on secret hunting

[jeremieh]

recently, after a break of a few months, I've been getting back into doom and I gotta say that in regards to secret hunting I just can't find a way to enjoy it, which is a shame because it's one of the game's central mechanics.  does anyone have a specific approach they take to secret hunting that makes it more enjoyable in their opinion?

[Nevander]

• Hump every wall
• Observe automap oddities
• Hump every wall
• Out of place textures
• Misaligned textures
• Hump every wall
• Strangely placed items
• Don't forget to hump every wall

[Lippeth]

The way I normally enjoy secrets is to not ever go out of my way to look for them or even worry about them at all, while at the same time being receptive to clues and oddities in maps so that actually stumbling into one is enjoyable. Secrets in Doom are like achievements in modern games;they're expected to be there...^{blah blah blah}

 

What doesn't sound fun is looking up a video or opening the map in an editor and then systematically walking into every one just to get 100%. Though you know what? Sometimes that is kind of fun depending on the wad.

 

The biggest takeaway is to not overthink it; if it's not fun to hunt for secrets, don't hunt for secrets, and if you feel bad for missing them, try to admire how accurate the end screen is in summarizing your run.

[RHhe82]

In modern wads I look for inconsistencies (rather than misalignments) in texturing or differently colored torches. I look for dead angles hiding tiny switches. I look for seemingly unreachable goodies, and as I spot them, I try to find aforementioned switches or nearly-invisible passages and dropholes. I try to keep my ears open for the sound of distant lifts or doors. And I look at automap.

 

I sometimes resort to opening map editor, but at that point the cause is already lost as is the sense of discovery, which is one of the core reasons for looking for secrets. Actually, at that point I do the investigation to teach myself just what sort of shenanigans I should be looking for in upcoming levels.

[Azuris]

4 hours ago, Lippeth said:

The way I normally enjoy secrets is to not ever go out of my way to look for them or even worry about them at all, while at the same time being receptive to clues and oddities in maps so that actually stumbling into one is enjoyable. Secrets in Doom are like achievements in modern games;they're expected to be there...^{blah blah blah}

 

 

 

Exactly, the most fun is, when a secret teases you and makes you curious to find it.

Than it even makes sense to bumb walls ;)

 

Running around aimless is pretty boring, i disliked it in Wolfenstein 3D.

 

[Rykzeon]

I liked the secret when you no need to hunt it. Also, the secret when you expect its there.

[Sneezy McGlassFace]

I don't really worry about secrets too much. I put some effort in finding them but if I don't get all (or even most) of them, that's fine. 

 

It's also with noting that secrets often make the map a lot easier. So if you're up for a good challenge, it may be against your interest to find them. 

[jeremieh]

thanks for the help guys!  I'll keep it in mind next time i fire up a wad!

[Stabbey]

14 hours ago, Nevander said:

• Hump every wall
• Observe automap oddities
• Hump every wall
• Out of place textures
• Misaligned textures
• Hump every wall
• Strangely placed items
• Don't forget to hump every wall

 

This... EXCEPT that I would avoid trying to hump every wall. That's exactly the kind of time-consuming, tedious approach which can end up sucking a lot of the fun out of the game. Look for tells first.

 

• Observe automap oddities:
• Automap Oddity - Suspicious "landlocked" void space
• Automap Oddity - small sectors which don't fit the pattern of decoration
• Automap Oddity - anomalously different colored lines on the map
• Out of place textures which don't match - Especially ones which are similar to nearby textures, but not quite a match.
• Misaligned textures
• Strangely placed items - Such as candles near walls, or torches which don't match a pattern of torches.
• Computer consoles, Prominent textures like MarbFace
• Unusual or prominent sector constructions
• Flashing/flickering lights on one specific light source (and others are normal)
• Damaging pits which have parts you can't see from outside

 

Only hump walls if you can't find any other tells, but first look for different tells.

Edited December 24, 2022 by Stabbey

[jeremieh]

1 minute ago, Stabbey said:

 

This... EXCEPT that I would avoid trying to hump every wall. That's exactly the kind of time-consuming, tedious approach which can end up sucking a lot of the fun out of the game. Look for tells first.

 

• Observe automap oddities:
• Automap Oddity - Suspicious "landlocked" void space
• Automap Oddity - small sectors which don't fit the pattern of decoration
• Automap Oddity - anomalously different colored lines on the map
• Out of place textures which don't match - Especially ones which are similar to nearby textures, but not quite a match.
• Misaligned textures
• Strangely placed items
• Computer consoles, Prominent textures like MarbFace
• Unusual or prominent sector constructions
• Flashing/flickering lights on one specific light source (and others are normal)
• Damaging pits which have parts you can't see from outside

 

Only hump walls if you can't find any other tells, but first look for different tells.

thanks for the advice!

[MFG38]

What usually works for me is not caring about finding all secrets in a map.

[SilverMiner]

Not only hump but hug every wall

[idbeholdME]

Not only hump but chainsaw every wall as well while doing it. Also shoot any walls you can't hump for good measure. You never know if a random wall might be a shootable trigger.

[LadyMistDragon]

Personally....it helps a lot when the wad in question has lots of Doomcute or leans that way with it's design characteristics like many/vr/ wads tend to have.

[dasho]

I've never felt that secret hunting was a core element of the game; it's cool to find them incidentally, and the percentage of secrets found on the intermission screen can give you a heads up for your next playthrough that you missed something, but that's about it. If a map has a hard secret requirement for progression without advertising that fact beforehand, it's poorly made.

[jeremieh]

21 hours ago, dasho said:

I've never felt that secret hunting was a core element of the game; it's cool to find them incidentally, and the percentage of secrets found on the intermission screen can give you a heads up for your next playthrough that you missed something, but that's about it. If a map has a hard secret requirement for progression without advertising that fact beforehand, it's poorly made.

fair enough, and in those cases with progression blocked by secrets (particularly obtuse secrets) where I'm practically beating my head against a wall I just fire up the wiki and see what I'm missing

[baja blast rd.]

I have found way too many secrets to be that bothered. 

 

 

Actual advice would be to try and get a sense of how the wad hides secrets. Most sets tend to draw on similar methods repeatedly. And try to think of those methods less as really specific implements like "torch" or "shootswitch" or "small switch" and more like the general pattern and logic, like "different feature in a room of similar features" and "be on the lookout for higher tiers/ledges/balconies that can 'see' a place you've already been to, or look out over the map" or "pay attention to corners and shadows." Some wads absolutely loathe making you hump. Some do and even have the walls visible on the automap. Nicolas Monti's secrets are hard to me but once you know some of his sets like to do stuff like tripwire distant lifts and give you sound cues, for example, that class of secret becomes easier. I'm only 'okay' at finding secrets imo and am not an obligate completionist about them anyway, but trying to understand the common rationale behind secrets makes it more fun because it's less about finding every secret in isolation from another and more about piecing together the logic. 

[ZeMystic]

One thing I would add to the list of tips is to keep an ear out for doors opening/closing or platforms lowering. A good example of a secret like this is the secret exit in Level 18 of Doom 64. You trigger a door opening by walking across a linedef and you have to race to enter the secret room before it closes.

[JadingTsunami]

I like secrets but hate hunting aimlessly for them. So after a point, I cheat.

 

First I show all secrets in the automap. I also highlight found vs. not-found secrets with different colors.

 

I bind a key to highlight a linedef or sector in the automap and make the corresponding tagged linedef or sector flash.

 

This also eliminates the "what does this switch do" effect when I get too bored or annoyed with a particular map.

 

It works for me.