[Official] ArmA 2 (PC) , Q2+ 2009

By Dwarden
in PC Gaming

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Grand Master

Brodel

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I played it for a bit but my computer isn't quite up to running it graphics wise. The running was WAY too jumpy for me, I mean I know it's not smooth when you run in real life, but games that try to recreate the motion of running too much really irritate me and such a small thing pretty much puts me off the whole game. I felt like I was about to fall over. Hopefully it's not so big a deal on a computer that can crank the graphics up and be played smoother on.

edit: just spoke to a friend who has the game and he says you can turn head bobbing down, so I'm about to fire it up again.

Grand Master

Yusuf M. Veteran

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Holy moly. I'm surprised at how well the game runs (on High settings). I'm even more surprised at the graphics. It definitely looks better in motion. I can't wait to tell my friend about the demo. Sethos, I think I'm going to buy the game. :yes:

Grand Master

Sethos

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Honestly, the latest patch ( 1.02 ) kinda removed the only real tweaks available and they mostly had to do with a fillrate option. Right now there's not much can do, try and look over this guide -- http://www.armaholic.com/forums.php?m=post...;q=6713&d=0 try and mess around with a few settings and see what works for you. Also, there's a No Blur / No Bloom addon mentioned, weird thing is, 1.02 was supposed to have added options for those two but they never showed, so we might see a "final" 1.02 with those options in a near future.

So my only real suggestions is to SLI users and people with layer-cake cards ( 4870X2 etc. ) is to add -winxp to the end of the shortcut AND rename the game exe, to crysis.exe which should 'trick' the drivers into thinking it's a different game and kick in proper SLI support. Not sure what the demo does but you can also add -nosplash to the end of the shortcut, should bypass all those "intro" screens and get to the main menu faster.

I am happy to hear some positive feedback on the game, certainly hoping for future Neowin matches - I'd love to hear some more detailed impressions (Y)

Grand Master

Yusuf M. Veteran

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Here are my specs:

  • Intel Core2Duo E6750 @ 3.2 GHz
  • ASUS P5K Motherboard
  • ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB
  • 8GB DDR2-800 RAM
  • Windows Vista Ultimate x64 w/ SP2

I'm currently running the demo at the default (High) quality preference. In the advanced settings, most are set to Normal with a couple set to High. The graphics are really good and the performance is great. Also, I set the interface and 3D resolution to 1680x1050. I guess they made it separate for performance reasons.

I just wish Steam would allow the activation of retail ArmA II CD-keys. That way, I could just purchase it from here for ?14.99/$19.49 rather than paying $49.99US.

As for the demo, I am truly impressed. The graphics just blew me away. I guess I'm way too used to games likCall of Duty 4i>, but damn. The only thing I don't like is the not-so-normal key bindings. Perhaps it's just me but I need to get used to it. I haven't playeArmAi> oOperation Flashpointi> so I'm new to a game like this. Speaking of the latter, I don't think I'm interested iOperation Flashpoint 2i> anymore.

Anyway, here's a link to download the demo from FileFront. It should be fast for people living in North America. Best of all, there's no queue to wait in.

Grand Master

Sethos

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Just a few keys I'd like to add, Shift makes you move slower, double tapping it toggles it. You can go into a "stand down" mode by double tapping CTRL and by holding ALT you can move around with your mouse in both Third Person and First Person, in Ironsight mode you can move around your weapon with ALT, without moving your body. The ALT trick is really useful, as you can reload while looking around, you can focus on one spot in Multiplayer while still looking to the sides - It is a great trick to learn! Going into slow mode, "stand-down" mode and crouching makes you waddle like a duck :p

As for the performance, it's great to hear! Glad you enjoy it despite not being able to hit Very High, seems like most people start to moan because their 3 year old computers can't perform like a next-gen machine ( See official forums ... ). As for the key-bindings, yes they aren't what you'd call standard but the game has so many features and possibilities it just wouldn't really work with a default "FPS" control scheme, so when you get used to them, you can't play it any other way.

Nice rig by the way (Y)

Grand Master

Yusuf M. Veteran

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Great info, Sethos. And thanks. I ran the benchmark and I averaged 32 FPS. To be honest, I thought I'd get more but I'm still happy. One thing I forgot to bring up was the fact that you could minimize and maximize ArmA II with relative ease. It doesn't hang or corrupt the graphics. I can't remember the last time I played a game that minimized/maximized so easily.

Anyway, here are some screenshots I took on short notice. I'll add more when I get back.

4kfdr8.png

oucaxd.png

2h58qj4.png

rrjuht.png

Grand Master

Sethos

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Considering you're running the game at medium / high, it looks great, very close to Very High. Of course when you study it closer, you see the subtle differences like lower resolution textures on everything, the overall sharpness and some missing grass here and there but when in motion, you really don't notice these things that much, especially not in combat. So I am quite impressed, I really expected the game to look a lot more dull at lower settings. I have to ask you regarding the head bobbing when moving in first person, what's your take on it? Seems people have some very mixed opinions about it - Personally I love it to death, add so much to the war experience yet other people really hate it, makes them seasick :p What's your take on it?

Grand Master

Yusuf M. Veteran

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Considering you're running the game at medium / high, it looks great, very close to Very High. Of course when you study it closer, you see the subtle differences like lower resolution textures on everything, the overall sharpness and some missing grass here and there but when in motion, you really don't notice these things that much, especially not in combat. So I am quite impressed, I really expected the game to look a lot more dull at lower settings. I have to ask you regarding the head bobbing when moving in first person, what's your take on it? Seems people have some very mixed opinions about it - Personally I love it to death, add so much to the war experience yet other people really hate it, makes them seasick :p What's your take on it?

The first thing I noticed was how good it looked in motion. As for the head bobbing, I like it. I think more games should incorporate it. It really adds to the realism. :yes:

my god the voice acting is crap, i could do better with my eyes closed

It's not that bad. :p

Grand Master

Yusuf M. Veteran

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Found this;

"Disable post processing to disable blur."

Blur does eat up quite a few FPS, so try disabling it and see what happens? ( It looks awesome though :p )

But I don't want to disable post processing! Honestly though, the blur really adds to the game.

Mentor

StealMySoda

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Just played some of the demo. Managed Ultra High (actually setting in advanced) for everything (mind you I only played the training mission so far). Looks great. Some of the shadows are a bit weird. And the voice/lip syncing is terrible as well as the voice acting that was mentioned earlier.

Grand Master

Yusuf M. Veteran

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Just played some of the demo. Managed Ultra High (actually setting in advanced) for everything (mind you I only played the training mission so far). Looks great. Some of the shadows are a bit weird. And the voice/lip syncing is terrible as well as the voice acting that was mentioned earlier.

Interesting. What are your specs? I've only tried the High quality preference so far. Most advanced settings are at Normal with a couple set to High. I averaged 32 FPS in the benchmark with the specs I posted here. To me, the shadows look really good. It's much better than the shadows you see in most PC games (especially console ports). The voice acting may be bad, but not that bad.

Grand Master

Sethos

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I don't see anything wrong with the shadows whatsoever? They look very good. Beside all the voice acting complaints and performance feedback, what's the opinion on what matters, the gameplay of the game? Also, how elaborate is the demo mission editor, how much is possible?

Grand Master

Yusuf M. Veteran

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Wow! I had just had an amazing MP session with two guys. We'd move up, take positions, snipe as many people as possible, and repeat. We even bought SMAWs to take out vehicles and whatnot. I've yet to try a helicopter, jet, or tank. I'm not even sure if it's in the demo. Anyway, I've noticed that the game is a little more hardware intensive in MP. I guess it's because so much more is going on in the level. I'll have to experiment with the advanced settings to find the sweet spot for performance and image quality.

Proficient

Dwarden

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it's out on STEAM (NA region) btw :)

store page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/33900

game manual: http://store.steampowered.com/manual/33900/

official group: http://steamcommunity.com/games/arma2

avatars: http://steamcommunity.com/games/arma2/Avatar/List

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