I'm so extremely !*#%@% tired of Windows Vista... Poor you, BIS.

[laggy 0]

Dear BIS,

I can only sympathize with your most likely frustrating efforts, trying to make a program run well under Windows, especially the infamous Vista.

My story:

Patch 1.02 (newest) and driver 186.18 with physX OFF made my 8800GTX run ArmAII better than acceptable. It was running great.

Then of course Windows Vista starts its annoying routine to "update" itself and there is no way of knowing if these new updates are good or bad for your system. You are just recommended to do it.

After this so called "update", ArmAII now runs WORSE than ever and it has nothing to do with your work, not your fault what so ever. I'm just seeking for some mutual understanding here.

Tried driver 190.38 with physX OFF, but ArmAII still stutters like crazy and many of my old missions are now unplayable.

Poor you that have to deal with this crap, and on top of that, get blamed for it. I can't tell you how much I sympathize with your situation.

I think it would be a good idea to make your games for Mac as well. I would buy one just for ArmAII, and your future releases. At least then, all this bullsh*t with Windows and the compatibility issues would be much less of a problem.

Have you thought about this yourselves?

Sincerely,

Laggy

Edited August 3, 2009 by laggy

[InFireBaptize 0]

i would put linux before Mac, i would like to see Microsoft go belly up one day. I wish there was a version i can run on linux machine :-(

[SWAT_BigBear 0]

You should be able and unistall those updates, either add/remove programs, or updates history.

[laggy 0]

i would put linux before Mac, i would like to see Microsoft go belly up one day. I wish there was a version i can run on linux machine :-(

Yeah!

Sorry... in my angry state I forgot Linux. Well put my friend.

[Murklor 10]

All those lines yet the word "Nvidia" isnt mentioned once. Funny.

[von_paulus 0]

Well we all know that Vista stinks, specially for PC gaming.

[laggy 0]

@ SWAT BigBear

But there is no way of knowing which stuff in the Windows jungle that's causing it.

---------- Post added at 16:20 ---------- Previous post was at 16:18 ----------

All those lines yet the word "Nvidia" isnt mentioned once. Funny.

Well, since Nvidia drivers weren't changed when it happened, I guess they aren't to blame?

Could be wrong, I'm not a programmer or computer specialist, just a simple mission designer.

Edited July 31, 2009 by laggy

[SWAT_BigBear 0]

In windows updates look at "View updates history", it should be by dates and have descriptions. Look for the 1 about the same as your problem started. The "Windows Defender" updates shouldn't have anything to cause issues.

Hopefully you can find the 1 that caused it.

edit, also Nvidia drivers that are WHQL will come in through windows updates.

[laggy 0]

In windows updates look at "View updates history", it should be by dates and have descriptions. Look for the 1 about the same as your problem started. The "Windows Defender" updates shouldn't have anything to cause issues.

Hopefully you can find the 1 that caused it.

edit, also Nvidia drivers that are WHQL will come in through windows updates.

Thanks, I'll try it.

EDIT:

Okay so looking at the dates, I only have 5 potential suspected updates, regarding:

-Microsoft Silverlight

-Windows defender

-Security update for Internet explorer 7

-Security update for distributable package for Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Service pack 1

-Windows defender

Which one/s could it be?

Edited July 31, 2009 by laggy

[hotel 10]

I find it odd when people talk crap about Microsoft. I installed Ubuntu on a machine the other day and put windows right back on because it simply is NOT user friendly whatsoever. Dont get me wrong I like the fact there is a community of people working on Operating Systems like Ubuntu but in all actuallity Windows is straight forward from installation of the OS to installing applications.

Windows 7 is by far the best Operating System out there as of right now. If you want to praise Mac OSX then go ahead but seriously they only have to run there OS on what... 5 to 10 different hardware combinations? IMHO you cant compare MAC OSX to Windows. Windows simply offers way more felxability. Not to mention the cost of buying Mac products! My god if you have more money than sense go for it.

If you want to praise Linux then your more than welcome to work mostly in terminal environment. Sure its got a desktop but in all honesty if you want to take advantage of installing new programs to configuration of the OS then you need the terminal. I run an Asterisk server at work and i connect to it via ssh and command line everything i need to do. Its annoying but the freepbx interface doesnt cover all the configs. Not to mention if you want to install something there is like a 75% chance your going to need some sort of damn dependency software to go with it. RPM or YUM commands here i come. The number of times im in Command Prompt window a year is maybe 10 to 15 times and that is to ping google to make sure im on internet. Occassionally ipconfig /release and /renew

Microsoft has allowed a lot of flexability in the market of not just software but hardware as well and we should all respect that. If your a Arma 2 fan than most likely you wont mind initial release of a somewhat buggy Operating System as that is how this game is. Windows Vista with Service Pack 2 runs great all on my client machines. Windows 7 Ultimate runs better than anything I have ever used including mac osx. I have a Windows server 2003 Standard running for 452 days now without the need for even a reboot.

Windows 7 RC been running on my machine since they released it without any problems whatsoever. Windows update finds all my drivers and when I install 3rd party signed drivers everything is fine. I hope to god Microsoft doesnt go belly up because that will be the day we start loosing productivity. Windows Vista and Windows 7 have been the first Operating Systems I have used that didnt require a reformat at some particular time.

[InFireBaptize 0]

yes there is a learning curve dealing with linux, i have openSUSE and i love it, so far struggling configuring wireless network and web cam, the help from the community you can get is endless never mind performance gain from using linux, I think one day linux would take over and it has already started on dell computers, sorry laggy got off topic a little bit here.

[nominesine 0]

@Laggy: Had the same problem with the exact same Vista updates. Run a manual defrag on your main drive (the scheduled one won't help you). It took my computer 17 hours to defrag after upgrading vista last time. It was worth waiting for. After defrag ArmA2 performance was much smoother.

[Potatomasher 0]

Thanks, I'll try it.

EDIT:

Okay so looking at the dates, I only have 5 potential suspected updates, regarding:

-Microsoft Silverlight

-Windows defender

-Security update for Internet explorer 7

-Security update for distributable package for Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Service pack 1

-Windows defender

Which one/s could it be?

None. They have nothing do to with Arma2 performance. I suggest you look elsewhere the problem.

[shadowze 1]

Learn from your mistake

Take an Acornis image backup of your PC before allowing any updates

That way if it goes tits up u can restore the image and you are back in business

[-=seany=- 5]

Auto updates are the devil, I turn them off as soon as I install windows. Just wait for the Service packs. If your the sort of person who cares about performance and likes to know exactly what is being put on your PC its the only way to go. It is impossible to keep track of stability and trouble shoot/benchmark a system that updates itself automatically, its just another variable to work around.

[chuckles 10]

Consider installing Win7. I just replaced Vista 64-bit with Win 7 64-bit; performance went up a little bit and, more importantly, the game stopped crashing every time I started the campaign.

[Heatseeker 0]

I have Vista and its ok, i dont know why everyone hates it so much (currently).

I remember when XP came out everyone hated it too, it was a pos.. demanding, vulnerable, buggy, etc.. now everyone loves good old XP.

Arma II is in a bug ridden beta state.. not every game runs bad in Vista.

[nyran125 10]

Answer get rid of Vista. Especially if your runnni a 3 year old graphics card like i am. Im still using a 8800GTS 512mb graphic card and i uninstalled vista a year ago gone back to XP and all games run ALOT better. Uninstall Vista , will solve your problem. and DONT go and get windows 7, the OS isnt even released properly yet and people are using it??? its insane, and they are complaining about crashing.. go use Xp if your a gamer using 2006-2007 hardware. UNLESS you have 6gb ram, the latest graphic cards(Nividia 295gtx etc) and latest processor and latest motherboard then fine go use Vista the game will work well, but if you dont and your running late 2006 hardware go back to xp.

Edited August 1, 2009 by nyran125

[SWAT_BigBear 0]

@Laggy: Had the same problem with the exact same Vista updates. Run a manual defrag on your main drive (the scheduled one won't help you). It took my computer 17 hours to defrag after upgrading vista last time. It was worth waiting for. After defrag ArmA2 performance was much smoother.

+1 on a full defrag.

[laggy 0]

+1 on a full defrag.

Well, did a complete defrag... no difference.

I kept the new 190.38 nvidia drivers and physX OFF. Vertical sync OFF makes the game look terrible when you move and I have never had to do that before anyway.

To explain my problem, it is not an overload kind of lag, as in too many units or too high settings. It's the texture load stutter again. The game is smooth as soon as the textures have loaded, but as soon as I start running around, and new textures have to load my FPS drops from 23 to 9. When I start a mission in Chernogorsk or Elektrozavodsk the game also freezes for the first 10 seconds, while loading textures. I used to have this problem when 1.02 was new and I still had physX ON, turning it OFF made a huge difference.

Now the physX OFF doesn't seem to do the trick anymore, and like I said, it started after a Vista update. No changes regarding ArmAII.

The only thing that made a small improvement (but still with bad FPS drops) was to set video memory to very high.

Any ideas?

[mrcash2009 0]

When I start a mission in Chernogorsk or Elektrozavodsk the game also freezes for the first 10 seconds, while loading textures.

Try setting textures to "Normal" and graphics mem to normal/high/highest (test one by one on graphics mem).

My combo Textures = "normal" / Graphic mem "Highest" was the best combination to remove most stuttering, but ... then I went over to XP to test that removed most of the rest of it too.

I found this out by specifically testing in the large industrial areas you have mentioned, and experienced similar in the beginning. Also drop you draw distance to say 1600 in those areas too. My stutter went and I can have it at 3000 in those areas. Also bear in mind the next patch does refer to fixing FPS issue in coastal areas so that may help soon too.

Edited August 1, 2009 by mrcash2009

[laggy 0]

Textures Normal and video memory High is done, made it slightly better. Thanks!

Also drop you draw distance to say 1600 in those areas too. My stutter went and I can have it at 3000 in those areas.

Don't get this part. You lowered view distance to 1600 and then you could for some reason put it on 3000 ???

I still don't get how the performance can be affected over night, after Vista has done one of its "fantastic" updates. Still feel sorry for BIS.

Laggy

Edited August 1, 2009 by laggy

[private plowjoy 0]

Well we all know that Vista stinks, specially for PC gaming.

WTF are you talking about? Vista does NOT stink for games and actually if you want to get the best out of some games (DX10) Vista is the only current choice.

Vista was incredibly flaky when it was first released but my patched up 64bit version is in every way as good if not better than my previous XP Pro install.

The main problem that people have with Vista, without realizing it is that it's spec hungry. Get a good spec PC and it absolutely flies.

God, I detest this nonsensical Vista-bashing. There's just no need for it, whatsoever.

[laggy 0]

Well, without saying that this information is definitely true, I don't trust any information until its proven correct, but I have "overheard" that Microsoft will let all Vista users buy Windows 7 for a cheap price when it's released, simply because they know that most people are very disappointed with Vista.

Why are they releasing Windows 7 only two years after Vista, it doesn't make sense if it really was a good product, does it?

People telling stories of the CPU working 100%, when you just move a window on your desktop... How can that be a good thing?

[private plowjoy 0]

Well, without saying that this information is definitely true, I don't trust any information until its proven correct, but I have "overheard" that Microsoft will let all Vista users buy Windows 7 for a cheap price when it's released, simply because they know that most people are very disappointed with Vista.

Why are they releasing Windows 7 only two years after Vista, it doesn't make sense if it really was a good product, does it?

People telling stories of the CPU working 100%, when you just move a window on your desktop... How can that be a good thing?

Like I said, Vista obviously requires a better spec machine. I've just moved windows around my desktop for 10 seconds and didn't see a single core go above 20% and I have all the UI effects notched up to the top.

Vista-hate is just another bunch of morons on a Microsoft-hate trip.