How can I avoid eyestrain when playing older video games? - General

Whenever I play older 3D games like POSTAL 2 or Half-Life 1, I get a splitting headache for the next day or two. This only seems to happen with PC games, because I can play on my Nintendo 64 all day without an issue. I don't have this problem with any modern games, either. I've just noticed that whenever I play games from that era, the horrible eyestrain comes back. What are some ways for me to prevent this from happening again?

what kind of monitor do you use? mayhaps it's something to do with the difference in refresh rate between your PC monitor and whatever you've got your N64 plugged into? another idea is the field of view used in older 3D games versus newer ones. a lot of modern multiplat FPS games have a real low FOV, like 70 or below, because 'something something consoles couch TV distance'

[QUOTE=DChapsfield;49117386]what kind of monitor do you use? mayhaps it's something to do with the difference in refresh rate between your PC monitor and whatever you've got your N64 plugged into? another idea is the field of view used in older 3D games versus newer ones. a lot of modern multiplat FPS games have a real low FOV, like 70 or below, because 'something something consoles couch TV distance'[/QUOTE] I couldn't give you my monitor's model off the top of my head (not at home currently), but this happens on my desktop as well as my laptop. So either both screens have the issue, or it might be something else. I'll look into the FOV options. That could very well be it. Thanks for the ideas!

There's a website called PC Gaming Wiki that sometimes has guides on how to change the FOV and resolution of games that don't support it by default through the options menu.

Get immersed by the eyestrain because old CRT monitors would do that to you anyways

could be your mouse sensitivity. HL1 you run really fast. Accompany that with a high mouse sensitivity and that's the reason why i never played hl1. I played for 20 minutes and I would need to take a break.

Do you sit too close to your computer?

[QUOTE=Cyanlime;49118760]There's a website called PC Gaming Wiki that sometimes has guides on how to change the FOV and resolution of games that don't support it by default through the options menu.[/QUOTE] Thanks for the tip! I can't believe I didn't know about that site already. It seems like it'll be immensely useful. [QUOTE=ashxu;49119878]could be your mouse sensitivity. HL1 you run really fast. Accompany that with a high mouse sensitivity and that's the reason why i never played hl1. I played for 20 minutes and I would need to take a break.[/QUOTE] That could be part of it. I like to think that I always use a low mouse sensitivity, but I'll have to play around with it. [QUOTE=ChronoBlade;49120004]Do you sit too close to your computer?[/QUOTE] I'll admit that I do that sometimes with my desktop. But I can't really sit any further away from my laptop, seeing as the keyboard is attached to it.

[QUOTE=ashxu;49119878]could be your mouse sensitivity. HL1 you run really fast. Accompany that with a high mouse sensitivity and that's the reason why i never played hl1. I played for 20 minutes and I would need to take a break.[/QUOTE] You can edit run and mouse speed you know The latter via options menu and the former via console command

funny my eyes usually adjust better to older games than newer ones since the fps is stable as fuck and your screen isnt being bombarded by dozens of nuclear bloom bombs