Why do I get so ill playing 1st Person Shooters?

quackerww

Guest
Sep 18, 2005
1,718
2
0
I was told by a friend that I had to pick up the orange box. I bought it on steam, and seems to run great with no lag. However, after 5 minutes I become extremely ill and cannot play any more... Why is this?

All games including portal.

I however do not get sick playing Peggle =)

I have an urge to vomit and become incredibly dizzy.

I am not prone to get motion sickness. So I don't understand whats going on.
 

mundane

Diamond Member
Jun 7, 2002
5,603
8
81
Sometimes the view bob in FPS games causes nausea. I think HL2 had an issue with non-standard field of view values, which also upset some players.
 

Ika

Lifer
Mar 22, 2006
14,267
3
81
Motion sickness. I don't normally get it with FPSes, but Half Life 2 got me pretty bad. Portal to a lesser extent, too. When I looked up what the problem was, I found that HL2, like mundane said, uses like a 90º Field of View, rather than a 75º field of view for most normal games (or is it the other way around....?). Nevertheless, I couldn't play HL2 for more than an hour without having to lie down on a sofa and rest.

I found this odd, because I've played CS:Source for hours and hours on end with no effects... I'm talking like 8-10 hours sometimes... no other FPS has caused me motion sickness, either.
 

quackerww

Guest
Sep 18, 2005
1,718
2
0
I have had issues with other games such as Halo...
I guess I will just have to not play the games, shame because I just spent $50 on them.

 

BladeVenom

Lifer
Jun 2, 2005
13,540
16
0
It's probably motion sickness. Like they just said some games are worse for it than others. I think sitting back a little farther from the monitor can sometimes help. Ginger is a common home remedy for motion sickness; have a ginger ale with your game next time. It might help.
 

AyashiKaibutsu

Diamond Member
Jan 24, 2004
9,306
3
81
I find that turning down the detail so that it plays smoother helps me. Only time I play when it's not smooth is when it's barely noticable, but the slight stutter gets me sick in the end.
 

Piuc2020

Golden Member
Nov 4, 2005
1,716
0
0
I used to get motion sickness with Prey, it was pretty horrible, surprisingly, I didn't get any sickness with Portal and that game can get pretty loopy with all the portal swapping.

Try BladeVenom's suggestions or try messing with the head bob and field of view settings in the engine to see if it fixes anything, also, if you are wearing headphones, try not wearing them, that has helped me with motion sickness, it seems the close soundstage of headphones can mess up with your orientation.
 

ZzZGuy

Golden Member
Nov 15, 2006
1,855
0
0
I have read that you can desensitize yourself to motion sickness from PC games. It's very simple, you play said FPS and the moment you feel the slightest bit sick you stop playing for 15 minutes, then resume playing. Over time you should be able to play for a decent amount of time without any ill effects.
 

AmberClad

Diamond Member
Jul 23, 2005
4,914
0
0
Any FOV angle less than 90 will do it for me, often within minutes. Unusually large FOV angles (large enough to cause a distorted view) don't have the same negative effects, so I guess it's the tunnel vision problem. Excessively dark environments (dark enough that you lose your bearing/sense of up and down) will also do it to me, but it takes longer.

HL2 was quite bad at the default FOV; Oblivion was probably the worst in recent memory.
 

covert24

Golden Member
Feb 24, 2006
1,810
1
76
doesnt happen to me. I used to play Forsaken 64 on N64. Probably one of the most motion sickenss related games in the world. And i can play COD4 all day with no illness. i guess you just have to train yourself.
 

Maximilian

Lifer
Feb 8, 2004
12,603
9
81
Why does this happen to some people and not others? Is there a medical explanation for this? It dosent happen to me im just curious.
 

mundane

Diamond Member
Jun 7, 2002
5,603
8
81
Originally posted by: covert24
doesnt happen to me. I used to play Forsaken 64 on N64. Probably one of the most motion sickenss related games in the world. And i can play COD4 all day with no illness. i guess you just have to train yourself.

Started for me in the original Descent, but didn't happen again until HL2.
 

quackerww

Guest
Sep 18, 2005
1,718
2
0
Originally posted by: Soviet
Why does this happen to some people and not others? Is there a medical explanation for this? It dosent happen to me im just curious.

I would like to know this also.
 

BeauJangles

Lifer
Aug 26, 2001
13,941
1
0
Originally posted by: quackerww
Originally posted by: Soviet
Why does this happen to some people and not others? Is there a medical explanation for this? It dosent happen to me im just curious.

I would like to know this also.

For the same reason that some people throw up when they read in a car and others don't. It has to do with how well your brain processes different stimuli.
 

rh71

No Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
52,853
1,048
126
have problems with Xbox Halo but never a problem with PC FPSs.
 

dighn

Lifer
Aug 12, 2001
22,820
4
81
Originally posted by: Soviet
Why does this happen to some people and not others? Is there a medical explanation for this? It dosent happen to me im just curious.

Related to motion sickness: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_sickness

It probably depends on how susceptible you are to that, and how immersed you tend to be when gaming. I can get very bad motion sickness when playing some games (esp. in "small rooms"). Though distractions like music helps it a lot. I used to get car sick very easily too.
 

DSF

Diamond Member
Oct 6, 2007
4,902
0
71
Originally posted by: dighn
Originally posted by: Soviet
Why does this happen to some people and not others? Is there a medical explanation for this? It dosent happen to me im just curious.

Related to motion sickness: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_sickness

It probably depends on how susceptible you are to that, and how immersed you tend to be when gaming. I can get very bad motion sickness when playing some games (esp. in "small rooms"). Though distractions like music helps it a lot. I used to get car sick very easily too.

It's funny, I get carsick more easily than anyone I know, but I've never had a problem with motion sickness while playing a game. My mom used to get queasy watching us play Goldeneye on the 64 sometimes.
 

ubercaffeinated

Platinum Member
Dec 1, 2002
2,130
0
71
this is why i gave up fps games. can't deal with the nausea rendered by motion sickness. i will say however neither CS or CSS has ever gotten me sick. which is weird, because they're based on the same HL and HL2 engines which get me pretty damn sick after 20 minutes.

never got sick from oblivion though.
 

CP5670

Diamond Member
Jun 24, 2004
5,508
586
126
I was told by a friend that I had to pick up the orange box. I bought it on steam, and seems to run great with no lag. However, after 5 minutes I become extremely ill and cannot play any more... Why is this?

If you're mainly having problems with the orange box games, it's due to the low FOV. This topic has come up here several times in the past, specifically concerning HL2. There is a way to change that FOV, probably a console command, but I don't know what it is.

It's funny, I get carsick more easily than anyone I know, but I've never had a problem with motion sickness while playing a game.

Same here. I have always been somewhat susceptible to that, but I never had trouble with any games (and even grew up on the Descent series, which I still play).
 

RandomFool

Diamond Member
Dec 25, 2001
3,913
0
71
www.loofmodnar.com
I had that problem with HL2. Portal didn't bother me while I was playing it but when I was watching my friend play it hit me. None of the other sources games CS, DOD, TF2 bothered me.
 

DarkRipper

Golden Member
Jun 29, 2000
1,351
0
71
I get a bit queasy living in the 3d dimension flying in world of warcraft, but I've never had trouble with FPS games.