Setting up your rFactor FOV - Tutorial

This will be the third forums I copy this tutorial onto. I have received both praise and put-downs to this method. It really does depend on the drivers willingness to make sacrifices and the level of realism he/she wants from the sim.

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I surf through sim racing videos on YouTube almost everyday and only in the rarest occasion is someone using a customized view that suits there particular racing rig/desk. I am making this tutorial to help everyone understand and utilize several ways of adjusting your view to best suit your scenario. Most of these setups using forced FOV usually require a Triplehead or a very large screen. However single-smaller display setups can still benefit from a good tune.

The goal of this tutorial is to make using rFactor more like a full out Driving SIMULATOR and less like a racing game. It should make your racing experience much closer to the real thing. iRacing has these calculations worked out automatically but the same immersion can be found in rFactor with this tutorial.

It may help to think about it in these terms.

drivingmypov.jpg


That brown rectangle represents an average widescreen monitor sitting an average distance from a user, overlaid in a real world driving scene. What is in that rectangle is all you should see in-game.

That means you should not see your dashboard or wheel. And you should have your Steering wheel shut off in the display options regardless as you most likely have a wheel, in your hands, right in front of you. You do not need two.


FOV: (In-Game Vs Real-Life)


Your VERTICAL Field of View is the VERTICAL angle your virtual eye can see in-game.
You can modify it in your rFactor under Settings>Display. If it is on "Default" then each mod/car will contain a different FOV and rFactor will use that. If you change it to a number "58" then rFactor will force that to be your FOV in all mods/cars.

The extremes of the easily settable FOV in rFactor look like this.

100 Degree FOV


FOV100.jpg


35 Degree FOV

FOV35.jpg


35 may seem close but if you compare to the first image with the brown rectangle it still isnt close enough. To calculate what you need to set your Field of View in-game to you must figure out what your RL-FOV is. That can be accomplished with the following method and measurements. (Get a tape measure)

FOV.png


Take the 2 Distances (Side 1&2) and your viewable Screen Height(Side 3) and put those numbers into this calculator.

http://ostermiller.org/calc/triangle.html

Here is an example of my setup in the calculator.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/F12Bwth2/Forums/FOVCalc.png

My monitor has 12" of vertical height and I sit 39 inches from the bottom and 40 inches from the top to my eye. The resulting angle is what my personal setups FOV is, 17 Degrees.


Trying to set rFactor to this low a FOV is not possible with the in-game setup options. Instead, you must exit rFactor and edit the .cam files for the cars you want adjusted with notepad. Yes every mod would need adjustment should you decide to change them all below 35 Degrees.

Cam Files are located in "X:\rFactor\GameData\Vehicles\Modname\Carname\Carna me_Cams.cam"

When opened you will be presented with every camera available for the car. Starting with Nosecam, Cockpit, TV Cockpit, Swingman, Onboard1 etc etc. The one we are concerned with here is the Cockpit view. This allows for headbob and look to apex to remain intact. The default may differ per mod.


EXAMPLE CODE
Code:
LocalCam=COCKPIT
{
  Fov=(60.000000, 60.00000)
  Clear=TRUE
  Color=(164, 218, 249)
  ClipPlanes=(0.075000, 700.000000)
  LODMultiplier=(1.000000)
  Size=(1.000000, 1.000000)
  Center=(0.500000, 0.500000)
  MipmapLODBias=(0.000000)
  Flags1=(0)
  Flags2=(0)
  RadiusLimits=(0.000000, 0.000000)
  OrientationRate=(999.000000, 999.000000, 999.000000)
  PositionOffset=(0, -0.1, 0)
  OrientationOffset=(-0.070000, 0.000000, 0.000000)
  Radius=(0.000000)
The"Fov=(60.00000000, 60.000000)" Must be changed to "Fov=(17.0000, 17.0000)" or whatever yours calculates to be.

* I also remove the "7" from the OrientationOffset line making it all 0's. This will level the view.

Remember, once back in-game the FOV setting must be set to "default" for rfactor to use this adjustment in the cam file.

NOTE: I also opened and changed the Headphysics.ini per mod editing the

HeadMass=6.0 to HeadMass=3.0

making my head lighter causing less intense bounce with the new zoomed view.

You can also use the head movement removal technique from this thread I found here at RD. http://www.racedepartment.com/rfactor/22330-how-get-rid-head-movement-rfactor.html

Here is an example of my adjusted FOV of (17 Degrees)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/F12Bwth2/Game Screens/rFactor2010-04-1603-08-12-65.jpg


VIDEO OF ME ON THE NORDSCHLIEFE @ 17d FOV (Note how much more prominent the banks and gradients feel)


And here it is when you view it from real life.

As a scary example here is a single lap of Bathurst replayed in the VLN mods default cockpit FOV of 62.5 Vs an adjusted 20.5
Note the completely different(realistic) sense of distance.

Here is a screenshot from a friend who is running SoftTH and we calculated he needed around 18.5 degrees of V-FOV in-game. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/F12Bwth2/Game Screens/SoftTH_rFactor_000163677824.jpg


Now other then setting the correct In-Game FOV you will most likely have to customize the camera position and angle. This can be done in 3 ways.

First is the simplest by just adjusting you seat position. Most times this is good enough.

More severe editing requires that the "PositionOffset" and "OrientationOffset" lines in the cam file be permanently altered changing the origins and angles of the camera in game. This method requires you to leave the game to make adjustments and then return to see the results. An annoyance since you never really can be sure how great an impact a small change can have. NOTE: I believe the increments are in METERS.. So changing 0.1 to 1.0 would move your in-game camera 3 feet! I use it to make some right hand drive cars into Left hand drive EXAMPLE Bathurst Legends Ford


The last method for adjusting your camera position is on the fly is with Cam-Controls.

To use the cam-controls offered in rFactor you must bind them all. They are Cam up, down, left , right, forward, backward, tilt up, etc, etc, etc. These can also be bound to analog inputs which I do recommend. Using a joystick for more finite controls helps greatly. There is also a "slow" key you can define to slow the movement of your adjustments.

To change your in-car (or any) view you must first enable/toggle "free-move". Another key you may need to bind.

Once Free-Move is on you can use your cam-controls to move the camera around to infinite extremes. You will however notice that the movement is not based around the cars position but the worlds X,Y,Z. So up may only be strait up when on flat ground and forward may move the camera sideways or back depending on the cars orientation on the track. It is up to you to sort out and correctly move the camera into position every time the car is reset.


Once set the view can easily be lost by pressing "Esc" while in practice and can lose "tilt" even if you only change camera views. Perhaps the most dangerous part of this method is the fact that since "free-look" MUST be enabled for the view to stay, the slightest mouse movement can cause your view to spin. Not the best situation while racing. These are the limitations of this method but it is far easier and faster than editing every cam file individually.


CAM ADJUSTMENT TUTORIAL VIDEO
(This video has some errors I have worked out since)

Since originally writing this tutorial I have moved my monitor 5" closer so my v-FOV is now 20.5 degrees. That looks like this.


After several months at my perfect fov I find it very difficult to drive with it set to anything else.

I have found out how to enable the virtual mirrors in cockpit view. It greatly enhances the playability of a low FOV.

Go into your rFactor\Userdata\Your Name\Your Name.PLR file and edit the following line. It will not effect server join-ability.

Near the bottom:

[ Graphic Options ]
Broadcast Overlay="0"
Texture Detail="3"
Vertical FOV Angle="34" // 34=use default, otherwise is the FOV for attached cameras (horiz is calculated based on aspect ratio)
Rearview="1" // 0=Off, 1=Center and Side, 2=Center only, 3=Side only (virtual mirrors only, in-car mirrors are on/off)
Allow Rearview In Swingman="0"

Virtual Rearview In Cockpit="1"

Set it to 1 and you are good to go.

I encourage everyone to try their perfect FOV for a day or so. If you can move your monitor closer while racing that may make a huge difference in the feasibility of using a low FOV.
 
So for having the best view

The best view is a matter of opinion and I am sure everyone will choose what they like best. But the view you are showing is not akin to use in a full simulator.

What a simulator view tries to achieve comes from the assumption you are sitting in a real seat, holding a steering wheel, using pedals and looking through a window into the virtual world in front of you. Your desk acts as your dash board and everything else in your world should be ignored.

drivingmypov.jpg


If your window into that world is big enough to encompass from above your head to your knees and 4-5 feet wide then you can use this entire image as your reference. But that brown rectangle is more likely what you are looking at. Trying to squeeze what doesn't need to be in there, in there is a waste of screen space and a terrible idea.

SCREEN WASTE at it's finest. Everything bricked out has no reason to be on screen. (dash, pillars, roof)
Ken98Cockpit0072.jpg


This is more of what I am talking about.. This guy bought a bigger window. He gets more on-screen.

finalrig37ibd.jpg
 

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I did a bit of search about FOV myself. I didn't start from "what should I see througout a window sized as my monitor?", but from "what should I really see from the driver's seat?" thing. So I started with human field of view, 130 degrees vertically, 180 horizontally, of course there's a lot of peripherial vision in that, but the correct aspect ratio comes from it, 4:3 is the closest. Then I did a search about photography, and I found an article about different lenses, stating that the 35mm one makes the closest looking pictures to what we see, I watched the test images a bit, and I said "yea that statement can be right". Then I found what angle of view those lenses have: 37,8 degrees vertical, 54,4 degrees horizontal (not exactly 4:3 ratio but close). So then came the question: should I try 38 degrees vertical FOV, or 43 degrees (to have the 54,4 degrees horizontal FOV on my 5:4 monitor). I went for the later, so instead of even smaller FOV I'll have some of the peripherial vision in it;) Then jumped into the Lada in rFactor, and you know what, it pretty much reminded me of sitting in my grandfather's one! Had to adjust seat position a bit and it felt exactly right! Then changed car, and went onto the track with a Moskvich level 3 tuned version for a race against AI cars on the Hungaroring! I noticed that distances seem much more natural, I even took a picture of it:
e6bsjk.jpg


I also tried the other method of setting the FOV but it didn't really work for me, I felt the corners are too sharp, and certainly didn't see much with 18 degrees FOV. Maybe with much bigger monitors it would work, but my 17" monitor is simply too small for that.

I'm not sure however if I should drive this new FOV (I mean 43), or stick to the original values (around 60 I think). Because peripherial vision is quite important while driving. Well, I'll try everything and see what's best:)
 
Very interesting and surprising post on FOV's.

I do admit that it looks very realistic and the distance looks superb, but I wouldn't be recommending it to anyone without 3 screens and/or a head tracking unit.

The reason is simple, as a race driver, you tend to keep your FOV unfocused, therefore driving on peripheral vision, and more specifically, to markers that you use as an input point (e.g. looking for a point in the track where you brake).

Therefore, although my monitor should only be able to show around 20° FOV, that window would never be top and center of the dashboard. It would always be moving, sometimes to the right of the car, sometimes to the left, and below Eau Rouge, you end up looking up at your roof.

So to put it in simple terms, if you can't move your window, you can't track your input points, and you'll always have a weird binocular feeling going on. and therefore be more likely to spend more time looking to see who's around you with buttons, then looking for your marker.

Setting your FOV to something around 40~60° is more reasonable for people without a head tracking unit, semi-decent peripheral vision and semi-decent marker tracking. The best of both worlds, but it'll never match up to the perfect FOV

However, if you have TrackIR or any other head tracker, max it up to life like, and keep looking around you, and tracking those markers, you'll be so much faster and smoother.
 
Keeping in mind my setup prevents me from moving my 22.5 inch "window" any closer makes it a bad example. Most people with an LCD can better accommodate moving the screen closer. My friend Evan has gone as far as to put his monitor on a small bridge he put across his G27 motor. It allows him to use a 39° Vertical FOV on his 22" single monitor.

The smallest I'd go building a dedicated rig would be at least a 32". Three 32's for triple-head. Using any sort of head tracking with a single is fine as long as it isn't too extreme and I wouldn't bother on a triplehead as it would negate the point of it.
 
I am currently working on my new setup, which will involve projectoion on to a screen.

I cant decide on a flat or slightly curved / wraparound screen.

In order to make the curved screen work, I would have to skew the image to get a proportional image all the way round

FOVhelp.png


Example 1 - normal, example 2 - Curved

Is this possible in rfactor? or is it something I would have to do in the ati catalyst somehow?

The idea is just that,an idea, if its not feasible, it will just end up being a flat screen.
 
You would probably find it much easier to just go with a slightly curved screen and not a total wrap around. Mr Rhodes suggestion is correct just not very cheap especially if you don't know what will work. What you would need for a severe wrap around screen as the image suggests is some specialty software to do blending and warping on top of the lens. I will refer you to the only place with all the answers to your questions. Hopefully they scare you into reconsidering. http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=78&sid=cc55e7f8cca7995a5939cf055b01fcbc

Here are a few Projector setups I have saved. http://bit.ly/oM7Ife http://bit.ly/qmAdXQ http://bit.ly/nWOfWi

A few questions also about your future setup.

What dimensions will you be working with? (room, screen height and width, desired distance from screen)
Are you considering a single, two or three projector setup?
720 or 1080?

Found this doing some searching. Not a RACE sim but still relevant.
 
Flight simmers have been at it a few more years than us, plus MS flight sims are 90% the same sim used to train pilots in new aircraft, airports and taxiways.

Landings are also mega, mega hard. Took me over 100 hours to nail it. Still can't fly by instruments though, any time I'm in a white out, I'll always crash land lol.
 
Interesting to see people here talking about flight sims. I always wondered how many car sim people are also into flight sims. landing in full instrument in fog is the biggest challenge! The fs guys build cockpits a lot, so there's actually quite a lot of relevant stuff to car sims, in terms of hooking up projection systems, custom controls, getting the immersion. They also write custom software to do things like allowing one computer to draw the world outside the plane, another to drive the cockpit instruments, etc. Imagine having one pc dedicated only to running the tyre model!
 
Yes Alex, it's true, most race and rally drivers have some form of interest in flying machines. I guess it's the challenge of doing it well that interests us, more then the interest of the machines themselves.

The other interesting thing is that formula's at the top end of the ladder are not too far away from aircraft, from an engineering point of view of course.
 
Ok, on the topic of FOV and setup. I have 2 screens, but I cannot bear to miss half most of whats ahead of me because of the bezel. Is there any app or mod for rFactor to render the screens separately?

The reason I ask is because LFS has had such a feature for a while. It renders the 1st (middle) screen as if you only had 1 screen, then renders the 2nd screen as an add on to the left or right of your original view. There fore your never staring at a bezel, and it feels much more natural.
 

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