Video Settings - 'Postprocess effects'

[jw custom 56]

I was just experimenting with different settings and noticed that i get a MUCH better picture with 'Postprocess effects' disabled plus my FPS increased from 35-45 to 70-80 :crazy:

What is 'Postprocess effects' suppose to do? I mean it lower your(atleast my) FPS quite a bit and makes picture blurry!

[whisper 0]

makes picture blurry.

Well, that's the point of postprocessing :D

Keep it disabled, imho

[jw custom 56]

makes picture blurry.

Well, that's the point of postprocessing :D

Keep it disabled, imho

Why on earth would they add an option to make picture blurry :confused:

I have the feeling it was supposed to do something useful but just didn't...

[whisper 0]

Why on earth would they add an option to make picture blurry :confused:

I have the feeling it was supposed to do something useful but just didn't...

More "immersive" effect, holywood-like, next-gen, etc... you name it.

+ from what devs said, it helps make FPS drop less noticeable

Postprocess do other things, though, I'm too restrictive in the description. It adds lighting effects, things like that.

Also, static blur gives perspective, the focal point is clear, the points away from focal point are blurry.

[Guest]

I cant bear having it turned off, always keep it on imo.

It adds motion blur, which makes the game look 100% smoother and faster. It makes things like tracers and lighting look beautiful. Turn it off and look at a tracer, it will look like a dull line of pixels shotting across the screen.

Turn it on, and all of a sudden the tracer is a zooming beam of light sweeping overhead.

tbh the game graphics just look old and rubbish with out post process, so for me its a must :)

[jw custom 56]

More "immersive" effect, holywood-like, next-gen, etc... you name it.

+ from what devs said, it helps make FPS drop less noticeable

Postprocess do other things, though, I'm too restrictive in the description. It adds lighting effects, things like that.

Also, static blur gives perspective, the focal point is clear, the points away from focal point are blurry.

Thanks for the info :)

I like the effect that the horizont gets blurry when turning fast etc. but this 'Postprocess effects' makes it blurry even when not moving :p

I cant bear having it turned off, always keep it on imo.

It adds motion blur, which makes the game look 100% smoother and faster. It makes things like tracers and lighting look beautiful. Turn it off and look at a tracer, it will look like a dull line of pixels shotting across the screen.

Turn it on, and all of a sudden the tracer is a zooming beam of light sweeping overhead.

tbh the game graphics just look old and rubbish with out post process, so for me its a must :)

Weird because i just tried a night mission and tracers looked awesome. I feel the game has been re-born for me :p

My Interface Resolution and 3D Resolution is both set to 1600x1200 and everything is maxed out except 'Postprocess effects' which is now disabled.

Edited July 13, 2009 by JW Custom

[cartier90 0]

I have to admit Ii put 'Low' Post process on when FPS dips a little and is definately helps, strange really...

[whisper 0]

JW Custom, try the post-processing "low" settings, I think it only leaves a bit of blur on movements, but no static blur, unless your FPS are too low (BI used blur to "smooth" the rendering under low FPS conditions, so it kicks in automatically when these conditions appear)

[Snowwhite 10]

PP adds blur, bloom and DOF.

Motion blur and probably object blur is Crysis (arcade) material which I can live without in a simulation game. I also get a headache from this so they should even put a warning for this on the box.

Like I said before if your vision blurs like that in real life you need cut the LSD.

Bloom is another Fantasy lightning effect that is slightly overdone but complements the sun.

Depth Of Field is the blurry textures you see and scope views. I love DOF but not in this game. In fact, there arent many games that use DOF the way it should be. I think its main purpose is to add dimension in a game.

I play with PP FX disabled because I dont like the arcade view and I need the frames with my rig.

[twisted 128]

I cant bear having it turned off, always keep it on imo.

It adds motion blur, which makes the game look 100% smoother and faster. It makes things like tracers and lighting look beautiful. Turn it off and look at a tracer, it will look like a dull line of pixels shotting across the screen.

Turn it on, and all of a sudden the tracer is a zooming beam of light sweeping overhead.

tbh the game graphics just look old and rubbish with out post process, so for me its a must :)

i agree. world of difference.

[maturin 12]

Being able to turn your head is wonderful. Disable that thing.

[whisper 0]

Some people don't find blur "wonderfull". Incredible, he?

[jw custom 56]

JW Custom, try the post-processing "low" settings, I think it only leaves a bit of blur on movements, but no static blur, unless your FPS are too low (BI used blur to "smooth" the rendering under low FPS conditions, so it kicks in automatically when these conditions appear)

I just tried it on low, only difference i noticed was the sun glare reflecting over realistically on stone/wood walls etc.

Even if it couldn't be turned off i would love this game, but now that i can i do prefere it off :p

[BLSmith2112 0]

It makes it blurry, puts you in a disadvantage online, and slows down your performance.

I have it on low, having it off makes things a little too dull for my taste.

[Windexglow 10]

I'd love having just motion blur enabled - even pe on low makes it look like my guy has been swimming in a chlorinated pool for several hours. Gives me a headache

[Xenios 0]

It seems that motion blur is the most universally reviled new feature in Arma 2--and I have to agree. It lowers fps, makes you physically ill, and it is only realistic if you had a severe concussion. There needs to be an ingame option to disable the blur, because otherwise I like a little postprocessing. It does make the lighting more realistic.

[jw custom 56]

There needs to be an ingame option to disable the blur, because otherwise I like a little postprocessing. It does make the lighting more realistic.

The only difference i noticed between disabled and low was some lightning effects like sun glare reflection on objects, so keep it on low if you like that :)

[frederf 0]

Is there a way to edit some text file to mess with exactly what individual components of the grab bag 'postprocess' option are on and how strong?

[jasonnoguchi 11]

The only thing about PP is the fact that ironsights get blurred to the extend that they are pretty much useless. I would agree with PP that it makes the whole thing very nice looking but at the expense of usable iron sights? no way. and because of that alone, its off for me all the way.

Edited November 26, 2009 by jasonnoguchi

[Jockson 10]

I always keep postprocessing OFF. Not only the motion blur effect when you turn around makes me physically sick, it is also very unrealistic. It simulates a camera rather than human eyes. Don't really know what BIS were thinking when they decided to put that in the game.

Though it would be nice if PP was customizable so you were able to say turn off the blur, turn on bloom and tone it down with a slider etc.

[Maddmatt 1]

The only thing about PP is the fact that ironsights get blurred to the extend that they are pretty much useless. I would agree with PP that it makes the whole thing very nice looking but at the expense of usable iron sights? no way.

You must be playing at a very low resolution for it to be that bad. For me the ironsight blur looks subtle and has no effect on aiming.

[jasonnoguchi 11]

^... could you post a screenshot of what your ironsight look like with PP on very high please?

[ActionMan 10]

I don't get all these people that hate the PP effects! I refuse to turn them off (and also grass) even if it will give me a competitive advantage. I prefer my realism/immersion thanks ;P

The motion blur in this game is wonderful. At first it was really obvious, but now I don't even notice it. It's completely natural. If it turn it off, suddenly everything looks like a "video game" not a simulation.

Also, it makes lower frame-rates acceptable. With blurring off, low-frame rates look choppy. With blur on the game looks smooth even with crappy FPS.

Human eyes can perceive over 200 frames per second. A game rendered at 60fps looks fake compared to real life. A film running at 24fps looks real though, because of motion blur!

Games are starting to use motion blur because it allows images rendered at low frame rates (i.e. <200) to look smooth, as if there were lots of frames averaged together.

The blooming also adds realism. Without bloom, a really bright pixel is just a white pixel, but with bloom on, bright pixels "bleed" into neighbouring areas, like in real life, allowing the game to have pixels that are "brighter" than white.

Depth of field is also immersive, but can make things look more like they've been shot from a video camera instead of a human eye. Eyes can change focus really quickly, so you only usually notice DOF effects from cameras.

Edited November 26, 2009 by ActionMan

[maturin 12]

I don't get all these people that hate the PP effects! I refuse to turn them off (and also grass) even if it will give me a competitive advantage. I prefer my realism/immersion thanks ;P

The motion blur in this game is wonderful. At first it was really obvious, but now I don't even notice it. It's completely natural. If it turn it off, suddenly everything looks like a "video game" not a simulation.

Also, it makes lower frame-rates acceptable. With blurring off, low-frame rates look choppy. With blur on the game looks smooth even with crappy FPS.

Human eyes can perceive over 200 frames per second. A game rendered at 60fps looks fake compared to real life. A film running at 24fps looks real though, because of motion blur!

Games are starting to use motion blur because it allows images rendered at low frame rates (i.e. <200) to look smooth, as if there were lots of frames averaged together.

The blooming also adds realism. Without bloom, a really bright pixel is just a white pixel, but with bloom on, bright pixels "bleed" into neighbouring areas, like in real life, allowing the game to have pixels that are "brighter" than white.

Depth of field is also immersive, but can make things look more like they've been shot from a video camera instead of a human eye. Eyes can change focus really quickly, so you only usually notice DOF effects from cameras.

Motion picture blur allows movies to look natural at 24 fps. Arma blur obscures the screen when you so much as nod your head. Chernarus turns into a dope dream if throw a grenade or run a meter. And even if your performance if tolerable otherwise, freelook will murder you.

Maybe the blur is less excessive and obstructive with a flawless framerate; I don't know.

The bloom adds radioactive halos to everything that could possibly be considered white. Street signs do not behave like glowsticks on overcast days.

[ActionMan 10]

Arma blur obscures the screen when you so much as nod your head. Chernarus turns into a dope dream if throw a grenade or run a meter. And even if your performance if tolerable otherwise, freelook will murder you.

There must be something that makes this look different on different systems?!

I've seen so many people say what you're saying, but it's just not true from my own experiences. I also have a TrackIR so I use free-look *constantly*, and I can still see fine while sprinting/looking around. The edges of the screen get blurry when sprinting, but I can still see what I'm looking at...

Maybe I'm just lucky and it "works" as expected on my PC, but blurs things into obscurity on other PCs???

The bloom adds radioactive halos to everything that could possibly be considered white. Street signs do not behave like glowsticks on overcast days.

Lol, yes it is overdone sometimes. Another thing is stars at night with NVG.

I still think it's an important effect for adding a larger range of perceptible luminosity though.

Edited November 26, 2009 by ActionMan