arma2.cfg

Introduction

The arma.cfg or arma2.cfg or arma2oa.cfg or takeonh.cfg are configuration files containing detailed information about YOUR game setup.
Information such as language, LOD detail, resolution are stored in these files.
The config files are written after the game was run for first time and the system settings are detected. Changes made via the in-game UI options are saved when the game is closed.
The files itself are just as editable in a text file. The content format is

variable = value;

⚠

Unless you know what you are doing, use the in-game UI options to configure the game instead of editing this file.

Location

• Armed Assault:The arma.cfg file is located in %userprofile%\Documents\ARMA\arma.cfg
• Arma 2: The arma2.cfg file is located in %userprofile%\Documents\ARMA 2\arma2.cfg
• Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead: The arma2oa.cfg file is located in %userprofile%\Documents\Arma 2 Expansion\arma2oa.cfg
• Take On Helicopters: The takeonh.cfg file is located in %userprofile%\Documents\Take On Helicopters\takeonh.cfg

Custom Name and Location

You can change the naming with the Category: Startup Parameters -cfg=<string>.

-cfg=myGameSettings.cfg

The file will be then located in your game directory instead.

C:\arma2\myGameSettings.cfg

Example

Generic config

language="English";	language selector
adapter=-1;	determines the video adapter (and display connected to it) to use. Useful for systems with multiple displays. -1 is default adapter, 0 is first, 1 is 2nd etc.
3D_Performance=93750;	written by engine each start, changing it manually has no effect!
Resolution_Bpp=32;	bit per pixel depth of output
Resolution_W=1920;	interface resolution width in fullscreen
Resolution_H=1200;	interface resolution height in fullscreen
refresh=60;	monitor refresh rate in fullscreen
Render_W=2400;	3D rendered resolution width in fullscreen
Render_H=1500;	3D rendered resolution width in fullscreen
FSAA=0;	full screen antialiasing level
postFX=0;	post processing level
GPU_MaxFramesAhead=1000;	setting not available in UI, supported values 1 to 1000 (0==driver), May lower 'Mouse lag' by GPU render-ahead buffer
GPU_DetectedFramesAhead=3;	written by engine each start, changing it manually has no effect!
HDRPrecision=8;	setting not available in UI (ARMA2, OA has it since 1.57), supported values are 8(default), 16 and 32. Defines bit depth precision for HDR.
lastDeviceId="";	written by engine each start, changing it manually has no effect!, might be blank
localVRAM=1063723008;	written by engine each start, changing it manually has no effect!
nonlocalVRAM=1878616064;	written by engine each start, changing it manually has no effect!
winX=470;	position of window in X axis
winY=64;	position of window in Y axis
winW=1440;	interface resolution width in window
winH=900;	interface resolution height in window
winDefW=1440;	3D rendered resolution width in window
winDefH=900;	3D rendered resolution height in window
Windowed=0;	written by engine each exit, depend on state in last run (1=windowed or 0=fullscreen)
Vsync=1;	Option to disable V-sync(Vertical synchronization, 1=enabled(default) or 0=disabled)
AToC=7;	setting not available in UI, Level of Alpha To Coverage Anti-Aliasing (7=all enabled(default) or 0=disabled (normal AA prior AToC)) 0 - disabled 1 - AToC on grass 2 - AToC on new OA trees (takistan, zargabad, proving ground, shapur) 4 - AToC on old A2 trees (utes, chernarus) // combined 3 - AToC on grass & OA trees 5 - AToC on A2 trees + grass 6 - AToC on A2 + OA trees 7 - AToC enabled on grass, A2 & OA trees (default) More detailed description by a community member. NOTE: AToC is inactive if Anti-Aliasing is disabled in advanced video options!
class sockets{ maxPacketSize = 1400; };	setting not available in UI Changing this value changes size of packet from default 1400 bytes to value chosen. This can be set for both client-to-server AND server-to-client(s) independently! see server(basic.cfg#Networking_Tuning_Options). ⚠ Only use in the case your router or ISP enforces lower packet size and you have connectivity issues with game.

Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead

PPAA=0;	setting not (yet) available in UI. Default is Disabled. Enables Anti-Aliasing technique via post processing: 0 - Disabled 1 - FXAA 2 - FXAA + sharp filter (hard-coded strength of sharpen is now 0.15) 3 - SMAA ⓘ PPAA can be enabled even if Post-Processing was disabled in advanced video options! This setting was introduced in 1.61 beta 89223.
PPAA_Level=0;	setting not (yet) available in UI. Default is Disabled. Values determine for each respective PPAA type used: 0 - SMAA_PRESET_LOW or FXAA_QUALITY_PRESET_12 1 - SMAA_PRESET_MEDIUM or FXAA_QUALITY_PRESET_22 2 - SMAA_PRESET_HIGH or FXAA_QUALITY_PRESET_26 3 - SMAA_PRESET_ULTRA or FXAA_QUALITY_PRESET_39 ⓘ This setting was introduced in 1.61 beta 89223
FXAA=0;	setting not (yet) available in UI. Default is Disabled. enables Anti-Aliasing technique via post processing 0 - Disabled 1 - FXAA_QUALITY_PRESET_10 2 - FXAA_QUALITY_PRESET_11 3 - FXAA_QUALITY_PRESET_12 4 - FXAA_QUALITY_PRESET_13 5 - FXAA_QUALITY_PRESET_14 6 - FXAA_QUALITY_PRESET_15 7 - FXAA_QUALITY_PRESET_20 8 - FXAA_QUALITY_PRESET_21 9 - FXAA_QUALITY_PRESET_22 10 - FXAA_QUALITY_PRESET_23 11 - FXAA_QUALITY_PRESET_24 12 - FXAA_QUALITY_PRESET_25 13 - FXAA_QUALITY_PRESET_26 14 - FXAA_QUALITY_PRESET_27 15 - FXAA_QUALITY_PRESET_28 16 - FXAA_QUALITY_PRESET_29 17 - FXAA_QUALITY_PRESET_39 Complexity of quality settings are based on default FXAA settings (revision 3.11) 10 to 15 - default medium dither (10=fastest, 15=highest quality) 20 to 29 - less dither, more expensive (20=fastest, 29=highest quality) 39 - no dither, very expensive NOTE: FXAA can be enabled even if Post-Processing was disabled in advanced video options! ⚠ This setting was removed in A2OA 1.61 beta as deprecated.
FXAASharp=0;	Default is disabled (0), quality levels range from 1 to 6, where 6 is the sharpest filter ⓘ FXAAsharpen is inactive while NightVision and Thermal Imaging are used. ⚠ This setting was removed in A2OA 1.61 beta as deprecated.

Take On Helicopters

SWLayersCount=64;
PiPEnabled=0;	Setting to enable/disable Picture in Picture

Languages

Simply alter

Language="English";

to whatever language you may wish to have.

Joysticks

You can setup sensitivity in the file by:

joystickSensitivity[] = {
	0.500000, 0.500000, 0.500000,	0.500000, 0.500000, 0.500000,	1.000000, 1.000000,
	0.500000, 0.500000, 0.500000,	0.500000, 0.500000, 0.500000,	1.000000, 1.000000
};

Number are sensitivity for each of the folowing inputs:

AXIS_X AXIS_Y AXIS_Z	ROT_X ROT_Y ROT_Z	SLIDER_1 SLIDER_2

First eight values are for positive part of axis, last eight for the negative one:

AXIS_X_POS AXIS_Y_POS AXIS_Z_POS ROT_X_POS ROT_Y_POS ROT_Z_POS SLIDER_1_POS SLIDER_2_POS
AXIS_X_NEG AXIS_Y_NEG AXIS_Z_NEG ROT_X_NEG ROT_Y_NEG ROT_Z_NEG SLIDER_1_NEG SLIDER_2_NEG

Value is transformed as:

value = pow(raw_value, 1 / sensitivity).

See Also

See username.arma2profile for information about personalized user settings.