E3M2: Slough of Despair (Doom)

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Ultimate Doom maps
Knee-Deep in the Dead

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9

The Shores of Hell

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9

Thy Flesh Consumed

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9

SNES-Mod1-Console-Set.png

This level has a
Super NES version.

This level occupies the map slot E3M2. For other maps which occupy this slot, see Category:E3M2.

E3M2: Slough of Despair is the second map of Inferno in Doom. As can be seen from the map, its plan is based on a human hand. The name may be a reference to "the Slough of Despond," from John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. It was designed by Sandy Petersen and uses the music track "Donna to the Rescue". The par time is 0:45.

Overview[edit]

Walkthrough[edit]

Map of Slough of Despair
Letters in italics refer to marked spots on the map. Sector, thing, and linedef numbers in boldface are secrets which count toward the end-of-level tally.

Essentials[edit]

At the start, keep to the left hand wall and just keep firing at any monster and/or demon that comes your way. If you get outnumbered, simply backtrack to the start and let the monster(s) follow you. Begin firing at the monster(s) until you've defeated them. Keep moving along until you get to the blue key. Then turn around, go straight, and when you're out of the alcove, take two lefts into another one. Walk up to the wall in front of you. Kill the lost souls that were behind the wall (or avoid them), and go into the room they were in. Open the blue door in here, hit the switch, turn around, go right, grab the health and ammo, and get to the exit teleporter.

Secrets[edit]

  1. In the "thumb" is a small lava pit. Walk over it to lower a nearby wall, revealing a chaingun. (sector 19)
  2. Below the little and ring fingers is a rock shaped like an arrow if you look at the automap. Open the wall this arrow is pointing to; inside is a plasma rifle and a medikit. (sector 58)
  3. At the end of the middle finger is an arrow on the floor pointing to a switch; flip it to get a soul sphere. (sector 28)

Bugs[edit]

Two "hanging leg" decorations (Things 184 and 185) and a "pool of blood and flesh" decoration (Thing 187) have no flags set for any of the difficulty classes, so they do not actually appear in the level.

Upon entering midway into the "index finger" the wall at the opening closes. This wall is supposed to be opened by the switch at the end, but the one time only switch may be triggered before the wall fully shuts. When this happens the player becomes trapped and is unable to complete the level.[1]

There are 4 known anomalies in this level's REJECT table.

Design oddities[edit]

Near the second "joint" of the "little finger" (just after the cacodemon trap), a severed leg is hanging from the open sky.

Areas / screenshots[edit]

Speedrunning[edit]

Routes and tricks[edit]

Current Compet-n records[edit]

The Compet-n records for the map are:

Run Time Player Date File Notes
UV speed 00:12 Marijo Sedlić (Sedlo) 2002-12-25 e3m2-012.zip
NM speed 00:13 Adam Hegyi 1999-07-03 n3m2-013.zip
UV max 01:39 Tatsuya Ito (Tatsurd-cacocaco) 2020-09-22 e3m2-139.zip
NM100S 00:43 Andy Kempling (aurikan) 1999-06-25 n3s2-043.zip
UV -fast 02:40 Radek Pecka 2001-09-17 f3m2-240.zip
UV -respawn 01:55 Radek Pecka 2000-08-27 r3m2-155.zip
UV Tyson 02:07 Radek Pecka 2004-02-01 t3m2-207.zip
UV pacifist 00:12 Marijo Sedlić (Sedlo) 2002-12-25 e3m2-012.zip

The data was last verified in its entirety on November 22, 2020.

Current DSDA records[edit]

The records for the map at the Doom Speed Demo Archive are:

Run Time Player Date File Notes
UV speed 0:12.86 Percy T 2020-11-30 e3m2uv1286.zip Cross-listed from Pacifist
NM speed 0:13.17 Percy T 2020-12-06 e3m2n1317.zip
UV max 1:39.31 Tatsuya Ito (Tatsurd-cacocaco) 2020-09-22 e3m2-139.zip
NM 100S 0:41.46 Teedre 2023-07-16 e3m2ns41.zip
UV -fast 2:16.69 BFGandorf 2023-03-13 f3m2-216.zip
UV -respawn 1:55.23 Radek Pecka 2000-08-27 r3m2-155.zip
UV Tyson 2:03.80 Jim Leonard (Xit Vono) 2022-07-18 t3m2-203.zip
UV pacifist 0:12.86 Percy T 2020-11-30 e3m2uv1286.zip
NoMo 0:11.89 depr4vity 2020-02-18 n3o21189.zip
NoMo 100S 1:07.40 Dogmachine 2022-10-24 e3m2os107.zip
Stroller 0:26.74 Pleymo 2020-08-19 e3m2str026.zip

The data was last verified in its entirety on July 24, 2023.

Deathmatch[edit]

Player spawns[edit]

This level contains five spawn points:

  1. facing north-east. (thing 198)
  2. facing north. (thing 199)
  3. facing north. (thing 200)
  4. facing north-east. (thing 201)
  5. facing west. (thing 207)

Statistics[edit]

Map data[edit]

Things 208
Vertices 531*
Linedefs 494
Sidedefs 625
Sectors 68
* The vertex count without the effect of node building is 426.

Things[edit]

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

Trivia[edit]

  • "Slough" here is pronounced like "slew," and can refer either to a marshy pit or bog, or a large amount.
  • Of all the home ports of Doom, only the SNES port has this map. This map was removed in the Jaguar, 3DO, GBA, PlayStation, and Saturn editions.
  • The official French name of this level is Bourbier du désespoir (accents are not reflected in the game itself due to technical limitations).

See also[edit]

External links[edit]