Public Beta

[DnA 5154]

Today we're opening the public beta for the experimental client ports of Arma 3 to Linux and Mac. Please carefully read this overview page for the details, limitations and a F.A.Q. You can also contribute to the documentation here, and of course report issues on the Feedback Tracker. Feel free to discuss the ports in this thread generally, or open specific threads in this forums category. We're keen to learn how the ports work on your specific hardware / drivers / distributions. Please let us know about both your bad and good experiences as well.

 

Even though there are some significant limitations, we hope this gives some of you a taste of Arma 3 on another platform than Windows. Enjoy!

[Sanderson 1]

Sounds great!

[liamdawe 1]

I did a livestream of the Linux version for over an hour just nowe, and so far I'm pretty damn impressed with what I have seen. The performance really isn't that far off Windows from what I understand from looking at benchmarks.

 

It looks like VP did a pretty good job here.

 

I do hope you can make the online all work together though, as I know it will be the reason some Linux gamers would buy it. Will this and other limitations been worked on?

 

I purchased my copy anyway to support the effort, would never have done without Linux support.

 

What exactly are you looking for to determine if it will be promoted to a full release?

 

This is on an Nvidia 970, i5 4670K, I was getting a very good and stable framerate on Very High settings, but I turned off blur and bloom (hate them in any game), and I turned view distance down a bit which didn't really bother me.

[Soup_ 0]

Hi,

 

I was not able to play Arma since i stopped using windows, months ago. But today, when i started steam ... surprise !

 

I wasn't able to launch the game, due to  libSDL2-2.so.0 missing.

I quickly installed libSDL2 (32 bit) using my packet manager. So far, the game is working !

Thank you for this port. I was definitely a good idea.

http://i.imgur.com/2RNYwlf.png

[bensu 2]

First impression on linux: runs great, I'm very impressed!

I will do some comparisons now with the windows version and report later

[bensu 2]

Ok, so as promised here is my first little comparison between the Linux and the Windows version.

 

First my specs:

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 @ 3.2Ghz

RAM: 8Gb DDR3 1333

GC: Nvidia GeForce GTX 770

OS: Windows 7 - 64Bit and Opensuse 13.2- 64bit (Linux)

 

So, what I can say so far is that the Linux version runs really really well. I didn't expect this since the port uses a wrapper layer which usually takes some of the performance, and since my PC is, as you can see, not the newest I thought I would get some trouble. The port seems to be stable as I had no crash so far and it ran at the first try. A little problem seems to be the sound engine as gun fire sounds a little different on the Linux version than the Windows version, however this is no big thing. At the first run I noticed also some Frame drops when turning/firing etc, but this seems to be gone now.

 

So, here some benchmarks:

 

First the settings: (Same for both OS's, Windows settings in german)

 

Linux:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/uymrlpu4cdadd0m/arma_settings_linux_1.png?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4nm8syw0q1nu5kg/arma_settings_linux_3.png?dl=0

 

Windows:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/p1hq8jzgbz0t7xt/2015-09-01_00001.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/t5160xss4geim02/2015-09-01_00003.jpg?dl=0

 

This looks already not bad, does it? But it gets better! On Windows, when you are at the settings screen, the fps rise, but drop again when you return to the game. On Linux however the fps counter is more accurate! There is no change in the fps when you enter the settings menu. What you see is what you get! (Edit: Seems to depend on the situation. That is not always the case)

 

So, now I ran Arma3Mark 0.51, Stratis version:

 

And here it comes:

 

Windows first run: 29 average fps

          second run: 28 average fps

 

Linux first run: 30 average fps

          second run: 31 average fps

 

Whoa, cool! It's even faster on Linux! Okay, i have to say that I cheated a little bit  ;) The Linux version is installed on an SSD, the Winodws version on a standard 7200 hard disk. But anyway this is a fantasic result for a ported game which uses a wrapper(!). I have no idea how much the ssd has an influence on the result, but I must say I'm quite happy with it. The external Team did a really fantasic job! Well done!

 

Edit: I see that i had the textures on high at Windows and standard on Linux, sorry. But I think that makes no big difference

[TheRiddick 14]

STANDING CLAP, 

 

Well done BIS, installing ARMA3 on my Linux Mint 17.2 (980GTX/355.06) client now. This is really great work so far, for the longest time I have been disappointed with BIS but the move to port this game to other OS's has changed that greatly. Thank you so much for this.

 

 

PS. I have been a member since OFP1 days, but for some reason I can't find my old account. And my email is now my name? oh dear, this is going to hurt.

[nano 1]

I'm using the following Set-Up:

OS: Ubuntu 15.04 vivid
Kernel: x86_64 Linux 3.19.0-26-generic
CPU: Intel Xeon CPU E3-1231 v3 @ 3.8GHz
GPU: GeForce GTX 970
RAM: 7935MB

with absolutely no performance issues (no big difference to the Windows build). Great Job, BI!

[chortles 263]

I do hope you can make the online all work together though, as I know it will be the reason some Linux gamers would buy it. Will this and other limitations been worked on?

As per the official ports information page, "Due to the limitations (some of which will never be overcome), we do not feel we can provide a full experience on the port platforms at this time" hence the lack of advertising the game as Steam Play.

Whoa, cool! It's even faster on Linux! Okay, i have to say that I cheated a little bit  ;) The Linux version is installed on an SSD, the Winodws version on a standard 7200 hard disk. But anyway this is a fantasic result for a ported game which uses a wrapper(!). I have no idea how much the ssd has an influence on the result, but I must say I'm quite happy with it. The external Team did a really fantasic job! Well done!

To be fair installation on a SSD is the recommended solution even for Windows.

[TheRiddick 14]

What I would like to see BIS to in the future is push version 1.50 to Linux, atm being limited to 1.42 is annoying as you don't find many servers online to test with. Given the performance of the Linux port at present, I think it would be worth updating it to 1.50 :)

[DnA 5154]

I do hope you can make the online all work together though, as I know it will be the reason some Linux gamers would buy it. Will this and other limitations been worked on?

 

What exactly are you looking for to determine if it will be promoted to a full release?

 

Some of the limitations may be worked on. For example, there is a chance that some of the middleware obstacles will be removed by our partners. It's not likely that for Arma 3, the ports will ever be instantly synchronized with the Windows version, unfortunately. Every update would need to be 'ported' by VP. So when we release an update for the Windows version, and we do ask for a ports update, that would take some additional time (obviously less time now that the foundation is there).

 

We're going to monitor feedback on many channels, as well as simply measure the install base on all platforms. This a learning experience for us too. We'll need to see how the ports behave in the wild. It's too early to say what the future brings, but it's nice to see the optimistic feedback thus far.

[Pyronick 21]

What I would like to see BIS to in the future is push version 1.50 to Linux, atm being limited to 1.42 is annoying as you don't find many servers online to test with. Given the performance of the Linux port at present, I think it would be worth updating it to 1.50 :)

Then there is also the middleware that apparently doesn't run on Linux or Mac. But all in due time I guess.

 

Great first step. Unfortunately, mine doesn't start because my old HD 4870 doesn't support OpenGL 4.1. But I will get a new graphics card soon.

[TheRiddick 14]

Yep BattleEye, however perhaps they could run that through the wrapper on launch also?

 

The otther issue I noticed with the Linux version is I get the message that "Illegal Copies May Degrade", that generally is a bad thing and perhaps is linked to BattleEye not working initially?

 

So todo list for ARMA3 BIS/EON

 

1) Wrap BattleEye through Linux ARMA3 wrapper.

2) Update Client to 1.50

3) Fix any other illegal copy notice issues?

 

:)

[liamdawe 1]

Some of the limitations may be worked on. For example, there is a chance that some of the middleware obstacles will be removed by our partners. It's not likely that for Arma 3, the ports will ever be instantly synchronized with the Windows version, unfortunately. Every update would need to be 'ported' by VP. So when we release an update for the Windows version, and we do ask for a ports update, that would take some additional time (obviously less time now that the foundation is there).

 

We're going to monitor feedback on many channels, as well as simply measure the install base on all platforms. This a learning experience for us too. We'll need to see how the ports behave in the wild. It's too early to say what the future brings, but it's nice to see the optimistic feedback thus far.

Being out of sync now and then isn't a massive deal (we have this with Aspyr Media ports now and then), since you said it yourself the foundation is there, so they will already know what they are doing each time.

 

I think the single main issue here is BattleEye, which I hope you/VP can work on supporting on Linux together. Being out of sync for a small time is fine, but when it is in sync and you have limited server choice will probably be an issue.

 

As for this limitation "Limited User-Generated Content compatibility", this is an issue with any game on Steam FYI, but usually it all works fine. That's not really a limitation, as you cannot control workshop authors. So personally, I don't see that being an issue.

 

I did try two different user created Scenarios and both instantly crashed the game, the crash reporter VP uses claims the reports were sent, so hopefully they got them.

[sonicpp 10]

Well, this new BattleEye does not work in Wine (Arma 2) neither. The best solution would be port BE natively on Linux, but I dont think it is on TODO list :-/

[bensu 2]

To be fair installation on a SSD is the recommended solution even for Windows.

 

The SSD seems to have no big influence on the performance besides loading times...

 

I copied the Linux version on a hard disk. Same settings, but set the textures on high to match the Windows settings. Result:

 

Linux: 1. run: 30 fps

           2. run: 29 fps

           3. run: 29 fps

 

So an average loss of 1 fps over the SSD, but this might also be due to the texture level

[TheRiddick 14]

I'm unable to set the textures on anything but LOW, how can you get high settings?

[sulman 12]

Pretty impressed so far. Worked first time for me on Gentoo Linux; I had some stutters compared to the Windows version early on (sound files loading).

 

It actually reminds me of older windows builds; it doesn't quite look the same (textures are a little different..will try and grab some screens to demonstrate) but performance is adequate. 

 

None of the my sync'd workshop missions worked, I'm guessing because the files simply aren't there, so I'll download the missions manually (like the old OFP days!). 

[Deliven 0]

Works nice on my system.

Some micro laggs but that's okay.

System:    Host: local Kernel: 3.19.0-15-generic x86_64 (64 bit)
           Desktop: Unity 7.3.2  Distro: Ubuntu 15.04 vivid
CPU:       Quad core Intel Core i7-2600 (-HT-MCP-) cache: 8192 KB 
Graphics:  Card: NVIDIA GM204 [GeForce GTX 970]
           Display Server: X.Org 1.17.1 drivers: nvidia (unloaded: fbdev,vesa,nouveau)
           Resolution: 1600x1200@60.0hz
           GLX Renderer: GeForce GTX 970/PCIe/SSE2
           GLX Version: 4.5.0 NVIDIA 346.59

The grapihc cards driver is not up to date. I use the stable NVIDIA driver.

 

Want to support this with buy the addons, but they are not supported yet...

[bensu 2]

I'm unable to set the textures on anything but LOW, how can you get high settings?

Try playing around with the sampling rate. I had the same problem, but max. was standard. After setting sampling to 150% I could set it to high

[adasiko 0]

Crash on startup  <_<

 

http://pastebin.com/EjsuAwf7

 

Ubuntu 14.04.3 + Nvidia GTX960 + Nvidia driver 346.82

[sulman 12]

Crash on startup  <_<

 

http://pastebin.com/EjsuAwf7

 

Ubuntu 14.04.3 + Nvidia GTX960 + Nvidia driver 346.82

Knowing little of how the wrapper works, the last few lines suggest a renderer problem; can you try a later driver?

[tuxfusion 0]

Crash on startup  <_<

 

http://pastebin.com/EjsuAwf7

 

Ubuntu 14.04.3 + Nvidia GTX960 + Nvidia driver 346.82

as everything in Ubuntu , it's outdated

 

latest nvidia driver is today

352.41

[biosphere 10]

I am currently installing it now I will report on the success of game launch... my system specs are

 

Radeon R290

Lubuntu 14.04 AMD64

AMD FX-8320 4.2ghz overclocked

ASUS Formula V Crosshair Motherboard

16g DDR3 1866 RAM

Mushkin SSD 120G

mutliarch working.. most all my steam games work.

 

dying light, metro last light redux and so on....

[tuxfusion 0]

Just bougth Arma 3 simply for the announcement. Hope to see it pass the tests. BUt I won't go into the DLC until it's up to the win version. Sad it's no real port however. By setting on directx, your management limited themselves to no options ....