Quake
3 Tweaking
- By Comander Keen
The following table shows the FPS (Frames Per Second) gained on my machine when
setting the given variable to the "FAST" value. The recommended value
may not always be the fast value if I felt the gain in FPS was not worth the
loss in visual quality.
|
Variables |
FPS Value |
FAST |
SLOW |
Recommended |
|
cg_brassTime
"1250" |
0.3 |
0 |
1250 |
0 |
|
cg_draw2D
"1" |
2.4 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
cg_draw3dIcons
"1" |
1.3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
cg_drawAttacker
"1" |
0.2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
cg_drawStatus
"1" |
1.3 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
cg_drawTimer
"1" |
0.1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
cg_errordecay
"100" |
0.2 |
0 |
100-999 |
0 |
|
cg_gibs
"1" |
0.7 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
cg_drawGun
"1" |
0.8 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
cg_lagometer
"1" |
0.3 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
cg_marks
"1" |
0.8 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
cg_shadows
"0" |
0.3 |
0 |
1-3 |
0 |
|
cg_simpleItems
"0" |
0.8 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
r_allowExtensions
"1" |
6.5 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
r_colorbits
"16" |
0.2 |
0 |
16
or 32 |
0 |
|
r_depthbits
"16" |
0.1 |
0 |
16
or 32 |
0 |
|
r_dynamiclight
"0" |
2.3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
r_ext_compiled_vertex_array
"1" |
4.2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
r_ext_compress_textures
"1" |
0.1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
r_ext_multitexture
"1" |
2.5 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
r_fastsky
"1" |
0.5 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
r_finish
"1" |
0.1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
r_flares
"0" |
0.5 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
r_ignoreFastPath
"0" |
0.5 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
r_lodbias
"0" |
0.4 |
2 |
0-1 |
2 |
|
r_lodCurveError
"250" |
0.5 |
0 |
1-999 |
0 |
|
r_picmip
"1" |
0.1 |
3 |
0-2 |
3 |
|
r_primitives
"0" |
4.6 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
r_subdivisions
"4" |
0.3 |
999 |
0-100 |
999 |
|
r_swapInterval
"0" |
0.1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
r_texturebits
"0" |
0.1 |
0 |
16
or 32 |
0 |
|
r_textureMode
"" |
0.1 |
NEAREST |
LINEAR |
NEAREST |
|
r_vertexLight
"1" |
1.9 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
r_vertexLight
w/r_dynamiclight 0 |
2.0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
s_khz
"22" |
0.5 |
11 |
22 |
11 |
|
s_loadas8bit
"1" |
0.1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
For those of you who are not familiar with config files or if your just looking
for an easier way to tweak your own custom settings visit the Atomic
Punks page, they have a Client
Config Creator it will create the text for you and then all you
have to do is cut and paste it into the text file save it as autoexec.cfg and
place it into your demoq3 folder.
A little about how I set up the benchmarks. On a scratched disk I loaded Windows
98. Without making any changes or tweaks to Windows 98 I installed the latest
reference drivers for my 3D card and then DirectX 7 and then Quake 3
Arena Test Version 1.08 (hence referred to as Q3A). I also did not make any
changes to any .CFG (Q3A config files) in the demoq3 folder. I started Quake one
time to let it write a Q3Config.cfg based on the hardware it found. I then typed
"quit" at the console. I restarted Q3A and did a "cvar_restart"
at the console then typed in "timedemo 1" and ran a benchmarked
timedemo of q3demo1.dm3 for my base line or default FPS. I then began changing
all the listed variables and noted the change in FPS from the base line. I did a
"cvar_restart" and a "timedemo 1" after each and every
variable. the reason I did not list the total FPS after each is, I feel a
baseline provides more accuracy and comparing the change to the baseline shows
us the gain that variable made independently. I think this will give you a
better overall view of what variables provide a gain in FPS and how much of a
gain for each. I also quit the game and restarted after resetting those
variables that required a "vid_restart" to toggle them. This allowed
me to return to the baseline. For some reason the vid_restart and then
cvar_restart does not get you back to the baseline. Quitting the game and
restarting the whole process was the only way I found to keep a decent baseline.
A Windows 2000 RC2 side note: Before I formatted the Hard Drive and loaded
Windows 98 I did this exact same kind of benchmark on Windows 2000 with a clean
disk I installed Windows 2000 and Q3test 1.08 and ran the identical methods for
finding a base line (I did not install DX7 because I think it is for 95 and 98
only). The final release of 2000 should have DX7 built in all other methods
where identical. It should be noted that the Windows 2000 driver for my 3D card
may not be as highly developed as it's 98 version. All that considered Windows
98 beat Windows 2000 by .5 FPS. And yes .5 is allot! However Windows 2000 had a
very different feel when playing Quake 3 Arena with it. It felt very smooth and
stable. Until I get newer hardware (ETA never) I will choose Windows 98
Commander
Keen
Disclaimer: This data is what I received on my machine your actual results on
your machine may be different from what you see here...Thanks Keen