This is the Acorn Arcade Doom glossary of terms. On this page is a fairly comprehensive list of words which are used when discussing Doom, WAD editing and the more complex mechanics within the engine. If there are any terms not mentioned here, please email us at doom@acornarcade.com so that we can fill in the gaps.
 

Doom Glossary

Version 0.98
 
Created and maintained by Nick Wright
 
Last revised on 11/8/99
 

 
A B C D E F G H I J K L , M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 

 

A
Arachnotron	A four-legged cybernetic brain armed with a plasma gun similar to your own however his fires green bolts and operates at a subdued firing rate. Can usually be felled with 3 good blasts from the double-barrelled shotgun. He is only found in Doom II.
Arch Vile	A vicious, fast-moving enemy only encountered in the later levels of Doom II. He has the ability to resurrect dead monsters and attack with a demon magic which can only be avoided by moving beyond of his line of sight. Stick him with 7 rockets and he should perish.
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B
Backpack	One of these will double your maximum carrying capacity for all your ammuntion. Any additional backpacks you find will supply you with yet more ammuntion.
Baron of Hell	This fierce cloven-hooved minotaur is the toughest non-boss character you will encounter in the Doom universe. He attacks by hurling deadly, green fireballs at you and tearing with his claws up close. Your best tactic is to hit him hard with about 10 rockets from distance.
Berserk Pack	These packs will boost your health up to 100 and, in addition to this, your punching power will gain an enormous boost. This enhanced strngth will allow you to splatter some of the weaker enemies. Your screen will become red for a 30 second duration although the strength will last until the end of the level.
Blur Artifact	This redish-blue orb causes you to become partially invisible for a 60 second duration. This makes the enemies attacks a lot less accurate.
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C
Cacodemon	A big, red floating monstrosity. He is completely uninhibited by gravity and belches lethal ball lightning at you. They can be easily dispatched with either the chaingun or the chainsaw as the continuous damage they inflict render him incapable of attacking you.
Chaingunner	(see Former Commando)
Computer Area Map	These update your automap to show the entire level map, including all secrets and hidden locations. Areas you haven't visited yet are shown in grey.
Cyberdemon, The	This guy is by far the strongest enemy you will ever encounter in Doom. He stands at twice your height and is armed with a rocket launcher that can turn you inside out with one direct hit. Either 4 BFG blasts from medium range or 40 rockets should put an end to his existence.
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D
Demon	A pink-skinned biped with hunched shoulders and a huge jaw. He can't hurt you from a distance but his bite can cause serious health loss. A chainsaw is the best way to tackle him as he cannot attack you while you cut him up, but a single shot from the double-barrelled shotgun is also highly effective.
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E
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F
Fatso	(see Mancubus)
Frag	Frag is the Doomer term for a 'kill point'. When playing deathmatch games each players scored is counted in frags. Everytime you kill another plyaer you gain 1 frag. In an alternative deathmatch, you also lose a frag if you kill yourself, either by dying in nukage or pasting yourself with your own rocket launcher. The verb frag means 'to kill'.
Former Human	Your standard grey, pistol-totting soldier. Shouldn't cause you much grief as he can be killed with one shotgun blast from almost any range.
Former Human Sargeant	He is kitted out in black armour and carries a shotgun. Unlike the Former Humans, this guy is really nasty. He can sap your health in seconds and you cannot dodge his attacks. The best tactic is to not let them get close and drop them with one or two shells from your own shotgun.
Former Commando	A fat bloke suited with red armour and an attitude problem. You'd better fade him quickly because his chaingun will cause immense damage from any distance. At least you'll only meet him in Doom II. A double-barrelled shogun blast upclose will send him on his way.
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G
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H
Health Potion	These small blue bottles will provide a small 1 to your health even beyond your usual 100 capacity.
Hell Knight	A weaker variety of the Baron of Hell only encountered in Doom II. He attacks with the same deadly green fireballs and his claw is still extremely lethal. 5 rockets provides the required dosage of damage to see him off.
Heavy Weapon Dude	(see Former Commando)
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I
Imp	A brown fireball-lobbing humanoid with spikes protruding from his flesh. He is not too much trouble to take out if you have got a shotgun as two shells will kill him. Watch out though if they attack in numbers as they can pose a serious threat.
Invulnerability Artifact	A green orb which causes you to become indestructable for a 60 second duration. The only downside to this is that they cause your sight to turn white.
IWAD	IWAD stands for 'Initial WAD'. These files contain all the textures, sound effects and level data needed for an entire Doom game. They are generally well over several megabytes in size and are essential for Doom to work.
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J
Jumping	Contrary to common belief, jumping in Doom is possible although technically it's just falling a long distance. It is achieved simply by running off the edge of a platform giving you that little extra flight. Some newer incarnations of Doom for the PC, such as Legacy or Z-Doom, have implimented a true jumping ability, however many serious players consider the use of this feature to be cheating.
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K
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L
Lava	This is the common term for the damaging orange fluid areas of the later stages in Doom. These areas typically cause 5 - 10 health damage per second.
Light Amplification Visor	This set of goggles will allow you to see clearly even in total darkness for a 120 second duration.
Lost Soul	Tough, dumb and on fire. This flying skull will wander aimlessly until he spots you when he will swoop down and try to bit you. Blow him away with the double-barrelled shotgun for maximum effect or take your chances with the chainsaw. They have a tendancy to fight among themselves which can work to your advantage.
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M
Mancubus	This big guy is a definate case of over indulgence. His wide frame makes him an easy target which is a good thing as he can soon see you off with his firballs. These are very difficult to dodge up close so attack from distance. The double-barrelled shotgun is ideal to puncture him but you'll need to be accurate with all 5 shots. He is only encountered in Doom II.
MegaWAD	A MegaWAD is a large WAD file containing several levels and often include replacement graphics or sound effects to create a more involving Doom experience.
Mega Sphere	Provides both the benefits provided by combat armour and a soul sphere.
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N
Nukage	This is a general term for all the damaging, fluid areas of the later stages in Doom, though more specifically it refers to the green nuclear wastage. These areas typically cause around 2 - 5 health damage per second.
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O
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P
Pain Element	Similar in looks to the cacodemon, this guy belches Lost Souls at you like there were no tomorrow. If left alone he can create a whole army of demons in a few seconds. Find a clear shot and pound him with the chaingun as this will halt his ability to spawn more enemies. Only encountered in Doom II.
PWAD	PWAD stands for 'Patch WAD'. As the name suggests, these are level files that 'patch' the existing level data stored in an IWAD. This allows level authors to create a new level using existing textures and sounds without having to supply them again with their own data. As a result, the files are usually very small in size.
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Q
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R
Radiation Suit	A suit will provide you with temporary protection from lava and nukage for a 60 second duration. While the suit holds out your screen will be tinted green.
Revenant	This spindly skeletal warrior is wired up with an highly damaging homing rocket laucher. The rockets he fires are very fast and very hard to dodge. Its best to hit him with 3 rockets of your own to put an end to his deadly assault. Only encountered in Doom II.
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S
Shotgun Guy	(see Former Human Sargeant)
Soul Sphere	A blue orb which provides a huge 100 boost to your health even beyond your usual 100 capacity.
Spectre	A partially invisible breed of Demon. He is very difficult to spot in darkened rooms and this is his main strength. As with the Demon, your best tactic is to cut him up with the chainsaw or blow him away with the double-barrelled shotgun.
Spider Mastermind, The	The queen bitch herself is armed with a super-chaingun which will tear you apart in no time. You've got to keep on your toes and take cover behind walls before launching your own attacks upon her. It'll take about 3 direct hits with the BFG from medium range or 30 rockets before she'll yield to you though.
Spiritual Armour	These helmets provide a small 1 boost to your armour even beyond your usual 100 capacity.
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T
Trooper	(see Former Human)
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U
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V
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W
WAD	WADs are the filetype devised by id Software for storing Doom level data. There are 2 types of WAD files, IWADs and PWADs.
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X
X-Ray Goggles	This was a cheat for the Playstation version of Doom which turned the walls semi-transparent allowing you to see through them. Unfortunately it hasn't appeared on any other formats of the game.
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Y
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Z
Zombie Man	(see Former Human)
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