Evening Reading

If you still haven't read Ellie Gibson's interview with Mark Rein over at Eurogamer, you're missing out. It's five pages of solid gold.

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From The Chatty
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    July 27, 2009 6:00 PM

    just got ER'd

    Was never really interested in playing HL2 (heresy I know), but it did come free when I bought TF2, sooo

    Since I installed this new Video card I though hey I'll give this a shot, I crank it up to full now and just enjoy the sights. I've been playing for about 90 mins, and I just realized I'm getting motion sickness. I feel really ill and had to shut it down.

    This has never happened before to me. (my wife said it's ok it happens to all men)

    Also, is there an addon for even higher res graphics that the default steam install?

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      July 27, 2009 6:01 PM

      [deleted]

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      July 27, 2009 6:02 PM

      It's probably because the default fov is so low. Next time you load it up, enable the console and type in default_fov 90 or 100 or whatever you prefer over 75.

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        July 27, 2009 6:03 PM

        I'm not entirely sure, but you may have to type in sv_cheats 1 to enable cheats before the fov will change first.

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          July 27, 2009 6:05 PM

          There is FOV option right in the TF2 menus, lets you go up to 90. Beyond 90 you need to enable cheats and use console commands though.

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            July 27, 2009 6:11 PM

            this. i believe it defaults to 75, so you should check this setting asap.

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        July 27, 2009 6:04 PM

        TF2/portal didn't make me ill. I wonder if it's the speed of the video. this is the first time I've fired up an FPS since installing it.

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          July 27, 2009 6:06 PM

          There could be other contributing factors like movement speed and weapon bob or whatever. I know Portal and TF2 make me motion sick as well unless I increase the FOV. TF2 is the only one where the FOV choice is in the actual options menu, and you can't go above 90.

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          July 27, 2009 6:09 PM

          And by video speed do you mean framerate? You can always cap the game at whatever your monitor refresh is, usually 60hz so 60 FPS if you are on an LCD. No tearing either.

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            July 27, 2009 6:09 PM

            By enabling Vsync of course. Forgot that bit.

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              July 27, 2009 6:10 PM

              I looked for vsync in the options but it's not there. how do I enable console, and lock vsync?

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                July 27, 2009 6:13 PM

                It is listed on the Video / Advanced settings "Wait for Vertical Sync"

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                  July 27, 2009 6:16 PM

                  ^ and keyboard > advanced > enable developer console will allow you to access the console with ~

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                  July 27, 2009 6:18 PM

                  Oh it was set to disabled by default heh. ok i'll try this again

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                    July 27, 2009 6:20 PM

                    yah most games disable by default cause it allows the game to render faster than your refresh rate. I perfer to use Vsync if I can maintain 60fps constant.

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                      July 27, 2009 6:25 PM

                      Man this thread has reminded me to play through HL2 and the Episodes now that I have a computer that can run it well at max detail. Guess I know what I'm doing this week!

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            July 27, 2009 6:11 PM

            yah try turning on VSync if it is off, might help... granted I don't get motion sickness very easily.

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              July 27, 2009 6:12 PM

              this is my first time experiencing this in a game

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      July 27, 2009 6:03 PM

      Do you have any lights or other fixed points of interest around your screen? I find that if there's something that my peripheral vision can identify then motion sickness in certain games is worsened :(

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        July 27, 2009 6:06 PM

        i'm actually sitting in the dark. Also it's kinda hot in my house right now. there is all this equipment running right now to dry out the flooding from a water leak I have/had.

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          July 27, 2009 6:08 PM

          Monitor status LED or speaker LED in view?

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      July 27, 2009 6:07 PM

      The 64-bit version of Half-Life 2 has major issues with the water shader, just as a warning. The game sheds about 20 fps when the water shader is in view.

      As far as I know, this isn't an issue with the 32-bit mode..

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        July 27, 2009 6:09 PM

        it's playing in 64 bit mode. but I havent seen any slowdowns. I'm on the swamp boat level right now. trying to figure out how to open this gate where the wheel is sparking.

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          July 27, 2009 6:12 PM

          The airboat chapter made tons of people motion sick because of the low FOV. Valve even patched the game so the FOV increases a bit when you get in the thing but I personally don't think it's enough.

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            July 27, 2009 6:15 PM

            ok so I just have to make it past this part?

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              July 27, 2009 6:22 PM

              Pretty much. The low FOV along with the high speed and jerky, bouncing, rocking movements of the boat could make anyone motion sick.

              I'd suggest messing around with the FOV anyway, because even on foot it helps a lot. The view doesn't feel so zoomed in or disconnected like the camera is a few feet in front of you instead of where you character actually is in the game world.

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      July 27, 2009 6:15 PM

      Might try adjusting the FOV in advanced video - setting it to 90 or so.

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