Arma 3 - Sneak Preview Livestream

[novahot 1]

The loadout of my i5 2430 is insanly low.

[alx 20]

Butter smooth for me is everything above 50fps :) Maybe I have to high standards :)

BTW Altis looks great :) I hope I can visit Altis(Limnos) next month for a short vacation.

Don't take a camera.

[Zipper5 74]

You can't explain away the obvious performance problems by trying to say it's the stream or the bitrate or encoding.

This started as an explanation for the poor framerate in the video, and was sidetracked into a discussion about optimization. I am not denying Arma 3 has performance issues. :) However, and I have no reason to lie, the framerate drops in the video were not the ones we were experiencing.

Check out this personal DayZ stream I did a few months back (when Rocket tweeted about it and suddenly I had an audience :D): http://www.twitch.tv/zipper5/b/358926056

Skip to around 10 minutes in, once I start getting closer to more complex scenery. You'll notice similar issues when the scenes get too complex (the bitrate I have it set to at home is quite low, due to my crappy upload). However, this was on my personal rig (overclocked i7 2600k @ 3.7GHz, "superclocked" EVGA GTX 580, 8GB DDR3 1033MHz RAM, running Arma 2 off a SSD), and I run Arma 2 solid @ 60 FPS on almost-full settings.

[sqb-sma 66]

The capture program was set to capture at 30 FPS, so it locks the game's framerate to that. Just like how Fraps works, for example. Just like any recording you do without a capture card, the framerate isn't going to be as good as it is when not recording. :) Maybe we'll be able to employ better capture solutions for future streams.

You can get capture software that allows the game to run at a higher FPS than the captured movie. DXtory for example, I have it set to record at 30fps but I can still play the game at 60.

[Zipper5 74]

You can get capture software that allows the game to run at a higher FPS than the captured movie. DXtory for example, I have it set to record at 30fps but I can still play the game at 60.

Correct. We have some streaming enthusiasts on hand who might be able to assist us with employing better solutions for future streams. :)

[jumpinghubert 48]

I hope we get better midrange textures at release. The ground @ min 00.58.18 looks still horrible.

[alx 20]

Looks like hours and hours of gaming potential in the game. I consider that exceptional value for money since the game cost me the equivalent of one dinner at a cheapish restaurant. I'm looking forward to it, your continued development and a lot of people moving on to their next thing to moan about (hopefully far, far away from here).

[windies 11]

This started as an explanation for the poor framerate in the video, and was sidetracked into a discussion about optimization. I am not denying Arma 3 has performance issues. :) However, and I have no reason to lie, the framerate drops in the video were not the ones we were experiencing.

My suggestion then to solve the confusion would be to simply use another box with a tuner or capture card to do the streaming, that way you would not be limited performance wise on the host system running the game, and you more than likely wouldn't run into any stream issue's either.

[Zipper5 74]

My suggestion then to solve the confusion would be to simply use another box with a tuner or capture card to do the streaming

Yes. This is personally something I'd like to see for future streams, but we'll see.

[novahot 1]

I cant`t believe my last post (not insulting) was just sacked.

I don`t mind anymore, because I bought it already. So let the critics speak on the weekend of 13. - 15. September. High-stakes-testing on the run.

[chrisb 196]

I just sat through the recorded ‘live stream’.

Must say a more subdued team would be hard to find, maybe its working the long hours. Enthusiasm seemed in short supply and some of the stream seemed almost uneasy in parts.

There was a lack of anything new regards important points i.e. AI, optimisation, game glitches, campaign etc. Not saying I'm interested in all these points, but players as a whole, my main interest is in the AI and the issue's surrounding that.

Showing a few new vehicles/weapons is not really that great, it’s the important bits the players want to hear about, we're all pretty sure there will be lots of bits to play with, just how they and the game performs, is the problem..

If that is the capital city as said there, its quite small, I was thinking maybe something along the lines of 'Fallujah' map, in size, would have been better. Maybe the real city is that small there.

Anyway, overall it was pretty disappointing, no real news as such.

[Gera_CCT 12]

I just sat through the recorded ‘live stream’.

Must say a more subdued team would be hard to find, maybe its working the long hours. Enthusiasm seemed in short supply and some of the stream seemed almost uneasy in parts.

There was a lack of anything new regards important points i.e. AI, optimisation, game glitches, campaign etc. Not saying I'm interested in all these points, but players as a whole, my main interest is in the AI and the issue's surrounding that.

Showing a few new vehicles/weapons is not really that great, it’s the important bits the players want to hear about, we're all pretty sure there will be lots of bits to play with, just how they and the game performs, is the problem..

If that is the capital city as said there, its quite small, I was thinking maybe something along the lines of 'Fallujah' map, in size, would have been better. Maybe the real city is that small there.

Anyway, overall it was pretty disappointing, no real news as such.

Just finished watching. Yes. You wrote every word that i was going to type here.

[novahot 1]

[...], it’s the important bits the players want to hear about, we're all pretty sure there will be lots of bits to play with, just how they and the game performs, is the problem..

Performance is an issue for everyone.

If that is the capital city as said there, its quite small, I was thinking maybe something along the lines of 'Fallujah' map, in size, would have been better. Maybe the real city is that small there.

The island is what the island is. You can`t expect a skylining megaplex on a very tiny island. This isn`t Manhattan, it´s a greek rural island.

[Sari 18]

Whilst the devs did seem to pick up on my question, by merging it with other post release dev branch questions, mine didn't get answered at all. Is there any chance someone could shed some light on this?

Post release will the dev branch become compatible with stable branch servers (like arma 2 and A2 beta patches), or will it remain as it is now?

[windies 11]

I just sat through the recorded ‘live stream’.

Must say a more subdued team would be hard to find, maybe its working the long hours. Enthusiasm seemed in short supply and some of the stream seemed almost uneasy in parts.

There was a lack of anything new regards important points i.e. AI, optimisation, game glitches, campaign etc. Not saying I'm interested in all these points, but players as a whole, my main interest is in the AI and the issue's surrounding that.

Showing a few new vehicles/weapons is not really that great, it’s the important bits the players want to hear about, we're all pretty sure there will be lots of bits to play with, just how they and the game performs, is the problem..

If that is the capital city as said there, its quite small, I was thinking maybe something along the lines of 'Fallujah' map, in size, would have been better. Maybe the real city is that small there.

Anyway, overall it was pretty disappointing, no real news as such.

I agree on most of your points. Biggest things for me are the AI and the performance of the game because I'm mostly a single player or COOP with friends player.

[gammadust 12]

Can't say i'm impressed with the stream, though i liked the firing drill. The scenario will be a wonder to explore, no doubt.

btw, i don't know what app you were using for the streaming, but i've been quite successful with OpenBroadcaster, give it a try (bonus: also allows to record directly to file instead of streaming)

[chortles 263]

It felt less like "long hours" and more like "we're doing this thing with really tangible egg-on-our-face since this was supposed to be a livestream and instead we're the butt of a meme about technical difficulties."

[Flash Thunder 10]

This was a problem we realized in the previous streams as well. The game we were seeing was actually running butter-smooth at 30 FPS and above the entire time, but the streaming program compresses the video file to fit a specified bitrate, and it automatically lowers the framerate of the game capture that is broadcasted to ensure this, if it has to.

We tried to improve it for this one, since we were doing it offline, but it would appear we still didn't set the bitrate high enough. It never had to lower the framerate for the webcam, so that's why it remained smooth while the game appeared choppy in places. Apologies for this. We'll try to fix it for future streams. :)

Goodie Zipper5 you're a damn good shot I might add.

[chrisb 196]

Performance is an issue for everyone.

The island is what the island is. You can`t expect a skylining megaplex on a very tiny island. This isn`t Manhattan, it´s a greek rural island.

Having visited Greece (mainland) a few times and also cruised the southern Aegean sea (long time ago), yes I do know what the town/city sizes are like. Having not visited as far north as Limnos, I can’t say.

But having seen the pics of Moudros the town/city they seem to be basing that on, or the alleged town/city, not forgetting this is not reality. The real town of Moudros seems a really good size, so they are clearly not going to portray that, with the small town there, maybe 35% of it, which if I'm honest is pretty small in comparison.

[novahot 1]

The real town of Moudros seems a really good size, so they are clearly not going to portray that, with the small town there, maybe 35% of it, which if I'm honest is pretty small in comparison.

Myrina is the main settlement on Limnos with 5.ooo citizens. Which is small in any circumstance.

All I want to say is, that the island Limnos/Altis isn`t urbanly at all.

Edited August 11, 2013 by Novahot

[cross 1]

If there is one thing obvious, its that there's a lot of tension around the office atm :) . Nothing much to talk about the assets or the suicidal AI driving into a tank except Altis itself, which is nicely done. I guess changes to the engine and physics had its effects on the number of assets available. Also note that it means new tools and methods for everyone as well. Personally I never liked drones but its great to hear that some assets and Altis will make it to the dev build as it will provide more feedback just before the release. Community created content and missions will definitely help cover the lack of campaign.

[Enricksolt 12]

This is the only thing that passed my mind after finishing the stream.

http://i.qkme.me/3u0sb3.jpg

[Yairweinberg 1]

Very dissapointed by the slammer... You took a unique tank (passanger space, trophy, internal mortar, ATGM lahat and great armor) and made it just a tank... Without the machine guns on top too.. If you wanted a tank to simply be a good normal tank you should have taken theLeclerc or the Leopard 2... Good tanks but not that unique...

Hope something will be done to make it a bit more interesting... Also the T-100... I dont know what it can do... Seems like another normal tank

[ryaneu 10]

In the sneak preview livestream video, you guys mentioned that the game is still pretty much incomplete. Do you guys think you will be able to finish what needs to be done in time for launch which is just one month's time?

Edited August 11, 2013 by ryaneu

[mobile_medic 43]

This was a problem we realized in the previous streams as well. The game we were seeing was actually running butter-smooth at 30 FPS and above the entire time, but the streaming program compresses the video file to fit a specified bitrate, and it automatically lowers the framerate of the game capture that is broadcasted to ensure this, if it has to.

We tried to improve it for this one, since we were doing it offline, but it would appear we still didn't set the bitrate high enough. It never had to lower the framerate for the webcam, so that's why it remained smooth while the game appeared choppy in places. Apologies for this. We'll try to fix it for future streams. :)

This stream was recorded locally and uploaded after the fact was it not? No disrespect intended, but this explanation seems like it is either terribly misinformed, or blatantly false.

When using the program, we specify a bitrate for the uploaded capture that we want it to maintain. This helps keep the stream constant rather than cutting in and out. The program itself then handles a lot of different areas to try and maintain this bitrate, lowering the image quality, audio quality and, as we learned, the framerate, if it deems it necessary.

So, in the areas of the capture deemed too complex by the program, it was lowering the framerate to try and maintain the bit-rate. Those experienced with the way Arma handles its changes in performance can perhaps notice, upon close inspection, that the areas in which the framerate drops don't always seem natural.

What streaming/recording program did you use, exactly? This is not common behavior in my experience. Given that you likely used one of a few codecs to compress to, none of them (to my knowledge) work in such a way that they dynamically adjust frame rate as a means to compensate for insufficient bit-rate. It would just cause more compression artifacts, macro blocking, etc, etc. The framerate, however, would remain constant at the chosen setting. So, I would be interested to know more about the program and the settings you used to record this stream, if that is indeed the cause of what we witnessed.

What I saw, looks eerily familiar to my daily experience with Arma, going back to A2, and on through A3 alpha and beta... and, (at this point) I will be highly surprised if not release as well. And, it doesn't take much to bring it to its knees.