Bumper Cam Users - Bro! Do you even offset?

  • Thread starter ZevZoq
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ZevZoq

ZevZoq

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Canada
Canada
[EDIT -- Yeah, nevermind. I'm an idiot. Don't do this lol...not with bumper cam anyway]


I use bumper cam almost exclusively now. I love the In-car views in racing games, but the lack of options for FOV and so forth and the inability to remove the arms and wheel animation in GT7 really make that view problematic for me. On top of that, having now used bumper cam for some time I really feel like it's the view the game is actually optimized for. Everything just feels smoother and it's got the best hud and situational awareness. Also, my circumstances are such that I just can't get my TV closer than about a meter from the back of my wheel base so bumper cam feels more correct in that regard too. I've done some testing of the view and established for myself the fact that it's actually the same view height as cockpit cam (contrary to popular opinion) but the eyepoint is pushed forward some and it's centered on the car...so really it's the view that should be called "hood cam" while the view that is often called that is actually "roof cam."

So anyway, the other day I got to thinking that with bumper cam, I could really almost think of my TV screen as the physical front windshield of the car...and as such, if I were to position my wheel rig slightly to the left hand side of my TV I'd actually be viewing things in a pretty realistic way. So I gave it a try...and after several days of it (only took a few minutes to get used to it really) I think it actually does work. It's a subtle thing...but the fact that I sit on the left in my real daily driver and every other real car I've ever driven means that seeing the details flow by in a similar fashion in the game lends a degree of authenticity to everything. Just like in the real world, if you try and follow a line with the car centered on that line you actually see the line slightly to your right. I feel like I'm having an easier time judging corners and angles. Again, it's a subtle effect, but I think it's a real thing.

Now of course you have to decide what to do about cars where you're technically not supposed to be on the left. For right hand drive cars I don't really care...I'll just pretend I have a North American version. But somehow the center drive cars like the F1 and so forth it bugs me to be to the left so I'd want the rig centered on the TV for those which is a bit of a pain. But mostly I can just leave it to the left.

Anyone else tried this?

(this is also of course how PD intends the alternate in-car view where the wheel and drivers hands are shown shifted to the left or right to be used)
 
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Kriptical
If realistic is the goal, why not just go with vr. Its visceral, has depth perception, will always put you on the correct side of the car..and is adjustable relative to seating position.
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and is hundreds of dollars...for essentially one game. I just got a new 50" TV last night...and I'm really enjoying the benefits of that for now. ;)
 
PSVR2 knocks any flat screen into a cocked hat. Even the tracks feel different. Hairpins are so much easier not only to judge but also to adjust mid corner. It makes such a difference when you can just turn your head to peer out the side window and see the exit of the corner.

Braking points are so much easier to judge because suddenly I have depth perception. No flat screen setup can give me those advantages, not even three wraparound screens.

It was on special with a substantial discount over the start of summer but I believe now it has reverted back to normal price.

It is hands down the best view... for those who can afford it and are happy to pay for it. I didn't have to buy my PS5 so the price of that bought the PSVR2 headset instead. As some of you have already mentioned, it's not affordable so it's not an option.

When not using VR I use bumper cam and have been since GT3. It maximises the road view.. makes everything important in the view as big as possible on the screen I am using and that makes it easier to place the car, which makes me faster and more consistent than I would be in cockpit view. I also don't feel I am losing anything with this. The in cockpit doesn't make me feel like I'm in the car, it only makes me feel like I am looking at a picture of the inside of the car, and that my view of the road is oddly and unrealistically obscured partly because it doesn't respond to my head movements. So for me, cockpit adds nothing and takes quite a bit away. When I am actually driving, I don't tend to notice the interior of the car I am driving either apart from monitoring the instruments, and then I'm not considering what they look like, only what they are telling me.

So, bumper cam for me. I don't, however, feel like I am oddly placed because I am in the centre of the view. I've never actually considered that, nor had I considered what side of the car I am sitting on until I first used VR. Now I can't stop looking around me on the straights...
 
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yeah it's not really about feeling "oddly placed" in the center. Like I said, it's a pretty subtle difference. But I do think it's worth trying out...it does seem to work. It's not something where you're like "OMG this is amazing!" It's more like you just drive and soon forget you're not sitting in the center of the view and it just takes on a very natural feeling.

I have no doubt VR is great. Just not something I'm planning to go for anytime soon.
 
I've always used the bumper cam as it the closest to what I precieve when I drive. Like I have to move my eyeballs down to see the instrument panel. Its not actually in my FOV when Im driving.
 
eran0004
By offsetting the TV you are actually rotating the view rather than shifting it to the side. So rather than sitting on the left side of the car, you are still sitting in the middle but now you are looking slightly to the left.
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This.

They actually did a good job in centralising all of the cameras, whether we like the views or not is a different proposition.

There is actually a warning about changing the camera position in cockpit cam.

image.jpg


So it's clearly something they thought about quite a bit and tested.
 
eran0004
By offsetting the TV you are actually rotating the view rather than shifting it to the side. So rather than sitting on the left side of the car, you are still sitting in the middle but now you are looking slightly to the left.
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hmmmmmm....yeah I thought about something like that being the case. But I'm trying to wrap my head around what you're saying. So, the in car view that has the wheel positioned on the left side of the screen indicates that you should position your real wheel on the left as well (which I did refer to in the OP). So, is that not exactly the same as what I'm doing using bumper cam since bumper cam is always shifted over in the same way? The eyepoint (of the camera) in bumper cam is central...as is the eyepoint in the shifted in car view right?


[edit -- Oh wait wait wait! Yeah, I get it...I was ruminating on the concept while I ran my morning Sardegna grinder (with the controller on the couch in the middle sitting position :lol: ) and it all came clear. It's a matter of perspective. The view in bumper cam is drawn from the middle of the car and the perspective is from that point. By moving my physical self a bit to the left, I'm still looking at the world drawn from that central perspective. And that ain't right! lol. Obviously, the alternate in-car view that is intended to be used that way has the perspective drawn properly from a spot oriented on the left or right side of the screen so it does work. It's funny too because I was driving around last night from my fancy left-hand-side spot and I actually found myself thinking "something is just a little off about this." :lol: Anyway, back to the middle for me! I'll edit the OP...]

It's too bad though that PD doesn't include this as an option for the bumper cam view because I think the concept is actually pretty solid. If you could select to have the correct orientation for the driving position of the actual car and position your rig similarly (treating the TV as the car's windshield essentially) - while a bit of a pita to manage, it would lend a real sense of individuality to the cars. People could put their rigs on roller platforms that would allow them to be moved easily side to side for different cars! :lol:
 
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Yeah, it would be something like this:

IMG_8351.jpeg


Point A is the point of view of the camera. The horizontal line is the projection plane (your screen). Point B is the offset point of view of the player. So what happens when you look straight forward from that point of view is that you see the same thing you would see from the pov of the camera if you turned your head slightly to the left.
 
eran0004
Yeah, it would be something like this:

View attachment 1382740

Point A is the point of view of the camera. The horizontal line is the projection plane (your screen). Point B is the offset point of view of the player. So what happens when you look straight forward from that point of view is that you see the same thing you would see from the pov of the camera if you turned your head slightly to the left.
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exactly yep. Totally not what you want to be doing lol...
 

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