Three Is A Crowd (Anniversary Edition on idgames)

Well, as you can see from the video, some of my DM levels can still kick your ass even without the other players' involvement!

It's too bad I procrastinated on it as usual and didn't get more DM testing done. I did some DM testing with @Omniarch on Odamex and it was great, and I've thoroughly tested the dm areas in vanilla to make sure it all works okay, but I never actually got to DM anyone in vanilla after all. I hope I'll still get to at some point!

Also, one of the various tweaks/fixes in this release is making the first two maps less unforgiving. They still haven't lost their edge, but there should be more wiggle room. MAP01 used to have just barely enough ammo even if you did everything perfectly, and MAP02's left wing was especially awful for anyone trying to 100% things. The infamous MAP08 also has... some extra mercy thrown here and there.

While this thread is back on the front page, I want to take the opportunity to say how impressed I was by Three's A Crowd. I did a UV-Continuous playthrough in Crispy Doom last winter, and was blown away by the creativity contained within this campaign, and how it managed that tightrope walk of constant antagonism towards the player while still being really entertaining to struggle against and overcome.

I grew up with Doom 1 & 2. So, admittedly, part of the reason I venerate the foundational texts is because of that nostalgia. But I still think that those campaigns have qualities which are endearing on their own merits and not just because of that fond attachment to a symbol of a simpler time. For me, it's that sense of mischief I treasure most about their dungeons. Setups and payoffs. You would play and the game would play back. Yes, Doom is fast and thrilling, but more importantly, Doom is mean to the player. This mapset is filled with cruel surprises that rank among the best I've ever seen.

I can't get into my favorite moments without digressing into a complete level-by-level breakdown, so I'll just talk about the big one: Sheer Poison is art. The perfect "darkest moment" before the dawn, confronting both the protagonist and player with utter despair before it's finally overcome and they get their cathartic payoff of the following final-boss fight.

It was totally worth pushing through the most intentionally-aggravating sections - this vanilla-compatible Doom 2 replacement campaign is able to conjure the impression that you're in a hostile realm, the plaything of a reality-warping malevolent force, and makes you want to fight back, persevere, and not let it break you. That's a difficult balance to strike, and I had a lot of fun doing these dungeon-crawls & overcoming these trials even as I cursed your name at each new twist of the knife. Three's A Crowd has one of my favorite Continuous campaigns of all time. Thanks for making it!

Thank you for your support!

After spending some time playtesting the DM levels with real people, I was ready to release the new version decisively. Here it is!

As a reminder, the new version contains:

• 27 deathmatch-exclusive arenas, best suited for duels but also fun with 4 players. Some of them fully embody 3IAC's weird side with switchable obstacles, darkness, poison and crushers, while others are more on the normal side.
• numerous gameplay and visual improvements - the ugliest areas made prettier, the most boring moments more exciting. For some levels, such as MAP07 and MAP22, the difference is pretty massive.
• some of the especially unforgiving maps (such as MAP01, MAP02 and MAP08) offer more leeway now, often in the form of secrets... but I took care to never trivialize what makes them stand out.
• a huge new secret level for hardcore 3IAC fans. Don't worry, it's (almost) as easily skippable as ever.

Check out the video if you want a sneak peek! Don't worry, unlike at the time of recording, right now it truly is the final version.

15 hours ago, Scypek2 said:

After spending some time playtesting the DM levels with real people, I was ready to release the new version decisively. Here it is!

But now there's a newer 3iac_121.zip in idgames/incoming/ -- what's changed? Why does it have the same version number?

And that zip does not contain 3IAC_121.txt (and 3IAC.deh) like it should, and which newstuff/3iac.zip does include.

15 hours ago, Scypek2 said:

27 deathmatch-inclusive levels

These are normally termed DM arenas within levels, not levels. Like Sigil isn't a megawad no matter what Romero said. ;-)

The text file was there last time I checked, no idea where it went. Reuploaded, hopefully for good. The new version solves a singular softlock, so between that and the recent upload, I didn't feel like it deserved a new number.

You're right about the arenas. Also, apparently I wrote "inclusive" when I meant "exclusive".

TITLEPIC is now a .png lump, which breaks vanilla compatibility. v1.2.1 doesn't load in Chocolate Doom, PrBoom+ or DSDA-Doom unless that lump is removed.

MAP32 in v1.1: linedef 2322 was one-sided; in v1.2.1 corresponding linedef 3163 changed to two-sided. Spotted in SLADE while cropping for the wiki, in the game it indeed provides an outdoor view towards the DM arena.

Reminds me of an old saying: If it ain't broken, don't fix it. ;-)

28 minutes ago, Scypek2 said:

You're right about the arenas. Also, apparently I wrote "inclusive" when I meant "exclusive".

Inclusive is actually correct if these levels include both single-player and deathmatch content. Exclusive would be for levels that are only for one game mode and exclude the other.

The maps are inclusive of single-player and deathmatch, the arenas are deathmatch-exclusive. :)

Can confirm the issue with the titlepic, have to use -warp to load it in ports that don't support PNG.

3 hours ago, Xymph said:

TITLEPIC is now a .png lump, which breaks vanilla compatibility. v1.2.1 doesn't load in Chocolate Doom, PrBoom+ or DSDA-Doom unless that lump is removed.

Incredible. I was pretty sure I updated the titlepic and THEN tested it in Chocolate Doom, but I guess it was the other way around. I fixed it, but now I want to wait a few more hours before uploading just in case.

3 hours ago, Xymph said:

MAP32 in v1.1: linedef 2322 was one-sided; in v1.2.1 corresponding linedef 3163 changed to two-sided. Spotted in SLADE while cropping for the wiki, in the game it indeed provides an outdoor view towards the DM arena. 

That, on the other hand, works exactly as intended. Thanks for noticing!

1 hour ago, Scypek2 said:

That, on the other hand, works exactly as intended.

Really? Looks like an ugly HOM in Chocolate Doom, certainly when standing next to the south wall and looking due west.

MAP12 had a distinct DM arena before, now it is joined with the rest of the level. Where does the main level end and the arena begin, so that I know how to redo the crops and re-render the map views?

2 hours ago, Xymph said:

Really? Looks like an ugly HOM in Chocolate Doom, certainly when standing next to the south wall and looking due west.

Maybe if you noclip to stand there. Normally, you can see a bit of a HOM if you approach it carefully enough, but it seals itself up as soon as you approach it so that you only get a glimpse of the hellish arena.

2 hours ago, Xymph said:

MAP12 had a distinct DM arena before, now it is joined with the rest of the level. Where does the main level end and the arena begin, so that I know how to redo the crops and re-render the map views? 

The westernmost part of the DM arena has a minor impact on singleplayer because that's where the pain elemental comes from, but the bridge and door that connect the two can't be reached by players in either DM or singleplayer.

3 hours ago, Scypek2 said:

I fixed it, but now I want to wait a few more hours before uploading just in case.

I nuked the earlier uploads from incoming to avoid wasting the maintainers' time.

Thank you.

I gave it one last thorough combing, and found more stuff... including the end text crashing the game because of the last line being too low. How did no one ever catch that?! Anyway, the latest 3iac is on its way.

Edit: here it is!

It seems there was a problem with the correct version getting uploaded to idgames. Well, it's on idgames NOW! If you see "1.2.2" in the corner of the title screen and a fancy new menu cursor, that means you have the latest version.

delete, wrong thread

For the first time I came across this megawad back at the time when MAP31 in its current form didn't exist yet and it didn't catch me and passed me by. And only about a week ago, in the process of scrolling through megawads on idgames, I stumble upon it again, read the description and suddenly realize that the concept where we play for three people whose paths first diverge and then somehow converge back sounds interesting in itself! And of course, I immediately wanted to see how it was implemented...

And you know, despite the fact that I still have four more maps to full complete, I already want to call this megawad a masterpiece! At least, I have never come across a work so atmospheric, so coherent and integral and telling its story and immersing in it so clearly not only with the help of text inserts. I'm sure that in order to link all the little things, all the references to other maps and all the seemingly random and unvisited places which we are passing by, it was necessary to do a huge job! I experienced indescribable emotions, for example, when I actually (not a hellish fake like on MAP08) returned to the base from where it all started (MAP32), swept through five places with the help of chaotic teleportation - and then I recognized them as MAP14 and MAP18 when playing for the second marine and MAP22, MAP23 and MAP26 when playing for the third marine! The last map I mentioned turned out to be very rich in the emotions presented to me but I won't go into it too much yet... I'd better save it until my skill and determination grow up to make a letsplay on this megawad ;)))

From a gameplay point of view, megawad also never stopped surprising me over and over again: full Tyson-stylish MAP02, textureless walls, which make orientation extremely difficult and naturally break the brain (MAP08, the reverse situation is on MAP32), a game with light on MAP11, completely brain-racking with its mystery, non-obviousness and size of MAP31, a close arena battle on MAP16, thorough preparation for survival in a deadly elevator descent on MAP17... It can take a long time to list. 

@Scypek2, thanks a lot to you for your work, this is a truly masterpiece! Let's see what awaits the two surviving heroes on the remaining four maps but I'm sure that whatever happens there, it's unlikely to spoil my impression!

It's time to begin! Today are presented:

Map01: Under Control
Map02: Empty Handed

Map03: Bang Head

***

EPISODE 1: THE FIRST

A five-minute walk to clean up the neighboring warehouse from monsters turned into a real Hell for one of the guards and the other two were left almost without equipment (their pistols and brass knuckles on their fists will never be lost, no matter what happens!)

***

However, the same thing will remain with the first guard, and only this meager equipment plus a well-hidden berserk will be at his disposal throughout the entire map. We will face many healthy monsters (including a cyberdemon) so we will have to run and make monsters to infight each other very actively because we literally have no other choice.

***

The previous map forced us to shoot all of the pistol ammo, the transition to this one was also taken away berserk from us (but fortunately the soul sphere and megaarmor left with us) and this map will replenish our depleted ammunition and even diversify our equally meager arsenal in a very peculiar way: our almost main weapon will be a rocket launcher, which will simply be the only weapon on the map (not counting the berserker) without careful searching for secrets. 

However, we didn't get to the resort... :D

Today are presented:

Map04: The Mantle
Map05: Murder Machine

Map06: Emergence

***

Very interesting map and the source of inspiration for it is clearly E3M6: Mt. Erebus. However, there are more monsters here than on it and the map is generally more straightforward. But despite the sharp increase in the number of enemies, it is gradually becoming easier to play because there are fewer problems with ammo.

***

The action on this large and maximally populated map in the first episode takes place on a huge hellish complex, the true size of which is easy to imagine if you look out of some window. To get out of it, we need only two keys but each of them is very well-guarded. However, with our ever-expanding arsenal, this should no longer be a problem!

***

Damn it, the building rising right out of the ground is really impressive!

Today are presented:

Map07: The Pinnacle
Map08: Under Control Still

Map09: Futile Ascent

***

Despite the feeling of emergence that has gripped him, the first guard moves further and further forward - or rather, upwards. The attic room of the greenish brick building is a small and very beautifully furnished cruciform fork (golden chandeliers, bookshelves, bright red carpets and infernal blocks - beauty!) from four directions that he will have to go around everything. Our final goal will again be the blue key, which we will have to pull out with a very serious fight - first the traditional mancubi and arachnotrons for the Map07, then the revenants and in the end the cyberdemon for the third time in only seven maps plus archvile. With the help of the key we will be able to go outside, see with our own eyes the vastness of the hellish expanses surrounding us and move towards the red cross-shaped portal.

Stop. The red cross-shaped portal? But after all, it was through this that we got to hell... Really?

***

The joy of returning to his home guard post is quickly replaced at first by perplexity when the figures of friends, the table, equipment and walls begin to slowly sink right through the floor and then by fierce horror when the main character sees that there is absolutely NOTHING behind these walls except the infernal firmament stretching in all directions! It becomes clear that nothing has ended yet and that this is just another infernal trap from which it will be extremely difficult to get out! And the greatest reward for the unfortunate guard will be the opportunity to see at least something other than this monstrous redness around...

***

Unfortunately, at the very end, certain circumstances force the guard to take another short walk. This time for the sharply needed yellow key. And the outcome is as sad as the first one: if the story of the first guard doesn't end here, it is forcibly put on an unpredictably long pause...

Today are presented:

Map10: Down in the Dark

Map11: Lightbringer

Map12: Adjustable Diode (title from the intermission screen) / Diode (title from loading menu and automap)

***

EPISODE 2: THE SECOND

After the first marine was captured just when he wanted to get to the Icon of Sin with the help of the yellow skull that he had just found, the action is transferred to the familiar guard post, where two more marines remained. One of them decides to stop doing nothing and goes to the failed bridge, which is miraculously rose in front of his eyes to its former place and moreover - there is a blue key on it! (which, apparently, the first guard dropped when he fell) This allows him to visit both the room that the previous marine has already visited and which he thoroughly cleaned from both monsters and equipment (only a shotgun and a chainsaw will be found in it), and go to the remaining inaccessible side for the first one. After taking one last look at his friend, who remained on the post alone, the second guard begins his journey deep into the industrial complex...

Despite the fact that the influence of hell is already beginning to become noticeable even here (for example, a green gargoyle image jumping out of the wall or a flash of an exit door in the infernal style, instantly changed to the usual one), there are no portals at the end of the map this time and we will transfer our equipment to the next one.

***

There is almost impenetrable darkness which can only be dispersed temporarily and for a very short time in this part of the complex. And this will happen only if we stand on a well-visible light gray plate with a blue circle in the center. Unfortunately, it can't be said that these plates come across very often, so it will be impossible to keep the light on all the time and you will have to rely on your memory to keep the situation in your head in brief moments of enlightenment.

***

On this map, for the first time, we will see not a creepy red infernal sky but a very beautiful and peaceful landscape with a dense green forest on the background... Also, part of just this map could be viewed from a certain place back on Map01: Under Control.

Today are presented:

Map13: Outpost Facility (title from the intermission screen) / Area Zone (title from loading menu and automap)

Map14: Outpost Processing

Map15: Outpost Refinery

***

***

***

The second marine finally gets entangled in the sewers of the industrial complex which means that secret maps are waiting for him...

Both of secret maps are presented today, an absolutely special part of this megawad:

Map31: The Way Forward?

Map32: Wrong Turn

***

By the way, I only recently thought that this map has quite a lot in common with the first secret map from Reverie: both of them are huge and extremely confusing but they give players who get lost on them a chance to finish them at any moment and no longer suffer if they don't want to.

***

Desperate to walk through the bowels of the complex and deciding that he had lost his way somewhere earlier, the second marine decides to return to Map14 and look for the right road there. His journey back is quite delayed because the places he had already visited before were subjected to the powerful influence of the forces of Hell... In short, he again has to turn to the skill of finding the way by touch :D

Having escaped from this cursed place, marine continues to walk back: passing through areas familiar to him from Map10 and Map12, finds a large elevator, ascends it, unlocks the red door and finds himself in the very room that his predecessor had already thoroughly cleared of monsters and equipment are still at the very beginning of his way! Just a couple of steps - and he will be at his home guard post! But when he trying to press the button that lowers the elevator with boxes, he falls into a hole and gets into a rather long series of teleportations to places where he has already been, where he will have to visit and which won't be visited by him.

It all ends with the fact that the very exhausted marine is thrown out again to the very transition to Map16, which he refused twice before. But now he has no choice...

Today three last maps of the second episode are presented:

Map16: Risk Factor

Map17: Deadlift

Map18: Nowhere Fast

***

A very short, very dynamic and quite dangerous map, which consists of one symmetrical arena-shaped building and not too extensive surroundings around it. Our first shot will wake up most of the monsters and make them attack us and as soon as this happens, we will immediately feel that the local spaces are a little cramped! And if it weren't for the invulnerability lying near the start which allows you to decently reduce the number of attackers without losing health, survival in such a meat grinder map turns into a few seconds after our entry into battle would be quite problematic...

***

It seems no matter how correctly the second marine walked this time, he still can't avoid walking in circles, because he again found himself in a large octagonal room, the elevator at the opposite end of which took him to the very room thoroughly cleaned by the first marine (and already visited twice by himself). And despite the fact that this elevator only goes down this time, the fact remains that the main character still can't get far from his place of service!

However, if we try to go down immediately, we will find ourselves surrounded by barrels and in a few seconds a pair of archviles that came from nowhere won't leave us any chance of survival. It means that the descent down must be properly prepared. To do this, you need to explore all the side passages behind the cracked walls in the main room with an elevator...

***

On this map, we can see the implementation of the idea of an "unexpectedly long corridor". We need a colored key for a certain door, we find it with a fight, go back into the corridor and try to open it but it keeps moving away from us, increasing the length of the corridor and opening along the way some new rooms with monsters (quite healthy, it should be noted). This cycle repeats for all three colored keys, and as a result we have a corridor that is useless in a practical sense (it does not even end with an exit from the map), but is much longer than the original one.

And the real use of colored keys is that marine simply removes colored barriers with their help and unlocks the doors on the rest of the map with them. And for the last one, it suddenly turns out that the feeling that he was walking in circles around the complex wasn't in vain because it leads to the room next to the security post! Only now it is all decorated with green marble, a demonic face is clearly visible at the opposite end, and the computer has been replaced by an altar, in front of which an inscription in large yellow letters hangs without any support...

After reading this frightening message and exchanging glances with the third marine through the full-length glass (the same one through which the first two main characters could observe this room in its original form), the second guard takes a few steps towards the altar. And his story ends here...

Today are presented:

Map19: Crossfire

Map20: Rocky Road

Map21: Flushed Away

***

EPISODE 3: THE THIRD

The game for the third marine begins at the same moment at which the game for the second ended. He stands and looks just through the window and sees the altar already stained with blood and the motionless body of the second marine in front of it. Fun stuff... One of the comrades was swallowed up by a suddenly collapsed bridge, the other died a terrible death right in front of his eyes - it's not surprising that the last marine doesn't want to stay in this damned complex for even one extra minute. And he goes in the direction of a large round transparent elevator, which presumably should lead down to the exit of the complex (it is logical, because the guard post is the first thing any visitor to such places should go through) and which for some reason refused to go when the first marine stood on it  :D

But it happens and we find ourselves on the street in front of the locked gate to the outside and the building of the complex is already decently surrounded on this side. To get to the keys and unlock them, you will have to overcome massive resistance from revenants, arachnotrons, mancubi and archviles who will be helped (or hindered?) by numerous imps behind the fence around the perimeter. We will only be helped by a plasma rifle with almost unlimited reserves of plasma that lie all over the yard and a shotgun taken from the zombies with a fight...

***

Perhaps this is the only map in the entire megawad that I cannot confidently attribute to any of the three local design styles. This is definitely not hell, we have already left the industrial complex and the techbase and we haven't reached the city yet, parts of which the second marine glimpsed during chaotic teleportations on MAP32. The third marine have to travel a rather long and thorny way (this map is home to the most monsters in the entire third episode) between the complex and the railway station now, where he can take a train to the city. As it should be for the start of the episode, our arsenal is still quite meager: we can add either a chaingue OR a rocket launcher to the shotgun and plasma rifle taken from the last map and only if we carefully look for secrets.

***

Judging by the changed sky, the train brought us to the city quite safely but the main character, still agitated by the unenviable fate of his two comrades, is no longer looking for easy ways and decides to get to the city not directly through the railway station, but by detours through the sewers. Unlike the second one, he doesn't get stuck in them for a long time but he still can't avoid a fight with monsters in this way. Moreover, almost the first monster he stumbles upon is a cyberdemon who will be even supported by a crowd of demons!

Yesterday must be presented:

Map22: Treasure Hunt

Map23: Quartered

Map24: Dirty Dealings

***

Having finally got into the urban zone, marine realizes that the situation here, to put it mildly, is no better than in nature among the mountains or in the sewers: the streets are patrolled by a spiderdemon and a cyberdemon, one more of each of them are fired at all uninvited guests from the high walls, the shop is captured by archviles and all buildings where you can find colored keys, they are VERY densely populated! However, the last of the keys is not hidden in the building but buried right in the middle of the city and the marine must follow the clues which are mysterious scraps of text written right on the walls of local buildings in order to get to it.

***

The next district of the city where marine came is noticeably larger than the previous one and is divided by an iron fence into four roughly equal square parts. In one of them there is an exit locked with two colored keys, in the other two (one of them is the one in which the guard is initially located) keys are located that must be obtained with a fight. And finally, the fourth one will not help in getting exit but after visiting it and carefully studying it, we will have no problems with ammo until the very end of the episode. That's why I recommend visiting it as early as possible.

***

This map is based on a very interesting idea. Marine is invited to bargain with a non-aggressive looking hell knight, who took the place of a cashier in a gun store. We must bring colored keys found on the map to him in exchange for different types of weapons that can be seen through the showcases and above which an icon of the color that corresponds to the color of the required key is painted. Everything will go pretty smoothly until marine wants to buy a BFG9000 for all three keys at once. After that, instead of removing the display case and allowing you to take what you want, hell knight will suddenly attack us and even together with reinforcements consisting of other knights!

Having emerged victorious from this battle, we go to the cash register, press a button there and it doesn't remove the showcase but lowers the elevator leading to the basement. There is an exit from the map but BFG9000 remains an unattainable dream for marine...

Today three last maps of the third episode are presented:

Map25: Perturbator

Map26: Unlikely Ally

Map27: Pushback

***

Escaping from the gun store, the third marine finds himself in an interesting and not so easily identifiable place - either a hotel or a nightclub (on the one hand, there is a lobby with beautiful golden chandeliers and on the other - an undoubted dance floor with light music and a bar nearby). In any case, the main character very soon finds himself at a fork in the road, two paths of which run into colored doors and the third leads to two colored keys, of which only one can be taken right now.

But here it isn't at all such a tough choice as on Map20 because by choosing one of the keys and going in that direction, marine will inevitably get to the second floor of the building, where he can take the second after a hot battle. Then he will have to return to the lobby again, fight the cyberdemon there and go in the opposite direction to what he chose earlier. Yes, choosing one of the two keys will only affect whether he will have to make an extra circle through the central lobby before exiting or not...

***

This map embodies the idea of "feeling sorry for the enemy" in such an original way that I just take my hat off to you, @Scypek2! There is nothing extraordinary happens until finding the yellow key and returning back to the yellow door, except that the caged imp looks rather strange right next to this very door. But after opening yellow door the miracles begin!

This imp turns out to be a real renegade and begins to actively help marine after leaving the cage: saves him from imminent death in a powerful explosion, then together with him makes his way to the much-needed blue key, which he picks up and passes to him, then he tries to open a heavy green-marble door to release the main character from the map. But while doing this, the hostile to us baron of Hell finds and deals with him - and marine can only avenge his unlikely ally. After doing it he, deeply amazed and saddened, leaves the map alone...

***

And finally, the third marine reaches the portal to Hell which raised earlier thanks to the self-sacrifice of the second one but his joy can be overshadowed by two moments. Firstly, the infernal forces have already managed to take control of the portal as a strategically important object: on the ruins of one of the nearest high-rise buildings there are five cyberdemons who will rush at marine all at once as soon as he approaches the portal (and this will have to be done one way or another for obvious reasons). And secondly, access to the portal is immediately blocked by a blue key when an outsider approaches, so willy-nilly you will have to explore the surrounding area to search for it. Under fire from five walking rocket launchers...

I'm still getting around to watching all of those, but I've been really enjoying your videos and descriptions! I like the thumbnails, too - they're simple, but they offer a good overview from interesting angles I rarely see my levels from.

Today is presented:

Map28: Reunion (to enhance the effect, the maps of the last episode won't be presented all at once. Only per one map at a time :D)

***

EPISODE 4: EPILOGUE

The portal doesn't only look like the one that transported the first marine to hell but also works in the same way. This can be understood both by the eerie red sky that catches the player's eye firstly and by the complete disarming of the third marine. Now he will first have to emerge victorious from a battle that is difficult both in combat terms (it will be a little cramped at first from the number of monsters and something won't immediately appear to shoot to them back) and in navigation (the hall into which the third guard was teleported is extremely symmetrical and practically devoid of obvious landmarks). Fortunately, the main character is heavily rearming in the process, so only the beginning of the battle can cause really serious difficulties - the soulsphere and the invulnerability, which are immediately freely available, will help here.

Having dealt with all the enemies and proceeded to the exit, marine teleports into a certain room locked with a dark pink lattice, which, fortunately, swings open when he approaches. And the next moment he finds himself face to face with the imprisoned in cage the first marine, who laid out all his equipment and the ill-fated yellow key (the reason for his imprisonment here) next to him. Having sensibly reasoned that his friend couldn't get out of the cage right now, the third marine takes all his equipment along with the key and goes to destroy the Icon of Sin. He goes out into the hall, which is already familiar to us from Map06 and Map09, unlocks the yellow door and climbs the stairs, from which the first marine jumped off to fleeing from archviles. But he also fails to fulfill his plans - on the penultimate step everything turns black, he sees an inscription in large yellow letters that reads: "I ALLOW YOU TO SEE A LOVED ONE AGAIN AND THIS IS WHAT ARE YOU ATTEMPT INSTEAD? YOUR ARROGANCE WILL MAKE YOU YEARN FOR A QUICK DEATH," after which it teleports you to no one knows where, disarming you again in the process...

Today is presented:

Map29: Sheer Poison

***

After teleporting to an unknown place, the third marine realizes that he is disarmed and quite alive but if he weill stand still and just rejoice at this fact, it won't last long because all the surfaces of that corner of Hell where the insidious Icon of Sin took him are soaked with poison and burn him even through armor! Therefore, you need to rush forward non-stop from medikit to medikit, demolishing all monsters along the way and trying not to take damage from them as well. The gameplay is quite non-standard and may seem unpleasant to somebody but I want to assure you that only medikits are more than enough to complete the map. And if you will have time to find secrets, then you can ensure complete painlessness of promotion and even a certain comfort.

Sooner or later, the third marine will reach the hall with a high ceiling contains a door leading to the exit. However, the teleport in the room with the "exit" leads only back to the start of the hall, and an attempt to leave the map in this way leads to the awakening of the Icon of Sin and the gradual arrival of new monsters here. What should he do? I think that you will soon notice that after pressing the button in the room with the "exit" and teleporting back to the hall, another button will open for a short time to the left of the place of your appearance - after pressing on which it will become clear from the sound that the a large pink elevator is being raised at the opposite end of the hall. This cycle must be repeated 7 more times (yes, you're bleeding from poison and taking a lot of fire from emerging monsters but in this hall there are also two soulspheres, a megaarmor and a lot of ammo for the BFG9000) in order for the elevator to rise to a height sufficient to climb it to an inconspicuous corridor under the ceiling. After walking down this corridor and jumping into a small room with a button in the shape of a skull all over the wall, the third marine will find himself in a barred room opposite the cage with his partner, who is now looking right at him! Marine presses the button and at that moment there are explosions can be heard and everything stops...