FOV: Field of View. Optimal/real settings?

there is also this fov calculator made by zeospantera: http://mrpix.org/rF2/fov/

Not sure if it's ideal for AC though

 

It wouldn't surprise me that the theoretical correct value may be 20, depending on your setup. And indeed, I can imagine if you set it to 20, it would seem crazy strange if you've been accustomed to a much bigger value. But it might still be worth a try.

If you can bring the screen closer to you, that'll change the equation a bit. Or of course a larger screen.

 

Yep 20 is right as you have a medium sized monitor and you sit far awayish from it. You can try sitting between 40-60 cm from it and compensating a bit(using a bit wider fov than the realistic one) as sometimes losing too much peripheral vision can make your life a lot harder

 

My correct FOV is supposed to be about 17 degrees but I am using 25 at the moment. With single screen it's harder to judge exactly when to get on the throttle due to not being able to see the exit on tighter corners, but with triple screens fix all of that .

I slowly went down from 50 or 60 FOV to my current 25, over a few months period. When I just drastically changed it in one shot it was too much for me, couldn't get used to it. Go down by 3 or 4 FOV until you are comfortable and can match your laptimes, then a few days later bring it down another 3 or 4 and so on. I could NEVER go back to insanely unrealistically high FOVs anymore.

The closer you are to your screen, and the bigger your screen is, the higher the FOV gets in order to represent everything in true 1:1 scale of real life. So if you are really far from your screen your true FOV might be like 8 lol, so get as close to your monitor as you can and get triple screens.

Sharp curves actually feel like sharp curves, rather than small turns and then you wonder why you plow straight off lol.

Setting up your FOV tutorial, applies to any sim or game, there is a calculator too where you enter in your distance, screen size, etc - http://isiforums.net/f/showthread.php/93-Setting-up-your-rFactor-FOV-Tutorial?s=965cccecbda77125aead4e8e49fc49a7

 

Well, the problem is I can't take the screen any closer because my Wheel is clamped to the table. At the moment I don't have a rig or the money for three screens, so I have to stick with it.

 

That's why I have confidence Oculus Rift, in its retail version, will be a great deal for us Simracers! (hoping the input lag will be very low)

When I mount my Playseat, I usually drive in front of my 42" TV, but I can't stay close to it for obvious reasons.
For now I stay on FOV 54, moving the seat closer to the dashboard, but next time I'll give a try to FOV 40, getting a little closer to the TV.

 

Wow, great information. Will try it out immediately.

 

Yeah, me too. There's nothing much more that can be done with a single screen and keeping accurate FoV, apart from getting a much bigger screen (already decent at a 27.5" viewable 16:10). - Can't bring it closer - it's right behind the wheel and my distance to the wheel/arm reach is ergonomically appropriate. I'm about 600mm from the screen. Limiting factors...

 

I've recently become aware of the Oculus Rift and am interested too.

In fact yesterday I watched some long-ish youtube vid (link...). For sim racing indeed it could be amazing! There's other threads here that discuss it I believe. But part of my conclusions are that the pixel spacing and the resolution need to improve. And things like when you need/want to use your keyboard, say mid race - I can touch type, but being completely blind might be annoying when the keyboard is off to the side...

And I'd certainly feel like there might be some health concerns (of which I know basically nothing about one way or the other...) as to what/how your eyes focus. Seems they must be focussing super close, and that probably isn't great for extended periods.

 

Read something saying that apparenlty the Oculus Rift has your eyes focussing at "infinity". Interesting.

 

Is there any way to convert (even approximately) horizontal fov to vertical, so as to use the existing one from other games and not taking measures and doing calculations again

Edit: I think i got it. For example the formula that is used in iRacing is

2 * arctan (0.5 * w / d)

where w is the screen width and d the viewing distance.
So just change the screen width from your horizontal to vertical and ready to go.

Mind you this method uses distance from the center of the screen and not the distances from the top and bottom of the screen like the triangle method does.

 

Default in AC is a pretty good compromise for real FOV but also giving you a reasonable view of what is going on.

If you set the 'real' FOV for your screen distance and size chances are it'll be like 25-30 or so which is not ideal as you can see so little.

The 50 deg or so setting feels just right here for a game.

Triple monitor you can go a bit lower I guess but then vertical FOV is still narrow too.

Can't wait for Oculus VR in AC

Dave

 

@ Edgec0m, you wrote:
So:
Enter the height of your monitors visible area in the bottom "Side" field of that calculator.
Enter the distance from your face/eyes to the top of the visible area or your monitor into both the side "Side" input fields

I am curious about height of the monitor, is this only for SIM with Vertical FOV adjustment? In case of AC being Horizontal FOV adjustment, should we enter with of the screen instead?
I use a projector, my 'screen' is 80 inch in diameter, I cannot sit too close as I cannot see clearly ( old) when up close anymore, need to be at least 2 feet away, 3 feet is better. What would be the best possible field of view for me?
I have seen a comparison of 60 vs 28 fov on you tube, just looking around in the car and the garage, the distortion at 60 totally convince me on which way to go.

 

AC uses vertical FOV .

If you use a 21 inch monitor on a desk and have your wheel attached to it try to bring the monitor as close as possible. The distance from my eyes to the screen is 50 cm. This is a vertical FOV of 30-31. Horizontal of 54 (if the screen has a 16:9 ratio).
If you know your horizontal FOV from other games you just divide your horizontal FOV by 16 and multiply it by 9.

 

Yep, looks like you got it.
Can be even simpler really - if you have a 16:9 screen and your Horizontal FoV was 56, your Vertical FoV is simple a ratio of the screen's rectangle.
So, your V_FoV = (9/16) * H_FoV

Yeah, bigger single screens closer to the eye, you can get a value in the 30s. I must say, a few days into getting accustomed to it, I, like many have said, am finding it to be more natural. Learning a new track seems more intuitive - corners look like they have the severity they are supposed to, so you tend to naturally hit the brake and adjust your speed more appropriately.

And once you have decent adapted Sim instincts, the reduced vision of things right next to you (cars overtaking/passing) isn't proving to be an issue for me. And thus, although not having experienced triple screens, for the space, setup and cost, I'm not feeling necessitated to go that way in order to keep a fairly accurate FoV.

Using the distance to the centre of the screen vs the top of the screen for the triangle calc - unless you're really super close to a huge screen, the error in the calculated FoV won't be too huge. It'll get you in a good ball park I reckon. And otherwise, a slight adjustment to the mathematics and you can use half dimensions and a right angle triangle, and a distance to the centre of the screen.

As specified earlier and again - yeah, Assetto Corsa uses a Vertical FoV. And this is critical to getting the number you calculate to be represented correctly!

 

I repeated your calc info now that I read down and see your post! Sorry

 

We'd need to know a touch more about your projector and the dimension you have specified.

Is the 80" projector size the diagonal size? and if so, what aspect ratio is the image from your projector? 4:3? 16:9?

Then, knowing Assetto Corsa uses Vertical FoV, you'd put the height of the visible area of your screen into the triangle calculation.

With the size of your screen and the viewing distance you are speaking of, it looks likely you will get a pretty big FoV, which should be cool! Enjoy!

 

80 is the diagonal and ratio is 16:9.
When entering the distance, 32 inch and the Height 40 inch, the calculator gives me 77. that is my vertical FOV.
Does that mean that everything is at the right proportion at that value? and if I want to see more or less of the car interior I just move the seat in the game?
According to the calculator, if I move my rig back a foot, distance then is 48 inch and my V FOV is now 49.
I do not understand something, when I looked at that video comparison, 28 vs 60, everything seemed distorted when looking around at 60 fov, it had nothing to do with how close or how far you are from the screen!
I raced in Race 07 tonight, I am on the road and my lap top is unable to run AC, I put the FOV at 40% ( this is how it is showed in Race 07 ) I guess it is equivalent to 40 FOV. different from the 100% I usually use.
The experience was very pleasant, I felt more in control, evaluating the distance to the other cars made perfect sense, same for evaluating radius and elevations. In short all the proportion felt more natural. One odd feeling, the tracks felt shorter, as if the distance in the straights was less.
It made me realized, and I could be wrong, than there is much more to it than how far you are from the screen when you use a much lower FOV value.
I am looking forward to keep experimenting on the week end with AC and my home rig. Meanwhile I will keep testing on the 42 inch LCD and my lap top at the hotel with Race 07.

 

Yes. That's the theory, and within reason, that is the practical outcome if you sit at that 32 inch distance.

Sounds fair. The distance from the screen will make a significant difference to the FoV number which maintains a realistic/accurate representation of the simulated environment.

Kinda hard to put into words... Any 3d object or environment projected onto a flat, 2d screen effectively involves some kind of distortion. When you're representing a 3d environment on a 2d screen and trying to have the brain/your eyes more effectively fooled into interpreting realistic dimensions, what is represented on the screen depends on your point of view. A bigger FoV is distorting more of the simulated environment onto that fixed piece of 2d real estate that is your screen - but if you're viewing at a certain, correct proximity, it can become a more natural and realistic representation. Does that clarify?

I wouldn't necessarily count on "40% FoV" from another simulator actually being mathematically equivalent to a 40 degree FoV in another simulator. An angular FoV makes mathematical and practical sense (as long as you know whether it refers to vertical or horizontal), whereas a % might not - I don't know how they might come to their %. It might just be some arbitrary value. But its result in practice is the same - but it might not necessarily equal an angular FoV in the value they assign.

Glad it's working out for you too! I too am pleased I've looked into and learnt about this, and it is indeed improving my sim experience.

And yeah, the FoV and the distortions it can affect indeed affect the perception of curve radii, lengths, distances and the sensation of speed.

 

So, now I changed a little thing on my setup to bring the screen a bit closer. But I could just squeez 3° out of it. I still stick to my 40° in AC and in the other sims I take the smallest FOV that is possible. In iRacing it's 45° and rFactor 35°. I had training today in rFactor for our GT3 league and drove with the new FOV. Before I used 60° . We did some duels and it was the first time I didn't drove someone in the back while in draft. Though the virtual mirrors have still the wrong FOV. Anyway, love it this way and I won't go back to the FOV I used before.
iRacing, depending on car FOV between 80° and 95°.
rFactor 60° and Assetto Corsa 55°.