Help. I can't play FPSs!

iruul

I love FPS games, but for some reason whenever I play, I get motion sickness and dizzy. and I feel like throwing up, and my head hurts, and can't play anymore. This can happen after anywhere from 5 to 30 min. of playing. Is there anything I can do/take to fix this?  I find that closing my eyes while I play prevents it, but then I cant shoot anything. :/
 
Topic edited. - Mr. Period

Sail

HMTKSteve is the expert on this topic =P

iruul

Who or what is that?

NinjaNed

You might not like this answer but...  Maybe you should stop playing them? Or, at least try to find a game that has less speedy motion or something.

Paulathon

I don't think there is anything you can do. I get it with Half-Life 2 (there's a specific reason for this, to do with viewing angle or somesuch) and a few random other games. Last I read, people can't even agree on what causes it.

MrPeriod

Good god. I leave the editing to Rym, Scott, and Water for any significant length of time, and this is what I find upon my return.

trogdor9

You could try adjusting the FOV (Field of View) in your game.  Slashdot also has a thread on this.

...

I had the same when I started playing Half-life 1 about half a year ago. I hadn't played much FPS's before that, and the ones I had played were so long ago I just wasn't used to the moving about anymore. I don't know what caused it, since I felt nothing in the first part (first part being everything before there was death and aliens in Black Mesa), but then as I moved Dr. Freeman through the game and came to the point where you see your first living doctor... who is hopelessly trying to dodge and kill a headcrab I felt worse and worse and worse. So stopped.

The next day I went to the bathroom for a #2 before starting the game. Never had problems from that moment. Good luck finding your remedy, and sorry for the minor spoilers in this post.

Zordon

This use to happen to me often. Usually if you play it for short periods and lower the sensitivity of your mouse you will be able to adjust. It seems like its gone or fading since I was able to feel Portal without feeling queasy at all.

Omnutia

This might sound strange but try upping the hertz on your monitor. I don't know if this is such a big problem with LCDs but CRTs were not fun to look at at 60mhz if you used computers a lot.

...

This might sound strange but try upping the hertz on your monitor. I don't know if this is such a big problem with LCDs but CRTs were not fun to look at at 60mhz if you used computers a lot.

Ah damn! I forgot. Did Rym or Scott made that mistake too? My bets on [bleeped for survival]. You mean Hz, not mHz. But I get your point. When there was still only one computer here with a CRT screen my parents had trouble with the screen for it was flickering all the time. And I and my brother had no problem.

Omnutia

If you do not have this problem and begin to develop it you have been looking at your screen for far too long.

Paulathon

I believe that it isn't an issue with LCDs because their images are persistent. You may still wish to turn on vertical sync or whatever it's called.

HMTKSteve

Try taking anti-seasickness meds prior to playing.

You can also slowly build up your tolerance by playing in ever increasing bursts. I am just about done with Metroid Prime 3 and we I started the game i could not go half an hour without being sick for hours afterwards. I can now go as long as two hours without any adverse effects.

I also suggest upping the contrast and brightness on your monitor/TV as well as playing in a well-lit room.

I have also found that drinking a ginger ale drink that uses real ginger (if it bites it is real) while playing also helps.

iruul

Good to see i'm not the only one with this problem. I seem to only feel queasy with certain games. I have no problems playing bioshock or portal but i can't last more than a few minutes on anything else. It seems that if i am immersed enough to forget i could get motion sickness, then i dont. I'll try playing in short bursts and see if it helps.

Apreche

I felt sick the first time I ever played the original Descent. After a few minutes of playing, I never had a problem with any video game ever again.

HMTKSteve

I have found that FPS games that have a constant horizon are less of a problem. If I have to put the Wiimote down while playing Metroid 3 I hit the home button. Once or twice I have accidentally used my wiimote hand to scratch an itch and... Let's just say that the resulting sit and spin Samus did not the screen was enough to make me turn off the game for a few days.

I've been chugging through Half-Life (as time permits) and that game I have a very low tolerance for. Might just be my crappy mouse. It might also be the way the screen flashes red when I get hit. Yeah, I can't take strobe lights either.

iruul

I know exactly what you mean. Halflife gives me the most problems. I cant stand that game more than 30 min without wanting to smash my head in. Woe for people like us. :(

Apreche

I know exactly what you mean. Halflife gives me the most problems. I cant stand that game more than 30 min without wanting to smash my head in. Woe for people like us.

Try lowering your mouse sensitivity and enabling mouse filtering/mouse smoothing. It might be harder to play because you will have to move your mouse a lot more, but it might help minimize the sickness.

...

Ah, we (humankind) are truly gods these days. We can create dynamic images on a flat screen and confuse our basic biological system, without ever moving.

Mr. Eric

Try lowering the graphics. If it is too realistic, it might make you sick.

iruul

This is really sad. I got Call of Duty 4 the other day for the DS and its an amazing game. Problem is, I cant even play that for more than 5 min without wishing for a headshot to end my pain. How can such a small screen get me motion sick, argh.

HMTKSteve

I just tried Halo 3 at a friend's house. Metroid Prime 3 has spoiled me. I can never go back to dual analog stick controls.

dutopia

I never get motion sick from any FPS games, but I did find Portal mildly disorienting sometimes. It was a good feeling though.

Schnevets

My advice: Stay the hell away from Marathon: Durandal on XBox 360.