MAP09: Ochregerde (Community Chest 4)

MAP09: Ochregerde is the ninth map of Community Chest 4. It was designed by William Huber and uses "Starting Out," a music track composed by Stuart Rynn (Forty-Two) for Plutonia 2.

Essentials
Ochregerde is a level that would have fit nicely within the last 10 levels of The Plutonia Experiment - all while you're not even one-third of the way through the megawad. You are probably not going to be able to complete this level in one run if you are not ready for the myriad traps that it throws at you - some involving arch-viles appearing at the worst possible moments.

The level uses all three keys. The yellow and red keys can be collected in either order, followed by the blue key. However, it is more efficient to collect the yellow key first, then the red key.

Start and Yellow Key

You begin on top of a Plutonia-style teleporter on a rock ledge - an early hint as to the nature and threat of this level. Drop down from the ledge into the sludge pool. You will immediately come under a heavy crossfire from numerous enemies - imps and an arachnotron (Hell knight on Hey, not too rough and below) in the east, a cacodemon and an arachnotron (lost soul and Hell knight on Hey, not too rough and below), and a chaingunner and Hell knight on perches in the north (shotgun guy and imp on Hey, not too rough and below). Find the super shotgun and box of shells in the northeast of the sludge, followed by the armor in the west. Now that you are geared up, get to work on the nearby monsters.

If on a pistol start, you might want to procure a better weapon for softer targets. Head to the alcove opposite the sludgefall in the southwest. There are up to four imps here and a revenant in a cage (chaingunner on Hey, not too rough and below). However, the real threat is the chaingunner on top of the platform in the south. Kill it, then use the lion switch opposite the platform to lower the platform its on, where you can grab its chaingun. Don't ride the platform up yet!

Next, jump down the sludgefall in the southwest of the sludge pit. Again, you will find yourself in a serious crossfire between various types of enemies. Use your chaingun on the softer ones (zombiemen, imps, shotgun guys), and your super shotgun on the tougher ones (cacodemons, demons, Hell knight on platform, arachnotron (Hey, not too rough and below)/mancubus (Hurt me plenty and above) in the southwest corner). Now might also be a good time to loot a shotgun from a shotgun guy.

Once the coast is clear, climb the steps to the right (north) platform in the west. Run across the gap to the south to land on the southern platform. Head south and watch for the cage with up to three imps on the wall. At the end of the platform, turn right to enter a semi-outdoor area with two square platforms. The platform in front of you has three imps (Hey, not too rough and below), six imps, (Hurt me plenty), or two Hell knights (Ultra-Violence and above), but don't let them distract you from the real threat - the line of cannon fodder in close proximity around the corner. This line contains a chaingunner on Hurt me plenty and above and a shotgun guy in the front on Ultra-Violence and above, so don't underestimate what they can do to you!

Once the enemies have been cleared out, head north along the ledge. Once you pass the rectangular pillar beside the ledge, a fake floor trap will activate, releasing a pain elemental (cacodemon on hey, not too rough and below) to the left and a chaingunner (shotgun guy on Hey, not too rough and below). At the end of the ledge, flip the switch on the panel in the west.

Head back south. A block will have appeared out of the sludge, allowing you to jump to the first square platform. Deal with the shotgun guys (up to six) on the second platform before flipping the switch on the panel in the south of this first platform. This lowers the pillar with the yellow skull key on the second square platform. Run north and collect the yellow skull key.

Backtrack to the smaller sludge pit after jumping down the sludgefall. Find the metal panel in the south and flip the skull switch in the right pillar to lower it. Pull out your plasma gun (if available from previous levels) and stand on the platform facing right (west) as you ride it up. You will hear a Hell knight (Hurt me plenty and below) or a baron of Hell behind you, but you will be facing the more immediate threat - a chaingunner (shotgun guy on Hey, not too rough and below) in a cage. Gun it down, spin around and get to work on the Hell noble ahead.

Continue east and grab the armor from a niche in the next room (if needed) before proceeding into the cave ahead. A spectre (demon on Hey, not too rough and below) will charge at you, but this monster is just there to trick you into thinking that the cave ahead is a conventional series of encounters. Up ahead is the level's first "Plutonia moment" - a trap that is likely to instantly kill you if you are not prepared. Cross further into the cave, and that outer wall at the bend opens up, revealing a trap:


 * Hey, not too rough and below: Three imps.
 * Hurt me plenty: Four imps, one shotgun guy, one revenant
 * Ultra-Violence and above: Five imps, one chaingunner, two revenants.

One revenant will always teleport out to the starting sludge pit. Your best bet is to be ready for this trap and back off when it activates, especially on Ultra-Violence when there will be a revenant right beside you. Clear them out, head forward and re-enter the starting sludge pit.

Red Key

Head to the northwest of the starting sludge pit and climb all the way up the rock steps to a wooden door. Head through to a hall with a sludge channel running through it. As you enter, you will be attacked by up to three shotgun guys from the front. However, you also need to be careful of the spectre (demon on Hey, not too rough and below) in ambush and some imps on a ledge in the west. Head east to find a bridge, and watch for a Hell knight ahead (two on Ultra-Violence and above), up to three chaingunners in an alcove right of the bridge and an imp. Kill them and continue around to a door.

Open this door and head outside. Watch for the imp in the cage and the chaingunner in ambush left of the doorway. A Hell knight (baron of Hell on Ultra-Violence and above), a spectre and up to two demons will rush down the pathway to attack. Make space for yourself and take them out. Continue forward to a sludge-filled area, where you can find the red key in the north. You probably want to deal with the crossfire in here first - up to six imps near the red key, a chaingunner (shotgun guy on Hey, not too rough and below) in a cage in the northwest, a mancubus (revenant on Hey, not too rough and below) in the east, and two Hell knights (chaingunner and imp on Hey, not too rough and below) in the southeast. Head north and collect the red key, but prepare for a nasty ambush.

Once the red key is collected, a number of traps spring. First, a fake floor trap teleports an arch-vile (revenant on Hey, not too rough and below) into the cage north of the red key. Up to three spectres teleport to the southwest of the red key, and up to three revenants teleport to the southeast (where the Hell knights were). Cover from the arch-vile's attacks is using the two pillars next to the red key area. Clean house and backtrack out of this area as soon as possible.

Backtrack to the door you used to enter the hall with the sludge channel. As you cross the bridge, you will realise that an arch-vile (revenant on Hey, not too rough and below) has teleported in. Quickly burst it down before it resurrects the monsters in this area!

Blue Key

From the door, head west down a flight of steps, then into a hallway with a yellow door at the end. Watch for three imps and three chaingunners (three shotgun guys and an imp on Hey, not too rough and below). Further up you will encounter up to two Hell knights in a small alcove. Clean them up, head to the end of the hallway and open the door.

In this next room, you will find up to four shotgun guys and three lost souls. Kill them and prepare for another nasty ambush. If you have a rocket launcher or BFG9000 from previous levels, levels - pull it out now. Flip the red skull switch in the north of the room, then quickly move back to the hallway in the east. The switch not only lowers the red bars in the south, but also activates a fake floor trap, releasing up to five revenants and an arch-vile (not on Hey, not too rough and below). You need to take out this set of very dangerous monsters quickly, because there is little cover in the nearby area. Once they are dead, continue forward past where the red bars were and drop down.

After the drop, turn right into the blue key chamber. It is packed with enemies, with up to ten imps, a chaingunner (shotgun guy on Hey, not too rough and below), and two strong monsters (two Hell knights on Hey, not too rough and below, a Hell knight and a mancubus on Hurt me plenty, two mancubi on Ultra-Violence and above). Clear them out, get the blue key and immediately run out of the chamber and hug the lowering bars on the right (south). A number of monsters will teleport in near the entrance of the blue key chamber, and you don't want to be stuck anywhere near them when it happens:


 * Hey, not too rough and below: Two demons, a cacodemon and a revenant
 * Hurt me plenty: Two demons cacodemon and two revenants
 * Ultra-Violence and above: Three demons, three revenants cacodemon and an arch-vile.

Head out the bars, and you will find yourself back on the northern ledge in the lower sludge pit below the sludge fall. Head up the steps into in the northeast into a tunnel. As you cross the bend, the inside wall opens up to reveal up to three shotgun guys. The chaingun should handle them easily. Continue forward to a skull switch and flip it twice to lower the blue bars ahead. A demon will teleport in ahead - kill it. Jump back down into the starting sludge pit.

Exit

Head to the tunnel in the southeast of the starting sludge pit. Flip the switch and ride the platform up, and prepare for a massive test of your skills. When you ride the platform up, you will be greeted by up to nine zombiemen, up to three imps and a shotgun guy beyond a window ahead, an imp in a corner (Hell knight on Ultra-Violence and above), up to six imps and a chaingunner on a nearby raised area and an arch-vile (revenant on Hey, not too rough and below). If you have a plasma gun or BFG9000, now is time to let rip - if not, you'll just have to cling on to dear life with your chaingun and pray that the arch-vile doesn't initiate and connect its attack through a horde of monsters.

Continue north, up a flight of steps and up some rocks to arrive at the ledge with the exit teleporter. To unblock it, you need to head up the steps in the southeast. Watch for the chaingunner south of the exit teleporter, and south of the steps to the covered area (both replaced by shotgun guys on Hey, not too rough and below). Head north in the covered area and take out two mancubi (two arachnotrons on Hey, not too rough and below). As you approach the switch, an arch-vile teleports into the exit teleporter structure. Flipping the switch lowers the blue bars at the exit structure, but also causes two cacodemons (one on Hey, not too rough and below) to teleport in.

Clean them up and step into the exit teleporter to end the level.

Other points of interest
Collecting the rocket launcher

Collecting the level's sole rocket launcher, perched on a pillar in the lower sludge pit, is a fairly involved task. However, besides netting you a powerful weapon, it also is necessary for 100% kills.

From the starting sludge pit, proceed as if you were heading to the exit area (you will have to deal with all the monsters as per normal). When you reach the ledge with the exit structure, head southeast into the sheltered area, but instead of going north to the switch, go west and drop into the shaft in the southwest. This drops you into the higher raised area you saw earlier in the corridor, from which the imps were attacking you. Heading south triggers a trap in the east of the raised area, with a Hell knight and an imp (revenant on Ultra-Violence and above). The Hell knight will immediately teleport out of its trap into a position blocking the passageway in the south, so be careful.

Head into the corridor in the south. As you step into it, the outer wall of the corner opens up, revealign up tot hree imps, a shotgun guy and a chaingunner. Continue down the corridor to a room with a switch (this is the room behind the window you saw after riding the platform up to this area earlier). Flip the switch, and the windowsill lowers. A wall in the west of the lower corridor also lowers, and a trap opens in the south of this room, with up to three chaingunners and a Hell knight. Jump north back into the lower corridor, and kill the imp (hey, not too rough and below) or demon (Hurt me plenty and above) released from beyond that wall in the west.

Head west and cross the bridge. At the end of the bridge, drop into the rock shaft. Kill the shotgun guy and zombieman on this perch (if they are still there) and run across to the pillar to collect the rocket launcher. Note that the rocket launcher triggers a teleport trap with two cacodemons and a pain elemental (one cacodemon and two lost souls on Hey, not too rough and below) to teleport into various spots in the lower sludge pit.

Secrets

 * 1) If you go near the exit of the level at the eastern part of the map, head a bit north from there and jump some platforms to the west. When you reach the platform that had a chaingunner (on Hurt Me Plenty or higher), open the northern wall to get some rocket boxes and an invulnerability while an arch-vile teleports through the window. (sector 546)
 * 2) When you reach the yellow key, look behind it towards the brown marble wall with a baron face on it. If you look close enough at its base, you can see that part of the metal has rusted green on the left side. Press on it, then leave the yellow key area. Head straight north on the wooden walkway until you spot an opening past the three blue torches. Inside are some health and armor bonuses that spell "CC4" on the floor. (sector 1726)

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. (thing 838)
 * 2) facing south. (thing 839)
 * 3) facing north-east. (thing 840)
 * 4) facing north. (thing 841)

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