Editing E2M9: Fortress of Mystery (Doom)

{{Map|slot=E2M9}}
{{The Shores of Hell}}
'''E2M9: Fortress of Mystery''' is the secret map of [[The Shores of Hell]] in [[Doom]], which can be accessed from [[E2M5: Command Center]].  It was designed by [[Sandy Petersen]] and uses the [[Doom music|music]] track "Untitled." The [[par time]] is 2:50.

Like many secret maps, this is something of a [[Wikipedia:Conceptual art|concept level]], featuring a room full of [[Baron]]s and a room full of [[Cacodemon]]s and not much else.  On the other hand, if you survive, you can leave carrying every possible [[weapon]] (excluding the [[BFG9000]] which does not appear until the [[Inferno|next episode]]).

Completing this level takes the player to [[E2M6: Halls of the Damned]].

== Walkthrough ==

[[Image:E2M9dots.png|thumb|300px|Map of E2M9]]
: Letters in ''italics'' refer to marked spots on the map.  [[Sector]] numbers in '''boldface''' are [[secrets]] which count toward the [[Intermission screen|end-of-level tally]].

===Essentials===
When the level starts you will appear in the center of the "star"-shaped room ''(A)'', facing north, and immediately be approached by four barons of hell located in the northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest "arms". Go through the door in the eastern "arm". The next area ''(B)'' holds ten cacodemons. Head to the eastern end of this "+"-shaped room. There are two lion-faced reliefs on the wall ''(D)''. Open the wall between them to reveal the final area. Press the skull switch to your immediate left to get the [[blue key]] ''(E)'', then open the blue door to get the [[red key]] ''(F)''. Open the red door to get the [[yellow key]] ''(G)'', and lastly open the yellow door to reveal the exit [[teleporter]] ''(H)''.

===Other points of interest===
At the start point, there is a [[blue armor]] directly behind you.

The "+" room has a [[Soul Sphere]] in the exact center ''(C)'', in addition to six large [[ammo]] pickups and four [[medikit]]s.

The "star" room is easiest to complete if you have equipment left over from previous levels: find a safe spot and take the barons out with your most powerful weapon.  Once they've been taken care of, look in each of the "arms" to find (counterclockwise from northeast) a [[rocket launcher]], a [[plasma gun]], a [[chaingun]], a [[backpack]], a [[computer map]], a [[chainsaw]], and a [[shotgun]].

A much safer option is to turn the aggression of the barons and cacodemons against them. If you immediately start running in circles around the barons, you will shepherd them into a closely spaced group. Now run into the "+" room and do the same with the cacodemons; do not fire as this gives them time to zero in on you. Then run back to the baron room, stand between the two groups until they have damaged each other (accepting a blast or three yourself), and then run into one of the corners. At this point, you can expect to be mostly left alone as the Cacodemons and Barons will have hit each other and start a huge [[infighting]] sequence. You can sit back and watch, then finish off one or two creatures which have been badly wounded. You'll probably regain any [[health]] lost and more by cleaning out the "+" room, and won't have lost much ammo (if any). The fact that there are preexisting corpses of each monster type in the ''other'' monster's room suggests that this was the designer's intended strategy.

An alternative tactic is to immediately turn 90 degrees to your right, run to the door separating the two sections, open it and fire one shot to wake up the cacodemons. Then turn around, return to the "star" room's center and start walking around the wall. Don't let yourself get trapped in any of the "arm" rooms: if something blocks your path, turn around and circle the other way. The cacodemons will emerge and mingle with the barons, stray shots will set them off, and in seconds you will have a grand and noisy mob of hellspawn beating on each other and mostly ignoring you. When it's over you should only have to finish off one or two heavily damaged barons.

===Secrets===
# The exit room counts as a secret '''(sector 5)''', despite its being required to complete the level, and despite the fact that a computer map is easily found in the first room.

===Bugs===
The yellow key can be [[grab]]bed through the red door without opening it.

Similarly, the red key can be grabbed through the blue door, or through the wall to the west.

One [[energy cell]] (Thing 37) has no flags set for any of the [[Skill level#Doom skill levels|difficulty classes]], so it does not actually appear in the level.

[[Sidedef]]s 135, 138, and 158 are missing their upper [[texture]]s.  This has no actual effect on rendering because each key chamber cannot be entered until the back of the door has risen beyond the player's field of view.  (Even with the [[Doom cheat codes|no-clipping cheat]], the resulting anomalies are fairly narrow in the latter two cases; the first case creates a [[HOM]] over the entire door.)

===Demo files===
* [[Media:e2m9secr.lmp|No monsters, 100% secrets walkthrough]] ([[:Image:e2m9secr.lmp|file info]])
* [[Media:e2m9wik1.lmp|100% kills, items, and secrets on ITYTD]] ([[:Image:e2m9wik1.lmp|file info]])
* [[Media:e2m9wik4.lmp|100% kills, items, and secrets on UV]] ([[:Image:e2m9wik4.lmp|file info]])

== Areas / screenshots ==

<gallery>
Image:E2M9 caco room.png|The main battlefield
Image:E2M9 secret room.png|This is not nearly as challenging as it looks (secret #1)
</gallery>

== Speedrunning ==

===Routes and tricks===
In a straight speedrun, the yellow key [[grab]] is essential for a world-class time.  [[Marijo "Sedlo" Sedlic]] credits [[Thomas "The Godfather" Zajic]] with the original discovery. {{competnftp|doom/speed/e2m9-006.zip}}  If you choose to open all the doors, you may need the [[soul sphere]] or the [[blue armor]] first, as you will expose yourself to many more [[projectile]] attacks thereby.  You can also shave a few seconds {{competnftp|doom/speed/e2m9-012.zip}} by approaching each [[key]] obliquely, allowing you to rebound off the door jamb.

A fast time in [[NM speed]] may actually be easier than in [[UV speed]], because the two [[Fast monsters|fast]] [[cacodemon]]s in the rear shoot at you a lot instead of moving into the center of the room. {{competnftp|doom/speed/e2m9-006.zip}} {{competnftp|doom/nmare/n2m9-006.zip}}  Given this, and given the completely straight path between the start point and the [[secret]] door, 0:06 is arguably an optimal time.

[[UV max]] runs of this map rely heavily on [[infighting]], which (here as elsewhere) requires the player to set up one situation while another is still in progress.  The consensus at [[Compet-n]] is apparently:
* Pick up the [[backpack]], [[rocket launcher]], [[plasma gun]], [[shotgun]], and blue armor. {{competnftp|doom/max/e2m9-056.zip}}  Because the [[weapon]]s are not all adjacent, the [[baron]]s should cluster near the center of the room, so they all make it through the door in the next step.
* Get the soul sphere and open the secret room.
* Shoot cacodemons with the shotgun from there, using the reload times to activate doors and pick up keys. {{competnftp|doom/max/e2m9-100.zip}}
* Once the exit chamber is open, cross to the other side of the cacodemon group and continue firing until a predetermined number of [[shell]]s remain.  (The extra [[health]] and [[Armors|armor]] are most significant here, because you can't see the baron attacks coming.)
* Run back to the west side of the "+" room, use up your [[rocket]]s (preferentially on barons), and finish everyone off with [[cell]]s.
Although the [[chaingun]] has a higher [[damage]] rate than the shotgun, its [[ammo]] is more limited {{competnftp|doom/max/e2m9-100.zip}}; the [[bullet box]]es are also out of the way of the main route, whereas the cacodemons seem to enter the crossfire sooner if one approaches the secret door promptly. {{competnftp|doom/max/e2m9-051.zip}}  Luck plays a role in achieving a world-class time; one must hope that the barons stay close enough together to take a lot of [[blast damage]] {{competnftp|doom/max/e2m9-056.zip}}, and that the infighting has sufficient overall effect that you don't run out of ammo at the end. {{competnftp|doom/max/e2m9-049.zip}}

In the [[UV -fast]] style, the opening gambit from UV max does not work well due to the barons' increased attack frequency, nor is it nearly so safe to stand between the barons and cacodemons for an extended time.  Instead, pick up the shotgun and enter the cacodemon room, shooting a few [[monster]]s while collecting ammo, and proceed to the secret area.  Go back for the other weapons only after opening all the doors. {{competnftp|doom/fast/f2m9-052.zip}}  This allows enough time for infighting to begin, which of course damages the monsters more quickly once it has.  Also, while in the exit area, sidestep the incoming projectiles more fastidiously than at normal speed. {{competnftp|doom/fast/f2m9-056.zip}}

No known route optimizations exist for [[UV -respawn]].

Early [[Tyson]] submissions allowed some infighting to proceed and then used the [[chainsaw]] exclusively, the total time determined by how long one waited to start hitting barons from behind.  It is faster, however, to go straight to the exit and pick up the keys in several sorties, circlestrafing with the [[pistol]] in between. {{competnftp|doom/tyson/t2m9-139.zip}}  The current record holder collects all the keys at once, then herds the monsters into a small area by staying near the western door {{competnftp|doom/tyson/t2m9-120.zip}}; this is more dangerous, but faster, since it increases the frequency of monster-monster targeting.  An important footwork consideration while chainsawing each cacodemon is to use it as a shield against incoming fire.

[[UV pacifist]] is indistinguishable from UV speed on this map, as there is no good reason to attack such large monsters with a pistol.

===Current records===

The [[Compet-N]] records for the map are:
{| {{prettytable}}
!Run||Time||Player||Date||File||Notes
|-
|[[UV speed]]||00:06||[[Marijo "Sedlo" Sedlic]]||2000-05-14||{{competnftp|doom/speed/e2m9-006.zip|e2m9-006.zip}}|| 
|-
|[[NM speed]]||00:06||[[Marijo "Sedlo" Sedlic]]||2002-11-11||{{competnftp|doom/nmare/n2m9-006.zip|n2m9-006.zip}}|| 
|-
|[[UV max]]||00:49||[[Drew "stx-Vile" DeVore]]||2003-01-21||{{competnftp|doom/max/e2m9-049.zip|e2m9-049.zip}}|| 
|-
|[[NM100S]]|| || || || ||<sup>1</sup>
|-
|[[UV -fast]]||00:52||[[Adam Hegyi]]||1999-08-09||{{competnftp|doom/fast/f2m9-052.zip|f2m9-052.zip}}|| 
|-
|[[UV -respawn]]||00:52||[[Adam Hegyi]]||1999-05-26||{{competnftp|doom/respawn/r2m9-052.zip|r2m9-052.zip}}|| 
|-
|[[UV Tyson]]||01:20||[[Anders Johnsen]]||1999-04-05||{{competnftp|doom/tyson/t2m9-120.zip|t2m9-120.zip}}|| 
|-
|[[UV pacifist]]||00:06||[[Marijo "Sedlo" Sedlic]]||2000-05-14||{{competnftp|doom/speed/e2m9-006.zip|e2m9-006.zip}}|| 
|}

# This level is impossible to complete without [[Intermission screen|100% secrets]] (unless the [[noclip bug]] occurs), so a separate category from NM speed would be redundant.

== Deathmatch ==

== Statistics ==

===Map data===
{| {{prettytable}}
|[[Thing]]s||53
|-
|[[Vertex]]es||160
|-
|[[Linedef]]s||166
|-
|[[Sidedef]]s||198
|-
|[[Sector]]s||19
|}

===Things===

This level contains the following numbers of things per [[skill level]]:

{| {{prettytable}}
![[Monster]]s||ITYTD and HNTR||HMP||UV and NM
|-
|[[Baron of Hell|Barons of Hell]]||4||4||4
|-
|[[Cacodemon]]s||10||10||10
|-
![[Powerup]]s||ITYTD and HNTR||HMP||UV and NM
|-
|[[Backpack]]s||1||1||1
|-
|[[Blue armor]]s||1||1||1
|-
|[[Computer map]]s||1||1||1
|-
|[[Medikit]]s||4||4||4
|-
|[[Soul sphere]]s||1||1||1
|-
![[Weapon]]s||ITYTD and HNTR||HMP||UV and NM
|-
|[[Chainsaw]]s||1||1||1
|-
|[[Shotgun]]s||1||1||1
|-
|[[Chaingun]]s||1||1||1
|-
|[[Rocket launcher]]s||1||1||1
|-
|[[Plasma gun]]s||1||1||1
|-
![[Ammunition]]||ITYTD and HNTR||HMP||UV and NM
|-
|[[Box of ammo|Bullet boxes]]||2||2||2
|-
|[[Box of shells|Shell boxes]]||2||2||2
|-
|[[Box of rockets|Rocket boxes]]||2||2||2
|-
![[Keys]]||ITYTD and HNTR||HMP||UV and NM
|-
|Red skulls||1||1||1
|-
|Yellow skulls||1||1||1
|-
|Blue skulls||1||1||1
|-
|}

== Inspiration and development ==

== Trivia ==

Prior to entry of the level, the fortress does not appear on the [[intermission screen]]. After the [[E2M5: Command Center|E2M5]] statistics have been cleared, the fortress fades in on the map. Once E2M9 is completed, the fortress disappears again, but the blood splat (which marks that the level was completed) remains in place.

The whole level seems to occur underground, and the starting area looks not unlike a coal mine. While the other [[Deimos]] facilities are slowly being subverted by the forces of [[Hell]] and feature a mixed techbase/Hell theme, the fortress features virtually no use of the [[STAR|techbase textures]] which suggests that this entire "base" is not man-made or has been completely converted by Hell already.

This level is used as the final level for the [[Atari_Jaguar|Jaguar]], [[GBA]], and [[3DO]] versions of Doom.

The music for this level is inspired by the track "[[Wikipedia:Mouth for War|Mouth for War]]" by [[Wikipedia:Pantera|Pantera]].

== Sources ==

* [http://www.doomworld.com/vb/doom-general/45187-secret-levels/ Secret Levels] thread at the [[Doomworld forums]]

== External links ==

* [http://www.doom2.net/~compet-n/database/cn.cgi?map:udoom:29 E2M9 demos from the Compet-n database]
* [http://ian-albert.com/misc/doommaps.php Top-down perspective view of all Doom levels] by Ian Albert