Is online even playable?

[AussieDave 10]

How can a game that runs reasonably smoothly at 45-65 fps offline suddenly go to an unplayable mess at about 22 fps online? These are on Australian servers with good pings at around 40. I tried posting in the troubleshooting board but with no help.

I need answers quickly because I have to return the game to EB within a few days if I can't get it working. It's been very disappointing so far unfortunately.

[Big Dawg KS 6]

How can a game that runs reasonably smoothly at 45-65 fps offline...

If I were you I would just be happy for that... ;)

[=Spetsnaz= 0]

i want the answer to that question but i guess we won't get that yet till later on, so far i think everyone's coming across that , i get 20-30 fps in Multiplayer and max fps of 60 in ArmA 2 in editor

[AussieDave 10]

I was told by someone that the server sets certain things like draw distance so that it's an even playing field. If it makes it like 10k then everyone suffers.

[the unknown 0]

I managed to play arma1 with 10fps online just fine, if you put your fps counter off you wont notice what fps you are at anyway.

[AussieDave 10]

this isn't playable, trust me. the FRAPS FPS is flattering. I'd have guessed about 10 fps but it's apparently 22.

[Ben 0]

Spetsnaz the refresh rate of your monitor limits your FPS to 60.

I'm sure you wouldn't be able to tell the difference from 30 to 60 if you didn't have fraps up AussieDave. 26 FPS is very acceptable and playable with everything on High and 10KM viewing distance on my system.

What are your system specs Aussie?

Edited July 15, 2009 by Ben

[kremator 1065]

WHY are people so caught up with UBER FPS ? FFS just get playing and stop griping. I'm sure there will be optimisations on the engine regarding online play / offline play / enter-every-whine-here play.

Just get on and PLAY. Worry about FPS later.

[AussieDave 10]

I'm pretty sure that I'd be able to in my opinion. I also think that the FRAPs number of mid 20s is actually wrong. I've played Crysis and other FPS games that have gotten that low yet are still playable. This game at that level is far from it so it seems to be fucked further than just a low frame rate.

I can't play. That's why I'm worrying. I go to shoot someone and suddenly they are 5 metres away. There is no sense of fun to it at all and there is no way that it could possibly be playable.

[Baff1 0]

Your FPS may well be dependant on the amount of updates per second the server is sending you.

Try connecting to a few different servers and see if there is any difference.

Servers will get better with time as admins work out what their ideal settings are.

[Guest]

The reason the fps is low is because in servers there are WAY more units AI and objects then you will ever find offline. In a busy server with 30+ players do not expect super fps.

Get over it!

[Eclipse4349 0]

You should post your system specs here as well. It could be that online play is just too demanding for your system to get a good framerate. But, like all other games, it will get better, not worse.

Also, make sure all your system's drivers are up to date. This includes video card, sound, ethernet adapter (I have had updates for ethernet adapter drivers do WONDERS for performance, in Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter), motherboard chipset, EVERYTHING.

[AussieDave 10]

I have the latest ATI drivers which I got yesterday.

4870 512mb card

4gb ram

e8400 dual core 3ghz

This game will definitely get returned to EB. I may get it again when things are fixed.

[KorJax 10]

First of all FRAPS is terrible for counting your FPS, if you use it to seriously benchmark your real performance you have no idea what the hell you are doing.

The problem being that FRAPS costs about 3-5 FPS just to run in 99% of the game's I've played. Don't use it to count your FPS, the only thing it's good for is measuring the rough difference between playing on different settings and how it affects the FPS.

[AussieDave 10]

I turn FRAPS off and it seems to be just as bad. I don't even need it to tell me how bad it is.

Most games are playable, albeit not amazing, at 20-30 FPS but this isn't at all. You honestly can't shoot a darn thing unless the player is AFK or something.

[nkenny 1057]

*shrug*

Back in the day when my p3 was cutting edge and all we played was Quake and Half-Life. I wouldn't have touched any properly competative game with less than 100FPS running.

Its all about performance, reaction speed, and getting those advantages you can. Arma2 isn't really a decent competative shooter just yet.

-K

[Inkompetent 0]

Well, on the other hand ArmA2 isn't Unreal Tournament or Quake Arena. You don't *need* Ultra-Super-Duper Framerates of Doomâ„¢. If you have 25-30 FPS you'll do very, very fine, since ArmA is so slow-paced.

[Eclipse4349 0]

Maybe you just have your settings too high? Try lowering your settings WAY down, and see what happens. You might like to have them high, but your system (dual core and only 512MB of video memory) might not allow it.

[Flightster 10]

I get 20-30 in a game, and have no problem playing the game at all online.. I'm sure plenty of people get this range of fps as well.

And it might also be your settings.. You have about the same system as I have, so let's try this:

-Visibility: 3013

-Quality prefference: Very High

-Resolution: 1360*768*32

-Texture detail: Very High

-Video Memory: Very High

-Anisotropic filtering: Normal

-Antialiasing: Normal

-Terrain detail: Normal

-Objects detail: Normal

-Shadow detail: Normal

-Postprocess effects: Disabled

With these settings, my game runs very smoothly and I don't see much difference from running at very high all-a-round.

PS: If this still doesn't make a difference, go lower.. It's not like you need an amazing fps rate to play this game anyway, like stated above. It's all about taking it slow, not running around like a wild horse.

[AussieDave 10]

I put everything on ultra low and still get the same frame rate of around 20-25 and, as I've said many times, this is not playable. This isn't because I'm too stubborn to not accept super smooth gameplay.

[cr0wn3r 10]

Sounds like you have another problem, not just hardware limited frame rates.

I've been happily playing online at around 20fps. When things get a bit mental that can drop as low as 10 (briefly) but I never feel like I'm out of control or that it hit's my performance in the game.

Your description of soldiers suddenly being 5m away sounds more like its to do with the network. Are you playing on wifi? Or are other people sharing your local connection? Even if neither of these things are the case, many good servers seem to have fairly catestrophic lag spikes froim time to time. Some nights seem to be more lag spike than not.

I think this network stuff is more likely your problem with enjoying the game.

[nkenny 1057]

Well, on the other hand ArmA2 isn't Unreal Tournament or Quake Arena. You don't *need* Ultra-Super-Duper Framerates of Doomâ„¢. If you have 25-30 FPS you'll do very, very fine, since ArmA is so slow-paced.

Have you tried playing ARMA2 Deathmatch yet? Most fun Arma game I've had yet.

Smooth FPS > WIN in CQB situations.

-K

[Inkompetent 0]

Have you tried playing ARMA2 Deathmatch yet? Most fun Arma game I've had yet.

Smooth FPS > WIN in CQB situations.

-K

Can admit I haven't done that. I'd rather crack my ArmA2 DVD than play DM even once. Have played CTF, AAS and TDM though, and had no problems there.

[eem 1]

All this talk about fps is making me dizzy.. :) ... ArmA II is more CPU bound than anything. Faster CPU speeds equals smoother gameplay when on servers that have larger player/unit counts. The point about methodical gameplay is lost on most players who are still trying to play ArmA II like BF2 or CoD or something instead of playing it like an infantry simulator. I saw someone post at one point if BIS added a module that would explode your head and kill you for real, then players might slow down and see the difference in their K/D ratios... :)

CQB type online play can work in ArmA II and it will render it just fine at playable speeds but due to the way the engine applies damage, weapon sway, your stance, your current injuries, breath control, etc. it's just not that much of an advantadge to have uber-FPS.

Ping is WAY more important than FPS in my view...look for servers that have under 100ms ping. Your gameplay experience will improve dramatically. For some of our community members this may be very difficult depending on your region. For that I empathize...

L8r,

eem

[nkenny 1057]

Please,

ARMA2 might be a slower game than COD, BF2, or Quake. That doesn't mean that once you seize the initiative and go proactive in an assault, CQB or NOT, reaction speed won't matter.

Look. If I'm playing point man on a patrol, and I cross a ridge to unexpectedly come across four enemy soldiers. I'M IN DEATHMATCH MODE. Reaction time, smoothness, and every second matters. If I'm running 100FPS and my victims are chugging along at 23FPS... Well I have a tremendous advantage.

In short and sharp engagements like that, all the planning in the world isn't going to help you. Unless you are able to RELIABLY put your sights on me (before I hit you); you are dead. Teamwork can certainly affect the outcome of a situation, but once you get down to it. Its you or me man. Beasts all.

-K (Ping and FPS. Its not that different)