Stuck in a map? The Duck Guide to Escape

[DuckReconMajor]

I get lost constantly, not as much as I used to, but I know how it can wear on your experience. 
There's general advice floating around but I figure I'd make a list of ways I've used or have thought of.

These are listed somewhat in order from least to most 'extreme', based both on how frustrating they are and how much people might consider it 'cheating'

Make a Habit of Looking at the Automap - This is the one that gets brought up the most, and with good reason. I used to never use it, but now that I've forced myself into the habit of opening it every so often, I get lost much less often now.
Something that indirectly reminded me of its value is playing Phantasy Star Ages Edition. It draws out the first-person dungeons as if you had graph paper. Doom does that on its own and we don't appreciate it! At least I don't.

Become an IDBEHOLDA - i.e. IDBEHOLD cheat then press A for automap.
I like this better than IDDT because it shows the areas you haven't seen in gray. Which shows you where to check out.
If you're in a situation where cheats don't work (recording a demo or Nightmare!) I think IDDT still works. Spamming IDDT can show you the same info based on what parts of your map disappear when you IDDT the third time.

Find a Demo or Walkthrough - Depending how new or obscure the map is, there is probably someone in dsdarchive.com or on YouTube who's done this map before.

Perimeter Search - kind of similar to the old "only put torches on the left side" Minecraft trick. Just look at the left-most wall and follow it around. 
I find this method the most annoying but it does work most of the time.
Of course there's the chance the switch or teleporter you want is on the inside of the room, in which case this method fails.

Just Start Over - as in, IDCLEV to the start of the map or load your ZDoom autosave.
Fighting through a map's fauna again gives you a fresh perspective, and you probably need it after running around the blank map with no company but corpses. 

There's also the rare possibility you accidentally did a sequence break, in which case this step is necessary anyway.

Pop it open in Doom Builder - This might make some squeamish but I think it's very underrated. On complex maps I consider it my second automap.
It of course depends on the format of the map how much it initially helps.
If it's vanilla, you can go into Sectors mode (press S), touch the door you want open and it will literally point to the switch you need.
You can also press F3 and do a Thing Type search and get pointed to that yellow key you're missing.
Boom is a bit more complicated with its crazy voodoo setups and general linedef actions.
ZDoom scripts are a level above and unless you're used to those it's going to be a level even harder than that.
But, I'd argue for the mappers, and the mapping-curious, it can give a bit of an insight what the author did, which I think is great.

Take a Break - I know this is the most obvious one, but of course it's important advice which no one wants to hear in the midst of banging your head against a map.
You're just making yourself angry!

 

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edit: bonus tips from helpful Doomers in replies

 

Use the Mark function - many ports allow you to press 'M' to mark an area of the map. This can help you remember doors, items, etc -thanks PSXDoomer

 

Opacity/Overlay - Many ports nowadays let you make the map transparent and put an overlay on the screen. In ZDoom this is a menu option. In Prboom+ you can press 'O' while the map is up - thank you Shepardus

Edited August 1, 2021 by DuckReconMajor
adding helpful users' tips. let me add some tags too: getting lost getting stuck stuck in map automap

[Doomkid]

This is a lot more useful than my “just take every left turn always” approach!

[out_of_service]

Don't forget your automap functions! With the press of the M button you can mark your position 0-9. I like to use this for keeping track of items that I may have not needed when I first found them. That way I can go back and pick them up before exiting to the next level.

[Skronkidonk]

Automaps are handy! Also identify landmarks and try to recognize where you are through focal points.

[Rexen²]

While not a tip for the player but I figure it should be mention, for those that make maps its best to look into hiding linedefs and sectors that are there just to add detail to the map as a player might see it on the automap and think they might not have fully explore the area, you can also hide linedefs that you use for triggering things such as ambushes too. While I can't say for other map formats, UDMF has options for hiding both linedefs and sectors on the texture automap.  (I think other map formats just have hiding of linedefs).

 

As for the player if there're down to using mods to help, there's the mod called Hellscape Navigator that can help the player out. 

[Teo Slayer]

13 hours ago, DuckReconMajor said:

I get lost constantly

And that's the reason why I always open my automap

[Shepardus]

When playing a map for the first time I probably spend more time looking at the automap than the actual playing field. But I use overlay mode, so I can see both at the same time. Overlay mode is a vital source port feature to me.

[1Destro3456]

Good tips, I haven't found myself getting lost on a map often, but if I do this will come in handy 

[omx32x]

if with all that you are still lost dont be afraid of opening youtube and searching for a walktrough of that map maybe you missed a switch somewhere ot the way out was way too obscure or maybe you messed up and soft locked yourself in that case just use idclip

[Jello]

On 7/31/2021 at 8:26 PM, Doomkid said:

This is a lot more useful than my “just take every left turn always” approach!

Shit, and I've always thought Doom was just a really short game.