MAP08: A Blue Shadow (BTSX-E2)

MAP08: A Blue Shadow is the eighth map of the second episode of Back to Saturn X. It was designed by Matt Tropiano (MTrop) and Richard Frei (Tarnsman), and uses the music track "The Night Guard," composed by James Paddock (Jimmy).

Essentials
Head straight forwards until you reach a couple of zombiemen, climb up the steps behind them to get a shotgun then turn right and right again to find an armor being guarded by one or two imps (or a revenant on Ultra-Violence (UV) and Nightmare (NM) skill levels). Step under the vines and walk straight forward to drop into a pool with a cacodemon, then look south and dispose of one or more spectres before heading south and east towards some approaching demons. Enter the tunnel in front of you and follow it to a large cavern with a mancubus, then pass through the archway in the south-west corner and follow a trail of armor bonuses round to a chaingun which sits next to a lift. Ride the lift up and kill one or two cacodemons waiting at the top, then open the south door to find the red skull key.

Taking the red key will open a larger door behind you. Go through that door and climb some steps, then enter the tunnel in front of you (at the center of the map) and turn right to confront (depending on skill level) two imps, Hell knights or revenants guarding a block with red runes on it. Press the button on this block then go back into the tunnel and head north to a doorway that was blocked by a red barrier; you can now pass through this doorway to reach an open area protected by imps, along with cacodemons, an arachnotron and an arch-vile on Hurt Me Plenty or higher - also note the block with blue runes in this area as you will need it later. Go up the steps by the east wall to a brick path and follow it west and north until you enter a pool with a mancubus (or arch-vile on UV and NM), then enter the nearby tunnel and climb the steps to find a spectre protecting a rocket launcher. Continue east to a ledge overlooking the previous area, then run across some square platforms that have risen to reach the yellow skull key.

Go back into the center tunnel and head west to an area with a couple of zombiemen, then enter the next room to find imps and other enemies guarding a pair of pentagram doors (requiring the yellow key). Go through either door and dodge a pair of waiting mancubi, then drop into the pool below and dispose of one or more arachnotrons as well as a group of revenants on the east side. Enter the tunnel in the east wall and go up the steps and climb until you reach some spectres (plus a pain elemental on HMP, or an arch-vile on UV and NM), then continue west to the blue skull key; from here you can continue following the tunnel north and east to drop down to the cavern where you found the rocket launcher. Go back to the area with the blue block and press the button on it, then go back up the steps by the east wall and through a set of bars that have opened to enter a blue room.

Press the button in the center column to lower a block behind you holding a knight (or mancubus on HMP or higher), then step past it and head up the steps, passing one or two revenants that are released in front of you, until you reach the top and drop back into the blue room - the floor will lower, revealing a doorway in the north-west corner with a demon or one or two revenants. Go through that doorway and follow the passage up some more steps to a switch, pull it to lower the wall along with another wall to your left, then step past that second wall and go up another staircase to find a second switch at the top - pulling it will raise some platforms inside the blue room, but will also release shotgun guys (or chaingunners and an arch-vile on HMP, plus revenants on UV) into the hallway below. Run north across the platforms in the blue room to land in a chamber with red torches, then head north towards a button - a door will close on it as you approach, and various enemies will teleport in around you. Pull the switch that is revealed inside the center column to re-open that door, then press the button to open a second door in the south-west corner hiding a knight (or arch-vile on UV and NM). Go through that door and walk towards the hole to finish the level.

Other points of interest
After passing through the yellow key doors you will drop into a pool with revenants. A plasma gun can be found on some rocks on the west side.

Secrets

 * 1) On the ramparts north of the start, there is an alcove with an elevated platform and a megaarmor atop it. To get it, head to the west side of this alcove, where there is a button that lowers a teleporter to the east. This places you on top of the megaarmor. (sector 20)
 * 2) In the watery cavern near the red key button, there is one rocky outcropping with a chaingunner that you can clamber on top of. Look to the east: on the stretched skin wall surrounded by red runes, one of the rune tiles is missing. Shoot this missing tile to reveal a button at the far west of the upper water level that lowers the elevated floor beside it, where you can collect an energy cell pack. (sector 85)
 * 3) Collect the red key and drop down to the water below. Head to the right. The waterfall under the stone arch is not solid and hides a box of shotgun shells. (sector 264)
 * 4) Once you get the red key, hit the switch and drop to the water on the east. Follow the cave to a bend north, then head south through a dark passage (sector 195) covered in vines to a small room with a supercharge.
 * 5) Drop off the balcony after the yellow key doors and head east, into a cave beside a green torch. At the waterfall, look to the right to spot a recessed rock wall covered in scratches. Open it to find a supercharge on a lift (sector 448) that lowers as soon as you cross the threshold.

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

The (absence of) data was last verified in its entirety on February 21, 2022.

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