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ArmA 2 D.I.Y. Optimization
Hello BIS! over at armaholic, we found various ways to improve arma 2s performance greatly.
original thread http://www.armaholic.com/forums.php?...&p=54150#54150 (cleaner and more useful to some)
This guide will show you how to improve performance in ArmA 2 using various tweaks. Use this ONLY if the recommended downloads below do not solve your FPS problems.
Most of the guide isn't really needed anymore. Back when this thread was posted, the game ran awfully on most PCs.
ArmA 2: Operation Arrowhead optimization and tweaks can be found here:
http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=101124
Recommended Addons and other downloadables:
VFFPSS Project
http://dev-heaven.net/projects/vffpss/files
Dynamically changes view distance and whatnot depending on your FPS
Proper Projects
http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=85739
Lots of tweaks to look into, especially the foliage section.
ArmA 2 BETA patches
http://www.arma2.com/beta-patch.php
As of May 2010, the recent beta patches really improve preformance.
Texture loading is done in the background.. extra threads.. and much more!
Guide
Dead3yez :
Some of you may have realised that in ArmA 1 the optimisation of the graphics was a little weird, i.e some of the graphics settings on higher levels increased your FPS rather than decreased your FPS. I am just wondering on what you have found with ArmA II. Given that I am playing an early release I do also hope that the game will be optimised further in later versions.
I'm currently running ArmA 2 on a duelcore AMD5200, 4GBram, xfi soundcard and an XFX 8800gs 680mhz, 384mb ram, and will be for the next month or so until my pockets get a little more bigger. I have a 24inch monitor 1980*1200, running the graphics of ArmAII at this resolution really puts strain on my card, so I have to run on 1680*1050 to get away with a decent FPS. Personally I call a good playable level >30FPS, with my current settings I can reach up to 50FPS in single player, leaving leeway for when playing multiplayer, or missions with high GPU and CPU usages.
To give you an idea of my settings and what my game looks at the moment here are some images, the difference from ArmA-ArmA2 appears to be substantially different.
Here is parts of the thread. ( I have permission to put it here)
ArmA2 CFG
Where to find the config:
Your Config file is usually located in:
XP: C:\documents and settings\user\<login account>\My documents\ArmA 2
Vista: C:\users\<login account>\documents\Arma 2
Windows 7: 1. C:\users\<login account>\my documents\Arma 2
Basically, it's in your documents folder under the name "ArmA2.cfg"
Resolution
Resolution_W=1600; -Screen resolution (Width)
Resolution_H=900; -Screen resolution (height)
Render_W=1600; -Render Resolution (Width)
Render_H=900; -Render Resolution (Height)
As far as i know, the render resolution is what is rendered, and then the screen resolution is what is outputted on the screen. So by changing the render resolution to match the screen resolution, it renders the screen size rather than 2560x1600 (or higher?)
My whole config: (DISCLAIMER: Remember, this in no way, should be what your computer is if it is less than my computers specs. This is for showing what my config looks like, and nothing else.)
Code:language="English"; adapter=-1; 3D_Performance=-180000; Resolution_Bpp=32; Resolution_W=1680; Resolution_H=1050; refresh=60; Render_W=1680; Render_H=1050; FSAA=0; postFX=2; HDRPrecision=8; lastDeviceId=""; localVRAM=924188672; nonlocalVRAM=1475895296;
Same thing with the player profile, where you put "sceneComplexity" except its named "loginname.arma2profile"
Go to the bottom, and if you don't see "sceneComplexity=" then add it. For instance, mine isSorry for the confusion about putting it in the arma2.cfg.Code:sceneComplexity=160000;
REMEMBER TO SET THE FILE AS READ ONLY SO ARMA 2 DOES NOT CHANGE IT!!!!
Scene Complexity
Benchies
Running at 1680x1050 here is a result of an earlier test, SceneComplexion 160k
Frames: 4219 - Time: 101274ms - Avg: 41.659 - Min: 30 - Max: 60
And now a newer one using those render settings and higher complexion, SceneComplexion 180k.
Frames: 4983 - Time: 115663ms - Avg: 43.082 - Min: 34 - Max: 66
That' gave me the opportunity to run it maxed out completely.
Dead3yez :
I did some playing with the Scene complexion as it seemed to be the best way of improving the quality without much drop in the framerate. I also decreased the shading detail a little more by two. After applying some values to the scene complextion I ran around the village taking the same route and recorded the frame rate. (SC = scenecomplexion) These are the results.
SC@110k
Frames: 4843 - Time: 101276ms - Avg: 47.820 - Min: 33 - Max: 68
SC@160k
Frames: 4219 - Time: 101274ms - Avg: 41.659 - Min: 30 - Max: 60
SC@160k Battle 1
Frames: 3010 - Time: 90679ms - Avg: 33.194 - Min: 20 - Max: 48
SC@160k Battle 2
Frames: 3137 - Time: 126169ms - Avg: 24.863 - Min: 13 - Max: 44
[thumb=datas/thumbs/3321-bat2.jpg]3321-bat2.jpg[/thumb]
SC@250k
Frames: 3907 - Time: 100802ms - Avg: 38.759 - Min: 31 - Max: 55
SC@350k
Frames: 3631 - Time: 93669ms - Avg: 38.764 - Min: 26 - Max: 53
All setting very high VD@1600 1920*1200
Frames: 2403 - Time: 127963ms - Avg: 18.779 - Min: 8 - Max: 47
Terrain/Foliage
Check this image out, was posted by someone in this thread, compares differences between the settings.
http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/2...avergleich.gif
I hope this solves all problems for you guys.
Some feedback would be nice and details on your experience with graphics performance / settings.
NOTES + BRAND SPECIFIC ENHANCEMENTS
the VRAM settings in my config "896 (MB)" is supposed to be in bytes. Sorry for not mentioning it. (corrected now, if you missed it)
http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=73947
SLI SUPPORT:
Download Newest NVIDIA drivers. In earlier versions you had to use the -winxp parameter or change the name of the .exe, however, ArmA 2 now has its own SLI profile.
NVIDIA OWNERS! Set
Max pre rendered frames to 8 in the advanced 3d settings for global or ArmA 2. This improves performance vastly. Discovered by some guy in another thread..
thread is not organized well.. sorry. will fix soon
Post in the thread if you have any questions
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Originally Posted by binkster
