ARMA 2 OA: Post Process Settings Decoded

[maruk 80]

A2OA features new post process effect SSAO . Depending on game settings and fillrate (shader performance) of your graphics card, this may lead to lower frame rate.

However, we implemented simple but useful scheme to allow customization of pp effects (based on your personal preferences and also system performance):

• Disabled: color corrections only
  
• Very Low: Disabled + filmGrain + radial blur + dynamic blur
  
• Low: Very low + bloom + rotational blur + other scripted post process effects
  
• Normal: Low + DOF + lowest SSAO
  
• High: Normal + medium SSAO
  
• VeryHigh: Normal + highest SSAO
  

Please note that this setting is not directly equivalent to that of Arma 2.

Also, disabled - low primarily allows you to customize game appearance, Normal - Very High is heavily affecting performance but SSAO quality is the only difference.

Edited June 27, 2010 by Maruk

[icebreakr 3159]

Nice feature there. I guess its time to upgrade our PCs to enjoy fully ;)

[NeMeSiS 11]

Personally i would prefer extra buttons in the menu. Also for other things, like terrain detail and grass tied to the same setting.

[jpinard 10]

Thanks for letting us know Maruk. Very helpful. I must also concur I wish we had a separate setting for rotational blur and bloom. I love all the PP effects except those two and would like an option to disable just those two. Can't wait til I can play.

[gossamersolid 155]

thanks for the post :) This will surely help tommorow at 6:01PM EST :)

[WillaCHilla 10]

Well, on the one side its good to have SSAO implemented in the game with its visual effects. On the other, its really hardware-hungry (tested in OA).

Perhaps its not possible, but wouldn´t it be better to have the possibility to turn off SSOA (and some of the other ones) for all modes via config (e.g. by changing a value "SSOA=0, =1" in the arma2OA.cfg?)?-It´s an idea only.

In this case, you are able to use more combinations for PPOEs (with its different modes and "personal (dis-)advantages") which implements that the user can tweak more and is able to get some more performance at the end.

Edited June 28, 2010 by WillaCHilla

[maruk 80]

As with anything, yes, it would be nice to have more options, more GUI, more... but we always have to balance work load and this is simple but very functional solution. I hope we will be able to give further control in future, btw, over PP effects to users.

Also, to correct it a bit: SSAO is not hardware hungry in general, it is is infact very GPU hungry.

Basically, 3D resolution, GPU fillrate and SSAO level are very closely related....

On the other hand, there is no need to have your GPU running faster than you CPU can feed it so depending on your hardware, even highest SSAO may not cost you much fps.

[WillaCHilla 10]

Okay-thanks for the fast answer and your tips.

I hope we will be able to give further control in future, btw, over PP effects to users.

I´m really looking forward to this!

[M9ACE 0]

Thanks for the useful information Maruk.

[turin turambar 0]

I would kill to turn off the bloom with having to affect the other graphical effects. If someone have a mod where you can choose from Low to Very High but with bloom always off, pls link it to me.

[jpinard 10]

I would kill to turn off the bloom with having to affect the other graphical effects. If someone have a mod where you can choose from Low to Very High but with bloom always off, pls link it to me.

Same here - cept add rotational blur as well.

[metsapeikkoo 10]

PP is kinda killing the performance. By disabling it I gained about 30-40 fps more.

Q9550

HD4890 1GB

8GB RAM.

[oktane 0]

As with anything, yes, it would be nice to have more options, more GUI, more... but we always have to balance work load and this is simple but very functional solution. I hope we will be able to give further control in future, btw, over PP effects to users.

I don't have OA yet, but please, looking forward to you putting my noBlur out of business so to say, all that is needed is ini options(on/off) for:

Bare minimum:

• rotBlur shader (biggest issue, was this improved in OA? If not, any kind of way to disable just it, would be nice.) This is the #1 offender!
  

Good additions, that people always ask for: (see discussion sources below)

• glow shader (some people have issue with this, perhaps on bad contrast monitors) However, more people LOVE IT. Which is why it breaks my heart that your 'Very Low' setting disables it, tossing the baby out with the bath water.
  
• LSD or Tired(?) shader (provides 'tired distortion', the issue is that it looks like crap when it turns on suddenly, it looks like it interpolates the framebuffer to 1/2 size. This is most noticable when you have the rotBlur disabled, granted you didn't design it for that situation! )
  
• radialBlur shader (provides radial screen-edge blur when running, most inconsequential)
  

Due to the ambiguities of people's complaints, it is a bit confusing to know what someone means by 'blur'. When I say blur, I usually say rotBlur, because I mean that specific, atrocious fullscreen blur shader. :p I don't think people are complaining about 'being shot at' blur, explosion blur, any of that. Very few complain about the tired blur, and I actually find it useful. However, I use ACE and don't sprint. Other people don't have the same gameplay tactics. When the rotBlur is disabled, you can easily see the Tired shader kick on and off, it looks like 'lower' resolution all of a sudden, I think that is the complaint from all.

Discussions:

http://dev-heaven.net/issues/5932 (rotBlur bug)

http://dev-heaven.net/issues/show/3718 (feature req for bloom + blur)

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=97853 (noBlur replacement shader thread)

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=90414 (older noBlur thread, used pboprefix to override)

Thank you Maruk! Congrats on OA release, have a beer (and many more). I hope you guys have developer release party hosted by BIS! (I have good/hazy memories of previous game release parties myself)

Edited June 29, 2010 by oktane

[NeMeSiS 11]

Very few complain about the tired blur, and I actually find it useful. However, I use ACE and don't sprint. Other people don't have the same gameplay tactics.

Yeah, the one with the wave-effect when you get tired annoys the hell out of me personally. I guess its 'WetDistortion'.

I love all the others though, and i would be happy with options in the .cfg.

[Brainbug 10]

I can only support the wish for separate switches for the various effects. Although Oktane did a great job with his addon, it is unusable on servers that don't allow this addon, so we need some built-in options, a few lines in the config would definitely be enough.

So far I did well with completely disabling PP effects, because I really don't like the weird bloom that looks like the elite soldier you're playing has taken some bad drugs.

With AO however, I'd like to use SSAO, because it gives the objects a much more realistic look, and I applaud the decision to put this feature into AO. But I won't pay it with said "halluzination sim", so unfortunately I'll have to play without SSAO to avoid the unwanted stuff. Not a satisfying situation.

[Vipera 10]

I also wish to split Bloom and Blur in game config.

[maruk 80]

I agree separate control would be best and yes, allowing it by changing configuration file manually will be first step in this direction, UI can be second.

Until this can be implemented (which I can not tell but there is a lot higher priority work atm), there is quite good way to customize blur level even in the current version. If you don't like it, you may obtain very good result by

lowering brigthness to 0.8

compensating for it by increasing gamma to 1.1

bloom

[jpinard 10]

I agree separate control would be best and yes, allowing it by changing configuration file manually will be first step in this direction, UI can be second.

Until this can be implemented (which I can not tell but there is a lot higher priority work atm), there is quite good way to customize blur level even in the current version. If you don't like it, you may obtain very good result by

lowering brigthness to 0.8

compensating for it by increasing gamma to 1.1

AWESOME. Thanks!

[metalcraze 290]

I'd recommend turning the intensity of bloom down if not looking through NVGs. It's too high on Takistan where during the day the ground just shines. But in NVG it's at OK levels and light sources do blind well.

Edited June 29, 2010 by metalcraze

[oktane 0]

I agree separate control would be best and yes, allowing it by changing configuration file manually will be first step in this direction, UI can be second.

Until this can be implemented (which I can not tell but there is a lot higher priority work atm), there is quite good way to customize blur level even in the current version. If you don't like it, you may obtain very good result by

lowering brigthness to 0.8

compensating for it by increasing gamma to 1.1

Thank you.

I'm sure you understand the limitations of your own engine, being able to load and activate the shader cache file.. What I mean is only ONE can be loaded, the last one loaded overrides all others. This is what drives me crazy, as you can see in this post where I try to explain my issue as the maker of such shader mods, to people that want many options: http://forums.bistudio.com/showpost.php?p=1663840&postcount=129 Please do make my mod useless, I will forever be in debt and can spend time on better things. :D

[Fox '09 14]

i'm sure you guys have tried the home button... you can tune some stuff in game..

[turin turambar 0]

[*]glow shader (some people have issue with this, perhaps on bad contrast monitors) However, more people LOVE IT. Which is why it breaks my heart that your 'Very Low' setting disables it, tossing the baby out with the bath water.

You mean there are people who likes the radiactive sky, radiactive objects, radiactive people? I hate how irrealistic it looks! White/light colors doesn't glow in real life like that!!

[oktane 0]

You mean there are people who likes the radiactive sky, radiactive objects, radiactive people? I hate how irrealistic it looks! White/light colors doesn't glow in real life like that!!

Hopefully this isn't a thread for complaining and me-too's, ideally it's for solutions. As I explained, people have varying monitors and it looks different, sometimes not as BIS intended. The best thing they can do is provide an option, which they have agreed with, what more do you want? Hopefully it will show up in a beta patch down the road. Until then, you're welcome to learn how the game works and modify it to your liking, as many others here have, or even use the Very Low setting for now.

Edited June 30, 2010 by oktane

[Windexglow 10]

Bloom + DoF has always made arms2 look like I had been swimming in chlorine for hours. Being able to disable those would be amazing, yet keeping other settings (namely ssao)

[CoolSpy 9]

Yes, I really don't understand why developers (not only Bohemia) force us to bear these BLOOM effects!! I turn it off in every game since it appeared a few years ago if it's possible!

Visually it looks terrible and this is sometimes a lazy way to hide poor texturing or graphics (not talking about ArmA here)!

Please allow us to disable BLOOM and keep other effects! Thanks