E5M2: Thiolite Mines (Shadowcaster)
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E5M2: Thiolite Mines is the second map of Shadowcaster. It was designed by Stephen Clark (The Ultimate DooMer) and uses the music track "Dark" by Kevin Schilder, from Heretic.
Contents
Walkthrough[edit]
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Essentials[edit]
Follow the path to a couple of golems guarding a narrow bridge, then run across the bridge (it will collapse under your feet) to reach a square lift. Press the switch next to it to lower the lift, then get off the lift at the south exit and follow the path past an undead warrior and nitrogolems to reach a cavern with stalagmites and gargoyles. Open the door in the north-west corner marked “Rest Rooms” to enter a hall with three more doors, kill any approaching undead warriors (ideally without hitting the voodoo doll behind them), then open the middle door to find a few golems guarding a switch. Press the switch to raise a bridge that you will cross later, then return to the hallway and open the north-eastern door to enter a square room with fire gargoyles. Open the east door to see one or two undead warrior ghosts (or an iron lich on hard skill levels) guarding another switch. Press this switch, noting the undead warriors that are released behind you, then go back to the hallway where a platform holding the red key has lowered.
Return to the lift and get off at the north exit, then follow the path north past more golems and across a collapsible bridge to reach a T-junction. Take the north-west path to enter an ice cave with one or two liches, press the switch at the east end of the cave then fight off the fire gargoyles that teleport in before going back to the T-junction. Step across the bridge that has risen from the sludge river and follow the path past a couple of undead warriors to a red door, then open it to find one or two more liches guarding the green key. Go back to the T-junction and take the north-east path then go forward to a second junction – at this point you can go south or east, but either way you need to go forward until you climb two staircases and arrive at a green door.
Open the green door to see a sign saying “Test of Earth” then walk under it to go down to a cave with one to three liches. Once they are destroyed, walk into the southern tunnel to activate some crushers then time your run past them to reach a blue switch, one of four needed to get the blue key. Go back to the cave and enter the south-eastern tunnel to see a sludge pit with a single narrow path running through it – a sign here indicates you should save your game before proceeding, which is recommended as if you fall off the path you will be unable to finish the level. Take the Tome of Power and press the second blue switch on the other side of the pit, drop down to the teleporter behind you to get back to the cave then head north across two bridges to a second cave with more liches. Enter the tunnel in the north-west corner of this cave and step across some small platforms to reach the third blue switch (saving is recommended as the pit below is inescapable), then head east into the neighboring cavern and enter the narrow tunnel at the opposite end to reach the final switch. Step through the crushers that activate inside the cavern to get back to the northern cave, then step across the bridge in the south-east corner to collect the blue key.
Taking the blue key lowers all the connecting bridges, so you will need to drop into the sludge and run west to the round room in the center of the map, which contains golem ghosts and another voodoo doll. Go north then east to find the blue door, pass through it and collect the Wings of Wrath before continuing east to an overlook with a danger sign. Run or fly east until you go over a sludgefall, then step on to dry land and approach the stone door to finish the level.
Other points of interest[edit]
In the red key area, open the north door in the square room to find a dragon claw.
It is possible to bypass the collapsing path to the second blue switch. At the start of the level you will cross a wooden bridge that collapses when you are halfway across it. If you step on that bridge then immediately go back to the start, you will see that a teleporter intended for cooperative play has opened which goes to the other side of the bridge. Entering the teleporter opens a second teleporter by the collapsing path, which sends you directly to the switch on the other side of it.
Secrets[edit]
- Get to the quiver of ethereal arrows at the start and open the south wall. You will find Gauntlets of the Necromancer, energy orbs, and a message reading "4 elemental tests, 4 [blue switch] in each test, 4 blue keys". (sector 198)
- In the rest rooms, enter the leftmost room and open the north wall. You will find a map scroll and a switch. Flip the switch and leave the room, then head east to the alcove with a Tome of Power. (sector 327)
- West of the voodoo doll in the center of the map, you can get a Tome of Power. You should collect this secret after walking across the bridge to the east, which will make it collapse. (sector 464)
- In the north-east cave with liches, head to the pillar just south of the north-west passage and use its north-west side to reveal a Morph Ovum. (sector 466)
- At the west side of the sludge, there is a platform with an enchanted shield and a mystic urn. You need the Wings of Wrath to reach this safely. (sector 463)
Bugs[edit]
Demo files[edit]
Areas / screenshots[edit]
Speedrunning[edit]
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SM speed | |||||
| SM max | |||||
| BP speed | |||||
| BP max | |||||
| NM speed | |||||
| NM 100S | |||||
| Tyson | |||||
| Pacifist |
The (absence of) data was last verified in its entirety on January 18, 2024.
Statistics[edit]
Map data[edit]
| Things | 587 |
| Vertices | 4134* |
| Linedefs | 3512 |
| Sidedefs | 5429 |
| Sectors | 514 |
Things[edit]
This level contains the following numbers of things per skill level:
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