E1M3: The Gatehouse (Heretic + Hexen)
From DoomWiki.org
| Heretic re-release maps |
|---|
| Hell's Maw |
| The Dome of D'Sparil |
| The Ossuary |
| The Stagnant Demesne |
| Fate's Path (deathmatch only levels) |
| This level has an original version |
E1M3: The Gatehouse is the third map of the City of the Damned episode in the enhanced Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders re-release, included with Heretic + Hexen. It uses the music track "Ded" by Kevin Schilder.
Contents
Walkthrough[edit]
_E1M3_map.png)
Essentials[edit]
Go straight forward to two wooden doors and open either one to face a group of golems, then pass through the doors and go west down a staircase that leads to a dining hall; stepping on the tables or benches will lower the columns in this room and reveal more golems, as well as Time Bombs of the Ancients. Go through the door in the north-west corner to find nitrogolems protecting a quartz flask (taking it will open a closet containing fire gargoyles), then go south-west through another door to face one or two more nitrogolems. Go south-east through a small room with barrels, then continue south-east into the next room to find two or three undead warriors protecting the yellow key. Taking the key will release some golem ghosts behind you.
Go back to the dining hall and pass through the large eastern door, which will open a compartment in front of you containing nitrogolem ghosts, then go up the northern staircase to enter a courtyard with a silver tower. Push the switch on the north wall to open the door to the tower, which is on its south side, then go into the tower and climb the stairs to find the green key along with one or two warriors. Go back to the dining hall and open either of the exit doors on the north side, then go straight forward to a small table to raise one or more warrior ghosts from the floor in front of you. Press the switch on the north wall to lower a lift to the east, then get on this lift and ride it up to the exit switch.
Other points of interest[edit]
Secrets[edit]
- After getting the yellow key, return to the wooden doors south of the starting point to find that the block holding the silver shield has lowered. Press the switch behind the block then go back to the archway in front of the starting point, where the east wall has opened to reveal a teleporter. Entering the teleporter will put you on the eastern ledge overlooking the starting area which has claw orbs and a crystal vial. (sector 192) Pressing the switch on the ledge will lower an energy orb behind you.
- Go through the yellow door and climb the south staircase to the top. You should hear something open ahead. Go to the courtyard with the silver tower and go through the opening in the north-east corner, then climb the stairs to the top to see an alcove ahead with a Bag of Holding and a switch. Press the switch then go back to the dining room, where the south-east wall has opened to reveal a staircase. Go up the stairs to a large water pool and go to the island at the south end to get a dragon claw and ammo. (sector 9) Stepping on the island will open a closet behind you with warriors and claw orbs.
- Go to the south-eastern room and press the switch on the eastern pillar, which is above a bed with a torch, to open the teleporter in the silver tower. The teleporter goes to the ledge at the south end of the starting area, which has a Tome of Power on it. Stepping off the ledge will open the wall on the west side of the archway, revealing a teleporter that goes up to the western ledge overlooking the starting area which has claw orbs and a crystal vial. (sector 191) Pressing the switch on the ledge will lower a quiver of ethereal arrows behind you.
Bugs[edit]
Demo files[edit]
Comparison of versions[edit]
Although the layout of the map is unchanged, details have been added throughout the level to make the rooms more visually distinct and add realism. Brightness levels have been changed in several parts of the map, and additional sectors have been added to create shadows and more gradual changes in light levels.
Room design[edit]
- An entrance "gate" was added at the north end of the starting area, which splits the overhead ledge into two secrets.
- Red beds and cabinets were added to the south-eastern room, along with a switch to open the teleporter in the green key room. The teleporter itself can no longer be accessed unless this switch is pressed.
- The large hall near the center of the map is now a dining hall. The moving platforms in this room are now columns, which are triggered by walking on the tables or benches, and there are now 10 platforms instead of five. To maintain symmetry, there are also two exit doors instead of one.
- Closets containing golem ghosts have been added to the westernmost room. A switch has been added which opens the nearby silver door, letting you take the dragon claw behind it.
- The closet behind the yellow door now contains nitrogolem ghosts and energy orbs, rather than golems, gargoyles and ethereal arrows.
- The compartment that contains the switch to open secret #2 now opens when you reach the top of the staircase in the neighboring room. In the original level it opened when you were halfway up the stairs. This change makes it easier to see and hear the compartment opening.
- The original level had a bug where pressing the switch to open the green key tower was also meant to open a wall on the east side of the map, but did not do so. This bug has been resolved, and the wall is now opened by the same switch that opens secret #2.
- A staircase was added to the water pool near secret #2, which connects to the corridor behind the yellow door.
- The exit room is now a small dining area, and only one switch is required to reach the exit.
Texture changes[edit]
- Hanging red banners were added to the dining hall.
- The gargoyle ambush in the north-western room now has a damaging sludge floor.
- The outer wall of secret #2 uses mossy bricks rather than stone walls.
- The green key tower now has a silver exterior and moss-covered interior walls, and its stairs now have wooden floors. In the original level the stairs had wooden risers and stone floors, creating an inconsistent look.
Thing placement[edit]
- The Gauntlets of the Necromancer were moved from the compartment containing the switch to open secret #2 to the well in the starting area, replacing the dragon claw.
- Wall torches were added to the hallway south of the starting area.
- A dragon claw was added to the ledge on the west side of the dining hall, and the ammo on the moving platforms was replaced with a varying number of Time Bombs.
- The yellow door is now flanked by two yellow gizmos rather than one.
- Taking the quartz flask in the north-western room now releases fire gargoyles instead of normal gargoyles.
- The ethereal crossbow was moved from the westernmost room to the hallway behind the wooden doors south of the start.
- The yellow key is now guarded by warriors, followed by an ambush by golem ghosts. In the original level the key was guarded by golems, followed by an ambush by warriors.
- The Bag of Holding is now found inside the compartment with the switch that opens secret #2, rather than in front of it.
- A golem ambush was added to the water pool near secret #2.
- Secret #2 now contains a dragon claw.
- Claw orbs were added to the warrior closet that opens when the player enters secret #2.
- Comparison of maps
E1M3 (original)
E1M3 (Heretic + Hexen)
Areas / screenshots[edit]
Speedrunning[edit]
Routes and tricks[edit]
Current records[edit]
The records for the map at the Doom Speed Demo Archive are:
| Run | Time | Player | Date | File | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SM speed | |||||
| SM max | |||||
| BP speed | |||||
| BP max | |||||
| NM speed | |||||
| NM 100S | |||||
| Tyson | |||||
| Pacifist |
The (absence of) data was last verified in its entirety on August 10, 2025.
Deathmatch[edit]
Player spawns[edit]
This level contains four spawn points:
- facing south. (thing 4)
- facing north-west. (thing 5)
- facing north. (thing 159)
- facing north. (thing 333)
Statistics[edit]
Map data[edit]
| Things | 592 |
| Vertices | 1627* |
| Linedefs | 1771 |
| Sidedefs | 2491 |
| Sectors | 357 |
Things[edit]
This level contains the following numbers of things per skill level:
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
