MAP11: Frantic (Threshold of Pain)

MAP11: Frantic is the first secret map of Threshold of Pain. It was designed by John Gourley (scalliano) and uses the music track "Creeping Brutality," composed by Aubrey Hodges for the Sony PlayStation port of Doom. The par time defined in MAPINFO is 5:00.

This level includes a secret exit to MAP12: Vinyl Resting Place.

Essentials
You begin in a room with three doors - to reach the secret exit to MAP12: Vinyl Resting Place you must collect all three skull keys and use them to open the bars behind you. If you are having trouble, use the teleporter in the north-west corner to go to MAP03: Recycling Plant.

Do not take the megaarmor or soulsphere in the south alcoves as they will trigger lethal crushing ceilings. It is possible to take the armor in the north-east corner, but it will also trigger a dangerous crusher that deals heavy damage.

Blue key
Open the west door and step across the small gray platforms, taking a berserk pack on your way to the blue skull key. Picking up the key causes the blood pool to become an inescapable pit, and alcoves will open in the north and south walls containing six Hell knights. Strafe across the gray platforms to avoid the knights' attacks - do not stay in the blue key alcove as it contains a crusher trap. When all the knights have been killed, the door to the starting area will open.

Red key
Open the east door and take the red skull key behind it. The floor will instantly fall away and you will find yourself in a chamber with three arachnotrons. Kill them as fast as possible (grab the rocket launcher in the south-east corner if you need it) then stand on one of the brightly-lit squares to avoid a crushing ceiling. Once the ceiling has risen again, step into either teleporter that opens in the east wall to return to the starting area, where four boxes of rockets have appeared by the west door.

Yellow key
Go through the north door to find a room full of teleporter pads - you must step on the correct pads to cross the room and reach the yellow skull key at the north end. If you step on an incorrect pad you will be sent to a neighboring chamber with damaging lava, along with two nightmare imps and nightmare spectres. Kill them, then press the switch in the west wall to open a door back to the start of the maze.

Enter the maze by stepping on the third pad from the left, then step north, east, east, north, east, east, north, north, west, west, west, west, south, west, west, north and north. Take the armor and medikits if needed, then pick up the yellow key in the north alcove. A cyberdemon will teleport in at the south end of the room - use the plasma gun and energy cells that spawn to destroy it, then step into the teleporter that opens in the north wall to get back to the room entrance. Take the megasphere that has appeared here before leaving.

Secrets

 * 1) Taking the yellow key causes a cyberdemon to teleport in behind you, and also opens a small hole in the wall east of it. Shoot the white teleporter texture in the hole with any impact weapon then step on the teleporters to send yourself to the neighboring lava room. Turn round to find that a crawlspace has opened in the north-west wall, revealing a passage with health and armor bonuses. Crouch down, follow the passage and press the gargoyle switch at the end to return to the yellow key area. (sector 87)

Current records
The records for the map at the Doomed Speed Demos Archive are:

Things
This level contains the following numbers of things per skill level, not including monsters and items spawned via scripts:

Trivia

 * This level's name and layout are a homage to MAP32: Hectic from Doom 64. The east and west areas are largely copied from that level, while the north area is inspired by the teleporter maze in MAP58: The Mansion from PlayStation Doom.