Arc Optimizer — One-Click Competitive Optimization Tool for ARC Raiders

Arc Raiders is an extraction shooter where every frame and every millisecond of input latency determines life or death. The Arc Optimizer is a native Windows GUI application that automatically applies 22 proven competitive settings with one click — no config file editing, no browser-based tools, no dependencies.

Features

One-Click Optimization

A single button applies 22 settings to GameUserSettings.ini — DLSS Balanced + Transformer model, NVIDIA Reflex Boost, uncapped FPS, exclusive fullscreen, Low foliage/shadows/effects, Epic textures, and View Distance High. Every change uses regex-based replacement that works with ANY current configuration value (not just exact matches).

Engine.ini Visual Tweaks

Creates a complete Engine.ini with 9 UE5 visual features disabled — Motion Blur, Depth of Field, Bloom, Lens Flare, Volumetric Fog, Ambient Occlusion, Screen Space Reflections, Eye Adaptation, and Post-Process AA — plus sharpen +0.5 and 4GB texture pool. All changes include automatic timestamped backups with one-click restore.

Live System Dashboard

Real-time detection of GPU model, driver version, VRAM, NVIDIA Reflex status, game installation path, config file location, power plan, and audio device count — with color-coded status indicators.

Settings Comparison Table

All 22 settings displayed with current value vs. optimized target, color-coded green (matched), orange (needs update), or gray (not found), with per-setting impact ratings.

Backup Manager

Every optimization creates a timestamped .bak file in ArcOptimizer_Backups. The Backups tab lists all backups with formatted dates and a one-click Restore button to revert.

Tuning Guides

Built-in reference cards for:

• NVIDIA: Low Latency Ultra, Power Max Performance, Shader Cache 10GB, Texture Filtering High Performance, Threaded Optimization, DLSS 4.5 Override
• Audio: Windows Sonic spatial audio, 24-bit 48kHz studio quality, EarTrumpet volume management, Night Mode in-game
• Windows: HAGS, Game Mode, fullscreen optimizations, Ryzen High Performance power plan

Accessibility & UX

• System theme detection — automatically respects Windows dark/light mode
• Keyboard navigation — Tab between controls, Ctrl+O optimize, Ctrl+R restore, Ctrl+T test, Esc to close
• Screen reader support — AccessibleName and AccessibleRole on all interactive controls
• DoEvents — UI stays responsive during nvidia-smi/WMI scans

How It Works

Arc Optimizer is a PowerShell WinForms application compiled to a standalone EXE via PS2EXE. It runs entirely locally — no network calls, no telemetry, no data collection. It modifies two files:

1. GameUserSettings.ini — 22 competitive settings applied via regex
2. Engine.ini — UE5 visual clutter disabled

Both files are set to read-only after optimization to prevent the game from reverting them. Restore removes read-only flags and deletes Engine.ini.

Privacy

Arc Optimizer collects no data. No network connections, no telemetry, no analytics. Full privacy policy at PRIVACY.md. First-run privacy consent dialog with opt-out = app exit.

Architecture

Arc-Optimizer.exe (standalone, ~86 KB)
├── WinForms GUI (TabControl with 7 tabs)
│   ├── Dashboard — hero optimize + 8 status cards + log
│   ├── Settings — 22-row comparison DataGridView
│   ├── Visual — Engine.ini tweaks reference grid
│   ├── NVIDIA — 6 recommendation cards
│   ├── Audio — 5 recommendation cards
│   ├── Windows — 4 recommendation cards
│   └── Backups — backup list + restore button
├── Optimization Engine
│   ├── Read-Settings — parses GameUserSettings.ini
│   ├── Apply-Opt — regex replacement + Engine.ini creation
│   ├── Restore-Opt — removes Engine.ini + read-only flags
│   └── New-Backup — timestamped .bak with platform prefix
└── System Detection
    ├── Get-GPU — nvidia-smi query
    ├── Get-RTX — Reflex mode from config
    ├── Get-Power — active power scheme
    ├── Get-AudioCount — Win32_SoundDevice count
    └── Find-GameExe — dynamic Steam library discovery

Changelog

v1.2.0 (May 2026)

• Regex-based optimization (works with ANY current values)
• Dynamic game detection (finds ARC Raiders on any drive)
• Backup restore button on Backups tab
• UTF-8 without BOM (safe for UE5 parser)
• .NET File API replaces attrib (catchable errors)
• Error coloring (red for errors, green for success)
• System dark/light theme auto-detection
• Keyboard navigation (Tab, Ctrl+O/R/T, Esc)
• Screen reader accessibility
• DoEvents UI responsiveness
• Standalone PS2EXE-compiled EXE with custom icon
• Fixed: Engine.ini access denied, Paint crash, SolidBrush crash, DrawItem crash, orphaned backups

v1.1.0 (May 2026)

• Privacy consent dialog + PRIVACY.md
• Try/catch on all operations
• -Uninstall command-line flag
• SECURITY.md

v1.0.0 (May 2026)

• Initial WinForms GUI release
• 22-setting one-click optimization
• Automatic timestamped backups
• Live system dashboard
• Settings comparison table
• Engine.ini visual tweaks
• Tuning guides (NVIDIA, Audio, Windows)