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Bohemia Interactive have announced in their latest "SITREP" that the Linux version of Arma 3 will be updated to the latest version of 1.76, work is set to start on it "soon".

Here's what they said:

There was a major update to Arma 3's experimental Mac/Linux ports last week. This brings it to the 1.70 game version, which means it now supports the 64-bit game executables and adds the Jets DLC content along with its platform improvements and additions. The Mac version now also supports Metal. In cooperation with our external partners at Virtual Programming, we plan to start working on updating these experimental ports to the current main branch release (1.76) soon™.

I was really impressed with the latest Arma 3 update for the experimental Linux version. It fixed all the issues I had with it, so it's properly playable for me now.

It's really pleasing to know that the Linux version is going to continue to get updates, it sounds like it might be a quicker turnaround than last time too. One can hope anyway!

What's the deal with it being "experimental" anyway?

Well, it has certain limitations like the limited update cycle. Updates come in slower, as it seems
Bohemia Interactive finish it and release for Windows, then get Virtual Programming to port after the fact.

It's also missing a launcher, there's no RotorLib for the Advanced Flight Model and a few other points. Hopefully these points will get sorted in future. See the status here.

Thanks for the tip Cracker!

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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24 comments
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Nyarlathotep Sep 20, 2017
Very nice, can't wait for it.
scaine Sep 20, 2017
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Would love to buy/play this, but I'll only show support with my wallet when I see support for the game. It sounds like I might be buying it one day though! I can hope.
Liam Dawe Sep 20, 2017
Quoting: scaineWould love to buy/play this, but I'll only show support with my wallet when I see support for the game. It sounds like I might be buying it one day though! I can hope.
Well, it's not that it's not supported. They are still working on it, including updating it to a later version (and there's no indication that it will stop).

I get what you mean though, last thing you want is to spend out on something that might eventually not hit parity with the Windows version.
charliebrownau Sep 20, 2017
I love Arma , its great in coop but its always ran like a pig

It always seemed not to take advantage of my CPU
(Intel E3-1230v3 3.3hz that is about the same performance as i7 4770)

Maybe they would setup VULKAN and proper multi core/thread support....

At least they didnt ruin the game with porting it to consoles
nadrolinux Sep 20, 2017
Great! Maybe we will see Vulkan support in some next release too, however it's much more important to me to have the same version as on Windows, because it will allow us to play with Windows gamers.
Furor Sep 20, 2017
Quoting: liamdawe
Quoting: scaineWould love to buy/play this, but I'll only show support with my wallet when I see support for the game. It sounds like I might be buying it one day though! I can hope.
Well, it's not that it's not supported. They are still working on it, including updating it to a later version (and there's no indication that it will stop).

I get what you mean though, last thing you want is to spend out on something that might eventually not hit parity with the Windows version.

Parity is the key, without that I couldn't play with my friends, meanwhile I am finishing the main campaign but I bought it with hopes of cross-platform multiplayer where it is 99% of the fun in Arma.
gojul Sep 20, 2017
Runs great for me and well enough as I am not interested in multiplayer.

A bit of lag from time to time but very few.
edo Sep 20, 2017
If the mac version is using metal then they can now switch to any opengl version as the please for the linux version.
sabbir2world Sep 20, 2017
That's exciting, Thanks!
freerunnerlive Sep 20, 2017
I play 1.64 a half year! 1.70 is good and i will play it a long time. mod support is much better like german bwmod.
Joeyboots80 Sep 20, 2017
I'll definitely jump back in and try this out when it's updated.
peta77 Sep 20, 2017
with the 1.70 update it's now running good... but I'd like to see them have the basics finished before getting to the next update, especially full joystick support & rotorlib.. that's what makes it a bit ridiculous that the jets DLC is now working with the ports as having to fly with mouse and keyboard is a joke for that kind/depth of simulation...
so, according to the anouncement, for now it seems it will stay playable infantry-only on linux... sad and kind of dissappointing considering the time span they are already working on the ports.....
Kuduzkehpan Sep 20, 2017
Good news for me and my cousin also ppls now can forget windows. next good thing should be VULKAN for Linux / Windows.
next thing should be a launcher for linux arma 3.
why dont valve or some other experienced person do this?
TheRiddick Sep 21, 2017
The only HUGE issue I found was the texture size problem, which is partly opengl 32 bit issue, and in early days MESA only partially worked (moving too close to landmass would crash game). But both those issues are fixed now I believe.

ATM I'm waiting for video card prices to stabilize, either I get a Vega NANO if the price is right or a 1080Ti MINI. But atm its looking like a XMAS sort of thing due to price hikes on allot of memory prices and stock shortages. BAD time to upgrade, so my Fury X will need to keep chugging on....
evergreen Sep 21, 2017
I'm so glad to see it. But I'll waiting to play it again when linux port will be at actual version.
Brisse Sep 21, 2017
Quoting: TheRiddickThe only HUGE issue I found was the texture size problem, which is partly opengl 32 bit issue, and in early days MESA only partially worked (moving too close to landmass would crash game). But both those issues are fixed now I believe.

ATM I'm waiting for video card prices to stabilize, either I get a Vega NANO if the price is right or a 1080Ti MINI. But atm its looking like a XMAS sort of thing due to price hikes on allot of memory prices and stock shortages. BAD time to upgrade, so my Fury X will need to keep chugging on....

Just don't expect too see any improvement in Arma 3 from a video card upgrade. If you have a Fury X, then you are guaranteed CPU starved 9 out of 10 times in this game already. Arma 3 is quite different from other games when it comes to how it uses hardware. The most important thing to get this game running smooth is massive single threaded IPC * frequency. It doesn't care how many cores you have, and it barely cares about what video card you have either.
MasterSleort Sep 21, 2017
Quoting: BrisseJust don't expect too see any improvement in Arma 3 from a video card upgrade. If you have a Fury X, then you are guaranteed CPU starved 9 out of 10 times in this game already. Arma 3 is quite different from other games when it comes to how it uses hardware. The most important thing to get this game running smooth is massive single threaded IPC * frequency. It doesn't care how many cores you have, and it barely cares about what video card you have either.

Well I am able to play the game at 40 - 50 fps at 4K, with everything almost maxed out (high is the lowest setting in use) and the default draw distance.

I have a Fury X (open source drivers) and a Ryzen 1800X. I know it's not a bargain build, but I am very surprised at how well this game runs considering it is a port and that it is still "experimental".

ArmA 3 is actually one of the few games I can enjoy at 4K, without having to put other graphics settings at their lowest.
knet Sep 21, 2017
cool, great news. just when i gave up on the whole arma on linux thing ;)
14 Sep 22, 2017
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I'm really happy to see these big updates coming! I feel like I bought Arma 3 at a great time.
Dragunov Sep 27, 2017
Remember guys, being experimental means that they can drop the Linux client all together at any time. There is no guarantee that it will ever be finished/released. I'm not a gambling man, but once they officially release the Linux Client I'll be the first to buy it.
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