MAP21: Entering Aquatic Desert (Sunlust)

MAP21: Entering Aquatic Desert is the twenty-first map of Sunlust. It was designed by Zachary Stephens (Ribbiks) and Daniel Jakobsson (dannebubinga), and uses the music track "Ocean Flute" composed by Stuart Rynn.

Essentials
Three keys are on this level but the level does not require you to collect all of them.

Blue key

Collect all needed items in the room and leave it. Drop down to the room below where the blue key platform is seen and dispose of zombies that hide in alcoves, then head to the stairs leading to the western compartment. Dispose of revenants in the western room. After this, press the switch to unlock the key. Return to the previous room. Take the keycard and quickly go to the stairs, then to the east room, as a bunch of demons will be spawned along with an arch-vile or a revenant (this depends on the skill level). Use the blue teleporter to get back to the starting place looking toward east.

Yellow key

If you have the blue key it is not necessary to obtain the yellow one and vice versa, if you will get this key it will be not necessary to get the blue key. With the yellow key, however, you can gain a plasma rifle.

Leave the starting room and drop down to the room below where the blue key should be (and dispose of enemies in the alcoves). Head up on the stairs and look at the watery area. Kill the mancubi first and jump to the area. Kill all enemies here and press the switch (from Hexen). This switch will lower a blue teleporter pad on which chaingunners spawned. Use this to teleport to the yellow keycard (which is right behind you). Now fight the enemies and find the blue teleporter to get back to the starting area.

If you want the plasma gun drop down to the blue key room again and head to the stairs. Go right and walk up the other stairs. Open the yellow barriers and get the weapon.

Red key

Once returned to the starting room go on the stairs that will lead you to the jumping ledges. Run-jump to the other side. Press the blue switch or the yellow switch in the room depending on what key you have or press them both (a switch is enough). Once you did, the bars will lower letting you visit the south-east. Drop to the ground. A spiderdemon should spawn on the large pool of mud (if you have BFG9000 and enough cells better drop on this pool and kill the spiderdemon with this weapon). The overall courtyard will be soon infested with enemies too. Deal with them and explore the perimeter around. Press the skull switch and you will be able to enter the bottom parts of the castle. However, the mud hurts. Prepare to fight with a cyberdemon on HMP and higher or four barons on HNTR and lower. Though, you can quickly dodge him running forth if you are not prepared. The walls will open revealing spawning of other monsters. Infighting is possible but the mud hurts. There is a radiation suit behind mud waterfall which can be seen to the left of the cyberdemon's (or barons') platform. After all, go on the staircase to the other room. After you get the key the wall to the left will open, so prepare for a chaingunners ambush. Then, drop down to the castle room (which is the western room you were in).

Exit

Get back to the starting room again by using the blue teleporter. Run to the room with three switches each requiring the key. Flip the red switch now and mind a mancubus behind you (also, you may wish to find secret #2 here). To the right of the red switch you can discover another area which has a tile floor. Jump there. Click a switch here (Hexen) and prepare to fight with two clusters of enemies, one of which is revealed behind the opening wall. The second cluster will spawn a bit later. Find the second switch (either from Hexen) and wait (probably fighting back of spawned ones) until the exit staircase will be accessible. When the staircase is built and the long bridge is risen you can finish the level by stepping over the portal.

Other points of interest
This level is normally pistol start only, but it is possible to avoid dying at the exit of MAP20 with the secret invulnerability.

Official

 * 1) From the start head to the stairs on the left side. Walk up and go to the square water pit. Go back to the room where you started. A secret is open to your left. (sector 352)
 * 2) Head back to the stairs on the left side. Walk the stairs up and run-jump to the room on the other side where the three switches are. At the end of the room are the megaarmor and the red switch. To the left of them is a brick wall which can be opened to find a single medikit.  (sector 464)
 * 3) Run to the watery area to the north (the yellow key is found there). Once there, you will be able to teleport to the large mud pool and obtain the key itself. You can run off the edge of the mud pool to fall down to an area outside to the north of the mud pool, containing a large square structure with stairs leading down into it on its eastern side. It contains a secret. (sector 279)
 * 4) In the southwestern corner of the map, an invulnerability sphere can be seen out a window to the south. Some distance beyond the sphere, there is a shootable switch. Shooting this raises a platform directly to the east; a skull switch to the northeast of this platform then lowers it like a lift. Lower it with the switch and stand on it; you can now move east out a window to an outside area. This lowers a wall slightly to the south, and it is now possible to jump from the outside area west to get the invulnerability. (sector 493)

Non-official

 * Easter Egg. Just before the exit teleporter, jump off the walkway to the right, where there is a pool of sludge and a platform with candles and a space marine’s helmet on a pike. By performing a difficult maneuver (it may require thingrunning), it is possible to run across the gap towards the mouth of the sludge falls. At the back of the cave, set into the left-hand wall, can be seen the logo of Swedish band.

Bugs
An imp (Thing 528) near the megasphere and backpack in the south-center of the map has no flags set for any of the three difficulty classes, so it does not actually appear in the level, and that is just as well because it is also at the same position as a Hell knight.

Current records
The records for the map at the Doom Speed Demo Archive are:

The data was last verified in its entirety on March 17, 2023.

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