Bubba

Just got COD4 for Christmas and what a game. However the FOV is so messed up and narrow I nearly puked after the first level. Played COD2 from start to finish and did not have problems at all.

It seems that narrow HFOVs make people ill so I'm wondering why game devs continue to use them? Is it possible they are throwing so many objects at the engine that they experience frame issues with large FOVs?

You can change the FOV in COD4 from the console and it runs just fine so it's not a performance issue. Also for those that may be interested in this game if you have a 32-bit processor be sure to change the extension on the miles mp3 sound driver file because it causes CTDs on 32-bit processors. My game refused to even get to the main menu with the driver enabled.

The problem was that the driver was attempting to start the music of the main menu after the movies were done and it threw an exception. Changing the extension of the mp3 driver makes the game playable, albeit the ambient music is gone. Not a big deal for me since the first thing I do is turn off the music in all my games (except for NOLF 1 and 2).

CornedBee

I have two theories.

One is that they're trying to simulate "real" field of view, but misunderstanding it. The eyes' real FOV is very narrow, but humans compensate by constantly moving their eyes, and even their heads. The effective FOV is thus much larger. In games, this rapid movement is not possible, so a larger FOV would actually simulate the human experience more accurately.

Two is that they're trying to make the game artificially harder, by not giving you as much information.

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CornedBee

"There is not now, nor has there ever been, nor will there ever be, any programming language in which it is the least bit difficult to write bad code."
- Flon's Law

Bubba

Since I changed the HFOV in COD4 I'm loving the game. It's much better when you are not forced to go around with binocs glued to your head. All of my personaly 3D projects are set to 90 degree HFOV. I set my terrain to 65 like COD4 and it also bout made me ill.