Doom3 Performance Tweaks

EEK · August 2004

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>
seta image_useCache "1" (Default at 0)</td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>

Everything I see keeps saying it still causes crashes on load.

CommunistWithAGun · August 2004

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (EEK @ Aug 4 2004, 05:35 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> </div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>
seta image_useCache "1" (Default at 0)</td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>

Everything I see keeps saying it still causes crashes on load.  </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> 
<b><i><span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'><span style='color:red'> seta image_useCache "1"
seta image_cachemegs "256"
seta image_cacheMinK "20480"
OR IT WILL CRASH</span></span></i></b>

EEK · August 2004

Why set the mincachek to such a tiny number? Doesn't that set a size of RAM to allocate specifically for textures? I'm setting it to what my cachemegs is.

TommyVercetti · August 2004

So is an Athlon 1.2Ghz the equivalent of a Pentium 1.5Ghz or am I screwed?

Forlorn · August 2004

Here are some more big preformance tweaks:

Create an autoexec.cfg file in the base dir. that will exec itself everytime you start the game.

seta com_videoram "128" // <--- How much memory your card has
seta com_allowconsole "1" // Hit alt + ctrl + ~ for console in game
seta image_downSizeBumpLimit "512"
seta image_cacheMegs "128" // <--- Set to 1/4 of your total memory
seta image_filter "GL_LINEAR_MIPMAP_NEAREST" // <-- Normally says GL_LINEAR_MIPMAP_LINEAR
seta image_anisotropy "0"

The above all have to do with your ram.

If you aren't getting a muzzleflash (helps in dark areas...), throw these in:

seta g_decals "1"
seta g_projectileLights "1"
seta g_doubleVision "1"
seta g_muzzleFlash "1"

Also to get rid of the bob with running, helps preformance a bit:

set pm_bobroll = 0 // default: "0.002"
set pm_bobpitch = 0 // default: "0.002"
set pm_bobup = 0 // default: "0.005"
set pm_runroll = 0 // default: "0.005"
set pm_runpitch = 0 // default: "0.002"
set pm_runbob = 0 // default: "0.4"
set pm_walkbob = 0 // default: "0.3"
set pm_crouchbob = 0 // default: "0.5"

half · August 2004

Thanks everyone! Those tweaks really worked! <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' />

TychoCelchuuu · August 2004

Is it better to set the stuff in the autoexec or the DoomConfig.cfg? Will one overright the other?

Edit: Also, is CWAG's unpacking tip going to make much of a difference if you've got a nice, speedy processor, hard drive, and RAM? Because it seems to me like those would be the limiting factor in loading the stuff from those files, instead of the video card.

Forlorn · August 2004

Tired of being scared?

r_gamma "1.2" (normally a "1")

EEK · August 2004

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Forlorn @ Aug 5 2004, 12:21 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> Tired of being scared?

r_gamma "1.2" (normally a "1") </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>
Spoken like a true NS vet.

CommunistWithAGun · August 2004

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (EEK @ Aug 5 2004, 01:27 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> </div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Forlorn @ Aug 5 2004, 12:21 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> Tired of being scared?

r_gamma "1.2" (normally a "1") </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>
Spoken like a true NS vet.  </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> 
spoken like a true pub-nub, whining about said veteran. <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/wow.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wow.gif' />

Birdy · August 2004

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Forlorn @ Aug 5 2004, 07:21 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> Tired of being scared?

r_gamma "1.2" (normally a "1")  </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> 
Never!!!

Heartattacks for the win <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' />

CommunistWithAGun · August 2004

I did a little experiment. Doom3 loses its scary quality if you turn off sound

Testament · August 2004

It'd gain 100x scaryfactor without sound for me. I get terrified without some kind of sound playing around me, game or RL.

Swiftspear · August 2004

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Forlorn @ Aug 4 2004, 06:24 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> seta image_cacheMegs "128" // <--- Set to 1/4 of your total memory  </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> 
Why one fourth? In the orignial thread this tweak was introduced they went as high as half the total Ram... What difference does it make?

Kaine · August 2004

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>seta image_filter "GL_LINEAR_MIPMAP_NEAREST" // <-- Normally says GL_LINEAR_MIPMAP_LINEAR</td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>

i would suggest most people don't use this unless as a last resort to get a *tiny* bit more speed. this essentially TURNS OFF ANISTROPIC FILTERING. which gives those horrible jagged lines between mipmap levels that i hate so much. i do the opposite tweak in HL and on a P3 866/GF2MX 32mb i don't notice any speed decrease. so if you want to trade the tinyest of speed improvements for a nasty visual degradation, be my guest.

Kaine · August 2004

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (TychoCelchuuu @ Aug 5 2004, 10:55 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> Is it better to set the stuff in the autoexec or the DoomConfig.cfg? Will one overright the other?

Edit: Also, is CWAG's unpacking tip going to make much of a difference if you've got a nice, speedy processor, hard drive, and RAM? Because it seems to me like those would be the limiting factor in loading the stuff from those files, instead of the video card. </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>
if you set it in DoomConfig.cfg it could be overwritten by the game engines defaults. in theory putting them in an autoexec will overwrite them EVERY TIME YOU START THE GAME and will make sure that it is all set to what you want. you will also find that many of the settings here aren't cvars at all, but commands & arguments. so unless they are executed after the game engine is initialized, they will not take effect. basically, go the autoexec, just to make sure.

yes, it will still make a difference. think about it, you are removing the need to decrompress thousands of files from .rar format. what do you think?

Tequila · August 2004

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Kaine @ Aug 5 2004, 01:42 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> </div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (TychoCelchuuu @ Aug 5 2004, 10:55 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> Is it better to set the stuff in the autoexec or the DoomConfig.cfg? Will one overright the other?

Edit: Also, is CWAG's unpacking tip going to make much of a difference if you've got a nice, speedy processor, hard drive, and RAM? Because it seems to me like those would be the limiting factor in loading the stuff from those files, instead of the video card. </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>
if you set it in DoomConfig.cfg it could be overwritten by the game engines defaults. in theory putting them in an autoexec will overwrite them EVERY TIME YOU START THE GAME and will make sure that it is all set to what you want. you will also find that many of the settings here aren't cvars at all, but commands & arguments. so unless they are executed after the game engine is initialized, they will not take effect. basically, go the autoexec, just to make sure.

yes, it will still make a difference. think about it, you are removing the need to decrompress thousands of files from .rar format. what do you think?  </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> 
Except ydnar, a top-quality Quake 3 coder, stated that the file uncompressing code is just as fast as your hard drive when it comes to grabbing the needed files. It seems like a ridiculous technique considering it nullifies multi-player, for <i>maybe</i> a little more performance.

Sandrock · August 2004

I didn't notice any difference in performance by unpacking the pk4 files. It might help people with slow harddrives and/or processors, but personally I didn't see a difference.

TychoCelchuuu · August 2004

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Sandrock @ Aug 5 2004, 10:57 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> I didn't notice any difference in performance by unpacking the pk4 files. It might help people with slow harddrives and/or processors, but personally I didn't see a difference.  </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> 
Same with my friend.

TommyVercetti · August 2004

I just got Doom 3 and applied some of these tweaks and it won't start. It shows the splash screen, then nothing. What the hell?

Swiftspear · August 2004

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (TommyVercetti @ Aug 5 2004, 01:10 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> I just got Doom 3 and applied some of these tweaks and it won't start. It shows the splash screen, then nothing. What the hell?  </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> 
Specificness is your friend when you want tech support...

TommyVercetti · August 2004

Fixed it. Apparently mine won't start when I try to play with the decompressed files.

SillyGoose · August 2004

I think we need to do some in-game demo comparisons with the compressed and uncompressed files. For now Ill take it off the first post.

TommyVercetti · August 2004

I'm getting good framerates for the most part now, 800x600 med settings. However, in some areas and while fighting zombie security guards there is inexplicable slowdown. What is it rendering?

Oh well. Maybe when my Athlon 64+X800 XT rig arrives I will have better luck.

TychoCelchuuu · August 2004

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (TommyVercetti @ Aug 5 2004, 11:31 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> I'm getting good framerates for the most part now, 800x600 med settings. However, in some areas and while fighting zombie security guards there is inexplicable slowdown. What is it rendering?

Oh well. Maybe when my Athlon 64+X800 XT rig arrives I will have better luck.  </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> 
Is it rendering the guards themselves? Maybe muzzle flashes? Possibly they are just choppy areas? Doom 3 is inconsistent in frame rate because it is inconsistent in visuals.

Swiftspear · August 2004

Ok, got the game running nice at 1280x1024, nice fps unless big stuff loads (which I hope to counter with the unpacking) but the anti-aliasing I'm getting is absolute crap, even when set to 8x, anyone know what the problem could be?

Vidcard: ATI 9800 pro
Drivers: Omega with Cats 4.7

Autoexec.cfg:
</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>CODE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='CODE'>seta com_videoram "128" // <--- How much memory your card has
seta com_allowconsole "1" // Hit alt + ctrl + ~ for console in game
seta image_downSizeBumpLimit "512"
seta image_filter "GL_LINEAR_MIPMAP_LINEAR" // <-- Normally says GL_LINEAR_MIPMAP_LINEAR
seta g_decals "1"
seta g_projectileLights "1"
seta g_doubleVision "1"
seta g_muzzleFlash "1"
seta image_useCache "1"
seta image_cachemegs "512" // <--- Set to 1/4 of your total memory
seta image_cacheMinK "20480"</td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>

Quaunaut · August 2004

I too am getting something really wierd- here's my specs

GeForce FX 5600XT 256mb
1280mb DDRAM
Pentium 4 2.0ghz

I should be able to do a lot better than a friend of mine, but I'm only doing what he is able to. I'm barely able to pull of 800x600 with medium settings at acceptable frames, but I haven't seen combat yet.

Sid · August 2004

@Swiftspear

Get the 4.9 new drivers, don't use AA, and remove the slashes, brackets and descriptions from your autoexec. <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' />

Sid · August 2004

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Quaunaut @ Aug 5 2004, 09:34 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> I too am getting something really wierd- here's my specs

GeForce FX 5600XT 256mb
1280mb DDRAM
Pentium 4 2.0ghz

I should be able to do a lot better than a friend of mine, but I'm only doing what he is able to. I'm barely able to pull of 800x600 with medium settings at acceptable frames, but I haven't seen combat yet.  </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> 
Are you using the latest drivers?

Do you have AA on?

Swiftspear · August 2004

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Sid @ Aug 5 2004, 11:34 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> @Swiftspear

Get the 4.9 new drivers, don't use AA, and remove the slashes, brackets and descriptions from your autoexec. <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>
The 4.9 drivers are apparently unstable (as they are in beta still) so I'm gonna wait on that until they at very least get a final build. If you know anything about C++ you would know that // in code causes the compiling to ignore whatever follows the code until the line ends, hence I'm gonna keep the // comments because they help me remember what the functions do. Why not use AA?

[edit] I'll repeat the game looks really crappy BECAUSE my AA isn't working, the jaggies are absolutly hideous.

Doom3 Performance Tweaks

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