Warnings
- GameSpy online services have been shut down (see Network for solutions).
Key points
- Online multiplayer for Arma 2 and Arma 2: Free has stopped working on May 31, 2014 due to GameSpy services being shut down.[1] Use Master Server Browser.
General information
- Official forum
- GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
- GOG.com Support Page
- Steam Community Discussions
- Steam Users' Forums
Availability
- Combined Operations includes both Arma 2 and Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead; some mods (e.g. DayZ) require both games.
- Product keys for Arma 2, Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead and digital versions of Arma 2: Combined Operations optionally activate on Steam.[4]
DLC and expansion packs
Name |
Notes |
|
British Armed Forces |
Requires Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead |
|
Private Military Company |
Requires Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead |
|
Army of the Czech Republic |
Requires both Arma 2 and Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead. |
|
Essential improvements
Patches
Digital distribution versions are already patched; for other versions use the patches below.
Skip intro videos
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
Save game data location
Video settings
Template:Video settings
Some suggested FOV values in radians[5] for typical setups are:
Aspect Ratio |
fovTop |
fovLeft
|
4:3 |
1.29 |
1.72
|
16:9 |
1.03 |
1.83
|
16:10 |
1.13 |
1.80
|
21:9 |
0.8 |
1.68
|
- Range finding by using certain scopes like the PSO scope might not be accurate anymore when playing on a non-default FOV.
Input settings
Template:Input settings
Audio settings
Template:Audio settings
Network
- Multiplayer servers can optionally use BattlEye anti-cheat protection.
- The Steam version of Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead is being transitioned from GameSpy to Steamworks (currently available as a beta).[1]
Multiplayer types
Connection types
Ports
Protocol |
Port(s) and/or port range(s) |
UDP |
2302-2305 |
- Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.
Other information
Launch parameters
Start-up parameters for the ArmA series are quite complicated due to the engine. An extensive accounting of the available parameters can be found here.
Graphical tweaks
- Set the 3D resolution and the interface resolution to exactly the same value. The value isn't as important, because no matter what, if the numbers don't equal, there will be performance loss. Ideally, both values would be set at 100.
- Set Video Memory to "Default". By default (confusing, but keep reading), Arma II will cap the VRAM at an unspecified value. This value is actually lower than the "Default" option in the settings, but will still be named "Default".
- Texture Quality is dependent on the amount of RAM in your system, but due to the tweak above, it is safe to set the option to higher values.
- For a higher frame rate and reduced input latency, turn off the fancy options, like smoothing and head bobbing. To turn off motion blur, either download this mod or set post processing settings to "Very Low". This does speed up camera movement, so experiment to your liking. you can also use your NVIDIA Control Panel as shown here to increase you frame rate.
- For faster rendering, turn on PPAA instead of the normal AA (Anti-Aliasing).
- To trick the engine into using all the power that your system has, add these commands to your startup parameters:
-maxmem=[yourmemory]
-maxvram=[yourvidcardmemory]
-cpuCount=[availableCPUcores]
-exThreads=[number] (The number varies. 1 if you have a two cores, 7 if you have a four or more.
Feel free to experiment with this setting to see if anything grants you higher performance.)
System requirements
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
XP, Vista |
XP, Vista |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz, Intel Core 2.0 GHz, AMD Athlon 3200+
| Intel Core 2.8 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ |
System memory (RAM) |
1 GB |
2 GB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
10 GB | |
Video card (GPU) |
NVIDIA GeForce 7800 ATI Radeon 1800 256 MB of VRAM
| NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT ATI Radeon 4850 512 MB of VRAM |
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
References