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Doom 3

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
Doom 3
Doom 3 cover
Developers
id Software
Splash Damage
Resurrection of Evil Nerve Software
macOS (OS X) Aspyr Media
Publishers
Activision
Japan CYBERFRONT Corporation
OS X Aspyr Media
Engines
id Tech 4
Release dates
Windows August 3, 2004
Linux October 5, 2004
macOS (OS X) March 14, 2005
Reception
Metacritic 87
IGDB 86
Taxonomy
Monetization Expansion pack
Microtransactions None
Modes Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Perspectives First-person
Controls Direct control
Genres Action, Shooter
Themes Horror, Sci-fi
Series Doom
Doom 3 on IGDB
Doom 3 guide on StrategyWiki
Doom 3 on MobyGames
Doom 3 on Wikipedia
Doom (1993) 1993
Doom II: Hell on Earth 1994
Final Doom 1996
DRL (unofficial game) 2002
Doom 3 2004
Doom 64 EX (unofficial port) 2008
Doom 3: BFG Edition 2012
Doom (2016) 2016
Doom VFR 2017
Doom I Enhanced 2020
Doom II Enhanced 2020
Doom Eternal 2020
Doom 64 2020

Warnings

The macOS (OS X) version of this game needs a fix to work on macOS Catalina (version 10.15) or later (see API for details).

This page is for the original release. For the BFG Edition, see Doom 3: BFG Edition.

Key points

EAX support suffers from frequent visual glitches.
The game does not properly recognize the available VRAM on modern graphics cards, and as such forces the game to use lower image quality settings. See Textures are low-resolution, even on Ultra quality to resolve.

General information

Doom Wiki
Steam Community Discussions
Steam Community Discussions for Resurrection of Evil expansion pack

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Disc check (requires the CD/DVD in the drive to play)
CD key
SafeDisc DRM was removed in Patch 1.2.[1] PC/Linux: 3 CD's Mac: 1 DVD.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Bethesda.net
Bethesda.net Launcher
Windows
GamersGate
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Gamesplanet logo.svg
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Green Man Gaming
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Humble Store
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Mac App Store (unavailable)
Icon overlay.png
Updated for Intel Mac compatibility. Removed in 2019.[2]
macOS (OS X)
Steam
Icon overlay.png
CD key
Use DOOM3.exe from Patch 1.3.1 to run without Steam.[3]
Windows
A faithful higher resolution icon for Windows can be downloaded from the Files section.
DOOM 3 demo

DLC and expansion packs

Name Notes
Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil Includes and requires Patch 1.2
Windows
Linux

Essential improvements

Patches

Patch v1.3.1 updates retail versions to the latest version. Digital distribution versions are already patched.

Skip intro videos

Use the +disconnect command line argument[4]

Source ports

Name Description
dhewm3 Aimed at bringing DOOM 3 to all suitable platforms with the help of SDL. Supports 64-bit, widescreen resolutions and uses OpenAL EFX for improved EAX support.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
fhDOOM Modernized source port of DOOM, featuring support for Widescreen resolutions, soft cascading shadows, soft-particles, extended graphics options and improved editor tools and more.
Windows
Linux

Doom 3 Enhanced Edition

A series of bugfixes and QOL improvements for the original Doom 3 game and it's expansions Resurrection of Evil and The Lost Mission (optional)
Active development.
Compatible with dhewm3.
Bugfixes and QOL without drastic changes to the game.
Rebalanced Weapons and enemy AI.

Game data

In-game general settings.
In-game general settings.

Configuration file(s) location (Main title)

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\base\[Note 1]
macOS (OS X)
Linux ~/.doom3/base
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/9050/pfx/[Note 2]
This game does not follow the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux.

Save game data location (Main title)

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\base\savegames\[Note 1]
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/9050/pfx/[Note 2]
dhewm3: %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\dhewm3\base\savegames\

Save game cloud syncing (Main title)

System Native Notes
Steam Cloud
Syncs save games.

Configuration file(s) location (Expansion)

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\d3xp\[Note 1]
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/9050/pfx/[Note 2]
This game does not follow the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux.

Save game data location (Expansion)

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\d3xp\savegames\[Note 1]
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/9050/pfx/[Note 2]

Save game cloud syncing (Expansion)

System Native Notes
Steam Cloud

Video

In-game general video/audio settings.
In-game general video/audio settings.
In-game advanced video settings.
In-game advanced video settings.

Graphics feature State WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
See Widescreen resolution.
Multi-monitor
See Widescreen resolution.
Ultra-widescreen
See Widescreen resolution.
4K Ultra HD
See Widescreen resolution.
Field of view (FOV)
Default is 90°. See Field of view (FOV).
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Controlled by Video Quality setting. See Anisotropic filtering (AF).
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Up to 16x MSAA. NVIDIA users only. Use dhewm3 for AMD users.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS
120+ FPS
Frame rate is capped at 62.5 FPS.[5] See High frame rate.
High dynamic range display (HDR)
See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Widescreen resolution

Use the dhewm3 source port[6]
Edit DoomConfig.cfg[7]
This method assumes you have the latest patch. It involves setting a game variable that did not exist in the earliest retail versions.
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\base\.
  2. Edit DoomConfig.cfg.
  3. Find seta r_customHeight "xxx" and seta r_customWidth "xxxx". Change the x's to set your resolution.
  4. Find seta r_mode "x". Change the "x" to "-1".
  5. Find seta r_aspectRatio "x". If your screen aspect ratio is 16:9, change the "x" to "1". If your screen aspect ratio is 16:10 or 15:9, change the "x" to "2".

Notes

If you cannot find any of these lines in your DoomConfig.cfg file, add them manually.
These values can be set in the command console. Omit seta when doing so, and use vid_restart to apply changes.
HUD, menus, and FMV cutscenes are stretched.
Install Doom 3 Redux

Field of view (FOV)

Set FOV manually[8]
  1. Open the console with ~ (dhewm3) or Ctrl+Alt+~.
  2. Type in g_fov X where X is the desired value (default 90).

Notes

Alternatively, add the line seta g_fov "X" in DoomConfig.cfg.
In multiplayer, g_fov can only be changed between 90 and 110.

Anisotropic filtering (AF)

Anisotropic filtering scales with the "Video Quality" option.
Set AF manually[8]
  1. Open the console with ~ (dhewm3) or Ctrl+Alt+~.
  2. Type in image_anisotropy X, where X is a value between 1-8.
  3. To apply new settings, type in vid_restart to restart the renderer.

High frame rate

Uncap the frame rate[9]
  1. Install dhewm3.
  2. Open the console (~).
  3. Type in com_fixedtic -1.

Notes

Can be set back with com_fixedTic 0.

Gamma

Set gamma manually[8]
  1. Open the console with ~ (dhewm3) or Ctrl+Alt+~.
  2. Type in r_gamma X where X is the desired value (default 1).

Disable head bob

Disable head bob[10]
  1. Create autoexec.cfg file in <path-to-game>\base.
  2. Add the following commands, and save the file.
seta pm_runbob "0"
seta pm_runpitch "0"
seta pm_runroll "0"
seta pm_walkbob "0"
seta pm_bobpitch "0"
seta pm_bobroll "0"
seta pm_bobup "0"
seta pm_crouchbob "0"

Enable plasma gun projectile shadows

Instructions[citation needed]
  1. Open <path-to-game>\base\pak000.pk4 with 7-Zip or similar program.
  2. Go to materials folder.
  3. Open lights.mtr with Notepad++ or other text editor.
  4. Search for plasmaglow, and delete the noshadows line under it.
  5. Save the changes.

Input

In-game key map settings.
In-game key map settings.

Keyboard and mouse State Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse Smoothness in menu, but no acceleration.
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Controller types
Tracked motion controllers
Razer Hydra.[citation needed]
Button/gesture prompts
Additional information
Haptic feedback

Audio

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound
5.1 (software), 7.1 (EAX hardware accelerated)[11]
Subtitles
A CC/Subtitle mod is available here and its readme can be viewed here. Note that it is officially incompatible with the 1.3.1 patch but that can be worked around using this. This mod also seems to be incompatible with many other mods.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support
EAX 4[11] (Patch 1.3 and OpenAL required[12]). DirectSound otherwise.[13]

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
French
German
Italian
Polish
Only available in Polish retail release. Patch for digital release here.
Russian
Retail only. Patch for digital release here.
Spanish

Network

Multiplayer types

Type Native Players Notes
Local play
Co-op
Use Doom 3 Splitscreen Edition mod.
LAN play
16 Co-op, Versus
Use the OpenCoop mod (alpha) for 4-player co-op.
Online play
16 Co-op, Versus
Use the OpenCoop mod (alpha) for 4-player co-op.

Connection types

Ports

Protocol Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP 27650, 27666
UDP 27650, 27666
Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

VR support

3D modes State Notes
Native 3D
Nvidia 3D Vision
TriDef 3D
iZ3D
Devices
3RD Space Gaming Vest
Official Game Mod (version 1.3.1) Single Player
Novint Falcon
The official game-specific 3D Touch Add On (Base game) (Resurrection of Evil expansion) is required.

Issues unresolved

Visual twitch bug with OpenAL/EAX

Using OpenAL (seta s_useOpenAL "1" in DoomConfig.cfg), which was added with patch 1.3 and is automatically engaged when EAX is turned on, results in frequent visual twitching/screen shifting. It is currently unknown whether this happens on all configurations, but the problem persists in the latest patch. A video of the glitch in action can be seen here (0:07, 0:11).


For Audigy cards a fix has been reported in the form of running an old beta driver, however this is only applicable to this series of sound cards and Windows XP.[14]

Issues fixed

General

Textures are low-resolution, even on Ultra quality

Configuration Files[citation needed]
1. Go to <path-to-game>/base/
2. Create a new file called autoexec.cfg.
3. Add the following lines to the new autoexec.cfg file:
seta r_renderer "best"
seta com_videoRam "512"
seta com_machineSpec "3"
seta r_shadows "1"
seta r_skipBump "0"
seta r_skipSpecular "0"
seta r_skipNewAmbient "0"
seta r_multiSamples "4"
seta image_anisotropy "8"
seta image_lodbias "-2"
seta image_filter "GL_LINEAR_MIPMAP_LINEAR"
seta image_ignoreHighQuality "0"
seta image_roundDown "0"
seta image_forceDownSize "0"
seta image_downSize "0"
seta image_downSizeBump "0"
seta image_downSizeSpecular "0"
seta image_useCache "0"
seta image_usePrecompressedTextures "0"
seta image_useNormalCompression "0"
seta image_useCompression "0"
seta image_useAllFormats "1"
seta g_showBrass "1"
seta g_decals "1"
seta g_doubleVision "1"
seta g_bloodEffects "1"
seta g_projectileLights "1"
seta g_muzzleFlash "1"
4. Save the file.
com_videoRam must be set explicitly. Value "-1" does not work in some cases.

Micro stuttering

Configuration Files[citation needed]
1. Add the following lines to the autoexec.cfg file:
seta r_swapInterval "1"
seta com_fixedTic "1"
2. Save the file and start the game.
Doom 3's tickrate is capped at 60FPS. com_fixedTic 1 removes the cap. r_swapinterval controls VSync.
Speeds up game if running above 60hz.

Fix interface scaling

Configuration Files[citation needed]

Add the lines to autoexec.cfg or change it in DoomConfig.cfg:

seta gui_mediumFontLimit "0"
seta gui_smallFontLimit "0"

Performance improving for low-end systems

Configuration Files[citation needed]
  1. Open DoomConfig.cfg file
  2. seta image_useCache "1"
  3. Set image_cacheMegs to about 1/4 of your total system RAM.
  4. Set image_cacheMinK = "image_cacheMegs" * 128
  5. Save the file and start the game.
Assuming you have 1 GB of system RAM:
seta image_useCache "1"
seta image_cacheMegs "256"
seta image_cacheMinK "32768"

Mouse not working

Change Executable name[citation needed]

or

Wireless gaming mouse[citation needed]
  1. Set the mouse's rate to at least 250

Linux

Game won't launch correctly (Retail)

Remove the included libgcc_s.so.1 and libstdc++.so.6 from the installation folder[citation needed]

No Sound

Use the OSS wrapper for specific audio device[citation needed]
Specify the default audio output[citation needed]
  1. Open and edit the config file
  2. Find seta s_alsa_pcm and replace default with the name of your ALSA audio output for example hw:0,0
  3. Save the file

Poor performance/"slow-motion" effect on Nvidia cards

Doom 3 and other id Tech 4 games seem to suffer from some sort of driver-related issue on modern Nvidia GPU's that causes the game to go into what appears to be a "slow-motion" phase during some intensive scenes, where the framerate technically remains the same but game logic is slowed down and negatively effects performance, and it persists even when using the Dhewm 3 sourceport or the microstutters fix. Luckily you can adjust your autoexec.cfg to correct many of not all of these issues.


If you're having performance issues like the ones mentioned above, reconfigure your autoexec.cfg file according to this guide

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
OpenGL 2.0
ExecutablePPC 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows
A source port is required for 64-bit.
macOS (OS X)
Intel support was added in a patch, but is 32-bit only.[15] A source port is required for 64-bit.
Linux
A source port is required for 64-bit.

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Anti-cheat PunkBuster

Linux Installation

To install Doom 3 on Linux create a doom3 folder and then copy the following retail pk4 files to your doom3/base folder:

base/pak000.pk4
base/pak001.pk4
base/pak002.pk4
base/pak003.pk4
base/pak004.pk4

If installing the expansion pack you must also copy the following retail pk4 to your <path-to-game>/d3xp folder:

:d3xp/pak000.pk4

After copying all pk4 files to your hard drive run the Linux patch and direct it to your doom3 folder. You can start the game with the command: doom3. To launch the expansion use: doom3 +set fs_game d3xp

For Arch Linux, two PKGBUILDs are available in the AUR for Doom 3; one that builds from source and one that provides a binary (if keeping to the Arch Way, you should prefer to build from source).

Mods

Doom 3 has a small, but very knowledgeable mod community that is still very active and covers most id tech based games.

Tools and Information

  • Doom 3 World - An unofficial id tech community
  • Modwiki - An unofficial id tech informational wiki created by members of Doom 3 World
  • iddevnet - Official, but limited, Doom 3/Quake 4 informational site

Doom 3 Mod Lists

CstDoom3

CstDoom3 is a gameplay mod for Doom 3 and Resurrection of Evil.
Adds widescreen HUD, adjustable FOV, Carmack's Reverse, grenades toggle, and more.

Doom 3: Redux

For ATI/AMD video card users, see here for a fix.
Adds the following features and improvements while retaining vanilla gameplay:
  • Widescreen support and resolutions up to 4K using a custom build of Sikkmod.
  • High resolution textures, menus, UI, and HUD.
  • Improved audio design for enemies, audio logs, weapon sounds, and cutscenes.
  • Features options for field of view, texture resolutions, anisotropic filtering, FXAA, motion blur, and screen blood.
  • Restores cut content and alpha version features.
Resurrection of Evil compatibility patch here.

The Lost Mission

A port of the BFG Edition campaign 'The Lost Mission' for 2004's Doom 3 release.
Requires the Resurrection of Evil expansion pack.
Active development.
New maps based on the Doom 3: BFG Edition expansion pack.
Currently not compatible with dhewm 3. Compatibility is still being worked on.[16]

Duct Tape

The Duct Tape Mod is a small patch for doom 3.
Adds flashlight to all the guns except the pistol.
Does not work with other mods like Redux.

Yet Another Flashlight Mod

Alternative for Duct Tape Mod.
Light is attached to the head.
Works with all weapons.
Weapons don't lose muzzleflash.

Co-op mod

The OpenCoop Mod allows up to 4 players to play through the entire game + expansion pack together. Works both online and LAN.

It also adds in challenge maps, and 42 custom maps.

Patch 1.3.1 is required for this mod.


Advanced tweaks

It is possible to easily change many things in the game simply by modifying text files located in <path-to-game>/base/pak000.pk4 (.pk4 files can be opened with 7-Zip or similar programs). Particularly the def folder contains definitions of monster health, gun damage, ammunition amount and lots of other tweakable game values.
TweakGuides has created a comprehensive guide for tweaking the game.

Cheats

Visit GameFAQs for list of cheats.

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 2000
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium 4 1.5 GHz
AMD Athlon XP 1500+
System memory (RAM) 384 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 2.2 GB
Video card (GPU) 64 MB of VRAM
DirectX 9.0b compatible
Windows 98 and ME have been tested to work with Doom 3 using this hack, but are not officially supported.
macOS (OS X)
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 10.6.8
Processor (CPU) Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHz
System memory (RAM) 1 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 2 GB
Video card (GPU) ATI Radeon x1600
Nvidia GeForce 7300
128 MB of VRAM
Linux
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 2.4 kernel
Processor (CPU) 1 GHz or higher
System memory (RAM) 256 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 2.2 GB
Video card (GPU) OpenGL hardware acceleration
64 MB of VRAM
Supported AMD Radeon chipsets: 8500, 9000, 9200, 9500, 9600, 9700, 9800, X1600, X1900, 2400XT, 2600, 3870, 4670, 4850, 5670, 5750, 5770, 5870, 6630, 6750, 6970
Supported Nvidia chipsets: GeForce 3/Ti series, GeForce 4MX series, GeForce 4/Ti series, GeForce FX series, GeForce 6800, 7300, 7600, 8600, 8800, 9400, 9600, GT 120, 320M, 330M
The game supports Intel HD Graphics 3000 and greater
The game does not support the GMA 950 and GMA X3100 integrated video chipsets


Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/9050/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (9050) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References