MAP31: The Temple (The Abyss)

MAP31: The Temple is the first secret level of The Abyss. It was designed by H2SO4, based on Sandy Petersen's. This level contains the first entry room and hallways of Petersen's original, with the UAC door leading to a large circular arena containing a spiderdemon and teleporting monsters. This map, along with, may explain exclusion from the idgames archive until 2015.

Essentials
Unless you have picked up ammo from the previous levels, this level may be impossible to max due to the lack of ammo. Infighting may be the only sure way to get 100% kills.

Play your way through MAP01 as usual, then hit the UAC door last. To survive, you'll need to grab the megaarmor, and open the two back pillars, revealing an invulnerability sphere and a megasphere. The difficulty is in remaining alive long enough to grab the invulnerability sphere first. Dodging the spiderdemon is top priority.

To reach the secret exit, push the middle pillar in the arena to reveal a switch. Hit it, and run back to the hallway. A door should have opened in the corner. Go to the opened area and use the two walls within to warp to the second secret level.

Official

 * 1) The rocket launcher secret door from Entryway (sector 19) can be opened by walking on the steps of the arena "temple".
 * 2) The secret exit (sector 42) can be opened by hitting a middle switch in the arena.
 * 3) See secret #2. (sector 44)

Non-official

 * 1) At the start, a chainsaw sits to the west of the player. This is left over from Entryway.
 * 2) A megasphere and invulnerability sphere are located behind the back two pillars, hidden via a lowering lift.

Bugs

 * The same missing texture bugs still exist near the chainsaw area.
 * The texture misalignment in the second "hallway" leading to the original MAP01 exit hasn't been fixed.

Speedrunning
This level can be easily speedrun, given that you don't take much damage as you pass the spiderdemon. Hit the exit switch in the arena as fast as possible.

Routes and tricks
Grab the megaarmor and invulnerability, then race for the exit. The spiderdemon may block the exit, so a good time may depend on the position of the monsters.

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

Inspiration and development

 * The outdoor arena contains some of the linedefs and sidedefs from the original map.