Doom 3 Performance & Quality Issues \ VOGONS (2025)

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Doom 3 can be a little problematic on modern hardware and OS:

https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Doom_3#Text … n_Ultra_quality

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RandomStranger wrote on 2022-08-09, 05:58:

https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Doom_3#Text … n_Ultra_quality

Thanks, that did the trick for the Ultra quality settings. Now all that's left is the micro stutter. According to the wiki, the easiest way to elimate the stutter is to remove the FPS cap by using the command 'com_fixedTic 1'. This does appear to fix the stutter but it introduces timing issues where the audio and video go out of sync. Tried different combinations of capped framerate/uncapped, vsync/no vsync, double buffering/triple buffering but all combos either have the microstutter or the timing issue. Am I missing anything?

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After some more research and testing, I've come to the conclusion that is not possible to have both smooth gameplay and physics/audio in sync. It's either one or the other as all "fixes" for the stutter put the audio/physics out of sync. Apparently, this affects all Id Tech 4 games (Quake 4, Prey, etc.). It's a bit disappointing, but considering this issue is inherent with the game, I'm not going to worry about it.

Worth mentioning that I was getting performance issues with 8xAA + forced 8x Transparency AA in combination with the in-game vsync setting. Simply forcing Triple Buffering in the Nvidia control panel solved the performance hit from the 8x transparency AA.

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Rodney Betters wrote on 2022-08-10, 17:03:

After some more research and testing, I've come to the conclusion that is not possible to have both smooth gameplay and physics/audio in sync. It's either one or the other as all "fixes" for the stutter put the audio/physics out of sync. Apparently, this affects all Id Tech 4 games (Quake 4, Prey, etc.). It's a bit disappointing, but considering this issue is inherent with the game, I'm not going to worry about it.

This can be fixed by having a VRR monitor though.

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MrEWhite wrote on 2022-08-10, 23:04:

This can be fixed by having a VRR monitor though.

That would fix the stutter, sure, but wouldn't you still run into the timing issues (audio being out of sync)? I'm on a CRT monitor and not even setting the refresh rate to 63Hz will prevent the syncing problem.

Rankl33t++

Have you tried any of the ports?

dhewm3_1.5.1pre1_win32 works but you'll need to change major and minor OS to 4 and 0 in the executable using cff explorer. I would attach it but defender complains and I don't feel like jumping through hoops right now.

fhDOOM-1.5.2-1414 also works

Ultimate Quake Engine is another option.

I haven't tried RBDOOM on XP yet but that's for BFG.

How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
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Rodney Betters wrote on 2022-08-11, 00:04:

MrEWhite wrote on 2022-08-10, 23:04:

This can be fixed by having a VRR monitor though.

That would fix the stutter, sure, but wouldn't you still run into the timing issues (audio being out of sync)? I'm on a CRT monitor and not even setting the refresh rate to 63Hz will prevent the syncing problem.

No you wouldn't, as it's 100% in sync with the engine.

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Rodney Betters wrote on 2022-08-11, 00:04:

MrEWhite wrote on 2022-08-10, 23:04:

This can be fixed by having a VRR monitor though.

That would fix the stutter, sure, but wouldn't you still run into the timing issues (audio being out of sync)? I'm on a CRT monitor and not even setting the refresh rate to 63Hz will prevent the syncing problem.

why 63hz? sources like the old tweakguides page state the game's ticrate is capped to 60fps.

as far as i remember the game played fine with a 60fps cap in afterburner/RTSS, i don't know what version of that will still run on XP though. internal framecaps or even just vsync are usually a lot less precise than capping via RTSS.

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auron wrote on 2022-08-11, 15:34:

why 63hz? sources like the old tweakguides page state the game's ticrate is capped to 60fps.

as far as i remember the game played fine with a 60fps cap in afterburner/RTSS, i don't know what version of that will still run on XP though. internal framecaps or even just vsync are usually a lot less precise than capping via RTSS.

63Hz because the Doom 3 is actually capped at 62.5fps. I do have an XP version of RTSS handy. I'll give that a shot later today.

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auron wrote on 2022-08-11, 15:34:

Rodney Betters wrote on 2022-08-11, 00:04:

MrEWhite wrote on 2022-08-10, 23:04:

This can be fixed by having a VRR monitor though.

That would fix the stutter, sure, but wouldn't you still run into the timing issues (audio being out of sync)? I'm on a CRT monitor and not even setting the refresh rate to 63Hz will prevent the syncing problem.

why 63hz? sources like the old tweakguides page state the game's ticrate is capped to 60fps.

The game's tick rate is 62.5 Hz, not 60.

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Not sure where else to ask, but I've always wondered

Why do automatic weapons (smg, chaingun, plasma rifle) in the game fire like this:
TaTaTaTaTa! TaTaTaTaTa! Ta! TaTa! Ta! TaTaTaTaTa!

instead of

TaTaTaTaTaTaTaTaTaTaTaTaTaTaTaTaTaTaTaTaTa!

Anything to do with the tickrate?

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