The Lost Levels

From DoomWiki.org

Not to be confused with Lost episode (disambiguation), The Lost Mission, or PSX Doom: The Lost Levels (add-on to the PlayStation Doom TC).

The Lost Levels is a new episode for Doom 64 added in the 2020 re-release. All maps in the episode were authored by Nightdive Studios employee and Doom community member Samuel Villarreal (Kaiser).

Story[edit]

Taking place an indeterminate amount of time after the Doom marine slayed the Mother Demon in the original campaign, the beginning of the episode finds the marine stranded outside of Hell with none of his weaponry on a distant vacated UAC base on the surface of Sedna.[1] This occurred through the powers of the Mother Demon's sister, known as the Sister Resurrector, who hoped to stop his campaign against Hell by sending him away.[2]

The marine must fight his way back into Hell, recover the Unmaker and the three Demon Keys, and then take his revenge in order to continue his quest against Hell.

Spoiler Warning: Plot details follow.

The episode's ending makes reference to the Slayer Testaments of Doom (2016), implying that the journey of the Doom Slayer has begun:

"A grim vision takes hold of your mind as the demon carcasses steam in your wake. Stretched before you is a path of perpetual torment... A path through DOOM..."
― Ending text
Spoilers end here.

Levels[edit]

Features[edit]

One additional map is included as a "Fun" level accessible from the Features menu.

Unlocking[edit]

The Lost Levels can be accessed in a number of ways:

  1. Defeating the Mother Demon on MAP28: The Absolution in the normal campaign.
  2. Finishing MAP32: Hectic and then using the "Features" menu's level select option.
  3. Using any password for MAP01: Staging Area and then using the "Features" menu as above.
  4. Using a password to access MAP34 directly.
  5. On the PC version, using the command-line parameter -warp 34
  6. On the PC version, accessing the kexengine.cfg file in the game's saves directory (found under C:\Users\<username>\Saved Games\Nightdive Studios\DOOM 64 by default) and adding or changing one of two lines in the file: seta g_unlockfeatures "1" or seta g_unlocklostlevels "1". The same commands can also be entered via the console while in-game, but may not take effect immediately depending on what portion of the game is currently active.

Once the episode has been unlocked via methods 1 or 6, it can subsequently be selected using "The Lost Levels" from the episode selection menu, which begins appearing when the g_unlocklostlevels variable is set to 1.

Trivia[edit]

  • The project was started by Kaiser as a 6-level WAD for Doom64 EX called "Merciless Extermination", before being dropped and later picked back up and integrated into the Doom 64 re-release.[3]
  • Kaiser had previously worked on another 6-level set, plus one bonus level, for Doom 64, in the form of the similarly named The Outcast Levels.

References[edit]

  1. Haley, James (3 July 2021). "Here's an unofficial title screen I made for Doom 64: The Lost Levels. The background is some NASA concept art of Sedna, where the first level takes place." Twitter. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  2. Olsen, Mathew (9 March 2020). "Exclusive: Doom 64 Devs Reveal the Port Will Include a Brand New Chapter." USgamer (archived 🏛). Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  3. Kaiser (13 April 2012). Doom64: Merciless Extermination. Doomworld forums. Retrieved 29 September 2023.


Games in the Doom series
Classic Doom
Doom 3 Doom 3

Expansions: Doom 3: Resurrection of EvilThe Lost Mission

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

Related: id Tech 4

Doom (2016+) Doom (2016)Doom VFRDoom EternalDoom: The Dark Ages

Expansions: The Ancient Gods, Part OneThe Ancient Gods, Part Two

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

Mobile games Doom RPGDoom II RPGDoom ResurrectionMighty Doom
Canceled games Doom AbsolutionDoom 4 1.0
Tabletop Doom: The BoardgameDoom: The Board GameAssault on Armaros Station
Related: Commercial gamesExpanded universeList of booksList of commercial compilations