Master Levels for Doom II

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Master Levels for Doom II box.
Australian magazine advert for the Master Levels for Doom II.
Master Levels for Doom II CD, from the Depths of Doom Trilogy collection.

The Master Levels for Doom II were released on December 26, 1995 by id Software as an expansion pack for Doom II. It was also included as a bonus on the Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil Xbox game disc in 2005, and in Doom Classic Complete on PSN. The PlayStation version of Final Doom includes 13 levels from the Master Levels.

The CD contains twenty WAD files created by various authors under contract. The file TEETH.WAD contains a secret level, so there are a total of 21 levels. To ease playing these WADs, the collection also includes DOOM-IT, an application created by Chris Badger for id Software which allows the individual WADs to be loaded through a menu interface.

As a bonus, a poster and 1830 amateur PWAD files downloaded from the internet (collectively called Maximum Doom) were also included in the retail release. (The Maximum Doom levels are not included with the downloadable version found on Steam.) Also of note is that some of the contracted designers for the Master Levels had levels they had previously released on the Internet that were included in Maximum Doom.

The CD also included a digital catalog called id STUFF, which offered encrypted software for which an unlock code could be ordered, as well as mail order products such as T-shirts.

Motivation[edit]

It has been mentioned by John Romero, John Carmack, and several of the involved mappers that the primary motivation for the creation of the Master Levels was to "give the D!ZONE guys a run for their money," as id Software had become increasingly dissatisfied with other companies releasing various shovelware CDs full of Doom add-ons without any of the windfall reaching back to id. According to mapper Sverre Kvernmo, id was looking for skilled mappers who might have a lot of existing unreleased material that could be included. As a result, most of the Master Levels WADs are parts of pre-existing series, some of the earlier installments of which had previously been released on the Internet.

Levels[edit]

John Anderson (Dr. Sleep)[edit]

Jim Flynn[edit]

Christen Klie[edit]

Sverre André Kvernmo (Cranium)[edit]

Tom Mustaine[edit]

Tim Willits[edit]

Rejected levels[edit]

These levels were sent to id for inclusion, but were rejected for various reasons.

Christen Klie[edit]

Tom Mustaine[edit]

Sverre André Kvernmo[edit]

Sverre was working on a 32-level megawad titled Cabal, about a cyberdemon lord betrayed by his peers and turned into a human. But when he was contracted to contribute to the Master Levels for Doom II, he sent the twelve maps he had already finished. Five were kept, and the other seven were later released as the Cabal series.

Master Levels Menu Interface[edit]

The Master Levels Menu Interface is a 2010 ZDoom WAD created by Zippy which is designed to replicate the menu functionality of DOOM-IT in-game and allow all 21 levels to be played without restarting the engine each time. Once the WADs are added, the Menu Interface can be loaded in ZDoom, and used to play each WAD at any skill level in whichever order the user wants; they will be returned to the menu each time they complete a level.

Notes[edit]

  • Completing a level takes the user back to the menu and adds an asterisk next to the level WAD file. However, starting a new game will reset the status of levels completed so it is possible for one to save the game right at the menu to avoid this happening. This allows one to load the game when wishing to come back later.
  • The secret level from TEETH.WAD (Bad Dream, also known as TEETH2 in this mod) is not listed under the menu hence it is secret. Completing it will not make it available to choose in the menu but it will overwrite stats from TEETH (The Express Elevator to Hell) if one chooses the secret level.

Native support[edit]

The Eternity Engine's Master Levels selection menu.
The Master Levels selection menu in the Unity port of Doom II.

Recent versions of the Eternity Engine include native support for playing the Master Levels from within Doom II without use of command-line parameters or the need to exit the game to play other maps or the normal game. After configuring the directory in which the maps are stored (it will be automatically detected if installed via Steam or in the standard PC install location), the menu pictured to the right can be used to start any of the maps. The secret level of TEETH.WAD is accessible by using the secret exit switch in the first map of that WAD file. After a level is completed, the menu reappears. A new map can be started, or escape can be pressed to return to the Doom II title screen.

A Master Levels map selection screen also appears in the Doom Classic Unity port of Doom II as of the January 9 update. Upon starting a new game and selecting the episode "The Master Levels," a list of levels will appear, functioning similarly to the menu used in the Eternity Engine. The selection uses the full names of the levels instead of their WAD file names. Completing a level will reopen the menu, presenting the option to choose a new level or exit to the title screen. The secret level of TEETH.WAD is accessible through The Express Elevator to Hell by finding the secret exit in the level.

If Crispy Doom is able to detect MASTERLEVELS.WAD, it can be loaded as a PWAD for Doom II, with fixes to ensure that Tag 666 still works properly in the fourteenth and fifteenth levels. As of version 5.9.0, it can also automatically assemble the individual DOS WADs to work as if they were MASTERLEVELS.WAD, if they are placed in the same folder as Crispy Doom. It also uses revised versions of the ending texts from Classic RBDOOM 3 BFG, depending on if the player takes the normal exit from MAP20, or the secret exit to MAP21 and finishes that level.

Classic RBDOOM 3 BFG can assemble the individual Master Levels WADs into a copy of MASTERLEVELS.WAD. Like Crispy Doom, the port ensures that the necessary maps behave as they're supposed to despite using a different level number, and also includes a second file titled mlbls.wad. The contents of this WAD include a custom INTERPIC based on that of Doom II, but colored white to match the boxart of Master Levels, level names to appear on the intermission screen, and John Anderson's starry sky textures.

Level progression[edit]

Title screen in Doom + Doom II.

While there is no real level progression in the original DOS release, the console releases and subsequent re-releases have organized them in episodes. These for the most part followed alphabetical order until Doom + Doom II in 2024.

WAD name Map name PC slot PSX slot Xbox slot PSN slot KEX slot
ATTACK.WAD Attack 1 1 1 1 1
CANYON.WAD Canyon 1 3 4 2 2
CATWALK.WAD The Catwalk 1 5 5 3 3
FISTULA.WAD The Fistula 1 6 7 5 4
COMBINE.WAD The Combine 1 4 6 4 5
SUBSPACE.WAD Subspace 1 11 12 9 6
PARADOX.WAD Paradox 1 10 — 8 7
SUBTERRA.WAD Subterra 1 12 13 10 8
GARRISON.WAD The Garrison 1 — 8 6 9
BLACKTWR.WAD Black Tower 25 — 2 19 10
VIRGIL.WAD Virgil's Lead 3 2 18 12 11
MINOS.WAD Minos' Judgement 5 8 — 13 12
NESSUS.WAD Nessus 7 9 11 16 13
GERYON.WAD Geryon 8 7 9 17 14
VESPERAS.WAD Vesperas 9 13 17 18 15
MANOR.WAD Titan Manor 1 — 10 7 16
TTRAP.WAD Trapped On Titan 1 — 16 11 17
TEETH.WAD The Express Elevator To Hell 31 — 14 20 18
TEETH.WAD Bad Dream 32 — 15 21 21
BLOODSEA.WAD Bloodsea Keep 7 — 3 14 19
MEPHISTO.WAD Mephisto's Maosoleum 7 — — 15 20

Built-in demos[edit]

The Doom + Doom II version features three built-in demos. All require Doom II v1.9 to view them. The demo levels are:

Demo Level Skill Tics Length
DEMO1 MAP01: Paradox (MAP07) 4 1472 0:42.06
DEMO2 MAP01: Titan Manor (MAP16) 4 1215 0:34.71
DEMO3 MAP01: Canyon (MAP02) 4 1748 0:49.94

Sources[edit]

See also[edit]

External links[edit]


Games in the Doom series
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Classic Doom Doom • Doom II • Final Doom • Doom 64

Expansions: The Ultimate Doom • Master Levels for Doom II • No Rest for the Living • SIGIL • Legacy of Rust • The Lost Levels

Official ports: 3DO • Acorn RiscOS • Apple Macintosh • Jaguar • Doom 64 (2020 version) • Doom Classic Unity port • Doom + Doom II • Game Boy Advance (Doom, Doom II) • iOS • Linux • NEC PC-9801 • NeXTSTEP • OS/2 • Pocket PC • QNX • SGI • Sega 32X • Sega Saturn • Solaris • Sony PlayStation (Doom, Final Doom) • Sony PlayStation 3 • Super NES • Tapwave Zodiac • WebTV Plus • Windows (WinDoom, Doom95) • Xbox • Xbox 360

Related: Development of Doom • Doom engine

Doom 3 Doom 3

Expansions: Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil • The Lost Mission

Official ports: Doom 3: BFG Edition • Doom 3 (2019 version) • Doom 3: VR Edition

Related: id Tech 4

Doom (2016+) Doom (2016) • Doom VFR • Doom Eternal • Doom: The Dark Ages

Expansions: The Ancient Gods, Part One • The Ancient Gods, Part Two

Related: Development of Doom (2016) • id Tech 6 • id Tech 7

Mobile games Doom RPG • Doom II RPG • Doom Resurrection • Mighty Doom
Canceled games Doom Absolution • Doom 4 1.0
Tabletop Doom: The Boardgame • Doom: The Board Game • Assault on Armaros Station
Related: Commercial games • Expanded universe • List of books • List of commercial compilations

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