MAP23: Tower of Babel (PlayStation Doom)

MAP23: Tower of Babel is the twenty-third level in the Ultimate Doom episode of the PlayStation and Sega Saturn versions of Doom. It is a console conversion of E2M8: Tower of Babel, original authored by Sandy Petersen. Unlike its PC version counterpart which occurred in The Shores of Hell, this level serves as the ending of Inferno, replacing E3M8: Dis.

This level should not be confused with the level of the same name which was present in earlier console ports; that level appears instead in the PlayStation and Saturn ports of Doom as MAP16: Hell Gate. It is preceded by MAP22: Limbo and is followed by MAP24: Hell Beneath (which is a part of Thy Flesh Consumed). There is no text screen after completion of the map.

It features a boss battle with the cyberdemon. Aside from having the cyberdemon and lost souls, the map also features optional-to-kill mancubi on higher skill levels.

Essentials
Press any of the four switches in the starting room to raise staircases leading up to the hanging corpse walls, which will open like doors when approached. If you are playing from a pistol start it is advisable to press the west switch to raise the east staircase, as the east room contains a rocket launcher and four boxes of rockets. The doors from the starting area will close when you step into the rooms beyond them.

Whichever room you enter, head outside - the cyberdemon is waiting in the north-western corner of the outdoor area. Battle it any way you see fit, staying on the move to avoid its rockets. The lost souls in the area are more annoying than dangerous, but on higher skill levels you will also have to contend with mancubi. They may distract the cyberdemon by a short time if they hit the demon with their fireballs, or get hit by its rockets.

Once the cyberdemon is dead, a metal barrier in the northern outer wall will open. Head over to it, and step on the white teleport pad behind it to finish the level.

Other points of interest
The starting room contains a megaarmor pickup.

Each of the four rectangular rooms in the tower contains different items. The east room holds a rocket launcher and four boxes of rockets, the north room holds 18 boxes of rockets, and the west and south rooms hold a soulsphere and four boxes of rockets each.

Secrets
There are no official secrets in this level.

Comparison of versions

 * The PlayStation version uses the animated fire sky instead of the red sky with mountains seen in other Deimos levels. The Saturn version uses the cityscape sky from Doom II, probably due to a programming error.
 * The switches in the starting room are changed to a red/green light on silver wall texture (SW1COMM). The baron of Hell corpses impaled on the surrounding walls are replaced with hanging humans.
 * The floor flats used in the interior rooms are dark gray rock instead of white stone. The floor of the outdoor area is a green rock texture instead of gray rock.
 * Some walls around the tower building were merged together to simplify its shape.
 * The outer walls of the outdoor area are rectangular instead of hexagonal.
 * Mancubi are added around the outdoor area - four on Hurt Me Plenty skill level, and eight on Ultra Violence.
 * Upon killing the cyberdemon, the level does not end automatically as it would on PC. Instead, a metal barrier on the north side of the outer walls opens, revealing a teleporter pad that must be stepped on to finish the level.

Music
The map uses the following music tracks:

Player spawns
This level contains seven spawn points:
 * 1) facing north-east. (thing 57)
 * 2) facing south-west. (thing 58)
 * 3) facing north. (thing 59)
 * 4) facing east. (thing 60)
 * 5) facing south. (thing 61)
 * 6) facing west. (thing 62)
 * 7) facing south-east. (thing 63)

Things
This level contains the following numbers of things per skill level: