Doom3 Readme.txt
 

"================
DOOM 3 README
Last Updated 7-8-2004
=================

TABLE OF CONTENTS


INSTALLATION & SET UP:
1. Minimum System Requirements
2. CD Key
3. DirectX(r) Detection & Installation
4. Windows(r) Installer Updates
TROUBLESHOOTING:
1. Video issues
2. Sound issues
3. Multiplayer and Internet issues
4. Operating system specific issues
DOOM 3 ADDENDUM:
1. Accessing the Console
2. Using the Voice Chat Commands in Multiplayer
3. Using the Editor
4. Copyright Information

======================


INSTALLATION & SET UP ISSUES

Please note that Doom 3 does not support Microsoft(r) Windows(r)
95/98/ME/NT. However, installation is allowed in case of operating
system upgrades, or dual booting configurations.

1. Minimum System Requirements:

* English version of Microsoft(r) Windows(r) 2000/XP
* Pentium(r) 4 1.5 GHz or Athlon(tm) XP 1500+ processor
· 384MB RAM
· 8x Speed CD-ROM drive (1200KB/sec sustained transfer rate) and
latest drivers
* 2.2GB of uncompressed free hard disk space (plus 400MB for
Windows(r) swap file)
* 100% DirectX(r) 9.0b compatible 16-bit sound card and latest
drivers
* 100% Windows(r) 2000/XP compatible mouse, keyboard and latest
drivers
* DirectX(r) 9.0b (included)
· 3D hardware Accelerator Card Required - 100% DirectX(r) 9.0b
compatible 64MB Hardware Accelerated video card and the latest drivers.
o ATI(r) Radeon 8500
o ATI(r) Radeon 9000
o ATI(r) Radeon 9200
o ATI(r) Radeon 9500
o ATI(r) Radeon 9600
o ATI(r) Radeon 9700
o ATI(r) Radeon 9800
o All Nvidia(r) GeForce 3/Ti series
o All Nvidia(r) GeForce 4MX series
o All Nvidia(r) GeForce 4/Ti series
o All Nvidia(r) GeForce FX series
o Nvidia(r) GeForce 6800 series

Multiplayer Requirements:

· Internet (TCP/IP) and LAN (TCP/IP) play supported
· Internet play requires broadband connection and latest drivers
· LAN play requires network interface card and latest drivers

2. CD Key

A. Installation and the CD Key

When installing Doom 3 you will be prompted to enter your CD
authentication key. The authentication key appears on the CD
packaging. It is important that you enter the key string in its
entirety exactly as it appears on the CD package. The Doom 3 Master
Server verifies the CD key each time you connect for online play.

B. The game tells me my CD key is invalid:

The number one problem with CD keys is mistyping. Double and triple
check the characters you have entered.

C. Some common sense about your CD key:

Each CD key is unique - protect it from loss or theft by keeping a copy
of it in a safe place. Without it, you cannot reinstall the game or
play online. You may hear of so-called "CD Key generators" being
available for illicit download on the Internet. They do not work as
advertised, and often attempt to steal legitimate keys off your
machine, reveal personal information or install viruses, worms and/or
trojan horses on your machine. Do not download and/or use them under
any circumstances.

3. DirectX(r) Detection & Installation

The Doom 3 installer does not check for the version of DirectX(r) you
have currently installed, it just prompts you to install DirectX(r)
9.0b. Activision recommends allowing the installer to proceed with the
DirectX(r) 9.0b installation, even if you think you may have 9.0b
installed. Re-installing DirectX(r) 9.0b will not harm your DirectX(r)
configuration. Doom 3 requires DirectX(r) 9.0b to install and play.

4. Windows(r) Installer Updates

The Windows(r) Installer may need to be updated. If this is the case,
the Doom 3 installer will update the Windows(r) Installer, reboot the
machine, then continue normally.


TROUBLESHOOTING:

1. Video Issues
Please note that Doom 3 will automatically configure optimal video
settings based on your computer's hardware. If your hardware changes
after install or if you wish to rescan, in the Main Menu: click
OPTIONS, SYSTEM, then click the SCAN HARDWARE AND SELECT OPTIMAL VIDEO
QUALITY button, then APPLY CHANGES. Any change in Screen Size and some
advanced options requires you to quit and restart Doom 3 for them to
take effect.

A. Latest drivers required

For best performance and video quality, please make sure you have the
latest drivers for your video card when running Doom 3. If you have an
ATI or NVIDIA video card, you can find drivers on their websites.
http://www.ati.com/
http://www.nvidia.com/


B. Disabling video options to gain performance:

In addition to setting Low Quality, disabling Specular, Bump Maps, and
Shadows will help improve performance. These can be disabled under the
ADVANCED OPTIONS of the SYSTEM menu. Please note that while increasing
performance, disabling these options turns off graphical features that
are key in the Doom 3 experience.


2. Sound Issues

A. Latest drivers required

Please make sure you have the latest drivers for your sound card when
running Doom 3.

B. The game tells me I don't have surround sound speakers when I do.

If you have surround sound speakers make sure that you have the correct
speaker configuration in the Windows(r) control panel and not only in
any software utilities that came with your sound card.
For Windows(r) XP:
Select "Sounds and Audio Devices" in the control panel. On the
"Volume" tab, click the "Advanced" button under Speaker Settings. Make
sure you have the correct speaker configuration chosen in the drop-down
menu on the "Speakers" tab.

For Windows(r) 2000:
Select "Sounds and Multimedia" in the control panel. Click the "Audio"
tab. Click the "Advanced" button under "Sound Playback". Make sure the
correct speaker configuration is chosen under "Speaker Setup".

C. The sound stutters while playing:

Make sure you have the latest drivers for your sound card. If
stuttering persists try reducing Hardware Acceleration: Click on Start,
then Run. Type "dxdiag" and hit enter. This brings up the "DirectX(r)
Diagnostic Tool". Click on the Sound tab and try reducing the "Hardware
Sound Acceleration Level" slider.



3. Multiplayer and Internet issues
Please note that Internet play requires a broadband connection and
latest drivers.

A. Internet listen server vs dedicated server:

Hosting a listen server over the Internet is more taxing on your system
than a dedicated server. Server performance will improve with dedicated
servers when hosting on the Internet.

B. Dedicated servers crash on machines with 384mb of RAM.

If you have dedicated server stability issues running on a machine with
384mb of RAM, try first starting a listen server, disconnecting, then
starting a dedicated server. If problems persist try rebooting your
machine and repeating those steps.

C. Problems Finding Internet Games

If you are having problems seeing servers in the Multiplayer Game
Browser screen, please make sure that you have checked the following
before contacting customer support.

1) Make sure that you are connected to the Internet (through either a
Local Area Network, Cable Modem, DSL Modem etc.). You must connect to
the Internet before starting the game.

2) Once you have connected to the Internet and started Doom 3, click
"Multiplayer", then "Find A Multiplayer Game". In the "Game Browser"
menu make sure "Internet" is selected. Click on "Get New List".


NOTE: Activision Customer Support does not support playing multiplayer
through firewalls or shared connections.

4. Operating system specific issues

A. Shift Key in Windows(r) 2000/XP Interrupts Game

If you press the Shift key 5 times consecutively in Windows(r) 2000 or
Windows(r) XP the following message should appear:

"By pressing the SHIFT key five times you have turned on the StickyKeys
feature in Windows(r) 2000 [or Windows(r) XP]. With this feature, you
can lock down the CTRL, ALT, or SHIFT keys. This is useful if you are
unable to hold down more than one key at a time.

Click OK to turn this feature on. If you do not want to use the
feature, click Cancel.

To avoid this happening in the future, click the Settings button on the
window referenced above. When the accessibility options screen
appears, click the "Settings" button in the "Sticky Keys" portion of
the window. On the next window (should be labeled "Settings For Sticky
Keys"), uncheck in the box that says, "Use shortcut," then click on
"Apply," and close the windows. The problem should not occur once the
shortcut has been disabled.

B. Windows(r) Key Interrupts Game in 2000/XP

If the Windows(r) key is pressed during game play, the Start Menu will
interrupt the game. Should this happen, simply press the Escape (Esc)
key to close the menu and return to the game. Unfortunately, there is
no way to prevent this from happening again except by being careful not
to hit those keys while playing.

C. Game Icons Are Missing From Start Menu And/Or Desktop In Windows(r)
2000/XP

When installing Doom 3 while logged into Windows(r) as a specific user,
the game icons will only show up when logging in as that user. For
example, if you log into Windows(r) as "Joeuser", install the game,
then log out and log back in as "Janeuser", the game icons will not
show up. If you wish to play the game, make sure you log into
Windows(r) as the same user you were logged in as when you installed
the game.

D. Admin Rights Needed To Load and Play On Windows(r) 2000 or XP

If you are running Windows(r) 2000 or Windows(r) XP, you must have
Administrator rights to properly install and play the game.


DOOM 3 ADDENDUM:

1. ACCESSING THE CONSOLE IN DOOM 3

The Console can be accessed with the CTRL-ALT-TILDE (~) key. Please
note that use of the console is unsupported by Activision Customer
Support. Please do not contact Customer Support with console command
questions.

Note: For ease of use, the console can be set to open with just the
TILDE (~) key. To turn this setting on you must enter the following
command:

com_allowConsole 1


2. VOICE COMMANDS IN MULTIPLAYER

Doom 3 multiplayer has the ability to play audio chat lines in-game for
purposes of taunting, congratulating, or for team-specific requests and
instructions. In order to utilize this function, keys must be bound to
them in the console. While this feature is unsupported, we've included
a CFG file that when executed will bind the key-pad keys to those voice
commands.
It can run from the console by typing the following:
exec mp_vchat

Here is a brief description of those bindings and their functions:

GENERAL KEYS
Keypad Insert = Great game
Keypad Asterisk = Hack
Keypad Del = That sucked
Keypad Slash = Die already
Keypad Plus = Switch channel (Global, Team)


GROUPS
Keypad Enter = Switch groups (Commands, Responses, Reports)
Commands
Keypad 1 = Cancel that
Keypad 2 = Pull back
Keypad 3 = Prepare for attack
Keypad 4 = Grab the armor
Keypad 5 = Cover me
Keypad 6 = Over here
Keypad 7 = Attack now
Keypad 8 = Move in
Keypad 9 = I'll take that

Reponses
Keypad 1 = I'm not ready
Keypad 2 = Negative
Keypad 3 = No way
Keypad 4 = Are you serious
Keypad 5 = I'm armed and ready
Keypad 6 = N/A
Keypad 7 = Yeah right
Keypad 8 = Roger
Keypad 9 = On my way

Reporting
Keypad 1 = I'm taking fire
Keypad 2 = I need a weapon
Keypad 3 = I need health
Keypad 4 = I have extra weapon
Keypad 5 = I have the armor
Keypad 6 = I have the powerup
Keypad 7 = Enemy has powerup
Keypad 8 = Enemy spotted
Keypad 9 = Item available


3. USING THE EDITOR

Doom 3 comes with the editor and source files built in. CAUTION:
loading and saving any of the single or multiplayer levels that come
with Doom 3 may cause them to no longer function properly. If this
happens you will need to uninstall Doom 3, delete the folder and any
created files, and reinstall Doom 3.

For more information on use of the editor, go to
http://www.qeradiant.com/doom3/


4. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

DOOM 3 is linked with the JpegLib, copyright (c)1991-1998 Thomas G.
Lane/Independent JPEG Group. All rights reserved.

DOOM 3 is linked with the OggVorbis SDK, copyright (c) 2004, Xiph.Org
Foundation"

I would post scans of the manual, but I lack hosting space and well; the manual sucks pretty hard except for comments relating the original Doom development to Doom 3. I think the comment about the cd-key generators are unusual for game manuels. Anyone else have any thoughts on this revolutionary readme?

No offense but it is technically illegal for you to be posting this. Especially before the official street date.

Best Buy broke the street date, either as a significant number of individual stores or as a company decision. Activision has much bigger problems than a readme being posted.

Also, It is a bloody readme. I don't much think ID or Activision will have much issue with it being posted.

Third, thanks for the advice.

You can just goto the Doom site and cut and paste it...

Mr. Deflok, lets not get too uptight about it..

I admit i havnt been flowing the doom3 development much ( at all :D) but its a nice suprise to see multiplayer in there, not sure why but i had a singleplayer only tag next to it in me head heh

rofl, this is how you know a game has a lot of people excited about it. People are posting the README to an internet forum! :lol:

Yay! I meet the minimum requirements!

I dont

my slow processor is the bottleneck, everything else far exceeds the min specs, approaches the recommended specs

[edit]

in other news

http://www.fanta.dk/news.asp?nid=BAB...E-D09842475B57

one of the best things in there:
"DOOM 3 is linked with the OggVorbis SDK, copyright (c) 2004, Xiph.Org
Foundation"

getting it at 400k/sec from usenet :)

I'm buying the game anyway no sense waiting for single player though.

It's way too dark (literally) for my taste. I was almost finished with the first "level" of baddies when I was killed before I remembered to save. I doubt I'll play it anymore.

Edited to add that it's possible to adjust the light level (different from the "brightness" control in the menu) byt typing r_gamma # (where # is a number 0 through infinity I suppose)

Works like a charm and much more playable now.

Good game. A very dark and creepy atmosphere.

Wow! That's some good shit!

Long live Doom 3! Half-life 2, go gold already....

Thanks for the manual and I hope that ID complains all the way to the bank about best buy. *shrug*

sounds a game I might try if my video card ever gets past the mid-2000 point. There was a ATI Radeon 9800 Pro for $270 that was briefly catching my eye last friday, but that money is going for tires and not being wasted on replacing a (almost) perfectly functional video card.
Everything else on my system should be fine, but my 1900+ Athlon is starting to look a bit slow for the impending games that I will fortunately probably never buy. The only reason that the upgrade from the 1300 processor was done was my uncle upgrading his system and giving me his old one.

I remember with Doom and Doom II, they were really dark and I would always play them with gamma correction at either level 3 or 4.

I won't be doing that with this game. It's incredibly dark, but it's like that for a reason. As the developers have said, the game is meant to be played at night, with all the lights off. That is the only way I plan on playing it.

The darkness adds to the intensity of it all, there's nothing like walking into a room only to have the power fail and be surrounded in Pitch Black darkness... then seconds later have a flame coloured glow emanate from behind you as an Imp teleports in to burn and rip you to shreds.

I agree that it's much more fun playing it as it was meant to be played, but it's just not that practical. When I say you can't see shit, I mean you can't see shit. The least they could have done is to mount the flashlight onto the shotgun, but as it is you have to bring up your flashlight and lower your weapon.

Not all the baddies have the little glow on them all the time. The first creature you encounter (aside from the zombies) has nothing to give up it's position in the darkness. Switching from flashlight to locate it, then back to your weapon is very difficult in my opinion. And to top it off, these creatures literally run and pounce on you. Not nearly enough time to be cycling through your inventory.

But that's just my opinion :)

And I'll also add that changing the lighting results in a total loss of the "scare factor."

It makes it all the more scarier! You're there going "What the fuck! Where is it! SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT!" And you're fumbling between your flashlight and shotgun keys. I've bound my reload button to my right mouse button and flashlight to my "Back" mouse button, makes things heaps easier.

Just my opinion though, not trying to negate yours :)

I just got back from a friends house who downloaded this and all I can say is...holy shit. This game is seriously one of the most incredible things I have seen in a long time. I was expecting to be dissapointed in the game, as it has been hyped so much, however this game actually has exceeded my expectations. I was blown away by the graphics and the gameplay. Plus, it scares the living shit out of you.

Anyone that has tried it want to post your system specs and the reso/detail/etc... settings you have been playing at?

Thanks.

ill wait for 6-8 months when i can get the came for 20$. I hate ripping games like this off this internet. I don?t see it as stealing (even though it is). They always seem to just fuck my computer. Imp sure friends will get it. And it will be passed around.

The ubiquitous ?Game of the Year? editions of games have the bugs fixed, and extra stuff. And is half the price.

Actually, if you hit the "F" key, it switches between your flashlight and the current weapon.

That way you aren't fiddling with the mouse wheel.

How do you guys have your controls set up?

I have my controls like so:

forward: right mouse button
fire: left mouse button
back: d
left: a
right: s
weapon switch: numeric keys (not the number pad)

That way i control everything w/ the left hand and everything is a finger movement away. I find it's much easier than the default config.

Sure.
P4 2.4B 533
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro
Asus P4S8X
786 MB PC 2100

Those're the specs that matter most. The rest just changes load time. I've been playing on medium Quality, 800*600. Vsync off. Makes all the difference in the world, no tearing either (mostly because my FPS is never actually higher than my refresh rate (a damn first for me!))

all of my games are:
arrow keys - left/right/front/back
fire primary: left mouse button
fire secondary or whatever else: right mouse button.
scroll wheel: change weapons

leaves my left hand free to handle the important movements like aiming.

FPS controls for every game I own.

forward- RMB
left/right/back- arrowkeys
jump- forward arrow key
crouch- ctrl
fire1- LMB
alt-fire- shift
reload- numpad 0
weapon switch- scroll wheel
quick switch (flashlight to weapon and back) - MMB

Depending on the game I will set binds on mouse 4 and 5 along with the keys surrounding the arrow keys.

Athlon 64 3000
GeForce 6800
1GB DDR400

Running at 1280x1024, High Detail, 8xAF and averaging between 50 and 60 FPS.

And Best Buy isnt the only one that released it early--CompUSA did too. I bought my copy this morning at Best Buy after CompUSA hadnt unloaded the shipment yet.

Athlon XP 2500+
768 MB RAM
GeForce 4 TI4200 128 MB

It runs really, really damn good on Medium quality at 800x600. This game looks good on just about any system that can handle it basically. I figured my TI4200 would get sorta owned, but it's not at all. Doom 3 looks spectacular on my computer considering how old my videocard is. Of course, it doesn't look nearly as good as my brother's 9800 Pro, but it's definitely kicking some ass at 30-60 FPS.

-Lasereth