BattlEye makes ArmA 3 completely unplayable

[RobDeBob 10]

This happened with ArmA 2 as well. On any BE-enabled server, my framerate descends to slideshow-level speeds. And as with ArmA 2, absolutely nothing fixes it. Reinstalling BE does nothing. I gave up playing ArmA 2 simply because BE breaks my game. I prayed that BE would not introduce the same ridiculous performance hit to ArmA 3. But it did, and now I fear I won't be able to play the game anymore.

It's startling to me how this problem has still not been fixed, even over one year and a new game. I've spent over $100 on Bohemia products and I can't play ANY of them due to BE.

If this post seems dramatic, I agree. I'm kind of resigned to this, as I'm exhausted from looking for answers for months and having no success fixing it. Now that it has carried over to ArmA 3, maybe it'll get more attention.

[Nicholas 5]

Have you ever reported your issues?

[djleder 10]

For someone reason after the the Battleye was integrated my multiplayer has been unplayable. I can play single player just fine on high settings, but multi-player my fps is like 5-10? I bought the game yesterday and it worked just fine until the update. Arma 2 did the same thing

I am begging you BI please fix this as I have spent 45 dollars on this game and it is an amazing game, but this issue breaks the game. I also reinstalled battleye but that did nothing.

Edited July 25, 2013 by djleder

[dale0404 5]

What Nicholas said and have you tried anything to fix your issues with BE? Anyone else ever had problems with BE? Apart from getting banned of course!!!! :p

[RobDeBob 10]

Yes, I have reported my issues, and for a time I even thought I solved the problem; it turned out I was playing on a server listed as using BE that was not actually using it. I've never been banned, and it goes without saying that I do not hack or use any tampering software. I have uninstalled BE and even deleted the service before reinstallation. I know for a fact that others also experience this issue:

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?146510-Multiplayer-lag-spike-every-7-seconds/

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?145135-Battleye-causing-multiplayer-lag

I would characterize the problem not as network latency but as severe framerate stutter. Framerate will grind to a halt, then return to normal for a split second, then halt again. This issue only occurs on BE-enabled servers.

[ratszo 17]

Like to see your specs since your problem seems to be client-side.

Hard-drive thrashing? Cpu/gpu overheating? Small page-file?..., cycle your router lately?

Some rogue program running in the backround? Delete the temp file cache? Turn off windows firewall?

Reinstall DirectX?

Hey, try using 'GameBooster 3' -- it shuts down many backround programs and reads out temps.

Good luck!

[edit] --oh, and uninstall AV..., it's a resource hog.

Edited July 26, 2013 by Ratszo

[Dwarden 1125]

watching this ... if anyone else have this issue, please post in this thread ...

[RobDeBob 10]

Like to see your specs since your problem seems to be client-side.

Hard-drive thrashing? Cpu/gpu overheating? Small page-file?..., cycle your router lately?

Some rogue program running in the backround? Delete the temp file cache? Turn off windows firewall?

Reinstall DirectX?

Hey, try using 'GameBooster 3' -- it shuts down many backround programs and reads out temps.

Good luck!

[edit] --oh, and uninstall AV..., it's a resource hog.

My specs are: AMD HD 5870, 12 GB DDR2 ~1450, i7-930 @ 3.8 GHz

I have four hard drives, but my ArmA 2 and 3 installations and all of my mods are on my SSD. The other three are disk drives; two internal, one external.

My CPU/GPU are not overheating, temps on CPU rarely exceed 60 C under load, and 80-85 for my GPU.

I did edit my pagefile down to 6 GB rather than the default 12, though as you can imagine I don't even approach 12 GB memory usage with ArmA and various other programs.

This issue has persisted across various network configurations and households, so I doubt it's network related.

I have no knowledge of any rogue programs running on my PC. Clearing the temp file cache does nothing. Turning off windows firewall was addressed in one of the threads I posted earlier, and though I claimed it solved the problem, turns out I was just playing on server(s) listed as using BattlEye that actually did not use it.

I'll try out your final three suggestions and report back. Tell me if any diagnostics/scans etc. would be helpful. Thanks.

[$able 2]

RobDeBob, have you read my PM?

[RobDeBob 10]

PM received.

[rakowozz 14]

Well, I've been having stutters since BE was implemented. Hadn't associated it with the problem, but I've never had performance issues until now, having played since the beginning of Alpha.

[RobDeBob 10]

Sable, apparently your PM inbox is full so I can't send another. I uninstalled AVG, make space in your inbox and I can provide the new VPN info.

---------- Post added at 00:43 ---------- Previous post was at 00:05 ----------

Welp, apparently it was AVG all along... anyone else with issues, make sure you COMPLETELY uninstall AVG and use the latest version of BattlEye, uninstalling didn't solve the issue with ArmA 2 initially, but for some reason it worked today, with A2 and A3.

[dale0404 5]

I use AVG and have no problems here.

[Dwarden 1125]

we think in RobDeBob is combination of multiple factors, the AVG contributes to it ...

[progamer 14]

The game for me has also began to stutter when moving in a vehicle or near Agia marina, mabey it's related to this?

[$able 2]

Everyone, please verify that you only have problems on BE-enabled servers before posting here.

[AntalopeAUT 10]

No issues with BE so far, the only noticeable stutter stems most possibly from mods people load that I dont have, which causes permanent config searches and stutters thorugh this I guess.

[rakowozz 14]

Yes, my stuttering issue can only be related to BE. Only in BE-enabled servers I experience this -- any server, running any mission.

I use avast and ZoneAlarm, though I tried silencing both of them with no results (also added BE executable to the exclusion lists). I'm running Win 7 64, and differently from what I first thought, not that many people are having this problem... it really does make the game unplayable to me, especially if I want to fly a helicopter.

Not sure how to begin trying a solution.

[urhideless 10]

I can confirm that this problem (at least for me) it's on all servers. I get around 10 FPS and I don't have a bad system (i3 Ivy bridge + HD 7870).

[Epicurus 1]

I can confirm this issue is only with BattlEye enabled servers. I'm currently on Windows 7 using an Ivy Bridge i5 and GTX 660. Frame drops only in multiplayer and adjusting graphics, even to their lowest settings, has little to no effect.

EDIT: The servers I tested actually had BattlEye on. Just tested with a non-BattlEye server and can confirm the lag is exclusive to BattlEye enabled servers. Updated post.

Edited July 27, 2013 by Epicurus

[xx-LSD-xx 10]

What version are you running? DEV or stable?

Had this problem on my server and my PC.

The command line Param -nologs solved this for me other wise the game would be unplayable.

I don't think it's BattlEye I think something has gone horrible wrong with it reporting errors.

Running the DEV version with BattlEye on and -nologs in my command line Param on my server.

Server FPS running stable at 40-50 FPS

[Epicurus 1]

Running stable at the moment. Will test Dev with nologs in a few hours. Here are some links to full-sized screenshots.

This is just in the editor, I also get constant 30 frames in showcases and challenges.

Ultra in Agia Marina

Ultra in Airstation Mike

Here is in a BattlEye enabled server, using both my usual ultra settings and the low preset.

Ultra settings

Low settings

[$able 2]

Yes, my stuttering issue can only be related to BE. Only in BE-enabled servers I experience this -- any server, running any mission.

I use avast and ZoneAlarm, though I tried silencing both of them with no results (also added BE executable to the exclusion lists). I'm running Win 7 64, and differently from what I first thought, not that many people are having this problem... it really does make the game unplayable to me, especially if I want to fly a helicopter.

Not sure how to begin trying a solution.

Start with completely uninstalling ZoneAlarm for testing. It has caused problems for others before.

---------- Post added at 01:24 ---------- Previous post was at 01:23 ----------

I can confirm this issue is only with BattlEye enabled servers. I'm currently on Windows 7 using an Ivy Bridge i5 and GTX 660. Frame drops only in multiplayer and adjusting graphics, even to their lowest settings, has little to no effect.

EDIT: The servers I tested actually had BattlEye on. Just tested with a non-BattlEye server and can confirm the lag is exclusive to BattlEye enabled servers. Updated post.

Are you using any security software?

[Epicurus 1]

I'm using ESET NOD32 Antivirus, turning it off had no effect.

Additionally the issue is also present in the dev build and -nologs seems to have no positive effect. Frames are still perfect in singleplayer and non-BattlEye servers in the development build.

[$able 2]

I'm using ESET NOD32 Antivirus, turning it off had no effect.

Could you temporarily uninstall it completely just to see if the problem goes away?