Jack-UK

Well the 28 page long Hardware thread is now much too long to find many of the tips, solutions and rigs which people have posted, so i've compiled some information in this thread for those who need help =) So lets start... Developer Rig Running ArmA Quoted from Developer Suma: This confirms that a rig around this spec SHOULD run ArmA acceptably. If not, your ArmA settings are TOO HIGH or you have hardware/driver issues. Use this as a benchmark. If you are looking to upgrade your hardware... Use Suma's benchmark as a rough guide... Also use THESE threads to find which rigs are working well with ArmA: ArmA Mark: http://www.flashpoint1985.com/cgi-bin....t=55304 The HIGHER the mark the better. Look at a variety of rigs for comparisons.. results DO vary so get a good range of marks. ArmA System Thread: http://www.flashpoint1985.com/cgi-bin....t=55253 Ask questions here about rigs, view other people's posted rigs and FPS etc. Also READ REVIEWS OF HARDWARE! Google some hardware which you are considering, read some reviews about it. Use websites such as Froogle to find a nice price too. Can't/Dont want to upgrade? There are ways you can increase FPS/Performance without upgrading. Not all of these tips worked for everyone so don't expect results from all tweaks. I've compiled a list here of some tweaks used and claimed to increase performance. 1) Overclock: This is probably the most beneficial tweak, though also one of the most complicated and possibly risky. If you do want to overclock READ UP INFORMATION FIRST I am not going into the depths of overclocking here, google it. I would recommend overclocking your GPU or your CPU as they will give you the most benefit. For NVidia Cards... http://www.softpedia.com/get....g.shtml (I have NOT used this program before but this is a highly recommended program from the internet) For ATI Cards... http://www.techpowerup.com/atitool/ (I am using this program myself and have encountered no problems, easy to use, but still EXERCISE CAUTION, Overclocking can DAMAGE your hardware if used incorrectly) Dont rely COMPLETELY on the autodetect settings for ATI Tool, use some common sense along with it =) (by Dwarden) i suggest to use ATI Tray Tools, download from homepage active developer behind, tweaker, overclocker and tester contains also application/game profiles support etc. For CPUs... There are various methods of overclocking.. i havent experimented much with my CPU... so Google it yourself As with GPU overclocking, please be careful UNDERCLOCK for troubleshooting + increased stability Quoted from Dwarden (thanks!: 2) Card Settings/Game Graphics Settings: To maximize performance LOWER YOUR INGAME SETTINGS. FPS killers include Anti-Aliasing (AA), Anistropic Filtering (AF), Object Detail and Post Processing Effects. Lower these key settings to see an FPS increase. Lower the other settings for smaller FPS increases. Also lower your ingame RESOLUTION if you can. ArmA Config Tweaks: Also try opening your ArmA config file (located in your My Documents\Armed Assault folder) enable 16 bit mode by changing the 32 to 16. BUT there are graphical side effects, HDR is off, nights are pitch black and NV goggles bright bright green... - Thanks to Ryankaplan Your Graphics Card Settings... Nvidia + ATI Cards usually have a control panel with them, such as ATI's Catalyst Control Centre. Sometimes particular settings can force settings within games, causing lower FPS and/or perfomance issues. I won't give a step by step guide for changing settings, but reported settings which can improve performance include the following: VSYNC: There doesnt appear to be a way to turn this off in ArmA, Force it OFF in your control panel. Anti Aliasing, Anistropic Filtering: Make sure these are set to APPLICATION CONTROLLED or OFF Otherwise turning off AA/AF ingame may not work as it is forced on in the control panel. Set other settings to PERFORMANCE (If possible) Misc. Settings: Settings such as 'Catalyst AI' should be DISABLED as this is known to lower performance. Excellent Nvidia Tweak Guide by KELLO Force Triple buffering: If you wish you can also force D3D triple buffering in your card settings panel (if availible). Thanks to Dwarden Tip: (thanks to [WWS]WarWolf) Try reducing Texture LOD Adjustment to -2 or experiment in ATI Tray Tools. Couple of frames gain and sharper vegetation. For SLI-users: Current Forceware drivers do not enable SLI in Arma. You can however, fool the drivers by making it think you're running a SLI-enabled game by renaming arma.exe to fear.exe (FEAR has been reported as a stable SLI-profile for Arma). I think you can use the same method for ATI's Crossfire. A more permanent change involve using nHancer to copy an existing profile and make it trigger on Arma.exe and save it back to the registry. 3a) Dual Core Tweaks Thanks to Ziggyjinx! Thanks to Shadow! 3b)Keep eye on  MicroCode updates (by Dwarden) as they address specific processor bugs and issues (utilizing workarounds, tweaks etc), there are 3 ways to keep on track, ofc all of them combined is win-win situation - keep Your bios up2date - keep Your chipset / CPU drivers up2date (supplied by INTEL/AMD/NVIDIA/ATI/VIA/SIS etc) - check for MS reliability updates like following one   Core2Duo MicroCode update 11.06.2007 (wXP,w3k,wV) , download KB936357 from here and read more details there 4) System Tweaks/Tweaking Programs Some people have badly fragmented hard drives, or a messy system. These tweaks have had various results, some people have had no performance boost, others good boosts, so its not guarenteed. Clean Boot A highly reccomended tip from Tracer (all credit to him for finding this out) Defrag your hard-drive Regular defragging is very useful, if your files are all over your hard-drive it takes them longer to be streamed, this can cause slow downs. Good idea to do this weekly. Ultimate Defrag is a useful program if you wish to put ArmA to the OUTSIDE of the hard drive, allowing it to be accessed faster.. especially useful on large/full hard drives. Update your GFX DRIVERS Not only could this increase performance it can also help solve some troubleshooting issues. Disc Caching Software Some people have said software such as System Booster (http://www.disktrix.com/systembooster/systembooster.htm) has massively increased their FPS by approx 10 FPS. Others have said they experienced no change. Though a common benefit of the program is that the Map load screen (when you press M ingame) is MUCH QUICKER to load, hopefully u wont crash ur chopper so much =) Create a New partition This is also said to give a very good performance boost, though it is rather a lot of work. It involves partitioning your hard disk JUST for ArmA. On the partition put only Armed Assault and the necessary drivers to run it. People have reported good performances boosts, though this is a lot of work. Reformatting your PC is also another option, but once again extreme as you will lose all data on your hard disk. I am not going into detail about this, as always, Google is your friend for guides of partitioning etc Two Harddrives? Page file! Quoted from Desertfox: FSAUTOSTART *thanks to Greyhill!* A good system program to turn off background processes to allow for resources to be freed up to play ArmA. Link isHere 2GB RAM? Pagefile Tweak: *Thanks to Puma*Click here! TROUBLESHOOTING I will try and list some known troubleshooting issues here and possibly some fixes once they are discovered. Also read the WIKI FIRST @ http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/ArmA:_Troubleshooting Graphics Card Issues: UPDATE YOUR DRIVERS!!! This is VERY important, keep your drivers up to date, try not to use 3rd party drivers, use the latest drivers from your manufacturer. ATI Driver Issues?: Reportedly some owners of ATI cards have been receiving strange graphical glitches. Not all owners of ATI cards are affected, though if this is the case try using OLDER drivers (Pre 5.8 is said to have worked for some) ATI Drivers. ATI Catalyst 7.6 contains official AMD.ATI fix for ArmA handles leak , download from http://ati.amd.com/support/driver.html (by Dwarden) ATM latest drivers are Catalyst 7.8 and hotfixed 7.8 Direct X Issue: An issue with d3dx9_30.dll not being found can be solved by Downloading and reinstalling Direct X @ http://www.microsoft.com/downloa....lang=en 'Bush FPS Drops': This 'issue' has been addressed by Developer Suma. He claims that the reason your FPS lowers as you get closer to a bush is because of the high level of shading. This lag can be reduced by LOWERING YOUR SHADING DETAIL. Mouse Lag: As suggested earlier in the post make sure you FORCE OFF Vsync in your Graphics card control panel. Required Ports: If you need to trigger ports behind a router or firewall the following ports are required to be open: 2302 ArmA 2303 Server 2305 VOIP Required Space For Install: Please be aware that the game can take up over 4 Gigabytes of hard disk space for the install, not as stated by some publishers as 3 GB. Make sure you have plenty of hard disk space to install! SecuROM "required security module": If this error appears when starting the game. Uninstall any cd drive emulation software and clean the registry of keys. Such software includes Alcohol 120%, Daemon Tools etc. Vista Map Flickering: Fix from Espectro -download the LATEST nvidia driver for Vista.  by Dwarden :  there were several other VISTA updates and beta hotfixes released laterly which improve speed and stability etc list of NVIDIA recommended hotfixes for VISTA http://www.nvidia.com/object/windows_vista_hotfixes.html one of most important is KB940105 (You need latest drivers to support it for any videocard), http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940105 You can discuss it here on forums http://www.flashpoint1985.com/cgi-bin....27;st=0 Creative Labs X-Fi cards (by Dwarden) - if You encouter problems with latest X-FI wXP WHQL drivers 2.09.0007 (build 1184) then try use wXP beta drivers (build 1302) from latest wVista package 2.15.0002 now there is even newer Audigy (1-2)/ X-Fi beta driver build for both W2k,XP 32/64 (maybe also w3k and Vista 32/64) version 2.16.0000 (build 1320) Latest beta driver from 2008.08.28 click here to download file also please report driver problems to Creative Labs here click here to see driver issues and report new ones MP Crash? Try deleting the following folder of information, you might have some corrupt MP Cache: C:\Documents and Settings\Your Name\Local Settings\Application Data and then delete the folder named ArmA (You MUST have Show Hidden Folders enabled in XP in the Folder properties) Limited Texture Settings? Thanks to: Balschoiw Solution for all who have a 256 MB card but want to have access to higher detail settings in Arma video menu without editing arma config : Enter BIOS at startup of computer, set AGP aperture size settings to 256 MB and that´s it. This will enable the Arma video options that are hidden if your AGP aperture size is set lower than 256 MB. OpenAL by Dwarden Keep Your OpenAL up2date, latest version 2.0.3 from summer 2007 click here to visit download page Texture problems? Flush your VRAM by pressing the following keys: HOLD SHIFT and press Numpad-(MINUS) then type FLUSH SecuROM Patching Issues Fixed EXE Clicky ------------------------------------------------------- I hope this thread is clear and helpful. I think this section of the forums needed somewhere with some common issues/questions and stuff listed without having to trawl 30 page threads (which are also quite full of irrelevant info)! I would appreciate any other information which you feel is appropriate and which i have missed. =) edit: added info on SLI. -Shadow edit: added info on CPU microcode updates and C2D mc update. -Dwarden edit: added info on X-Fi beta XP drivers in Vista package. -Dwarden edit: added info on official WHQL 7.6 ATI Catalyst drivers. -Dwarden edit: added info on ATT for ATI users. -Dwarden edit: added info about OpenAL summer 2007 update. -Dwarden edit: added new latest Audigy (1-2) / X-Fi beta drivers with OpenAl improvements (for all OSes) and link to Creative Labs driver issues report - Dwarden edit: another new Audigy(1-2) / X-fi beta drivers for all OSes - Dwarden edit: updated VISTA related issues with hotifx for memory mapping errors etc. - Dwarden

Searched + looked at the commands in the Biki... couldnt find anything for the command for Direct chat? so whats the command to use it, and can it be used the same as globalchat/sidechat command? e.g. player directchat "Hello" But i cant find the dam command :S and searching was no help Cheers!

Don't listen to some people on this forum. A lot of people think that just because their rig runs alright on the game, it means that the game is fine and its your PC thats the problem. Its not true. I've got a good PC, i can run the game at max settings between 20-30 FPS and beyond. But i know for a fact that the game is still badly optimised and there are plenty of people with awesome rigs who cannot run the game how it should be. And patch 1.03 messed up ArmA 2 for me, leading to CTD's and graphic bugs, and my setup hasnt changed. Just ignore the people who claim there are no problems :) they're either ignorant or fanboys.

I have the same issues. AMD Phenom II Quad @ 3.2ghz 4GB RAM GTX 275 896mb Completely unplayable. Reinstalled Vista yesterday, latest Nvidia drivers, no luck. Gonna download Windows 7, but i didnt want to dual boot this thing... Hope theres a hotfix for this...

Its actually unplayable for me. If i look at trees the game actually freezes.. what the !*&*? Going back to 1.02...

My game has just ground to a halt twice... i dont know what the hells happened but it just freezes and crashes when i get near trees? Was fine in 1.02... Rig: AMD Phenom 2 Quadcore @ 3.2ghz 4GB RAM GTX275

Indeed, this game is far from perfect. Thats a fact. People have a right to complain, if i didnt like the series i sure as hell would complain, especially if my computer is way above the recommended specs and it didnt run properly. The OP gave a fair review of the game, saying it could have been good and outlining the issues he/she has come across which have stopped him playing. Fan boys: Sod off.

This pc is better than mine and i can run it maxed on 1280*1024... So i'd assume yes?

Just as a reference my pc i just bought: AMD Phenom II 955 X4 Quad @ 3.2Ghz 4GB Crucial DDR3 RAM XFX Nvidia GTX 275 896mb It runs ArmA2 maxed out at 1280*1024 with steady frames of 30-40 FPS... did have occasional 'stuttering' problems but then i fixed that by changing the Render Frames Ahead to 8. Built for £600 from scratch if anyones interested, www.ebuyer.com Hope it helps anyone as a benchmark :)

Well theoretically it should do well, but i cant predict whether or not that particular setup will fail for ArmA.. Its pot luck.. but theoretically its a high end pc for ArmA2

I would estimate you'd be able to run the game smoothly on high settings!

erm.. i'm pretty damn sure thats not underwear.. Shame on you BIS :P

I think its 144 groups of units! So you could have 144 leaders but plenty of soldiers under their command!

This pack looks AWESOME. I've just read through the manual, and i'm planning on making some small PvP scenarios just to inject a bit of variety into servers.. hopefully it may inspire more talented mission designers to make more PvP maps! Appreciate the work you've put into this, well done!

There used to be an anti TK script in ArmA.... it seemed to quell the surge for a while actually.. i put it into a couple of my maps i made. When my PC arrives in the next few days i'm gonna start work on making various small PvP maps, none of that complex bezerk stuff.. simple PVP scenarios which may drum up some interest.. I'll try and make it more tactical than most PvP's.. maybe certain sides have less players, but are better equipped, and the other team has more players but less equipment.. So there will be a NEED for teamwork to win.

I'd suggest you go for one card rather than SLI.. dunno if it equates to a GTX295 if u got rid of one of the cards? Otherwise how about a GTX280/285?

Closest PVP u could get (made entirely of real players.. no AI) would be the 100+ player battles u get at Charlie Foxtrot (formally IC-ArmA) http://cfarma2.com/ As far as i know anyway... AI Puts a lot of strain on the server..but on CTI maps they end up with a LOT of players (AI + real players) because each player can spawn their own personal AI plus theres AI resistance forces etc... So you're looking at hundreds of characters in a game at any one time.

I dont know what your budget is but maybe take a look at the GTX260 or the Radeon 4870?

The reason crosshairs are used is because when u have a game like ArmA 2 where u have a floating point crosshair... you cannot tell where exactly you're aiming at the time.. because you arent physically holding the gun so you dont know by the direction you're holding it.. having this sort of crosshair allows u to know the GENERAL direction you're aiming.. but will stop u getting easy kills from miles away without using the irons! Very good work.

Should do! I've just ordered my PC today and its fairly similar! AMD Phenom II 955 x4 3.2ghz Quad 2x2GB DDR3 RAM 1200mhz (summat like that) Nvidia GTX275 Someone told me the spec looks good on paper but ArmA2 can sometimes be wierd about certain set ups...

i havent got ArmA 2 yet so i'm basing this off other peoples observations and how ArmA played out but... I think the major gap in the market, so to speak, is that there arent really any tactical PvP maps... Bezerk seems to be the most popular... and to be honest (in arma at least) it was just people jumping on, everyone rushing for the nearest vehicle and then a load of single players running around fragging.. I think what a lot of PvP players will want is a TACTICAL PvP mode, not so complex as CTI perhaps where things have to be built etc, but somehow i think players need to be encouraged to work as a team.. maybe some sort of evo system for points unlocks more stuff etc, and you get more points if u work as a team (if you're in close proximity to team members and focus on one objective agaisnt the enemy you get more points, which u can spend on new weapons and vehicles)... Cut out the complex scenarios, but keep in the tactics? Just a suggestion.. if i was any good at mission making i'd have a go myself.. but atm.. still waiting for both my new pc and my copy of ArmA2 to arrive :)

AMD's tend to be just that little bit faster imo :) but if ones cheaper than the other.. it wont make much difference.

*insert expletives here* I havent got the game yet! :( I'm jealous now :( Roll on friday...!

Its not for me. But whos to tell you what you can't do in a game which you can freely mod? And like everyone says... killing, horror of war, blood and gore.... its all bad anyway, doesnt make us bloodthirsty killers (..much :D ). If someone wants to make it i'm not going to cause a fuss. I do like the 'gangland' scenario however.. adding women/prostitutes or whatever adds to the atmosphere. You've all probably played GTA...

haha love it!