The most well-hidden secrets

[Doominator2]

DMGUYDZ64 said:

How the hell did developers expect players to find where the Rocket Launcher is in that map .

I found this secret a many times without knowing what the trigger was. It wasn't until I latter looked up what the trigger was that I understood how to activate the secret, so ya the developers probably expect player to find that secret by mistake. :P

[VGamingJunkie]

Well, a rocket launcher on the very first level is a pretty big deal. ID probably didn't want it to be too obvious. I mean, the most the Original Doom gives you on the first level is the shotgun. XD

[Gez]

The super backpack in ZDCMP2. :p

[Optimus]

There used to be a secret in one user map or secret exit where an archville had to lift you to get in an area, so if you killed him first you couldn't get it. I later used this idea in one of my maps but thinking now I hate it.

[VGamingJunkie]

Optimus said:

There used to be a secret in one user map or secret exit where an archville had to lift you to get in an area, so if you killed him first you couldn't get it. I later used this idea in one of my maps but thinking now I hate it.

That was in Plutonia 2, unless I'm mistaken.

[joe-ilya]

Optimus said:

There used to be a secret in one user map or secret exit where an archville had to lift you to get in an area, so if you killed him first you couldn't get it. I later used this idea in one of my maps but thinking now I hate it.

The megasphere in MAP11 of TNT.

[dobu gabu maru]

scifista42 said:

The 4th secret in MAP05 of "Revolution!". Not only it can't be accessed, it can't be even located, because the sector physically doesn't exist in the map, only in the map's superfluous data.

Do you know how one might go about replicating this error? Or at least making phantom sectors that can't be accessed/seen on the map.

[VGamingJunkie]

You should be able to set lines to not show up on the map, not sure what compatibility it is, though. Probably not Vanilla compatible, at least.

[Yuki Senmatsu]

A switch to a Chainsaw in Perfect DOOM v0.9 on MAP01.

[yakfak]

dobu gabu maru said:

Do you know how one might go about replicating this error? Or at least making phantom sectors that can't be accessed/seen on the map.

using an old editor like WinDEU where sector clean-up wasn't automatic but a command of its own should do the trick

[scifista42]

dobu gabu maru said:

Do you know how one might go about replicating this error? Or at least making phantom sectors that can't be accessed/seen on the map.

If you have the map open in a map editor, close it and actually quit the editor (to clear its temporary data that could potentially spoil the process). Make a copy of the wad where the map is. Open this copied wad and map in the map editor. Draw a new sector anywhere you want. Save the map and close it. Now open both the original and modified wad in SLADE3. Delete the original map's "SECTORS" lump, and place the modified map's "SECTORS" lump into its place.

Alternatively, just hex-edit the map's "SECTORS" lump, extending it to contain one or more additional sector entries.

MetroidJunkie said:

You should be able to set lines to not show up on the map, not sure what compatibility it is, though. Probably not Vanilla compatible, at least.

Flagging linedefs as "hidden" is possible in vanilla, and I don't know of any other feature that could achieve that. If you mean self-referencing sectors, those are in fact usually displayed on automap (or might be), and they're vanilla compatible too.

[Archvile Hunter]

Optimus said:

There used to be a secret in one user map or secret exit where an archville had to lift you to get in an area, so if you killed him first you couldn't get it. I later used this idea in one of my maps but thinking now I hate it.

TEETH.WAD from Master Levels has a secret exit which requires an AV-jump iirc.

[RightField]

The run-and-don't-miss the lift on the wall in the tech room in E1M3 comes to mind. Was not easy to find back in the day.

[IMX]

The absolute worst

[savagegrant]

MetroidJunkie said:

Well, a rocket launcher on the very first level is a pretty big deal. ID probably didn't want it to be too obvious. I mean, the most the Original Doom gives you on the first level is the shotgun. XD

It's only a big deal if you're given enough rockets to use the damn thing. ;)

It would be a cruel but funny joke if the rocket launcher came with NO rockets at all. heh

[Gothic Box]

I remember something from another thread that I saw about 2 or 3 years ago involving a large secret area that many speedrunners miss that's accessible right from the beginning of a map in E3 (I think). I remember a blood pit and a bunch of grey textures. Can anyone tell me what map this is?

[Zed]

The timed switch to reveal the message from The Castle in the first map of NRFTL. And it wasn't even a secret...

[dobu gabu maru]

scifista42 said:

If you have the map open in a map editor [...]

Works like a charm, thanks!!!

[fraggle]

Rocket launcher / soul sphere in E1M3. I love how half that map is secrets. It's also nice how the soul sphere is prominently "on display" to bait you into searching for the route to it.

[Crunchynut44]

Scythe 2 Map 02 has an unmarked secret that contains a Megasphere. It's an extremely hard to reach switch, but very cleverly hidden.

[Crusader No Regret]

The secret exit in Map 15 of Japanese Community Project. I resorted to cheat codes to unravel how to access it; will be curious if anyone outside the project team will uncover it without cheats or looking in an editor.

[Roofi]

All secrets in Eternal Doom , even the main path is hard to find. Eternal Doom's map 30 is totally insane.

[printz]

I love the remote switches from maps like E2M5 or E2M7 (like the supercharger secret). They look like they do something important but you have no clue. Sometimes it's something as trivial as opening an already open door.

[Tritnew]

The E3M1 Rocket Launcher secret, I NEVER knew about It till just about last year.

[HorrorMovieRei]

The entrance to the super secret level in Batman Doom. Baiting and enemy into opening the secret door for you is ingenious, specially in a game like Doom where you'd otherwise just kill him on sight. And of course, there's the switch hunt on the same level.

[Voros]

Tritnew said:

The E3M1 Rocket Launcher secret, I NEVER knew about It till just about last year.

There's ANOTHER rocket launcher secret on the first level? Wow, checking it out now!

[Hell Theatre]

My favorite is the TerrorSphere in KDiZD Z1M3.

Not only would I never have expected to find something up there in the hills but what gives this the icing on the cake is that finding this secret before opening the next door will make a tricky section of the map infinitely easier.

[HXCpr0n]

Level 10 refueling base has a secret shotgun room to the right, at the start of the map. It's an unofficial secret

[NuclearPotato]

Kapanyo said:

... Which is hidden by a sidedef, activates only by Gunfire and is shoved extremely far back so that you have to line up perfectly to get it.

Oh, boy.

The worst part is the thankfully rare case where a WAD author decides to use that as required for progression (see: Frozen Time, which also has some pretty devious secrets of its own).

For a more specific example of a hard to find secret, E2M5 in ConCERNed tucks away its secret level pretty deeply, behind four unmarked switches. Got to the point where I had to crack the level open in Doom Builder to find the last switch.

[hex11]

kuchitsu said:

I would never find the secret inside the secret in E1M1 by myself.

Pretty easy to find that one if you ever played deathmatch though.