Getting physically sick play HL2?

[Foldarn]

HL2 rocks. Honestly, I bought the Orange Box, but I only bought it for TF2. However, I still love playing HL2 single player. The puzzles are fun and very addicting to me. My problem isn't with the game, but with PLAYING it.

I can't play more than about 2 hours at a pop without getting SICK! I don't know if it's the motion or what, but I get a nauseous stomach, a slight headache, etc... if I stop playing, then I feel fine about 20 minutes later like nothing ever happened. I've played FPS's for years stemming back to Doom and Doom2 over modem. I played Marathon (Bungie's first FPS years before Halo) on a Mac. Q, Q2, Q3 on the PC. I played EverQuest (first person RPG) and now I play WOW and a bit of Fable.

Why is it that HL2 (and Portal I might add) make me sick? Anybody ELSE seen this or experienced it? I was debating on going and getting some Dramamine from the store and seeing how that works, but heck I don't know... This isn't a troll or a jab or anything, but I get sick to the point where I *HAVE* to log off and it's only HL2 and Portal. TF2 doesn't give me a single problem and I can play it all day.

Oh, for the record, the system specs are an AMD x64 2.8 GHz dual core CPU, 2 gigs RAM, NVidia GeForce 8800 GTS with 312 MB RAM. I ran it on a 17" 4:3 aspect monitor and now on a 22" widescreen and had the same thing both times. The resolution is both set to the max possible and with a good ratio with both monitors, and so I'm certain it's not from a fuzzy screen or anything like that.

Any ideas?

 

[Ennui]

That's incredibly odd. I have no solution for you. I guess just play in time segments? I imagine it's motion sickness.

 

[Combine_Advisor]

I think that your problem is that the game physics are just too realistic,plus you really easly "get into" the game.

 

[Combine_Advisor]

Oh and btw, i had a similar problem when i was playing hl1.During the underwater sequnces i almost couldnt breathe..

 

[Foldarn]

Skeletor, that's a great suggestion. I will try that... I used to play Q1 with a fov of 110, but I'll gladly swap that fov to 90 and give it a shot. Thanks!

This was a common complaint back in the day (Nov 2004), something to do with the unusual player's POV angle that Valve chose in HL2
There is no real solution to it other than to take regular breaks to calm the motion sickness
You could try in the developer console to set the field of view to 90 degress like most games:

sv_cheats 1
fov 90

... but I cannot guarantee any improvement

 

[Xendance]

Can someone post a picture of what the difference is between the normal view and the "fov 90" ??

Any noticeable difference?

 

[Foldarn]

I will once I modify this tonight. The more I think about it, the more I think this might be the issue. Back in the day when I played with a 110 fov, it was on a 15" monitor. My tastes have since increased dramatically, so maybe that's why it's affecting me, now.

Can someone post a picture of what the difference is between the normal view and the "fov 90" ??

Any noticeable difference?

 

[Narvi]

Dude, how old are you? Older guys often suffer from motion sickness while playing FPSes. So do women for some reason.

 

[Naurgul]

Steam Support: In-game Nausea or Motion Sickness

 

[soulslicer]

Play it in widescreen. Seriously..

 

[Foldarn]

I'm 29, not THAT old. Swapping the fov to 90 helped a decent amount, but not totally I guess.

Thanks for that link! It links to an old thread with 25 page thread on the issue. Someone mentioned something I was actually thinking, but went into a little more detail... the graphics are simply too good. haha, it's funny but I've noticed myself leaning to the right physically when trying to ease over and look over a cliff or something.

 

[Rashak]

I had this problem once after I had stopped playing and started playing halo for like a week, but I got better.

 

[Ennui]

You could always turn the graphics settings down then

 

[Wleikko]

Hm, I think you're on a brink of discovering a new disease - The "Half Life" sickness. Or maybe The Freeman's sickness. Yeah that one's better. Maybe you're gonna win the Nobel prize!

 

[Naph]

Certain games use different engines, as we all know.
But what sets aside say Hellgate and Half-life 2 is that the size (ration) of the physical engine is different.
Since Hellgate is tended for third person and Hl2 first, the environment will have a different scale.
This is probably the best reason for the illness I can conjure.

I can back it by myself getting rather sick playing C&C Renegade and STALKER, I always get the feeling
like your vision is placed far too behind the player or to forward. Also the angle of vision can jump
your gut; Half-life has a larger tangent than most games, this is suited to my eyes over years of playing.
I can guess the largeness of the view is mainly for the wonderful physics and how it allows you to capture
more of the game and the surroundings...

 

[benlen]

A medical explanation might be it. It is certainly possible that in game factors are triggering your physical reaction, that is, you are probably experiencing a sensory overload when playing HL2.

I know it sounds weird, but it happens to all people, depending on the sensitivity of their sensory organs. I happen to have extremely sensitive eyes and ears. If I play any game for longer than 2 and 1/2 hours, I begin to develop a strong headache, get depressed, and my eyes water. I feel as if I'm not seeing "everything" there is to see in a game, especially in Half Life 2. I feel like I'm experiencing tunnel vision.

 

[kupocake]

I remember feeling a little ill playing HL2 back in the day, but the feeling didn't persist and I don't remember changing anything.

edit: though I did switch from CRT to LCD in that time, so perhaps it was a refresh rate thing.