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Bohemia Interactive have put out Virtual Programming's latest update of Arma 3 [Steam] for Linux, it includes 64bit support and finally fixes the texture issue I had.

Note: The Linux version of Arma 3 is still considered experimental. There is no SteamOS icon on Steam due to this, but it is fully playable.

The problem I had, was that I couldn’t select textures above Low and sometimes Normal. This is due to the way OpenGL works with 32bit applications, but no more! I still find it strange not many others saw the issue, but the 64bit built works perfectly allowing me to change all the graphical settings. For me, this is such a massive change that I can now actually play the game.

The Linux version previously sat at 1.64 since December 2016, so this update is a pretty big one for us. Both in terms of the time it took to come out and what’s changed. We’re now at Arma 1.70, but we are still lagging behind the Windows version, so you might have trouble finding people to play with online.

To be honest, the amount that has changed between 1.64 and 1.70 is insane in terms of the changelogs. The game has gone through literally hundreds of tweaks and trying to parse them into anything meaningful for an article was a bit of a nightmare. In the end, I gave up, because if you’re into Arma 3 you’ve likely kept yourself up to date anyway.

However, here’s a few cool things I found when browsing through the updates: It has a new audio engine for footsteps, Ambient Occlusion was overhauled, 64bit support, sounds for vehicles colliding with water, improved airplane audio, Sounds when getting in and out of helicopters, Rain sounds on car surfaces while inside of the vehicle and the list just goes on and on. Seriously, I don’t think I can overstate just how big of an update this is for us.

You can see what’s new in Arma 3 1.70 here, we also jumped past the 1.68 update so take a look there too. Also, since we’re now on Arma 3 - 1.70, this also means the Jets DLC will be compatible expanding the game even more for us (VP confirmed this).

Performance does seem better than when I originally tried it. There are some big dips when new areas are loading in, but they do seem to eventually smoothen out. Apparently that's an issue in the Windows version too. Some areas do have quite low performance unless I turn down quite a few settings, but it is much more playable than it was before.

Tip: If you have more than one monitor, you should be able to move it around using this as a launch option:

--eon_force_display=*monitor*Where *monitor* is a number.

Good work from Virtual Programming. Hopefully they can get some of the newer updates out a little more quickly, but that likely depends on Bohemia Interactive too, since ultimately they control what happens with it.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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1xok Sep 14, 2017
Is this Game somehow like PUBG? Hope VP will port PUBG some day.
peta77 Sep 14, 2017
finally, was waiting for that one as I had problems setting higher texture quality too.. and with a 4K display and only lowest texture available this looks really outdated...

Quoting: Kithop...did they finally fix HID support? Like, can I use a controller to fly a chopper without right trigger being double-mapped to yaw right and 'fire guns', with no way to remap it? :p

Better yet, can I use my G27 wheel+pedal combo to drive ground vehicles and my X52 Pro HOTAS for flight and mouse & keyboard for on-foot without them all messing each other up, like I can under Windows? ;)

I guess I'll have to test these at some point and report back. I can live with being a bit behind the Windows version in terms of raw features/patches, but that was an absolute deal breaker for me playing under Linux. What's the point of having a HOTAS + wheel if I can't use them, etc.

and that's the second most pressing issue, I'd like to fly helicopters again, loved that on windows, but that demands full support of a hotas system and rudder pedals... well, and rotor-lib... they should do additional changelogs for the experimental linux/mac ports, so one knows what is now actually supported and not having to do guesswork reading through the windows release notes...


Last edited by peta77 on 14 September 2017 at 5:13 pm UTC
shawnsterp Sep 14, 2017
Quoting: Emazza
Quoting: Guest
Quoting: EmazzaIs cross platform online multiplayer supported?
With matching versions yes
So are now the latest versions matching?

Is it, though?
Brisse Sep 14, 2017
Quoting: PixelPiIs this Game somehow like PUBG? Hope VP will port PUBG some day.

Naah, not exactly. PUBG kinda has it's roots from an Arma 3 mod called Battle Royale, and it does take some inspiration from the Arma series but it's a very different game in the end.
freerunnerlive Sep 14, 2017
Apex does't work anymore! tears in my eyes ! But i love you!
Zelox Sep 14, 2017
Yey hopefully I can play battleroyal/playerunknown mod now then :)


Last edited by Zelox on 14 September 2017 at 6:30 pm UTC
slaapliedje Sep 14, 2017
Quoting: Kithop...did they finally fix HID support? Like, can I use a controller to fly a chopper without right trigger being double-mapped to yaw right and 'fire guns', with no way to remap it? :p

Better yet, can I use my G27 wheel+pedal combo to drive ground vehicles and my X52 Pro HOTAS for flight and mouse & keyboard for on-foot without them all messing each other up, like I can under Windows? ;)

I guess I'll have to test these at some point and report back. I can live with being a bit behind the Windows version in terms of raw features/patches, but that was an absolute deal breaker for me playing under Linux. What's the point of having a HOTAS + wheel if I can't use them, etc.

I have the same combo of controllers! Though to get more specific, I have the Roccat Ryos MK FX and Roccat Tyon for keyboard / mouse too.
LinuxGamesTV Sep 14, 2017
Quoting: PixelPiIs this Game somehow like PUBG? Hope VP will port PUBG some day.

PUBG is a UE 4 Game so VP don't need to port it, the Dev's from PUBG can release easy a Linux Version but they don't want a Linux Version.


Last edited by LinuxGamesTV on 14 September 2017 at 6:48 pm UTC
tumocs Sep 14, 2017
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Quoting: freerunnerliveApex does't work anymore! tears in my eyes ! But i love you!
Strange, works for me just fine.
Crazy Penguin Sep 14, 2017
Quoting: Emazza
Quoting: Guest
Quoting: EmazzaIs cross platform online multiplayer supported?
With matching versions yes
So are now the latest versions matching?
No, it is still behind the Windows version, which is 1.76 if I get this right. Linux/Mac are 1.70.
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