is simply stretched to fill the screen. This method causes severe distortion when used with aspect ratios that differ from the aspect ratio the FOV was originally adjusted to. This is mostly seen in games made when most displays had a 4:3 aspect ratio.

Temporary changes in field of view are sometimes used as special effects in video games. Narrowing the field of view is commonly used to convey focus, while widening the field of view may increase perceived speed of movement or indicate a lack of control.

viewing frustum field of view aspect ratio 4:3 16:9 aspect ratio Aspect ratio 16:10 Aspect ratio 21:9 angle of view