• Laptop: Lenovo 85K200HGRE (2021)
  
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600H @ 3.30 GHz (with integrated Radeon Graphics)
  
• RAM: 16 GB
  
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop (4 GB VRAM)
  Driver version: 576.52

Doom: The Dark Ages uses ray tracing by default, but if your RTX GPU - isn’t fully compatible, RTGI (Ray-Traced Global Illumination) gets disabled. This leads to:

• Extremely dark environments - even basic navigation becomes impossible.
  
• Characters with glowing white eyes - especially visible in cutscenes.
  
• Glitched lighting - flickering surfaces.
  

We’ll spoof a supported GPU profile with a utility called Optiscaler[github.com] by cdozdil[github.com], and then optimize the game for performance.

• Download it from github Optiscaler[github.com]
  
• Extract the archive into your game’s root folder (where DOOMTheDarkAges.exe is).
  
• Run the OptiScaler Setup.bat.
  
• Press Enter
  
• Type 2
  
• Press Enter to exit
  

Open OptiScaler.ini in Notepad. Find the [Spoofing] section and change:


This will trick the game into thinking you have 6 GB VRAM, which enables RTGI.

• Download Ultra-Low CFG File[www.nexusmods.com] by JRHJ510[next.nexusmods.com]
  
• Place it in your game's base folder ("\DOOMTheDarkAges\base")
  
• Launch the game, press ~ to open the console
  
• Type:
  
  exec low.cfg
• If no FPS change, press ↑ and Enter a few times to reapply

Some users recommend adding

+exec low.cfg

to launch options.

It didn’t work for me personally - but I still recommend giving it a try.

You must make an adjustment in the NVIDIA Control Panel to avoid performance drops.
This step is critical to getting smoother gameplay after enabling RTGI.
(thanks lifuzu[next.nexusmods.com] from NexusMods for the advice!)

Here’s how to do it:

• Open NVIDIA Control Panel
  
• Go to Manage 3D Settings → Program Settings tab
  
• Select DOOM: The Dark Ages (doomthedarkages.exe) from the list
  
• If it’s not there, click Add and manually locate the .exe
  
• In the list of settings below, find:
  CUDA – Sysmem Fallback Policy
  Set it to: Prefer Sysmem Fallback

This setting improves compatibility in cases where GPU memory is limited by allowing system memory to be used as a fallback.

If performance is too low to play even in 720p fullscreen, here’s a workaround that I personally use:
Instead of using one of the default low resolutions, switch to windowed mode and manually stretch the game window to match a widescreen shape. Then use Lossless Scaling to both upscale the image and generate additional frames via frame interpolation.

Steps:

• Get Lossless Scaling on Steam
  https://sp.zhabite.com/steamstore/app/993090
  
• Launch the game in windowed mode
  
• Open the console (~) in-game to see the exact window resolution as you resize
  
• Manually stretch the window to an approximate widescreen version of 640x480 — around 854x480
  
• Back in Lossless Scaling:
  
  • Choose LSFG 3.0 with Adaptive mode and target to 80 (or 60) + LS1 mode for frame smoothing
    
  • Press Ctrl + Alt + S or click Scale to activate

This approach not only makes the image look sharper in fullscreen, but also generates additional FPS for ultra-smooth gameplay, which is a game-changer on systems with limited GPU power.

By following this guide, you can improve the visual quality of Doom: The Dark Ages, even on lower-end GPUs like the RTX 3050 Laptop with 4 GB VRAM.

While these methods require some compromises in resolution and image sharpness, the enhanced experience is well worth it (in my opinion).

If you found this guide helpful, please consider rating it, adding it to your favorites, and leaving a comment!

Special thanks to the following creators and community members for their tools, configs, and guidance:

• cdozdil[github.com] - creator of OptiScaler[github.com]
  
• JRHJ510[next.nexusmods.com] - author of the Ultra-Low CFG File[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• lifuzu[next.nexusmods.com] - for the NVIDIA Control Panel tuning tip (CUDA setting)