[TAS] Doom: Eternal 3 - Map 25 UV-Max in 6:41 by vdgg

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Dimon12321

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Published on July 11, 2020 6:20:39 AM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Fi3wSOXHnY

Game:

Doom Eternal (2020)

Duration: 7:13

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5

Pwad: Eternal DooM
Pwad name: eternal.wad
Maps: 25 - Beginner's End, by Jim Flynn

Author: vdgg

Comments:

I have mixed feelings about this one.

The time seems all right and I am satisfied with most of my time-saving tactics used. However, the aesthetic part suffers in a few occasions. There are no sharper turns than TR9/TL9 in the whole demo, I even smoothed sharp turns caused by berserk punch, something I never did before, but the movement seems strange, not stylish enough for me.

This is the easiest one out of three Jim Flynn maps, yet it is still extremely complex. I had to repeat a few bits (not very long, fortunately) due to forgetting about a vital switch. I counted that the player has pressed thirty switches only up to the YK door, not including shootable switches, walls to be pushed or linedefs to be crossed.

The most interesting part of the demo for me is the ultra-gimmicky security room, in which I refused to press one non-vital switch. I managed to escape the room despite the "DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!" sign on the glass door, running through the basement that was still burning in flames. But despite this security breach, one "pressing switch through wall" trick (2:07) discovered by
TimeOfDeath and one "switch from below while running" (4:12), I have to say the mapper has been very meticulous as everything else works fine (linedef actions are so complex that something *should* be broken but it is hard to find bugs).
Oh yes, if you press the stair-raising switch (0:52 in the demo) and run like hell to the ground floor, you'll get trapped there forever, but it is unlikely in a normal run.

On the whole, this map is a strike of a genius, I call it the best Flynn creation ever, there are even two visually impressive areas (the bank lobby and the outside towers), something odd in his generally very ugly maps. This map may not have the greatest replay value, but undoubtedly is a golden mine of ideas for other level designers. Usage of stairbuilding actions is not to be surpassed by anyone else and did you notice that there is hardly a "normal", not spectacular, room in the whole level?

Back to the demo. As for the cyber vs spider battle, I noticed that the spider always wins by a big margin, so I tried shooting it first in order to even the odds. This didn't work as at the blue key the battle was not finished yet with the cyber having 2700 HP left and the spider having 1600 HP left which seemed too much. Shooting the spider first is also not recommended in non assisted runs, as you may get the mastermind stuck its usual way and you will deal with the very healthy cyber afterwards.

So I changed my strategy there and I had a long chain of miraculous coincidences and you may see the result which I love watching over and over again :)

The techtowers/mega-staircase section seems strangely approached, but I believe it to be optimal if my understanding of this section and of Doom mechanics is correct. At 5:45 I kill a heavy weapon dude with rocket splash damage to prevent him from triggering lowering one of the lifts too early. Then, between 5:50 and 5:56, there is a long 6 second pause. Lowering the lift too early causes it land too high in its lowest point to step on it. Everything is counted to the very last tic and using another lift, closer to the skull switch, is just a few tics slower.

Download this Doom replay from here: https://www.dsdarchive.com/files/demos/eternal/1191/et25x641.zip

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