Doom 3

Doom 3

Developers
	id Software
	Splash Damage
Resurrection of Evil	Nerve Software
macOS (OS X)	Aspyr Media
Publishers
	Activision
Japan	CyberFront
OS X	Aspyr Media
Engines
	id Tech 4
Release dates
Windows	August 3, 2004
Linux	October 5, 2004
macOS (OS X)	March 14, 2005

Warnings

The macOS (OS X) release of this game does not work on macOS Catalina (version 10.15) or later due to the removal of support for 32-bit-only apps.

⤏ Go to series page
DooM mods and fangames (series)
Doom (1993)	1993
Doom II: Hell on Earth	1994
Final Doom	1996
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
Doom RPG (Unofficial Port)	2022
Doom II RPG (Unofficial Port)	2023
Doom + Doom II	2024
Doom: The Dark Ages	2025

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.^{[citation needed]}

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 removed in Patch v1.2. Previously had SafeDisc DRM.
GamersGate
GamersGate
Green Man Gaming
Humble Store
Mac App Store		Updated for Intel Mac compatibility
Steam		Using the Doom3.exe executable from the retail v1.3.1 patch allows the game to become playable without Steam.

SafeDisc DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected releases).

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil

Essential improvements

Patches

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

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.
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.

Game data

In-game general settings.

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\base
macOS (OS X)
Linux	~/.doom3/base
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/9050/pfx/

This game does not follow the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux.

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\base\savegames
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/9050/pfx/

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Steam Cloud		Syncs save games.

Video settings

In-game general video/audio settings.

In-game advanced video settings.

Widescreen resolution

Widescreen resolutions

This method assumes you have the latest patch. It involves setting a game variable that did not exist in the earliest retail versions. Go to <path-to-game>\base\ Edit DoomConfig.cfg. Find these lines:seta r_customHeight "xxx" seta r_customWidth "xxxx". Change the x's to set your resolution. Now find this line: seta r_mode "x". Change the "x" to "-1". Find this line: 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.

Anisotropic filtering (AF)

Changing Anisotropic filtering[citation needed]

In Doom 3, anisotropic filtering is bound with "Video Quality" option. Therefore: Low Quality - Disabled Anisotropic Filtering Medium Quality - Anisotropic Filtering x1 (?) High Quality - Anisotropic Filtering x8 Ultra Quality - Anisotropic Filtering x8 It's possible to set up custom amount of anistropic filtering. In order to do it, open a console, by pressing Ctrl+Alt+~. Type in image_anisotropy X, where X is a value between 1-8. To apply new settings, type in vid_restart, to restart the renderer.

Disable head bob

Disable head bob
1. Create autoexec.cfg file in <path-to-game>\base. 2. Add the following commands: 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" 3. Save the file.

Tweaking video settings

TweakGuides has created a comprehensive guide for tweaking the game.

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). For example, to turn on plasma gun projectile shadows, go to materials folder, open lights.mtr (use WordPad or other text editor), search for plasmaglow and delete the noshadows line under it, then save the changes. Particularly the def folder contains definitions of monster health, gun damage, ammunition amount and lots of other tweakable game values.

Input settings

In-game key map settings.

Audio settings

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
French
German
Italian
Polish				Only available in Polish retail release.
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

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP

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
Novint Falcon		The official game-specific 3D Touch Add On (Base game) (Resurrection of Evil expansion) is required.

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 image_ignoreHighQuality "0" seta image_downSizeBump "0" seta image_downSizeSpecular "0" seta image_usePrecompressedTextures "0" seta image_useNormalCompression "0" seta image_useCompression "0" seta image_roundDown "0" seta image_downSize "0" seta image_lodbias "-2" seta image_anisotropy "16" seta image_filter "GL_LINEAR_MIPMAP_LINEAR" seta com_purgeAll "1" seta com_machineSpec "3" seta com_allowConsole "1" seta g_showBrass "1" seta g_doubleVision "1" seta g_bloodEffects "1" seta g_projectileLights "1" seta g_muzzleFlash "1" 4. Save the file.

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.

Performance improving for low-end systems

Configuration Files[citation needed]
Open DoomConfig.cfg file seta image_useCache "1" Set image_cacheMegs to about 1/4 of your total system RAM. Set image_cacheMinK = "image_cacheMegs" * 128 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"

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]
Open and edit the config file Find seta s_alsa_pcm and replace default with the name of your ALSA audio output for example hw:0,0 Save the file

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.

Other information

Cheats

Visit GameFAQs for list of cheats.

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
OpenGL	2.0

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux

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

• Moddb
• NexusMods

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.

Not available for Resurrection of Evil.

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.

System requirements

Windows

macOS (OS X)

Linux

Windows
	Minimum		Recommended
Operating system (OS)	2000		XP
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium 4 1.5 GHz AMD Athlon XP 1500+
System memory (RAM)	384 MB
Storage drive (HDD/SSD)	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		2 GB
Storage drive (HDD/SSD)	2 GB
Video card (GPU)	ATI Radeon x1600 Nvidia GeForce 7300 128 MB of VRAM

Linux
	Minimum		Recommended
Operating system (OS)	2.4 kernel		2.6 kernel
Processor (CPU)	1 GHz or higher
System memory (RAM)	256 MB
Storage drive (HDD/SSD)	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