Connection, Framerate and Visual Tweaks
Doom 3 and Resurrection of Evil
Framerate and Visual Tweaks
| We have compiled a variety of settings so
you can obtain the best compromise between FPS and visual quality for your
system. In order to use the tweaks you must add them to a text file called autoexec.cfg
in your Doom3 'base' directory or test them at the console. See the FAQ
How do I access the console? for details on how to enable the console. Make
sure that you have setup your graphic card's driver options to give best performance
before using these tweaks, see the
Display and OpenGL Drivers section for more information. The Magic Number - 60 FPS Unlike previous games from id software in multiplayer you only need to achieve a steady frame rate of 60 FPS. Anything higher is simply ignored by Doom3's world update and player movement code. This will help even the playing field in multiplayer as physics will be the same on all machines. There appear to be cvars and hints in the game (#define GAME_FPS 60 and com_fixedtic) that with a mod servers could possibly alter the default tic rate, even if that were the case all players would still be forced to the server's game tic. John Carmack of id sofware: "The game tic simulation, including player movement, runs at 60hz, so if it rendered any faster, it would just be rendering identical frames. A fixed tic rate removes issues like Quake 3 had, where some jumps could only be made at certain framerates. In Doom, the same player inputs will produce the same motions, no matter what the framerate is." Benchmarking You should always ignore the first benchmark result if you are not appending 'usecache' to the timedemo command. Doom3 often pauses while loading models and textures for the first time. 1) Load Doom3 using the shortcut that enables the console 2) Open the console using the ' key below ESC or press CTRL+ ALT+ ~ (US Keyboards) or CTRL+ALT+ ' (UK Keyboards) 3) Enter the command timedemo demo1 usecache 4) Wait until demo has finished and note your FPS 5) Adjust your settings/tweaks and repeat steps 2 to 4 until you find the settings with the best average FPS. To test your FPS while online type "com_showfps 1" at the console Please make sure that you read the Display and Rendering Tweak Notes at the foot of this page. The lowest system specification I have here is a 1.8 GHZ AMD Athlon XP, Geforce4 ti4200/128/8x with 512 megabytes of system ram. Tweaks are based on best compromise / quality in the single player game for that system. If you are just testing make sure that you do a writeconfig DoomConfig.cfg followed by a
vid_restart after setting the cvars. Once you are happy with the tweaks
you must add them to a text file called autoexec.cfg
in your Doom3 'base' directory Ultra High quality Medium quality Low quality |
| Best Visual Compromise / FPS Compromise
Config If you are having FPS problems this is the best all round config for singleplayer, offering a good compromise between visual quality and FPS. If you wish to try more tailored configs (excellent, high, medium and low) see our Tailored Configs page or create your own using the 'Display and Rendering Tweak Notes' section at the foot of this page. Create a text file called autoexec.cfg in your Doom3 'Base' directory and cut/paste the relevant config text. IMPORTANT: Make sure that you let Doom3 autodetect (Options |
System | Scan Hardware and Select Optimal Quality | Apply Changes) the best setting
initially and then use the tweaks in your autoexec.cfg. If you do not the
textures can look a little washed out/flat/half-shaded as Doom3 has not
set the cvar image_useNormalCompression (and possibly others such
as rendering/shading) correctly
for your hardware. |
|
|
256 Megabyte Video Cards |
512 Megabyte Video Cards seta image_usePrecompressedTextures "1" seta image_useCompression "1" seta image_downSizeLimit "2048" seta image_ignoreHighQuality "1" seta image_downSizeBumpLimit "2048" seta image_downSizeSpecularLimit "512" seta image_downSizeBump "1" seta image_downSizeSpecular "1" seta image_downSize "1" seta image_forceDownSize "0" seta image_roundDown "1" seta image_lodbias "0" seta image_preload "1" seta r_useCachedDynamicModels "1" seta r_skipBump "0" seta r_skipPostProcess "0" seta r_skipParticles "0" seta r_skipSpecular "0" seta r_skipNewAmbient "1" seta r_multiSamples "0" seta r_shadows "0" //NOTE seta r_useOptimizedShadows "1" seta r_useTurboShadow "1" seta g_projectilelights "1" seta g_skipParticles "0" seta g_bloodEffects "1" seta g_decals "0" seta g_showBrass "0" seta g_muzzleFlash "1" seta g_doublevision "0" seta g_showPlayerShadow "0" seta image_anisotropy "1" seta image_filter "GL_LINEAR_MIPMAP_NEAREST" |
|
64 Megabyte Video Cards |
128 Megabyte Video Cards seta image_usePrecompressedTextures "1" seta image_useCompression "1" seta image_downSizeLimit "512" seta image_ignoreHighQuality "1" seta image_downSizeBumpLimit "512" seta image_downSizeSpecularLimit "128" seta image_downSizeBump "1" seta image_downSizeSpecular "1" seta image_downSize "1" seta image_forceDownSize "0" seta image_roundDown "1" seta image_lodbias "0" seta image_preload "1" seta r_useCachedDynamicModels "1" seta r_skipBump "0" seta r_skipPostProcess "0" seta r_skipParticles "0" seta r_skipSpecular "0" seta r_skipNewAmbient "1" seta r_multiSamples "0" seta r_shadows "0" //NOTE seta r_useOptimizedShadows "1" seta r_useTurboShadow "1" seta g_projectilelights "1" seta g_skipParticles "0" seta g_bloodEffects "1" seta g_decals "0" seta g_showBrass "0" seta g_muzzleFlash "1" seta g_doublevision "0" seta g_showPlayerShadow "0" seta image_anisotropy "1" seta image_filter "GL_LINEAR_MIPMAP_NEAREST" |
NOTE: To fully experience the atmosphere of Doom3 you
should really run with shadows
enabled (seta r_shadows "1"), this will however lower your FPS
by a significant amount.
| Display and Rendering
Tweak Notes Note: This section only contains useful cvars, if you want a more complete list see our cvars page. To experiment with / use these settings try them at the console or add them to a text file called autoexec.cfg in your Doom3 'Base' directory. NOTE: Some of these cvars are only suitable for multiplayer. In singleplayer you must determine if the trade off for FPS is worth losing some of the visual effects. As a guideline, faster is generally (but not always) uglier than slower =) |
|
| image_anisotropy | Sets the maximum texture anisotropy if available in the renderer. Set between 0 and 16 with the lower number being faster and the higher number being slower |
| image_filter | Changes texture filtering used for mipmapped images "GL_LINEAR_MIPMAP_NEAREST" (faster) "GL_LINEAR_MIPMAP_LINEAR" (slower) |
| r_shadows | Enables or disables shadows, very high FPS gain with the
drawback losing shadows generated by enemies and objects. Set to 0(faster) or 1(slower) |
| r_useOptimizedShadows |
Determines if static shadow volumes are used Set to 1(faster) or 0(slower) |
| r_useTurboShadow | Use a faster technique for generating dynamic shadows. This
may cause loss of shadows on systems with older display drivers.
Set to 1(faster) or 0(slower) |
| r_useDepthBoundsTest | Specific to Nvidia hardware and may not be available in the
current drivers. Enables UltraShadow II’s depth bounds test feature for 5x00/6x00 cards.
Set to 1(faster) or 0(slower) |
| r_Multisamples | Controls the amount of antialiasing.
Set to 0, 2, 4, 8, or 16 with the lower number being faster and the
higher number being slower. Not all cards will support 8 or 16 settings. |
| image_roundDown | Controls how incorrectly sized textures are resized so they
are close to a power of two. The default setting of 1 means that textures
will be reduced in size possibly losing some detail, a setting of 0 means
that textures will be increased in size. Set to 1(resize down/faster) or 0(resize ip/slower) |
| r_skipBump | Controls bump mapping, can be set so that Doom 3 uses a flat surface instead of bump maps Set to 1(faster / uglier) or 0 (slower) |
| r_skipSpecular | Uses black for specular lighting. Specular lighting adds
texture to each object and adds additional lighting to their surface. Not worth the
minor FPS gain in
singleplayer Set to 1(faster / uglier) or 0 (slower) |
| r_skipOverlays | Skip overlay surfaces on textures. Negligible FPS gain. Set to 1(faster / uglier) or 0 (slower) |
| r_skipFogLights | Skip all fog lighting, negligible FPS gain. Set to 0(slower) or 1(faster) |
| r_skipPostProcess | Skip all post-process rendering such as distortion on
windows glass / etc. FPS gain on some systems. Set to 0(slower) or 1(faster) |
| r_skipBlendLights | Skip all blending of lights, not worth the negligible FPS gain in
singleplayer Set to 0(slower) or 1(faster) |
| r_skipDynamicTextures | Do not dynamically create textures, can cause problems with
in game videos. Best to leave at 0 for singleplayer. Set to 0(slower) or 1(faster) NOTE: Leave at 0 for singleplayer |
| r_skipMegaTexture | Controls if the lowest level texture is always used. Not
worth the negligible FPS gain. Set to 1(faster) or 0 (slower) |
| r_skipTranslucent | Controls translucent interaction rendering such as the
loading bar and UAC logos on containers. FPS gain on
some systems. Set to 1(faster) or 0 (slower) |
| r_skipNewAmbient | Controls the rendering of special effects such as heat
haze. Set to 1(faster) or 0 (slower) |
| r_useCachedDynamicModels | Controls dynamic model loading, if set to 1 the game will
use its memory cache for models. Set to 1(usually faster) or 0 (slower) |
| r_gamma | Does not affect FPS, helps with brightness, do not set this
too high or colours will become washed out. See r_lightscale. Set between 1 and 1.5, adjust r_lightscale for settings high than 1.5 |
| r_brightness | Does not affect FPS, helps with brightness. Set between 1 and 2, if brightness is still a problem use r_gamma and/or r_lightscale |
| r_lightscale | Does not affect FPS, helps with brightness and raises the
intensity of all colours. Set between 2(default) and 4, only use when you feel r_gamma and r_brightness have not helped. |
| image_lodbias | Controls lod bias on mipmapped images Range from -2 (slower / crisper) to 2 (faster / uglier) |
|
pm_runbob pm_runpitch pm_runroll pm_bobpitch pm_bobroll pm_bobup pm_crouchbob pm_walkbob |
Controls 'bobbing' up/down/side movement of player. Can
help if you get motion sickness Set each of the bob cvars to 0 to disable bobbing |
| image_downSizeBump image_downSizeBumpLimit |
Controls resizing of textures for bump maps. Helpful if
your video card has less than 256 megabyte of video ram Set image_downSizeBump to 0(disabled) or 1(enabled) Set image_downSizeBumpLimit higher(slower) or lower(faster) 256 megabyte video cards seta image_downSizeBumpLimit "1024" 128 megabyte video cards seta image_downSizeBumpLimit "512" 64 megabyte video cards |
| image_downSizeSpecular image_downSizeSpecularLimit |
Controls resizing of textures for specualr highlights. Helpful if
your video card has less than 256 megabyte of video ram Set image_downSizeSpecular to 0(disabled) or 1(enabled) Set image_downSizeSpecularLimit higher(slower) or lower(faster) 256 megabyte video cards seta image_downSizeSpecularLimit "256" 128 megabyte video cards seta image_downSizeSpecularLimit "128" 64 megabyte video cards |
| image_downSize image_downSizeLimit |
Controls resizing of standard textures. Helpful if
your video card has less than 256 megabyte of video ram Set image_downSize to 0(disabled) or 1(enabled) Set image_downSizeLimit higher(slower) or lower(faster) 256 megabyte video cards seta image_downSizeLimit "1024" 128 megabyte video cards seta image_downSizeLimit "512" 64 megabyte video cards |
| image_forceDownSize | Forces resizing of textures to those specified in image_downSize*. May not be worth the FPS gain in
singleplayer WARNING - Setting this to 1 in patch 1.2 (Resurrection of Evil) or above causes artifacts such as green/orange/blue textures. Set to 0(slower) or 1(faster) |
| ui_showGun | Shows or hides your on screen gun model. Set to 1(slower) or 0(faster) |
| image_useCache image_cacheMegs image_cacheMinK |
Controls memory set aside for temporary loading of full-sized precompressed
images and files. WARNING - When set incorrectly this can cause Doom3 to crash at startup or cause instability/graphical artifacts in game. Particularly when loading maps such as Delta Labs 4 and Resurrection of Evil's Phobos 3. If you are having problems at map start try setting image_useCache to 0, you must restart the game to enable the change Set cache megs to a higher value if you have 512 megabytes or more of system RAM. Guideline is 1/6 to 1/4 of your system RAM. Set image_cacheMinK to 2048. This can be set lower than 2048 when image_useCache is set to 1 but may cause Doom3 to crash. Set image_useCache to 1 to enable background load image caching 512 Megabytes of RAM seta image_cacheMegs "96" seta image_cacheMinK "2048" // NOTE 768 Megabytes of RAM |
| image_useCompression | Determines if textures are used compressed. Set to 0 (uncompressed, high quality) Set to 1 (compressed, slight loss of quality) Important: Only set to 0 if you have over 256 megabytes of video ram. |
| image_useNormalCompression | Determines how normal textures are
compressed. Set to 1 for lower quality/smaller/faster 256 compression Set to 2 for higher quality/larger/slower rxgb compression NOTE: ATi 9x00 series or before should use a setting of "1" |
| image_ignoreHighQuality |
Controls high quality settings on materials. Can give a
minor FPS gain in singleplayer Set to 0(slower) or 1(faster) |
| com_videoram |
Holds the last detected amount of video ram. Check this
setting in game at the console, if it is incorrect you may wish to set
this to the correct amount of video ram. Example if you have a 256 megabyte card and com_videoram shows 64 you could try setting this to 256 |
| com_fixedtic |
Controls the games tic rate. Defaults to 0, setting this to
-1 will remove the 60 FPS cap for singleplayer.
|
| g_bloodEffects | Controls blood splats, sprays and gibs Set to 0 (faster) or 1 (slower) |
| g_decals | Control if decals such as bullet holes, burns on walls etc.
are shown Set to 0 (faster) or 1 (slower) |
| g_showBrass | Controls if animation of ejected shells from weapons is
shown.
Set to 0 (faster) or 1 (slower) |
| g_skipFX | Controls if additional in game graphic effects are used. NOTE: This will have the side effect of causing your HUD to be hidden. Set to 1 (faster) or 0 (slower) |
| g_skipViewEffects |
Controls damage and other view effects NOTE: This will have the side effect of causing your HUD to be hidden. Set to 1 (faster) or 0 (slower) |
| g_projectileLights g_skipParticles r_skipParticles |
Control if projectiles such as fireballs, etc.
create dynamic lights or particles when fired (unconfirmed) Set g_projectileLights to 0(faster) or 1 (slower) set g_skipParticles and r_skipParticles to 1(faster) or 0 (slower). Do not alter r_skipParticles for singleplayer. |
| g_doublevision | Controls if your vision is affected when you take damage. Set to 0 (no doublevision) or 1 (doublevision) |
| g_muzzleFlash | Controls muzzle flashes when you or the enemy fires a
weapon. Set to 0 (faster) or 1 (slower / more realism) |
| g_showPlayerShadow | Controls your player shadow Set to 0 (faster) or 1 (slower / more realism) |
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