Fix for the OpenGL issue. Should work for most of you.

[Reaper Madness]

Like everybody else, I've been butting my head against the wall trying to figure out a solution to the OpenGL issue. For most of you who receive this error, though you may not have realized it, the problem with Doom 3 BFG seems to be with it running in full screen mode. I found a fix for this, but it takes a few steps. Basically you will force Doom 3 BFG to run in a windowed mode in order to access the game, where you can input the settings that will permanently allow you to run it full screen with the resolution you want. Just follow the directions I will list here:

1. On your computer (in this case Windows 7), go to C:\Users\<Your Name>\Saved Games\id Software\DOOM 3 BFG\base. You will find a file called D3BFGConfig.cfg there.

2. Open this file using notepad (right click and use the OPEN WITH command if you need to, and choose Notepad).

3. Scroll down until you find a command line that says set r_fullscreen "1" . This is going to sound strange, but you want to change the 1 to a 3 (set r_fullscreen "3") and it should work. Save the CFG file and run the game. Within the game, be sure to make any resolution setting changes under "Monitor 3" (For some of you it may only work under "2" or "4". See note below)

In my case I originally set the command line to 0, which "disabled" full screen, and then ran my game in windowed form. Once I accessed the settings, I tooled around a bit until I figured out that Doom would accept my resolution as long as it was under "Monitor 3". Changes under Monitor 1 would immediately crash the game. Afterwards I noticed that the command line I mentioned above now shows as set r_fullscreen "3", which leads me to believe the CFG command line change should suffice for full screen functionality.

From what I've seen of other Steam user's issues regarding OpenGL, this solution should work for most of you. There may be a slight chance the "3" setting may work for me due to the unique video card setup I have (a Nvidia GTX 295 card that the system sees as two cards, plus an integrated video card I do not use) If changing the number to 3 does not work for you, try 2, 4, or at the very least 0 for windowed mode which should positively work. I hope you have success in getting your game to run. Let me know if this works for you.

NOTE: As antibiotic pig has helpfully pointed out, for those of you who are not having any luck using "3", other Steam users are finding success when trying out the other monitor types, mainly "2" and "4". "4" typically being the most common after "3".

EDIT: Some of you are unable to perform this because the CFG file in question is not created until the game has been accessed at least once, which I did not realize. I've moved up my solution to that into this initial posting. The fix, and possible edit-free solution is as follows:

Good news for those of you who are unable to access the game in windowed mode. I have found a way to force windowed mode through via making a desktop shortcut. As a matter of fact, this fix might allow you to fix the issue immediately and bypass the CFG file editing entirely. Just follow the following directions:

1. Go to the DOOM BFG directory in Steam. Typically the path is C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\DOOM 3 BFG Edition

2. Right click on the file executable DOOM3BFG.EXE and create a shortcut to desktop. On Windows 7 it would be under right click, SEND TO, and then DESKTOP (CREATE SHORTCUT).

3. Once you have created a shortcut on your desktop, right click on it and choose PROPERTIES. In the target field, add "+set r_fullscreen 0" to the end of the target path (no quotes). There should be a space right before the +. Your target line should now look similiar to the following:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\DOOM 3 BFG Edition\Doom3BFG.exe" +set r_fullscreen 0

NOTE: You should be able to input "3" instead of "0" in the above command line, which for most users immediately allowed them full screen access to Doom 3 BFG. Other Steam users have mentioned that using "2" or"4" worked in their case, "4" being the most common after "3". Also, the "+set r_fullscreen 0" can also be placed directly in the Steam launch options for your game (minus the quotes). Special thanks to Darth Guybrush for pointing this out. Steam launch options can be accessed by right clicking on Doom 3 BFG in your Steam library and choosing "properties". It will be titled "Set Launch Options".

4. This trick worked on the old Doom 3 and luckily it still works with the BFG edition. Theoretically you should be able to change the "0" in the fullscreen command I just mentioned to a "3", and bypass all the CFG editing altogether though I haven't tested that. I don't see why it shouldn't work though. At the very least, with the "0" it will allow you to run it in windowed mode and make the fixes listed above. Hope this works for those of you unable to run the game to create a Saved Games directory.

EDIT:
Ensuring game runs in fullscreen once you have access to in-game video settings

Don't forget that once you are able to access the video settings IN-GAME, you should be able to choose fullscreen settings that apply to your system. You do not have to stay in windowed mode if you are able to access the in-game settings. If memory serves me, there should be 4 groupings of resolutions available inside the video settings in-game, each set defined by monitor 1, 2, 3, or 4. Only one of these will apply to your computer. You will know if you have chosen the right set because the monitor will change to fullscreen under your new resolution pick. Use process of elimination until you find a working resolution under a monitor set (1,2,3, or 4) that applies to your computer. Remember however that once you find a resolution that works and puts you in fullscreen mode, YOU MUST remember to delete the extra parameters you put in place in order to run the game in windowed mode to begin with (i.e.- "+set r_fullscreen 0") Otherwise the game will continue to load into windowed mode regardless of the resolution you chose. Should you choose a resolution under a monitor set that does not apply, and it subsequently crashes, don't panic. Simply restart the game and it will run in windowed mode, as long as you still have the shortcut modified. Then try the other monitor sets you haven't already. Otherwise, as mentioned above, remove the " "+set r_fullscreen 0" afterwards from your launch or shortcut modification once you have found the in-game monitor resolution setting that works for you.

[Brigador Lemur]

Nope, FPSCorwall, it didn't work at all.
The screen goes grey for a few seconds, as if it will start, but then it just goes back to the desktop while you have this window that usually pops up whenever you start an id Software game like Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Quake Team Arena and so on.
But I get some odd error message about OpenGL at the end of this little window, here's the whole thing:

QA Timing INIT: 001062ms
D3BFG 1.1400 win-x86 Oct 5 2012 11:38:38
2394 MHz Intel CPU with MMX & SSE & SSE2 & SSE3 & HTT
4000 MB System Memory
1535 MB Video Memory
Winsock Initialized
Found interface: {5BE65DD6-D82D-4196-A529-1DBBC0915763} Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter #2 - 0.0.0.0 NULL netmask - skipped
Found interface: {A57B8C5F-2358-485A-BEEE-CFD6549D3181} Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter - 0.0.0.0 NULL netmask - skipped
Found interface: {F541512E-31DE-445D-98E4-E73D9F91E525} Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller - 0.0.0.0 NULL netmask - skipped
Found interface: {CDAC188F-5B31-41BF-828E-2E01A74B3A8C} Intel(R) Centrino(R) Advanced-N 6230 - 192.168.1.3/255.255.255.0
Sys_InitNetworking: adding loopback interface
doom using MMX & SSE for SIMD processing
enabled Flush-To-Zero mode
enabled Denormals-Are-Zero mode
------ Initializing File System ------
Loaded resource file _common.resources
Loaded resource file _ordered.resources
Loaded resource file _sound_pc.resources
Loaded resource file _sound_pc_en.resources
Current search path:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\DOOM 3 BFG Edition/base
C:\Users\Kåre\Saved Games\id Software\DOOM 3 BFG/base
file system initialized.
--------------------------------------
WARNING: Unable to open resource file maps/_startup.resources
----- Initializing Decls -----
------------------------------
Couldn't open journal files
execing default.cfg
couldn't exec D3BFGConfig.cfg
couldn't exec autoexec.cfg
----- R_InitOpenGL -----
Initializing OpenGL subsystem with multisamples:0 stereo:0 fullscreen:1
...registered window class
...registered fake window class
...initializing QGL
...calling LoadLibrary( 'opengl32' ): succeeded
X..WGL_EXT_swap_control_tear not found
display device: 0
DeviceName : \\.\DISPLAY1
DeviceString: Intel(R) HD Graphics Family
StateFlags : 0x5
DeviceID : PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0116&SUBSYS_FC011179&REV_09
DeviceKey : \Registry\Machine\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Video\{9781B7B8-EB40-4C12-9769-472EBF53A696}\0000
DeviceName : \\.\DISPLAY1\Monitor0
DeviceString: Generic PnP Monitor
StateFlags : 0x3
DeviceID : MONITOR\AUO139E\{4d36e96e-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\0001
DeviceKey : \Registry\Machine\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4d36e96e-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\0001
dmPosition.x : 0
dmPosition.y : 0
dmBitsPerPel : 32
dmPelsWidth : 1600
dmPelsHeight : 900
dmDisplayFlags : 0x0
dmDisplayFrequency: 60
...calling CDS: ok
display device: 0
DeviceName : \\.\DISPLAY1
DeviceString: Intel(R) HD Graphics Family
StateFlags : 0x5
DeviceID : PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0116&SUBSYS_FC011179&REV_09
DeviceKey : \Registry\Machine\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Video\{9781B7B8-EB40-4C12-9769-472EBF53A696}\0000
DeviceName : \\.\DISPLAY1\Monitor0
DeviceString: Generic PnP Monitor
StateFlags : 0x3
DeviceID : MONITOR\AUO139E\{4d36e96e-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\0001
DeviceKey : \Registry\Machine\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4d36e96e-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\0001
dmPosition.x : 0
dmPosition.y : 0
dmBitsPerPel : 32
dmPelsWidth : 1280
dmPelsHeight : 720
dmDisplayFlags : 0x0
dmDisplayFrequency: 60
...created window @ 0,0 (1280x720)
Initializing OpenGL driver
...creating GL context: failed to create OpenGL 3.2 context
created OpenGL 2.0 context
succeeded
...making context current: succeeded
X..WGL_EXT_swap_control_tear not found

------- Input Initialization -------
Initializing DirectInput...
mouse: DirectInput initialized.
keyboard: DirectInput initialized.
freespace_version: 0.6
0 freespace devices
------------------------------------
OpenGL Version: 3.0
OpenGL Vendor : Intel
OpenGL GLSL : 1.3
...using GL_ARB_multitexture
X..GL_EXT_direct_state_access not found
...using GL_ARB_texture_compression
...using GL_EXT_texture_compression_s3tc
...using GL_EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic
maxTextureAnisotropy: 16.000000
...using GL_EXT_texture_lod_bias
X..GL_ARB_seamless_cube_map not found
...using GL_ARB_framebuffer_sRGB
...using GL_ARB_vertex_buffer_object
...using GL_ARB_map_buffer_range
...using GL_ARB_vertex_array_object
X..GL_ARB_draw_elements_base_vertex not found
...using GL_ARB_fragment_program
X..GL_ARB_uniform_buffer_object not found
X..GL_EXT_depth_bounds_test not found
X..GL_ARB_sync not found
...using GL_ARB_occlusion_query
X..GL_ARB_timer_query not found
X..GL_EXT_timer_query not found
X..GL_ARB_debug_output not found
--------- Game Map Shutdown ----------
--------------------------------------
0: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
2 channels, 48000 Hz
Front Left and Front Right
Default Console Device, Multimedia Device, Communications Device, and Game Device
Using device 0
********************
ERROR: GL_ARB_draw_elements_base_vertex not available
********************
Error during initialization
Shutting down OpenGL subsystem
...wglMakeCurrent( NULL, NULL ): success
...deleting GL context: success
...releasing DC: success
...destroying window
...resetting display
...shutting down QGL
...unloading OpenGL DLL

[T-MaverickDood]

Help! Im using an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4200 series with a fully updated driver. I ran the game in different compatibility modes and the best i can get is having the audio perfectly intact, but the studio intro videos looking like a black screen w/ 1/4 of screen looking grey. like a reverse american flag. then it goes to the main menu looking pure white. I managed to force it into window mode at 1280x720. i'm out of options. I know my labtop can run Doom 3 with no problems. anyone have any suggestions?

[Quietman]

I had problems with the 1/4 white/blank screen and fixed that by turning MSI Afterburner off.

[antibiotic-pig]

reaper madness you are a god xxx

[T-MaverickDood]

nevermind. i just found out that the requirements for this game are WAY higher than the original.

[antibiotic-pig]

Just a quick update for anyone having trouble. The fullscreen attribute that worked for me was 4...I HAVE NO IDEA WHY! I also manually changed the fullscreen resolutions in the cfg to what i wanted (1080p in my case.) Hope this is helpful to someone. Basically do what Reaper said and if it doesn't work just fiddle. Thanks again Reaper.

[Quietman]

Maybe the number is related to the port you have your monitor plugged into on your graphics card? They have 3-4 these days.

[a_gie]

@Ace
Same to me. Right after installation i read the system requirements because i got the failure message from windows right after starting the game. I couldn´t believe it, but my ATI 4850 is much to old for DOOM BFG, seems that this is the reason for the crash.
Unbelievable, this is the first time that i´m totaly running out of GPU-Power. And we are not talking about a new game with brand new engine.
Unfortunately with my imac i have no possibility (below 500 EUR) to upgrade the GPU.

If i even could play DOOM I and II (main reason i bought the edition)! But it seems that i have access after starting DOOM3.

[antibiotic-pig]

Think you're right Quietman.

If you have Catalyst running in your system tray, right click on it. The number to use will be the number of your active card on the list.

I don't understand this fully but I'm using Virtu MVP to get the most out of my Intel HD Graphics 4000 (as well as my discrete card) so for some reason the first 3 all read "Intel HD 4000" and then my active, discrete card is number 4.

[PatMur2010[ROULE]]

got this issue, will try your fix

[Reaper Madness]

As a helpful aside for those of you who are still having issues running Doom 3 BFG Edition. Here are a few suggestions for making sure everything on your computer is up to date before you attempt any other fixes. These are not quick fixes for running Doom 3 BFG per se, but there will be a few of you that may find that issues you have been encountering are now fixed or have gone away. All these suggestions can apply to ANY game you are running on Steam. The benefit of adhering to these suggestions is that you can usually discount a lot of potential problem sources and boil it down to strictly hardware or insufficiently patched software, which will help keep any potential troubleshooting more manageable. These may all seem basic to most of you, but may prove useful for some:

1. Check to see that your system can indeed run your game- The website "Can You RUN It?" can be particularly helpful for those of you with older systems or older hardware. Not only can you choose the specific game you want to check compatibility with from the dropdown menu (Doom BFG Edition included), but after running a brief test it can give you an immediate assessment of how well your system can run a certain game, along with a detailed analysis of how well individual system components such as memory, video card, and CPU are compatible with running the chosen game. This is an excellent way to troubleshoot weaknesses in your system, as the website will point out potential problems if a system component does not reach minimum requirements for running your game. the website can be found at:
http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri

2. Verify integrity of game cache- You would be surprised how many Steam game issues disappear after you have ran this, which I can attest to. In your Steam library, right-click on the game you are having issues with and choose "properties". From the window that pops up, choose the tab labeled "Local Files", and then choose "Verify integrity of game cache". What this does in effect is scan your game files for corrupted files, errors, or even missing files. It will fix errors and restore missing or corrupted files for any integrity errors it detects.

3. Update to the latest video driver- This is self explanatory, but some of you may not have known you can begin this process from within Steam itself. When in Steam simply click on "Steam" at the upper-left of the screen and then choose "Update to latest video driver" to have Steam point you in the right direction. NOTE: You may find it useful to do a "clean install" if you are given the option to when installing your video driver. Temporary screen black-out is normal while installing video drivers, especially for NVidia.

4. Run Windows Update/Update DirectX- There are numerous files (and drivers) that Windows Update installs that may seem like useless system files, but end up being integral to the stability of any games you play. Of particular import are driver updates for your hardware, DirectX updates, and even video drivers, though I recommend you use the graphic drivers your video card manufacturer provides over those provided by Microsoft. For more specific information on DirectX and where to download the latest iterations, you may find the following Steam link helpful:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=1510-QIJN-6861

5. Update sound drivers, Microsoft PhysX, and Microsoft C++ files- Microsoft Windows Update typically keeps these up to date, but the following Steam support link is very helpful for finding and installing these for yourself, if you like to be thorough:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=6416-EYDH-0477

I hope this checklist can be of use to those who are still experiencing problems running Doom 3 BFG, or even any other games you may currently be having issues with. For some of you you may find that some issues you may be currently experiencing in running a game do indeed disappear. At the very least if you have gone through the above checklist, you have narrowed your troubleshooting down to inadequate drivers or hardware, or most likely, a game in need of serious patching. Good luck!

[Reaper Madness]

Kare, I noticed the following line in your error message:

ERROR: GL_ARB_draw_elements_base_vertex not available

I recall seeing elsewhere that this particular error message was usually indicative of an older video card being unable to run certain (newer) features within a specific game. You may want to run a game compatabilty test to see if there is a specific component in your hardware that is inadequate for meeting Doom 3 BFG's minimum system requirements. Go to http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri and choose Doom 3 BFG from the drop down menu. Good luck to you.

[xanmuncher]

Well, When I Get To My ID Sofware Folder, All I See Is Rage -_- Any Ideas How To Fix? I Really Hope This Wasn't A Waste Of Money.

[Lucavi]

I had to edit the command line to r_fullscreen 4 instead of 3. I don't know why but 1,2,3 wouldnt would but 4 did. Maybe it's because I use multiple monitors?

[Brigador Lemur]

Well I did try the system requirements program on that website and it said my laptop well exceeds the recommended requirements, so it should run it without a problem.