F i s h e y e   Q u a k e
 [ ---> DM4 Fisheye Comparison Screenshots <--- ]

See also

PanQuake


Eh?
Fisheye Quake is a version of quake (software rendering) that allows you to play in ANY fov, i.e. 10 to 360 and over (the shots above are all in fov 180). Get the archive here (295k, win32, includes source). Warning: Fisheye Quake requires heavy computing power, and may induce motion sickness. The readme. More screenshots.

 

How?
This version of quake renders 6 views of exactly fov 90 in each direction, then uses a table to transform these pixels to a single view according to fisheye projection. I initially made this hack using the quake 1.01 source code for linux (illegally obtained), and later ported it to the GPL-ed win32 code released by id software.

Shaun Williams recently made a video that does a very good job of explaining some of techniques behind Fisheye Quake. And his video & code/docs comparing many possible projection methods for Quake .

 

Why bother?
Personally I just love fisheye and high fovs for the speed of movement sensation they give and the great graphics, the cheating aspect of it has never interested me. But in general a high fov can help your game, as you can see more, and in fights you are disoriented less. Sadly, the standard flat projection in quake gives a "stretching" distortion that gets unbearable as fov gets really high. Fisheye projection doesn't have this problem. See this comparison chart to see why: one of the most stunning conclusions you can draw from it is that, if you're used to playing with fov 120, you essential get fov 180 fisheye for "free", as objects in the middle of your screen (what you aim at) are the same size still (!)

Go back to my main page.