MAP11: Nemesis (Alien Vendetta)

MAP11: Nemesis is the eleventh map of the megawad Alien Vendetta. It was designed by Martin Aalen Hunsager and constructed with DETH v4.16B. It uses the music track "Sign of Evil" from Doom.

The map is set in a giant marble fortress placed atop an island; the player begins in the water down below and must find an entry to a cavern complex through which the fortress can be penetrated.

Walkthrough
In front of you, climb the rocks to where the shotgun is into the cavern. Keep on climbing until you find a switch which you should press. Now exit the rocky cavern and head right. You should be able to head through the valley here, the switch you pressed removed a barrier for you to cross. Go through here, going over to the right. You might see an additional cavern to the left, go here for a backpack and armor if necessary, then continue north. You will end up in another cavernous area. You will be back here way later in the level. Climb up the nearby stairs all the way, and then climb the next set upwards.

You will find yourself onto the giant marble fortress. Head right for a rocket launcher, then head back and continue along the path. Climb the marble stairs, continually watching for monsters along the way, then climb up the next small set to where the arachnotrons are located. Go into the next room here. If you go to where the chaingunner is, it is a lift downwards to the outer ledge of the fortress, where you will find mancubi and some supplies. Otherwise, follow the marble path around the next few marble structures. You can get supplies from these places on the other end if you need them. Go north till you find an opening to the right, then head south down the steps to the grand hall of the fortress. A cyberdemon is on the opposite end. Dispose of him, and then go to the area he was in. Take the right hand side and keep going right until you find yourself back in the room with the rocket launcher. You should now be on the balcony of this room, so head south into the next room where the yellow skull key is. Grab it, and open the bars west here (they are marked by the yellow key). A spider mastermind is now in the grand hall, so dispose of him too. Keep going west, and then north, going down the next set of steps to a room with mancubi in it. Keep going north, and then east at the top of the steps, going until the opening north with more yellow bars.

Behind that, climb the stairs and head into the corridor, where the switch at the end lowers the nearby bars. Go to this cramped area and head right, down the next hallway to a brown structure, where you should head down the center of the structure and then to the left. You need to go through the very tight cavern. In the room with the small water pool, there is a room to the south with a switch. Press it to open the paths to the right, and keep going. You should find another switch along the way. Press this one and continue down the path to return to the brown structure. Head back to the middle and you should be able to obtain the red skull key. Now head out and right of the structure, finding a set of bars which requires the red key.

Behind this is an area of the cavern which ruined the next structure. Head into the ruined structure into the cavern behind it. Cross the stream and head east crossing another stream to a set of bars. There is a very small staircase near the bars leading downward, go down here and find the switch which lowers the bars. Head back up and east now. Try to find the stairs to a switch in this tight cavernous place. It should be close to where one of the mancubi is. With this switch pressed, go northwest through a rocky pass until you find the blue skull key on the waterfall. Drop down after picking it up, and find the set of bars to the north. These are blue key bars, with several demons behind them. The next set of bars also require the blue key, and they take you back to a cavern you have previously been in. Go southeast to a newly-opened passage in the river to find the exit.

Secrets

 * 1) After finally reaching the fortress, you'll have to step out onto a ledge with a short green marble skull "fence" lining the outer edge. at the far side the "fence" meets a brown stone wall, with a small cave on its right side. However, along the wall on the left side of the "fence" is a narrow ledge leading around the cliff face to a cave with a berserk pack inside. Be careful not to fall back into the sea below.
 * 2) Inside the main part of the fortress is a sprawling, roughly cross-shaped hall. There is a flat, marble landing in the center with a lava pool to the south (from which you entered the area), yellow-key-locked bars to the east, some windows and openings to narrower corridors to the north, and some stairs leading upwards to the west. There are rusty metal columns in each corner of the central landing. On the northern face of the southwestern column is a gargoyle face; shoot it to open a secret passage. Follow two short flights of stairs until you reach an outdoor ledge. Drop down onto the lower ledge to the right to get some rockets, then run across the gap to get the soul sphere.
 * 3) From the central landing mentioned above, head westward up the first short flight of stairs, but not the second. There are small "towers" to the left and right, with lifts leading up inside them. Head into the left (southern) tower,  and ride up to a short hallway culminating with a shallow alcove with a different texture than the surrounding walls. Open this rather obvious secret door to reveal a room with a teleporter that takes you to a tall tower outside the fortress.
 * 4) After passing through the northern set of yellow-key-locked bars (the ones not near the yellow skull key itself) follow the stairs down and flip the gargoyle switch to gain access to a series of very cramped, maze-like corridors. At the start of the "maze", notice that the passage to your immediate left is blocked by a single metal bar. This passage leads to the secret area, but the bar needs to be removed first. Instead, head right, then left, and proceed straight through an archway and into a brown brick room. Continue going straight until you reach another archway on the left-hand side, and enter the room with the green torch. On a walkway up some stairs in this room is the switch that raises the aforementioned bar, granting access to the secret area. However, it's on a timer, so run quickly under the bar before it lowers again - it may take a few tries to find your way back in time. Ride the lift behind the bar up, and you'll see a soul sphere ahead of you. Run off the ledge you're standing on and grab it in mid-air.

Current records
The Compet-N records for the map are: