Knee-Deep in the Dead

Knee-Deep in the Dead is the first episode in Doom/Ultimate Doom, and the only episode in the shareware version. The episode takes place in the UAC installations on Phobos, one of the moons of Mars.

Designed mainly by John Romero, the levels have a unique graphical style characterized by extensive use of STAR textures, large amounts of highly saturated brown and green in general, and a misty, mountainous skyline.

Because of Episode 1's singular inclusion in the Doom shareware version, as well as John Romero's skilled level design, the Episode 1 style levels have become one of the most popular and easily recognizable Doom design themes. Fan-made levels utilizing exclusively Episode 1 textures, and often emulating Episode 1's play style, are commonly referred to as techbase levels.

Story
His fellow Marines dead or possessed, the Doomguy must fight his way through the various UAC buildings, each overrun by demons and zombies. Finally, he reaches the Anomaly, the portal to the interdimensional gateway between Phobos and Deimos, and there defeats the powerful Barons who guard it. Unfortunately, the only place to go next is through the gateway to Deimos, which is even more strongly controlled by the forces of Hell.

Levels

 * E1M1: Hangar
 * E1M2: Nuclear Plant
 * E1M3: Toxin Refinery (Exit to secret level)
 * E1M4: Command Control
 * E1M5: Phobos Lab
 * E1M6: Central Processing
 * E1M7: Computer Station
 * E1M8: Phobos Anomaly (Barons of Hell are bosses)
 * E1M9: Military Base (Secret level)

Routes and tricks
The majority of single-map strategies also work in episode runs, although the most hazardous tricks (like rocket jumping on E1M4) are avoided even in Compet-N recordings, lest the player achieve several exceptional level times and then die because he ignored too many health pickups. See the individual walkthroughs above for specific tips.

Current records
The Compet-N records for the episode are: