Epic Games provide grim update on siphon and stretched resolution

Epic Games have addressing the controversy surrounding the siphon mechanic and stretched resolution in Fortnite Battle Royale, and things aren’t looking good.

Much of the negativity that’s surrounded Fortnite BR of late has been due to two major factors – the removal of the siphon mechanic that awarded players health/shield and materials after each elimination, and not allowing players to use stretched resolution in competitive modes.

Despite all of the backlash they’ve received, Epic have confirmed that they’re standing by those changes, explaining why in their April 26 Competitive Development Update.

Siphon and material change

According to Epic, giving players health/shield and materials after every elimination inspired too many players to start playing more aggressively.

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While this worked out favorably for the highest skilled 10% of players, increasing their engagement, the remaining 90% of players were becoming to frustrated and starting to play less.

Epic contend that having the siphon mechanic in regular modes made it not enjoyable for many players.

Many players stated that the game had gotten “too intense to be enjoyable,” and started playing the default core modes less and less.

As a result, Epic decided to remove the siphon mechanic from the core modes and leave it exclusively in the competitive modes, such as Arena, offering the best of both worlds to players.

Stretched resolution and field-of-view (FOV)

On the topic of stretched resolution, Epic pretty much confirmed that they had two reasons for removing it as an option for players – poor viewing experience and gameplay advantage.

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They claimed that the stretched nature of what was on the screen “detracted from Fortnite as an entertainment experience for all.”

Many competitive Fortnite BR players had to stop using stretched resolution after the new World Cup rules was implemented.

As for gameplay, the developers really didn’t want to have an optional setting that was giving the players a “significant gameplay advantage,” which is likely referring to the fact that screen resolution cannot be changed on console.

In an effort to help mitigate the loss of stretched resolution, Epic have instituted a FOV of 80, which they claim helps with the following:

The current default FOV of 80 is a tradeoff to accommodate:

• Varied engagement ranges, favoring a low FOV and thus a closer view of enemies.
• Minimizing potential motion-sickness in players further away from their screen. The further a player’s head moves from the center of the in-game field of view, the more negative the reaction.
• Minimizing jarring transitions when aiming down sights.
• Visual fidelity.
• Performance.