DOOM 3 Config Tweak

[Deque]

I'm assuming you guys set

seta image_useCache "0"

to

seta image_useCache "1"

? Why does enabling that crash the game for me? It doesn't even make it past the intro movie

 

[Mahatmaaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

HELLO

 

[ChiMan]

You're one sick dude you know that?

 

[the@ntipop]

Alright, "tested" the tweak for about 45 minutes and here are my findings. Absolutely no improvement when running at the same settings (1024 high qual). However, it seems I am no running smoothly at 1280x1024 high qual whereas before it was choppy on med. My friend tried it on his 9600np and he could go from 1024x768 med to high qual and it ran the same (which is a bit choppy in combat scenes). I have a feeling this is a bogus fix because the textures didn't look right to me, but I might be imagining things.

 

[cornelious0_0]

God damn.....so many people seeing nice improvements like this and here I am downloading......err.....I mean, installing Doom 3 again..........gah, stupid format.

Maybe I'm just crazy, but I cant stand playing games at 1024x768 on my 17" monitor.....not if I have 1280x1024 as an option. 1024 High Detail might run better for me.....but I like the higher res.....so sue me. From what I'm hearing I should be able to bring my 1280x1024fps above where I was at with 1024x768. I know nothing's gaurantee'd, but it sure does get me excited to try it out.

 

[compslckr]

i notice that the game is running smoother after doing this tweak. i have no clue what it does, but i feel that it is running better, so i am going to leave it at 256

 

[TheRapture]

Add another thumbs up to this tweak. I have bbeen running at 1280x1024 high quality no AA, and this tweak considerably smoothed out the actual gameplay. Have not ran benches, no matter, in game I am seeing a higher average framerate with less dips. BTW I set it to 256.

 

[Jäger]

didn't help me much at all. i have resorted to playing online at 640x480 so i can actually enjoy the experience

xp2500+
768ddr
radeon9500

 

[Davmx]

how do you guys enable the FPS counter? I have read several posts from different threads but no one ever answer it!!!!

 

[MasterShredder]

how do you guys enable the FPS counter? I have read several posts from different threads but no one ever answer it!!!!

I'll be nice and answer.. hit Ctrl + alt + ~ to open console.

type: com_showfps 1 and hit enter.

BAM!

 

[cornelious0_0]

I'll be nice and answer.. hit Ctrl + alt + ~ to open console.

type: com_showfps 1 and hit enter.

BAM!

Awww, how nice of you.

 

[misfitsfiend]

i think this tweak helped me out also . i'm running mine at 196 and hitches/general skipping in the game has decreased dramatically, it runs perfectly. i'm playing @ 800x600 with high settings. now, it's just time to figure out how to lower those damn load times...

 

[infiniti029]

this tweak did nothing at all for me after running several benches. Instead of just "looking" at the game and thinking it feels better, run some benchmarks and see the numbers.

 

[Dr. Who]

=O you guys are amazing. upping the "set_a cacheMEGS" isnt supposed to offer you more fps, it merely allows more memory to be used to smooth out the opening of doors /entering new areas where new textures would need to be cached. goooood game.

 

[cornelious0_0]

=O you guys are amazing. upping the "set_a cacheMEGS" isnt supposed to offer you more fps, it merely allows more memory to be used to smooth out the opening of doors /entering new areas where new textures would need to be cached

This is essentially what I assumed it was doing from the beginning, as those are really the only points where the game slows down to any great extent for most of us. You could have been a LITTLE more polite about saying it though.

Instead of just "looking" at the game and thinking it feels better, run some benchmarks and see the numbers.

The problem with that statement is that "benchmarks" can mean more then one thing with this game. If you're trying to get any kind of accurate gameplay numbers then I'd hope that you're running your own FRAPS runs through the game and getting your results THAT way. Doom 3 suffers in the same way that Far Cry does in terms of its built-in timedemos.....lack of AI interaction in the form of combat during the timedemo. I dont know how some people can call results like that legitamite.....you're only fooling yourself.

You also have to realise that a LARGE portion of gamers (on these forums and others) never bother to see exactly what their FPS is in their games.....for a lot of people smooth is smooth, and I can respect that. Most people simply do load up the game (after applying the tweak) and can instantly tell it helped.....and they feel good about it. Worrying too much about every little fps can really drag a person down over time, and its almost a shame that its the gamers (and not the hardware nuts) amung us who seem to realise that before the rest of us.

 

[moralpanic]

This is essentially what I assumed it was doing from the beginning, as those are really the only points where the game slows down to any great extent for most of us.

This is the complete opposite for me. I'm playing at 30fps and lower, and the only time i get above 30fps... in the 40-45fps range, is at doors!

 

[cornelious0_0]

This is the complete opposite for me. I'm playing at 30fps and lower, and the only time i get above 30fps... in the 40-45fps range, is at doors!

Interesting.....it is possible that I'm seeing the door/"zoning" slowdown moreso in my case because I'm gaming under conditions that are stressing my hardware a tad more.....and so it's not taking quite as much to bring it all to its knees when I'm gaming.

That doesnt quite explain why your game would be speeding up passing through doors, but it's all I've got for now.

 

[moralpanic]

Oh, i'm not sure about entering new areas... i missed that part. But just doors, i get good fps (i don't run through a door... i always stop and take a good look around the room before entering).

Hm if it improves entering new area, i may try experimenting again tomorrow.

 

[cornelious0_0]

Hm if it improves entering new area, i may try experimenting again tomorrow.

Let me/us know how it goes for ya. I think the fact that I usually just charge through doors isn't helping things in terms of that little FPS dip.....but if there's something ready to jump me in the next room I'd rather run at it head on then stand there and have it scare the shit out of me when it leaps through the glass or some shit.

 

[Devnull]

Going to give it a try.

 

[Devnull]

changed setting from 20 to 128 and timedemo demo1 went from 22.1 to 23.4... Probably still within margin of error. Going to test at 256.

update: Changed value to 256 and got 23.4, changed back down to 20 and got 23.4... No effect. I will admit the timedemo in doom3 doesn't seem like its fully implemented because actual gameplay is never as slow for me as the timedemo. But I don't think this clearly helps. And its just too subjective to say whether it helps or not while actually playing.

Specs
9800Pro @ 8x agp
barton at 11x200
1 gig of kingston hyperx at CL2
abit nf7-s

 

[ri0]

After reading the entire planetdoom thread and testing some myself I feel I might as well share with you people who are wasting time with timedmeos that it wont have much effect at all.
Carmack was quoted in one of the first reviews that the timedemo would not give exact real worl performance results because it wasnt the same as actually running the game.

Also, for those that dont already know, changing these settings:
seta image_useCache
seta image_cacheMegs
seta image_cacheMinK
only caches further ahead in the level, so you shouldnt be seeing an increase in fps, just a decrease in choppyness during load periods.
So if anything, it will hold the fps smooth while moving to new parts of the level.

On another note, the thread on planetdoom has convinced me to order another 512 stick of ram so i can throw a gig into it, I'm getting pissed at seeing people with ti4200s and a gig of ram owning my 9600xt.

 

[lowdy15]

I have a p4, 512mb, 9800pro 128mb, WD Raptor

Its weird... I was running doom 3 at 800x600 High Quality. Used the tweak, and I was still getting lag going through doors. So, I bumped my resolution up to 1024x768 High Quality, and now the lag is all but nonexsistent. I didnt notice a drop in FPS from the resolution bump, so I will take the better resolution with no lag!

 

[SereLaw]

god - God mode
noclip - No clip
notarget - Invisibility
freeze - Freeze everything
doomhell - Jump to the last level
give all - All weapons and ammo
give doom95 - Load the '95 version of Doom
give keys - All keys
give weapon_machinegun - Machinegun
give weapon_shotgun - Shotgun
give weapon_plasmagun - Plasmagun
give weapon_bfg - BFG
give weapon_chainsaw - Chainsaw
give weapon_rocketlauncher - Rocket launcher
spawn [character name] - Spawn a character (see the list below)
map [map name] - Load a map (see the list below)
benchmark - Game benchmark
com_drawfps 1 - Show FPS
aviDemo - Saves a demo of your playing to an AVI movie file
gfxinfo - Graphics card infomation
status - Shows game status
quit - Quit game

Mars City 1 - marscity1.map
Mars City Underground - mcunderground.map
Mars City 2 - marscity2.map
Administration - admin.map
Alpha Labs Sector 1 - alpha1.map
Alpha Labs Sector 2 - alpha2.map
Alpha Labs Sector 3 - alpha3.map
Alpha Labs Sector 4 - alpha4.map
EnPro Plant - enpro.map
Communications Transfer - commout.map
Communications - communications.map
Monorail Skybridge - recycling1.map
Recycling Sector 2 - recycling2.map
Monorail - monorail.map
Delta Labs Level 1 - delta1.map
Delta Labs Level 2A - delta2a.map
Delta Labs Level 2B - delta2b.map
Delta Labs Level 3 - delta3.map
Delta Labs Level 4 - delta4.map
Hell - hell.map
Delta Complex - delta5.map
CPU Complex - cpu1.map
Central Processing - cpuboss.map
Site 3 - site3.map
Caverns Area 1 - caverns1.map
Caverns Area 2 - caverns2.map
Primary Excavation
map e3/intro - Load intro movie
map e3/e3_1 - Load first map
map e3/e3_2 - Load second map
map e3/e3_3 - Load third map

map e3/intro (Loads intro movie)
map e3/e3_1 (Loads first map)
map e3/e3_2 (Loads second map)
map e3/e3_3 (Loads third map)
map fred/e3bathroom5

Add this to your dommcfg file Allows console with "tilde"

seta com_allowConsole 1
com_showfps 1 (shows fps in game)

 

[TheRapture]

=O you guys are amazing. upping the "set_a cacheMEGS" isnt supposed to offer you more fps, it merely allows more memory to be used to smooth out the opening of doors /entering new areas where new textures would need to be cached. goooood game.

"isn't supposed to" and "it does help" are two different things. You are an amazing ass for being such...an ass.


Fact is, for some, it improves the smoothness of gameplay, myself included. It does not hurt to try it. So instead of being rude and obnoxious maybe you could just get a clue and join the human race...

 

[TheRapture]

Also, for those that dont already know, changing these settings:
seta image_useCache
seta image_cacheMegs
seta image_cacheMinK
only caches further ahead in the level, so you shouldnt be seeing an increase in fps, just a decrease in choppyness during load periods.
So if anything, it will hold the fps smooth while moving to new parts of the level.

Thank you for helping to verify what it does, since some other persons are being assholish...

Makes perfect sense, with the amount of textures this game has, it is perfectly understandable why this setting could improve frame rate averages/smoothness as you enter new areas.

 

[Jeigh]

I'm picking up my copy after work tonight...because the store I pre ordered it from sucks and decided to hold off until today to give out the copies...so anyways I'll probably post tomorrow if the tweak helps me any.

 

[Ruiner]

Also, for those that dont already know, changing these settings:
seta image_useCache
.

Turning this on caused a crash to desktop on my system before the main menu. Turn it back off, and all is well. Any thoughts?

My .paks are decompressed, FWIW.

 

[Torn]

Anyone know what give Doom95 does? I can't see anything...

 

[megawzrd]

Well the tweak helps me out noticeably. Set it from 20 to 128.

Im on a lowend 9000 pro 128MB
with 512MB of RAM

 

[JAW]

iD: Muahaha, all the countless teenagers tweaking their configurations... not knowing the hell it lets lose...

iD: Amazing things will be happening soon...

hilarious!

 

[AaronHawn]

Everyone has tried this - so lets take a poll - does it work or not?

 

[Ruiner]

seta image_useCache "1"
seta image_cacheMegs "96"
seta image_cacheMinK "20480"

In a nutshell, this is what I've gleaned from 13 pages of that planetdoom thread. Some have upped the cache megs as high as 256.
The theory is that changing cachemegs alone won't do anything unless you turn usecache to 1, but you cant turn usecache to 1 unless you up the cachemink.

I don't know if/why/how this works, it's just a synopsis of what is going on over there. The very loose, unproven consensus is that it smooths stuttering when moving around a level (i.e. when new textures load).
There is even some conjecture as to whether there should be a specific setting in config for how much cache your cpu has.

 

[phatmatt]

Go to your Doom 3 installation directoy and get inside the folder "Base". There are some .PK4 files you have to open each of them with WinRAR 3.3 and extract their entire contents to the Base dir in you Doom 3 installation folder (replace all files if they are any duplicates). Now you have to delete all .PK4 files in the Base folder to prevent the game to use those compressed files agian

Man this works great^

Here's how to get a list of all of the console commands and their current values - In the console type:
logFile 1
listCvars
Then exit out of the game and there will be a new file called qconsole.log in your Doom3/base folder. Alternatively, you can use listCvars -help and it will show a short description of the command instead of it's value.

Also, here's something I stumbled across while messing around. g_showProjectilePct 1 will add a hit percentage reading to your HUD.

 

[Ruiner]

Now you have to delete all .PK4 files in the Base folder to prevent the game to use those compressed files agian

Also, here's something I stumbled across while messing around. g_showProjectilePct 1 will add a hit percentage reading to your HUD.

Don't delete them completely, as I hear you'll need them for multiplayer. Renaming them should work, or move them.

That hit% sounds cool. I'll try it.

 

[Stereophile]

seta image_roundDown "1"

or seta image_roundDown "0" ?

Someone said 0 makes the game look better with no performance hit. I can't tell the difference.

 

[Dr. Who]

"isn't supposed to" and "it does help" are two different things. You are an amazing ass for being such...an ass.


Fact is, for some, it improves the smoothness of gameplay, myself included. It does not hurt to try it. So instead of being rude and obnoxious maybe you could just get a clue and join the human race...

christ almighty, get back onto the bandwagon and learn to read. i never said it isnt supposed to improve overall gameplay, i said it isnt supposed to improve your FPS SPECIFICALLY. uninstall yourself, and dont get so offended at a reply which wasnt even meant to be offending. sheesh.

 

[mastercheeze]

ok im feeling really dense....what does decompressing the pk4's do? does doom decompress these on the fly?

 

[Jäger]

Go to your Doom 3 installation directoy and get inside the folder "Base". There are some .PK4 files you have to open each of them with WinRAR 3.3 and extract their entire contents to the Base dir in you Doom 3 installation folder (replace all files if they are any duplicates). Now you have to delete all .PK4 files in the Base folder to prevent the game to use those compressed files agian

Man this works great^

Here's how to get a list of all of the console commands and their current values - In the console type:
logFile 1
listCvars
Then exit out of the game and there will be a new file called qconsole.log in your Doom3/base folder. Alternatively, you can use listCvars -help and it will show a short description of the command instead of it's value.

Also, here's something I stumbled across while messing around. g_showProjectilePct 1 will add a hit percentage reading to your HUD.

i thought the overall consensus was that this is completely useless to do. (ucompressing the pk4 files, that is)

 

[palabared]

tweaked myne from 20 to 96, used to get 25 now i get 29. so a 4 increase is nice. im about to tweak it to 128 see wat happens