E5M8: The Dark Tower (Shadowcaster)
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E5M8: The Dark Tower is the eighth and final map of Shadowcaster. It was designed by Stephen Clark (The Ultimate DooMer) and uses the music track "Atcoty" by Kevin Schilder, from Heretic.
Contents
Walkthrough[edit]
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Essentials[edit]
You start at the bottom of a spiral staircase. Open the door and destroy any sabreclaws waiting on the stairs, then go up to the door on the first level and open it to enter a vine maze which is divided into two areas; the west side has several low walls and the east side is divided into many square blocks. Head east through the first area, killing any golems and other monsters that are lying in wait, then go to the north-east corner of the block room to find a switch that will open the second level of the tower. Return to the staircase and kill some undead warrior ghosts, then open the door on the second level to get a dragon claw and enter a room with a wooden building surrounded by ice. Go through the door on the west side of the building, which will release disciples of D'Sparil into the room, then press the switch in this chamber before going to the door on the east side of the building to enter a second chamber. Press the switch in the second chamber to open the bars blocking the entrance door, then return to the staircase where some more disciples have been released.
Open the door on the third level of the staircase to find a hellstaff, then enter the water in front of you to be carried into a valley which holds all three keys. Clear the waiting weredragons and undead warriors then go to the north end of the valley and press the west sides of the pillars holding the red and green keys to lower them; this will also release a group of ophidians and one or two maulotaurs, and the maulotaurs will need to be killed to open the level exit later. Now go to the enclosure at the south end of the valley and enter it to get a Chaos Device, then use the lifts on either side of the entrance to go up to the battlements and run across to the blue key in the middle of the enclosure. Once you have all the keys, enter the circle of stalagmites on the south side of the valley to get a Ring of Invincibility and another Chaos Device, which will release some iron liches behind you, then activate the Device to return to the starting point.
Go up the staircase to the fourth level, where some ophidians have been released, then open the door here to see a phoenix rod next to a voodoo doll, which is placed on a narrow catwalk. Using the Ring of Invincibility you found earlier, you need to use your weapons to push the doll to the ledge on the east side of the pit where you will find another switch; the doll must not fall off the catwalk as the magma below will eventually kill you, and if the doll is left on the catwalk you will be killed by a crusher. After pressing the switch on the east side of the pit, use the Chaos Device here to return to the start then go to the fifth level of the staircase where one or two liches have been released. Open the door on this level to face another lich, then take the Morph Ovum behind it and return to the staircase.
To get through the maze on the fifth level you must use the Ovum on a voodoo doll and turn yourself into a chicken; the effect only lasts for 40 seconds so you need to move quickly to complete the maze in one go. Run through the crawlspace next to where you found the Ovum to enter a green room and press the switch to your right, then run west past a sabreclaw and weredragon to enter a second crawlspace with some metal barriers. Slalom through the barriers and run past a maulotaur guarding a third crawlspace, enter it and press the switches in the north-west and south-west corners before running east past some fire gargoyles to exit the maze. Return to the staircase, where the barrels blocking the way up have disappeared, then go to the top of the tower to enter D'Sparil's throne room.
Deal with D'Sparil and his chaos serpent, watching out for the voodoo doll in the middle of the room, then open the bookcases on the west, north and east sides of the room to reveal three locked doors that have switches behind them. Press all the switches to lower the throne and reveal a pair of teleporters that go to a circular arena; killing D'Sparil should have destroyed all the liches and maulotaurs here, as well as opening the exit teleporter in the middle of the arena.
Other points of interest[edit]
Secrets[edit]
- In the vine maze at the south-east end, head to the north-east side of the first area (the part without the blocks). Open the wall there to get a Tome of Power. (sector 119)
- In the ice area, head to the east side of the building and lower a wall near the door. Flip the switch to lower the south-east corner, where you can get a shadowsphere to the south. (sector 194) Taking the item opens a compartment behind it with a lich and a map scroll.
- Use a Morph Ovum to turn yourself into a chicken, then open the door on the third level of the staircase and run along the fast-flowing water. Your momentum will allow you to fly to the cave above the waterfall on the east side of the valley which has flame orbs, quartz flasks, a Tome of Power, and a Chaos Device. (sector 147)
- In the area with the thin paths, go to the north side, look down, and shoot a switch. This opens a path to the south leading to a mystic urn and ammo. (sector 275)
- In the north-east hall, go to the Morph Ovum and open the south wall to get Time Bombs of the Ancients. (sector 319)
- After going through the north-east maze, exit out of the vent to the left of the Morph Ovum and return to the starting point. The north wall is open, revealing an enchanted shield and large ammo pickups. (sector 278)
- At the top of the tower, lower the south bookshelf and open the door to find a switch. This reveals inferno orbs, piles of mace spheres, a Morph Ovum, a Tome of Power, a shadowsphere, and a Ring of Invincibility in the main room. (sector 94)
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 | 698 |
| Vertices | 2969* |
| Linedefs | 2594 |
| Sidedefs | 4069 |
| Sectors | 386 |
Things[edit]
This level contains the following numbers of things per skill level:
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