FAQ: SinglePlayer – Operation Flashpoint
Alongside my mission score, sometimes there are red X's, sometimes there are studs that look like pearls and sometimes there are gold stars.
Each OFP mission has it is own definition of what constitutes a distinguished, average or poor score for that particular mission. Poor scoring will result in 1 to 3 red X's being displayed alongside your score. Average scoring will result in 1 to 5 pearl-like studs being displayed alongside your score. Do very well and you should see 1 to 5 gold stars appearing alongside your score.
Scores can also be negative. This can occur for a variety of reasons, such as killing friendlies or not achieving objectives.
By the way, earning a high score while playing in cadet mode will result in earning less studs and gold stars than you would otherwise have earned achieving the same score in veteran mode.
How can I view my high score history for individual SP and campaign SP missions?
OFP: Resistance retains score history data but old OFP doesn't offer the option.
Is there any way I can do multiple saves during a single mission?
es there is! One way is to use this small OFP mission save utility for campaign missions. (NOTE: This utility does not work with OFP: Resistance version 1.75 and above). To install, just extract the contents of the ZIP file into the directory of your choice.
To use, run the utility program before you run OFP and leave it in the background. Start OFP and play as usual. When you save a mission for the first time, just do it normally as you always have until now.
When you next want to save during mission play, press your keyboard's PAUSE/BREAK key. This will cause the save utility running in the background to rename the existing save file. This will allow you to save your mission again from the mission Pause menu.
If you want to restore one of your previous mission save files, press the ALT+TAB keys to go back to Windows and bring up the save utility's menu. Select the RESTORE option from the save utility's menu and then select the save file to restore. The utility's saved file names contain a date and time stamp. After restoring a saved mission file, go back to OFP, press your keyboard's ESC key to display the mission Pause menu and click on LOAD to use the restored mission save file.
OFP player Dan "Haddock" reminded me that another way to force a game save on the fly is to use this simple built-in game cheat: hold down the left SHIFT key and the minus ("-") key on the numeric keypad, then type the word SAVEGAME and hit the ENTER key. You should see a message that your game position has been saved.
If for some reason you don't want to use the mission save utility nor the game cheat, you can do multiple saves manually. During SP mission play, hit ESC to pause the mission. Then return to Windows using the Alt+Tab keys and rename file SAVE.FPS in one of the following locations:
For stand-alone SP missions:
\OperationFlashpoint\Users\your_player_name\Saved\missions
For campaign SP missions:
\OperationFlashpoint\Users\your_player_name\Saved\campaigns\1985
Later you can rename any saved copies of the file back to SAVE.FPS should you want to revert to a particular point within a mission.
For campaign SP missions, you can also copy the SAVE.FPS file to another directory and later you can revert back to that point within the campaign by renaming it to CONTINUE.FPS and copying it back to:
\OperationFlashpoint\Users\your_player_name\Saved\campaigns\1985
before starting the game.
(With thanks to Martin Bires, of Kosice, Slovakia, for this FAQ entry).
What are all these coordinates being shouted out and displayed in messages?
FYI, the following text is taken from file help file README.CHM, in your OFP install directory:
- You will often receive orders which locate targets using a realistic military reference system consisting of two numbers. The first indicates relative angle, the second relative distance in meters. Both numbers refer to "tens" of units - in order to convert them to standard units, you will need to add a zero to each.
Note that the first number of these military reference coordinates is relative to a zero compass bearing (i.e., north). As an example, an order to go to 27 10 would mean bear 270 degrees (which, in this example, is due west) and move a distance of 100 meters in that direction.
This is not to be confused with the clock positions shouted out by your commander. For example, "RPG SOLDIER, 9 O'CLOCK" is relative to the direction your commander is facing - not your direction. To help you out, there's a small clock display that pops up in the lower left corner of the screen.
If you're wondering why the clock positions are relative to the commander's position and not to the players, well, that's how it would be in the battlefield, too. It's your responsibility to spot your commander and determine the direction he's facing. If you can't well, that's what the clock display is for, isn't it?!
In addition to these numeric reference coordinates, there are map coordinates, too, consisting of two letters and two digits. If you look at your map (press the "M" key), you'll see that the map is divided into squares. Each square can be referenced by these coordinates, which are shown across the top of the map and down along the map's left side.
I don't know where I am or men under my command are radioing me asking "Where are you?"!
Whether you're playing an SP or campaign mission as a grunt or as a commander, you might get lost or your teammates might get separated from you and not know where you are.
If you yourself are lost, there are several things that can help you. First of all, if you're playing OFP in cadet mode, your position is noted on the mission map screen by a black crosshair.
But let's assume you're playing in veteran mode. If you're not commanding any troops, you're going to have to figure out your position the hard way. Look around you for geographical landmarks, such as high mountains, large forests or towns and crossroads and try to match these up with a location on the map. Don't forget to use your compass to help you out with directions.
If you're commanding a team, you can easily figure out your location by selecting one or more teammates and left-clicking on the ground anywhere near you to get them to move right there. Your coordinates will be announced to them and they'll come running.
I'm wounded. Is there a doctor in the house?
In the event of any injury, it is best to get yourself treated as quickly as possible. If you're on your own, try to get to a medic tent or an ambulance vehicle where a medic might be found. If you're part of a squad and one of your teammates is a medic, call him to you using the Command Menu (STATUS>INJURED) or try to get to him so he can administer field aid. To begin the healing process, get yourself close to the medical unit, be it medic, tent or ambulance, and choose the appropriate option from the Action Menu (for example, HEAL AT MEDIC).
(Source: The OFP Field Manual, Damage & Injury, Infantry).
Sometimes the medic runs right past you and you can never catch him long enough to issue the HEAL AT MEDIC command. OFP player Sphinx has a simple solution to this: shoot the medic in the legs. That ought to slow him down.
When you're commanding a squad, you can also order injured teammates to heal at the medic, tent or ambulance vehicle.
As of OFP 1.20, if a medic himself is injured, he can heal himself.
Oh, a swig of medicinal brandy never hurts.
Where can I download more missions from?
Many of the major OFP fan sites have indexed listings of both SP and MP user created missions for you to download. Here are just a few places to start looking: The OFP FAQ's Mission Of the Moment (MOM) page
- WOLF Missions
- OpFlashpoint.org
- FlashPoint Center
- Miles Teg<GD>'s OFP Missions
- OFP Missions at Delta Force Command
- The Gunfighters
- Levels4you
- ATWAR:Assault and Tactical Warfare Command
- PC Hogs (Republic of Jurdik missions)
- Operation Flashpoint Germany
- Operation Flashpoint Czech Republic link courtesy of
OFP-Faguss.com - Command HQ @ The OFP Editing Center
- >Fansn's OFP Mission Database
Most often, missions are available as downloadable ZIP files. If a mission consists of multiple files, you have to make sure you retain the path name when you unzip the mission.
For example, suppose you download a mission called COMMANDO consisting of 2 or more files zipped together. You most probably
will need a COMMANDO subdirectory under OFP's MISSIONS (for SP missions) subdirectory
or MPMISSIONS (for MP missions) subdirectory when you unzip the files.
Chances are that the zipped mission file with multiple files already contains the path name needed. Using WinZip, for example, simply make sure that the USE FOLDER NAMES option is checked when extracting the files.
I'm getting bounced out of OFP or missions with a message that starts with "no entry' config.bin::"!
If you see messages like this when you attempt to play a mission, chances are that this is being caused because you are missing an addon that the mission you're trying to play references.
This message can also be issued when OFP starts up and an existing addon is dependent on another addon that itself is missing.
In this case, if you're not sure which addon file is referencing the missing addon, simply use Windows File Finder utility. Click on the Windows START button, choose FIND and then FILES OR FOLDERS. Leave the NAMED field blank and fill in the CONTAINING TEXT field with the name of the addon appearing in OFP's error message. Click the BROWSE button and select OFP's ADDONS subdirectory or OFP's base directory for a longer, more thorough search. Check the INCLUDE SUBFOLDERS option and click FIND NOW to begin searching.
If that's not it, maybe it is because you installed a version patch without that version's addon components. That option was available for several of OFP's upgrades. An easy way to check this is to look at the size of your patch files and compare them to the size of the Ultimate Upgrade patch files listed on BIS' download page (dead link). If the size of any of the patches you installed is relevantly smaller than the size of the same version's Ultimate Upgrade patch file, you've most likely installed a patch file rendition that just updated OFP's code but did not include that version's addon files.
In these cases, the solution is to either install the addon(s) or forget about playing the missions that require them.
Does OFP have any snowy winter scenery?
As sold, no, OFP has no winter scenery whatsoever. However, there are now player-made winter versions of two of OFP's islands, Kolgujev and Everon.
Winter Kolgujev or Nogojev - which will it be?
OFP addon expert, Kegetys, has created two modified versions of Kolgujev island. The first version, "Winter Kolgujev", works with OFP versions 1.30 to 1.46. The second version, Nogojev Island, is for OFP: Resistance only.
What's the difference between them? Winter Nogojev uses higher resolution textures for terrain, foliage, structures and vehicles that are not supported by versions of OFP prior to OFP: Resistance. Not only that, Nogojev also includes all the arctic soldiers that were previously in Winter Kolgujev, as well as all of the units from Ash's Arctic Armor Pack and Kegetys' Winter Vehicles addons. Sounds good, right? Not so fast! There's a catch.
If you've got OFP: Resistance, you cannot install both Winter Kolgujev and Nogojev islands because the two addons conflict with each other and are mutually exclusive. Furthermore, if you've got existing missions that reference arctic soldier units from the old Kegetys' Winter Kolgujev, Ash's Arctic Armor Pack or Kegetys' Winter Vehicles addons and you now install Nogojev island, those missions will no longer work unless you edit them.
Kegetys' OFP site is here. You can download all of his and other's old and new winter addons from there.
If you're having problems downloading these addons from Kegetys' own site, you should be able to find and download them from one of the popular OFP editing sites instead.
If you want to convert missions you have from using Winter Kolgujev to the newer Winter Nogojev, follow [[convert2nogojev|these instructions].
While you're here, check out the winterized 1985 Cold War Crisis campaign for the Winter Nogojev addon or my Cold Cream Mission Pack for the Winter Kolgujev addon.
Winter Everon
OFP addon maker, I-DOE-I, has similarly produced the "Winter Everon" island addon. Try downloading it from I-DOE-I's site, from ATWAR's addon terrain page or from OFP CZ's island download page.
While you're here, check out my Thermal Stockings Mission Pack for the Winter Everon addon.
Winter Malden
OFP addon maker, Metal Productions (MTL), has similarly produced the "Winter Malden" island addon. Try downloading it from ATWAR's addon terrain page, from OFP Org or from OFP CZ's island download page.
WinterOFP.com
For combined winter addon and mission download packs, go and have a look at WinterOFP.com's site.
How can I play missions made for the demo with OFP's retail version?
It's all rather simple. All you need to do is to rename the demo mission folders or files according to the retail version's file naming standards.
If the demo mission consists of a folder with one or more files, rename the folder (not the files) from mission_folder_name.demo to mission_folder_name.abel.
Similarly, if the demo mission consists of a single PBO type file, rename the file from mission_file_name.demo.pbo to mission_file_name.abel.pbo.
Note that some missions developed for OFP's demo version may not work as designed or may not work at all with the retail version.
Help! When I move my mouse left or right my head turns but not the rest of me!
You're in mouse-look mode. You got into it by somehow pressing the numeric keypad's asterisk ("*") key. Press it again to leave mouse-look mode.
I find it difficult to tell friends from the enemy.
This is a common problem for new OFP players. It will take you time and experience for your eyes to recognize the distinctions between NATO, Russian and resistance uniforms, helmets and weapons.
Of course, at distances, discerning between friendlies and enemies remains a problem but that's true in real life as well, isn't it? That's why it is always beneficial to get hold of a pair of binoculars.
Where are my binoculars?
Unlike some other games, standard rank soldiers are not usually issued binocs. If you don't have them when you start playing a game, see if there are any in any ammo crates you may come across or pick up a pair from a dead officer.
Does OFP have any barren desert scenery?
OFP includes a small island, called the desert training island but it is not very impressive. The training island is completely empty of foliage and buildings and is rather a bore (though there are some good user made missions designed for the training island).
However, there are now player-made desert versions of two of OFP's islands, Everon and Malden.
Desert Everon 1 and 2
Zwadar has created two modified version of Everon island, appropriately named Desert Everon 1 and Desert Everon 2. There are no green pastures to be found on Desert Everon.
In Desert Everon 1, most foliage and all the forests have been changed to large boulders and all of Everon's towns and structures are still there.
In Desert Everon 2, the desert texture has been improved. There's a limited amount of scrub brush around and much fewer boulders than in Desert Everon 1. All of Everon's structures have been changed to desert style buildings in Desert Everon 2.
You should be able to find and download Zwadar's Desert Everon addons from one of the popular OFP editing sites.
While you're at it, check out my Powder-Dry Rollon Pack for the Desert Everon 1 addon. You can easily adapt the Powder-Dry Rollon Pack's missions for use with Desert Everon 2 by renaming the mission file suffixes from zwaeden_desert.pbo to zwa_desert_eden.pbo.
Desert Malden
OFP Editing Center's master addon maker, SelectThis, has introduced a desert version of Malden Island. The Desert Malden Island addon includes desert camouflage uniforms for soldiers of all three sides: NATO, Russia and the resistance. Try downloading it from Kegetys' site, from ATWAR's addon terrain page, from PitViper's OFP downloads page or from OFP CZ's island download page.
When SelectThis created Desert Malden Island, he modified the town names from OFP's original name to increase the feeling of playing on a different island rather than just a revised version of the original Malden. For your reference, SelectThis provided me with the following cross reference list of old and new town names: Original Name - New Name Saint Louis - Arkasar Larche - Kzyl-Oeli La Trinite - Kurgan Goisse - Aktau La Pessagne - Chardabad Vigny - Samar-Tash Houdan - Buk Sainte Marie - Bishmak Chapoi - Ust-Ata Le Port - Fort Kalzhsk Cancon - Umba La Riviere - Saran-Orda Arudy - Gazd Dourdan - Nova'sk
I would love to steal the car but where the heck is it?!
In the SP mission "Steal The Car", the car, which is really a Russian UAZ jeep, is located in the north east of La Trinite, the town you start next to.
To infuriate you, the mission is designed so that the exact position of the UAZ can vary somewhat each time you play.
If you're playing in cadet mode and the yellow target reticule says you're zero meters away for it but you don't see it anywhere, that's because the target reticule is not meant to be 100% accurate. Look around and find that UAZ, soldier!
Can I steer my parachute when jumping or bailing out from aircraft?
No. You can only adjust the direction you're facing while parachuting by move the mouse to the extreme left or right of the screen.
Whatever you do, try not to land in water!
Why can't I swim in OFP?!
Unfortunately, the game engine was designed or couldn't support swimming for soldiers. Some players say it is because you would drown with all that gear on. However, other players point out the even with minimal gear, you'll drown in OFP. Furthermore, in reality, soldiers can swim with gear on.
What's that small red square in the upper left corner of my squad units in the Command Bar?
It means that you've issued HOLD FIRE from the Command Menu or that HOLD FIRE was initialized for those units in the mission you're playing.
When under orders to hold fire, your soldiers will not fire at will. They will still fire at their target if the FIRE, ENGAGE or ENGAGE AT WILL command are issued but will stop shooting as soon as the target is killed.
To revoke the HOLD FIRE command, issue the OPEN FIRE command.
To learn more about command a squad, look here.
Honey, I shrunk the mission briefing book!
You can minimize and maximize the size of the mission briefing book on your map screen by double-clicking on the briefing book's outer right-hand edge.
Minimizing it has the benefit of letting you see more of the map easily. However, the text in the briefing book becomes illegible when minimized. That's why I personally prefer to simply mouse-drag the briefing book over to the map screen's extreme left when I need to view map details behind it.
Can I zoom in and out on the map screen?
Whether you're viewing the map during game play or with the mission editor, you can zoom in and out of the map screen by pressing the numeric keypad's plus and minus keys respectively.
(This FAQ item is dedicated to OFP player Shabadu. It took him three months of toying with OFP to discover this - poor fella).
Does OFP have any jungle scenery?
Ebud has created a modified version of Everon island, named "Jungle Everon". Based on Ebud's Jungle Everon, addon maker Simonpro has similarly produced a jungle version of Malden Island.
OFP's European forests have been replaced by palm tree groves and the island's terrain is lush green. There are dirt roads to drive on and tropical background sounds permeate the air. New thatched roof building structures have been introduced as well!
You should be able to find and download Ebud's Jungle Everon and Simonpro's Jungle Malden addons from one of the popular OFP editing sites.
Are there any single-player cheats for OFP?
Yes, there are a few but if you're looking for an invincible god mode cheat - sorry - there isn't one. Besides, God doesn't cheat.
The following cheats are built into OFP by BIS and do not trigger FADE:
Hold the left SHIFT key and press the MINUS ("-") key on your keyboard's numeric keypad. Once you have done so, type in one of the following codes to activate the respective cheat:
savegame - Type during gameplay. This will save your game's retry position. Each time you save your retry position, your previous retry position will be overwritten. For other alternatives to performing multiple saves, read this FAQ item.
endmission - Type during gameplay. This will let you end your mission before completion and, in a campaign, will let you continue to the next mission. All this comes at a price, however.
campaign - Type during the main menu. This will display all the missions in a campaign and let you play them out of sequence as individual single player missions.
topography - (From OFP: Resistance version 1.75 and above, you must play with a TERRAIN DETAIL setting of VERY LOW for this to work). This isn't a cheat but you might appreciate the results. Type during gameplay or while in the mission editor. This will create a file in your hard drive's root directory, named island_name.emf, containing a vector representation of the map of the island on which you are currently playing or editing. Note: these files are very large.
Does OFP use metric or imperial measurements for distance, velocity, etc.?
All of OFP's measurements are metric. You'll find no yards or miles in OFP. For example, aircraft velocity displays are in kilometers per hour and aircraft altitude and all distance measurements are in meters.
(Source: Marek Španěl, BIS Lead Programmer)
My team's AI medic is stuck healing someone and no longer responds to my commands!
This is a bug. OFP player 19Yzerman19 reported this occurs when the medic begins treating an injured AI teammate and the injured AI soldier is shot dead during treatment. The AI medic will permanently continue attempting to heal the now dead AI soldier and will not respond to any commands you will issue to him.
An unofficial SP weapons change and extra ammo cheat.
If you're playing an OFP version prior to OFP: Resistance version 1.75*, OFP Player Christiaan van Bladel has discovered a round-about way to help players who feel they need more ammo than the standard maximum amounts allowed by OFP at the start of any single player or campaign mission.
Once you've started a mission, press the ESC key to pause the game and then press ALT+TAB and go to the directory containing the SAVE.FPS, AUTOSAVE.FPS or CONTINUE.FPS file. In that same directory, you will also find a file named WEAPONS.CFG. As an example, here's the path where the WEAPONS.CFG file will be found, if you're playing the official SP mission "Steal The Car":
\OperationFlashpoint\Users\player_name\Saved\missions\01TakeTheCar.ABEL.pbo
As another example, if you're playing the Red Hammer campaign, you'll find the WEAPONS.CFG file using this path:
\OperationFlashpoint\Users\player_name\Saved\campaigns\REDHAMMER
Open file WEAPONS.CFG with any text file editor, such as Windows NotePad. Inside you will find your weapons and ammo amounts when the mission started. Your primary weapon should be the one listed as "class Item0". Just change the weapons type and/or ammo count and save.
For a full list of weapon and their matching ammo names, see this FAQ item.
After saving your changes to the WEAPONS.CFG file, go back to the paused mission and begin the mission again by clicking on REPLAY. This will cause the modified WEAPONS.CFG file to be read by OFP and be used in the mission.
If you've messed up the WEAPONS.CFG file, simply restart the mission from the SP or campaign mission list.
Have no fear! This cheat will not work for multiplayer games.
- As of OFP: Resistance, the WEAPONS.CFG file is no longer in a standard text format and can no longer be easily edited, as per the above instructions.
If I sprint or run fast, will I ever get tired in OFP?
Well, you won't get a heart attack or dehydrate but your running speed will eventually decrease. Conserving your strength for when it is needed is therefore a potential tactical consideration in OFP.
(Source: Ondřej Španěl, BIS Lead Programmer)
Why doesn't the sniper AI soldier I command see enemy targets 200 meters or more away?
After all, that's what snipers are for, right?
Well, one way is to play missions that were designed to give the sniper binoculars. Another way is to issue the sniper a command to watch the specific direction you know the enemy is located in. If either of these alone don't do the trick, move forward a little bit in the direction of the target. This has often caused the detection of the target to be triggered for some reason.
What are all those difficulty setting OFP lets me adjust?
ere's a list of OFP's available difficulty settings and what they effect when enabled: Extended armor: Armored vehicles can withstand greater damage. Friendly tag: The identification of a teammate in your crosshair will pop up. Enemy tag: The identification of an enemy soldier in your crosshair will pop up. Extended HUD info: Waypoints will be shown on the screen with orders and distance. Auto report: You will automatically report enemies to your group, sometimes even if you don't actually see them. Extended map info: Both friendly and enemy location markers will display on the map. Weapon crosshair: A weapons crosshair will be displayed on the screen when in 1st and 3rd person view. Auto guide AT: You can lock Carl Gustav and AT weapons on enemy vehicles (like you can with AA weapons on aircraft), instead of having to guide them to target. Clock indicator: Displays a directional clock in the lower left hand corner of the game screen when a target is identified and announced at a position from 1 to 12 o'clock. 3rd person view: Allows you to switch to 3rd person and command view during gameplay. Rifle bullet tracers: Bullets shot from all OFP rifle models will emit a tracer light path. Super AI: All AI soldiers will be set to the maximum AI skill level.
(Source: player InqWiper, on this BIS OFP forum thread (dead link)).
How can I see terrain at greater distances when playing missions?
If you have OFP: Resistance, you'll be able to externally set a mission's view distance before playing the mission. For all earlier OFP versions, a mission's script must be manually modified to define or update the mission's view distance setting.
OFP: Resistance introduces a new VIDEO OPTIONS menu setting, VISIBILITY. This determines the maximum viewing distance you can see during any given mission.
The default value is 900 meters. A lower value improves OFP's overall graphics performance because less terrain detail has to be rendered on the screen. A higher value will render terrain at greater distances at a cost of utilizing more CPU and graphics intensive resources. Obviously, choose a setting that's appropriate for your computer.
OFP missions can specify this internally through the "SetViewDistance" command. In versions of OFP prior to OFP: Resistance, the default value is 900 meters. In Resistance, a mission's SetViewDistance value will override the value set by the VISIBILITY setting in the VIDEO OPTIONS menu.
Keep in mind that while increasing visibility settings improves your ability to site the enemy, it is benefiting the AI enemy soldiers against you just the same. Then it is just a question of who plays better - you or OFP's AI soldiers?
Can I change weapons before starting to play a mission?
Some missions are coded so that you can choose weapons before starting the mission. The mission has to have been designed to allow this and to specify what weapons choices are possible.
To see if you're playing such a mission, before you start playing a particular mission, click on the GEAR tab in the mission notebook. You'll see pictures of your primary and secondary weapons, etc.
Click on a weapon's pic and you'll get a list of alternatives you can select, if the mission designer chose to allow you to do so.
As an example, start the Steal The Car SP mission and follow the instructions above. The mission allows you to change the default M16 to either an XMS rifle or an M60 MG.
When playing the Ambush single player mission with OFP: Resistance, the mission sometimes doesn't end.
When you board the helicopter at the end of the Ambush mission, it may just circle the island indefinitely. This is due to OFP: Resistance's improvements to Pilot A.I., which conflict with the game play scripting of this older mission. You'll just have to end the mission yourself.
Can I rename OFP mission and addon files?
First of all, if you're talking about officially supplied files installed by OFP, the answer is no. This will negatively affect future upgrade or uninstall procedures.
Further, regarding addons, whether official or unofficial, you cannot rename the addon files because the external file name is what's referenced internally by OFP. If you'll rename addon files, OFP will still search for the original PBO file name and will not find it.
Regarding unofficial missions, go right ahead and rename the files to whatever you want, keeping the PBO suffix and island name (ABEL, EDEN, etc.) intact, of course. If a mission has a name defined internally, that name is what will always be displayed in the mission list book on the screen. If a mission was not defined a name internally, then the external file name is what will be displayed instead.
Adjusting your field of view (FOV).
While OFP doesn't have an in-game setting that allows you to adjust your field of view (FOV) aspect, this can be manually done by editing file Userinfo.cfg with a text editor. The file can be found in OFP's \Users\your_player_name subdirectory.
In the file, you'll find two FOV related statements: fovTop and fovLeft. The fovTop statement sets the vertical FOV aspect ratio from top to bottom, while fovLeft sets the horizontal aspect ration from left to right.
By default, they're set to control the FOV aspect ratio based on the screen resolution you play OFP with. For example, I play OFP at a resolution of 1600x1200 pixels. 1200 is seventy five percent of 1600. So OFP sets my FOV statements to fovTop==0.750000 and fovLeft==1.000000, for a 0.75 to 1 aspect ratio.
Let's say you want to increase your FOV by, let's say, fifty percent. Simple! Just multiply the FOV statement values by 1.5. In the above example, that would mean setting fovTop to 1.125000 and fovLeft to 1.500000.
Is this cheating? Well, it could be, if over-abused. But, as I said, there's no fun in playing with ridiculously high increases in FOV. So, if you feel it will improve your game, try a FOV increase of twenty five or fifty percent and see if you like it.
Whatever you do, if you adjust OFP's FOV, make sure you always maintain the original corresponding ratio between the fovTop and fovLeft values or you'll have one ugly warped and skewed FOV to play with.
With thanks to OFP guru Kegetys for pointing this out to the player community.