Adjusting FoV in Racing Sims

[Oubaas]

Using an FoV calculator to set up your racing sims doesn't work. If you use the numbers that they generate, it feels like you could step out and go make a sandwich before the next turn comes up.

What is needed is a sensation of speed calculator. That sensation is far more important than the size of the keyhole through which you're peering as you drive.

But until somebody programs one of those, here's how you can set your FoV for a more realistic racing experience.

I've turned a lot of laps at Watkins Glen in real life. In fact, when I turned my first lap at The Glen, the old track was the new track, and the old track of the time was the street course, with the old stone bridge. Yep, I'm old.

I know the new track well. So find a sim with an accurate representation of Watkins Glen. Pick a car and leave the pits. Bring the car around the track briskly, enter turn one at race pace, and head for the esses. Adjust your FoV until when you get to turn two and head up the hill through the esses, your brain screams, "Oh my God! You're driving into a wall of asphalt!" You should almost crap your pants.

If the hill looks that steep, and your sense of speed feels fast, your FoV is correct, regardless of what the FoV calculators tell you,

Turn some laps until you get the feel, then go set your other racing sims so they feel about like the original calibrator. Done.

 

[Michael Krone]

Oh no, I hear sirens.

 

[jgf]

I hate these arguments that what you see on your monitor should equal what you see in that same space sitting in a real car. In other words, take a piece of cardboard, cut an opening the size of your monitor, and place that inside the windshield of the car; that is what you should see in a sim. Well, if that is accurate, leave that cardboard there and drive your car (just let me know beforehand so I can stay off the street).

I want to see from mirror to mirror on the screen (still not realistic, but no decent way to get peripheral vision), and with a depth of view that gives a decent sense of speed without perspective distortion.

I still enjoy the "ancient" NR2003, but it has no sense of speed at all; the speedometer says you are going 160mph, your eyes say you are going 50mph. And the only way to alter its FOV is via third party utilities that must run in the background.

 

[HeathAnderson]

Man, you nailed it with the FoV calculators being off. Using those numbers always makes me feel like I'm in slow motion, totally ruins the immersion. A sensation of speed calculator would be a game-changer, but until then, I dig your method.I’ve done a few laps at Watkins Glen too, though probably not as many as you! Your approach is spot on—using a track you know well in real life to set the FoV. The first time I hit turn one at race pace and flew up through the esses, I thought I was going to kiss the wall. It’s all about that “holy crap” moment when you feel like you’re blasting up a vertical wall of asphalt. When it feels like that, you know you’ve got it right.