Eye problem with FPS games?

[jet.]

I used to be able to play games for hours on end, however now when i play any fast paced games i.e. FPS games like Painkiller, UT2004, etc, i get major symptoms. I can play RTS games like Generals and Rise of Nations for ages but with FPS it's only after 15 minutes before my eyes go all hazy, i feel nauseous and wanna faint or collapse?

I have a Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 930SB 19" using a Radeon 9700, so it's safe to say i'm not using anything that's outdated. My refresh rate is on 85hz and my eyes aren't glued to the screen, i have a good distance between myself and the monitor. Oh, i also wear contact lenses, the 30-day kind.


Monitor Overview:
- Active screen size 18 inch (457 cm)
- Grille pitch 0.24 mm
- 19 inch (48,2 cm) SuperBright DIAMONDTRON aperture grille CRT
- Optimum resolution 1280 x 1024 at 85 Hz
- Maximum Resolution 1920 x 1440 at 73Hz

Any ideas or anyone relate to this type of behaviour?

[fishybawb]

It could just be "motion" sickness (strange that it's just started out of the blue though), but I'd go to the doctor anyway to get checked out for epilepsy.

[Bigjakkstaffa]

Also might be worth taking a trip to the opticians, see if anythings changed in your prescription

Motion sickness sounds most likely to me though

--Jakk

[chaser_22]

I have the same problem, used to play fps like unreal tournament for hours on end, but now, as you, I feel sick after playing half an hour or less, feel that I need to throw up, dizzy.

This not only goes for playing pc games but also for playing the Xbox.

It has nothing to do with my glasses, been to the opticien, everything's still ok.

I have noticed that when I'm tired and start a game I feel sick a lot sooner.

Always feel sick when playing first person games and where there are lots of dark environments, unreal, splinter cell.

Have no problem with racing games.

[AdamST]

Same thing with me. I have to get glasses though

[cusimar9]

My mate used to say the same thing, then he used to just come and watch me playing these games, he was alright with that.

Then i made him actually play one, an he was still ok. Maybe he grew out of it?

He never needed glasses though.

[seanieboy77]

My dad has the same problem. I never had the problem of motion sickness, but I did need glasses. So I just got contacts instead. Although around 11:00 to 12:30 my eyes get all hazing when I'm on the computer and I have to keep blinking my eyes. It really bugs me. But I would follow what the other guys say. And it does sound like motion sickness.

-BTY

[bigtfromkc]

i dont know if i would call it motion sickness...although i guess the 'sick, nauseous' feeling you get is pretty strange

i cannot play games for a very long time when i have contacts in...i can do it fine with glasses on but when i have my contacts in my eyes get dry extremely fast...perhaps im so into the game i forgot to blink

from the dryness, my eyes get irritated and even a bit hazy, but never sick...

[Imperion1]

Try different screen resolutions.
Also, with XP, you can have your refresh rate set to 85, but the game may change it to 60 during game play.

[Rugor]

Yes, it's a very good idea to see if you can force a higher refresh rate within the game as WinXP does usually default your games to the RRoD (Refresh Rate of Death) regardless of your desktop refresh rate.

I have the same problem with FPS games. I think it has to do with immersion, because I can watch someone else play them without problems, but if I play one for any length of time I get nauseous. The only thing that makes sense to me is that my body is trying to reconcile contradictory inputs and failing.

Wish I could help more.

[bob05]

I dunno if this has anything to do with you, but I use to get sick on some FPS. When I was young I got it from playing Wolfenstien 3D (but I played Doom 1 just fine) and now I get it sometimes with Halo on XBOX. It only happens when I am in a dark environment in the game. When I am fighting on the surface of the planets and stuff, I'm fine. But I start feeling sick when I am in dark caves. Weird.

[bubbalou32]

I remember that issue with 60FPS in XP when it came out - anyone remember how to force higher FPS in games?

[Bigjakkstaffa]

You have to use third party software such as RefreshFix and Refresh Force to override the 60FPS bug

--Jakk

[bubbalou32]

Thanx Jaxx

[Bullet-Man-2]

Also try various monitor refresh rates. This changes how fast the monitor is refresh it self... (duh). If it's too low your eyes will start picking up when the monitor hasn't filled the screen entirly; you can't really see it; but if you take a picture you'll see the monitor has a huge black spot on it. This can be sometimes why you get headaches.

Try to also dim the brightness; don't max it out. Give that a try. If that doesn't work then it just sounds like motion sickness.

I can play games hours upon hours. And have been for quite some times. The worse problems I've have is when typing late night papers; my eyes get 'wore' out and just seem to have problems focusing.

also: I wear glasses 8-).

good luck