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Display Settings and Multi-Screen Guide

This guide covers openQ4 display/window settings for end users, including multi-monitor behavior and modern fullscreen/window handling.

Quick Start

  • Press Alt+Enter to toggle fullscreen/windowed mode (fast path uses vid_restart partial).
  • Run listDisplays in the console to list monitor indices for r_screen.
  • On SDL3 builds, run listDisplayModes [displayIndex] to list available exclusive fullscreen modes, including SDL-reported content scale, pixel density, and exact refresh details when available.
  • The in-game Settings -> System menu exposes display resolution, fullscreen policy, borderless/window sizing, custom exclusive fullscreen sizing, refresh rate, UI aspect behavior, display target, multi-screen, and resolution scale controls.
  • Settings -> System also exposes a Performance Preset dropdown plus an Auto-Detect button above the display-resolution controls.
  • After changing video cvars, run vid_restart (or vid_restart partial for quick window/fullscreen transitions).

Performance Presets

The com_performancePreset cvar stores the selected preset. Use the Settings menu dropdown, or run applyPerformancePreset [name] from the console. Running applyPerformancePreset without a name applies the stored com_performancePreset; if that stored value is invalid, openQ4 falls back to balanced. Explicit unknown names are rejected without changing the current preset.

Preset Display and AA Texture and audio profile Intended use
minimum 50% scale, no AA, 30 FPS cap Aggressive texture downsizing, 1x anisotropy, one sound sample per shader, stereo, no EAX, lower emitter budget Most constrained systems.
lowpower 75% scale, no AA, 30 FPS cap Texture downsizing, 1x anisotropy, one sound sample per shader, stereo, no EAX, lower emitter budget Raspberry Pi-class and other low-power systems.
performance 85% scale, SMAA medium, 60 FPS cap Full-size textures, 2x anisotropy, stereo, no EAX, moderate emitter budget Modest desktops and handhelds aiming for smoother frame pacing.
balanced 100% scale, 2x MSAA, SMAA medium, 120 FPS cap Full-size textures, 4x anisotropy, surround/EAX restored, full emitter budget General desktop default.
quality 100% scale, 4x MSAA, SMAA medium, 144 FPS cap 8x anisotropy, DDS replacements enabled, larger upload budget, surround/EAX restored Strong desktop GPUs.
ultra 100% scale, 8x MSAA, SMAA medium, 240 FPS cap 16x anisotropy, source textures preferred over DDS replacements, high-end benchmark tag, surround/EAX restored Explicit high-end choice; Auto-Detect does not select this automatically.

All presets keep optional shadow maps and subjective/modern post effects disabled, so the authored Quake 4 look remains the baseline. Enable shadow maps, bloom, SSAO, tone mapping, motion blur, or CRT filtering separately after choosing a preset if you want those effects.

Performance presets write video, texture-allocation, texture-sampling, and audio backend cvars. Anisotropy is capped to the maximum supported by the active GPU. Run vid_restart after applying one so renderer, texture allocation, and sampler changes take effect; run s_restart as well if you want speaker/EAX/emitter-budget changes to rebuild the active sound backend immediately.

autoDetectPerformancePreset takes no arguments. It selects a conservative preset from platform signals, CPU architecture, system RAM, video RAM, and renderer capability flags, then applies it. Missing or implausible memory telemetry is treated as a conservative fallback instead of promoting the system to a higher preset. On Raspberry Pi hosts or explicit OPENQ4_LOWPOWER=1 / OPENQ4_RASPBERRYPI=1 signals, it chooses lowpower.

For package or platform validation, performancePresetSelfTest checks that the preset commands are registered, every preset is known to the menu-facing cvar and command completion lists, auto-detect returns and applies a supported non-ultra preset, command arguments behave correctly, all preset targets are registered and covered by backup/restore, rejected target normalization rolls back atomically, the preset progression stays coherent, the preset cvar mappings apply correctly, and the test restores touched cvar values, flags, and modified-state bookkeeping before finishing.

Core Display Settings

Setting Default What it does
r_fullscreen 1 1 = fullscreen, 0 = windowed.
r_fullscreenDesktop 1 1 = native desktop fullscreen (recommended). 0 = exclusive fullscreen using r_mode/r_custom*.
r_borderless 1 Borderless window mode when r_fullscreen 0.
r_windowWidth 1280 Windowed width.
r_windowHeight 720 Windowed height.
win_xpos (auto) Outer window-frame X position (updated automatically when you move the window).
win_ypos (auto) Outer window-frame Y position (updated automatically when you move the window).
r_mode -2 Fullscreen sizing selector (-2 = desktop native/current display, -1 = custom, 0+ = legacy preset index).
r_customWidth 1920 Custom exclusive-fullscreen width used when r_mode -1.
r_customHeight 1080 Custom exclusive-fullscreen height used when r_mode -1.
r_displayRefresh 0 Requested fullscreen refresh rate (0 = default/driver choice).
r_screen -1 SDL3 monitor target (-1 auto/current, 0..N explicit index).

Texture Quality (Picmip and Downsizing)

openQ4 has two independent ways to spend less memory and bandwidth on textures.

image_downSize* is retail Quake 4's ceiling: no texture of that kind is allowed to exceed a given size. Performance presets drive these.

image_picmip is the Quake 3 style relative reduction familiar from r_picmip: it drops whole mip levels, so every step halves a texture no matter how large it started. Unlike the Quake 3 version, openQ4 applies it only to the diffuse layer of materials — the color texture of a diffusemap stage. Normal maps, specular maps, lighting, skies, decals, fonts, and every 2D/HUD surface keep their authored resolution, so surfaces stay correctly lit and the interface stays sharp while the bulk of texture memory still comes down.

Setting Default What it does
image_picmip 0 Mip levels to drop from diffuse textures. 0 = full resolution. Each step halves the texture.
image_picmipFilter 1 Which image paths image_picmip may reduce. 0 = every diffuse texture, 1 = textures/* (world surfaces), 2 = models/* (characters, weapons, props), 4 = any other namespace. Add values to combine.
image_picmipMinSize 32 Reduction stops once a texture's longest axis reaches this size, so small textures never turn to mush.
image_downSize 0 Enables the general texture size ceiling.
image_downSizeLimit 0 That ceiling, in pixels. 0 = no limit.
image_downSizeBump / image_downSizeBumpLimit 0 / 256 Separate ceiling for normal maps.
image_downSizeSpecular / image_downSizeSpecularLimit 0 / 64 Separate ceiling for specular maps.

The ceiling is applied first and image_picmip reduces from there, so raising image_picmip always halves the result even when a preset has already clamped a texture. A material that declares nopicmip opts out of both.

These settings change the pixels a texture is built from, so openQ4 reloads images automatically when you change one — no vid_restart needed. The generated texture cache is keyed by the active reduction, so switching back and forth does not leave stale sizes behind.

One limitation applies to DDS replacement packs. Compressed data can only be reduced by discarding mip levels the file already contains, so a .dds exported without a full mip chain stays larger than the same texture would on the normal path. Set image_showPrecompressedTextures 1 to have openQ4 name any replacement that could not reach the requested size.

image_picmip 2
image_picmipFilter 3

That halves world and model diffuse textures twice while leaving lighting detail, the HUD, and menus untouched.

Renderer Backend (OpenGL default; Vulkan is experimental)

openQ4 ships with an OpenGL renderer as the default and only supported backend on every platform. A Vulkan renderer is included but is experimental and opt-in — it is under active development, not feature-complete or performance-validated, and can show visual artifacts or instability. Do not use it for normal play; OpenGL remains the recommended renderer.

Setting Default What it does
r_renderApi gl Renderer backend: gl (default, supported) or vulkan (experimental). best resolves to gl until the Vulkan backend clears its promotion evidence and sign-off. Takes effect on engine restart, not vid_restart.
r_actualRenderApi (read-only) Reports the backend that actually initialized. If a Vulkan request fails, the engine falls back to OpenGL and this reports gl.

All r_renderApi values

Value Aliases What it selects
best — The platform default. Currently resolves to gl on every platform, and will keep doing so until Vulkan clears its promotion evidence and sign-off.
gl opengl The OpenGL renderer. This is the default and the recommended choice.
vulkan vk The experimental Vulkan renderer module.
gl-module — Always loads the OpenGL renderer as a module instead of using a statically linked copy. This is a diagnostic option; it renders identically to gl.

Anything else is rejected with a warning, and openQ4 uses gl.

Notes:

  • The vulkan selection is archived to your config and applied at the next engine start; restart openQ4 fully (not just vid_restart) to switch.
  • If Vulkan cannot initialize (no compatible driver/GPU, or a module error), openQ4 logs a warning and renders with OpenGL so you are never left with a black screen. Check r_actualRenderApi or gfxInfo to see the active backend.
  • Experimental status means known issues are expected; please only file Vulkan-specific reports with openq4.log and gfxInfo, and note that it is not yet a release-supported path.

Vulkan on macOS (through MoltenVK)

Apple does not ship a Vulkan driver. On macOS, openQ4's Vulkan renderer runs on top of MoltenVK, a Vulkan-on-Metal translation layer that is bundled inside both macOS packages. It is a translation layer, not a Metal renderer, and it does not replace or remove the OpenGL renderer.

  • OpenGL is still the default on macOS, in both the OpenGL and Metal bridge packages. Nothing changes unless you opt in.
  • Vulkan is a runtime option, not a separate download. There is no third macOS package to install and nothing to enable at install time.
  • To try it: open the console, run r_renderApi vulkan, then quit and relaunch openQ4. Check r_actualRenderApi or gfxInfo afterwards to confirm what actually started.
  • Expect problems. macOS support is experimental, the Vulkan renderer is experimental, and this combination has no accepted testing on real Apple hardware yet. Missing effects, wrong shading, poor performance, or a refusal to start are all plausible.
  • To go back: run r_renderApi gl and restart. The setting is saved to your config, so it stays on OpenGL after that.
  • If it cannot start, you do not need to do anything. openQ4 logs the reason and renders with OpenGL instead, so a failed attempt never leaves you without a picture. Common reasons on a Mac are a GPU that does not meet the renderer's Vulkan 1.3 feature floor, or a package whose bundled translation layer is missing or was stripped by a copy.
  • When reporting a macOS Vulkan problem, include openq4.log (it records which translation-layer library was loaded), the gfxInfo output, and your Mac model and macOS version.

Frame Cap

Setting Default What it does
com_maxfps 240 Presentation frame cap (0 = uncapped).
com_steamDeckAutoFrameCap 1 When the Steam Deck profile is active, applies a Deck-friendly cap only while com_maxfps is still 240.
com_steamDeckFrameCap 0 Steam Deck default cap override (0 = use detected display refresh clamped to the Deck-oriented range).

The Steam Deck auto cap preserves custom com_maxfps values. Set com_steamDeckAutoFrameCap 0 to opt out, or set com_maxfps directly for a fixed cap.

Anti-Aliasing Settings (New)

Setting Default What it does
r_multiSamples 0 MSAA sample count for the main scene render target (0, 2, 4, 8, 16; 0 = off).
r_postAA 0 Post AA mode (0 = off, 1 = SMAA medium, 2 = SMAA high, 3 = SMAA ultra, 4 = color-edge prototype).
r_msaaAlphaToCoverage 1 Enables alpha-to-coverage for perforated/alpha-tested materials when MSAA is active. Helps foliage/fences look cleaner.
r_msaaResolveDepth 0 Also resolves depth during MSAA resolve. Usually leave this off unless debugging a depth-dependent edge case.

r_multiSamples value guide:

  • 0: disabled (fastest, most aliasing).
  • 2: low-cost MSAA uplift for modest GPUs.
  • 4: recommended default quality/performance balance.
  • 8: high quality, noticeably higher GPU cost.
  • 16: enthusiast/high-end setting where supported.
  • 1 usually provides no meaningful benefit and is not recommended.

r_postAA value guide:

  • 0: disabled.
  • 1: SMAA medium; luma-edge detection with a 0.10 threshold and 8-step search, recommended as the post-AA default.
  • 2: SMAA high; luma-edge detection with the same 0.10 threshold and a 16-step search.
  • 3: SMAA ultra; luma-edge detection with a lower 0.05 threshold and a 32-step search.
  • 4: color-edge prototype; color-edge detection with a 0.10 threshold and a 16-step search for comparison captures.

Notes:

  • r_multiSamples is hardware-limited and may be clamped by the driver/GPU.
  • Unsupported r_multiSamples values are normalized to the supported ladder before video startup (1 becomes off; odd/intermediate values step up to 2, 4, 8, or 16).
  • On SDL3 builds, video startup retries lower MSAA requests if the window or GL context rejects the requested sample count (16 -> 8 -> 4 -> 2 -> off) and logs the requested, selected, and driver-reported multisample attributes.
  • The game scene target is validated separately from the window framebuffer. If a driver rejects the RGBA8 + depth/stencil offscreen target at the selected sample count, openQ4 retries lower samples down to 0; if even the single-sample target is unavailable, it keeps running through the direct-render fallback and logs the exact framebuffer status and attachment details.
  • gfxInfo reports the active AA summary, including requested/effective MSAA, GL_MAX_SAMPLES, alpha-to-coverage, post AA mode, screen fraction, and supersampling state.
  • The Post AA startup/runtime log records the active SMAA edge mode, threshold, search steps, and local contrast scale so quality captures can be compared without guessing which shader contract was active.
  • Changing r_multiSamples should be followed by vid_restart.
  • r_postAA, r_msaaAlphaToCoverage, and r_msaaResolveDepth can be changed at runtime, but a vid_restart is still safe if behavior looks stale.

Multiplayer Visibility Effects

These optional client-side cvars add player outlines, rim lighting, and bright skins in multiplayer. Defaults keep the effects off; set one or more strength values above 0 to enable them. They do not change hit detection, snapshots, or server authority.

All of them are exposed in Multiplayer -> Settings -> Appearance, under the Enemy and Teammate tabs, with a live preview of the selected model. Colors and outline width are preset dropdowns there; the cvars accept any value in range if you prefer to set them from a config.

Setting Default What it does
cl_player_outline_enemy 0 Enemy player outline strength (0..1), used as the outline opacity.
cl_player_outline_team 0 Teammate player outline strength (0..1). Teammate outlines ignore depth so allies stay readable through geometry.
cl_player_outline_width 2.0 Outline width in screen pixels (0.5..6.0).
cl_player_rimlight_enemy 0 Enemy player rimlight strength (0..1).
cl_player_rimlight_team 0 Teammate player rimlight strength (0..1).
cl_player_visibility_enemy_color 1 0.12 0.05 Enemy outline/rimlight RGB color, using float components.
cl_player_visibility_team_color 0.1 0.85 0.25 Teammate outline/rimlight RGB color, using float components.
cl_player_brightskin_enemy 0 Enemy player bright skin strength (0..1).
cl_player_brightskin_team 0 Teammate player bright skin strength (0..1).
cl_player_brightskin_enemy_color 1 0.05 0.02 Enemy bright skin RGB color, using float components.
cl_player_brightskin_team_color 0.05 1 0.22 Teammate bright skin RGB color, using float components.

Two renderer cvars shape the rimlight itself. They are not in the menu, and their defaults reproduce the fixed falloff the pass used before they existed, so an untouched config looks the same:

Setting Default What it does
r_playerRimlightPower 2.0 Rimlight falloff exponent (0.25..8.0). Higher tightens the band to the silhouette; lower spreads it across the body.
r_playerRimlightFloor 0 Rimlight floor (0..1). Lifts the whole body by this fraction of the rim strength, so a player facing you head on is still tinted. At 1 the rimlight becomes a flat additive wash.

Example:

seta cl_player_outline_enemy 0.85
seta cl_player_rimlight_enemy 0.5
seta cl_player_outline_team 0.45
seta cl_player_rimlight_team 0.25
seta cl_player_outline_width 2.0

Notes:

  • The outline is a shell drawn just outside the player silhouette and masked against the silhouette itself, so it stays a constant-width ring at any distance instead of tinting the whole body. Overlapping body, head, and weapon surfaces are each painted once, so the outline does not darken where they meet.
  • The ring holds its requested pixel width in every direction, including on ultrawide displays.
  • Only the outline is ever drawn through geometry. Teammate outlines ignore depth and are drawn across the whole level, so an ally anywhere on the map reads as a ring at their position. The rimlight and the bright skin stay depth tested in every case — a ring marks a position, while a shaded body seen through a wall is a different thing entirely.
  • See-through and depth-tested outlines are masked separately, so an ally behind geometry never erases the ring off an enemy standing in front of them.
  • The rimlight needs GLSL support (glprogs/player_rimlight.*). On a driver without it the rimlight is skipped and the console says so once; outline and bright skin still work.
  • Without GLSL the outline falls back to a scaled shell, which approximates the requested pixel width instead of matching it exactly.
  • The overlays are drawn after the ambient floor and light-grid passes, so r_forceAmbient and indirect lighting no longer wash them out.
  • r_skipPlayerVisibilityEffects 1 disables all three overlays engine-side, for clean captures or A/B comparisons.
  • Bots are ordinary players for this feature: they occupy real client slots, so they receive the same overlays as human opponents and teammates. Nothing in the decision keys on being a bot.
  • g_showPlayerVisibilityEffects 1 prints one line per player whenever the answer changes — whether the overlays were applied and which render entities were reached (body, head, world weapon), or the reason they were skipped, and whether the client is a bot. Use it when a strength cvar looks like it is doing nothing. Steady states print once, not every frame.

Multiplayer Pickup and Opponent-Weapon Style

Settings -> Game Options -> General includes two client-side presentation controls for multiplayer. Stock appearance remains the default, and neither control changes game state or what anybody else sees.

Setting Default What it does
g_simpleItems 0 Pickup style: 0 original models, 1 legacy simple icons, 2 icon-coloured flat diffuse, or 3 flat diffuse with a soft light sweep moving up each world item.
g_mpFlatOpponentWeapons 0 1 gives weapons held by opponents the matching icon-coloured flat diffuse. Held weapons never receive the moving sweep.

Flat pickup styles change only the diffuse colour layer of a model. Authored normal maps, specular highlights, effects, emissive/ambient layers, and alpha coverage remain intact; transparent shells such as the bubbles around health pickups therefore keep their original appearance. Weapon and ammo pickups in the world are items, so style 3 gives them the upward sweep too.

The first-person view weapon is always excluded, even when opponent-weapon colour is enabled. In team modes the optional held-weapon colour applies only to the opposing team; in free-for-all it applies to every other player. Changes take effect immediately without reconnecting.

Resolution Scale

Setting Default What it does
r_screenFraction 100 Main-scene resolution scale percentage (10..200). Values below 100 reduce scene resolution for performance; values above 100 supersample the scene before resolving it back to the native back buffer.

The Display menu exposes curated presets: 10%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 85%, 100%, 125%, 150%, and 200%.

Fullscreen Policy (Desktop vs Exclusive)

  • Default behavior is desktop-native fullscreen (r_fullscreenDesktop 1): fullscreen matches your current desktop resolution and does not change Windows display mode.
  • For exclusive fullscreen (explicit mode switch), set r_fullscreenDesktop 0. In this mode, r_mode/r_customWidth/r_customHeight control the requested fullscreen resolution.
  • In Settings -> System, Display Resolution lists Desktop Native first, then only the fullscreen preset resolutions SDL3 reports for the selected display, followed by Custom. Preset entries include compact aspect labels such as 16:9 or 21:9. Choosing an unusual reported mode writes exact custom width/height when no legacy r_mode index exists.
  • The console listModes command shows the expanded legacy r_mode preset catalog for configs and command-line use, covering common desktop, laptop, ultrawide, HiDPI, 4K, 5K, 6K, and 8K resolutions. The Settings dropdown still hides static presets that the selected display does not report.
  • Refresh Rate lists Auto plus SDL3-reported refresh rates for the currently selected fullscreen resolution. Leave it on Auto unless you specifically need an exclusive-mode refresh request.
  • On Windows, fullscreen windows minimize on focus loss so system UI such as Alt+Tab and the Snipping Tool overlay can take foreground cleanly.
  • On Windows, PrintScreen yields to the system snipping UI by default (win_printScreenToSystemTool 1). Use F12 for the built-in openQ4 screenshot command, or set that cvar to 0 if you explicitly want PrintScreen available for in-engine binds again.

Notes:

  • When r_fullscreenDesktop 1, r_mode and r_custom* are ignored for fullscreen sizing (they still exist for legacy configs and exclusive mode). Use r_screenFraction for below-native scaling or supersampling while staying in desktop-native fullscreen.
  • Use listDisplayModes to see what your monitor actually supports in exclusive mode. On SDL3/Wayland, display diagnostics also report scale, orientation, pixel density, and exact refresh details that help diagnose compositor scaling behavior.

Windowed Sizing and Placement

  • Settings -> System -> Display Sizing exposes r_windowWidth, r_windowHeight, r_customWidth, r_customHeight, and r_displayRefresh. Leaving Refresh Rate on Auto writes r_displayRefresh 0.
  • New Windows installs, and legacy Windows configs migrated from the old default, use borderless windowed presentation when r_fullscreen 0 to avoid OpenGL bordered-window frame pacing stalls. Set r_borderless 0 and run vid_restart if you specifically want a resizable bordered window.
  • When bordered windowed mode is active (r_fullscreen 0, r_borderless 0), resizing updates r_windowWidth/r_windowHeight automatically.
  • Moving the window updates win_xpos/win_ypos automatically. These coordinates describe the outer frame, including the title bar and resize borders, while r_windowWidth/r_windowHeight continue to describe the drawable client area.
  • When switching fullscreen -> windowed, openQ4 restores the last remembered windowed size/position (it should not come back as a fullscreen-sized window).
  • If you unplug/rearrange monitors and the saved window position becomes off-screen, openQ4 will recover by clamping/recentering the complete window frame back onto a valid display.
  • If you set r_screen to an explicit display index (0..N), the complete window frame is constrained to that display's usable area. If necessary, the client area is reduced so the title bar and resize borders also fit. With r_screen -1, placement is respected unless it becomes invalid/off-screen.
  • Native Wayland compositors own absolute placement. openQ4 requests the selected display and client size there, then accepts the compositor's decorated-window placement instead of persisting unavailable global coordinates.
  • SDL3 tip: hold Shift while resizing to snap the window aspect ratio to common targets (4:3, 16:9, 16:10, 21:9, etc.).

Aspect Ratio and FOV

  • r_aspectRatio is deprecated/ignored. Aspect ratio and FOV behavior are derived automatically from the current render size, so the game follows any aspect ratio without manual selection.
  • The Display menu no longer exposes a manual Aspect Ratio selector; Display Resolution and the live window size drive aspect behavior automatically.
  • Weapon gameplay zoom uses the same gameplay FOV conversion path as normal view FOV, so authored weapon zoom values keep consistent framing/magnification across aspect ratios.
  • In multiplayer, zoomed first-person view suppresses view bob while scoped so reticle tracking stays stable during movement.
  • Scope GUI yaw tracking for zoom overlays follows the weapon/player view axis path, improving scope alignment while turning.

View Weapon FOV and Placement (New)

These settings control first-person viewmodel rendering (the weapon on screen). They are client-side tuning controls and are not gameplay/network authority cvars.

The in-game menu exposes these under Settings -> Game Options -> View Weapon.

Setting Default What it does
cl_gunfov 0 View-weapon FOV override (0 = follow current view FOV).
cl_gunfov_adjust 1 Aspect policy for cl_gunfov: 1 keeps classic 4:3-style weapon framing across screen ratios, 0 uses direct viewport-based FOV conversion.
cl_gun_x 0 Client weapon X/right offset.
cl_gun_y 0 Client weapon Y/forward offset.
cl_gun_z 0 Client weapon Z/up offset.

Notes:

  • cl_gunfov values above 0 are clamped to a safe range internally for weapon projection.
  • Weapon projection is handled in renderer weapon-depth path, so narrow/wide aspect changes are handled consistently.
  • cl_gun_x/y/z are additive with legacy g_gunX/Y/Z offsets. Prefer cl_gun_* for user config.
  • openQ4's legacy baseline keeps g_gunX at 1 and g_gunZ at -1 so the default widescreen viewmodel framing stays out of the viewport edge.

UI Aspect Correction (New)

This controls 2D UI layout behavior (menu, HUD, console, loading/initializing screens):

The in-game menu exposes this as Settings -> System -> Display Sizing -> UI Aspect.

Setting Default What it does
ui_aspectCorrection 1 1 keeps classic 4:3-style correction for all 2D UI. 0 stretches 2D UI to the full 2D draw region.

Text Rendering (New)

Menu and HUD text is drawn from scalable font files rather than the original fixed-size bitmap ones. The letterforms are the same — the fonts were rebuilt by tracing the game's own artwork — but they are now rasterised at whatever resolution your display is actually running at, instead of a 640x480-era atlas being magnified. Text stays sharp at 1440p and 4K rather than softening.

Setting Default What it does
r_useTrueTypeFonts 1 1 draws text from the scalable fonts. 0 returns to the original bitmap fonts.
r_ttfFontResolution 1.0 Multiplies the resolution the glyphs are rasterised at. Raise for slightly sharper text at the cost of texture memory; lower to save memory.

Changing either takes effect the next time fonts are loaded, so restart the game or run vid_restart to see the change.

One visible difference: the original chain font shipped with a zero-width space character, which ran words together in that face. The rebuilt font gives it a normal space, so some text is spaced differently — correctly — than it used to be.

This covers the developer console and the loading screen too. Those draw from a separate fixed-size character sheet, which is rebuilt at your display's resolution the same way.

Raising r_ttfFontResolution costs texture memory quadratically: at 1440p a font uses roughly 21 MB across its three sizes at the default of 1.0. Lowering it to 0.75 roughly halves that if you are short on video memory.

If the font files are missing (for example in a mod that replaces them), the game falls back to the original bitmap fonts automatically.

Text Background (Accessibility)

Quake 4 draws much of its text directly over the world and over busy panel artwork, which can leave very little contrast. This draws a solid black backing behind each line of menu and HUD text, so the text stays readable regardless of what is behind it.

Setting Default What it does
gui_textBackground 0 How opaque the backing is. 0 is off, 1 is fully opaque black. 0.6–0.8 is usually enough to read comfortably while still showing the artwork.
gui_textBackgroundPadding 2 How far the backing extends past the text, in 640x480 virtual units. Raise it if the text feels cramped against the edge.

Both apply immediately — no restart needed — and work with either font path.

seta gui_textBackground 0.75
seta gui_textBackgroundPadding 2

The backing covers text drawn by the menus, HUD and in-game GUIs. The developer console draws on its own path and is not affected.

Multi-Monitor Behavior (New)

When the render surface spans multiple monitors:

  • 2D elements (console, HUD, menus, loading/initializing UI) are constrained to the selected display region. With r_screen -1, this defaults to the primary display.
  • 2D aspect behavior inside that region is controlled by ui_aspectCorrection.
  • Menu cursor mapping follows the same 2D region so mouse interaction stays aligned.

3D world rendering is unchanged by these UI cvars.

Useful Console Examples

Recommended Modern Defaults

seta r_screen -1
seta r_fullscreenDesktop 1
seta r_fullscreen 1
seta r_multiSamples 4
seta r_postAA 1
seta r_msaaAlphaToCoverage 1
seta ui_aspectCorrection 1
vid_restart

Borderless Window on a Specific Monitor

seta r_fullscreen 0
seta r_borderless 1
seta r_screen 1
vid_restart

Custom Fullscreen Resolution

seta r_fullscreen 1
seta r_fullscreenDesktop 0
seta r_mode -1
seta r_customWidth 2560
seta r_customHeight 1440
vid_restart

Stretch Menu + HUD (No 4:3 Correction)

seta ui_aspectCorrection 0

View Weapon: Classic Framing + Slight Lowering

seta cl_gunfov 90
seta cl_gunfov_adjust 1
seta cl_gun_z -1.15

View Weapon: Match World FOV, Personal Position Offset

seta cl_gunfov 0
seta cl_gun_x 0.5
seta cl_gun_y -0.5
seta cl_gun_z -0.5

Performance-Focused AA Preset

seta r_multiSamples 2
seta r_postAA 1
seta r_msaaAlphaToCoverage 1
vid_restart

Maximum Clarity (Higher GPU Cost)

seta r_multiSamples 8
seta r_postAA 1
seta r_msaaAlphaToCoverage 1
vid_restart

Troubleshooting

  • If a display change does not apply, run vid_restart.
  • If monitor targeting looks wrong, run listDisplays, then set r_screen to the correct index and restart video.
  • If UI appears too centered/boxed on wide displays, set ui_aspectCorrection 0.
  • If the window opens off-screen after a monitor change, set r_screen explicitly to the target monitor and restart video; openQ4 will also attempt to recover automatically.
  • If AA settings seem unchanged, check values with r_multiSamples, r_postAA, and r_msaaAlphaToCoverage, then run vid_restart.
  • If enabling r_postAA 1 turns the 3D viewport black on an older build, set r_postAA 0, run vid_restart, and attach openq4.log plus the output of gfxInfo. Current builds use a three-pass GLSL SMAA path and should no longer hit the old feedback-loop failure. RenderDoc capture is not yet supported on the current openQ4 renderer.