Game:

Doom II: Hell on Earth (1994)

Duration: 5:04

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Information in the text files submitted alongside demos may contain errors, missing information, links that are now dead, or contact info that is no longer valid. In particular many .txt files refer to doomedsda.us, a demo archive that no longer exists. Generally everything is left as-is with the goal to accurately represent the material as it appears in the archive, however in the case of this upload the full text file is too large for the video description and has been edited during the upload process to fit. Links to the PWAD & Demo on dsdarchive.com are found at the bottom of the description.

The date is not specified in the .txt file so I have provided the creation date of the demo file. This is generally accurate, but please note that this information is also occasionally incorrect.
Demo created (dd/mm/yyyy): 23/01/2012
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** .Txt File **
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Let's start with the level: it's bad. It suffers from all the symptoms of 'first
level'-itis: no consistent theme; poor texture and flat alignment; non-descript rooms
filled with monsters; 64 pixel wide mazes. In fact, the only thing it doesn't get
completely wrong is the gameplay, and, as you'll see, even that is marginal. Why did I
create this demo, then? Simple: thanks to the last area UV Max is virtually impossible.
Jason Henry created a collection for this supposed 'co-op only' MegaWAD over a decade
ago, but left out three impossible levels. One is impossible due to a switch, the other
two (this one and the even more ridiculous MAP22) are, as Jason put it, 'beyond insane'.

The starting area is nothing but a few hallways packed with monsters. There's a
teleporter here that comes in very handy for telefragging. The second area is a large
room with a Cyberdemon, Baron and a bunch of Chaingunners. I teleport in, grab the Blue
Key, kill the Baron (don't ask me why) and teleport out. Opening the Blue Key door
releases another horde of monsters. I run through them to access the third area. Area
three is a simple maze and a teleporter to the fourth area. The fourth area has a Spider
Mastermind positioned to infight with a bunch of other monsters. I get the two caged
Arch-Viles and other monsters attacking her, then return to the first area. Here I
telefrag the Cyberdemon, go back to area two to collect the ammo and finish off the
remaining Chaingunners, then return again to area one to mop up. Back to area three to
clear the maze, then on to area four to finish off whatever the Spider Mastermind didn't
kill. The revived Mancubus trapped on the teleporter to area four was completely
unexpected.

The sixth area is similar to the last, with another Spider Mastermind and accompanying
horde, but no Arch-Viles. I make a path through the monsters to the teleporter to area
six, then jump back and forth, killing the denizens of the sixth area, while making sure
the infighting is still happening back in area five. After a few moments, I traverse the
maze in area six and return to area five to clean up. One more run through the maze and
I'm in to area seven.

The seventh area is the impossible part. It's an open area with 57 wandering
Chaingunners, five Arch-Viles, almost no cover and -20% acid on most of the floor. Are
you freaking KIDDING ME? There's also the small matter of some caged Barons and
Chaingunners, a stray Baron and a Cyberdemon. Jason realized this part was impossible and
just ran for the exit (he died, anyway). This demo may prove the area technically
possible, but being at the end of a pretty violent level, I don't see anyone ever doing
this outside of a TAS. If this area doesn't look as smooth as the rest of the demo, it's
because, upon first entering the area, I throw my TAS style guide out the window and make
a few instant turns to whittle down the Chaingunner population. It's not the smoothest
segment I've ever built, but it's still amazing to watch.

Once I've finished off most of the Chaingunners the Arch-Viles become the primary
concern. This part was more lethal than I expected, but that could be because I hadn't
killed all the Chaingunners first. After dealing with the Arch-Viles and Chaingunners I
take a few moments to clean out the cages, then it's on to the Cyberdemon. I managed to
barely survive by stepping onto his platform on several occasions (otherwise I'd be
standing in the -20% acid). I was able to manipulate his attack pattern a bit so I could
stay a bit longer.

And that marks the end of this hideous level. I'm quite happy with how the demo turned
out, though I can't say I really have any favorite parts, aside from the whole last area,
of course.
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** Viddump & Upload Details **
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IWAD: Doom 2
Source Port: DSDA-Doom 0.24.3
Smooth Demo Playback: On
Smooth Demo Playback Factor: 2
Change Palette On Pain: No
Use Extended HUD: Yes
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* Links *
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PWAD Link: https://dsdarchive.com/files/wads/doom2/2657/squadron.zip
Demo File Link: https://dsdarchive.com/files/demos/squadron/22545/sq05x450.zip

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