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As I suspected, it differs from game to game and from one 3D reconstruction method to the other (Z-buffer/Geometry 3D). After finishing BF4 campaign, I started setting up Metro 2033 and tried to apply vorpX settings from BF4.

Metro 2033 allows Geometry 3D in DX9 mode, which is a way better 3D reconstruction method than Z-buffer and setting IPD to 60.75 (as in BF4) was completely off, I had a cross-eyed / double image, so I had to re-calibrate and 64 (the default male average) was where I ended up being the best value, as for any native VR supported game. As for the other settings, I had 3D-Strength to 2.00 and 3D FOV Enhancement to 0.30 (besides setting 90 FOV in user.cfg file) and that resulted in a perfect scale / FOV, absolutely no “zoomed-in” effect. No image zoom or 2D FOV Enhancement were required as in BF4’s case.

So having the ideal settings for the best scale / FOV and resolving the “zoomed-in” issue, depends on the game you’re playing, 3D reconstruction method, personal preference and perception. And of course setting the FOV from game’s options (if any) or using an external tool is an absolute must. The fact that vorpX has all these useful options to set the best possible VR image is goddamn amazing! So thank you Ralf ;)

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One very important thing regarding the “zoomed in” effect, that almost everyone misses, including me, is calibrating IPD in vorpX’s ingame menu. So do calibrate your IPD following the on-screen instructions, trust me…it does wonders to the resulting image both for FOV and 3D depth and presence feeling.

I tried a few games like Crysis, Fallout 3, BF3, BF4 etc and no matter what methods I used for improving FOV, including FOV enhancement tools and vorpX’s FOV options and zoom, it still felt a bit “zoomed in”, especially on close range objects.
So after finishing the whole BF3 campaign using Flawless Widescreen set to max FOV, Letterbox 1 aspect ratio, 2D FOV-Enhancement and 85 % image zoom, I started BF4 (same settings) which had better 3D definition but after playing for a while, the “zoomed in” feeling became kind of annoying and broke the immersion. Besides that I also got some blurry vision for half an hour after playing, until my eyes readjusted.

Then I started messing with Calibrate IPD option from page 2 (display) and found that 64.00 which is the default average for most males was wrong, so I re-calibrated using the on-screen instructions and ended up at 60.75 where the cross was perfectly visible and most clear (I do not suffer from any vision issues, I see very sharp, near and far).I was stunned by the result as the “zoomed-in” issue was completely gone, the FOV was just like as in an Oculus native supported game like Alien Isolation or HL2. I was stunned even more when I instantly noticed a huge improvement to 3D depth, the distance from my face to every object in the 3D environment was very clear which is a huge boost for presence feeling. And after playing for a couple of hours without any pause, when I exited, the blurry vision was greatly diminished and it completely disappeared in 1-2 minutes.

So this is the most important thing to do besides setting the FOV. You might end up higher than me, closer to 62-63…in my case, might be the VR Cover cloth which I applied over the DK2 and puts a bit of higher distance between the lens and the eyes, although the VR native games didn’t gave me any problems with the 64 IPD default setting in Oculus profile. I’m not sure how that is possible, maybe it differs from one game to the next, but the result is amazing ;)

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Exactly, grumdark, I remembered that I initially applied Battlefield 4 settings in vorpX’s Games Settings Optimizer after I started playing again but unfortunately I didn’t see any edit option to modify my post, thank you for pointing that out, it’s very useful in order to have visible HUD in VR.

Also, you are right about the MSAA filter, I had it disabled from the start so I didn’t know that. As for black smear I didn’t see any difference whether it was on or off, it may be useful for some.

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For anyone trying to play the BF4 campaign with vorpX, in order to reduce the “zoomed in” effect, do this:

1. Install and run Flawless Widescreen (64bit), set path, select Battlefield 4 from the list and turn the slider all the way to the right (higher)
2. Launch BF4 (64bit), load a mission, presc Esc and press Del to access vorpX menu
3. Select page 2 (display) and set Aspect Ratio to Letterbox 1, 2D FOV Enhancement to 1 and Image Zoom to 0.90 (any less then this and you will see screen borders, thus breaking the VR immersion)
4. Enjoy a playable BF4 VR experience ;)

The “zoomed in” effect is still there but far less visible, middle range and distant objects appear just fine, only close objects seem zoomed. Oh, and don’t bother using BF4’s in-game FOV sliders from video options, those work only for multiplayer, no effect for campaign mode.

This solution is also applicable to other vorpX compatible games that suffer from limited FOV. They only need to be detected by Flawless Widescreen.

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