Add FXAA support to OA and Arma3- Many AA bugs fixed

[.kju 3242]

My impressions:

# AToC is a must; otherwise trees at distance look very bad and flicker

# Question now is does AToC (aka ingame at least AA 1x) and FXAA make sense

# FXAA only makes vegetation and house textures flicker a lot (without ingame AA)

# While with sharpen on it looks strange, one might get used to it over time

# And it is probably the better choice vs the very blurry FXAA default setting

# FPS wise it makes basically no difference on my system for the given benchmark

I tested with the benchmark08 of a2.

AA OFF - 38-40

FXAA ON - 40-42

FXAA ON - 38 (with sharpen setting)

Ingame AA 1x - 38

Ingame AA 2x - 38

Ingame AA 3x - 39

Ingame AA 4x - 39

Ingame AA 5x - 39 (vegetation at close distance with white pixellated textures)

Ingame AA 6x - 39

Ingame AA 7x - 37 (vegetation at close distance with white pixellated textures)

Ingame AA 8x - 39 (vegetation at close distance with white pixellated textures)

Q6600 (no OC), GTX460 (latest driver), Intel M SSD, RAM Drive

1280x1024; Texture detail, video memory, AF: Very high

Terrain D: low, Objects D: high, HDR: normal; Shadows and PP: off

In terms of FPS my conclusion is that the benchmark08 is no good to test FPS (AI influence)

and that my system is (most likely) CPU limited.

Probably I am gonna do some useful benchmarks with the PvPscene Benchmark Suite.

FXAA without AToC seem no good for me though.

[RSF TheCapulet 59]

Just a note: Not sure if this applies for AMD users or Nvidia users as well, but today I played around a bit on the vanilla and other islands aside from Bushlurker's new islands. LODs on everything were flickering the entire time. Also, seems my ATI HDR bug is back where the HDR starts flickering and gradually turns the entire screen white.

Took the FXAA files out, and the problems went away.

[EOOQE 10]

My impressions:

# AToC is a must; otherwise trees at distance look very bad and flicker

# Question now is does AToC (aka ingame at least AA 1x) and FXAA make sense

# FXAA only makes vegetation and house textures flicker a lot (without ingame AA)

# While with sharpen on it looks strange, one might get used to it over time

# And it is probably the better choice vs the very blurry FXAA default setting

# FPS wise it makes basically no difference on my system for the given benchmark

I tested with the benchmark08 of a2.

AA OFF - 38-40

FXAA ON - 40-42

FXAA ON - 38 (with sharpen setting)

Ingame AA 1x - 38

Ingame AA 2x - 38

Ingame AA 3x - 39

Ingame AA 4x - 39

Ingame AA 5x - 39 (vegetation at close distance with white pixellated textures)

Ingame AA 6x - 39

Ingame AA 7x - 37 (vegetation at close distance with white pixellated textures)

Ingame AA 8x - 39 (vegetation at close distance with white pixellated textures)

Q6600 (no OC), GTX460 (latest driver), Intel M SSD, RAM Drive

1280x1024; Texture detail, video memory, AF: Very high

Terrain D: low, Objects D: high, HDR: normal; Shadows and PP: off

In terms of FPS my conclusion is that the benchmark08 is no good to test FPS (AI influence)

and that my system is (most likely) CPU limited.

Probably I am gonna do some useful benchmarks with the PvPscene Benchmark Suite.

FXAA without AToC seem no good for me though.

Interesting Results . Witch Version of FXAA did you use ? The original V9 or the new one from yesterday V10 ... or my adjusted A2FXX V0.21 ?

@TheCapulet : I´m on Nvidia GXT460 with latest Driver .. dont have the flickering effect here ...seems to be an ATI Problem :-(

Edited August 14, 2011 by EOOQE

[kiss4luna 10]

My impressions:

# AToC is a must; otherwise trees at distance look very bad and flicker

# Question now is does AToC (aka ingame at least AA 1x) and FXAA make sense

# FXAA only makes vegetation and house textures flicker a lot (without ingame AA)

# While with sharpen on it looks strange, one might get used to it over time

# And it is probably the better choice vs the very blurry FXAA default setting

# FPS wise it makes basically no difference on my system for the given benchmark

I tested with the benchmark08 of a2.

AA OFF - 38-40

FXAA ON - 40-42

FXAA ON - 38 (with sharpen setting)

Ingame AA 1x - 38

Ingame AA 2x - 38

Ingame AA 3x - 39

Ingame AA 4x - 39

Ingame AA 5x - 39 (vegetation at close distance with white pixellated textures)

Ingame AA 6x - 39

Ingame AA 7x - 37 (vegetation at close distance with white pixellated textures)

Ingame AA 8x - 39 (vegetation at close distance with white pixellated textures)

Q6600 (no OC), GTX460 (latest driver), Intel M SSD, RAM Drive

1280x1024; Texture detail, video memory, AF: Very high

Terrain D: low, Objects D: high, HDR: normal; Shadows and PP: off

In terms of FPS my conclusion is that the benchmark08 is no good to test FPS (AI influence)

and that my system is (most likely) CPU limited.

Probably I am gonna do some useful benchmarks with the PvPscene Benchmark Suite.

FXAA without AToC seem no good for me though.

Hi PvPscene

check your benchmark result, there is an obvious bottleneck on your system.

AA is heavily relied on GPU power, the performance drop should be a linear relationship with the raise of AA level in iddeal situation. but on your system, 8xAA has nearly no difference with noAA, that means somethins else instead your GPU pulls back the overall performance. and that also means your conclusion about these various AA methods is not objective.

;)

Edited August 14, 2011 by kiss4luna

[=wfl= sgt bilko 10]

I'd put my money on the non-OC'd Q6600@2.4GHz.

I had the same in my old rig and no matter what GPU and configuration (SLI/AA etc) I throwed at it I got little to none improvement.

Not saying it was unpayable, just that I could not get any better performance in A2 swapping other parts of the system.

Edited August 14, 2011 by =WFL= Sgt Bilko

[.kju 3242]

@ EOOQE

v9 because no one commented on v10 yet and as for your modded version:

wanted to test it with the update out you spoke of :)

@ kiss4luna

As said most likely the CPU (at least not the GPU) seems like the bottleneck.

However one has to be careful not to make wrong conclusions.

The arma engine like many others try to aim for a specific minimal framerate (I think in

arma it is 20; most games have 30 and most PC shooters aim for 60).

Now if you are above that framerate, the engine dynamically adds details or complexity

in other areas which effectively reduce your framerate again.

This is why having AI in the mix is no good idea to test for GPU limiting.

My benchmark shows this very clearly as I do very well notice very noticeable FPS

results depending on the video options used.

Bottom line that benchmark08 and the other BI benchmarks are no good for specific results.

They can only tell you how the overall system performs basically.

[-=seany=- 5]

I think if someone really finds the need to play with AToC then this mod is no use for them. As you say, to use AtoC you have at least 2xMSAA enabled (1xMSAA = 0xMSAA). For me it would be pretty pointless to use FXAA and in game AA at the same time. There is nothing to be gained from doing that as far as I can see.

The best place, I find, for testing things like AA settings is on your own (no AI or anything) in the editor near an area with a lot of trees/ foliage also with grass turned on. You will the see big differences in FPS when switching AA on /off/ different levels.

Edited August 14, 2011 by -=seany=-

[.kju 3242]

Well the sharpen filter adds an interesting style to it for example.

And as people seem to add more into this dll injection, it might still be of interest to some

(that want to use AToC anyway).

[RSF TheCapulet 59]

@TheCapulet : I´m on Nvidia GXT460 with latest Driver .. dont have the flickering effect here ...seems to be an ATI Problem :-(

Yup, it is. I've played on a friend's PC equiped with a 580, and it worked perfectly, so it's deff an ATI issue. Was just reporting in, both for ATI guys (so they know what they're getting into) and you, in case you wanted to experiment with a fix.

[EOOQE 10]

Yup, it is. I've played on a friend's PC equiped with a 580, and it worked perfectly, so it's deff an ATI issue. Was just reporting in, both for ATI guys (so they know what they're getting into) and you, in case you wanted to experiment with a fix.

Aye Aye .... will try to get some ATI tomorrow and test my new Shaders (some_dude_V10 based) with it :cool:

[Kerscher 10]

Hi guys I hope you could help me with my problem I have ARMAII OA (no steam) wit all DLC and patched to this Operation Arrowhead & Reinforcements Patch 1.59 ( http://www.armedassault.info/index.php?game=1&cat=patches&id=49 ) my direct x version is 11 on win 7 Enterprise 64bit version Intel core 2 Duo CPU and ATI radeon HD 4800 series my problem is everytime I want to play the Invasion 1944CO I get transparent helmets on my soldiers I asked in the mod forums of their site and someone tell me that when i install this

1. regular http://hotfile.com/dl/125975700/ef4f3b1/injectFxaa_by_some_dude_9.7z.html

2. Unpack archive, should be 2 folders and readme inside.

3. Content of d3d9 folder:

d3d9.dll , Fxaa3_11.h , shader.fx , Sharpen.h

Copy these 4 files to:

a.) the main game directory, (the same where arma2oa.exe) is.

b.) if you run beta patch, copy it also to expansion\beta\

the transparent helmets will disapear and everything works fine but when I do that after that instruction an Error message pops up and say missing d3dx10_43.dll after I start the game and I really don't know what that could be.

I hope you can help me I tried the d3d9 folder and also the d3d10 folder and both of them won't work everytime the Error pops up. I also put the files in other folders then I can start the game but I don't see any changes.

As I said I hope you could help me thank you all

P.S.:

I am really no CPU ace, it was a torture to find my pc specs :), please give me a very simple help thanks alot guys.

[MavericK96 0]

Aye Aye .... will try to get some ATI tomorrow and test my new Shaders (some_dude_V10 based) with it :cool:

Is there a central location where the new "some dude" shaders are uploaded? I can't find v10.

---------- Post added at 03:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:25 PM ----------

Hi guys I hope you could help me with my problem I have ARMAII OA (no steam) wit all DLC and patched to this Operation Arrowhead & Reinforcements Patch 1.59 ( http://www.armedassault.info/index.php?game=1&cat=patches&id=49 ) my direct x version is 11 on win 7 Enterprise 64bit version Intel core 2 Duo CPU and ATI radeon HD 4800 series my problem is everytime I want to play the Invasion 1944CO I get transparent helmets on my soldiers I asked in the mod forums of their site and someone tell me that when i install this

1. regular http://hotfile.com/dl/125975700/ef4f3b1/injectFxaa_by_some_dude_9.7z.html

2. Unpack archive, should be 2 folders and readme inside.

3. Content of d3d9 folder:

d3d9.dll , Fxaa3_11.h , shader.fx , Sharpen.h

Copy these 4 files to:

a.) the main game directory, (the same where arma2oa.exe) is.

b.) if you run beta patch, copy it also to expansion\beta\

the transparent helmets will disapear and everything works fine but when I do that after that instruction an Error message pops up and say missing d3dx10_43.dll after I start the game and I really don't know what that could be.

I hope you can help me I tried the d3d9 folder and also the d3d10 folder and both of them won't work everytime the Error pops up. I also put the files in other folders then I can start the game but I don't see any changes.

As I said I hope you could help me thank you all

P.S.:

I am really no CPU ace, it was a torture to find my pc specs :), please give me a very simple help thanks alot guys.

First off, you will want to use the DX9 files for this, because ArmA2 is a DX9 game. Second, the correct location for the files is whereever your program executable is. Make sure you're not leaving the "dx9" directory structure, just dump the files in the same dir as ArmA2/OA/Beta .exe.

I would also make sure your DX redist is updated:

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=8109

Download and install...even if you have DX9 it will fix/replace/add new files.

[EOOQE 10]

Is there a central location where the new "some dude" shaders are uploaded? I can't find v10.

I will release my new Shaders V0.22b tomorrow .

You can get it from my Blog as usual . V10 from some_dude contains nothing realy new.

Only some bugs fixed for other games like Dungeon Siege III and Total War.... nothing on ARMA2.

My Shaders are Custom only optimized for ARMA2. New SHARPENING , new TONEMAP etc .. i will work on other games, but give you strange results sometimes..depends on the Engine the Game use.

@Kerscher : As MavericK96 said : Arma2 is a DX9 Game, you only need the DX9 .... try my Shaders ;-) Only DX9 Files are in my File. Dont mix the DX9 and DX10 or 11 ....it wont work at all.

From my Readme :

V0.21 BETA BUILD

-----------------------------------------------

Install:

Put all files and the FXAA Folder to your ARMA2 Directory.

For BETA ARMA2 Version just put the d3d9.dll also to the EXPANSION/BETA Folder of your ARMA2 Installation. Only the .dll is needed there !

Uninstall: Remove the files.

Edited August 14, 2011 by EOOQE

[.kju 3242]

There is good means to combine FXAA even with ingame AA.

One part is AToC, yet another is the filtering result added by FXAA.

In addition FXAA, or the dll injection, adds more features than just AA.

Ingame AA 1x

FXAA OFF

FXAA OFF

Especially the tress look a lot better with the added blurriness.

Yet objects like houses or even the grass benefit from the additional AA.

@ EOOQE

Can you please add a set in the configuration files to be able to make FXAA

disabled by default (and the user can activate with the pause key).

[papoose244 10]

Hello EOOQE im a complete noob when it comes to these things I have a Nvidia 580 with latest drivers what exactley do i have to do to get FXaa to work in Arma?

[EOOQE 10]

@ EOOQE

Can you please add a set in the configuration files to be able to make FXAA

disabled by default (and the user can activate with the pause key).

Allready on my TO-DO List

@papoose244 :

like i said :

V0.21 BETA BUILD

-----------------------------------------------

Install:

Put all files and the FXAA Folder to your ARMA2 Directory.

For BETA ARMA2 Version just put the d3d9.dll also to the EXPANSION/BETA Folder of your ARMA2 Installation. Only the .dll is needed there !

Uninstall: Remove the files.

Ingame PAUSE Key to switch ON / OFF .... thats it :rolleyes:

[Empath 0]

Great job. Thx a lot. Is it possible to get more sharpness ?

[dmarkwick 261]

Allready on my TO-DO List

@papoose244 :

like i said :

Ingame PAUSE Key to switch ON / OFF .... thats it :rolleyes:

I should like to see a config option that includes what key is used for disable too :)

[EOOQE 10]

I should like to see a config option that includes what key is used for disable too :)

?? Sorry, what exactly do you mean ? :confused:

If You press PAUSE KEY you enable, disable the whole FXAA Shaders that are ON via the Config file ( here the one from my ne V0.22b)

// Comment to deactivate an effect.

// Example: To disable the tonemap effect, use // in front of #define USE_TONEMAP

#define USE_ANTI_ALIASING

#define USE_PRE_SHARPEN

#define USE_BLOOM

//#define USE_TECHNICOLOR

#define USE_TONEMAP

//#define USE_SEPIA

//#define USE_VIGNETTE

#define USE_POST_SHARPEN

//#define USE_FINAL_LIMITER

With PAUSE ALL the above "uncomment" Shaders are ON /OFF

and you can also edit this "on the fly" via tabbing to desktop , edit file, save, tab back to arma !

Hope this clears some questions up :confused: :rolleyes:

@Empath : Will come yes, need more work than i thought :mad:

[dmarkwick 261]

?? Sorry, what exactly do you mean ? :confused:

If You press PAUSE KEY you enable, disable the whole FXAA Shaders that are ON via the Config file ( here the one from my ne V0.22b)

With PAUSE ALL the above "uncomment" Shaders are ON /OFF

and you can also edit this "on the fly" via tabbing to desktop , edit file, save, tab back to arma !

Hope this clears some questions up :confused: :rolleyes:

@Empath : Will come yes, need more work than i thought :mad:

I already use Pause, for another application (TrackIR ;)) I was thinking that you must specify somewhere what key is used, you might as well put that in the config too :) with Pause being the default.

[EOOQE 10]

I already use Pause, for another application (TrackIR ;)) I was thinking that you must specify somewhere what key is used, you might as well put that in the config too :) with Pause being the default.

AHHHHH :bounce3: now i understand , lol

The PAUSE key cant be changed via a config file by now ..it´s hardcoded into the .dll

Maybe in an later Version it will "changeable" ... :cool:

[dmarkwick 261]

That's OK, I'll try & find another key for TrackIR in the meantime :)

[-=seany=- 5]

I am a bit confused with all the sharpness/tone filters etc. Haven't really played with them yet.

injectFxaa_by_some_dude_9.7z : I'm still using this. Is that the most recent one this "some_dude" has released? Has the core of how well FXAA works in game been updated since that version ..aside from adding tone/ sharpness etc. Or is the base AA pretty much finished now and extra stuff is being added now?

Edited August 15, 2011 by -=seany=-

[EOOQE 10]

I am a bit confused with all the sharpness/tone filters etc. Haven't really played with them yet.

injectFxaa_by_some_dude_9.7z : I'm still using this. Is that the most recent one this "some_dude" has released? Has the core of how well FXAA works in game been updated since that version ..aside from adding tone/ sharpness etc. Or is the base AA pretty much finished now and extra stuff is being added now?

As i said before :

I will release my new Shaders V0.22b tomorrow EDIT: SOON ;-) .

You can get it from my Blog as usual . V10 from some_dude contains nothing realy new.

Only some bugs fixed for other games like Dungeon Siege III and Total War.... nothing on ARMA2.

My Shaders are Custom only optimized for ARMA2. New SHARPENING , new TONEMAP etc .. i will work on other games, but give you strange results sometimes..depends on the Engine the Game use.

[.kju 3242]

Is it possible to dis/enable all effects on the fly or only some?

And could they be separated to single keys technically?