E1M9: Military Base (Doom)

E1M9: Military Base is the secret map of Knee-Deep in the Dead in Doom, which can be accessed from E1M3: Toxin Refinery. It was designed by John Romero and uses the music track "Hiding the Secrets". The par time is 2:45.

Completing this level takes the player to E1M4: Command Control.

Walkthrough

 * Letters in italics refer to marked spots on the map. Sector numbers in boldface are secrets which count toward the end-of-level tally.

Essentials
You begin in a short corridor; at the end of this corridor is a large courtyard containing Imps in a cage. Go down the stairs to the west and get the yellow key behind the fence. Return to the courtyard and go down the stairs to the east. Turn right, open the yellow door, and pick up the red key. Leave the room through the other yellow door, continue west through a room with a large "box" pillar surrounded by four torches, and go down the stairs and through the red door. Cross to the far wall of that room and turn left; you should see a switch behind a row of barrels. Shoot the barrels from a safe distance and press the switch. This raises the "box" pillar in the previous room to reveal the blue key. Get the blue key, then return to the central courtyard and go down the stairs to the north. Behind the blue door is the exit room; the exit switch is visible across a nukage canal, but inaccessible. Jump into the canal and follow it around (in either direction) to a platform with a green switch and an Imp. When you step onto the platform, a passage will open behind you. Click the switch, then enter the passage. Follow it to a lift, and go through the hidden door at the top of the lift. You will now see a wide bridge across the canal. Cross the bridge and activate the exit switch.

Other points of interest
If you are starting this level from scratch, the sergeants in the central courtyard (four on Hurt me plenty, eight on Ultra-Violence and Nightmare!) may cause you a lot of trouble. Stay as far away from the courtyard as possible until you kill a sergeant very close to the short corridor, then grab his shotgun. Alternatively, as soon as you have killed the zombies emerging from the south staircase, run down that staircase and get the chaingun (see secret #1 below).

To the north of the yellow key room is a room containing a rocket launcher. When you step onto the red star, however, a pack of monsters will begin teleporting into the room.

In the room east of the central courtyard, the brightly lit area along the east wall is really a lift. This brings you to an outdoor area containing three tall pillars with Imps on top, as well as a medikit and a green armor. Crossing to the powerups will cause the pillars to lower.

The switch that reveals the blue key also opens a second passage back to the previous room (on the south wall, behind some other barrels). It contains a medikit, a bullet box, and a shell box.

When you step onto the platform in the nukage canal, an Imp (I'm too young to die and Hey, not too rough), or three Imps (Hurt me plenty), or four Imps (UV and NM), will be released as the new passage opens. At the same time, a trap opens next to the exit switch, releasing a Spectre (ITYTD and HNTR) or three Spectres (HMP, UV, and NM); watch out for these as you re-enter the exit room, since they may cross the bridge immediately.

Secrets

 * 1) In the room east of the central courtyard, a hidden lift in the southwest corner drops down into a nukage pool. In the room south of the central courtyard, a hidden lift in the northeast corner drops down into the same nukage pool. You can get a chaingun and a large number of bullets there. (sector 65)
 * 2) In the exit room, there is a secret door in the center of the east wall, indicated by a different texture. Behind this door (sector 20) is a room with items atop pillars, including a backpack and several large ammo pickups. As you reach the bottom of the staircase, a lift will drop near the far wall, allowing you to ride to the top of the tallest pillar. To collect the items, jump carefully from pillar to pillar: back up as far as you can without falling off, run toward the next pillar, then stop quickly as you land. If you make a mistake, just return to the steps to lower the lift again. It is easiest to go around the pillars counterclockwise, from highest to lowest.

Demo files

 * [[Media:e1m9secr.lmp|No monsters, 100% secrets walkthrough]] (file info)
 * [[Media:e1m9wik1.lmp|100% kills, items, and secrets on ITYTD]] (file info)
 * [[Media:e1m9wik2.lmp|100% kills, items, and secrets on HNTR]] (file info)
 * [[Media:e1m9wik3.lmp|100% kills, items, and secrets on HMP]] (file info)
 * [[Media:e1m9wik4.lmp|100% kills, items, and secrets on UV]] (file info)

Routes and tricks
It is possible to jump over the nukage canal in the exit room by straferunning.

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