MAP29: Spiritual Holocaust (Community Chest 4)

MAP29: Spiritual Holocaust is the twenty-ninth and penultimate level of Community Chest 4. It was designed by Christian Lian (darkreaver) and uses "Crawling Vermin," a music track from Planet of Cartmans 2 composed by Maxime Tondreau (Psychedelic Eyeball).

Essentials
Community Chest 4's penultimate level is a huge step up in difficulty from the previous 28. On Ultra-Violence and above, it packs a whopping 640 monsters - the highest starting monster count in the entire megawad. "Optional areas" with powerful weapons turn out to be mandatory if you want to survive upcoming encounters. Tack on a tricky start sequence, slaughter map-grade hordes and not-so-intuitive progression, and you have a level that not only meets the expectations of the MAP29 slot, but far exceeds them.

Start and Yellow Key

You begin on a teleporter pad in a small chamber. Shoot the skull face behind you (south) once to open the wall in the north. Beyond is a room with a pyramid-like structure. On Hey, not too rough and below, the room is quiet. However, on Hurt me plenty and above, there is an arch-vile protecting a megasphere. If you are on a megawad run, you can immediately pull out your heaviest weapons and turn this arch-vile into dust. If you are playing from a pistol start, you need to quickly move past it to the north.

Head into either opening in the north and grab the super shotgun from its niche. A revenant will emerge from a trap behind you (south). Kill it. From a pistol start, you have a serviceable weapon now, but no ammo, so you probably should keep evading. Next, flip the switch in the revenant's trap to open the door in the super shotgun niche. When it is opened, two Hell knights (two imps on Hey, not too rough and below) will attack, but will immediately teleport to either side of you (west/east). This leaves the doorway clear, so rush through to the next area.

Beyond the doorway is a large room with a blood pit. This is the "hub" of the level. Initially, it has two mancubi, as well as two cages with two revenants each (three on Ultra-Violence and above) in the northeast and southeast walls. Take the chaingun and box of ammo in the south, then the backpack and two boxes of shells in the north (watch for the revenants in fake floor traps). Now, you are ready to begin taking down the monsters. Don't waste your ammo on the revenants in the cages - just go cause some monster infighting in the hub area and congratulate the winners with a face full of buckshot.

Switch to the chaingun and head into the eastern opening. When you pick up the megaarmor, a fake floor trap will activate, revealing six (Hey, not too rough and below), 17 (Hurt me plenty) or 25 (Ultra-Violence and above) shotgun guys. Continue east to the door, open it and immediately run west and hug the trap that has opened in the pillar behind you (east pillar of the hub area). That trap has an arch-vile on all difficulties. Compounding matters on Hurt me plenty and above are the two revenants behind the door. Taking a few homing rockets beats getting incinerated by an arch-vile and a resurrected horde of shotgun guys, so you need to keep the arch-vile busy (and preferably, in the pillar). Once it is dead, collect the soulsphere it was protecting.

Head east through the door. This room has a raised area with a rocket launcher on a pedestal. As you head up to the raised area, watch for a chaingunner to the left (not on Hey, not too rough and below). Head to the rear (north) side of the rocket launcher pedestal to lower the pedestal. Collect the rocket launcher and immediately switch back to your super shotgun. Two chaingunners will teleport in at close proximity - if you fire your rocket launcher, you will kill yourself too.

Lower the rocket launcher pedestal again, if needed, then ride it up. In the west, between the last two pillars, you will be able to see a skull button. Shoot it, then switch back to your rocket launcher. The button causes walls in the southeast to lower, revealing a massive horde of imps (80, to be precise) and a new lava cavern area. Fortunately, you have a rocket launcher and plenty of rockets nearby. Lay waste to the imps, then head into the area where they came from.

You are now on the western side of a large lava cavern. In the southeast, you will see groups of imps on rock pillars and ledges. You might want to deal with them as soon as possible (this applies throughout this segment), so you don't have stray fireballs flying at you. When ready, proceed northeast along a narrow ledge. Along it, you will be attacked by a chaingunner from a lower elevation. Further up, an imp will attack you from behind. The route ahead is blocked by a rock outcrop, so you need to go into the tunnel where the imp came from. Head up the steps, and at the top you will find a chamber with a revenant waiting in ambush.

From this chamber, you can jump to the central set of rock ledges in the lava. Your first detour is to a plasma gun. Clear out any remaining imps and head to the southernmost section of the central rock ledges (watch for a Hell knight in ambush at the tip). From there, you can jump to the southern set of rock ledges. As you head within the pillar, a fake floor trap with a Hell knight will activate. Take the hits and return fire with a super shotgun. At the west side will be the plasma gun, from which you can jump back to the west side of this area. However, when you collect it, a marble cube in the northwest lowers, with two revenants and an arch-vile (two revenants and two arch-viles on Ultra-Violence and above). Switch to your rocket launcher to dispose of them.

Go back to the narrow ledge in the northeast, head into the cave in the west and climb up the chamber from which you jump to the central set of rock ledges. This time, make your way to the north side of the central rock ledges (be careful of the revenant in the chamber). From here, you will be able to jump to the northeast side of the lava cavern which was blocked by that rock outcrop. Switch to the rocket launcher and make the jump across. When you land, two fake floor traps will activate - one on the outcrop with an arch-vile, one further east with 10 imps. Quickly take out the imps, head northeast and use the curve in the rock formation to peek the arch-vile.

In the northeast of this northern area, look west and you will realise that a section of the brick wall has crumbled. Use this to climb to the top of the brick structure. When you reach the top, several fake floor traps activate, releasing:


 * Hurt me plenty and below: Seven Hell knights, four revenants, two spectres, four imps, two chaingunners and a baron of Hell;
 * Ultra-Violence and above: Eight Hell knights, eight revenants, two spectres, eight imps, three chaingunners and a baron of Hell.

This diverse horde is fit for monster infighting. Run a few circles and most of them will be turning on their fellow monsters, and you can mop up after the Hell nobles are done dealing with everyone else.

Next, head up the steps in the north. Two-thirds of the way up, you will encounter an arch-vile. At the top is the chamber with the yellow key. Collect it. On your way back down, you will first be harassed by nine lost souls in a trap - head into the tunnel where they came from for even more ammo and medkits. Jump back down to the area with the fake floor traps, and you will realise that a teleport trap has been set in motion. Monsters will keep teleporting into the brightest part of the room. Across all difficulties, the monster count is the same - 30 imps, nine shotgun guys, five chaingunners, five revenants and an arch-vile. You have to be alert as for when the arch-vile shows up, because it is the one you must bring down quickly before it resurrects the horde in this area!

Red Key

Head back down to the north side of the lava cavern and scramble across the ledge back to the west side (the outcrop has steps from the east side that allow you to climb across). At the extreme southwest of the cavern, there is a yellow skull switch. Flip it and nearby bars will raise. However, a nearby trap with nine imps will open. A lava fall to the southeast will lower, revealing another arch-vile. Use plasma on the imps, then rockets on the arch-vile.

Continue west through the raised bars. This leads to a quiet room with a long, fenced-up strip blocked by bars. Head up the steps in the south to reach a skull panel, press it, then immediately turn around - a demon will teleport it behind you. With the bars in the south raised, equip a rocket launcher and head towards the switch at the end of the long, fenced-up strip. About midway there, a fake floor trap will activate and two barons of Hell will appear. However, one will teleport behind you, boxing you in. Burn them down as quickly as possible, then flip the switch.

Walls in the south will lower, revealing a large lava cave. Your first opposition will be four revenants (and on Ultra-Violence and above), two pain elementals. Here, you need to make a detour for a BFG9000 to save yourself in the red key encounter. Continue south, but before stepping into any lava, try to find the arch-vile amidst the imp packs and take it down immediately. Next, clear the rock platforms of imps, and to save yourself further trouble, take out the two pain elementals hiding at the extreme east and west sides of the cave. The BFG9000 is on a pad in the south of the cave, Take it, and walls lower, releasing:


 * Hurt me plenty and below: Ten Hell knights, two pain elementals and an arch-vile;
 * Ultra-Violence and above: 13 Hell knights, six pain elementals and an arch-vile.

You have a BFG9000, but you're not invulnerable. Try to get your BFG to connect with any monsters as possible, especially the arch-vile. You get five medikits made available just for getting the BFG9000 (in the north of the lava pool), so take hits if needed.

After you are done, head back to the north of the cave, then go the northwest side. A new passage has opened, leading to the room right after the starting room. Walls have opened up too, revealing a big area in the west. First, kill the mancubus waiting in ambush and traverse the room to the west side. Shortly after you enter the new area, chaingunners will fire on you from an alcove in the south. Kill them and collect the rockets and bulk cells there.

This large, quiet area has the red key in a pillar. it looks fit for a massive fight. Go to the west side, collect the ammo, soulsphere and megaarmor if needed, then pull out your BFG9000 and flip the switch. Parts of the pillar lower to form a staircase to the red key, but more critically, two large walls lower, revealing:


 * Hurt me plenty and below: 20 cacodemons, four pain elementals, 19 spectres, 33 imps, 18 revenants, 14 Hell knights.
 * Ultra-Violence and above: 31 cacodemons, four pain elementals, 19 spectres, 45 imps, 18 revenants, 14 Hell knights.

All you need to do is pull out the BFG9000 and keep firing as the horde smashes themselves against your powerful weapon. When you stand victorious among more than a hundred monster corpses, collect the red key from the east side, then go to the northern trap and flip the switch to raise the bars in the east.

Blue Key and Exit

You need to make your way back to the "hub" area by going north. If you have not disposed of the arch-vile on the pyramid-like structure, do so now. As you approach the area where you picked up the super shotgun, walls lower, revealing another horde:


 * Hey, not too rough and below: Six revenants, seven Hell knights.
 * Hurt me plenty: 11 revenants, 11 Hell knights.
 * Ultra-Violence and above: 18 revenants, 18 Hell knights.

Let them fight each other, and then clean up. Proceed to the "hub" area and flip the blue skull switch in the north. The next encounter will be quite hard. As the bars in the north lower, you will encounter:


 * Hey, not too rough and below: Two revenants, two imps, three cacodemons and two pain elementals.
 * Hurt me plenty and above: Four revenants, two imps, two Hell knights, three cacodemons, two pain elementals and an arch-vile.

On top of all that, an arch-vile and two revenants will teleport to the pedestal in the center of the hub. The good news is that the hub has plenty of pillars to dodge arch-vile fire. The bad news is that it has a lot of monster corpses. Dodge around and use your BFG9000 liberally.

Continue north into another lava cavern area. From the overlook, you need to kill three revenants in the northeast and one high in the northwest. Behind every lava fall, there is an imp or two behind a fake wall, so put a rocket in each one to do the trick. Next, drop down from the overlook and follow the rock ledge to the east. There's plenty of ammunition here - not a good sign. From where all the energy cells and rockets are, head east and flip the switch at the end of the tunnel. This causes three blocks to rise out of the lava, but also causes two fake floor traps to activate. One in the northwest has a cyberdemon. One in the north (where the firey cutout in the rock pillar is) has a different monster by skill level: a zombieman on Hey, not too rough and below, a revenant on Hurt me plenty and an arch-vile on Ultra-Violence and above. You don't have space to dodge rockets here, but you do have a BFG9000 that can put the cyberdemon out of commission much faster - use it.

Cross over the blocks to where the cyberdemon was, then continue northwest across a rock pillar to another cave. When you cross the middle of the lit section of this cave, a lava fall in the east lowers, revealing:


 * Hey, not too rough and below: Two revenants and an arch-vile on a block further behind;
 * Hurt me plenty: Three revenants, an arch-vile and a second arch-vile on a block further behind;
 * Ultra-Violence and above: Five revenants, an arch-vile and a second arch-vile on a block further behind.

This trap places monsters directly behind you, so be careful.

At the west end of the cave, you will find a skull button overlooking the pillar with the blue key. When you flip it, the rock pillar sinks... but the blue key teleports to the opposite overlook, a new pillar rises at the overlook and seven chaingunners teleport in to defend it. Peek and use rockets to wipe them out, then jump across the rock pillar back to the southern overlook. Flip all four switches to lower the pillar with the blue key, but watch for the arch-vile that teleports onto it.

Return to the "hub" room and flip the blue skull switch in the west. This triggers the final fight. The bars blocking the way to the exit in the west will take a substantial amount of time to completely descend, but the immediate threats are as follows:


 * A cyberdemon teleports to the central structure in the "hub" room;
 * The pillar behind you opens up, with an arch-vile guarding a megasphere;
 * Four revenants and two barons of Hell teleport into the main section of the "hub" room
 * Two traps in the east of the hub room open. One has one (Hey, not too rough and below), two (Hurt me plenty) or four (Ultra-Violence and above) pain elementals. The other has two (Hey, not too rough and below), six (Hurt me plenty) or ten (Ultra-Violence and above) cacodemons.
 * Once the bars in the west have completely opened, six Hell knights, three barons of Hell and an arachnotron will join the fray.

Your job is to finish the level off with massive infighting. Once enough monsters are distracted (or you've killed them all), go west. An arch-vile defends the exit alcove. Kill it and step into its alcove to end the level - and prepare for a MAP30 with plenty of teeth.

Secrets

 * 1) Maneuver through the rocky ledges over lava on the eastern part of the map. Head all the way east to spot a translucent lava fall pouring onto a lava-less rocky ledge. There is a teleporter behind it, that takes you to a small cave (sector 1314)  with a soul sphere, an energy cell, an energy cell pack, a box of rockets and three revenants.
 * 2) In the room where the shotgun guys pop up from the floor, the skull switch opens up walls on its sides, that you cannot reach from your level, with a soul sphere inside. Further in, on the platform with the rocket launcher, you can see a gap on the east grey wall and something red behind it. Collect the yellow key and proceed past the door opened by the switch to a corridor where a wall of chaingunners appears. Press on the wounded skin wall opposite the chaingunners to reveal a gargoyle switch; shoot or punch it and you will hear a door open. Return to the rocket launcher's platform to find that the gap has opened, revealing a teleporter. This pad sends you to the chamber with the soulsphere (sector 173). There is an alternate method to collect this secret early: when you open the door after the shotgun guys, you also trigger an arch-vile behind you. It is possible to time an arch-vile jump while using the switch to propel you to the secret.
 * 3) In the room past the yellow switch on the southern part of the map, find the satyr switch on the left side of the map. Press it and press the switch behind it. Look behind you and you will see a newwly-opened cubby (sector 779) with a lost soul and a radiation shielding suit.

Easter eggs

 * In a nod to speedrunners, entering the blue skull key area early by rocket or arch-vile jumping from the rocket launcher platform applies a slow strobe effect in all untagged sectors (thus rendering secret #2 unobtainable due to its sector effect being replaced, unless already visited); gives the player the blue and yellow skull keys, a supercharge, combat armor, the BFG9000, and 15 energy cell packs via voodoo dolls; and unleashes a horde of arch-viles. The player can then use the blue skull key to proceed directly to the exit. Collecting the red skull key disables this easter egg and crushes any undeployed arch-viles.

Bugs

 * In the initial release of the megawad, a bug in this map prevented the player from achieving 100% Kills if they stood in a specific sector. A hotfix fixing this bug was released on September 9, 2012.


 * A multiplayer-only cyberdemon (Thing 386) in the south 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.

Player spawns
This level contains four spawn points:
 * 1) facing south-west. (thing 1250)
 * 2) facing south-east. (thing 1251)
 * 3) facing north-east. (thing 1252)
 * 4) facing north-west. (thing 1253)

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

Trivia
In the north of the level, there are two decorative pillars with what seem to be raging fires within them. The fires are actually produced by a large number of burning barrel things placed within, with the geometry carefully designed so that only the flames can be seen (and not the actual barrels).