Doom

Doom
Title screen DOS
Developer	id Software
Publisher	id Software Activision Atari Sega [ADD more]
Release date	1993
Platforms	Atari Jaguar DOS Sega Genesis 32X‎ PC-98 SNES Game Boy Advance 3DO

First Release: 1993, DOS

Story

SUMMARY:
The player's character, an unnamed Marine, has been shipped to Mars, which is full of radioactive waste facilities (along with its two moons). It is also home of the Union Aerospace Corporation, which is a supplier of weapons and delves into secret projects, one of which involves an inter-dimensional space travel device known as a Gateway.
One day a panicked message comes from a base, requesting military assistance due to something very "evil" emerging from the Gateways. The player's character and several other troops had been sent in to secure the base, which now the only one left to remedy the situation is the player, as everyone else is assumed to be dead.

MANUAL:
"THE STORY SO FAR
You're a space marine, one of Earth's toughest, hardened in combat and trained for action. Three years ago you assaulted a superior officer for ordering his soldiers to fire upon civilians. He and his body cast were shipped to Pearl Harbor, while you were transferred to Mars, home of the Union Aerospace Corporation. The UAC is a multi-planetary conglomerate with radioactive waste facilities on Mars an its two moons, Phobos and Deimos. With no action for fifty milion miles, your day consisted of suckin' dust and watchin' restricted flicks in the rec room.
For the last four years the military, UAC's biggest supplier, has used the remote facilities on Phobos and Deimos to conduct various secret projects, including research on inter-dimentional space travel. So far they have been able to open gateways between Phobos and Deimos, throwing a few gadgets into and watching them come out the other. Recently however, the Gateways have grown dangerously unstable. Military "volunteers" entering them have either disappeared of been stricken with a strange form of insanity - babbling vulgarities, bludgeoning anything that breathes, and finally suffering an untimely death of full-body explosion. Matching heads with torsos to send home to the folks became a full-time job. Latest military reports state that the research is suffering a small set-back, but everything is under control.
A few hours ago, Mars received a garbled message from Phobos. "We require immediate military support. Something fraggin' evil is coming out of the Gateways! Computer systems have gone berserk!" The rest was incoherent. Soon afterwards, Deimos simply vanished from the sky. Since then, attempts to establish contact with either moon have been unsuccessful.
You and your buddies, the only combat troop for fifty miles were sent up pronto to Phobos. You were ordered to secure the perimeter of the base while the rest of the team went inside. For several hours, your radio picked up seconds of combat: guns firing, men yelling orders, screams, bones cracking, then finally, silence. Seems your buddies are dead.
It's Up To You
Things aren't looking good. You'll never navigate off the planet on your own. Plus, all the heavy weapons have been taken by the assault team leaving you with only a pistol. If only you could get your hands around a plasma rifle or even a shotgun you could take a few down on your way out. Whatever killed your buddies deserves a couple of pellets in the forehead. Securing your helmet, you exit the landing pod. Hopefully you can find more substantial firepower somewhere within the station.
As you walk through the main entrance of the base, you hear animal-like growls echoing throughout the distant corridors. They know you're here.
There's no turning back now."
--- Game Manual ^{DOS (1993)}

Gameplay

Player moves through many 3-D levels, gunning down everything that moves and activating various switches and buttons in order to open up access to further parts of levels, including secret passageways. Along the way player collects several different kinds of firepower and ammo for their weapons. There are also various bonuses to increase the player's health, along with armor (which both the player's health and armor rating can each max out at 200%), as whenever the player is hit by a creature or one of its attacks, runs through radioactive or lava areas without any protective gear, or is too close to a radiation-filled barrel when it explodes, they will start accumulating damage. Once the player's health reaches zero, they will die and have to restart the current level they are on again. The player only has one life, but infinite continues.

Player

Character

Space Marine [DOS manual]
[DOS - HUD]	ATTACK: - pistol and fist as basic weapons, more found on field (see: Weapons) DEFENCE: - health - up to 100% or up to 200%, depends on replenishing item (see: Items) - armor - up to 100% or up to 200%, depends on replenishing item - timed power-ups UNFORMAL ALIASES: - Unnamed Marine - Doomguy, Doom Guy
[DOS manual]

Moves

Basic Moves

Special Moves

move	image	description	how to perform

Forbidden Moves

Weapons

name [DOS manual]	image [DOS]		description
	item	player
Fist	none		- used when run out of ammo or can be chosen - replaced permanently by chainsaw (then occurs only while using berserk mode item)
Pistol	none		starting weapon, doesn't do much damage
Shotgun			takes longer to load and consecutively shoot than the pistol, but does more damage
Chaingun			uses regular bullets, but fires much more rapidly than the pistol
Rocket Launcher			launches rockets that do a lot of damage
Plasma Rifle			fully automatic weapon that does a lot of damage, similar to a 'laser type weapons' in general
BFG 9000			the slowest of all weapons to fire, but can wipe out an entire room of weak enemies, as well as dealing plenty of damage to the stronger ones as well
Chainsaw			- found only in secret areas of first episode: mission 2: Nuclear Plant, mission 3: Toxin Refinery, mission 5: Phobos Lab, mission7: Computer Station - replaces the fist (that only reappears while using berserk mode item) - about 4x faster than fist

Game Environment

Levels

• WORLD MAP

EPISODE 1	Knee-Deep in the Dead
	- LOCATION: Phobos - 8 levels - 1 secret level (acces from lv. 3) - additional secret level on Xbox only (access from vl. 1) - ENEMIES: ... - STORY: no ingame introduction, see story from manual
EPISODE 2	The Shores of Hell
	- LOCATION: Deimos - 8 levels - 1 secret level (access from lv. 5) - ENEMIES: ... - STORY: 'Once you beat the big badasses and clean out the moon base you're supposed to win, aren't you? Aren't you? Where's your fat reward and ticket home? What the hell is this? It's not supposed to end this way! It stinks like rotten meat, but looks like the lost Deimos Base. Looks like you're stuck on the shores of hell. The only way out is through.' --- [DOS - ingame]
EPISODE 3	Inferno
	- LOCATION: Hell - 8 levels - 1 secret level (acces from lv. 6) - ENEMIES: ... - STORY: 'You've done it! The hideous Cyber-Demon Lord that ruled the lost Deimos moon base has been slain and you are triumphant! But ... where are you? You clamber to the edge of the moon and look  down to see the awful truth. Deimos floats above hell itself! You've never heard of anyone escaping from hell, but you'll make the bastards sorry they ever heard of you! Quickly, you rappel down to the surface of hell. ' --- [DOS - ingame]
EPISODE 4	Thy Flesh Consumed
	- LOCATION: Earth - 8 levels - 1 secret level (acces from lv. 2) - ENEMIES: ... - STORY: 'The loathsome Spiderdemon that masterminded the invasion of the moon bases and caused so much deaths has had its ass kicked for all time. A hidden dorway opens and you enter. You've proven too tough for hell to contain, and now hell at least plays fain -- for you emergr from the door to see the green fields of Earth! Home at last.<br>You wonder what's been happening on Earth while you were battling evil unleashed. It's good that no hell-spawn could have come through that door with you ... ' --- [DOS - ingame]

• MAIN LEVELS

no.	name	map/map start/minimap	theme	objective	code

• SECRET LEVELS
  - See: 'Bonus Content/Secrets'

Items

name [DOS manual]	icon [DOS]	type	characteristics
Stimpack		consumable	+ 10% health (max. up to 100%)
Medkit		consumable	+ 25% health (max. up to 100%)
Security Armor		consumable	increases armor level to 100%
Combat Armor		consumable	increases armor level to 200%
Health Potion		consumable	+ 1% health (can raise over 100% - which Stimpaks, Berzerk Paks, and Medikits can't do) - artifact from other dimension (DOS manual)
Spiritual Armor		consumable	+ 1% armor (can raise over 100% - which Security Armor can't do) - artifact from other dimension (DOS manual)
Soul Sphere		consumable	- raises the player's health by 100%, which can raise it up to the player's 200% maximum level - artifact from other dimension (DOS manual)
Invulnerability Artifact		consumable	- invulnerability to enemy attacks for several seconds (time-based) - artifact from other dimension (DOS manual)
Blur Artifact		consumable	- quasi invisibility for a short amount of time (time-based) - artifact from other dimension (DOS manual)
Berserk Pack		consumable	raises health to 100% and gives superhuman strength to deliver powerful blows to enemy creatures if using their fist attack (which the duration lasts through one level)
Backpack		consumable	- first find doubles the amount of ammo that can carried for each weapon, along with adding a little of each ammo type to their total - each additional backpack adds to the armor totals
Radiation Suit		consumable	protection from taking damage of radiation and lava pools for a short amount of time (time-based)
Light Amplification Visors		consumable	seeing in the dark for a short amount of time (time-based)
Computer Map		consumable	shows all areas of a level, including areas not yet entered and most secret areas (lasts for an entire level, no time-based)
Security Card		tool	used to open locked doors
Skull Key
Clip		consumable
Ammo Box		consumable
Shells		consumable
Box of Shells		consumable
Rocket		consumable
Rocket Case		consumable
Cell		consumable
Bulk Cell		consumable

Interactable Objects

name	icon	type	characteristics
Acid Barrel		smashable	- explodes when shot - enemies take hit from explosion
Switch

Enemies

Loot/Score: [?]

name [DOS manual]	image [DOS]	attack	durability	level encounter
Former Human		pistol	few bullets
Former Human Sergeant		shotgun	slightly tougher than Former Humans
Imp		fireballs	slightly tougher than Former Human Sergeants
Demon		biting	few shotgun blasts
Sceptre	[ADD ME]	biting	same as a Demon, only barely visible
Lost Soul		float around then quick ram into	few shotgun blasts
Cacodemon		fireballs	many rounds from a chaingun, shotgun, or even a couple of rockets
Baron of Hell		green fireballs [?]	toughest out of all enemies to kill, these take several hits from a rocket launcher, several rounds from a plasma gun, or even a couple of direct hits from the BFG 9000

Bosses

name	image	attack	durability	loot/score	level encounter

Dangers

• CREATURES

name	image	mechanics	level encounter

• OBSTACLES

name	image	mechanics	level encounter

Characters

name	image	map	interaction

UI

Menu

main menu		submenu
image	options

HUD

name	image	description

Controls

peripheral	button/key	action

Scoring

score	action

Releases & Credits

platform	first release
	box cover		date	developer	publisher	authors
DOS			1993
Atari Jaguar			1994
Sega Genesis 32X			1994
PC-98			1994
3DO			1995
SNES			1995
Game Boy Advance			2001

OTHER RELEASES:

platorm	box cover		date	publisher	country

Manual

language	file
English [EN]

Bonus Content

Cheats

SEGA 32X:

• Get all weapons and keys--a six button controller is needed for this one. Press pause during a game, then press Up, the Mode, A and C buttons.
• Quick weapon select (BFG)--a six button controller is needed for this one. To quickly switch to the BFG, hold down the Mode button and press the Z button.
• Play last level--the player can choose what level to start on; however, in order to play level 17, the player must play through all 16 levels first, as starting at any level other than the first one will not access this level.

Additional Info

• Differences with 32X version compared to PC original
  • Several levels are missing.
  • Games can't be saved.
  • The player only gets the front and back views of the enemy, never a side view.
  • Rather than enemies sometimes attacking each other, this almost never happens; there is one level where two Barons might be maneuvered into a crossfire, which is about it.
  • The BFG is only available using cheat codes.
  • No "picked up a clip" messages appear, just a sound effect is heard when ammo is gathered.
  • No World Map screen between levels
• The Sega 32X version was considered by many to be a bad port because of the border around the screen. However, it scrolls well (running way better than the 3D0 version), but arguably its biggest downfall is not being able to save a game or go back to one in progress with a password feature or anything.
• There were quite a few blown Sega 32X units among gamers, due to their only being two cooling vents on the sides of the Sega 32X, along with long games being left on pause on the Sega 32X version also being the culprit, since there was no game save or password feature for that port.
• Even though it was nowhere near as to being the very first First Person Shooter (FPS) ever (arguably, the arcade game of Battlezone was one of the earliest FPS's), Doom was what made the genre monstrously popular, as it was ported all over the place, and it is still available even nowadays via "virtual" consoles/downloads.