E3M6: Mt. Erebus (Doom)

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Atari-Jaguar-Console-Set.png

This level has a
console version.

SNES-Mod1-Console-Set.png

This level has a
Super NES version.

This level occupies the map slot E3M6. For other maps which occupy this slot, see Category:E3M6.

E3M6: Mt. Erebus is the sixth map of Inferno in Doom. It features a secret exit to E3M9: Warrens. It is named after Erebus, a region of the underworld in Greek literature. It was designed by Tom Hall[1][2] and Sandy Petersen and uses the music track "On the Hunt" and has a par time of 1:30.

All Atari Jaguar-based versions of Doom completely lack the map and exit to the secret level, Warrens.

Walkthrough[edit]

Map of Mt. Erebus
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 of this level, go left, run over the lava quickly, reaching the land and going up the gray staircase. When you get to the top, jump off to the outcropping in front of you, where you can see a small platform with equipment surrounded by impaled or piled skulls. Kill the enemies here, and on this outcropping, collect the weapons, and the invulnerability powerup. Now face the small platform where you got the weapons, and run over the lava towards land to the right, onto the main landmass.

Proceed quickly to the wall with skull heads on it. From the wall, continue left, then right, and jump into the large triangular pit with water in it. Hurry towards the teleporter in the small alcove in the structure in the middle of the pit. After you teleport, open the door in front of you. You may pick up the blue skull key on easy skill levels, but it is not needed for these instructions.

From the door, open the wall to the left that has a tiny candle in front of it, marking a secret door. Take the teleporter in the secret alcove. Now turn around, and when you do, go carefully towards the right onto a smaller ledge. Facing the wall on the larger ledge, switch to your automap and make sure you (the arrow) has its back to the hollow, box-shaped structure in the water below. Note that you must still be invulnerable at this point, or you will likely die.

Then take out the rocket launcher, and fire your weapon towards the wall. The blast alone should carry you all the way to the box. This can also be achieved by simply running into the box. Jump in if you did not fall into its interior section already. Inside the box is a teleport which will take you to a previously locked out section of the map.

This section is sort of shaped like a 'Y'. In one of the far ends you will find the blue key, and in the other a switch to open the exit for you. Once outside the Y-shaped structure, immediately turn left and trace alongside the narrow ledge. To your right in the lava there should be a biosuit visible. Take it and proceed alongside the narrow ledge until you reach a brick wall. On the far side of this brick wall will be a small opening revealing a small passage. At the end of this passage lies the blue door which guards the normal exit of this map.

Secrets[edit]

  1. Go inside the brown vine-covered building. Inside are two teleporters. Take the one on the right, and you'll be taken to a ledge with a plasma gun on it. (sector 121)
  2. Enter the green marble building. There are two candles on the floor against opposite walls here. Open the wall behind the candle on the right for an energy cell pack. (sector 77)
  3. From secret #2, open the wall behind the other candle and take the teleport. Once you're through, drop onto the platform ahead of you to get the chainsaw. (sector 92) Note that you must get this secret before taking the teleport in the cube-like structure directly southeast to it, or the chainsaw platform will raise up out of reach and completing the map with 100% secrets will become impossible.

Secret exit: The area that contains the secret exit switch is inescapable, so only enter it once you are ready to exit the level. Pick up one of the invulnerability spheres and make your way back through the teleporter from secret #2. This time, inch along the platform you arrive on to your right and around a corner. You'll see a blue box in the water below. Position yourself directly across from this box and face the red brick wall. Fire your rocket launcher at the wall and run backwards simultaneously, and you should be fired into the box, the invulnerability powerup absorbing all damage you would have taken. (sector 88) This takes you to the secret level, E3M9: Warrens. It's possible to straferun into the box, but the rocket jump is the intended (and easiest) method.

There is a glitch where you can actually access the Warrens level without accomplishing the above. To do so, go to the area where you would normally try to get into the hole. On the outer regions and where the actual switch is (you won't see it as a blue wall is blocking it), press spacebar at the right spot. Though this is technically illogical, the game will think you've pressed the switch. However, you won't be credited for the secret once you finish the level. You won't be credited for that secret if you exit directly to the next normal level either (unless no-clipping mode was activated).

Bugs[edit]

Five "floating skull rock" obstacles (Things 209, 214, 220, 221 and 223) and a "burnt tree" obstacle (Thing 229) have no flags set for any of the difficulty classes, so they do not actually appear in the level.

There are 9 uncategorized anomalies in this level's REJECT table.

Design oddities[edit]

The view from the ledges of the brown vine-covered building is above the ceiling height of the nearby cacodemon buildings in the lava. As you cannot see through them, this causes them to clip the red brick wall surrounding the level. This can happen from several other high vantage points on the level, but is most egregious on the ledge with the plasma rifle (secret #1).

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 (normal exit) 00:28 Jonathan Rimmer 2000-06-01 e3m6-028.zip
UV speed (secret exit) 00:06 Adam Hegyi 1998-10-05 e3m6s006.zip
NM speed (normal exit) 00:29 Adam Hegyi 1999-11-01 n3m6-029.zip
NM speed (secret exit) 00:06 Steffen Udluft (Rini) 1999-02-18 n3m6s006.zip
UV max 02:58 Radek Pecka 2001-02-01 e3m6-258.zip
NM100S 00:18 Karim El-Sheikh (Kimo Xvirus) 2009-09-01 n3s6-018.zip
UV -fast 02:59 Radek Pecka 2001-09-19 f3m6-259.zip
UV -respawn 02:07 Radek Pecka 2000-11-23 r3m6-207.zip
UV Tyson 04:07 Radek Pecka 2001-07-15 t3m6-407.zip
UV pacifist (normal exit) 00:49 Thomas Pilger (Panter) 1999-06-21 p3m6-049.zip
UV pacifist (secret exit) 00:06 Adam Hegyi 1998-10-05 e3m6s006.zip

The data was last verified in its entirety on July 6, 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 (normal exit) 0:26.97 Teedre 2022-03-03 e3m6-26.zip
UV speed (secret exit) 0:06.57 Meowgi 2022-03-31 e3m6sp006.zip Cross-listed from Pacifist
NM speed (normal exit) 0:28.60 NightTerror 2020-03-11 e3m6n-028.zip
NM speed (secret exit) 0:06.63 Alan "Alaux" Ruzich 2020-06-06 n3m6s663-Alaux.zip
UV max 2:18.03 NightTerror 2022-03-11 e3m6m218.zip
NM 100S 0:18.97 Karim El-Sheikh (Kimo Xvirus) 2009-09-01 n3s6-018.zip
UV -fast 2:42.63 BFGandorf 2023-07-22 f3m6-24263.zip
UV -respawn 1:58.31 BFGandorf 2023-07-22 r3m6-15831.zip
UV Tyson 3:52.86 Andrea Rovenski (Cyberdemon531) 2022-11-16 e3m6t352.zip
UV pacifist (normal exit) 0:46.94 Pleymo 2020-09-16 e3m6p046.zip
UV pacifist (secret exit) 0:06.57 Meowgi 2022-03-31 e3m6sp006.zip
NoMo (normal exit) 0:22.69 Aleksey Kamenev (4shockblast) 2016-10-11 e3m6o022.zip
NoMo (secret exit) 0:06.54 meneely 2022-08-23 e3m6so654.zip
Stroller (normal exit) 1:44.11 taedev 2022-11-07 e3m6str144.zip
Stroller (secret exit) 0:15.40 Billa 2023-02-04 s3m6str1540.zip

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

Deathmatch[edit]

Player spawns[edit]

This level contains six spawn points:

  1. facing north-west. (thing 319)
  2. facing north-east. (thing 320)
  3. facing south. (thing 321)
  4. facing south. (thing 322)
  5. facing south-west. (thing 323)
  6. facing south-east. (thing 333)

Statistics[edit]

Map data[edit]

Things 335
Vertices 691*
Linedefs 687
Sidedefs 949
Sectors 125
* The vertex count without the effect of node building is 550.

Things[edit]

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

Trivia[edit]

  • According to John Romero, "The only way you are supposed to reach the secret switch [inside the blue box at the north end of the map] was by (1) getting the invincibility, (2) blasting a rocket into the wall so you would fly backwards into the box. We found out early on that it was possible to flip the switch from outside, so Sandy made the walls thicker." (See Doom Level History (archived 🏛).) In fact, it is still possible to activate the switch from just outside of the walls, and also to straferun-jump into the box. See Access the secret exit on level E3M6 for details. Also, in the SNES port the player can just simply jump inside the box with the secret exit switch, as it is not possible to be pushed back from a rocket explosion.
  • The mythological place Erebus is originally a deep place of utter darkness and the personification of shadow, originally part of the Graeco-Roman Hades, and associated with the Christian Hell in works such as Milton's Paradise Lost.[3] However, the level takes place in a bright lava-filled open area. This seems to be a reference to Mount Erebus, a volcano in Antarctica. The volcano is incidentally located where one of H. P. Lovecraft's most celebrated tales, At the Mountains of Madness, takes place. In the tale the volcano is described and associated with Edgar Allan Poe's Mount Yaanek (in his poem Ulalume), taking a special and ominous significance. It is noteworthy that the author of the level, Sandy Petersen, had been the writer of a role-playing game based on Lovecraft's mythos, and was later instrumental in introducing many Lovecraft-inspired elements in Quake, the game id Software released after the Doom games.
  • The official French name of this level is Mont Erebus.

Sources[edit]

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. Romero, John (28 March 2021). "Tom Hall had the idea for the rocket jump and put that in his E3M6 before he left the project in August 1993." Twitter. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  2. Hall, Tom (28 March 2021). "Yup. Thanks for the correction, Photographic Memory Man!" Twitter. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  3. Milton, John. "Paradise Lost." The Complete Poetical Works of John Milton (Cambridge Edition), edited by William Vaughn Moody, 125. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Co., 1899.