Gameplay of Doom
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This page provides information about the gameplay of the computer game Doom.
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Overview
In Doom, the archetypical first person shooter, you navigate various levels. Along the way to the exit, you will encounter monsters. To assist you in defeating them, you will find weapons and powerups. You may also need to find switches and/or keys to finish a level.
At the completion of each level, you are rated as to kills (the percentage of the monsters on the level that you killed), items (the percentage of certain powerups that you picked up), and secret (the percentage of certain hidden areas you visited). Your completion time (in minutes and seconds) is shown, along with the author-determined par time.
In deathmatch mode, you use your weapons against other players.
Monsters
In the following table, Spawn Health indicates how much weapon fire is required to kill each monster (in hit points), and Version refers to the game version the monster first appears in:
- S - Shareware version (Doom Episode 1)
- R - Registered/Ultimate version (Doom Episodes 2-4)
- 2 - Doom II
| Monster | Description | Spawn Health | Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Former Human | Zombie soldier | 20 | S |
| Former Human Sergeant | Tougher zombie soldier | 30 | S |
| Imp | Anthropomorphic hellspawn, hurls fireballs | 60 | S |
| Demon | Pink, bull-like hellspawn | 150 | S |
| Spectre | Partially invisible bull-like hellspawn | 150 | S |
| Baron of Hell | Minotaur-like hellspawn | 1000 | S |
| Lost Soul | Flying, flaming skull | 100 | R |
| Cacodemon | Floating red spheroid, belches fireballs | 400 | R |
| Spider Mastermind | Shoots super-chaingun | 3000 | R |
| Cyberdemon | Fires powerful rockets | 4000 | R |
| Former Commando | Shoots chaingun | 70 | 2 |
| Hell Knight | Tamer version of the Baron of Hell | 500 | 2 |
| Arachnotron | Smallish cybernetic spider | 500 | 2 |
| Pain Elemental | Floating spheroid, belches Lost Souls | 400 | 2 |
| Revenant | Skeleton-like, fires heat-seeking missiles | 300 | 2 |
| Mancubus | Both arms shoot fireballs | 600 | 2 |
| Archvile | Propels you into the air, resurrects dead monsters | 700 | 2 |
| Wolfenstein SS | Nazi SS troops in secret levels | 50 | 2 |
| Boss Brain | Final adversary | 250 | 2 |
Weapons
In the following table, Power is the approximate average damage one shot will inflict (in hit points, assuming a direct hit), and Version refers to the game version the weapon first appears in:
- S - Shareware version (Doom Episode 1)
- R - Registered/Ultimate version (Doom Episodes 2-4)
- 2 - Doom II
| Weapon | Power | Version |
|---|---|---|
| Fist | 11 | S |
| Chainsaw | 11 | S |
| Pistol | 10 | S |
| Shotgun | 70 | S |
| Chaingun | 10 | S |
| Rocket launcher | 218 | S |
| Plasma rifle | 22.5 | R |
| BFG 9000 | 3130 | R |
| Super Shotgun | 200 | 2 |
Cyberdemons and Spider Masterminds take only the direct hit damage from a rocket (average 90 HP), not the additional blast damage (average 128 HP) that other monsters suffer.
Powerups
| Powerup | Effect | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Bullets, Shells, Rockets, Plasma Cells | Ammunition for weapons | |
| Health potion, Stimpack, Medkit, Soul sphere | Boost health value | |
| Spiritual armor, Security armor, Combat armor | Boost armor value | |
| Megasphere (Doom II only) | Boosts both health and armor to maximum | |
| Radiation suit | Protects against damaging floors | 60 seconds |
| Berserk pack | Makes fists ten times more powerful | Level |
| Backpack | Doubles ammo carrying capacity | Episode¹ |
| Computer map | Reveals unexplored areas on in-game map | Level |
| Key | Opens corresponding locked doors | Level |
| Light amplification visor | Renders dark areas at full brightness | 120 seconds |
| Partial invisibility | Makes player difficult to see; makes monster aim less accurate | 60 seconds |
| Invulnerability | Provides immunity to damage | 30 seconds |
- Doom II is not divided into episodes; the backpack's effect lasts until the end of the game
Scoring anomalies
- Kills may exceed 100% if the level contains an Arch-Vile monster. The Arch-Vile can resurrect dead monsters, and the game gives credit for each time they are killed.
- If the game shows secret 0% it means either that none of the secret areas were found, or that the level contains no secret areas at all. Nearly all the levels supplied by id Software contain secret areas, but it is more common to find user-created levels that do not.
References
- Weapon power: Doom Weapon Damage Information (http://www.gamers.org/pub/idgames/lmps/tyson/weapons.html) by George Bell