Episode 1: Dimension of the Doomed or the Doomed Dimension is the first Episode of Quake and the only episode available in the Shareware version. As such, it doesn't contain the Enforcer, Death Knight, Rotfish, Spawn, or Vore. This episode also lacks the Thunderbolt. It consists of eight levels total, one of which is a secret level. It is the only episode to feature a unique boss creature at its end called Chthon.
Being the Shareware Episode, it is more varied in level themes than the others; besides the idBase appearance of the initial level, Runic and Medieval themes are also used. It's a dimension of drastically changing environments having some amount of age and representing some immense structure - crypts, artificial caves, castles, and pyramids.
The text displayed in the corridor leading to this episode in Introduction reads: "The mystical past comes alive..." The goal is to search for the Rune of Earth Magic to use in the fight against Shub-Niggurath.
Levels
- The Slipgate Complex
- Castle of the Damned
- The Necropolis
- The Grisly Grotto
- Ziggurat Vertigo (secret level)
- Gloom Keep
- The Door to Chthon
- The House of Chthon (Boss fight against Chthon)
Enemies
| Type | Count | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | Normal | Hard/Nightmare | ||
| Rottweiler | 1 | 5 | 8 | |
| Grunt | 17 | 30 | 50 | |
| Zombie | 26 (34) | 37 (45) | 39 (47) | 8 Zombies in an area inaccessible to players in E1M7: The House of Chthon, die upon completion |
| Knight | 24 | 43 | 49 | |
| Scrag | 14 | 29 | 49 | |
| Ogre | 40 | 71 | 113 | |
| Fiend | 4 | 9 | 24 | |
| Shambler | 2 (14) | 3 (15) | 9 (21) | 12 Shamblers in an area inaccessible to players in E1M7: The House of Chthon, die upon completion |
| Chthon | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Total | 129 (149) | 228 (248) | 342 (362) | |
Trivia
- The Shareware episode of Quake went through some extensive development. Originally the episode would have involved freeing an Old One called Shantak, launching an ICBM, and slightly facing off against Shalrath prior to him summoning the boss, Diablolord. The design was highly simplified due to the desire to finish Quake quickly; the original design would have required too many models, animations, and textures to be made.
