MAP28: Crucifix Held Close (Community Chest 4)

MAP28: Crucifix Held Close is the twenty-eighth level of Community Chest 4. It was designed by William Huber and named after the song "Crucifix Held Close" from , of which it uses a MIDI sequenced by Jayster.

Essentials
With an architectural vibe reminiscent of and a difficulty level solidly in the "modern" category, this level earns its spot in the megawad progression. Not only are there just under 500 monsters with many pain elementals and arch-viles that will gladly increase that number, the level also packs a good number of nasty traps - no surprise, since one of Huber's other contributions to Community Chest 4 was the early-game challenge, !

Start and Yellow Key

For this starting segment, ammo is a tad scarce, so be accurate with your shots wherever possible.

You begin on an island facing a large fortress. Step forward onto the platform with the shotgun, and two imps (one on Hey, not too rough and below) will teleport onto it. Continue forward and kill the cannon fodder patrolling the front of the fortress: A shotgun guy, two zombiemen (one on Hey, not too rough and below), and an imp (Ultra-Violence and above only.

Open the door and enter the fortress. As you enter, a demon will attack (not on Hey, not too rough and below). The first room contains a lava pit. The surrounding walkway contains two imps (four on Ultra-Violence and above), up to three shotgun guys and a zombieman (not on Hey, not too rough and below). There is an imp on each of two pillars in the northeast and southwest of the lava pit. Head to either side of the surrounding walkway and step on both pressure plates (the black patterned squares with candles beside them) to raise the bridge. When you do this, a lost soul (Hey, not too rough and below), one cacodemon (Hurt me plenty) or two cacodemons (Ultra-Violence and above) will teleport in.

Cross the bridge to the other side. As you enter, two imps will attack (left one missing on Hey, not too rough and below). Go to the northwest and open the door. Up to two demons and two spectres will attack immediately. Kill them and continue north. Passing the square on the ground with bloodied remains, you will be attacked by up to three imps from the west. Continue to the stairs and pull the spectre and imp (not on Hey, not too rough and below) down, then go up the stairs.

This next area is a bit tricky - up to four chaingunners on a ledge, while you get attacked by a shotgun guy, up to three imps and and up to three spectres. Once they are down, first go to the left fork and press the skull button. This unblocks the bars in the southeast, but causes a demon (Hey, not too rough and below) or a pain elemental (Hurt me plenty and above) to teleport into the room.

From there, head to the right fork and drop down the hole in the southeast. This T-shaped room has the yellow key. When you pick it up, a trap opens with up to three Hell knights, but a block in the short arm of the "T" lowers to reveal a super shotgun. Quickly dash to get it, then mow the Hell knights down before they overwhelm you. In the trap where the Hell knights were, there is a switch that temporarily lowers a platform in the short arm of the "T", allowing you to escape.

Blue Key and Main Fortress West

You now need to exit the main fortress. On your way out, as you head down the steps back to the square on the ground with bloodied remains, an imp (Hey, not too rough and below), a chaingunner (Hurt me plenty), or a revenant (Ultra-Violence and above) will teleport in.

Outside the main fortress, head over to the east side and jump to the surrounding rock formation. Don't go through the path directly ahead - instead, go south, clear the nearby cutout of its imps, then head left (east) into a cave with the blue key in a pedestal. On the north face of the cave, there is a yellow skull switch. Flip it to lower the blue key, but watch for the trap revealed when you do so: It has a Hell knight (two on Hurt me plenty and above only), a chaingunner (Hurt me plenty and above only) and a baron of Hell (Ultra-Violence and above only).

Now, you need to jump back to the perimeter of the main fortress. This time, head over to the west side, where the blue door is. There will be a demon waiting at the door. Open the door, and two shotgun guys (one on Hey, not too rough and below), The main part of this next room has three imps (two on Hey, not too rough and below) - head to the fork in the west to find a switch defended by a shotgun guy, a demon, an imp or two (Hurt me plenty and above only) and a spectre (Ultra-Violence and above only). Flip this switch to cause two large blocks in this room to lower, revealing a group of tough monsters:


 * Hey, not too rough and below: Two Hell knights and a spectre.
 * Hurt me plenty: Two Hell knights and a baron of Hell.
 * Ultra-Violence and above: Two barons of Hell and an arch-vile.

The Ultra-Violence fight is particularly nasty from a pistol start, as you fight an arch-vile without the benefit of any heavy weaponry.

Once you dispose of the enemies, head to the southern side of the remaining pillar in this room. There is a skull panel in the wall. Press it to temporaily lower a platform in the northeast, which you can ride up. At the top, kill the up to six shotgun guys waiting there. From this elevated area, make a running leap to the west to the western part of the surrounding rock formation.

Red Key

In preparation for the second half of this level, it is virtually mandatory to detour for a rocket launcher. From where you landed on the surrounding rock formation, take the first right. At first, it seems like your only opposition is the pair of revenant (two pairs on Ultra-Violence and above) in cutouts, but after walking in deeper a walk lowers, with up to three each of chaingunner, demon, imp and mancubus. See if you can cause monster infighting for an easier time. Climbing up the steps, a nearby trap with up to three cacodemons will open. Make your way to the top and press the skull panel at the end to cause a block with a box of rockets and two rockets to lower in the south. As you head back down, you will find a block with the rocket launcher itself.

From here, proceed counter-clockwise along the rock formation. You need to take note of the following encounters as you proceed:


 * Picking up the rocket launcher caused a Hell knight (Hey, not too rough and below), a baron of Hell (Hurt me plenty) or two barons of Hell (Ultra-Violence and above) to spawn on the rock formation. Use your rocket launcher on it.
 * Further up, there is a small cutout on the wall with two imps (one on Hey, not too rough and below).
 * You will then enter a completely enclosed area of the rock formation, which will make a 90 degree bend. At the bend, a trap will activate, releasing a cacodemon (three on Ultra-Violence and above) and a chaingunner (not on Hey, not too rough and below).
 * After the enclosed area, the path makes another 90 degree bend. Watch for a cutout with a chaingunner and a revenant (chaingunner and arch-vile on Ultra-Violence and above)
 * At the south side, after a lave fall, the path is interrupted by two lowered rock blocks. Use the skull panel on the south wall to raise those blocks. You can also see the red key lower from its pedestal.
 * Head for the red key, but watch for a nearby trap with up to three Hell knights.

The Eastern Fortress

Continue counter-clockwise along the rock formation until you reach the opening that you skipped earlier when collecting the blue key. Head into it to your first group of opposition: up to five imps, two shotgun guys and two zombiemen, with a mancubus (Hurt me plenty and above only) bringing up the rear. Again, this is an infighting opportunity. Further up, you will meet a pack of up to two demons and a spectre.

Further forward is a lava-filled cave with the facade of a red fortress embedded in it. We will call the rest of the level beyond this the "eastern fortress". As you enter, you are attacked by packs of up to three shotgun guys, imps and lost souls, as well as another pack of up to two demons and a spectre. You also have to watch for fire from two revenants (one on Hey, not too rough and below) in the northwest, and a group of up to three imps on a perch in the east.

Go up on the fortress door, kill the spectre waiting there (not on Hey, not too rough and below) and press on the switch to the left to open the fortress door. Not only are you suddenly confronted with a horde of up to six demons and nine revenants, two traps open in the area outside the eastern fortress. One is a group of up to nine imps in the southwest. The second is a teleport trap with the following contents:


 * Hey, not too rough and below: One cacodemon and two lost souls.
 * Hurt me plenty: Two cacodemons, three lost souls and a Hell knight.
 * Ultra-Violence and above: Two cacodemons, a pain elemental, four lost souls and a Hell knight.

As you continue into the eastern fortress, first look for a cage on the left wall with a shotgun guy (Hey, not too rough and below), two shotgun guys (Hurt me plenty), or two shotgun guys and an arch-vile (Ultra-Violence and above). Next up is a group of up to six imps, six chaingunners and three shotgun guys.

You will then come to a room with a higher ceiling and an elevated cage. In the cage will be an arch-vile (revenant on Hey, not too rough and lower). At the entrance, there will be an arachnotron (Hell knight on Hey, not too rough and below). These monsters will be supported by groups of up to three shotgun guys, three imps, five demons and a spectre. While you're mopping up this group, you might as well pull out the monsters waiting at the exits of this room: a cacodemon in the west (not on Hey, not too rough and below), a pain elemental in the northeast (not on Hey, not too rough and below) and a mancubus in the north (arachnotron on Hey, not too rough and below).

Head out any exit and go up the flight of steps to a wide catwalk surrounding an L-shaped lava pool. With your rocket launcher, you can clean up the imps in the perch in the northeast, and if you're in no shortage of ammo, the Hell knights in the window in the northwest. As you proceed, you may draw the attention of the groups of monsters in the west - up to three spectres, six imps and three shotgun guys. Your first task is to go down to the corridor in the north. Clear out the shotgun guys in the long window to the right (up to six of them. Turn left, then go up the steps and use your rockets to clear out a group of up to three imps, three shotgun guys, a chaingunner (not on Hey, not too rough and below) and a revenant (Ultra-Violence and above only). Put one more rocket through the small window behind them to clean up the two chaingunners behind it.

At the top of the staircase are two bridges across lava. Kill the revenant (Hey, not too rough and below), two revenants (Hurt me plenty), or mancubus (Ultra-Violence and above) on the solid middle section. Further up is a baron of Hell (Hell knight on Hey, not too rough and below) defending a switch. Mow down the monsters, cross both bridges and come to an overlook with a switch. Flip the switch and you will see the large stone blocks in the lava rise up, forming a path you can use later. While you watch the blocks rise, don't forget about the panel in the east that has just opened, with one (Hey, not too rough and below), two (Hurt me plenty), or four (Ultra-Violence and above) pain elementals. See if you can put some rockets in them before they start sending out lost souls.

Backtrack to the catwalk surrounding the L-shaped lava pool. This time, go east to a door. When you enter, you will be confronted by up to three imps and a Hell knight (not on Hey, not too rough and lower). On Hurt me plenty and above, watch for a chaingunner in ambush to the right of the door. As you enter further in, a panel with an arch-vile (Hell knight on Hey, not too rough and lower) behind it will open and the monster will immediately teleport out behind you. On Ultra-Violence and above, after it teleports out, a pain elemental will take its place (without teleporting behind you). You need to carefully handle this encounter, especially on Ultra-Violence and above.

Once done, continue further in and head down the steps. Up to three zombiemen and a revenant (not on Hey, not too rough and below) will approach from the north. Look to the right (east) and clear the cage with a mancubus (two on Ultra-Violence and above). When you cross the bottom of the staircase, up to three imps will teleport to a spot behind you, complicating matters. Avoid the crossfire by cleaning out the cannon fodder first, then focusing on the tougher monsters.

You will now be at the start of the large stone blocks in the lava. Clear the two imps (one on Hey, not too rough and below), then climb them up. As you do so, up to four cacodemons waiting in ambush will attack. They should not be a problem at this point.

At the top of the series of large stone blocks, head into the corridor. A lone imp will be supported by an arachnotron (chaingunner on Hey, not too rough and below), as well as up to two imps, three shotgun guys and a revenant (Ultra-Violence and above only). On Ultra-Violence and above, be careful when entering the arachnotron's room - there will always be one shotgun guy and the revenant in corner ambush positions.

Finale

At this point, you're down to the last two room. However, if your source port tracks kills, you will notice that you are short at least 100 kills (on Ultra-Violence and above). That is a warning as to the difficulty ramp in these last two rooms.

From the room with the arachnotron (chaingunner on Hey, not too rough and below), open the door in the north. Up to three spectres and thre shotgun guys will immediately attack. Poke in to lure out the monsters in corner ambush positions: an imp (two on Ultra-Violence and above) and a Hell knight (not on Hey, not too rough and below). When you cross past the second pillar in the room, a fake floor trap will activate, causing two pain elementals (Hey, not too rough and below), an arch-vile and a pain elemental (Hurt me plenty), or two arch-viles (Ultra-Violence and above) to appear. Kill them, then flip the switch in the north.

The entire north wall of the room will open up, revealing a sizable horde:


 * Hey, not too rough and below: An arachnotron, a demon, a pain elemental and two imps.
 * Hurt me plenty: Two arachnotrons, a mancubus, two demons, a pain elemental, a lost soul and four imps.
 * Ultra-Violence and above: Three arachnotrons, two mancubi, three demons, a pain elemental, two lost souls and six imps.

With such diversity in the monster horde, infighting is your friend. Just let the mancubi (if any) assist you in the clean up operation and keep the rest of the monsters busy. When done, head through the door in the north.

The last major room of the level is a rectangular room with an octagonal structure. You start off having to deal with a baron of Hell (Hell knight on Hey, not too rough and below) on a block, supported by groups of up to three chaingunners, three shotgun guys, an arch-vile (not on Hey, not too rough and below) and a cacodemon (Ultra-Violence and above only). Collect all the goodies in this room, then head into the teleporter in the east.

This teleporter teleports you inside the octagonal structure in this room. Pick up the soulsphere in the middle to start the encounter. This is a teleport trap arena fight. There are three groups of monsters that will spawn in before the octagonal structure lowers. However, before any group has finished spawning, the next group will begin spawning - hence, from one monster spawning at a time, two and eventually three monsters will spawn at a time. The monsters that spawn will also become progressively tougher. You need to circle around and prevent yourself from being overwhelmed.

For those counting kills, the first group consists of:


 * Hey, not too rough and below: Eight imps, two zombiemen, six shotgun guys.
 * Hurt me plenty: 16 imps, four zombiemen, 12 shotgun guys.
 * Ultra-Violence and above: 24 imps, six zombiemen, 18 shotgun guys.

The second group consists of:


 * Hey, not too rough and below: Eight imps, three demons, three shotgun guys.
 * Hurt me plenty: 16 imps, six demons, six shotgun guys.
 * Ultra-Violence and above: 24 imps, nine demons, nine shotgun guys.

The third group consists of:


 * Hey, not too rough and below: Five imps, a revenant and a Hell knight.
 * Hurt me plenty: 10 imps, two revenants and two Hell knights.
 * Ultra-Violence and above: 15 imps, three revenants, two barons of Hell and two Hell knights.

Late into the third group spawning, the octagonal structure will lower and you can return to the main part of the room. However, soon after, the final monster will teleport in - a cyberdemon. This is a relatively easy arena for a cyberdemon duel, so you can stick around and fight.

In the southwest of the room, notice that a bridge has risen to the ledge with the exit door. Cross over, open the exit door and kill the cacodemon inside (demon on Hey, not too rough and below). Step into the teleporter to end this monster of a level.

Secrets

 * 1) On the western side of the main fortress, drop into the lava and head through the lavafall you see to the southwest. You will go through it, and on the other side is a teleporter. Enter it and then obtain a soul sphere on the other side. (sector 679)
 * 2) When you get the yellow key, a closet with Hell knights opens behind you. Inside it, open the wall with a candle in front of it to get a backpack. (sector 845)
 * 3) On the right side of the main fortress, look on the fortress wall past the gray faceted wall. There are some extra ridges on one of the walls. Open this wall for health bonuses and a megaarmor. (sector 164)
 * 4) Head into the eastern fortress and traverse westward until you find a bridge over a lava river. Cross to the rocky path, and you will eventually reach the backside of the main fortress. From here, jump to the platform where the imps were to find a soul sphere behind a column and a teleporter back. (sector 288)
 * 5) Head for the eastern part of the eastern fortress just before the big crossing blocks. In the sector with the red satyr blocks, one of them has a candle in front of it. Press it, and then backtrack to the hallway with the door leading to the bridge that leads to Secret #4. Shoot the red logo to the left of the door to open the wall to the left, where a baron of Hell, an arch-vile, and a BFG9000 are. (sector 1910)
 * 6) Just before the final room, you will open up walls with monsters via a switch. This switch has a red lion emblem on its backside, which opens up a room to the west. You can drop down to get medikits, a backpack, and a megaarmor here. (sector 2033)

Easter eggs

 * If the player enters the teleporter behind the lava fall near the start from the south, an all-black compartment with an evil eye will open in the soulsphere secret in the southeast corner of the map. Entering that compartment will take the player to a small Easter egg area marked "?!?" (not shown on the map to the right) containing some health and ammo.

Bugs
An imp (Thing 44) has no flags set for any of the three difficulty classes, so it does not actually appear in the level.

Current records
The records for this map at the Doomed Speed Demos Archive are:

Miscellaneous demos
''This information was last verified in its entirety on January 23, 2018.

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

Trivia
Apart from the author's signature, the automap of this level also displays the words "RIP ESPI".