For Gamers who want smoother gaming at Ultra High Setting - DOOM 3

Warpy

First of all guys - this does work, and I havent experienced any glitches or jolting when i walk throigh doors, the game loads levels quiicker and its worth the experiment.

In ur DOOM3 Folder find "DoomConfig.cfg" under "C:\Program Files\Doom3\base" Open DoomConfig.cfg in Notepad.

Find the line:

seta image_cacheMegs "20"

Change this from 20 to either 128 or 256 depends how much Graphic card onboard ram u have.

It boost ur performance at Ultra High setting the most.

It does help gaining performance but make sure u have 512MB + memory, recommend 1GB ram though. U will notice the game run smoother at Ultra High and High details and have resolution above 1024x768. and yes it dun really help at Low reso and low detail or mid detail since they dun use much textures as High and Ultra High detail. It will help when u starting to bump ur graphic details. and u will also find smoother at intensive fighting.

if u have video card with 128MB and AGP Aperture size at 128MB then u can set the cache value at 256 and yes that will smooth out of fps when u playing Ultra High detail

if u have 256MB graphic card and AGP aperture size at 128MB then u only need to change the cache size to 128MB

so on~

PS: Timedemo is not acurate to test this modification since it's fixed bench with fixed textures, u will only see difference in game play when polygons starts to rise and textures starts to get more, that's the time this cache size thing become useful.

Hope this helps some of gamers that wanna improve performance under High and Ultra High quality setting.

Update: (2004/08/04)

(8:22pm)
Make sure "seta image_usecache" is set to 1 to enable using cache (default Value = 0 )
if u r experiencing crashing when u enabled "seta image_usecache "1"
Have "seta image_cacheMinK" to 25600 and "seta image_cacheMegs" to 256
seta image_cacheMinK = Cache Size minimum in Kilobytes
seta image_cacheMegs = Amount of cache in Megabytes

(8:51pm)
TimeDemo Benchmarking


To enable the console add +seta com_allowConsole "1" to ur short cut

It will look like below:
-> Doom3.exe +seta com_allowConsole "1" <-
Access the console using the "~" key
When above done, type this command in the console without quote "timedemo demo1"
After TimeDemo end itself, it will show ur avg FPS.

(9:01pm)
For Gamers that dun want to mess with DoomConfig.cfg can do followings to auto add codes u want to add~
Create a file called autoexec.cfg in your Doom3 'Base' directory and edit it with Note pad

(2004/08/05)

(8:38am)
NVIDIA Card that support Ultra Shadow Technology and Up Only
Add this -> seta r_useDepthBoundsTest "1" <- (without arrows)
Please save and check the read only file after add this code in doomConfig.cfg
This Tweak is to take advantage on NVIDIA's Ultra Shadow 1 & 2 Technology
and also improves form of occlusion culling (removing pixels that you won't actually see on screen)
With this tweak, u can gain about 5fps more and no IQ lose if u ask
Sorry I dunno how this will do with ATi cards though

(9:05am)
Enable Shadow Culling
add this code to doomConfig.cfg -> seta r_useShadowCulling "1" <- and save then check the read only file again.

(9:10am)
Enable Ocllusion Culling (removing pixels that u dun actually see on screen)
seta r_useCulling "2"
0 = none, 1 = sphere, 2 = sphere + box

(9:27am)
seta g_dragEntity "1"
Allows dragging physics objects around by placing the crosshair over them and holding the fire button
PS: U might want to bind this key to a key in ur own choice (since enabling this will make weapons unswitchable)

seta pm_thirdPerson "1"
Allows third person view
U might want to enable this using console sometimes in the game

(12:26pm)
[seta com_videoRam "64"] ( yes I have no idea why it is set at 64 for video cards above 128MB) And no, this code can not be found in doomConfig.cfg so by adding this code it allows u to set it manually when DOOM 3 detected it wrong. U might wanna ask how to check if DOOM3 detects wrong, read below for more details.

Doom III has detected I have 64mb of ram on my video card but the fact is that I have 128mb, which is probably why a few settings were set wrong in the doomConfig.cfg

set image_downSizeBumpLimit "512" (For 128MB Graphic Card)
1024 for 256mb gfx.
512 for 128mb gfx.
256 for 64mb gfx.
seta image_downSizeBump "1" to enable above

Originally the above was set to 256, as if I had a 64mb card. What I believe it does is decide how large in pixels the bump map textures should be on screen. Without a performance hit I was able to use 512mb with a 128mb card. I am going to try 1024 later to see if it works too.

set image_downSizeLimit "512"
1024 for 256 cards.
512 for 128mb gfx.
256 for 64mb gfx.
seta image_downSize "1" to enable above

Refresh Rate
[seta r_displayRefresh "85"]
Set number of ur own choice.

FOV
[seta g_fov "90"]
FOV = Field of View
THe higer the number the wider area u see, this decreases ur fps though. (not much fps lose, so it's good to use) I myself have it on FOV value @ 120 for more realism and better view.

(01:14pm)
DOOM3 Cheat Command Codes for people who have finished the game:
Type followings in Console, press "~" key to access console
god - God mode
noclip -> No clipping (fly through walls)
give weapon_machinegun -> Machinegun
give weapon_shotgun -> Shotgun
give weapon_plasmagun - Plasmagun
give weapon_ bfg -> BFG (no space between _ bfg when entering command)
give weapon_chainsaw -> Chainsaw
give weapon_rocketlauncher -> R-Launcher
give ammo -> Ammo

Source: Forums

mike2h

thx!!

No_Style

seta com_maxfps ## - Defines maximum achievable FPS
seta r_varmegs ## - Defaulted at 32, unknown function and resembles old Q3 command.
r_gamma - set the gamma value. 1 is default. 1.2 - 1.3 will keep the game's feel.

BTW, I too have it set a 64 MB. I wonder if it actually sets videoram..

pr0digal jenius

isn't singleplayer locked at 60 FPS???? if so...what good is maxfps?

No_Style

You can set it to reduce the frame differentiation. Like from 60 all the way to down to 30s..

BWX

Before anybody does anything they should make back-up copies of all their files- then start changing stuff.. If it wasn't said already. Just a reminder.

I'l try these out...

Tipstaff

BTW, Funky Monkey, if your grabbing any of the tweaks from other peoples postings in the forums, please be kind, and give credit where credits due, k? Just a thought...

Thanks.

Forbidden Donut

I tried the maxfps line and it didn't work. Anybody here have any luck with it?

FD

BWX

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."

Warpy

[COLOR=red]Thats why it has a "source" at the bottom of my post - next time how about you read my posts, or even better go back to school --- just a thought, k? lol, lol [/COLOR]

reno

The usecache and cachemegs tweaks don't work. The only ones that do (and I'm horrified they didn't include this in the original config) are the shadowculling and useculling features, a modest 1-2fps increase.

The fragment shader tweak also works exceedingly well, except some artifacting has been noticed- it's not bad enough whilst playing though.

Anisotropic filter doesn't seem to do much in this game except slow it down by 8fps, I recommend using the culling, shadow culling, fragment shader tweak, and manually changing the anisotropic filter to 1 or 0. The timedemo runs at a modest 39.8fps on my machine at 1152x864 at high detail using said settings.

Warpy

Fragment shader tweak?

No_Style

I agree that the cachemegs do nothing, but what is this fragment shader tweak? I also wonder why culling isn't used.. Is it because it might cause stuttering?

Nacht

i noticed teh biggest tweak to be the vid card mem override....

Warpy

I cant find the cmd for this fragment shader tweak anywhere......?? It's not in my cfg file.

BWX

set image_useCache "1" //game crashes if enabled and MinK is too low
set image_cacheMegs "128" //max temporary cache size for precompressed textures
set image_cacheMinK "10240" //minimum cache size of precompressed files in KB



Using these settings it causes no hitching whatsoever in any situation on my machine.. Just cause it doesn't do anything for one config, doesn't mean it doesn't do anything for the next--




Reno seems to think he has access to all machines in the entire world and can thoroughly test all tweaks on all configurations though osmosis or something?? I like that tweak, it makes transitions smoother on my rig, which is surely different than everyone else's. -Just saying man..




set com_showMemoryUsage "0" //displays current memory usage, interesting during section transitions

Try above to see realtime mem usage, and see the difference if any...

reno

Gesundheit!

I dunno man, I just remember from the old quake 3 days (jedi knight 2, academy, elite force 1 and 2, wolfenstein) that this command didn't *really* change anything, memory use was dynamically configured regardless...and still doesn't on mine or my friend's or my brother's computer. If it's working for you, cool.

As for the fragment shader tweak, it's the one on DH.net news that talks about a 40% boost in performance. It's still on the main page I believe.

Warpy

How about providing a link to the fragment shader tweak, doesnt take long if you know how to cut and paste.

I can't find a link to what you are on about..

No_Style

Well, I'm open minded and willing to try anything for a better gaming experience, I did set the cachemegs, but I still got hitching when I play High Quality instead of Medium. I'm content with Medium since there is no slowdown in almost any situation, but if I can hit high quality in the future, that would be great. I'm going to give it another whirl, thanks

Update: Well I tried it and my High Quality settings are working very nicely. I'm only getting 4 FPS less compared to my Medium settings on the Time Demo

Update 2: I played through a level and I can really say that it's a lot better than what I first started with, but I still dip to 30s which isn't bad, but I prefer not to dip that low in FPS...especially when it's from say... 60 ---> 30s.. Certainly with coming updates and such, I maybe able to play with high quality settings A side effect of this tweak is the horrendous load times

BWX

you got- 2x 512MB Crucial DDR RAM PC2700?


Shouldn't be much of a problem with 1 gig ram man.



I'm experimenting with the tweak off and on, and with that file (40%mod) in and out-- I took the file out because I hate the bright white dots all over the place-- it's the bump mapping that's messed up, not sure-

But this is what I just finished the game with-- HIGH settings with shadows and everything on and it sometimes dips into 30's but not too often. it looks great and it is smooth though-


Here's what I run in the Auto exec-



set r_gamma "1.0"


set r_fullscreen "1"

set r_displayRefresh "85" // monitor refresh rate

set r_multiSamples "2" //Anti Aliasing Level

set r_usePortals "1" //use portals for area culling

set image_anisotropy "2" //

set image_downSizeLimit "512" //1024 for 256 cards. 512 for 128mb gfx. 256 for 64mb gfx see also com_videoRam
set image_downSize "1" //use to enable above

set image_downSizeBumpLimit "512" //1024 for 256mb gfx. 512 for 128mb gfx. 256 for 64mb gfx
set image_downSizeBump "1" //enables above

set image_downSizeSpecularLimit "64" //no apparent speed change? leave as 64
set image_downSizeSpecular "1" //enables above, 0 slow, 1 fast

set image_useCache "0" //game crashes if enabled and MinK is too low
set image_cacheMegs "128" //max temporary cache size for precompressed textures
set image_cacheMinK "10240" //minimum cache size of precompressed files in KB

set image_usePrecompressedTextures "1" //0 for Ultra settings later on - disables above

set image_useNormalCompression "2" //compression level 0-2 0 fastest

set image_useAllFormats "1"
set image_useCompression "1" //compress bumps and specs?
set image_roundDown "1"
set image_lodbias "0"
set com_videoRam "128" //doesn't auto detect correctly for some, set it manually







////////////////////
// input settings //
////////////////////


set in_pitchspeed "140" //default 220
set in_yawspeed "140" //default 220



//G A M E

/////////////////////////////////////////////
// game settings, some effect graphics/fps //
/////////////////////////////////////////////

set com_showFPS "0" //display current FPS in corner of screen
set com_showMemoryUsage "0" //displays current memory usage, interesting during section transitions

set com_allowConsole "1" //tilde key only for console
set g_decals "1" //decorative touches on/off
set g_projectileLights "1" //projectiles create light on/off
set g_doubleVision "1" //damage blur
set g_muzzleFlash "1" //muzzle flash
set g_showBrass "1" //display spent ammo ejection

set g_showHud "1" //draw the onscreen Heads Up Display such as health/armor etc
set g_showPlayerShadow "0" //player character casts shadows

set g_showcamerainfo "0"
set g_bloodEffects "1"

set g_fov "100" //field of view, default 90

set con_speed "3" //speed of console drop







These two are in my Doomconfig.cfg-

seta r_useShadowCulling "1"

seta r_useCulling "2" //0 = none, 1 = sphere, 2 = sphere + box



Not running that other mod where you hack pk4 file or download that other thing that does the same thing-- as I said I think it looks like crap.. not worth the 3 fps to me anymore..

||1024 x 768 || FORCED 2xAA and 4x AF ~Quality~ in--> || ATI 4.9 CP || running Directx9.0c || OC 9700pro to 350/320 ||


Great gaming experience, although beat the game using cheats (god) because it got so boring.. Impressive graphics and great sound.. Can't wait for SOFIII! (and a new Video card)

No_Style

I was still getting hitches. But now I'm not. But I dip down to 20s. I've seen it in the Hell level. Great engine, nonetheless. I can't wait for RTCW2. As for a new video card... I'm waiting next generation

Geminiwave

can anyone upload the files with these mods? I kinda dont wanna go in and type all this stuff because I'm not feeling entirely comfortable that I'll place everything in the right spot.

acctually I'm also a bit lazy.

Anyway thanks