Fix the Object Stretchiness

[itsme86]

I'm not sure if it's my resolution or what, but objects seem to elongate when they're near the side/corner of the screen. It would be nice if Kerbin still looked spherical when not viewed head-on.

If it matters, I'm running the game fullscreen at 2560x1440.

[LeadMagnet]

I'm running the same resolution, both on Windows and Linux, and do not have this problem. I've got a GeForce GTX 660, either VGA or HMDI outputs do not have this problem.

Have you check your drivers are current? Maybe a re-install?

Edited August 13, 2013 by LeadMagnet
brain fart!

[itsme86]

I'll try to post some screenshots of what I'm talking about tonight. I'm not sure my explanation was very clear.

[Zaeo]

What you have is a concave or convex monitor screen. It stretches out your pixels at the edge of your monitor. it's known as a "Fish eye" in photography. Sadly, the only way to "Fix" it is to buy a new monitor.

[Anton P. Nym]

If it matters, I'm running the game fullscreen at 2560x1440.

There's a possibility either the game or your graphics card is taking a "full screen" (4:3 aspect ratio) image and stretching it into the "wide screen" (16:9) display setting you list above. I run into the same issue sometimes when playing old DVDs on my Blu-ray player, which tries to display them by stretching the peripheral parts of the image out to the corners.

I'm not sure where to check this, though, and I'm not near a KSP-permitted computer at the moment.

-- Steve

[chaos_forge]

I'm not sure if it's my resolution or what, but objects seem to elongate when they're near the side/corner of the screen. It would be nice if Kerbin still looked spherical when not viewed head-on.

If it matters, I'm running the game fullscreen at 2560x1440.

I know what you're talking about, but it's hard to describe . . . it's kinda like there's a fish-eye effect near the edges of the screen, but it's only noticeable sometimes

[Thiagobs]

Hey, I know what you're talking about... basically, this, right?

Here we can see Kerbin near the center of the screen, round and beautiful...

But here...

Here, Kerbin is near the edge of screen, and looks distorted, "stretched"...

This is common, I've noticed this on every 3d games, some more pronounced than others, but usually it doesn't bother me...

If I recall correctly, this has to do with Field of View (FOV)... I don't remember if this happens when the FOV doesn't "fill" your screen entirely or when the FOV is larger than your screen...

It tends to be more noticeable the higher (and wider) your resolution is... (for the record, I am using 1920x1080)...

It's hard to fix this because if the devs (any devs for any game really, not talking just about KSP/Squad) tweak the FOV for a particular resolution, it tends to get worse on other resolutions...

Some games allow you to change the FOV, but they are rare...

[VerdammteSeele]

This is a very odd problem. I tried for quite a while to get it to happen, but couldn't reproduce it. Everything looks fine visually for me.

1920x1080 resolution and GTX 680 on Win 7 x64 here, btw.

[LeadMagnet]

A very odd problem indeed! Thanks for the screen caps, really helps out.

I can replicate this by setting the game to window mode on a 4:3 aspect, but maximizing the window on a 16:9 monitor resolution on both VGA and HDMI. I don't think this is a game bug, but just how the graphics card is trying to render the different display modes at the same time.

Are your game display settings and monitor resolutions the same? If so, does this happen on all 16:9 resolution and settings?

[rkman]

I'm not sure if it's my resolution or what

It's not.

I do not have this problem.

You might not have noticed it. See what happens to the shape of a nearby planet (close enough that the entire planet is visible, taking up a good portion of the screen) when you change your view so that the planet moves from the center of the screen to a corner of the screen: the shape changes from a circle to an egg.

The cause is the projection method of the 3D graphics engine (Unity), and basically all 3D games suffer from this 'reverse fish eye distortion' (image is stretched instead of compressed along the edges of the screen). The distortion is more severe with a larger FOV and with a wider aspect ratio.

Projection methods that have less distortion are more computationally expensive.

[itsme86]

What you have is a concave or convex monitor screen. It stretches out your pixels at the edge of your monitor. it's known as a "Fish eye" in photography. Sadly, the only way to "Fix" it is to buy a new monitor.

My monitor is flat. I can't tell if you're being serious or not with this suggestion.

Hey, I know what you're talking about... basically, this, right?

Here we can see Kerbin near the center of the screen, round and beautiful...

But here...

Here, Kerbin is near the edge of screen, and looks distorted, "stretched"...

This is common, I've noticed this on every 3d games, some more pronounced than others, but usually it doesn't bother me...

If I recall correctly, this has to do with Field of View (FOV)... I don't remember if this happens when the FOV doesn't "fill" your screen entirely or when the FOV is larger than your screen...

It tends to be more noticeable the higher (and wider) your resolution is... (for the record, I am using 1920x1080)...

It's hard to fix this because if the devs (any devs for any game really, not talking just about KSP/Squad) tweak the FOV for a particular resolution, it tends to get worse on other resolutions...

Some games allow you to change the FOV, but they are rare...

Yes! That! Exactly.

[The Right Trousers]

Undisclaimer: I've made quite a few 3D games and demos in the last 20 years.

rkman has the right answer: it's perspective distortion arising from projecting a 3D object onto a 2D surface. I wouldn't wish for another projection method, though: in almost all of them, lines turn into curves after projection.

One way to mitigate the distortion is to narrow the field of view (FOV). But then you'd see less stuff on your screen. Some games (especially first-person shooters) allow you to change your FOV. A lot of FPS players use ridiculously high FOVs, approaching fisheye-style projections. I don't see an option to change it in KSP, though.

[Anton P. Nym]

One way to mitigate the distortion is to narrow the field of view (FOV). But then you'd see less stuff on your screen. Some games (especially first-person shooters) allow you to change your FOV. A lot of FPS players use ridiculously high FOVs, approaching fisheye-style projections. I don't see an option to change it in KSP, though.

At last! My having an ancient cube-o-glass 4:3 monitor finally pays off!

-- Steve

[VerdammteSeele]

But that would mean it'd happen on most every computer and it isn't. If someone says they don't have the problem then they don't have the problem.

I've never seen a FOV setting so if people are going into the config and changing it manually or by some other out-of-game method then that would be causing the problem.

[itsme86]

But that would mean it'd happen on most every computer and it isn't. If someone says they don't have the problem then they don't have the problem.

I've never seen a FOV setting so if people are going into the config and changing it manually or by some other out-of-game method then that would be causing the problem.

I'm betting that the people that say they don't have the problem either: a) have a more forgiving aspect ratio or resolution that diminishes the effect, or have the problem but didn't understand what I meant.

I can tell you that I didn't go manually change any config file that caused this problem.

Edited August 14, 2013 by itsme86

[imasquare]

The short answer is, there is nothing wrong with your monitor, graphics card, game, installation or configuration. Rkman and The Right Trousers are correct. However this is a completely normal effect of having a large and wide FOV. It only seems strange as you have human eyes, and you're used to perceiving the world with a narrower FOV.

[LeadMagnet]

At last! My having an ancient cube-o-glass 4:3 monitor finally pays off!

-- Steve

I still have an old Hitachi 19" CRT that works great! Bigger than my desk and just as heavy! Only use it on occasion and it has a permanent home in the workshop. Maybe it's screaming for some KSP action! :D

[nhnifong]

That's strange. KSP doesn't even have a setting to mess with FOV. Perhaps you have discovered an easter egg!