[TAS] The Darkening Episode 2 Map 09 UV Max in 5:49.83 by Andy Olivera
0Information 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submitted alongside demos may contain errors, missing information, links that are now dead, or contact info that is no longer valid.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. Everything has been left as-is, with the goal to accurately represent the material as it appears in the archive. 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): 14/05/2010
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** .Txt File **
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Doomed Speed Demos Archive
http://doomedsda.us/
Pwad: The Darkening: Episode Two
Pwad name: darken2.wad
Maps: 09 - Hard Core, by Jan Van der Veken, Ola Bjorling, Anthony Soto
Skill: 4
Category: UV Max
Exe: DooM Replay Editor
Time: 5:49
Author: Andy Olivera
Email: andyo@surewest.net
Comments:
And here we have another level that amply demonstrates why there aren't many Darkening E2
demos out there. Ammo is tight, of course, but the real problem is a combination of very
low health, lots of hitscanners and frequent melee battles(if you want to go fast,
anyway). Throw in many medium size monsters(and a few large ones) with ammo limiting your
primary weapon choices to SSG or Chaingun(no Berserk, of course) and you have a genuine
speedrunner's nightmare.
As for TASing this level, killing the monsters quickly is a real problem. You have to save
enough Rockets(for the Arch-Vile/Hell Knight at the end) and cells(for quickly BFGing the
four Barons) which leaves too many medium size monsters to SSG. During a few situations
you can get help from other monsters, but such cases are highly luck-based and hard to
manipulate.
All that said, this demo came out with some truly awesome sequences. Without a doubt, the
best would be the straferun across those stupid pillar lifts, with a single SSG blast
taking out three Chaingunners while I slide effortlessly into the Blue Key pit. Another
occurs around 0:50 when I launch a barrel straight into three Imps, quickly SGing the
fourth as I run by. Just after that I hit two switches, SSG a Baron, grab the armor(on top
of the crate) and the Chainsaw(in the alcove) in one continuous motion, and in the same
amount of time it would take an actual player just to grab the armor(two seconds).
Finally, around 4:30 I balance on the edge of the teleporter to the Yellow Key for a few
frames so I can finish off a Chaingunner. This one's hard to see because it happens so
fast, but I thought it cool enough to mention.
I can't say this has been the most enjoyable TAS I've done, but I can say I really
impressed myself. Whether you'll be impressed, of course, is an entirely different matter.
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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/doom2/868/darken2.zip
Demo File Link: https://dsdarchive.com/files/demos/darken2/9081/d209x549.zip