The brazen Cynical Brit, Total Biscuit, brought up an issue yesterday that console gamers may not even know exists: field of view in first person shooters. FoV is, effectively, how much of the game world appears on your screen at once. Most PC FPSs let players tweak it; some don't. Case in point: The Darkness 2.
Biscuit contends that FoV is extremely important for PC gamers due to their proximity with their monitors, and proceeds to debunks 2K's arguments for why The Darkness 2 players can't alter it. Check out his video for a rather long-winded rant, during which he reveals that the game's creative director, Sheldon Carter, has tweeted that they're working on a fix. Frankly, we're impressed with their response time.
Have you noticed the narrow FoV while playing The Darkness 2? Is it an issue for you? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter.
Joohan February 11th, 2012 at 06:20 PM
Why the FOV setting was left out of the pc version in the first place just stinks of a rushed console port (even the demo's start screen told us to press the START button, this had been fixed in the retail version though, but still this tells us a lot). Ports such as this sadly seem to be the norm nowadays. Sure there are a few good examples (Metro 2033 and Deus Ex:HR and Skyrim come to mind) where the PC versions were not just an afterthought. But this just reeks of an rushed console port with typical consolish low-res textures and the lack of advanced graphics options in the menu (here we only get the usual resolution and texture settings, etc, but nothing in the way of actually making any really substantial changes in the graphics, not even AA). A restricted graphics menu wouldn't even be too bad if there would be the ability for an "advanced" user to tweak .ini settings to their liking. But even tweaking the inis' is deemed impossible because they seem to be encrypted for some reason. And yes, I know that the first part of this series never even made it's way to the PC so this game has it's roots firmly in the console world, but in order to win the PC crowd over, some advanced tweaking options should be almost mandatory. Still after all this said, I'm still enjoying the game for what it is. It really doesn't offer anything new in terms of your usual FPS horror game, but it still has it's own weird charm and the very brutal plot and gameplay are a very welcome distraction from all the Call Of Dutys and Battlefields. If only the PC version got a little more attention in terms of graphics, higher resolution textures and moddability, then this could easily become more respected and more popular among the PC gaming scene. Hopefully the devs are listening and decide to give us PC freaks more tweaking options. Yes I know this is a business just like any other and the goal is to make profit, so maybe (most likely) the PC version was just an afterthought by the producers and they forced the devs to slam something together for the PC version and just throw it out there just to make a few more $$ along the way.
PimblyCharles February 12th, 2012 at 04:58 PM
I don't suffer from FOV fatigue like others and yourself. I do however think that just like color blind options, FOV should be included for all FPS games released on PC. I also think that issues like this should be treaded carefully when communicating to publishers about issues with their PC releases. I constantly worry that publishers will stop supporting PC releases for their games because sales do really suck for most multiplatform PC releases. There are exceptions, but if enough people complain (which PC gamers do very easily and quickly), publishers could decide PC development is a pain in the ass and stop it altogether. If you continue communicating with 2K, please be respectful and make your point cautiously. I think you have a valid argument and have clearly shown an FOV change in The Darkness 2 wouldn't be an issue as 2K stated. I for one am just INCREDIBLY happy to have this game on PC. I can live with the lack of options that most PC games have simply because I feel I'm fortunate enough to have this game on PC. Darkness 2 will sell very poorly on PC. In fact, it has already been pirated over 12,000 times and counting. It's a tough topic, but I do hope you FOV guys get a solution to your problem.