Configuration file

From DoomWiki.org

The Doom configuration file is a text file which holds settings set by setup.exe and from inside the game and its menus. The file is normally named default.cfg, but the -config command line parameter can be used to specify an alternate file to use.

The file takes the format of a list of configuration settings, with each line of the form:

<name> <value>

Settings[edit]

Display[edit]

screenblocks
Controls the screensize, ranging from 3–11. A value of 10 gives a fullscreen window with the status bar, while 11 gives fullscreen without status bar. The default value is 9.
detaillevel
Boolean value which controls the resolution of the screen. The logic here is inverted: 0 is high resolution, while 1 is low resolution.
usegamma
Gamma correction setting. This ranges from 0–4, with 0 representing no gamma correction, while 4 gives maximum gamma correction. The default value is 0.

Joystick[edit]

use_joystick
Boolean value used to control whether the joystick is enabled. Default is 0 (off).
joyb_fire
Joystick button used to make the player attack.
joyb_use
Joystick button used to make the player "use" (activate switches, open doors, etc).
joyb_speed
Joystick button used to make the player run. Can also be used to activate always run.
joyb_strafe
Joystick button used to make the player strafe.

Keyboard[edit]

key_right
Keyboard scan code of the key used to turn the player to the right.
key_left
Keyboard scan code of the key used to turn the player to the left.
key_up
Keyboard scan code of the key used to move the player forward.
key_down
Keyboard scan code of the key used to move the player backwards.
key_strafeleft
Keyboard scan code of the key used to make the player strafe left.
key_straferight
Keyboard scan code of the key used to make the player strafe right.
key_fire
Keyboard scan code of the key used to make the player attack.
key_use
Keyboard scan code of the "use" key (key used to open doors, activate switches, etc).
key_strafe
Keyboard scan code of the key used to make the player strafe rather than turn.
key_speed
Keyboard scan code of the key used to make the player run.

Mouse[edit]

use_mouse
Boolean value used to control whether the mouse is enabled. Default is 1 (on).
mouseb_fire
Mouse button used to make the player attack.
mouseb_strafe
Mouse button used to make the player strafe.
mouseb_forward
Mouse button used to make the player move forward.
mouse_sensitivity
Numerical value storing the value of the mouse sensitivity setting. The default value is "5".

Sound[edit]

sfx_volume
The volume of sound effects, ranging from 0–15. The default is 8.
music_volume
The volume of the background music, ranging from 0–15. The default is 8.
snd_channels
The number of sound channels to use. The default is 3.
snd_musicdevice
Numeric value indicating which kind of music card is installed.
  1. None
  2. Adlib
  3. Sound Blaster
  4. Pro Audio Spectrum
  5. Gravis UltraSound
  6. WaveBlaster
  7. Sound Canvas
  8. General MIDI
  9. Soud Blaster AWE32
snd_sfxdevice
Numeric value indicating which kind of card to use for sound effects.
  1. None
  2. PC Speaker
  3. Sound Blaster
  4. Pro Audio Spectrum
  5. Gravis UltraSound
snd_sbport
I/O Port to use to access the soundblaster card.

snd_sbirq
IRQ to use to access the soundblaster card.
snd_sbdma
DMA channel to use when accessing the soundblaster card.
snd_mport
I/O Port to use to access the music card.

Other[edit]

show_messages
Boolean value which controls whether messages are displayed in the heads up display. The default is 1 (on)
chatmacro0
Multiplayer chat macro sent when alt+0 is pressed.
chatmacro1
Multiplayer chat macro sent when alt+1 is pressed.
chatmacro2
Multiplayer chat macro sent when alt+2 is pressed.
chatmacro3
Multiplayer chat macro sent when alt+3 is pressed.
chatmacro4
Multiplayer chat macro sent when alt+4 is pressed.
chatmacro5
Multiplayer chat macro sent when alt+5 is pressed.
chatmacro6
Multiplayer chat macro sent when alt+6 is pressed.
chatmacro7
Multiplayer chat macro sent when alt+7 is pressed.
chatmacro8
Multiplayer chat macro sent when alt+8 is pressed.
chatmacro9
Multiplayer chat macro sent when alt+9 is pressed.

Additional settings[edit]

The joyb_speed setting can be set to 29 to make the player always run in most Doom versions and Doom engine games. Originally it was discovered that setting the value to 31 would produce the effect, but that value does not work on the engines of some games, such as Final Doom, Heretic, and Strife. Doom v1.0 is noteworthy in that neither 29 nor 31 enables autorun; the only currently known working value is 2029.

The configuration file can be used to set the mouse sensitivity above the regular maximum of 9, though note that setting it to a value higher than 30 will make the game terminate upon entering the options menu.

The configuration file can be rearranged and comments added; however, the game will overwrite any such changes on exit. The file can be made read-only to avoid this problem.