erupter

I think there is something amiss... Windows 8 is one of the most profound modification in Microsoft history, and this time it's good in my opinion. It's simpler, less convoluted, more direct and can do away with the mouse and keyboard. Now I do work with the computer, and I think Win7 is here to stay in the hearts of many for work-related things. But I can say that opening the desktop is a breeze. I even installed some work related apps (embedded compilers mainly) and they worked without a fuss. I don't see Win8 as such a bad thing, although I don't like the metro style MS is carpeting everything with. Too much simplicistic, even more than android (and that I don't like that much eighter). But you get used to it, exactly like you get used to your wife/daughter new hair color you never wished to see ;)

Mee too. Since I'm also unable to use any launcher together with steam, I prefer to stick with official 1.60, lest I incur in some other headaches. I'll give the FXAA a try.

For now I'll stick with no antialias. Much less hassle.

No change. http://web.tiscali.it/erupter/img/glitch-06.jpg (436 kB) http://web.tiscali.it/erupter/img/glitch-07.jpg (374 kB) http://web.tiscali.it/erupter/img/glitch-08.jpg (411 kB)

I was just going to create a thread: why can't DCS and BI collaborate and allow the best of both worlds to be united in the definitive simulation? I'd love that...

I can't get the catastrophic glitching I saw the other day, but it's there nontheless. 1st picture, you can see the kind of diffused glitching I'm having (has been much worse, but today it seems limited to this kind of grey/white snow) http://web.tiscali.it/erupter/img/glitch-01.jpg (398 kB) 2nd picture, can clearly see how much it changes without antialias: no glitching but much less vegetation around! http://web.tiscali.it/erupter/img/glitch-02.jpg (465 kB) 3rd picture, a clear shot http://web.tiscali.it/erupter/img/glitch-03.jpg (456 kB) 4th picture, the glitching again but this is going to be compared with the following picture http://web.tiscali.it/erupter/img/glitch-04.jpg (366 kB) 5th picture, same exact spot as before, only with compass. can clearly see there is no vegetation around I also had this happen without bringing anything on the screen while walking up a hill: a step below everything no vegetation, a step above lots of vegetation http://web.tiscali.it/erupter/img/glitch-05.jpg (397 kB)

12.6 beta here Later today I'll take some screenshots to clarify what I'm seeing.

Whenever I use my Asus vw222 (or something like that) at anything other than native resolution, the image looks awfull. Besides I must really be CPU limited here, can't get that kind of framerates... Also, but not only that. That I saw but somehow god rid of, can't remember how. Or at least I think I got rid of it, as I didn't saw it in the last mission I played. Anyway that is still playable. AA problem is much much worse, can't find a vid though. My AA problem goes from some vegetation (bushes) appearing grey-white, to anything inside a 100m range disappearing into grey-white, player included. And this depends on the AA setting.

Can you tell me your computers specs, the resolution you run arma2 at and the framerate you get? I'm dreaming of an eyefinity setup, but Arma2 looks like it would kill even a couple 7970 in crossfire!

Thanks mate! That's a lot of things to try! By the way when I change the texture detail, video memory changes accordingly by itself. But everyone says to leave it at default: how can I do it, if it changes automatically?

Thank you all for the replies. I'll try the cfg thing. As for beta patches I'm unsure wether I can use them: my clan plays mostly on stable.

Ok, so? I just cited one as an example: there are good people working on a huge problem and providing solution. I suggested BI concentrated on what it does best (simulation), buying ready-made solutions from people in the know of other problems. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/easy 8. Readily exploited, imposed on, or tricked I'm a programmer and I know the difference between baking a solution from scratch, and implementing someone's solution. Nothing comes free, but some things come cheaper than others. At least in programming terms. Then it's always a balance between what you want to achieve, and the amount of different resources you want to commit (money and man-hours in this case). That's a wish of yours: I don't know of any real REAL-TIME FULL GI engines. All of them, that I know of, use pre-rendered assets.

Yes you are right :)

BI could license Geomerics' Enlighten engine for GI. http://www.geomerics.com/enlighten/ Just like Epic (Unreal Engine) and DICE (Frostbite Engine, Battlefield as well as Need for Speed franchise) did.

Yes but then we'd be tapping into radiosity. And I seriously doubt Arma3 engine supports it. Current engines supporting radiosity: Battlefield 3 - Geomerics Enlighten Need for Speed: The Run - Geomerics Enlighten Unreal Engine 3 - Geomerics Enlighten Cryengine - self developed Geomerics' Enlighten engine is a GI engine available for licensing. BI could easily buy a licence and use it in their own engine as DICE did with their Frostbite engine.

You can't be serious bro! HDR to photographers is what tuning is to race drivers! C'mon, just read a bit around about HDR. No human eye has the ability to gather that much range you show in that photo. If you go to that same spot you'd notice that you DON'T see that place like that photo. On the opposite. I think you're mixing many things up. There are more than one ranges in this discussion: tonal range ie colours, and no electronic apparatus has the ability to show the quantity the human eye can discern light intensity range ie contrast, and no electronic apparatus (again) can match the eye (or nature for that matter) The human eye has an exposure capability superior to that of the photo film, but that image you posted has been achieved with at least THREE different exposures, possibilty more. The combined range of THREE exposure is superior to that of the human eye. So you again are faking and in fact the colours look unnatural, and you wouldn't see them that way should you be in the same place at the same time. More to the point you'd probably see the ceiling much darker in that very same condition. I can't believe you don't know the very same eyes you use to type on this forum...

I don't understand you people. When I look out my window before sunset and i have direct LOS with the sun... Everything is high contrast, tones are yellow/orange (depending on the height above the horizon), the more I point my eyes towards the sun, the less I see of everything else. The pic of HL2 by NodUnit actually reminds me of the reflections and the bloom from the balcony in my parents sitting-room (lots of old furniture with glasses and mirrors) before sunset. I can't see why you say it's bugged. To me it's far worse when shadows aren't shadows, and the sun (or other strong direct light) doesn't blind you.

Well ok I exagerated it a bit. But contrast is a key issue. There is a reason why entry points and entry times are evaluated against time of day and season. It's to have the advantage of light blinding the enemy when looking at you. If midday is almost the same as sunrise and there is no blooming at all... well then let's just have two types of missions: day and night, without the 24hrs fake cycle. IMHO lights MUST blind/hinder the player when looking directly at them (depending on the condition obviously). Btw ME3 (DirectX9) and even HalfLife Episode 2 (DirectX8) do a much better job with HDR.

Well why should you? IRL you don't really see details everywhere in such conditions.

Thanks! Now if only they could make it look alive...

Looking at the new videos from E3, the lights themselves look appropriate. Many diffuse and illumination effects. But I see two problems. I take video to show my points.One is with HDR, in the video at 0:45 and 2:30 (at least) you can clearly see there is no blinding effect. Looking directly into a vehicle's halogen headlights at night should probably hind your sight for a good 2 minutes, if not even mildly damage your retina. Looking at the sun from underwater should have lighter effects, like altering the scene contrast. At 2:38 when passing below the rocky formation, everything should get darker while the lighted spot should become over-exposed. So maybe some details are still missing from the lighting engine. My other problem is with shadows. Not sure, but I think HDR should account for this, as (optically speaking) it should be a modifier of a pre-calculated value. So in the video, from 0:14 on to quite a few seconds, we see a 24hrs cycle. Now shadows are always the same "tone". Shadows *shouldn't* have a tone, but rather be an absence of light. So I suppose that, for the amount of things going on behind the scene, a radiosity engine is out of question. But nevertheless the HDR should enhance shadows in high contrast situations. Let's change video to have a better look at the shadows: Here at 1:03 (pause it to appreciate the facts better) the view is pointed towards the sun at sunset, and the player is behind a wall-like obstacle protruding for a few meters. If you didn't know (from watching it from the start) that there were shadows, you would be hard pressed to see them, so faint they are. In reality the contrast in that situation is so high, that shadows would be almost pitch black. All the more because you would be blinded by the setting sun if looking at it. Also compare the shadows of an armoured transport at sunset (same video, minute 2:03) and at about midday ( minute 8:24): they are too light! Both situations are high contrast, and in both situations shadows should be much darker.Ideally shadows are pitch black at sunrise, get lighter as the sun rises through the morning, get darker again towards midday, get lighter again in the afternoon, and pitch black again at sunset. I really think work is still needed in the lighting department. Especially for the blinding effect! That should really affect the gameplay! Shadows too, but they are easily faked by a check "is object shadowed -> true/false"

I don't know if it fits in this discussion. Will there be a dense urban environment? Maybe not like BF3 but going that direction anyway? I'd like to feel something like "Black hawk down".

I second the opinion of the OP. For how much I like the (apparent) smoothness of the animations, they have an odd feel to them. At least that's what I feel when looking at the vids. Probably it's partly because they are revising the physics engine, thus body mass may be off at the moment.

One thing I REALLY wish to see? A MUCH BETTER civilian module. People in houses, in cars, in schools, in offices, in supermarkets, going around, getting back home in the evening... Real life, you know? So that it doesn't look like a souped up airsoft game after all. Especially in MP. After all a number of simple FSMs more shouldn't be too much to code.

I'm too noob of Arma to offer anything substantial, but as a frustrated beginner mission maker I can't look forward enough for any result from this endeavourù! All the best guys!