E3M8: Flytrap (Strange Aeons)

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Strange Aeons maps
The Shattered City

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9

The Stagnant Fortress

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9

The Plateau of Leng

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9

Out of the Aeons

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9

This level occupies the map slot E3M8. For other maps which occupy this slot, see Category:E3M8.

E3M8: Flytrap is the eighth and final map in episode The Land That Time Forgot of Strange Aeons, and the conclusion of the main campaign. It was designed by Mike MacDee (Impie) and uses the music track "Factory" from F.E.A.R.. The par time defined in MAPINFO is 30 seconds.

Walkthrough[edit]

Map of Flytrap
Letters in italics refer to marked spots on the map. Sector, thing, and linedef numbers in boldface are secrets which count toward the end-of-level tally.

Essentials[edit]

It's as straightforward as a map can get. Drop down the hole and grab all the guns. Grabbing the soul sphere opens the walls ahead of you. Ominous tremors foreshadow the horror that is to come.

Go to the opposite side of the arena and "use" the altar to release the Spinner in Darkness and its brood. Your best hope of survival is to be constantly moving, and use the Ammo spheres to make your arsenal last. When the beast is dead, the wall opposite the altar opens, revealing the exit slipgate.

Boss: Spinner in Darkness[edit]

The ultimate villain of Strange Aeons is a colossal spider with a human face that catapults its babies into your lap whenever it flinches, and spits balls of fire and poison in a spread. It can easily outrun and outmaneuver you as well, especially when the arena fills up with angry spiders. When it finally dies, it gives birth to a smaller version of itself, which sports a hitscan attack and continues birthing baby spiders. You can ignore the smaller spider and flee to the exit if you don't care to exterminate the entire map.

Between the Spinner's speed and the sheer number of spiders it produces in such a short time, it is very easy to get overwhelmed. Finding Episode 3's BFG9000 is essential; otherwise prepare for a long and frantic battle.

Other points of interest[edit]

Secrets[edit]

There are no official secrets on this map.

Bugs[edit]

Demo files[edit]

Areas / screenshots[edit]

Speedrunning[edit]

As this level does not contain official secrets, the NM 100S category is redundant.

Routes and tricks[edit]

Current records[edit]

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

Run Time Player Date File Notes
UV speed
NM speed
UV max
UV -fast
UV -respawn
UV Tyson
UV pacifist

The (absence of) data was last verified in its entirety on June 29, 2022.

Statistics[edit]

Map data[edit]

Things 75
Vertices 354
Linedefs 380
Sidedefs 702
Sectors 55

Things[edit]

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

Technical information[edit]

Inspiration and development[edit]

The giant spider encounter was present in Impie's 1995 sketches, hourglass layout and all. This makes Flytrap the only true surviving level from the original project.

The Spinner in Darkness is an alternate name for Clark Ashton Smith's spider deity Atlach-Nacha, which longs to use the Dreamlands to escape to earth. By clearing this level, the player has essentially slain a Great Old One.

Trivia[edit]

See also[edit]

Sources[edit]

External links[edit]