Treasure (Wolf3D)

The four kinds of Treasure in Wolfenstein 3D.

Throughout Wolfenstein 3D and Spear of Destiny, B.J. may find various treasure items. They may be found in plain sight of major hallways, or deep behind secret pushwalls. These items have the sole purpose of boosting his score. The Mission packs added their own kinds of treasure, but the classic lineup of treasure is:

• Cross, for 100 points
• Chalice, for 500 points
• Chest, for 1000 points
• Crown, for 5000 points

Treasure has an added level of usefulness that it can give BJ extra lives. In the original MS-DOS release, for every 40,000 points BJ attains, he gets an extra life. The Mac Family has no points, but in every version excluding the Jaguar port, 50 treasure items grants the player a One Up.

The sequels of Spear of Destiny - Spear Resurrection and Spear: End of Destiny - introduce a new treasure item: Black diamond, which worths 2500 points. In Spear: End of Destiny, earning 100000 points on the skill level "Tournament!" rewards the player with a new savegame possibility.

Mission packs

The four kinds of Treasure in The Lost Episodes.

The Mission packs feature new sprites for the Treasure, turning them into new kinds of objects. Unlike previous games, the actual object represented by the sprites is difficult to distinguish, and no unique source code exists to identify the items. The Spear of Destiny Super CD Hint Books assign the following names:

• Radio, for 100 points
• Plutonium, for 500 points
• Control panel, for 1000 points
• Bomb casing, for 5000 points

Treasure totals

At the end of each level (excepting secret levels and boss levels) BJ is scored based on the percentage of treasure in the level he attained, as well as enemies killed and Secrets found. If the total is 100% for any of the three, BJ earns 10,000 points, for a maximum of 30,000.

One Ups also count toward the treasure rating, however since 1-Ups restore health and ammo, the player may wish to delay picking them up until he needs them.

Trivia

• The Wolfenstein 3D source code refers to the Chest as a "Bible", naming the sprite "bo_bible". The Cross and Chalice also display religious symbolism. The Bible was likely changed to a chest later in development.
• In the SNES port, the Cross is changed to a "scepter".
• The Radio from the Mission packs is stated in the Spear of Destiny Super CD Hint Books to be used for communication with submarines, but it also resembles a Volksempfänger ("people's receiver"), which was a radio for private home use. The Volksempfänger was indeed very prevalent in Germany in World War II, due to its use as an instrument of propaganda.