Thread: Arma 2 Optimization

ArmA 2 is a great looking game sure but it takes a beast of a computer to get it looking like its supposed to. However if you don't have a beast of a computer, here are a few tips to greatly increase fps and make the game look a lot better.

Tip 1.

It has been discovered that the "fillrate optimizer" slide bar option in the video options of ArmA2 is kinda a bitch to figure out. While a low setting may give you less fps than a high setting, and a high setting also logically gives you lower fps, it is important to find a balance (I imagine for most of you this would be around 100%). This is because this slide bar is actually used to match the screen render output and the screens resolution. Meaning that a low setting will generate a small image and then "stretch" it out to fit your screen resolution, giving the game a blocky and fuzzy appearance that you would see if you zoomed in too far on a tiny image.

To greatly increase fps and give a better appearance to the game you can go into your ArmA 2 profile settings and change the CFG file.
C:\Documents and Settings\(username)\My Documents\ArmA 2\ArmA2.CFG
F:\Documents and Settings\(username)\My Documents\ArmA 2 Demo\ArmA2Demo.CFG

open that up on notepad and it should look something like this

language="English";
adapter=-1;
3D_Performance=-80000;
Resolution_Bpp=32;
Resolution_W=1600;
Resolution_H=900;
refresh=59;
Render_W=1600;
Render_H=900;
FSAA=0;
postFX=2;
HDRPrecision=0;
lastDeviceId="";
localVRAM=896;
nonlocalVRAM=1900;
sceneComplexity=160000;

Changing the Resolution_W, Resolution_H to match the Render_W, Render_H will result in a jump in fps. You can play with some of the setting until you find what works with you system. This is my setup and it works fine on for me. :4 :9

language="English";
adapter=-1;
3D_Performance=-80000;
Resolution_Bpp=32;
Resolution_W=1600;
Resolution_H=900;
refresh=60;
Render_W=1600;
Render_H=900;
FSAA=2;
postFX=1;
HDRPrecision=8;
lastDeviceId="";
localVRAM=513998721;
nonlocalVRAM=527433727;


It would be wise of course to save a backup of your default settings and you only really need to change the resolutions, renders, FSAA and postFX (the last 2 the settings correspond to the numbers i.e. 0=low, 1=medium ect).

After you have changed the setting right click on the CFG file and change it to a READ ONLY file. This prevents the game changing the settings back on its own.



Tip 2.

For vista users sometimes the game works better in windows XP compatibility mode. I don't have vista, I have XP so I dont know. But in the target line (right click on the ArmA2 icon on desktop and go to properties) for the Arma 2 Icon (unsure about demo) type a space and then -winxp. Your target line for ArmA2 should look like this "C:\Program Files\Bohemia Interactive\ArmA 2\arma2.exe" -winxp. There are other 'startup parameters' you can use. Commonly used for mods but can also be used to limit the memory allocation or how many cpu's the game will use. http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/A...tup_Parameters



Tip 3.

This helped my game a lot. For Nvidia card users go to control panel - Nvidia control panel - change settings to advanced settings - go to Manage 3d settings - then set "maximum pre-rendered frames" to 8. 8)

[img width=700 height=508]http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/7190/1245968607capture.png[/img]

Thats all I have at the moment. This has improved my gameplay significantly. Although that has been with the actual ArmA 2 full game 1.01 patch. But im sure these may help in the demo also. Anyway I hope it help you but please dont blame me if your computer bursts into flames because you were in BIOS and not Nvidia control panel changing voltages.

No bloom or Blur mod http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=5851
along with instructions on how to install. Most addons for ArmA 2 will install this way (by editing the target line on the ArmA 2 shortcut).
Armaholic is possibly the best place to find the mod files too http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=5851

Just found another useful tip today for those who feel the controls are "slow" or "laggy." Go to 'Control Panel->Nvidia Control Panel->(advanced settings just like before)Manage 3d settings->then scroll to the bottom of that list and turn "vertical sync" to "force off." This will make the mouse "look" controls much more responsive.