The Hangar

I just noticed that the map of E1M1 looks like a Ray Gun from Commander Keen or a pistol or some kind of gun. Has anyone else noticed this? Was this intentional by id Software?

I could be wrong, but I think it's most likely a coincidence.

E1M1's layout appears to have been mainly focused on showing off the capabilities of the Doom engine in the most impressive ways that were possible at the time. You start out in a room with floor and ceiling height variation, interesting architecture in front of you, a staircase to your left, and a window to your right through which you can see an outdoor courtyard and the level's remaining two major areas. The zigzag-shaped walkway over nukage was probably shaped that way to show off the engine's then-new ability to have lines at non-orthogonal angles.

It was quite ingenious, really. :)

E1M1 and the later maps were essentially a massive showoff of the Doom Engine. Given the state of the doom engine on the original shareware release, the maps were literally pushing the limits. It's a big jump from 90 degree walls and sliding doors, to spacious environments and lighting, not to mention the TEXTURES ON THE CEILINGS AND FLOORS.

I've been always thinking that the Hangar actually is a hangar: The starting room is a terminal, the place where the green armor is and the room where the first zombies are is airfield control rooms and the landing zone are the big exterior where you can find the blue armor.

I find it baffling that some people, guides and even ports call it "Hanger"

Whoa, man...it DOES look like a gun! :O I imagine it's a coincidence, as I think id was too early into mapping to be concerned with making levels shaped like cool stuff, but it's still interesting to look at.

Heh who knows ? Perhaps the author took a lot of time on this map because it was the first.

Hey, but e3m2 is hand-shaped !

Lorenzo

This fact is well known :P

I know it's well known, who do you think I am?

I mean, if they shaped e3m2, perhaps they can have shaped other maps too.

L.

I agree this should be a coincidence. At least the "handle" looks too small and there is an inconsistent block on top of it.

The layout seems to use the "classic horseshoe" approach Romero mentioned Petersen's Map01 uses. A curved progression that saves in area covered but provides a longer trajectory than a more linear construction, while staying simple overall. He additionally took advantage of the space in the middle to place an outdoors area through which the two ends (or thereabouts) connect visually. This optimizes resource usage while giving a varied and apparently complex environment, with enough areas to stage a few encounters in a smaller level.

Lorenzo said:

I know it's well known, who do you think I am?

Uh sorry I catched what do you meaned too late.

It's a great DM map