A head mounted virtual environment display with high visual resolution and a full field of view is disclosed. The display uses an optical system in which the video displays and corresponding lenses are positioned tangent to hemispheres with centers located at the centers of rotation of a user's eyes. Centering the optical system on the center of rotation of the eye allows both a full field of view and high fidelity visual resolution, without compromising visual resolution. A multi-panel video wall design for the video displays allows each lens facet to image a miniature flat panel display at optical infinity. The flat panel displays are centered on the optical axes of the lens facets. A parallel graphics architecture uses data from high resolution and accuracy head trackers and built-in eye trackers to generate high detail 3D models at high frame rates with minimal perceptible lag. Resolution for central vision is optimized with a roaming high level of detail window, and slip artifacts associated with rapid head movements are eliminated using freeze-frame.