ThermalImaging Post Process Effect Shader Is Busted on Consoles

Reposted from legacy feedback tracker - still an issue:

On Xbox Series X,
the thermal imager which applies a post process effect to a 3D scope, does not uniformly display image, rather the display is segmented into strips regardless of 1080p or 4K setting on console itself.

Been reported to myself that PlayStation consoles also have the same issue, so the implementation appears to be broken on all consoles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyiquO96W9w
See above YouTube video for reference of the issue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcVKAr4ICEs
See above YouTube video on desired outcome for Xbox users.

Potentially related, the MFD Framework mod displays layouts in game using SetRenderTarget. The Chinook version on experimental is deprecated and some pages are no longer configured. The same "strips" issue is present when switching to a page without a valid layout, showing "broken" shading.

I believe that I experienced a similar issue in vanilla game, with displaying the map in a render target - and the map layout being destroyed. I believe something similar is happening here, resulting in some type of critical shader errors.

Arkensor added a subscriber: Arkensor.Dec 1 2025, 9:53 AM
To clarify, is this using some thermal processing filter that was added to the game files or is this some custom implementation with render target? Because if it relies on the game one - that is unfinished and not officially added as a feature to AR, so we will naturally not support any issues that come from using it already.
Colton1070 added a comment.Dec 1 2025, 10:15 AM
In T195448#2889542, @Arkensor wrote:
To clarify, is this using some thermal processing filter that was added to the game files or is this some custom implementation with render target? Because if it relies on the game one - that is unfinished and not officially added as a feature to AR, so we will naturally not support any issues that come from using it already.
This is with the thermal imaging post process effect added with 1.6, so yes the game one. This affects both player camera, arbitrary cameras, and with/without render target. I understand it is unfinished, and devoting time to fixing an issue with an unfinished feature does not make much sense.
However, the strongest argument I can make to having this fixed is that:
It works fine on PC, this is a console only issue. That means there is a lack of parity, somewhere, causing this.
Modders like myself are chomping at the bit to implement this in projects, some modders already have. Again, now there is a parity issue that will grow with time as people adopt this feature. I don’t think anyone should entertain the idea that the game is “lesser” on consoles, but this type of thing will only exacerbate the perception.
Finally, I don’t think the issue is localized to only this post process effect. This exact same “kaleidoscope” effect can be observed on consoles when displaying a blank layout on a render target. It pulls data from random UI in memory it seems. On PC render targeting a blank layout (v_root widget) creates a white texture. If these two things are related, the core fix could solve both issues potentially.
Thank you for taking the time to comment, there are bigger fish to fry, but I and many others would like to see this fixed.
Arkensor added a comment.Dec 1 2025, 10:18 AM
We understand the desire to play with new toys, but there were reasons we did not add it as an official feature yet, because it is incomplete. Do not expect any fixes on it anytime soon.

Addendum:
As predicted previously, more and more mods are in fact using them.

https://reforger.armaplatform.com/workshop/661B5884EF0760FE-ThermalPostProcess
This mod has 376,794 downloads as of writing.

Please do not alienate console players. Fix this or remove it!

Been reported to myself that PlayStation consoles also have the same issue, so the implementation appears to be broken on all consoles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyiquO96W9w
See above YouTube video for reference of the issue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcVKAr4ICEs
See above YouTube video on desired outcome for Xbox users.

Arkensor added a subscriber: Arkensor.Dec 1 2025, 9:53 AM
To clarify, is this using some thermal processing filter that was added to the game files or is this some custom implementation with render target? Because if it relies on the game one - that is unfinished and not officially added as a feature to AR, so we will naturally not support any issues that come from using it already.
Colton1070 added a comment.Dec 1 2025, 10:15 AM
In T195448#2889542, @Arkensor wrote:
To clarify, is this using some thermal processing filter that was added to the game files or is this some custom implementation with render target? Because if it relies on the game one - that is unfinished and not officially added as a feature to AR, so we will naturally not support any issues that come from using it already.
This is with the thermal imaging post process effect added with 1.6, so yes the game one. This affects both player camera, arbitrary cameras, and with/without render target. I understand it is unfinished, and devoting time to fixing an issue with an unfinished feature does not make much sense.
However, the strongest argument I can make to having this fixed is that:
It works fine on PC, this is a console only issue. That means there is a lack of parity, somewhere, causing this.
Modders like myself are chomping at the bit to implement this in projects, some modders already have. Again, now there is a parity issue that will grow with time as people adopt this feature. I don’t think anyone should entertain the idea that the game is “lesser” on consoles, but this type of thing will only exacerbate the perception.
Finally, I don’t think the issue is localized to only this post process effect. This exact same “kaleidoscope” effect can be observed on consoles when displaying a blank layout on a render target. It pulls data from random UI in memory it seems. On PC render targeting a blank layout (v_root widget) creates a white texture. If these two things are related, the core fix could solve both issues potentially.
Thank you for taking the time to comment, there are bigger fish to fry, but I and many others would like to see this fixed.
Arkensor added a comment.Dec 1 2025, 10:18 AM
We understand the desire to play with new toys, but there were reasons we did not add it as an official feature yet, because it is incomplete. Do not expect any fixes on it anytime soon.