Patches

[Art Blade]

latest patches can be found here:

http://www.arma2.com/support/updates

currently patch 1.02 online (120MB)

- Run the patch setup executable, the patch is then applied automatically.
- It will install the entire contents of the patch to a folder within your ArmA 2 installation (default is C:\Program Files\Bohemia Interactive\ArmA 2 or Bohemia Interactive\ArmA2).
- Please note that it is NOT possible to rollback to a previous version after the installation of this patch, only a full reinstall of the game is possible.
- It is not recommended to use any savegames created in versions 1.00 or 1.01.

- Improved AI driving skills
- Lowered enemy AI skills for regular and recruit difficulty levels
- Improved Micro AI tactics, attack in pairs, path limiting to avoid passing through walls
- Fixed multiplayer session NAT negotiation
- Improved game stability (various crash opportunities fixed)
- Multiple save slots supported
- Improved terrain shape beyond map borders
- Various campaign and localization fixes and improvements
- Modules (F7) support added in the Mission Editor
- Added option to disable various post-process effects (bloom, blur etc.)

[Art Blade]

ARMA 2 Update 1.02.58134 is out

"WARNING: DO NOT USE FOR STEAM DOWNLOAD VERSION!"

The official update for ARMA 2 game version 1.00-1.02

2009.06.26 / 120 MB

* Improved AI driving skills
* Lowered enemy AI skills for regular and recruit difficulty levels
* Improved Micro AI tactics, attack in pairs, path limiting to avoid passing through walls.
* Fixed multiplayer session NAT negotiation
* Improved game stability (various crash opportunities fixed)
* Multiple save slots supported
* Improved terrain shape beyond map borders
* Various campaign and localisation fixes and improvements
* Modules (F7) support added in the Mission Editor
* Antialiasing enabled in Video options
* Different logic of fillrate optimizer: separate settings for 3D Resolution and UI Resolution implemented instead

[Art Blade]

For your information, that patch can be used on top of a 1.02 (previous) patch. The file is almost the same size yet the installation itself is way shorter than a complete patch-up because it is based on 1.02. Therefore the message you get is (paraphrased) "your game is already patched to 1.02."

The significant difference is that you no longer have "fill rate" but "AntiAliasing" and hopefully some more improved features that came already along with 1.02

[PZ]

This is not exactly patch-related, but does give information on how to optimize your system for running ARMA2.  Although not the author of these fixes, this guy has compiled many of the techniques know to w@&k - might be a good place to go if you're having performance issues and want to improve your experience.  Performance optimization link

[PZ]

Interestingly, I tried to install the latest patch from the official ARMA2 site (v1.02) and when I did, the installer informed me that the latest patch was already installed.  OK, I thought, let's play the game.  Imagine my surprise when I started the game and all the menus were in German!  Good thing that I could read a bit of German, else I'd be up the proverbial creek.

The interesting part of the problem was that the installer apparently installed enough to over-write the English language settings, which i was not able to recover from without a reinstall of the game.  >:(

[JRD]

This is not exactly patch-related, but does give information on how to optimize your system for running ARMA2.  Although not the author of these fixes, this guy has compiled many of the techniques know to w@&k - might be a good place to go if you're having performance issues and want to improve your experience.  Performance optimization link

Thanks a lot mate... I followed those instructions and optimized my gaming performance a lot... didn't run a benchmark test to know how many more frames I got, but i can tell the difference... I even tweaked some specs up. Now I play with high and very high settings  :)

I was about to try dke's FPS mod, but gave up as it also removes wildlife from the game... and I like to have rabbits running through deadbodies in the battlefield (they are soooo cute) ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

But seriously... I see a great improvement. Will try dke's mod and see if it gets even better. I can always remove the mod if I place it on a different folder and call it in a different desktop icon, right?

[PZ]

I can always remove the mod if I place it on a different folder and call it in a different desktop icon, right?

Correct - use the procedure to put mods in separate folders and you can call them by shortcut.  You might also consider using the ARA2 launcher that gvse (I think) posted the link to - that launcher allows you to add the mods from a gui as you start the game - should be cool, but doesn't w@&k on my Vista64 system yet.

[PZ]

I just had a bad experience trying to apply patch v1.03 - came up with at least 10-20 error messages indicating that .pbo files in the AddOns folder contained errors - setup would not update the files.  I just clicked past the errors and received the patch installed message - cool.  Not so cool is that the game had so many errors, it did not even get to the splash screen.  :'(

Fortunately I had backed up my ARMA2 folder onto another drive and only had to copy the old v1.02 files back again.  So a word of advice, simply copy your ARMA2 program folder (about 8gb) somewhere else so if you need to get back, at least you are back to your original working game.  Evidently the installer does not tap into new windows dlls, etc, so a simple copy works great.

[Art Blade]

thanks for the warning and for that tip...  :-X

I hope it only hit you.

No, not like that... lol  ;D I mean, I hope it's no mass effect now, and I think it might have to do either with your 64bit OS or with all those mods.

[PZ]

The funny thing is that the files that it decided are faulty are the standard "stock" .pbo files - none of the mod files were looked at.  However, I ran the setup utility as a limited user in admin mode.  I'm going to switch to full admin account and try again.

EDIT: I just did an uninstall of ARMA2, reinstalled a fresh copy from the DVD (v1.01) and the upgrade to v1.03 went just fine.  My problem might be related to an attempt to upgrade to v1.02 some time ago - here is what happened:

• Downloaded v1.02 from the official site
• Tried to do an install and part way through, the installer informed me that I was already upgraded to v1.02 (but that was probably not the case).  This might be related to why gvse's custom missions gave me startup errors.
  
• Then recently tried to do the v1.03 upgrade and it failed, partly because the bsign files were not correct.

On a final note, the game plays extremely well, I've yet to try my mods though.  You can see a different startup screen, and the version appears in the lower right of the screen.  I'm probably mistaken, but things seem to appear better than before in gvse's Hide&Seek mission - sharper and clearer.[/]

EDIT2: All my mods appear to be working just fine, including the Sahrani, Porto, and other maps converted from ARMA1.  The couple of ARMA1 missions for Sahrani also are working.  gvse is correct - I too can't say enough about this map port - they play as smooth as silk even on the highest settings.  I actually like the appearance better than the ARMA2 maps - less clutter-like appearance.

[PZ]

Patch v1.03.58879 Beta has been released

The change log file that is included with the beta patch is longer than what is displayed below this is because some of the changes listed were in previously released patches and thus not part of this beta patch.

Changes in this patch:

      - [58872] Mouse filtering strenght adjustable using mouseSmoothing=NNNN in user config.
      - [58836] Mouse smoothing disabled for fast movement.

Information and Download

[PZ]

Patch 1.04 released

This one includes improved mouse handling and responsiveness.

Download link

[RedRaven]

Not played it for a while, but whilst investigating the latest mods & campaigns on offer discovered that Patch 1.05 is now out. Link below will take you to Armaholic page with list of download locations.

http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=8820

Enjoy.

[Art Blade]

Thanks, matey  :) :-X