Input Lag and Response Time = Motion Sickness

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I suffer badly with motion sickness in current games, to the point where anything other than WoW or SCII will make me feel so rough that I have to go to bed to sleep it off.

This hasn't always been the case though. As a teenager I played A LOT of games. I played Doom and Duke3D when they first came out and pretty much every other classic since then. I was even in a Unreal Tournament clan at one point and used to make Custom maps for Half-Life.

At first I thought it was just FPS games that were the problem so I've avoided them, however I suffered the same problem this weekend while playing Batman: Arkham Asylum (3rd Person). It's not limited to PC gaming either. I have the same problem on consoles. Super Mario Galaxy nearly killed me!

I've tried many different things like sitting further back, making sure there is enough light in the room etc....Travel Sick pills do kind of work...however they make you drowsy!

So I started to think back to the last game that I was able to play all the way through without any problems. That got me thinking about the hardware setup I had while playing though games....which then lead me to start thinking that maybe it's my monitor that's the problem!

In the past, most of my gaming was done on CRTs. I do remember playing a fair bit on my first LCD (a black Hitachi thing that was getting great reviews on here).

Since then I've had a NEC LCD20WGX2 and my current Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP (both 16:10 I think). I don't recall ever playing, or being able to play on these monitors without feeling rough afterwards.

Looking at reviews of the 2408WFP (and the 2407WFP before it) that might be a ghosting issue and a slight input lag problem. Could this be the cause of motion sickness?

Would upgrading to a faster screen with lower input lag make any difference?
I want to play BF3!! :(
 
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First thing i would do is try adjusting in-game FOV (field of view) settings to see if it makes a difference at all. 90 degrees horizontal (65 vertical) works for me. Anything less leaves me with headaches and nausea too.
 
First thing i would do is try adjusting in-game FOV (field of view) settings to see if it makes a difference at all. 90 degrees horizontal (65 vertical) works for me. Anything less leaves me with headaches and nausea too.

I've given that a try when they added the option to the Source engine.
It allowed me to complete Portal....but I could only play for about 30 mins before I needed to stop. There was one level near the end that nearly killed me.
It certainly improved it a little, but didn't solve it.
 
I have the same issue

Used to be able to play loads of fps , now 10 mins i feel queesy
15 mins feel terrible , 20 min iam puking and having to lay down

I can still play flight sims ok mind you and arma is one of the few fps view type games
that I can still play.
 
Every bit of research I've looked at about Simulator Sickness seems to point the blame at the delay between brain signals and what happens on screen.

I can't really say there is a noticeable delay on my screen as such, however, in fast moving games it is often hard to focus on objects while movement is happening. Detail only becomes clear once the movement slows. It's barely noticeable, but could be some of the problem.
 
Quick google suggests the A00 revision had 60ms of input lag, which is shockingly bad.
 
OP may want to check his refresh rate settings. It's a longshot as i can't imagine why they'd be set wrong, but worth a look.

Should be set to your monitors native rate, which is probably 60Hz.
 
IIRC the Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP is renowned for bad input lag.

Yeah, sadly that's what I'm seeing now from the reviews I've read (Example). I'm pretty sure mine is a A00.

OP may want to check his refresh rate settings. It's a longshot as i can't imagine why they'd be set wrong, but worth a look.

Should be set to your monitors native rate, which is probably 60Hz.

It is :) If only it was that simple.

After reading up a bit more it seems as if the 120hz monitors may help somewhat. Might be worth a shot. That ASUS one looks nice.
 
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I used to have similiar problem tho not to the same degree when first moving from CRTs to TFTs, the blurred detail on moving objects could make me feel somewhat nauseous (not to mention slowing down my efficency at reacting to stuff in FPS games) better quality TFTs reduced it a lot (my first few TFTs were cheap Acers, etc.) but my current gaming monitor 120Hz Samsung 2233rz eliminates it completely tho your mileage may vary.
 
TBH not having a screen with 60ms input lag would probably solve it. :p

Too true, I'm only just learning is was that slow though. I thought I was the problem (which to a degree, I am, but still!!!)

Sit further away from your screen.

My desk is pretty deep. While gaming, the screen is probably about 0.5m away from me. Any further and my arms wouldn't be resting on the desk. It's far enough away that with arms outstretched, I can't touch the screen.
 
Another thing you might want to look at is ambient light levels in the room where your using the PC. Personally I find if the room is too dark and screen too bright that can make me feel a bit queasy.
 
0.5m from a 24" screen is not a lot. For most it can be fine but if you want to resolve this issue you should at least try peoples advice.
 
I used to have similiar problem tho not to the same degree when first moving from CRTs to TFTs, the blurred detail on moving objects could make me feel somewhat nauseous (not to mention slowing down my efficency at reacting to stuff in FPS games) better quality TFTs reduced it a lot (my first few TFTs were cheap Acers, etc.) but my current gaming monitor 120Hz Samsung 2233rz eliminates it completely tho your mileage may vary.

Awesome news! That gives me hope :)

Another thing you might want to look at is ambient light levels in the room where your using the PC. Personally I find if the room is too dark and screen too bright that can make me feel a bit queasy.

I'll have to try increasing it. I normally play in the front room which is fairly well lit, but it's worth a shot.
I'm really tempted to pick up a 120hz screen now though :D
 
I had a 2407 which was "ok" for input lag and i found it bloody awful. I wouldn't get what you suffer from, but i just found it so poor. I can only imagine what the 2408 is like as it had far, far, FAR worse input lag...

This is highly likely your problem. Check on TFT central for input lag results. Some good models are some of the new IPS Dells, and the Hazro's. I'm sure there are a few others, like the now hard(ish) to find HP models. I assume you wouldn't be after TN film, which is why i list the above only.
 
I'll have to try increasing it. I normally play in the front room which is fairly well lit, but it's worth a shot.
I'm really tempted to pick up a 120hz screen now though :D

It could equally be the other way around, my dad likes the room to be dimly lit when hes using the PC and I know other people who find it much easier on their eyes if the room is completely dark - tho personally I find that horrid.
 
Holy crap!! I got the ASUS VG236 120Hz today. It's stunning!

I'm amazed how blurry the other screen was in games.

I don't know if it's cured my sickness problem. I've had a bash at Portal 2 (not the best example to use!!!) and a quick blast at UT3 Deathmatch with bots. Didn't feel too rough after. A little, but not too much. I tensed up because I was expecting to feel rough, which probably isn't helping!

Even if it doesn't cure me, I'm dead chuffed with this screen!
 
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