[DISCUSS] Zoomed Out FOV mod - discontinuation?

Joriom · 2018-10-08 23:00:40

Hello guys and gals.
As some of you might know, for past 5 months I've been updating and maintaining online releases of zoomed out FOV mod which allows you to see further in game.

Sadly, game developer, Jason, according to my knowledge for the first time now, officially and directly denounced usage of this mod as clearly in oposition to what he intends for the game.

jasonrohrer @ Discord 09/10/2018, 10:54 PM CEST wrote:

Well, I wish people wouldn't use it, but it's open source and I can't stop you.
But it's not the experience that I intended.

Seeing this, I consider discontinuation of the project, especially that I haven't played game myself for around 5 months as well as... actually I've never player a full life using zoomed out mod myself!

Although before I make final decision I would like to ask you, every-day players about opinions. That's strongly due to the following Jason statements (as well on Discord around the same time):

quote=jasonrohrer @ Discord 09/10/2018 wrote:

Not everybody uses a zoom mod.
I'm guessing it's 10% or less.
Almost no YT videos use it, for a reason (too hard to see the characters in a YT vid on a phone)
[...]
I have a particular way I want the game to look and feel

Is it just that "10%" minority that enjoys the wider view?
How important is zoomed out FOV mod for you really and do you even use it?

If you don't mind, I would be glad if you could spare minute or two of your time to answer those questions:

Are you using zoomed out client or have you used it in the past?
https://www.strawpoll.me/16609506
Should the project be discontinued?
https://www.strawpoll.me/16609532
How long have you been using this mod for (if ever)?
https://www.strawpoll.me/16609546

Please share your thoughts.

P. S. There is already better, more polished version released by Awbz, maybe you have heared about it?

Anshin · 2018-10-09 00:28:05

I ONLY play the game with 2x zoom.
After updates I wait until the ZoomMod is updated to play... Please keep making it!

Better yet, Jason, Please add zoom options to the settings menu!
Default view is like being short-sighted, 2x is the closest to 20/20 normal visual distance.
If you don't want to make it official could you at least make it easy to change the setting in the game files?

Where do I find out more about and get the version by Awbz?

Thank you Joriom for your essential fix.

golmock · 2018-10-09 00:30:46

Please don't quit. plz plz plz... I can't keep playing this game without your 1080 mod.
Ohol's field of vision is abnormally narrower than other games that come out these days and all objects are too large.
I think the zoom mode is a feature that should be added to the basic game, not a mod.

I came to the forum today to get the zoomed mode because the game was updated.
Whenever I get updated, I cannot enjoy games and always wait for the mode to be updated.

Last edited by golmock (2018-10-09 00:32:53)

UnluckyLucy · 2018-10-09 01:50:33

a larger fov really should be part of the game, but since it's not... the game really is hard to play without it. especially for griefer hunting. without zoom, its like being one of those shitty ai enemies that can only see 2 ft in front of them. like, come on! what do you mean i can't see to the end of the hallway! for real?!?! lol. i condone the continuation of the zoomed client

boggers · 2018-10-09 01:59:41

I've used zoom mod since the day I started playing, the game feels broken without it. Zoom mod makes players play better and I wish everyone used it. I think the best solution would be for Jason to expose zoom options in the ini files of the official client so it becomes possible for everyone, but officially unsupported.

If and when zoom mod is discontinued I'll either stop playing OHOL or bite the bullet and start modding the client myself.

edit: the AWBZ version has a bunch of other stuff and can be found here: https://github.com/Awbz/OneLife

Last edited by boggers (2018-10-09 02:15:21)

Xan · 2018-10-09 02:55:45

+1 for keeping zoom out or making it a feature of the base game.

I resisted installing the mod for a long time, but once I got it I was hooked. I use the 1440p version on my 27" monitor and the game looks great.

It dramatically reduced my deaths by animals (I still die when I get overzealous hunting though). I can leave base and scout more often and at younger ages because I can plan out where wild berry bushes are. I've felt less forced to make a home marker because I can find my way back home easier even if I forgot to make a marker. I feel safer with the larger view distance. Players and animals can't just sneak up on me like they could before.

I played one game without the mod recently, and I hated the game experience. I was an eve born in Goose Town, and a child of another eve was trying to kill me. Without knowing where she was well in advance I could never feel safe so rather than waste time typing telling others about the danger I was in I left the town, and ate wild bushes so I could die at sixty. It was not a fun game for me. I like Goose Town and I wanted to be there and be useful. Instead I was just waiting out my timer to die eating berries alone.

If I was forced to play without it that would probably be my reason to stop playing for good.

Tarr · 2018-10-09 03:20:34

I originally played five hundred of my total hours without any sort of zoom mod and that was a very clear mistake. Being able to zoom out greatly improves the game experience over the base client. I had originally swapped over after various animal related deaths pushed me over the edge to finally try it.

I'm going to feel bad for all the steam people who will be trying to learn the game with the default client. Being able to properly scout out an area and avoid random animals is great. I never felt that being killed by an off screen animal with no warning was exactly a fair death. I couldn't imagine trying to deal with something like aggressive pitbulls in the default client seeing as dogs are rather quick and move up to seven tiles.

I played for about ten minutes without some sort of zoom mod today and honestly it's not enjoyable at all. The game feels incredibly claustrophobic at default view and makes navigation a real chore.

boggers · 2018-10-09 03:23:50

OK, now that I have had a look at AWBZ mod, I think it is important for Joriom to continue updating regular zoom mod.

AWBZ's mod contains a much better zoom implementation, but it also has an instant suicide key. This is probably the reason behind the recent plague of stillborn and baby suicides that is currently ruining the game. The fewer people running AWBZ's easy-suicide mod the better IMO.

Sakkiyn · 2018-10-09 04:15:24

I had quit OHOL after what I felt was an unfair and childish implementation of the griefer rewarding apocalypse update. I used to watch a lot of twitch streamers who streamed OHOL. After apocalypse most quit playing and streaming the game. A few came back for awhile, then quit.

I recently saw Lost Scholar streaming it and he had zoomed out view. I got excited and asked if jason finally fixed this major oversight, no game uses 640, and nor should any game ever use this myopic and annoying resolution. He explained to me "no, it is a mod", I replied "you are allowed to play the game with mods, or is this a private server like 2OHOL?". He said it was the official servers.

So I came back to try this and it has renewed my enjoyment of this game. But then an update occured and Jorion did not update his zoom mod. I tried to play ...I really did. I could not even finish one life, I was ruined for zooming. If this mod leaves then I also must do so. The game is no longer playable without it for me personally. So the streamers friend Awbz spent hours using Jorioms links on how to make the mod, and updated it again.

BANG, I was back playing and enjoying. Awbz keeps it updated, and Lost Scholar on twitch keeps streaming, and I am still having fun. I could not go back to 640, I always felt it was stupid. You lose items at your worksite all the time because you cannot see very far, you run around like an idiot in circles trying to find things. This in a game where literally every second counts down to the end of your life. You run into wolves, boars and snakes constantly that a second ago were off screen.

I cannot even see my entire work area at a forge or farm. Bow griefers run in, kill and run away. Where did he go? Several people waste years (minutes) searching but your field of view is a bad joke from another bad woody allen movie. How can we curse someone whose name we do not know, nor whom we can even find? I found several griefers using this mod, they do not even know I can see them afar off, littering the ground with hundreds of corn seeds, or stabbing/shooting another victim. Although seeing the seed is problematic but it is obvious they are up to no good. Once the griefers can see farther they will know I can see them, but will this curb their extra curricular activities? Those who are trying to do so secretly I am betting yes in many instances, unless they are unseen in zoomed out mode. They will kill less entire towns as everyone is too close to secretly assassinate and run away. Donkey town gains another citizen and the rest of the servers have some quiet time.

Thank you Jorion for making the zoom to begin with, and thank you Awbz for continuing his work. And also improving on it imho.

A defector of myopic apocalyptic OHOL who has returned with renewed vigor and enjoyment and Awbz vision, beware griefers I can see you doing your dastardly deeds and I will be watching!

MultiLife · 2018-10-09 04:36:24

I've played for over two months now and I have never installed a zoom out mod of any kind. But lately I've started to feel claustrophobic with the default view. Wondering how often I pass by food or a tool that is just outside of my vision. I also dislike how going up or down feels when I can see such a small slice of the environment, this is how I usually die as an animal is crossing over, landing a hit on me just like that.
A thing that worries me is the griefers using the zoom out mods while I am in the default view. It certainly gives them an advantage over anyone without the zoom out mod. I have considered trying the mod in near future, but I hope we could have the zooming out in the base game.

I can check out the polls at some point.

VioletLily · 2018-10-09 05:08:27

I was really hesitant to use the zoom mod at first. I put off trying it for a long time. While I love mods, I usually never use them in multiplayer games. It has always felt like cheating to me. And then there was the fact that Jason didn't actually endorse it.

I finally gave in and gave it a try after dying AGAIN to some animal who appeared out of nowhere from the top/bottom of my screen. You see, the distance between the top/bottom of my screen and my character is a very small distance in the unmodded game. Maybe only three tiles? Dying in this case had nothing to do with my skill or lack thereof. Add in a split-second lag and by the time I see the animal, I am already dead. This makes the game unenjoyable. In fact, it's absolutely infuriating. I had no control over whether I lived or died. It's even worse if I happened to be the only girl. My entire community would die because of something completely out of my control.

Is this Jason's vision? If so, I'm sorry to say, but I reject it fully. I just fail to see how this short range of view adds anything to the game. As I see it, Jason is choosing his vision over functionality. That is a very poor marketing strategy in my opinion.

I'm unsure if I could go back to playing without a zoom mod. If Jason is insistent that a zoom mod not be used then I will respect that, but I may do so by dropping the game.

xclame · 2018-10-09 05:10:27

Alright, so I finally made an account on the forums to add my perceptive to this discussion.

First of all, I haven't used your particular mod, I have however been using Awbz's mod for a while now. My thinking about the mod and game is that, the view that the game gives you is way too restricting and the 1080 zoomed out version, which is 1.5 X the normal view (don't know if the zoom is the same in your mod, but I will assume it is), should be what the default game zoom should be at, if the game's default view was that then I could live with that.

If the reasoning for such restricted view is for balance so that the animals are a threat, I would be okay with the animals moving faster or further, maybe add faster animals, like cheetahs or something like that.

The other features are nice, but I could live without them.

Adveloq · 2018-10-09 07:39:49

This is a great mod. Don't force me to have to compile it myself every update. Please.

Wolvenscar · 2018-10-09 08:49:02

Hey Joriom! Thanks alot for your hardwork on the mod

I've tried using a similar zoomout mod but I kept crashing so I stopped using since then.
Personally I feel that zoomout mod is really helpful for building/scouting n gives more u more awareness of stuffs happening around in town. It allows you to do big projects alot more efficiently. But it takes away some of the immersion from the game. Eg. Vision in relation to the Bear's, Scouting within "visible human range" n getting lost etc. Scouting is meant to be relatively dangerous and would likely get lost sometimes. (even tho homemarker makes it kinda less realistic haha )

To me zoomout mod users are kinda like superhumans with extra vision powers like spiderman our friendly neighbor, or could be a griefer... super villain waitin for a chance to strike. haha

Hopefully someday the FOV might be readjusted slightly officially, so that it balances out between all players and the environment/wild animals. We should probably have a watch tower to check on town/surroundings and spy on suspicious griefers lol

Once again, I would really like to thank you alot for your hardwork on the mod ^^ its really up to u if u wanna continue your zoomout mod. Jason says its open source too.

Sharlank · 2018-10-09 11:13:40

You forgot the option in the poll "Never used it, but hell I wish I could" I really think a 2x zoomout would just improve the quality of the game and the interactions, more often than not I struggle seeing long sentences since people walk away from the screen. Please keep it going AND compile it for Mac :3

Falsewall · 2018-10-09 12:09:37

Love your mod. Absolutely necessary for me entirely due to bs animals killing me with no ability to respond before they ram me.

Refuse to play without it. That's how frusterating animals are in their current state.

Thanks for going out of your way to keep it up to date all this time, even while not playing it yourself.

Last edited by Falsewall (2018-10-09 12:49:28)

Anshin · 2018-10-09 12:52:04

This is how a scene looks with ZoomMod vs Example of default OHOL.

Obs · 2018-10-09 14:49:26

First, kudos to Jason for being an amazingly benevolent daddy developer! Not only has he completely opened the source, but does not actively block unofficial client connections to official servers and is very receptive of the feedback from our ever-demanding community.

It was probably my second or third day before I went seeking for a native way to increase the FOV and came across Drakulon's post and Joriom's mod. As a new player, I was already overwhelmed with the game's learning curve but the bigger challenge, for me, was trying to constantly learn new areas at the same time. I found that my limited FOV greatly hindered my ability to put together a mental image of an area, so I became unnaturally dependent on homemarkers and spent "years" just trying to learn or recognize a location. Once I removed this barrier by using a FOV mod, I quickly became more productive and had much more enjoyable lives learning the game instead of getting constantly lost or starving to death because I ran the wrong direction.

After a client update last month and a temporary lull in updates by Joriom, I was, again, struggling to play the game and it became more frustrating than enjoyable. However, having a coding background and a passion for learning new things, I was compelled to follow his guides and compile my own version instead of having to pester him. This is what is now known as the "Awbz" or "OneLife+" mod that has been mentioned recently.

All that being said, I understand and completely respect Jason having a certain vision for the game. This is the primary reason that I've never really "advertised" my modified client anywhere and had only shared it with friends who had similar complaints and no longer had Joriom's mod as a solution. This lead to it being streamed on Twitch, then later spotlighted on YouTube, so I opted to make everything publicly visible and available on Github once the growth in demand became painfully obvious. After all, the whole spirit of the game is supposed to be about improving your situation and leaving something behind to assist future generations...right?!

Another key thing I'd noticed was that once people started using a zoomed-out client, most wouldn't play (or stream) the game at all again after a client update until one of the two FOV mods were available! That was a pretty eye-opening and "meta" moment for me, as I now felt some added responsibility to help keep part of the community/game alive. While some (off-topic) features of my modded client may be considered "controversial" or seem contrary to Jason's creative direction for the game, they were added due to personal observations and solicited feedback from the Twitch OHOL community about various "pain points."

I can't wholly speak to the possible number of zoomed vs. overall clients, but here's some data that shows the download statistics for my "mostly unadvertised" Github releases: https://api.github.com/repos/Awbz/OneLife/releases

Like most others, I would love for an improved FOV to exist in some fashion within the client. A method I'd previously envisioned could have the default view stay as-is for babies & geriatrics, but gradually increase the FOV up to 2x scale as an adult before scaling back down to 1x in your dotage. Although, given his recent comments on the subject, I'm also inclined to drop support for FOV switching in my mod to better honor Jason's wishes. I haven't done so, yet, as I'm legitimately worried that it may add to the already-alarming attrition factor...at least until someone else decides to fill this collectively perceived community need.

Catfive · 2018-10-09 16:03:59

Anshin wrote:

I ONLY play the game with 2x zoom.
After updates I wait until the ZoomMod is updated to play... Please keep making it!

This

happynova · 2018-10-09 16:48:37

MultiLife wrote:

A thing that worries me is the griefers using the zoom out mods while I am in the default view. It certainly gives them an advantage over anyone without the zoom out mod.

This.

I've actually never used the mod, partly because I've just been too lazy to install it (which, for some reason, was not one of the options on the poll). But partly also because it does sort of feel like cheating, and all the more so if Jason has said he disapproves of it. I totally get that part of Jason's vision of the game involves having limitations, and I am on board with that.

But I've also been seriously considering finally switching over to using it, just because, well, if lots and lots of other people, especially the griefers, are using it and I'm not, that's potentially a problem for me. If I'm chasing after a griefer and I can't see where they went but they can see me perfectly well, that's not okay.

Hell, it's even a little bit of a problem even when it comes to playing with ordinary, non-griefer people. If I'm the one wandering around like an idiot all the time going, "Where did the bear go?" and "Hey, has anybody seen the axe?" and "Which direction are the rabbits?" when everybody else can see all that stuff just fine... Well, that doesn't seem like a great time either for me or for the people around me.

MinnieMoocher · 2018-10-09 18:56:24

I don't get it. (Controversial statement coming up, you've been warned.) Why make the game open source--to, in Jason's own words, "Do whatever [we] want with it, absolutely no restrictions, and no permission"--and then say he wishes people wouldn't use something that a good portion of the community has decided they enjoy and was needed? If he didn't want people messing with his vision, he either shouldn't have made the game open source, or he should have laid out a list of Do-s and Don't-s beforehand. No hate to Jason or anything, just sayin'.

Personally, I love the zoom out mod, as well as OneLife+ (which I've been using exclusively over the vanilla game, and is something I didn't realize I wanted until I installed it). I'd say definitely keep going with the mod, Joriom, if it's something you're still interested in.

Mr.XIX · 2018-10-09 19:46:09

First of all, thank you Joriom for all your great work on this mod.

Secondly, Jasons vision might be limited.
The 1.5 zoom-out mod is such a quality of life improvement, I dislike playing without it.
The animals don't seem to cheat anymore when appearing on top of your character.
It's just a bit easier to find that shovel that a wandering kid dropped 2 tiles further away.
And you can see other players do things around you while you work, instead of just seeing them run on the edges of your screen.

Anything bigger than 2x zoomed out feels like cheating again.

randypandy · 2018-10-09 21:08:36

i really wish i could try the zoom out mod but i have a MacBook air and there are none available. I really hope Jason adds a zoom option to the base game.

Last edited by randypandy (2018-10-09 21:09:00)

elicea · 2018-10-09 21:40:40

randypandy wrote:

i really wish i could try the zoom out mod but i have a MacBook air and there are none available. I really hope Jason adds a zoom option to the base game.

Awbz's mod has a macOS version and his mod does include the ability to zoom out.

elicea · 2018-10-09 21:53:52

One question, I do have is the mod has been out a long time in terms of this game correct? Why is he only having an issue with the mode now? I even remember in Drakulon's post about the mode Drakulon saying himself if Jason doesn't approve or like it to delete his post or let him know something like that its been awhile sense i read it.

I could understand if the issue was with Awbz mod as that is still kind of new in the world of one hour one life.

It just confuses me on the turn around. Not sure it should all things considered but it does.

(plus the zoomed out mode or some version of it is used kind of heavily in the streaming community)

Last edited by elicea (2018-10-09 21:56:05)

One Hour One Life Forums

#1 2018-10-08 23:00:40

[DISCUSS] Zoomed Out FOV mod - discontinuation?

#2 2018-10-09 00:28:05

Re: [DISCUSS] Zoomed Out FOV mod - discontinuation?

#3 2018-10-09 00:30:46

Re: [DISCUSS] Zoomed Out FOV mod - discontinuation?

#4 2018-10-09 01:50:33

Re: [DISCUSS] Zoomed Out FOV mod - discontinuation?

#5 2018-10-09 01:59:41

Re: [DISCUSS] Zoomed Out FOV mod - discontinuation?

#6 2018-10-09 02:55:45

Re: [DISCUSS] Zoomed Out FOV mod - discontinuation?

#7 2018-10-09 03:20:34

Re: [DISCUSS] Zoomed Out FOV mod - discontinuation?

#8 2018-10-09 03:23:50

Re: [DISCUSS] Zoomed Out FOV mod - discontinuation?

#9 2018-10-09 04:15:24

Re: [DISCUSS] Zoomed Out FOV mod - discontinuation?

#10 2018-10-09 04:36:24

Re: [DISCUSS] Zoomed Out FOV mod - discontinuation?

#11 2018-10-09 05:08:27

Re: [DISCUSS] Zoomed Out FOV mod - discontinuation?

#12 2018-10-09 05:10:27

Re: [DISCUSS] Zoomed Out FOV mod - discontinuation?

#13 2018-10-09 07:39:49

Re: [DISCUSS] Zoomed Out FOV mod - discontinuation?

#14 2018-10-09 08:49:02

Re: [DISCUSS] Zoomed Out FOV mod - discontinuation?

#15 2018-10-09 11:13:40

Re: [DISCUSS] Zoomed Out FOV mod - discontinuation?

#16 2018-10-09 12:09:37

Re: [DISCUSS] Zoomed Out FOV mod - discontinuation?

#17 2018-10-09 12:52:04

Re: [DISCUSS] Zoomed Out FOV mod - discontinuation?

#18 2018-10-09 14:49:26

Re: [DISCUSS] Zoomed Out FOV mod - discontinuation?

#19 2018-10-09 16:03:59

Re: [DISCUSS] Zoomed Out FOV mod - discontinuation?

#20 2018-10-09 16:48:37

Re: [DISCUSS] Zoomed Out FOV mod - discontinuation?

#21 2018-10-09 18:56:24

Re: [DISCUSS] Zoomed Out FOV mod - discontinuation?

#22 2018-10-09 19:46:09

Re: [DISCUSS] Zoomed Out FOV mod - discontinuation?

#23 2018-10-09 21:08:36

Re: [DISCUSS] Zoomed Out FOV mod - discontinuation?

#24 2018-10-09 21:40:40

Re: [DISCUSS] Zoomed Out FOV mod - discontinuation?

#25 2018-10-09 21:53:52

Re: [DISCUSS] Zoomed Out FOV mod - discontinuation?

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