Once again, the Fortnite community has an issue with a developmental change by Epic Games. Through the majority of Season 8, Epic has taken the “good for the game” route instead of trying to please their fans. The two sides have most recently butted heads over the controversial field of view change.
One of the best things about PC-dominant esports is the customizable options players are given. Whether this is the graphical settings or key binds and hotkeys, PC players can usually adjust their settings to their liking. Games like CS:GO and Overwatch are great examples of this.
However, Epic Games has decided to make those decisions for the players. In a recent developer update, Epic told competitive players that their field of view would be locked at 80.
This did not go over well, to put it lightly.
A string of disappointments
If you have been following competitive Fortnite for some time, you know the changes it’s undergone. At the start, players were given the freedom to use whatever settings and equipment they desired. While not anything new to esports, it was nice to see Fortnite following this path.
This freedom led to competitors using stretched resolution, which had a much larger field of view than native resolution. If you’re unaware of what field of view is, it is essentially what you can see around you in either first- or third-person. A higher field of view zooms out your camera, enabling you to see more of what’s happening on screen.
Utilizing stretched resolution became the norm for competitive players, as the larger field of view was a huge advantage. However, a month ago, Epic banned the use of this resolution, wanting every competitor to use the same graphical settings.
While this was disappointing, some players held out hope for a future fix once Epic saw the backlash from fans. We now know, however, that such a day will not be coming anytime soon.
In yesterday’s developer update, Epic stated a higher FOV was not good for the visual aspect of Fortnite. Thus, they are keeping the FOV at 80, which is 30 points lower than what most are used to.
Player backlash
It’s safe to say most of the community was unhappy with this decision. Epic is forcing their entire player base to use the settings they deem to be the most optimal. Obviously, some player backlash is expected. That said, many are simply asking for more options.
Epic: Varied engagement ranges, favoring a low FOV and thus a closer view of enemies. Minimizing potential motion-sickness in players further away from their screen. The further a player’s head moves from the center of the in-game field of view, the more negative the reaction. pic.twitter.com/BkqHDk8GyI
— Dmo (@zzdmo) April 26, 2019
Banning stretched resolution is one thing; it looks bad on screen and gives an unfair advantage to users. However, limiting the field of view is something new to esports entirely. It’s extremely rare that a developer will lock the FOV for players.
In response to this, many are requesting a field of view slider, which would allow players to set their preferred FOV. Numerous games have this feature nowadays, and a majority of the community feel it’s time for Fortnite to adapt.
However, Epic Games is notoriously stingy with reverting any kind of update. As such, players might be in for the long-haul when it comes to getting a FOV slider.
What do you think of the field of view controversy? Let us know in the comments below. Keep up with Daily Esports for all Fortnite news and updates.
