MAP29: The Death Domain (PlayStation Final Doom)

MAP29: The Death Domain is the twenty-ninth level of PlayStation Final Doom, and the fifth level of the Plutonia episode. It is based on the PC version of MAP20: The Death Domain 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 "Tendrils Of Hate".

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

Essentials
Yellow key

You start in a large outdoor area overlooked by chaingunners on a balcony, and revenants in towers. An arachnotron is also present in a square building in front of you. Run forward to this building and hide behind its west wall to conceal yourself from any enemies shooting at you. Go west and press the switch to lower some stairs into a sludge-filled hallway. Go north, collecting the super shotgun if needed, then head east until you see a lift on your left. Press the switch to lower the lift and ride it up to the top floor. Kill the imps blocking your way and press the switch in the west wall, then step on the lift again and get off at the middle floor where a door has now opened.

You are now in a wooden area. The walls will lower when you go east revealing some Hell knights, plus a revenant on Hurt Me Plenty (HMP) and Ultra Violence (UV) skill levels. The door to proceed further is located in the east of this area but is locked. To unlock, face west and press a recessed switch located near the entrance. After this, head east to get through the door before it closes.

Stop once you are through the door; once you climb the stairs the floors in the next room will rise to reveal several chaingunners. Climb the stairs and take the partial invisibility powerup in this room, which will make it harder for the enemies to shoot you. Go through the east door to a hallway with shotgun guys, then head south and west down a curved staircase. Head south down a marble hallway and west at the end. You will pass the yellow keycard - it is not actually required to finish the level, but may save some time later.

Blue key

Go west down a lift and into an outdoor area. If you face east you will see two alcoves containing knights. Be careful as once they leave the alcoves they can teleport to random points in the area. Once they are dead, enter the southern alcove and press the switch inside. This will temporarily lower a barrier between the fences to the north. While the barrier is lowered, you can make a running jump from here into a fenced trench.

If you manage to get into the trench, go north and take the blue keycard. You will be teleported to a pad in the starting area holding a berserk pack, next to the blue door.

(If you miss the jump but remembered to take the yellow key, you can go through the yellow door to the south to get back up to the upper floor. Otherwise, you will have to make the trip around the west, north and east sides of the level to get back to that area.)

Exit

With the blue key collected, open the blue door in the north-east corner of the starting area. Go up the stairs into a large marble room. Turn right to the balcony overlooking the starting area and step into the exit teleporter.

Secrets

 * 1) After climbing down the stairs from the starting area to the western hallway, you will see a door on your left. The passage behind this door (sector 98) counts as a secret, but the door cannot be opened (see below).
 * 2) In the wooden area in the north of the map is a recess with a flickering light. Press use on the walls either side of the recess (they have three vertical lines) to open the recess. Behind it is a lift leading up to a soulsphere. (sector 129)

Bugs
The door to secret #1 cannot be opened, as the texture which must be pressed to open it was removed while converting this map for the PlayStation. Consequently, it is only possible to reach 50% secrets in this level.

Removed areas

 * A hidden sector which held the arch-vile that teleported into the starting area is removed. Because arch-viles are not included on PlayStation, this sector serves no purpose.
 * A hidden sector holding three revenants, which teleport into the northern trench in the starting area, is removed as that trench is not present on PlayStation.

Room design

 * Unusually for PlayStation Doom, more than one switch texture is used in this level. Almost all switches use a red/green light texture and are recessed into walls; however, the switch to lower the floor which rises when a player enters the southern room with teleporting Hell knights uses a skull switch on metal wall texture.
 * A low ceiling around the west wall of the starting area is removed.
 * The northern trench in the starting area is replaced with a square structure containing an arachnotron. Consequently, taking the blue keycard teleports you directly to a pad with a berserk pack in the starting area.
 * An invisible sector in the grated crawl-space between secret #1 and the west hallway is removed. Consequently, the arachnotrons in that area will be alerted when a player enters the hallway and will try to attack if the player is close enough, but there is no danger as their projectiles cannot pass through the wall.
 * Computer textures are removed from the sludge-filled hallway west of the starting area.
 * A MARBFACE texture is removed from a passage in the north-western area of the map, making it impossible to enter secret #1.
 * The monsters that appear in the north-eastern room are revealed when you climb the staircase in this room. On PC, they are revealed when you approach the walls or take the partial invisibility powerup in the room.
 * The alcoves in the southern area with teleporting Hell knights do not have scrolling textures. There are fewer teleport lines in this area.
 * The staircase leading down to the yellow door is longer.
 * Hanging victim textures are removed from the marble room before the exit teleporter.

Monster placement

 * Demons are replaced with imps.
 * Barons of Hell are replaced with Hell knights.
 * Zombiemen and spectres are replaced with shotgun guys.
 * Only two arachnotrons appear in the starting area on UV instead of four. One arachnotron appears instead of three on HMP, and one arachnotron appears instead of two on I am a Wimp/Not Too Rough (IAAW/NTR). A lost soul also appears in the north-west corner of the starting area on all skill levels.
 * The two mancubi in the unreachable secret are replaced with arachnotrons.
 * The arch-vile found in the north area of the map on HMP and lower skill levels is replaced with a revenant.
 * An arachnotron in the far-eastern area of the map is replaced with four lost souls on UV and two on lower skill levels.
 * Five revenants teleport into the trench in the starting area instead of six.
 * The arch-vile that teleports into the starting area is removed without replacement.

Player spawns
This level contains seven spawn points:
 * 1) facing east. (thing 21)
 * 2) facing east. (thing 24)
 * 3) facing south. (thing 81)
 * 4) facing north. (thing 82)
 * 5) facing north. (thing 83)
 * 6) facing south. (thing 84)
 * 7) facing west. (thing 85)

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