I play a lot of FPS (along with many other games) and though other games are fast paced (CoD4), others have a lot of jumping around/bobbing (Halo3), some have lots of panning around (RTS's), but none of them make me feel this way. Within a hour or so I just get fatigued, headaches, and a dull sensation of motion sickness (kind of like the feeling after the Tea cup rides at amusement parks).The sensation then ligers for a few hour. I do not think this happens with Team Fortress (I am going to try again) but Half life2 does, and to a lesser extent Portal (I have not played episode 1 or 2 yet). The other interesting thing is that when I played the original Half Life on PC the exact same thing happened, and I just quit playing (never finished the story), and was turned of FPS for years because of this (assuming it was all FPS that does this (I used to get this way with the original Doom as well so I am woundering if it is the Doom engine that I am sensitive to (I think Half Life uses the Doom engine).

I wonder if it has something to do with the frame rates (kind of like when people used to get headaches with tube lights because of the frquency of flashing), or perhaps something about the backgrounds/colors/brightness etc. I have turned the sensitivity down which helps a little, simlarly I am playing on a smaller screen (not nuch of a difference). I am going to perservier a little, to see if I get used to it, but I have tried many times on different days, and end up quiting the game.

Does anyone else have a similar problem?

If I purposely spin the view while mashing my face against the screen I get it. A tiny bit. Some people are more prone to that type of motion sickness than others. If you think it's a refresh issue you may want to go with an LCD (if you haven't already) or crank up the refresh as high as you can get it at your preferred resolution.

Orange box is the first and only game I have ever played that got me nauseous. I think the combo of playing for 2+ hours non stop on a 61 inch screen is what did it for me.

I've read that its because of the field of view being different from most games.

There was a thread discussing this a while back:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=998952

Some interesting solutions included backlighting of your display, smoking weed or taking motion sickness medicine. There was a bit of discussion about the causes of this and some research done in years past. In my post to that thread, I linked to an article about this:

http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.2/feat/

Regardless, you're not alone... :D

strangely enough, this happened to me as well

take some dramamine with some lemon soda and keep playing:D

There was a thread discussing this a while back:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=998952

Some interesting solutions included backlighting of your display, smoking weed or taking motion sickness medicine. There was a bit of discussion about the causes of this and some research done in years past. In my post to that thread, I linked to an article about this:

http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.2/feat/
Regardless, you're not alone... :D

Thanks for the links, I suppose I should have used the search function, but for some reason I thought I was unique. Anyways, its good to know that I am not alone, and it seems that many people are sensative to 'Doom engine' games (Quake, Half life) which is interesting. I will try some of the suggestions (including the meclizine). If not, there are many other games to play.........

I get motion sick on boats, in cars, and on roller coasters but I have spent LOTS of hours playing HL2 and all its expansions on PC and 360, no problems whatsoever...

Thanks for the links, I suppose I should have used the search function, but for some reason I thought I was unique. Anyways, its good to know that I am not alone, and it seems that many people are sensative to 'Doom engine' games (Quake, Half life) which is interesting. I will try some of the suggestions (including the meclizine). If not, there are many other games to play.........

Halflife 2 isn't the Doom engine, it's its own engine (Source), which in my opinion is far superior.

He was talking about Half-Life 1, which used a heavily modified Quake engine (Which from my understanding was written from scratch for that title, and not just a revised Doom engine).

The only nausea that I've experienced in this game so far is because I can't kill that last walker thing in the courtyard. I'm at the point in the game where you first encounter the tall spindly looking walkers (there are several) and there are rocket launchers placed at different points around this courtyard. The thing is there is one walker left and I can't find any more rocket launchers. Does anyone have a map that shows the locations of all the rocket launchers in this area?

Steve

The only nausea that I've experienced in this game so far is because I can't kill that last walker thing in the courtyard. I'm at the point in the game where you first encounter the tall spindly looking walkers (there are several) and there are rocket launchers placed at different points around this courtyard. The thing is there is one walker left and I can't find any more rocket launchers. Does anyone have a map that shows the locations of all the rocket launchers in this area?

Steve

I'm stuck at that part, too. I'm holed up in a concrete structure with no rockets, one last walker, and tons of the small drones with blades.

deveng - I, too, am having issues playing HL2.

I recently put it back into the tray because I never finished. I was too wrapped up in H3 and CoD4 when it was released.

Anyway...I friggin' love the game but it's the only game I have ever played that has given me motion sickness.

I feel like sometimes it has to do with the field-of-vision. I have played only one game that has given me nausea, and that was F.E.A.R. It was a beautiful and creepy game, but I could only make it through 30-45 minutes. I think it had something to do with the fact that the field-of-vision isn't a good match for natural human FOV.

Humans have a bit less than 180 degres of FOV, but concentrate on about half of that. If the object/image you're veiwing represents a significant departure from this, then your brain will detect an inconsistancy that it constantly has to process, thus creating nausea.

I feel like sometimes it has to do with the field-of-vision. I have played only one game that has given me nausea, and that was F.E.A.R. It was a beautiful and creepy game, but I could only make it through 30-45 minutes. I think it had something to do with the fact that the field-of-vision isn't a good match for natural human FOV.

Humans have a bit less than 180 degres of FOV, but concentrate on about half of that. If the object/image you're veiwing represents a significant departure from this, then your brain will detect an inconsistancy that it constantly has to process, thus creating nausea.

It does. HL2 has a 75 degree FOV. Most games are 90 degrees. Like I said above. ;) You can change it on the PC version but I don't know if you can on the 360 version.

The mini-walkers are easily handled by the little car you get. Or are we talking about another area?

The mini-walkers are easily handled by the little car you get. Or are we talking about another area?

I believe they were talking about HL2, Not Ep 2

I have to raise my hand as well. I have played more fps's then i should have but half life 2 is the only one to make me feel sick like after an hour. I couldnt finish either. Actually come to think of it dukenuke em 3d used to make my head hurt horribly and put me to sleep for a few hours lol. But I play on a 65 inch screen and nothing has done that to me. Half life did it to me on like a 32 lol.

HL2 also has a very floaty movement that might upset folks.

As for the walkers, if you are talking about where you have to kill 4 of them in the courtyard with the bunker in the middle, along one wall is a crate with unlimited rockets. I'm still stuck there though, WALKERS SUCK!!!

HL2 also has a very floaty movement that might upset folks.

As for the walkers, if you are talking about where you have to kill 4 of them in the courtyard with the bunker in the middle, along one wall is a crate with unlimited rockets. I'm still stuck there though, WALKERS SUCK!!!

Yeah, I beat that part. The problem is the part right after that where I escape through wreckage and end up in like a parking garage with one walker left that 3 rockets couldn't destroy. I have no idea where to go.

The only nausea that I've experienced in this game so far is because I can't kill that last walker thing in the courtyard. I'm at the point in the game where you first encounter the tall spindly looking walkers (there are several) and there are rocket launchers placed at different points around this courtyard. The thing is there is one walker left and I can't find any more rocket launchers. Does anyone have a map that shows the locations of all the rocket launchers in this area?

Steve

I just finished Half Life 2 (I still do not feel great after playing but I persisted). That part of story is a pain. There is an Infinate Rocket cashe on the other side of the Museum (ie directly in front of it across the street that is all broken up). The best way I can describe the location is buy rewinding to the begining of the chapter where you had to find a way into the museum. Once you exited the building across the Museum, you had to turn right and head for the turned over blue dumpster and avoid that white beam shooting from the sky. The blue dumpster had health, and a midway point to the door that was on the right side that you had to get to in order to enter the courtyard of the museum. Where that blue dumpster is, is where the infinate rocket cashe is. It is almost exactly across the street from where the stairs are in front of the museum.

Yeah, I beat that part. The problem is the part right after that where I escape through wreckage and end up in like a parking garage with one walker left that 3 rockets couldn't destroy. I have no idea where to go.

Once you are in the parking garage, when you are on the second floor, you get to a stairwell that has been destroyed (there is a dead person and some supplies). The Walker damages a support beam in the middle of the garage that allows you to walk 1 level up (you go back towards the middle), then you zig zag back on thin beams back to that same stairwell (but 1 level up). There is an infinate rocket cashe there for you to take down the walker.

HL2 also has a very floaty movement that might upset folks.

As for the walkers, if you are talking about where you have to kill 4 of them in the courtyard with the bunker in the middle, along one wall is a crate with unlimited rockets. I'm still stuck there though, WALKERS SUCK!!!

If you found that infinate crate, just hole up there and hit 1 walker at a time (to avoid getting flanked). The guy from above will throw down supplies (and health that helps). I think the walkers are not as hard as the gun ships but I think they need 7 hits with the missles to go down. Make a game save after each walker goes down.

Once you are in the parking garage, when you are on the second floor, you get to a stairwell that has been destroyed (there is a dead person and some supplies). The Walker damages a support beam in the middle of the garage that allows you to walk 1 level up (you go back towards the middle), then you zig zag back on thin beams back to that same stairwell (but 1 level up). There is an infinate rocket cashe there for you to take down the walker.

Thanks

I've experienced this with HL2 and R:FoM. I also get a little bit of it playing GH3 on the Desert Rocks stage.

I understand where the nausea is coming from. It's because this is the dumbest game ever. I'm at what will hopefully be the end at the top of some stupid tall tower and Alex is trying to get me to do something (aka stop the bad guy). Unfortunately she wont tell me what that is (oh no the portal is open). Then the mission fails because I failed to prevent something from happening. There are those two manatee things ripping you to shreds which I've killed both but that doesn't appear to do anything. This game really is crap. I can't believe it has such a following. It is absolutely no different from any other fps of it's era. Go here, turn this switch, walk across this beam, jump here, shoot this, lather, rinse, repeat.

"I understand where the nausea is coming from. It's because this is the dumbest game ever. I'm at what will hopefully be the end at the top of some stupid tall tower and Alex is trying to get me to do something (aka stop the bad guy). Unfortunately she wont tell me what that is (oh no the portal is open). Then the mission fails because I failed to prevent something from happening. There are those two manatee things ripping you to shreds which I've killed both but that doesn't appear to do anything. This game really is crap. I can't believe it has such a following. It is absolutely no different from any other fps of it's era. Go here, turn this switch, walk across this beam, jump here, shoot this, lather, rinse, repeat."

Two words: User Error. The game just spent a hell of a lot of time teaching you what to do. You just happen to be in the very small percentage of people that just aren't getting it.

If nothing else, Valve games are focus-group tested to death.

made me nauseas as well (on PS3 which might have a bit to do with it too), but my gosh Portal was worth it. What I wouldnt give for 20 more stages.

I'm also going to chime in with this: HL2 is the only game so far on the 360 that gives me noticible "smearing" or "combing" on my 65" 1080i display....its almost like I'm playing on a large early-gen LCD with ghosting.

It doesn't give me motion sickness, but it does look like ass.

Also, HL2 seems to have some kind of joystick accelleration happening...if you push the stick you'll slowly start to turn faster, which is annoying as hell, and I have to check the options to turn it off.....as a rule I usually turn down the sensitivity on these games to near lowest settings.

yeah HL2 and FEAR gives me headache and motion sickness. PC & 360
Now they're collecting dusts.

Other FPS don't give me problems.

My roommate is like this. HL2 is the only FPS game that makes him dizzy.

I play on the PS3 but it makes me queasy also. I just made some other comments regarding my disgust of this game as well on the "other side".
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14501607#post14501607

PS COD4 on the PS3 also makes me queasy now.