MAP27: Ghost Town (PlayStation Final Doom)

MAP27: Ghost Town is the twenty-seventh level of PlayStation Final Doom, and the third level of the Plutonia episode. It is based on the PC version of MAP05: Ghost Town from The Plutonia Experiment, with modifications to accommodate the PlayStation's framerate and memory limitations and add enhancements such as colored lighting. It uses the music track "Lurkers".

The author of the original level was Milo Casali. Changes for the PlayStation port were authored by Tim Heydelaar.

Essentials
You start in a small room with a walkway in front of you with a shotgun on it. On both sides of the walkway are windows with chaingunners in them. Kill them if you want, then proceed forward and take the megaarmor. In this room are two columns blocking access to the stairs behind them. Hit the switch on either column, and they will both lower to reveal Hell knights. Kill them then proceed down either hallway, wary of the knight at the end. You will be overlooking a large courtyard with one to three cacodemons (depending on skill level) and an arachnotron. There are also a pair of lifted platforms at each end with chaingunners. Clean out the room in whichever way suits you, then climb up the stairs in the south-west corner and go down the south hallway, leading to the south-eastern area of the level.

Take a few steps into the next area, and you will be greeted by chaingunners on the surrounding pillar and one or three arachnotrons, as well as a pair of arachnotrons on raised platforms. Use the doorway and raised platforms as cover to kill the enemies, then move forward and collect the rockets on the square platform, then take the blue keycard in the next room. This will release a number of knights from alcoves around you, as well as releasing more chaingunners outside, so run back to the central area.

Climb up the staircases in the south-west corner again, and this time go through the north hallway. Pass through the wide doorway to a grassy area with water pools on either side, that each have a wooden structure with a chaingunner. Go inside the brick building ahead to enter a room with skin walls. Kill the chaingunners at the top of the stairs and then climb up them; as you climb the stairs, the columns around you will lower to release various enemies including two knights. Kill them if you choose, then head north-west to a room with marble walls on either side. Try to open the door ahead and the marble walls will open to reveal one or two knights waiting in ambush, and another knight blocking a switch to the south-west. Deal with these enemies, hit the south-west switch to open the door, then step it to find the exit teleporter.

Other points of interest
A super shotgun is placed behind the teleporter at the top of the staircases in the central area.

In the north-western area, a rocket launcher is hidden in the north-eastern water pool behind the wooden structure. Armor is placed just inside the entrance to the nearby brick building.

Secrets

 * 1) Once in the central outdoor area, climb either staircase in the south-west corner. There is a teleporter in a recessed corner up here; take it to get to the raised ledge with the plasma gun on it. From here, you can easily drop onto the nearby megasphere. (sector 55)

Bugs
Some monsters in the level feature Deathmatch-only flag and thus will not appear in this mode since there is no way to enable enemies:
 * In the central area, three Hell knights (things 196-198) and a cacodemon (thing 200) near the megasphere fountain and one arachnotron (thing 101) on the super shotgun ledge.
 * Two cacodemons (things 201 and 202) to the north away of the balcony where there are two water structures.
 * Two Hell knights (things 171 and 172) in the exit room with blue key switch.
 * Two Hell knights (things 173 and 174) at the exit portal.

Room design

 * All switches use a red/green light on metal wall texture (SW1MET2).
 * Four dead player decorations are removed from the level, and the rest are replaced with spectres (see below).
 * Stairs are added to the water pools outside the starting room, and the alcoves with chaingunners are not covered by window textures. The water also inflicts less damage, taking 5% health at a time instead of 20%.
 * Hidden zero-height sectors are added around the central outdoor area, allowing it to be taller than 256 units without distorting the wall textures.
 * The corridors leading to the ledges overlooking the central area are wider to accommodate the player's increased radius.
 * Two pillars and alcoves with chaingunners are removed from the outdoor area leading to the blue keycard.
 * The alcoves in the outdoor area leading to the blue keycard use different textures that scroll upwards instead of left.
 * Four twitching impaled corpses were removed from the stairs leading to the exit.
 * The stairs leading to the exit use a green rock floor instead of flesh.

Monster placement

 * Barons of Hell, revenants and arch-viles are replaced with Hell knights.
 * Mancubi are replaced with arachnotrons.
 * Two dead player decorations in front of you at the start of the level are replaced with spectres, along with the three dead players by the stairs to the exit room.
 * The central area contains three cacodemons instead of two on Ultra Violence skill level, and only one cacodemon appears instead of two on I am a Wimp/Not Too Rough (IAAW/NTR). The three demons in this area are removed without replacement.
 * Only three chaingunners appear on each ledge overlooking the central area instead of five.
 * The spiderdemon guarding the blue keycard is replaced with three arachnotrons on Hurt Me Plenty (HMP) and UV, or one on IAAW/NTR.
 * Only two enemies ambush you when you try to open the exit door instead of four on UV. One enemy ambushes you instead of three on other skill levels.

Player spawns
This level contains eight spawn points:
 * 1) facing north-east. (thing 88)
 * 2) facing north-west. (thing 162)
 * 3) facing north-east. (thing 163)
 * 4) facing south-east. (thing 164)
 * 5) facing south-west. (thing 165)
 * 6) facing north-east. (thing 166)
 * 7) facing west. (thing 167)
 * 8) facing south. (thing 168)

Things
This level contains the following numbers of things per skill level: