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[Mrbob]

It's been awhile since I could quote Slayers! Anyway thread d00m3d!!! I'm so witty. Err, yeah.

http://www2.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NjQ0

Here are the quality settings explained.

Low Quality mode is basically for 64MB video cards in the value video card segment or older hardware. For people that run this level of video card (assuming it meets the minimum system requirements), you can be assured of a solid gaming experience. In Low Quality mode everything is compressed, including specular, diffuse, and normal maps. Any textures that are larger than 512x512 get downsized. Specular maps are also downsized to 64x64. The Low Quality setting also reduces sound diversity to the level of one sound per sound effect.

Medium Quality is built for those that own mainstream 128MB video cards. Medium Quality still compresses specular, diffuse, and normal maps, but it does not downsample any textures or specular maps. This means you will get the full texture sizes available in DOOM 3, though compressed. Sound diversity is also increased in Medium Quality giving you more sounds per sound effect.

High Quality is for those that have performance video cards with 256MB of local video card memory. High Quality does not compress normal maps at all, so there are no compression artifacts with any of the normal mapped textures. It does, however, compress specular and diffuse lighting. At High Quality, anisotropic filtering is automatically enabled at 8X. So along with the uncompressed normal map textures, you also are adding 8X anisotropic filtering to the performance and image quality equation. Depending on your system, we have found 128MB video cards that can handle High Quality mode very easily.

Ultra Quality is the cream of the crop for DOOM 3. In Ultra Quality nothing is compressed. Normal maps, and specular and diffuse lighting are all displayed at full resolution with no compression. Because of this, there is a tremendous amount of texture data needed on the video card, upwards of 500MB. While it will run on lesser cards, you may experience hitching or pausing due to the graphics card having to swap textures in and out of its memory buffer. That is why this setting is recommended for 512MB video cards. There is nothing stopping you from trying this quality setting if you want to, just keep in mind that the memory load is huge.

 

[Chopin Trusty Balls]

http://www2.hardocp.com/image.html?image=MTA5MDc4NzE0M1RPNjJBTU9FV1hfN185X2wuZ2lm


Great performance,i will probobly turn 2X AA on or switch Res to 1280x960 or 1024.

 

[DSN2K]

well im set, nearly the same machine but more ram.

link

6800nu also won the HardOCP's Ultimate Doom3 Enthusiast System award

 

[Mrbob]

Holy cow! Indeed! I didn't even get that far yet! What I like that bench! The only worry I have is it hits a low of 7FPS at one point. But it musn't be for long since the average is 47!

Some quality comparisons:

http://www2.hardocp.com/image.html?image=MTA5MDc4NzE0M1RPNjJBTU9FV1hfM183X2wuanBn

 

[Fularu]

I have an inspiron 9100 with a 64mb Radeon 9700, wonder how that will turn out...

 

[Bregor]

You beat me, Mrbob- oh well.

Looks like I'll be running at 1024x768 with medium texture quality. Sounds fine to me.

 

[akascream]

Sounds like the main limiting factor in doom3 is memory, not hardware featureset.

 

[Mrbob]

Even though this is a PC guide, Xbox gamers will be happy to know this:

What we noticed immediately is that DOOM 3 looks incredible even at 640x480! And as we increased the resolution, the game began to look more and more like a pre-rendered movie. Visually, DOOM 3 is unlike any other game we have ever seen on the PC. We initially began playing DOOM 3 on the minimum spec system, which consisted of a GeForce4 MX-440 64MB video card at the Low Quality setting and 640x480 resolution. We were literally drawn into the game, and became fully immersed in it at these settings. As we used increasingly faster video cards and were able to raise the resolution, we discovered something interesting that we had never seen before in a game: antialiasing was not necessary.

AA gimmick? Just need better coding?

 

[Templar Wizard]

seems like they are future proofing their cash-cow engine. we all know that gfx cards will have double the memory and power in 12 months time.
doom3 engine powered games MAY be able to max'ed out by then.

just as long as us normal non-future folk can be wow'd by future tech, i will be happy.

 

[Vennt]

Radeon 9600 XT 128MB

Best Playable IQ Settings
Resolution: 1024x768
Texture Quality: Medium Quality

Cool! - Better than I expected for my set-up.

This, and HL2 very much just around the corner, PC Gamer heaven!

 

[Slo]

I'm satisfied that my system can pull off 1024x768 in Med/High quality. Excellent news.

 

[Mrbob]

This should answer the features battle from the other doom 3 thread:

If you have a low-end video card, fear not, DOOM 3 will look good on it. By default, all of the advanced quality settings such as shadows, specular lighting, and bump mapping are enabled. As long as your video card meets the system requirement of a GeForce4 MX-440 64MB, all of these effects will be available to you. The only effect that will not be present is Heat Haze, which requires a DX9 level video card.

Wow. Look how good the game looks on these lower tiered cards.

 

[teepo]

my system got hardocp editors choice for doom3 performance

even though they had a better gfx card in the sytem... but still!

 

[dark10x]

id software is incredible! I can't believe they pulled all of that off! Though, it is now clear that Far Cry stands above Doom 3 in terms of "technical wiz-bang" features (based on various factors).

There is nothing that specifically matches my system (not 9700 Pro)...but based on video cards that rank a bit lower than the 9700 Pro, I should be in top shape. Excellent! It seems that Doom 3 performs quite a bit smoother than Far Cry, as expected.

I'm glad that Carmack decided to lock Doom 3 at 60 fps, though. Very VERY good choice!

 

[dem]

Colour me unimpressed with the numbers...

Even the highest of highend has drops down to BELOW 20 FPS??? Christ..

 

[dark10x]

Colour me unimpressed with the numbers...

Even the highest of highend has drops down to BELOW 20 FPS??? Christ..

...at 1600x1200 w/ 4x AA + 8x AF.

 

[akascream]

I'm more impressed with an engine that combines several lower technologies to achieve unified lighting/shadows than a game engine that uses a couple dx9 checkmarks. I would call doom3 more technologically advanced.

 

[dem]

STILL! =P

 

[Culex]

Colour me unimpressed with the numbers...

Even the highest of highend has drops down to BELOW 20 FPS??? Christ..

Of course it will. What did you expect at 1600 x 1200? Six months ago, that resolution gaming was impossible or unplayable.

 

[Thaedolus]

BING

Stock in my system just went up. Can't wait for Tuesday, I expect 1024x768 at Medium now!

 

[Mrbob]

Hmmm, this is weird. Is the onboard video ram the difference between the 9800PRO and XT?

Have the same max. But differ in min speed. I know the XT is clocked at a higher speed so that would help somewhat. But 23 FPS and 7FPS is a huge difference in minimum.

By the way I just noticed that going from an Athlon 3200+ to an Athlon 3500+ 64 and from 512MB to 1gig really doesn't make a difference on a 9800PRO or XT:

 

[dark10x]

I'm more impressed with an engine that combines several lower technologies to achieve unified lighting/shadows than a game engine that uses a couple dx9 checkmarks. I would call doom3 more technologically advanced.

The point is that Far Cry clearly is attempting to use newer technologies all around (you can't deny this), but Doom 3 is going about things in a much better fashion (IMO). They are achieving many of the same visual effects with lower hardware requirements...

Doom 3 is much more impressive to me as a result.

Hmmm, this is weird. Is the onboard video ram the difference between the 9800PRO and XT?

Bob, look at where the drop occurs, though. That last section is a cutscene and the drop only occurs in one very small area. Who knows what caused that tiny drop. Really, though, it isn't a big deal...

 

[akascream]

I think a better example of that type of comparison (and one that we will no doubt not hear the end of) is Doom3 vs. HL2. HL2 has some really friggin nice dx9 features, but isn't nearly as impressive to me as lights and shadows all interacting with each other. So I guess it's how you define technically impressive. What the hardware is capable of vs. What the developer can do with it.

 

[Culex]

Hmmm, this is weird. Is the onboard video ram the difference between the 9800PRO and XT?

Have the same max. But differ in min speed. I know the XT is clocked at a higher speed so that would help somewhat. But 23 FPS and 7FPS is a huge difference in minimum.

Yes, you are correct. It's a combination of higher core/mem clocks and an extra 128 mb of RAM. At high quality, without that extra RAM, the card has to write back more often, puting undue stress on it.

 

[Bregor]

Hmmm, this is weird. Is the onboard video ram the difference between the 9800PRO and XT?

Yes, most 9800 Pros have 128MB, All 9800 XT have 256 MB. As a result, the 9800 XT usually gets the High quality recommendation, while the 9800 Pro gets Medium.

 

[akascream]

It would be interesting to see the implications of AA, whether the game needs it or not.

 

[SKluck]

Fuck me. The visual differences between low quality and high are negligable! A bit sharper textures and whatnot, but really, you can't go wrong either way. Though I wonder if that is because all of these screens were taken from shit cards? No dx9 level ones.

 

[Mrbob]

Holy cow! I missed this the first time around! This is from a 128MB vanilla 6800!

Anyone want to buy a 9800 Pro?? Actually this bench makes it seem like it is the clock speed that is the difference between the 9800PRO and XT. The regular 6800 only has 128MB ram and is running at 1280 X 1024.

Fuck me. The visual differences between low quality and high are negligable! A bit sharper textures and whatnot, but really, you can't go wrong either way. Though I wonder if that is because all of these screens were taken from shit cards? No dx9 level ones.

Well I just posted those. In the article you can see a wide array of pics.

 

[dem]

I guess I'll be buying a 6800 gt soon...

I dont know whether to be happy or cry....

 

[Bregor]

It would be interesting to see the implications of AA, whether the game needs it or not.

Check the article, they found that turning up the resolution was more effective than turning on AA.

 

[Mrbob]

Bob, look at where the drop occurs, though. That last section is a cutscene and the drop only occurs in one very small area. Who knows what caused that tiny drop. Really, though, it isn't a big deal...

Where did you read this? I missed it.....

 

[dark10x]

Where did you read this? I missed it.....

This is what I read...

The fps dip you see at the end of the run-through is actually a cut scene and not real gameplay, so the impact of the frame rates there is nothing that would detract from your gaming experience.

It seems to me that every card was dropping to their lowest during that cutscene. Who knows what it was showing, though...but it clearly took a hit. Perhaps that massive drop in the 9800 Pro is related to the transition between gameplay to cutscene (a loading pause or something)?

 

[Teknopathetic]

Looks like I'll be able to play on High Quality.

 

[Mrbob]

Ahh, cool.

I thought I'd have to tack on another 512MB of ram for this game (Only have 512 right now), but looking at benches between 512MB and 1GIG @ 1024 X 768 it makes no difference.

 

[DSN2K]

Something that simply cannot be overstated, is that DOOM 3 is a game about atmosphere, terror, and suspense.

The proper setting for playing the game makes *ALL* the difference. Dim the lights, turn on the answering machine, turn off your email and ICQ, have plenty of snack-food and drinks handy, and devote a healthy chunk of time to take in the entire experience.

I was recently asked "If I were to play DOOM 3 for the first time, what would be the best audio experience ? 5.1 sound, or headphones ?"

There is no easy answer to this. Your experiences will be different either way you play the game.

My recommendation, if you're playing the game for the first time, and you have a 5.1 system, play it in 5.1 first to get a truly grand theatrical gaming experience. I have fond memories of working on soundassets early on in the development of the audio engine, and "WOW" was it ever cool hearing the imp fireballs whoosh past you, and explode in your rear speakers. Everything from projectile whizzes and impacts, to secret doors opening up behind you, and monsters ambushing you from behind... it's an amazing experience playing through the game in 5.1.

Having said that, playing the game in headphones is also a marvelous experience. Much more intimate and personal. For deathmatch, playing in headphones is probably the way to go, just so that you can more intuitively sense left and right sound separation between you and your opponent.

A significant portion of the soundscapes for the hellish areas were done in stereo, and this really shines in headphones, giving the scenes a much "fuller" sound.

One final note: If you have control over your subs or bass, you may wish to turn the bass slightly down on lower end speakers, and turn it up slightly on higher end audio systems. DOOM 3 is a very bottom-heavy game, sound-wise, and making tweaks to the subs is the difference between a great audio experience, and an audio experience that will have your neighbors calling the police due to the soul-shaking bass disturbing their sleep. Out-of-the-box, however, DOOM 3 should be balanced for a great experience on any audio hardware.

I am proud to say that DOOM 3 is quite possibly the most aurally detailed and complex game ever made, on any platform.

Enjoy.

-Christian Antkow

I suggest everyone(xbox/PC) get good a 5.1 system because it will be worth it.

 

[akascream]

Check the article, they found that turning up the resolution was more effective than turning on AA.

Again, I'm more interested in what it does to performance than how well it gets rid of jaggies. Just kind of curious about the engine.

Ahh, cool.

I thought I'd have to tack on another 512MB of ram for this game (Only have 512 right now), but looking at benches between 512MB and 1GIG @ 1024 X 768 it makes no difference.

Yeah, it looks like RAM on the actual card is most important.

 

[Bregor]

I suggest everyone(xbox/PC) get good a 5.1 system because it will be worth it.

Unfortunately, the tenants in the apartment above mine are very touchy about noise, so I do all my gaming with headphones these days.

 

[LakeEarth]

Looks like Low Quality for me. But I'll still take a shot on medium. Despite not sounding like much, my puter has pumped out graphics better then I ever expected. Well, hoping for the best.

 

[Wellington]

What the... they didn't post 2500+ with a 9800.

I hope I can get 1024x768 with high quality. It'd be a shame if I can't because of my RAM (512MB) since I had to lower it from a GB for system stability.

If all else fails, I will go to plan B.

*pushes overclock button*

 

[dark10x]

*pushes overclock button*

Careful...

From Carmack...

A note on overclocking: it is very likely that overclocked configurations that "play everything else perfectly" will start to show problems on D3 due to new usage patterns. Everyone is of course free to do whatever they want with their own hardware, but don't complain to us...

and comments...

Talking to John briefly about his overclocking comments made some things clear to us that many enthusiasts will need to be aware of. When he speaks of "new usage patterns" he is literally talking about transistors on some of new GPUs that are going to be used for the first time when you play DOOM 3 on your video card. So be aware that pushing your GPU MHz may get you different results in DOOM 3 than with other games.

 

[Belfast]

Unless I actually can pull off Ultra, I'll be playing in High. I honestly see very little difference between the two, but maybe its more noticeable during play or something.

 

[WHOAguitarninja]

You guys see how good low quality looks? I'm flabbergasted...looks nearly as good as the other settings!

 

[Mrbob]

Well, if anything, having a 9800PRO should be able to hit XT speeds safely without any problems. And if you have sufficient cooling I wouldn't see why O/C would be a huge problem...

ou guys see how good low quality looks? I'm flabbergasted...looks nearly as good as the other settings!

Yes, it is amazing.

 

[Teknopathetic]

Wellington: Dude, they posted a 2500+ with a 5700u, imagine that as a 9800 Pro.

 

[dem]

I wonder when we'll start seeing some HL2 benchmarks....
I'd kinda like to see them before plunking down over half a grand (canadian =p) on a 6800 gt.

Its going gold soon, isnt it?

 

[teepo]

i won't tolerate for medium quality due to my gfx card!

i can easily hit 9800xt speeds and beyond with the powercooler but that comment from carmack scares me .

 

[Mrbob]

i won't tolerate for medium quality due to my gfx card!

i can easily hit 9800xt speeds and beyond with the powercooler but that comment from carmack scares me .

I got my 9800PRO o/c beyond XT speeds. It will work with Doom 3 at these settings! I BELIEVE! It'll work, yes! Just believe!

 

[teepo]

we can believe together

 

[Outdoor Miner]

After playing the D3 alpha, i gathered from that unofficial demo that AA is barely noticeable. I don't know if that's changed for the final, but i'd expect it to be that same way.

Err as for the guide, Medium for me all the way! Woot!

 

[MmmBeef]

The overclocking comments were only regarding the GPU, right? I have a Mobile Athlon XP 2500+ oc'd to 3200+.