E4M1: Hell Beneath (Doom)
From DoomWiki.org
| Ultimate Doom maps | ||
|---|---|---|
| Knee-Deep in the Dead | ||
| The Shores of Hell | ||
| Inferno | ||
|
E4M1: Hell Beneath is the first map of Thy Flesh Consumed in Doom. It was designed by American McGee and uses the music track "Sign of Evil." In the Doom Classic port, it has a par time of 2:45.
On Ultra-Violence, it is believed to be one of the hardest levels not only of the episode but also in the entire Doom series. On this difficulty, there are no medikits or stimpacks; any additional health is limited to nine health bonuses, and there is only one piece of green armor. The easier difficulties have four medikits, two of which are available through a secret. Stiff resistance is also offered by numerous shotgun guys and a number of barons of Hell.
Contents
Overview[edit]
The map title comes from Proverb 15:24: "The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath."
Walkthrough[edit]
Essentials[edit]
From the start (A), go forward (to the shotgun) then to the left, around the nukage pool, past the red door (B), then right and flip the switch (C) at the other end of the gallery. The marble wall blocking the short passage (D) to the right from the start will lower. Go back round the nukage pool and through the passage to another similar area. Follow the walkway to the right until you see an entrance (E) to the building in the center. Jump down into the nukage moat and go through the entrance. Walk up the stairs, turn left and pick up the red skull key (F). Go back downstairs to the room with a window. The raised floor in front of the window (G) is a lift. Ride it up and jump back to the walkway around the area, go through the passage (D), then around the nukage and through the red key door (B), make your way around the rectangular structure occupying the back part of the room and pick up the blue skull key from the niche (H). Go out of the room, follow the walkway to the blue key door (I), open it and step on the white pad with a pentagram on it (J) in the room behind the blue door.
Secrets[edit]
- Drop into the nukage pool ahead of you at the start of the level. Lower the platform to the right in order to expose a hidden tunnel with a rocket launcher at its end. Open the wall to the left of the rocket launcher to reveal a room with a pair of teleporters. (sector 69) Each takes you to a corresponding ledge near the level's beginning. These ledges contain a medikit each on HMP or lower skill levels.
- In the room behind the red door, make your way left around the rectangular structure and use the torch. This lowers the rectangular structure, uncovering a hidden "NIИ" logo (which is not present in console versions of Doom that feature this map, possibly due to trademark concerns). The area surrounding the "NIИ" letters is tagged as a secret. (sector 30) Note that the letters themselves are not tagged as secret, so this secret may be a bit tricky to register. Doing this unleashes four barons. Walking across the west side of the secret sector causes walls to rise, blocking the entrance to the room. While the walls are rising, do not run to the structure which contains the blue skull key. If you do so, you will get trapped here with no means to exit unless you use the noclip cheat. Also do not run onto the walls themselves, as they will crush you. The wall blocking the entrance has two switches to lower it, one inside and one outside the room.
Bugs[edit]
There is a small Hall of mirrors effect visible at the top of the inside of the red door frame due to a missing upper texture, though it is barely noticeable in the darkness.
Running into the blue key alcove when the secret #2 trap walls rise will make the player stuck.
There are 4 known anomalies in this level's REJECT table.
Design oddities[edit]
The red key can be picked up from the outside area by bumping the grate.
There is a one-way door that can be opened in the room where you find the red key that leads to the walkway surrounding the marble building and the acid moat.
Version differences[edit]
- In the Xbox port of the Ultimate Doom, the torch responsible for revealing both the Nine Inch Nails logo and the last monster closet with four barons of Hell cannot be activated. As a direct consequence, it is impossible to get either 100% kills or 100% secrets in this version of the map.
- The Nine Inch Nails logo has been removed entirely in some ports of the map, see Inspiration and development.
Demo files[edit]
Areas / screenshots[edit]
The start.
Watch out for the teleporting shotgunners.
You can engage them head on or take cover at the entrance.
Clear the imps in here and flip the switches.
A very useful rocket launcher secret.
Enemies are just around the corner.
Entrance to the red key building.
The red skull key is here, but...
... don't let your guard down!
More imps to kill past the red door.
The exit at last, past the blue door.
NIИ Easter egg.
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 | 00:25 | Vincent Catalaá (Peroxyd) | 2000-12-18 | u4m1-025.zip | |
| NM speed | 00:27 | Guillaume Pierson (Guiddqd) | 2019-10-17 | n4m1-027.zip | |
| UV max | 01:49 | Tatsuya Ito (Tatsurd-cacocaco) | 2020-07-08 | u4m1-149.zip | |
| NM100S | 00:37 | Guillaume Pierson (Guiddqd) | 2008-10-15 | n4s1-037.zip | |
| UV -fast | 02:23 | Jim Leonard (Xit Vono) | 2013-03-27 | f4m1-223.zip | |
| UV -respawn | 01:37 | Radek Pecka | 2001-12-04 | r4m1-137.zip | |
| UV Tyson | 50:56 | Jim Leonard (Xit Vono) | 2001-10-22 | t4m15056.zip | |
| UV pacifist | 02:50 | Vincent Catalaá (Peroxyd) | 2000-01-02 | p4m1-250.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 | 0:20.29 | Dsparil | 2021-02-24 | e4m1-020.zip | |
| NM speed | 0:25.14 | Brian Martin | 2021-11-04 | n4m1-025.zip | |
| UV max | 1:46.97 | NightTerror | 2021-05-22 | e4m1m146.zip | |
| NM 100S | 0:26.89 | Brian Martin | 2021-11-07 | n4s1-026.zip | |
| UV -fast | 2:13.17 | Coincident | 2020-06-26 | f4m1-213.zip | |
| UV -respawn | 1:37.03 | Radek Pecka | 2001-12-04 | r4m1-137.zip | |
| UV Tyson | 50:56.17 | Jim Leonard (Xit Vono) | 2001-10-22 | t4m15056.zip | |
| UV pacifist | 0:31.86 | Pleymo | 2023-01-15 | e4m1p031.zip | |
| NoMo | 0:14.57 | Dastan | 2020-10-24 | e4m1o1457.zip | |
| NoMo 100S | 0:18.94 | Pleymo | 2021-09-03 | e4m1os018.zip |
The data was last verified in its entirety on January 27, 2023.
Deathmatch[edit]
Player spawns[edit]
This level contains four spawn points:
- facing south. (thing 112)
- facing east. (thing 113)
- facing east. (thing 114)
- facing north. (thing 115)
Statistics[edit]
Map data[edit]
| Things | 141 |
| Vertices | 439* |
| Linedefs | 471 |
| Sidedefs | 642 |
| Sectors | 81 |
Things[edit]
This level contains the following numbers of things per skill level:
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Inspiration and development[edit]
The "NIИ" logo is a reference to Nine Inch Nails, the American industrial rock band, of which American McGee was a fan. id Software's next game, Quake, would feature sound and music by the band's frontman, Trent Reznor, who was himself an id fan and friend of McGee and John Carmack.
This reference has been removed from the map twice, first in the PlayStation version of the map, and then again in the Doom Classic Unity and Doom + Doom II versions. The latter instance was due to concerns over use of the trademark.
Trivia[edit]
- It is the smallest level in Ultimate Doom.
- Teleport destinations are usually marked by the "crushed gibs" sprite.
External links[edit]
- E4M1 demos from the Compet-n database: UV speed • NM speed • UV max • NM100S • UV -fast • UV -respawn • UV Tyson • UV pacifist
- E4M1 demos at the Doom Speed Demo Archive
- Demonstration of the broken torch glitch and inaccessible "NIN" secret on E4M1
