Here is some tweak info compilation for better FPS:
Disclaimer: I did not write most of this, I’ve just compiled it from various sources into this single document. I have, however, tried to simplify things (removed duplicate tips, elaborated on some of the tips, etc).
I’m not responsible for any damage to your PC or game that may result (however unlikely) from taking this advice.
And finally, results will vary from PC to PC, some people (including myself) have seen dramatic improvement in graphics and FPS from these changes. Other people have seen no improvement whatsoever.
-- noteworthynerd
I have not updated this in quite a while, so some of it may be outdated.
Update your GPU driver: NVIDIA users here:
http://www.geforce.com/drivers, AMD/ATI here:
http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/Pages/index.aspx NVIDIA users: Right click your desktop and click NVIDIA control panel, click Manage 3D settings, click the Program Settings tab, select Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead (you may have to uncheck the “Show only programs on this computerâ€), set the following:
Ambient Occlusion - Off
Anisotropic Filtering - Application controlled
AntiAliasing Gamma Correction - On
AntiAliasing Mode - Application controlled
AntiAliasing Setting - Application controlled
AntiAliasing Transparency - Off
Maximum Pre-Rendered Frames - 0
Multi-Display/GPU Accelaration - Single Display
Performance Mode
Power Management Mode - Prefer Maximum Performance
Texture Filtering Sample Optimization - On
Texture Filtering Negative LOD Bias - Allow
Texture Filtering Quality - High Performance
Texture Filtering Trilinear Optimization - On
Threaded Optimization - Auto
Triple Buffering - Off
Vertical Sync - Off
ATI Users: Just find the equivalent in your control panel (sorry this isn’t more elaborate, but I don’t own an ATI card to figure out the correct settings)
Now go to My Documents/ArmA 2, open up the file called "<username>.ArmA2OAProfile" in notepad. Change these lines to the following:
shadingQuality=0;
mouseSmoothing=1;
Now open up the filled called “ArmA2OA.cfg†in notepad. Change these lines to the following:
AToC=6;
PPAA=1;
PPAA_Level=1;
GPU_MaxFramesAhead=1;
GPU_DetectedFramesAhead=1;
AToC controls anti-aliasing on foliage. setting it to 6 disables AA on grass, which gives you a massive performance boost. the PPAA commands enable a very light, basic FXAA, which gives you back AA on the grass, and finishes off other details in-game. Combining FXAA + normal AA = more fps, looks better.
Then, use the following settings in-game:
Visibility: User preference, the lower number the less likely you are to experience FPS problems and screen tearings.
Brightness and Gamma: User preference.
Quality Preference: Normal
Interface resolution: Whatever your monitor’s native resolution is.
3D Resolution: Same as above.
Texture detail: User preference.
Video Memory: Default.
This makes Arma 2 use all your vram.
Anisotropic filtering: User preference.
Anti-Aliasing: High.
Low and normal look worse and don't improve your performance.
Object detail: between Very Low and Normal.
This setting will always hurt your fps, so go easy on it. It pretty much only affects grass.
Shadow detail: High
If your FPS is still low, turn this down.
HDR quality: User preference.
Postprocess effects: Low or Disabled.
I prefer Disabled as it stops things like your screen going fuzzy when you’re low on blood.
Interface size: User preference.
Aspect ratio: Whatever your monitor’s aspect ratio is.
Vsync: User preference. I keep it enabled.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How to adjust your Field of Vision (original here):
Go to My Documents/ArmA 2/ and open up <USERNAME>.ArmA2OAProfile.cfg in notepad. Scroll to the very bottom and you'll see two values, fovTop and fovLeft.
Calculate what vertical FoV corresponds to your desired horizontal FoV using this calculator. Make sure the "resolution" information is correct!
Take that number, go to Google, and search "<insert number here> degrees in radians" to convert it. It should be a small number, between .5 and 1.5 in all likelihood. Round it off at the hundredth (the second number after the decimal).
Enter that value as fovTop in notepad.
Using a calculator, divide that number by the second number in your aspect ratio - in my case, 16:10 (so I divide it by 10). Then multiply it by the first number in your aspect ratio (in my case 16). Now enter that number for fovLeft, and round it the same way.
Boom! Load up ArmA 2 and witness how much more you can see. I also encourage you to bind a thumb button to the Freelook command, as it also helps with situational awareness. I'm a stickler for Hardcore servers, but many of my friends couldn't bear the lack of third person until I walked them through this. Now they feel totally aware of their surroundings, and we don't have to worry about campers using 3rd person to look around/over cover.
I hope I helped, and please let me know if I did anything wrong. I'm a Computer Science / Game Design student and even I am confused by ArmA's convoluted FoV system.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fix for “artifacting†(credit to quint on the DayZ forum):
A lot of people are experiencing artifacting, here’s an example on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNNrb3TZmgY (not my video) after the latest patch. I haven’t tried the fix myself, as I only experienced artifacting once, but an apparent fix is to:
Go to My Documents/ArmA 2/ and open up <USERNAME>.ArmA2OAProfile.cfg in notepad.
Change sceneComplexity to =100000;Save an
Save and exit.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you run into quirky issues, try “Flushing†your graphics in game (clears video memory):
Press Shift and - (on the numpad) simultaneously, and then type the word “flushâ€. Your screen will go black for a few seconds.
Another apparent fix for glitches is to change your Video Memory settings and then change it back. For example, change the setting to Normal, and then back to Default.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Add the CPU Count parameter.
I’ve heard mixed things about this one. Some people say it doesn’t work, other’s report that it does, I haven’t noticed a big difference myself.
If you launch from SixLauncher:
Open SixLauncher
Click “Options†(Bottom Left under the Twitter Icon)
add -cpucount=# (where # is the amount of physical cores your CPU has) to the “Additonal startup parameters†line.
If you launch from DayZ Commader:
Open DayZ Command
Click settings (Upper Right)
add -cpucount=# (where # is the amount of physical cores your CPU has) to the “Additonal Launch Parameters†line.
If you launch from Steam:
Open Steam.
Right click on Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead in your game library and select properties.
Click “SET LAUNCH OPTIONSâ€
add -cpucount=# (where # is the amount of physical cores your CPU has)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For those of you with multiple GPUs, try adding the WinXP parameter. I don’t have multiple GPUs, so I haven’t tested this one, but apparently it turns on Multiple GPU support.
If you launch from SixLauncher:
Open SixLauncher
Click “Options†(Bottom Left under the Twitter Icon)
add -winxp to the “Additonal startup parameters†line.
If you launch from DayZ Commader:
Open DayZ Command
Click settings (Upper Right)
add -winxp to the “Additonal Launch Parameters†line.
If you launch from Steam:
Open Steam.
Right click on Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead in your game library and select properties.
Click “SET LAUNCH OPTIONSâ€
add -winxp