How to Remaster the Original Doom 3 with Mods

Looking for a remaster of Doom 3 but not happy with the gameplay changes and cut content from the BFG Edition? With some tweaks and a couple of mods, we can bring enhanced visuals and sound, widescreen presentation, and play The Lost Mission campaign on the original Doom 3 while fixing a majority of its compatibility issues and bugs on newer hardware.

Pre-requisites

1. A copy of the original Doom 3 and the Resurrection of Evil expansion pack, whether it's the original retail version or the digital distribution releases on Steam or GOG.com. The v1.3.1 Patch is required if using the retail version; the digital releases are already patched.
   
   NOTE: The original Doom 3 and Resurrection of Evil are included with BFG Edition on Steam and GOG.com as of January 24 and February 27, 2024, respectively.
   
   https://store.steampowered.com/app/208200/DOOM_3/
   
   GOG.com link: https://www.gog.com/en/game/doom_3
   
   Official v1.3.1 patch: https://community.pcgamingwiki.com/files/file/1072-doom-3-patches/
   
   
2. An archive extracting program such WinRAR[www.rarlab.com] or 7zip[www.7-zip.org].
   
   
3. A decent enough computer that can handle HD mods for this game.

Which engine to use?

There are two possible engines in which the original Doom 3 can be played on, each with their own pros and cons. Whether or not you're using the stock Doom 3 engine or the dhewm3 source port, the setup process for getting an unofficial remastered experience are more or less similar.

The stock Doom 3 engine (a.k.a. id Tech 4 Engine)

The configuration files and save data for the base game and expansions/mods are stored separate folders inside where the game itself was installed to on the computer. Common examples for Windows:

C:\Program Files\id Software\Doom 3\<game>
C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\common\Doom 3\<game>
G:\Games\Doom 3\<game>

Pros:
+ Has the most mod compatibility as many mods with custom game DLL files were designed for the original Doom 3 engine.

+ Good quality audio with support up to 5.1 (software) or 7.1 (EAX) surround sound with the latest patch.

Cons:
- Limited screen resolution options by default (up to 1600x1200); requires either configuration edits or using the console to enable 16:9 or 16:10 resolutions and correcting the game's aspect-ratio.

- The game has some compatibility issues with newer hardware, one of which causes the game's Ultra quality settings to not work at all without a workaround via autoexec.cfg. It also has some bugs with its OpenAL/EAX support, which can be remedied in a later section of this guide.

- No native controller support (third-party programs like AntiMicroX could work but menus will be cumbersome to navigate through as it was designed for a mouse)

The dhewm3 source port

The configuration files and save data for the base game and expansions/mods are stored inside your computer's Documents folder for Windows under the My Games folder:

%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\dhewm3\<game>

Pros:
+ Fixes many of the bugs in Doom 3 and compatibility issues on newer hardware.

+ Offers easier access to widescreen resolutions from the graphics settings with EAX-like positional sound effects handled through OpenAL.

+ Native controller support via SDL2, allowing XInput controllers (e.g. Xbox 360). DualShock 4, Switch Pro Controller, and many other third-party controllers to be playable in Doom 3.

Cons:
- Mods with custom DLL files like Doom 3: REDUX, Phobos, and Perfected Doom 3 require their source code to be available as open source and must be ported to dhewm3 to work.

- Similarly to using third-party software for controller support on stock Doom 3, the mouse-driven menus will be cumbersome to navigate through.

- Audio maybe quieter than the stock engine likely due to its OpenAL implementation. The issue is still being investigated and there are some workaround to make it more closer to the stock engine in a later section of this guide.

Which mods to install?

Many of these mods are optional and you're free to use them if you wish, however, there are some mods in this section that I would consider essential to improve the visual presentation, sound quality, add quality-of-life improvements, and fix leftover issues with the game.

• id Tech 4 Missing Language Repository[community.pcgamingwiki.com]
  (imperative for non-English speakers)
  The digital releases of the game is missing the localization files for other languages besides English. This also includes some language files for Quake 4 and PREY (2006). This repository however is still missing the Japanese translation for PREY. Note that there was no Chinese language retail release for Doom 3 and unfortunately is not present in this repo. Instructions and how to use these files are included in the link.
  
  
• dhewm3 + mods DLLs[github.com] (highly recommended)
  The aforementioned source port for Doom 3. This will make setting up widescreen resolutions easier, fixes various engine-related bugs, and implement controller support via SDL2. Make sure to grab the latest stable release from dhewm3's Github repository, or if you know how to compile it from the source code, you can build a 64-bit version of dhewm3 and its mod DLLs.
  
  For Windows users, you will need the following downloads from the Github releases page (versions will change over time):
  
  
  • dhewm3-1.5.3_win32.zip for the engine itself, and...
    
  • dhewm3-mods-1.5.3_win32.zip for certain mods with custom code run in the dhewm3 source port. To use The Lost Mission with dhewm3, you want to install the d3le.dll with the source port.
  
  
• The Lost Mission for DOOM 3 (optional, but recommended)
  A port of the BFG Edition's The Lost Mission campaign for the original Doom 3. This mod also requires the Resurrection of Evil expansion pack to be installed and the game patched to the latest version as it uses the expansion as a base.
  
  
• D3HDP - DooM 3 Essential HD Pack (recommended if you want better graphics)
  A HD mod pack for the original Doom 3 that enhances the visuals of the game and its expansions while fixing errors in their maps. It is based on the Monoxead and Wulfen HD Texture Packs while using other various AI-upscaled textures. It also includes optional addons for alpha weapons and marine armor, the "Birdman" demon replacement for Hell Knights, Prozo particle effects, and an enhanced original shaders file to make the visuals closer to vanilla Doom 3. There are sadly some textures that have not be updated yet and stand out with the HD ones, and some of the lighting and shadows does not look as good as vanilla.
  
  NOTE: This mod will increase loading times after the initial launch, but if image_preload is enabled in DoomConfig.cfg by setting the value to "1", it should help keep pre-loaded textures into memory and can mitigate any future loading times afterwards.
  
  
• Doom 3: Enhanced Edition (optional, but highly recommended)
  A collection of bugfixes, quality-of-life improvements, enemy AI tweaks, and balance adjustments for the base game, Resurrection of Evil expansion, and The Lost Mission campaign port without drastically altering the gameplay. This mod also provides expanded graphics options (including easier access to widescreen resolutions), a benchmarking tool, and a level select feature, even with the stock Doom 3 engine.
  
  NOTE: For dhewm3 users, you may also want this compatibility patch as it will ensure that the game will run in the correct aspect-ratio with Enhanced Edition installed.
  
  
• Enhanced / Tweaked Sounds (optional)
  A collection of enhanced sounds for the game, although it does come with a comical but out-of-place sound effect for the Flashlight when hitting enemies.
  
  
• Remastered Theme Song and End Credits (optional, but recommended)
  Remastered stereo quality versions of the Doom 3's title screen and credits music from Doom Eternal.

Installation

1. Install the game and the expansion pack either through your retail discs, or the Steam client, GOG.com Galaxy or GOG.com's offline installer.
   
   
   For Steam users, make sure to install the Resurrection of Evil expansion pack as well.
   
   
   For GOG Galaxy users, everything is conveniently installed in one go, even the CD keys.
   
   1.1. If using the retail version of the game, make sure to install the v1.3.1 Patch as well as these mods will require the latest updates for the game and expansion pack. The retail v1.3.1 Patch can be downloaded from PCGamingWiki here[community.pcgamingwiki.com].
   
   Also while we're here, this is not necessarily a mod installation step, but I would suggest running a quick test run of the game with either the stock Doom 3 engine or dhewm3 source port with the following command-line parameter, either by using Command Prompt, adding the parameter in your Steam/GOG Galaxy launch options temporarily, or a shortcut to make sure if everything is booting correctly. This will become helpful later as it will generate a configuration file for the game plus saving us the annoying hassle of dealing with a game by default launching in fullscreen with a very low resolution (especially with the stock engine) by telling the game to not do that...
   
   

   +set r_fullscreen "0"

   You can set this value to "1" or delete the command from your launch options and then change the game's video settings manually from the Options menu afterwards.
   
   
2. Download the following mods and fixes from the section above, if desired:
   
   
3. Use either WinRAR or 7zip to extract the contents of the contents of each mod to a convenient location on the computer, or drag-and-drop the contents from their respective GUI and put them in the right folders. We'll go over each mod one-by-one and we'll go by an order I use for good results. Some of these steps can be omitted or swapped around if certain mods are not going to be used.
   
   3.1. Install dhewm3. You can either copy the required files from dhewm3 to where you have Doom 3 installed (e.g. <steam-library>\SteamApps\Common\DOOM 3) or copy the data files of Doom 3 to where you have dhewm3 installed (E:\Games\dhewm3).
   
   If installing Doom 3's data files into dhewm3's folder, then copy the following folders into where you have dhewm3 installed:
   
   
   • base
     
   • d3xp
     
   • d3le (if The Lost Mission compaign port is installed)
   
   If installing dhewm3 to your Doom 3's installation folder, then copy the following files into this folder:
   
   
   • dhewm3.exe
     
   • base.dll
     
   • d3xp.dll
     
   • d3le.dll (required for The Lost Mission)
     
   • libcurl.dll
     
   • libcurl-4.dll
     
   • OpenAL32.dll
     
   • SDL2.dll
     
   • zlib.dll
   
   For this example, I will be using the latter method.
   
   What the file structure should look like this point.
   
   3.2. Install The Lost Mission campaign port.
   
   
   
   
   
   3.3. Install Enhanced Edition. For dhewm3 users, to install the dhewm3 Compatibility Patch, copy the zpakv01.pk4 file and paste it into the base folder.
   
   
   
   3.4. Install D3HDP - DooM 3 Essential HD Pack.
   
   
   
   3.5. Install Remastered Theme Song and End Credits.
   
   
   
   
4. Adjust autoexec.cfg to your needs, then copy this file into the folders for each game and expansion.* D3HDP comes with one of its own as well as a lower-spec friendly configuration that may help with those running a machine with weaker hardware. Here's an example of what I used based on my system with some extra parameters for dhewm3:
   
   

   seta r_renderer "best"
   seta com_videoRam "2048"
   seta com_machineSpec "3"
   seta r_orderIndexes "1"
   seta r_shadows "1"
   seta r_skipBump "0"
   seta r_skipSpecular "0"
   seta r_skipNewAmbient "0"
   seta r_useShadowProjectedCull "1"
   seta r_useShadowVertexProgram "1"
   seta r_useTurboShadow "1"
   seta r_useTwoSidedStencil "1"
   seta image_anisotropy "8"
   seta image_filter "GL_LINEAR_MIPMAP_LINEAR"
   seta image_ignoreHighQuality "0"
   seta image_roundDown "1"
   seta image_preload "1"
   seta image_forceDownSize "0"
   seta image_downSize "0"
   seta image_downSizeLimit "0"
   seta image_downSizeBump "0"
   seta image_downSizeBumpLimit "0"
   seta image_downSizeSpecular "0"
   seta image_downSizeSpecularLimit "0"
   seta image_usePrecompressedTextures "0"
   seta image_useNormalCompression "0"
   seta image_useCompression "0"
   seta image_useAllFormats "1"
   seta g_showBrass "1"
   seta g_showPlayerShadow "0"
   seta g_decals "1"
   seta g_doubleVision "1"
   seta g_bloodEffects "1"
   seta g_projectileLights "1"
   seta g_muzzleFlash "1"
   seta gui_mediumFontLimit "0"
   seta gui_smallFontLimit "0"
   seta com_allowConsole "1"
   seta com_preciseTic "1"
   seta image_useCache "0"  /* "1" could improve performance on lower systems
   seta image_cacheMegs "512"
   seta image_cacheMinK "32768"
   bind "p" "pm_thirdperson 1"
   bind "l" "pm_thirdperson 0"
   seta r_screenshotPngCompression "0"  /* Ensures PNG screenshots are uncompressed in dhewm3
   seta r_screenshotJpgQuality "90" /* Good quality JPEG screenshots with slight compression 
   seta r_screenshotFormat "2" /* Tells which image format dhewm3 takes screenshots in
   seta r_scaleMenusTo43 "0"  /* "1" sets black bars in the sides to unstretch videos and menus
   seta s_playDefaultSound "1"  /* "0" required for dhewm3, set "1" on standard Doom3 /*
   

   This configuration example will ensure the that the game will run in Ultra quality settings while fixing the font resolution scaling so it will look cleaner and sharper regardless of game's resolution. You can edit the autoexec.cfg however you like to suit your needs for the game. Simply create a new blank text file such as Notepad, copy and paste the settings above, adjust settings to suit your needs since these will override the game's configuration file with every launch, save this file as "autoexec.cfg" (without the quotation marks), then copy and paste it into your Doom 3's base, d3xp, and d3le folders.
   
   *If you are using the dhewm3 source port, do not put the autoexec.cfg files into where Doom 3 itself is installed in, instead you need to put this file to where the dhewm3 source port stores its settings files and save data which is in your Documents → My Games → dhewm3 folder, and make sure to put them into each respective game and expansion folder (e.g. base for Doom 3, d3xp for Resurrection of Evil).

And that is basically it, you can enjoy original Doom 3 with enhanced graphics and other improvements, or you can continue in the next section for more tweaks and fixes.

Additional fixes and tweaks, pt. 1

While you could play Doom 3 with the mods we have just installed, there are some issues and smaller things we could fix for a better and consistent experience.

Doom 3 and Resurrection of Evil

Fixing OpenAL/EAX-related issues

There are sadly some sound issues that plague the stock engine of the game when it comes to its EAX features (HD Audio in the sound settings) for surround sound that causes the game's visuals to "twitch" and shift randomly when it is enabled. There is a patch that can fix this issue.

NOTE: This is only necessary if using the stock Doom3.exe engine and its executable only! If you are using the dhewm3 source port, then you do NOT need this patch. Also, if you have an OpenAL32.dll file installed in your Doom 3 (whether from installing dhewm3 into your Doom 3 folder or downloading the latest OpenAL wrapper from Github), you will also need to move or delete this file temporarily as it will interfere with the patcher. If you need to reacquire OpenAL32.dll if it was permanently deleted, you can use the one that was included with dhewm3 (assuming it is the 32-bit) version or from the Github link down below in this section.

1. Download the latest version of this patcher[github.com] by bibendovsky, and extract the file eaxefx_app_patcher.exe to where Doom 3 is installed in. If you have dhewm3 installed in the same folder as DOOM 3 itself, delete or move the OpenAL32.dll file it came with to another location in the computer temporarily.
   
   
2. Run the patcher, then you'll be greeted with a prompt on screen. Follow the directions and input "1" to apply the EAX twitch patch.
   
   Type "1" for the visual twitching patch. If you want to use the other patches, re-run the patcher and repeat the steps to apply the other desired patches.
   
   
3. Download the latest stable release of the OpenAL32.dll wrapper[github.com], and extract the contents of the archive to a convenient location on the computer. Alternatively, if you have moved or renamed the OpenAL32.dll file that was included with dhewm3, you can still use that one if it was preserved.
   
   
4. Go into the openal-soft-1.23.1-bin\bin\Win32 folder because you want the 32-bit version of the wrapper (since Doom 3's stock engine and pre-compiled releases of dhewm3 uses a 32-bit executable), then copy the soft_oal.dll file and paste it into your Doom 3 installation folder, and then rename this file to OpenAL32.dll.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Launch Doom 3, go into the Options menu and under Audio, enable EAX 4.0 HD. The game's EAX should be working properly and the twitching bug should be gone.
   
   

---

Fixing incorrect EFX in Resurrection of Evil

In addition to the above, the Resurrection of Evil expansion has shipped with the wrong EFX files that are used for the game's EAX. It can be fixed with the patcher from the previous section or by using these patched files to fix them outright.

1. Download the fixed EFX files from PC Gaming Wiki here[community.pcgamingwiki.com].
   
   
2. Extract the contents of Doom3_ROE_EAX_FIX.zip to a convenient location on your computer in its own folder.
   
   
3. Now you can either a) copy the efxs folder and paste it into the d3xp folder OR b) copy the pak001.pk4 and paste this into your d3xp folder, replacing the original file completely. I went with the latter option as to keep things a little more clean and organized.
   
   

---

Fixing inconsistent mouse cursor (D3:EE + D3HDP)

If you're using both the Enhanced Edition and D3HDP, you'll find that the mouse cursor are inconsistent between games. That is because they each have their own mouse cursor replacement; Enhanced Edition uses a higher res cursor based on BFG Edition (shown in Resurrection of Evil and The Lost Mission), while D3HDP uses an upscaled version of the original Doom cursor (shown in Doom 3). You can however remove one version and keep the other if you wish.

To keep the original cursor:

1. Go into the base folder where Doom 3 is installed, then open the zpakv00.pk4 file with 7zip or WinRAR, like so...
   
   
   
   
2. Look for the ui folder and delete it from within 7zip/WinRAR's file manager, then click "Yes" when prompted to update the contents of the archive.
   
   
   
   
3. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 for the other two game by modifying their respective zpakv00.pk4 from Enhanced Edition.

To keep the BFG Edition cursor:

1. Go into the base folder where Doom 3 is installed, then open D3HDP's zzz_pak006.pk4 file with 7zip or WinRAR.
   
   
   
   
2. Look for the ui folder and delete it from within 7zip/WinRAR's file manager, then click "Yes" when prompted to update the contents of the archive.
   
   

---

dhewm3 source port

Fixing quieter audio

An on going issue with the dhewm3 source port is the audio is somewhat quieter than the stock engine due to how it uses OpenAL32 (discussion on Github[github.com]). A potential solution is to create a alsoft.ini file and copy and paste the following settings while setting your sound device and related sound driver software to 16-bit, 44100KHz (CD Quality). You may also need to adjust the value of the volume-adjust setting carefully as it is logarithmic, so an integer value of "6" will essentially double the volume in decibels though on my set-up dhewm3 is still super quiet compared to the stock engine, so I have to raise this to about "8" to get it close to the original game's behavior. More advanced settings for OpenAL32.dll can be found here if you really want to fine-tune the sound presentation of the game:

https://github.com/kcat/openal-soft/blob/master/alsoftrc.sample

[General]
channels=stereo
frequency=44100
volume-adjust=0
resampler=linear
hrtf=off

Additional fixes and tweaks, pt. 2

Doom 3: Enhanced Edition Add-on

Reducing the shotgun spread

The shotgun in Doom 3 is notorious for its extremely large spread radius, effectively only making it useful at point blank range for some people. Enhanced Edition however does comes with a seaperate add-on that cuts its spread by half (similarly to CstDoom3) and it can be used by itself without Enhanced Edition. This *may* make the shotgun too powerful in close range however since it was not designed for tight spread.

1. Download the D3EE - Gameplay Changes Addon from ModDB here.
   
   
2. Extract the contents of D3EE_Gameplay_changes_v06.zip to a convenient location on the computer to its own folder.
   
   
3. Copy and paste the zzzzzz_improvements_shotgun.pk4 into your Doom 3's base folder. This tweak will also be applied to the other games with just this file here.
   
   

---

D3HDP - Doom 3 Essential HD Pack Add-ons

NOTE: Since each of the respective add-ons included with D3DHP have their own installation instructions, I won't go through the set-up process here.

Alpha and BFG Edition Marine armor

One of the featured add-ons for D3HDP includes the ability to use the armor from the alpha version or BFG Edition, including the helmet into the final version of Doom 3.

Alpha Pistol, Shotgun, and Machine Gun

Similarly, the alpha pistol, shotgun, and machine gun models can be used into the game as well.

"Birdman" demon replacement for Hell Knights

An unused demon that was featured in tech demo from Macworld Tokyo 2001 is the "birdman", a hulking demon with a bird-like face that was at one point going to be the game's Baron of Hell. A recreation of the demon can be used in place of the Hell Knights.

Improved default lighting

D3HDP by default comes with shaders that give the game more advanced shading and more modern lighting effects (shown on the left). An alternative shader file is also included that resembles the game's original lighting with some subtle improvements (shown on the right).

Prozo particle effects

Newer and fancier particle effects originally featured in the Prozo GFX.

Screenshots

NOTE: The modded screenshots are using the modern lighting and shading found in the D3HDP mod. An alternative shader is included in D3HDP that makes the lighting resemble the original.

Viewing the following screenshots in their own tabs is recommended.

Credits

id Software — For giving us Doom 3.

Nerve Software — For giving us the Resurrection of Evil expansion pack.

Bethesda Softworks — Some assets from BFG Edition were backported from BFG Edition into the original game for D3HDP.

DanielGibson — The developer of the dhewm3 source port.

Arl. — The creator of the Arl's Improvements, and The Lost Mission campaign port for the original Doom 3, and the Alpha Shotgun mod.

H3llBaron — The creator of the D3HDP - DooM 3 Essential HD Pack.

Monoxead — The creator of his HD texture pack for Doom 3 featured in D3HDP.

Wulfen — The creator of his HD texture pack for Doom 3 featured in D3HDP.

Prozo — For the Prozo Particle Effects featured in D3HDP.

snapshot_ — The creator of the Enhanced Edition mod.

6th Venom — The creator of the Doom3 HQ Mainmenu featured in Enhanced Edition.

Lippeth — For porting the higher quality version of the Doom 3 theme music from DOOM Eternal.

kcat — The developer of the OpenAL Soft.

bibendovsky — For his EAX-EFX Patcher for Doom 3 and EFX fix for Resurrection of Evil.

[kolter]

btw why isn't enhanced / tweaked sounds in bold

[kolter]

Note: the missing language repo is not actually missing the Chinese translation for doom 3 as the game didn't get one, the only thing that was in Chinese in that release was an anti-piracy message on the loading screen.

[Lalo4r]

Great i will try it, thanks for the info!

[AmethystViper]

@Lalo4r: I have the apart from the Enhanced / Tweaked Sounds sicne that was newly added to this guide and I haven't played with that mod yet, I played through the base game and The Lost Mission with D3HDP, the High Quality Doom 3 Theme & Credits, and Enhanced Edition and it played fine with those mod with the vanilla engine and the dhewm3 source port.

[Lalo4r]

Hello! I haven't really tried to mod anything before so I'm going to try this but first I wanted to ask, did you play the game with all these mods enabled? I trust it will work but I just want to know if it's possible to have so many mods without any issues, as I said I don't know anything about this. Thanks

[kolter]

@amethystviper: here: https://www.moddb.com/games/doom-iii/addons/sound-tweak

[AmethystViper]

@moonshine: You're welcome! I wanted to make this guide since I had a pretty good time with revisiting the base game and The Lost Mission campaign port with the D3 Essentials HD Pack and the Enhanced Edition mod via the dhewm3 source port, looking forward to playing Resurrection of Evil next. I also wanted to help try to iron things out with the default Doom 3 engine, especially with the EAX related bugs and bring awareness to the EAX fixes for it. The other small touch ups like the higher quality menu music are also nice additions to have.

[moonshine]

Hey AmethystViper thanks for the guide!

Playing DOOM 3 for the first time and I'm glad I stuck with the OG with the regular flashlight. I'm surprised how good the game looks with the HD textures and enhanced mod considering how old it is.

[AmethystViper]

Do you have the original source of SoundTweak so I can see what I'm working with?

[kolter]

Also, could you at least mention this: https://community.pcgamingwiki.com/files/file/3181-id-tech-4-missing-language-repository/ ? Feels useful. I've also made a modified version of yafm based on an unofficial update from gamebanana, but modified to work with all weapons as well as made it compatible with lost mission. download link's here: https://drive . google.com/drive/folders/1iGj3aNS2tXRv-INUXa-ae2KPxf-OSKae