MAP04: Holding Area (Doom 64)

MAP04: Holding Area is the fourth map of Doom 64. This level is small and has the secret exit to MAP29: Outpost Omega. The level introduces Hell Knights and the first half of the the level is a maze filled with zombies, imps, spectres and demons that spring up as the player flips switches and opens up new areas. The music is a sad variety of notes along with some eerie sounds. The name of this level could be seen as derived from the various holding areas that contain various monsters, and even the player start.

Walkthrough
Lower your crate with a switch and clean the room from zombiemen and spectres. Lower the lift with the switch in the backside of the pillar for a security armor. Enter the corridor, find a Supercharge in a niche to the right, and follow the maze to an imp next to a switch which reveals another part of the corridor - including more zombies, demons and spectres, of course.

At the next end of the maze, your first Hell knight awaits you, next to a medikit, fortunately. Press another switch to reveal another part of the maze and opening more connections. To the right of the starting room you will find a brighter area with winding stairs around a pillar. More imps and Hell knights are waiting for you on a floor surrounding a control room with imps which opens its windows when you pass the corner opposite to the entrance. A pole with switches raises and lowers regularly.

Jump down the platform (which you can afterwards use as lift) into a moat with Lost souls, and find the blue key here. Now you can enter the last room, fight several Lost souls, follow the staircase upwards and meet another Hell knight and Zombieman. Then the puzzle with the four switches has to be solved if you want to find another secret level. More Lost souls are released. The normal exit room behind a blue door contains more Hell knights, the teleporter room to the secret run (to the right of the blue door) a few zombies. The secret exit room has Hell knights too.

Enemies

 * 1)  zombiemen/ shotgun guys
 * 2) imps
 * 3) demons
 * 4) spetres
 * 5) lost souls
 * 6) hell knights

Secrets

 * 1) Right at the beginning, turn around and open the wall to enter a cage with a Berserk pack.
 * 2) Shoot one of the switches on the pillar in the control room to lower a wall keeping you from the Chaingun inside the pillar between the winding stairs.
 * 3) In the 4 switches room, press the orange computer screen behind a Barrel to open two niches containing Rockets, a Supercharge and some Lost souls.
 * 4) Press the four switches on the gallery before the normal exit in the following order (counted from the left): 3, 1, 2, and 4. A few circular platforms will rise. Use the teleporter to the right of the exit, then run across the platforms to get to the secret exit room. In the PC version Absolution, this exit was replaced by a room with a BFG9000

Bugs

 * In the berserk cage behind the starting position, if you are touching the cage walls the demons and spectres may bite you, even though they are at least five metres below you. This is due to the the original Doom engine's capacity for any monsters with melee-based attacks to hurt the player from any height.