Question Graphics setting to help with motion sickness/headaches?

Jan 13, 2020
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TL;DR Are there any settings that can be messed with in games that can help reduce motion sickness or headaches?

So I originally started playing Genshin Impact on the PS4, but eventually started a second account on my PC. My PC is about 6 or 7 years old now, but it was pretty beefy when I built it (well, my friends built it, but I paid for it) so I was very impressed with how much better it looked. I was also taken by surprise by the headaches I was getting almost every time I played. They were very similar to what I used to sometimes get when I played the old sprite based FPS games too long. Sometimes Genshin would let me play for a couple hours, other times I'd have 15 minutes, tops. PS5 comes along and the game looks even better (though I think the colors are better on the PC) and no headaches. When I play regularly on the PC, I build up an immunity and can generally play it longer, but if I set it aside for awhile and come back, the headaches start happening again.

PS4, PS5, and the PC are all hooked up to the same TV and sound system. I use the same controller and sit in the same couch. What could be going on with the PC version that's sometimes giving me headaches?
 

Brian Boru

King of Munster
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Welcome to the forum :)

Try these. If one helps, change gradually until problem restarts—then you know what setting level you can tolerate.

Turn off Motion Blur.
Experiment with FOV—Field of View—setting.
Decrease brightness.
Change graphic settings to lowest.
Try KB and Mouse instead of Controller.
 
Jan 13, 2020
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Oh yeah, motion blur is the first thing I turn off in any game I play. I can't fathom how anyone can stand to leave it on. :sick:

I'm confused by how setting the graphics to lower would help since i have no issues on the both playstations which are either better or worse than what I can get on the PC depending if we're talking 4 or 5. And with the controller, it's literally the same controllers I'm using with the playstations.

The brightness option does have some merit though. I have noticed the colors on the PC are noticeably brighter. Maybe I'm straining eyes with it? Come to think of it, when i turn on the PS5, my TV does enter "game mode", but it never does that with the PC. I may need to look into what game mode does, or maybe even forcing it on when I game on the PC. Maybe something there is better for my eyes.
 

Brian Boru

King of Munster
Moderator
I'm confused by how setting the graphics to lower would help … And with the controller
Those are just troubleshooting steps to see if they have an effect. Probably won't, but troubleshooting is often a matter of eliminating possible causes so you can zero in on the more likely culprits.

 
I'm confused by how setting the graphics to lower would help since i have no issues on the both playstations which are either better or worse than what I can get on the PC depending if we're talking 4 or 5. And with the controller, it's literally the same controllers I'm using with the playstations.
The reason those suggestions might work is because of how smooth the graphics are and how the action moves on the screen.

You didn't mention what FPS you were getting on your PC, but I assume it's okay because these multiplayer games don't have very demanding graphics, generally speaking. (Please note that doesn't mean that they don't look great) If your framerates are dropping below a certain point, that can cause motion sickness in some people.

As for the controller, turning the screen with a controller creates a uniform spinning motion which can cause problems for some people. Since you don't have problems with that on console, though, I assume it isn't a problem here.

What I would do is figure out what the game developers added to the PC version that isn't in the console version, graphically speaking. A lot of times, developers will add extra post processing effects to the PC version. It's possible that something added to PC to make it look better is causing you problems. If you can find a list of what was added, you can turn those things off, and then the game should be exactly like it is on console.

One last thing, my son always got terrible headaches whenever he played VR. I started giving him a ginger supplement 30 minutes before he played, and that fixed his problems. Ginger is safe to take and proven to work: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/125...tachygastric,and treatment of motion sickness.
 
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