E2M2: Containment Area

E2M2: Containment Area is the second map of The Shores of Hell. Designed by Tom Hall and Sandy Petersen, and the par time is 1:30.

This map is named a warehose after tthat it has a lot of crates that probably contain stuff used for UAC and shipping it to Mars, to the north of this map. Also, the crate maze subsequently became a cliche of the Doom series.

The layout is highly unusual and whenever you shoot, all monsters will be immediately alerted to your presence.

This map is unusual cuz Player 2 starts differently from Player 1. There are no zombiemen/shotgunners despite them having the most appearances in The Shores of Hell. Players who explore the maze systematically, however, will find a lot of stimpacks and medical kits as well.

This map won 'Best Map Ever' by the founder of this wiki, on September 3, 2017: https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/96727-e2m2-is-the-best-map-that-ever-existed/

Walkthrough
From the start point, continue forward, then left, until you come to the berserk pack. Turn right and follow into a marble room, then keep going until you come to a door. Press the switch to the left to open it. Once you walk into the room, stairs will raise, allowing you to access the second maze. Continue west, then take the first left, you will pass the exit door, inaccessible across nukage to your right, and come to the red door. Turn left and pass all five crushing ceilings, then follow the path to the blue key. Turn right, and follow the staircase to a spectre and a blue door. Open the blue door, and then the blue door to the right, and then grab the red key! Return to the red door and go through, then follow the path to a switch that raises a bridge to the exit door.

Other points of interest:

To the right of the start is a security armor, and to the left is a switch. Press it to lower a crate that has a shotgun on it.

In the start point for player 2/4, whether or not in multiplayer, is a box of bullets to start with.

The middle of the crate maze are imps and barrels. Past them is a box of shells.

To the east of the south maze is a passage that takes you to several moving floors that may come in handy later. To the north is a blood pool with the yellow key. You cannot access the yellow key just by jumping into the blood and getting it, instead you must follow the blue lights on the ceiling that are just out of view even in fullscreen mode. Note that if you do NOT step on the previous one, the floor will be raised but the blood will remain the old texture and you will still take damage.

To the northeast of the crate maze is a yellow door. Open it and follow the bridge to a backpack on a pedestal that rises as you near it. If you miss it, you must press each switch and collect secrets #4, #5, and #6 below.

If you don't go into the room with the exit door, and instead continue west, you will come to a combat armor guarded by three imps.

If you fall into the south of the nukage tunnel AFTER pressing the switch, you are trapped. Otherwise you can follow the tunnel north, which connects to the marble room. Be carefull, there is a lost soul waiting that you may not notice.

In a speedrun, due to a limitation of the Doom engine, you can press the switch behind the red door from the nukage tunnel, raising the bridge to the exit door and bypassing the use of the otherwise-required blue and red keys!

Secrets:


 * 1) Get to the northwest of the crate maze and follow it south. A wide crate will have lowered, which there you can access a compartment with two boxes of shells.
 * 2) The moving floor just southeast of the blood pool with the yellow key, can be rid down to a secret area with lots of health potions and some shell boxes.
 * 3) To the north of the west part of the crate maze is a door. Open it and follow right to the yellow door. Open it and press the switch to lower a chaingun. Note that if you fall into the slime BEFORE hitting the switch, you cannot get out!
 * 4) Behind the yellow door to the northeast, press the switch to the north of any of the pedestals that raise. One of the doors to the east will have opened up.
 * 5) Press any non-activated switch to open up another secret area to the east.
 * 6) Press the remaining switch to open up the last secret to the east.
 * 7) To the northeast of the room with the inaccessible exit is a technical room with a STAR pillar nearby. Press the switch to lower a pillar with a plasma rifle on it. This only works once, and temporarily, so make sure to kill everyone in the room before pressing it. If the technical pillar rises with you on it, you are not trapped: the switch on top lowers it again permanently. Due to a limitation of the Doom engine, however, you can just press the switch from the room itself, making this secret much easier to get.
 * 8) Into the second maze, turn right and right again, and then cross each room (be careful, the lights are damaging floors), and then go northwest into a secret passage into a backpack. Once you get it, however, the escape route will close and a technical trap will have opened up to the east.
 * 9) In the technical trap, open the different-textured door to access another secret room. Somewhere in that room is a misaligned wall that is a door, but is not a secret because it is too obvious to be one!
 * 10) However, to the southeast of that passage is a secret that has a computer area map!
 * 11) Of the five crushing ceilings on your way to the blue key, the middle one you can exit north and into a passage taking you to a chainsaw. Grabbing it, however, will turn on the light and open several traps full of the stupid lost souls!
 * 12) To the southeast of the blue key room is a light triangle. Step into it to lower a soul sphere. This only works once, so if you miss it, you cannot get 100% secrets. If the lift rises with you on it, press the switch to lower it again permanently.