Filename : bsal3m4752.lmp, bsal3m4752.txt
Date     : 11.11.2024
Iwad     : doom2.wad
Pwad     : bsal2023.wad
Game     : Doom2
Exe      : DSDA Doom 0.26.2 -complevel 2
Category : UV-Max
Map(s)   : MAP03
Skill    : 4 (UV)
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Nickname : alexsa2015sa
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Map 03 - 47:52
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Description:

The lmp is recorded against an incorrectly named .wad file because the demo author is a dummy who renames the new files all the time instead of replacing old versions with correct ones. It should sync in spite of differences.

Attempts: 175 (+maybe a dozen in freedoom2)
It is a bit frustrating to have ~25 failed attempts be worth ~12 hours of time taken together, but since it comes after 1800-long grind at ALMS-04, this actually felt a lot better. Not dying during the first minute every single time tends to do that.
The map is a horrifying slog in that backtracking isn't *necessary*, but allows for a LOT easier combat scenarios. For example, of 12 revenants and 3 archviles in redswitch tower, you can kill 10+1 from outside and that makes all the difference, but you need to REALLY go out of shortest route available. I didn't actually time it but it felt like at least half a minute just to reach that area from the natural pre-blood maze point.

Most deadly parts are:
	- the start. Yeah, a full two thirds of attempts are bust because I couldn't even get out of cathedral without losing so much health my first facerocket did me in, usually a minute or two later.
	- The beginning lava pit. Advice #1 to improve the time: DO NOT STAY IN THERE. When you drop into there *after* rushing the red key switch, you have the entire southern half of the level active (well, what's alive of it, which is usually everything non-pinky). It's difficult to actually die from 200/200 here (yet I managed a couple times, lol), but losing this buffer to some random revenant turret or of all things an arachnotron sniper isn't particularly difficult as the cathedral lost souls sloooowly filter your way, the caged/uncaged mancubi fire at you, and the cacosquad teleports in from the starting telepad.
	- The entrance doorframe to rocket launcher in the pit. Yes, I'm singling out this doorframe. No, it knows what it did.  Cacodemons can go hang above it (literally). 10 deaths from that alone, each of them a technical suicide even if not all of them instant. If you ignore the advice #1, usually two cacodemons make it so you can't even enter the room properly; yes you can incite mancubus to infight, no it doesn't help you with entering the room.
	- The fast door to caged mancubus room. I don't need to explain why this one when you have mostly rockets to shoot with. 5 deaths, but quite frankly I learned from the not-door experience.
	- The triple archvile blood pillar, especially if you accidentally fell off the window. Sure, two first archviles are fairly vanilla with plenty of cover available... but, if you did NOT know the third archvile is about to catch up or you mishandled the suspicious lift-door, it is now coming back to haunt you. Literally.
	- The mancubus room after the blood maze (doubly so if it isn't cheesed by clearing the revenant towers behind yellow portal, beforehand). There is minimal safe space from archvile zap on UV, five mancubi you must kill before it is safe, and it's fairly irritating to cross the room on HMP/HNTR.
	- After mancubus room you're locked into follow-up triple-treat archviles next and all you recover is that piddly soulsphere. If you did not visit the yellow skull portal or did not have the rockets to blow up the keyswitch tower crew, you deserve the suffering a squad of revenants and archviles in close quarters entails. Oh yes, you must fall back to kill the mandatory ass-archvile teleporting in too; revenant deaths are mandatory indeed.
	- The finale, of course. At least four archviles are going to make an attendance and EVERYTHING that you didn't kill and was transported into cold storage now makes an appearance while the arena is locked down, usually in the range of 40-60 monsters. And the space is fairly open with archviles getting lost behind the demon hordes, even if they remain upstairs. The only really safe way to handle that is an invulnerability dash; unless you somehow have a ton of ammo or are really confident in your skills, viles are going to zap you a lot and that's that. Trying to dash past them is maybe possibly a valid option for UV speed... but only if you use invulnerability as two mancubi are slow enough for a very solid bodyblock.
	- The yellow skull access armor bonus trap is absurdly deadly if you don't complete the blood maze first; you won't have the space necessary to actually press the front right-back left - back right - front left sequence, which is "helpfully" colored as double-red, red-green, green-red, green-green; you won't really have an ability to figure it out honestly with at least three mancubi and two arachnotrons and a small cacoswarm on its merry way. Really, it's safer to just complete the bloody maze and mancubus room and get out of the ring by bloodstairs, with switch sequence relegated to "do this later".
	Nevermind the fact that, actually, UV speed has reason NOT TO finish this switch sequence because it doesn't really reward you with anything. Blood maze is mandatory for completion, so best get out of here and ignore the turrets as best you can.
	- Potential not-softlock: if you use the single-use button to raise the blood/marble lift while it is lowered by the adjacent linedef, you break this lift for good. Since it involves backtrack through lava and well near third the level, better don't until you're sure it is raised fully. Invulnerability also requires same-tag lift to access too and by pressing it with wrong timing you can actually lock yourself out of that, too, but it's less likely.
	- A cacodemon tends to get stuck on its window until you leave for a different part of the level. Eh.
Notes on actual run on display:
	- The amount of fuckups I accumulated over each attempt meant that actually routing it was easier said that done. For example, in two failed attempts I dropped off into blood pillar room and actually returned to my normal route to mancubus room to die way later. If you do well enough you have to backtrack half the level to get the blue armor, but usually the mancubus room was finished with green (I saved over 100% blue once, but fucked up the invulnerability run and died to baron of all things even without triggering final wave). Sure, it wastes the 40 blue armor bonus but I'd rather live thanks.
	- This attempt loses a fair bit of health and time to inappropriate use of radsuits, but it was either that or lose even more health when that asshole archvile comes into play.
	- Killing archvile at 31: 30 was unnecessary aggressive. There was plenty of corners adjacent to me, even if I had enough health.
	- Collecting ammo around ~47: 00 was quite frankly unnecessary but I can't beat my hoarding habits easily.
	
Ideal route, with no regard to danger (and thus one I didn't actually practice at all), looks something like this:
	- Linear until rocket launcher, plasma rifle and red skull lowering button. Shoot the secret now if your run ever needs extra blue armor/berserk; it's inconvenient after. Then no shooting until you get out of range from 12 pinkies in narrow corridor; the balcony is exposed and ploughing through cacodemons who bunch up behind them is not fast at all, nevermind deadly.
	- Red skull and follow-up route is linear. Take the secret armor on your way through if you need to.
	- Blood pillar switch. Try to not die to archviles.
	- In an attempt to save time, kill nothing and ignore the utter chaos generated by three archviles upstairs, please...
	- ...and dive into blood maze.  Linear until redswitch tower. Again, try to not die to everything involved.
	- There is an asshole archvile in the balcony; sadly enough, he's not a bad bet to surviving the tiny ring arena flooding with pinkies while surrounded by several mancubi and arachnotrons. For UV max, it is safer to kill when tagging the secret.
	- Yellow skull can be taken without re-entering cathedral or blue door segment at all if you make a *difficult* dash for the rising pillars. A good idea is to enter the balcony to trigger the linedefs and go back for the key. Success can save multiple minutes worth of time in UV speed. UV Max needs to route there anyways to collect secrets and ammo if anything.
	- You can dash by ledge across lava to the yellow skull door. It's a necessary shortcut for invulnerability trick too, but it costs a lot of time to press the necessary switches for it and not die. Do you remember that you haven't, actually, cleared this part of map if you went straight to blood maze?
	- Dark-bright baron maze is an annoyance more than anything. The final bridge is far more dangerous and if you can't rush down a mancubus door-with-health, all of the remaining archviles make a toast. Possiblity multiple.
	- Hey, you asked for ideal route, not a doable one.