Most up to date optimization guide?

[Guest]

Hi, everyone!

 

I recently bought ArmA 3 on Steam, and am looking for the most up-to-date detailed optimization guide for the latest build.

 

I've always heard that the game has optimization issues, even on modern PCs and with the latest updates, so I came here looking if anyone can offer any advice on this.

 

My google-fu skills aren't good and most of what I found was either for an older version of the game, or conflicting opinions on which settings reduce the performance or have no effect on it.

 

Currently, after pressing the AUTODETECT button, this is what my settings look like: https://imgur.com/a/nEzR23G

 

Are there any optimization/performance guides explaining what each of those settings do, and how much impact do they have on the performance of the game?

 

I'd also appreciate if a guide would tell me what startup parameters should I enable, and which ones should I disable.

 

Additionally, I would like to mention that I'll play only single-player modes, so I want to optimize the game with the best possible settings for consistent 60+ FPS on campaigns and other single-player modes.

Any suggestions?

[Janez 530]

Hi there,

 

Arma 3's tech is a bit dated in some aspects so it may not make the most of today's hardware. BI is working to improve this aspects in their new engine for future titles and you can see some of the results so far in Arma Reforger.

There were hardly some massive improvements in terms of performance in past few years for Arma 3 and there is no magic bullet here. This game is what it is, it runs the way it does and it gives you the tools to tailor it to your needs.

I wouldn't really concern myself too much with graphical options in terms of fidelity. You can test what individual settings do on the fly, preferably in 3D editor. Find something that you like enough and runs good enough.

What you do have to pay attention to is view distance. It is the number one factor that dictates performance by far.

 

Therefore I recommend using CH View Distance or similar addon:

It allows you to set specific values when on foot, in a ground vehicle and in aircraft on the fly. It also has dynamic modes and whatnot, you can play around with those. Generally, for infantry gameplay on relatively open map, you hardly need more then 900 meters. For ground vehicles up to 2-2,5km and around 3-3,5km for planes and helicopters. If you play on a map such as Tanoa, you can have much lower values due to topography and jungle features.

 

Other then that, amount of AI is the other bottleneck and if the mission you're playing is worth a damn, it incorporated Dynamic Simulation or equivalent system in some form.

 

Using your favorite internet search engine, you can use site:https://forums.bohemia.net Type_what_You_Want_to_Search_for_Next_Here and you will end up searching that query through this forum, for example.

 

Have fun!

[Gunter Severloh 4056]

9 hours ago, oc-stell said:

I want to optimize the game with the best possible settings for consistent 60+ FPS on campaigns and other single-player modes.

Best video imo for optimization.

 

9 hours ago, oc-stell said:

I'd also appreciate if a guide would tell me what startup parameters should I enable, and which ones should I disable.

Here is the Arma 3 wiki on all the Startup Parameters in the game (Arma 3 Launcher)

https://community.bistudio.com/wiki/Arma_3:_Startup_Parameters

My recommendation is the following:

1. Startup Arma 3 launcher, then go to the parameters tab (left), at the top go to All parameters.

 

The idea here is to favorite parameters you will use often this way they will all show listed on the Favorites tab.

The following parameters are the settings i use, so it could be different or similar to what you want to use based on what your playing or trying to do.

Considering i spend most of my time in and out of the editor, some parameters may not be useful for you.

 

Basic

• Show static background menu - (Saves on loading time of menu)
• Skip logos at startup
• Profile (my name) - loads settings and other stuff, allows you to get ingame faster without having to set things up.
• Mission file (editor) - i use this to load into a mission im working on, this way i can bypass the menu and go straight to the mission im working on.

Advanced

• Enable Hyper-threading - helps with performance
• No logs: [x] - i turn the logs (rpt) off when im playing, or building a mission, if i run into an error, or script issues i turn them off [ ] box unchecked

The remaining settings are unchecked for me.

 

Ingame video menu, my view distance is set to about 2200-2500m

Everything else is maxed out, bloom, turn blur are off.

===========

As in the video above you can get an idea on that on what settings may best suited for you,

most of my game is in the editor, mp lan, or on a server in coop once a week, so my performance varies based on the map

and mission im playing, most of the time its 50-130fps if not more, again alot of performance depends on the map, mission your playing

server, ai, explosions, smoke, scripts being used, codes for server or local.

 

Over time you'll get first hand experience on what seems to work the best.

 

Mods and Performance

Just a word of caution on the use of mods in relation to performance,

more is not better i can run about 20-30mods before i notice a change in my performance.

Mods vary though, so keep the numbers small, overall its the mission that your playing that will decide the performance,

but mods will use up resources the more of them you use.

 

My computer specs so you have an idea on what my computer can handle:

• Intel Core i7-7700K Kaby Lake Quad-Core 4.2 GHz
• EVGA Z270 FTW K
• G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 32GB (4 x 8GB)3600mhz
• EVGA XC BLACK GeForce RTX 2060 12GB
• 5 SSD's with Arma 3 dedicated to one of them.
• EVGA SuperNOVA 1000w
• Cryorig H7 Tower Cooler

CPU, Ram with high frequency, timings, GPU with decent vram, and the game on an SSD is your best bet for

good performance, then it comes down to mission, mods, server performance, so alot of factors involved. Hope that helped. Cheers!

Welcome to BI forums btw oc-stell

 

[Guest]

On 2/19/2023 at 7:40 PM, Janez said:

Hi there,

 

Arma 3's tech is a bit dated in some aspects so it may not make the most of today's hardware. BI is working to improve this aspects in their new engine for future titles and you can see some of the results so far in Arma Reforger.

There were hardly some massive improvements in terms of performance in past few years for Arma 3 and there is no magic bullet here. This game is what it is, it runs the way it does and it gives you the tools to tailor it to your needs.

I wouldn't really concern myself too much with graphical options in terms of fidelity. You can test what individual settings do on the fly, preferably in 3D editor. Find something that you like enough and runs good enough.

What you do have to pay attention to is view distance. It is the number one factor that dictates performance by far.

 

Therefore I recommend using CH View Distance or similar addon:

It allows you to set specific values when on foot, in a ground vehicle and in aircraft on the fly. It also has dynamic modes and whatnot, you can play around with those. Generally, for infantry gameplay on relatively open map, you hardly need more then 900 meters. For ground vehicles up to 2-2,5km and around 3-3,5km for planes and helicopters. If you play on a map such as Tanoa, you can have much lower values due to topography and jungle features.

 

Other then that, amount of AI is the other bottleneck and if the mission you're playing is worth a damn, it incorporated Dynamic Simulation or equivalent system in some form.

 

Using your favorite internet search engine, you can use site:https://forums.bohemia.net Type_what_You_Want_to_Search_for_Next_Here and you will end up searching that query through this forum, for example.

 

Have fun!

 

On 2/20/2023 at 1:28 AM, Gunter Severloh said:

Best video imo for optimization.

 

Here is the Arma 3 wiki on all the Startup Parameters in the game (Arma 3 Launcher)

https://community.bistudio.com/wiki/Arma_3:_Startup_Parameters

My recommendation is the following:

1. Startup Arma 3 launcher, then go to the parameters tab (left), at the top go to All parameters.

 

The idea here is to favorite parameters you will use often this way they will all show listed on the Favorites tab.

The following parameters are the settings i use, so it could be different or similar to what you want to use based on what your playing or trying to do.

Considering i spend most of my time in and out of the editor, some parameters may not be useful for you.

 

Basic

• Show static background menu - (Saves on loading time of menu)
• Skip logos at startup
• Profile (my name) - loads settings and other stuff, allows you to get ingame faster without having to set things up.
• Mission file (editor) - i use this to load into a mission im working on, this way i can bypass the menu and go straight to the mission im working on.

Advanced

• Enable Hyper-threading - helps with performance
• No logs: [x] - i turn the logs (rpt) off when im playing, or building a mission, if i run into an error, or script issues i turn them off [ ] box unchecked

The remaining settings are unchecked for me.

 

Ingame video menu, my view distance is set to about 2200-2500m

Everything else is maxed out, bloom, turn blur are off.

===========

As in the video above you can get an idea on that on what settings may best suited for you,

most of my game is in the editor, mp lan, or on a server in coop once a week, so my performance varies based on the map

and mission im playing, most of the time its 50-130fps if not more, again alot of performance depends on the map, mission your playing

server, ai, explosions, smoke, scripts being used, codes for server or local.

 

Over time you'll get first hand experience on what seems to work the best.

 

Mods and Performance

Just a word of caution on the use of mods in relation to performance,

more is not better i can run about 20-30mods before i notice a change in my performance.

Mods vary though, so keep the numbers small, overall its the mission that your playing that will decide the performance,

but mods will use up resources the more of them you use.

 

My computer specs so you have an idea on what my computer can handle:

• Intel Core i7-7700K Kaby Lake Quad-Core 4.2 GHz
• EVGA Z270 FTW K
• G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 32GB (4 x 8GB)3600mhz
• EVGA XC BLACK GeForce RTX 2060 12GB
• 5 SSD's with Arma 3 dedicated to one of them.
• EVGA SuperNOVA 1000w
• Cryorig H7 Tower Cooler

CPU, Ram with high frequency, timings, GPU with decent vram, and the game on an SSD is your best bet for

good performance, then it comes down to mission, mods, server performance, so alot of factors involved. Hope that helped. Cheers!

Welcome to BI forums btw oc-stell

 

Thanks, A LOT to both of you for helping me with this. It seems my FPS settings are now at stable 60+ when playing single-player. Sometimes a stutter (a drop of FPS down to 10-20) occurs but only for a second or two, so it's not that big of a deal.

 

Anyways, thanks again for the help, and sorry for the late reply. I had a bit of an issue with my ISP so it took a while to solve the problem.

 

Cheers!

[Janez 530]

@oc-stell, sure thing. Just for future reference, please don't quote all that just to reply a sentence or two. If your post is not just below corresponding reply, quote only relevant parts. Alternatively, you can tag someone by typing @TheirUsername and selecting them from drop-down list. Take care!