Do you know all the "special" maps in Doom 2?

Hey, I'm trying to figure out all the special things about default doom 2 maps, so I can use it in my own maps. I will list some of the things I remember, and you let me know if i missed something.

• Map07 is special, because uppon killing all arachnotrons sector 667 raise a little (depends on texture), and uppon killing all Mancubus floor 666 lowers down.
• Map15 is special, because there is a secret exit to map31. When I put secret exit on any map (other then 15 and 31) it loads Map01, that's why I deem map15 special.
• Map30 is special, because monsters can telefrag each other, and I heard Icon of Sin works properly only if it's map30, but I'm not sure about that.
• Map31 is special, because it's a secret map, and it can have secret exit to map32.
• Map32 is special, but just because it's a secret map.

Did i miss something, or is this all in fact special Doom 2 maps?

Map08 has it's sound around the wrong way - the further you are from a monster, the louder it will be and vice-versa

Map25 was created by Shawn Green

Map16 is special for having a the 2 buildings be recreations of both his and his parent's houses (and for having this unique alignment of one of the door textures:)

Map18 is special for being the only map in Doom II to have a shootable switch

Map27 is special for having the only tech pillar decoration in Doom 2 (that chaingun thing you can see at the stairway in e1m1 of Doom 1) and the only map to have a timed secret beginning at level start

And while much of Romero's maps have plenty of verticality, Map29 is special for being the beginning of his signature chasm maps seen in Thy Flesh Consumed and SIGIL

As far as vanilla engine hard-coded map features, that's mostly it. But don't forget MAP02 secret exit to MAP33 and same thing for E1M10 and E1M1 in Xbox Doom.

MAP44 is special, because to access it you have to get 100% secrets on Industrial Zone 15 times and then beat the Icon of Sin pacifist in a single run without saving on Nightmare.

MAP11 is special because it has two names.

Map 16 is special because you can get there in a continuous run via two different maps.

12 hours ago, No-Man Baugh said:

Map18 is special for being the only map in Doom II to have a shootable switch

Although it's not animated, you do need to shoot two more walls in Map28! I suppose that makes it special, it a way.. It also was one of the few maps that had two alternate beta versions! (https://tcrf.net/Development:Doom_II:_Hell_on_Earth_(PC)#Early_Progression)

Map02 is special because it is always there after you finish a single level PWAD, and it's soothing music is very welcoming.

Map 21 is special for its design philosophy!

Map 3 is special for having a typo in the name!!!!

Map 6 is special for an obscure door bug that can freeze your game for a while.

And if you play Doom 2 a lot, all maps will be special.

17 hours ago, Flammable said:

 

• Map31 is special, because it's a secret map, and it can have secret exit to map32.
• Map32 is special, but just because it's a secret map.

 

Not only for being a secret map, but also these are the only maps to have Wolfenstein SS and Commander Keen.

13 hours ago, Li'l devil said:

Map 3 is special for having a typo in the name!!!!

Gantlet is actually an archaic but still correct spelling!!!!

On 3/15/2024 at 11:19 AM, Maximum Matt said:

Map25 was created by Shawn Green

This is the final answer.

Map01 is special because it has a CWILVxx graphic that was cropped too short, so it's missing the grey pixels at the top. And now you'll never be able to unsee it! :p

On 3/15/2024 at 12:10 PM, No-Man Baugh said:

Map18 is special for being the only map in Doom II to have a shootable switch

Ermmmm akchually ☝️🤓...

Maps 8, 20 and 28 have shootable switches too, but is understandable that a lot of people don't remember them being used in any other map that isn't map 18, because that's the first thing you do in that map before this mechanic gets thrown away almost entirely.

38 minutes ago, DankMetal said:

Ermmmm akchually ☝️🤓...

Maps 8, 20 and 28 have shootable switches too, but is understandable that a lot of people don't remember them being used in any other map that isn't map 18, because that's the first thing you do in that map before this mechanic gets thrown away almost entirely.

DK already pointed that out, but yeah. Shows how much vanilla Doom 2 I've played lol

11 hours ago, plums said:

Map01 is special because it has a CWILVxx graphic that was cropped too short, so it's missing the grey pixels at the top. And now you'll never be able to unsee it! :p

 

Whoa that's a lot of replies, but what i meant by "special" is engine limitations or extentions. Such as map30's telefragging issue, i was making map with monster closets and they were killing themselves, and i totally forgot about that "special" factor of the map. And another example is map07, i can use the fact that if all fatso die, sector 666 lowers down. That's what i mean by special. Special factors about maps, outside the maps itself. As if you were making new 32 maps from scratch based on vanilla doom2.

On 3/15/2024 at 6:58 PM, elf-alchemist said:

As far as vanilla engine hard-coded map features, that's mostly it. But don't forget MAP02 secret exit to MAP33 and same thing for E1M10 and E1M1 in Xbox Doom.

That's the closest answer i was looking for, it's true that there's secret exit on map02 in xbox (i'm not sure it was properly working i think it was always restarting the map02 lol).

On 3/16/2024 at 12:03 PM, Li'l devil said:

Map 3 is special for having a typo in the name!!!!

gantlet1. / (ˈɡæntlɪt, ˈɡɔːnt-) / noun. a section of a railway where two tracks overlap.

MAP02 will always be special because it debuted the Super Shotgun.

11 hours ago, Flammable said:

That's the closest answer i was looking for, it's true that there's secret exit on map02 in xbox (i'm not sure it was properly working i think it was always restarting the map02 lol).

Another little limitation of the Vanilla engine, any secret exit in any map normally will always take you to the secret map, no matter what map you are on. That's why every Vanilla Doom 2 megawad will have the same secret exit at MAP15. Do note, that the same also applies to miniwads as well, allowing you skip early maps, jumping to secret map, hence why some wads have MAP01-09, then MAP31, etc.
 

The only way to change any of this, is really with a xMAPINFO lump in your wad. From the ZDoom-enhanced Hexen-based MAPINFO or ZDoom's advacend ZMAPINFO or Eternity's EMAPINFO or the port agnostic UMAPINFO all of them will allow you change these in some way. These days, you should probably only use UMAPINFO, since it has the widest support in the currently active in development ports, it has the 'boosaction' action attributte that allows for MAP07-like behavior with any enemy type (i.e. Mancubus) for any line special (i.e. 23) on any line tag (i.e.666).

Also, I ought to say, that Vanilla Doom 2 possess undefined support for MAP33, which is way it was even added at all in the Xbox port, they just defined it correctly at MAP02.

Sourced from:
https://doomwiki.org/wiki/Secret_level

https://doomwiki.org/wiki/MAPINFO

https://doomwiki.org/wiki/UMAPINFO

IIRC, MAP15 - Industrial Zone - has a malformed secret area that is triggered only when the player is bumped by a PE when next to it. So normally no one can achieve 100% secrets, at least in the original engine. Modern source ports apparently make up for this particular design error.

On 3/15/2024 at 3:21 PM, Plerb said:

MAP44 is special, because to access it you have to get 100% secrets on Industrial Zone 15 times and then beat the Icon of Sin pacifist in a single run without saving on Nightmare.

This is completely true and factually correct information. However in practice, one needs to do it 16 and not 15 times due to an off-by-one error in the game's code which was counting how many times one has beat Industrial Zone in a single session. Modern source ports do not emulate this behavior at all and in order to experience it properly one has to roll out the 1.9v of Doom II and try it there. I also noticed that mouse input at all anywhere will interfere with this behavior and the only way I could reproduce it was by unplugging all the mice connected to all of my computers, take the little balls out, and arrange them in a pentagram.

On 3/17/2024 at 9:54 AM, Sonikkumania said:

MAP02 will always be special because it debuted the Super Shotgun.

This map was so great that it was also featured in MyHouse.wad.

On 3/16/2024 at 5:59 PM, plums said:

Map01 is special because it has a CWILVxx graphic that was cropped too short, so it's missing the grey pixels at the top. And now you'll never be able to unsee it! :p

 

A lot of Plutonia's CWILV graphics are very poorly edited as well.

On 3/15/2024 at 10:58 AM, Flammable said:

[...]

• Map31 is special, because it's a secret map, and it can have secret exit to map32.
• Map32 is special, but just because it's a secret map.

If we consider secret maps to be those maps which are not accessible through normal exits, then MAP01 is also a secret map. You can access it through secret exits (you can most maps, really, depending on which maps you go to first before entering one), but MAP01 cannot be accessed through a normal exit (entering it through beginning the game is not a 'normal exit', you can't carry over weapons onto MAP01 without travelling through a secret exit first)

8 hours ago, Wahrnehmungskrieg said:

MAP01 is also a secret map.