Jeez, thanks for that... don't normally get affected too much but the small FOV (I didn't go full-screen) and the driving-like-a-drunkard makes that very hard to watch! Thanks for making it over 2 mins long too... lol
I've seen head movement physics used to bad effect in an F1 mod, where all you could see through Eau Rouge was the cockpit. I can sort of see the attraction of having some head movement, in that it gives you a sensation of acceleration in various directions.. but what irks me is horrid vibrations at speed.
Now, head movement first, 'look ahead' can be useful if you don't have widescreen or use a narrow (compared to default) FOV, otherwise you can actually lose sight of a slow corner as you approach it. Personally I 'don't like' it, but then I've never tried it long enough to get used to it. I'm sure given enough time you can adjust to the movement well enough that you can have your view moving with your steering and still recognise when your view starts rotating more or less quickly than it ought to, indicating under- or over-steer. And that's exactly why I personally turn off the rest of the movement effects - my virtual head is effectively bolted to the chassis. Doesn't make for a 'realistic' view I guess, in that obviously a real head would be bobbing and rotating all over the place, due to vibrations, G-forces, and looking ahead to the next corner... but it means I can actually see when the car rotation does something it shouldn't. (something you would feel physically in real life - not an option for most of us in sim-land)
And, from a realistic point of view, the car can be shaking around all over the place causing your head to do the same - it doesn't mean your brain can't compensate and keep your eyes pointed in the right direction. I actually take this to the next level, and edit the .cam file for the particular vehicle/mod, changing the COCKPIT section's:
OrientationRate=(999.000000, 999.000000, 999.000000)
to
OrientationRate=(10.000000, 50.000000, 999.000000) or similar.
This does mean that when I spin the car my view isn't able to keep up with the rotation, which tends to make it wrap-around (jerk left and right) - but I figure if I'm already spinning I don't really need to see exactly which way I'm pointing. And the rest of time, when I'm in control of the car (so hopefully all the time
), I can see where I'm going without every little vibration making my view bounce around. I'm sure it's overkill, but no one's paying me to suffer during my sim-racing so I'll be nice to my eyes.
One caveat: If I had a huge screen and used a realistic FOV (and camera position), there would be hardly any cockpit visible (as in the video above) and the actual head vibration (not rotation) physics would be much more manageable, since their effect is much less pronounced when looking at the scenery rather than the cockpit. Of course that also means the effect would be less noticeable (!) so I don't know if I'd bother turning it on at all.
