Thy Flesh Consumed
From DoomWiki.org
Thy Flesh Consumed is the fourth and final episode in The Ultimate Doom, made available in a retail distribution, as well as in the form of a free upgrade to owners of the registered version of Doom.
With the exception of the secret level (and the levels exclusive to the Sony Playstation version), all the level names, and the episode title, are phrases taken directly from the Bible. The list was compiled by Kevin Cloud, and John Romero assigned names to the individual levels. This episode was also Tim Willits' first contribution to the Doom series, as he joined id Software after the release of the original Doom and Doom II.
Contents
Plot[edit]
The episode is both a sequel to Doom and a prequel to Doom II. It chronicles the Doomguy's battles against the legions of demons that the Spider Mastermind had sent through the doorway between Hell and Earth, the very same gateway that the player had earlier used to return to his home planet. Ultimately, though the player is victorious, inflicting heavy losses on the invaders and avenging the death of his pet rabbit Daisy, it turns out to be an empty victory as the demons have already overrun all the major cities, and the stage is set for Hell on Earth.
The background sky of the episode is a light brownish-orange with dark clouds, similar to the ending cutscene of Inferno and the star port levels of Doom II. The graphical style is generally hellish, though there are a handful of tech base themes used. While there are some features carried over from Doom II, such as switches that require keys and blazing doors, otherwise all of the music, textures, monsters, and weapons are from the original Doom.
Since the expansion was produced while id Software was involved in other projects,[1] less thought was put into making it consistent with the previously developed plot of the games, and the designers concentrated primarily on straightforward action, which was already the general focus of the games.[2] The final message and screen with the rabbit Daisy arguably reinforce the acknowledgment that the designers' main concern at that point was the levels and not the background story or any general aesthetic considerations.
Description[edit]
The levels are considered much harder than the levels of the three other episodes and Doom II. Unlike the other episodes, the difficulty in Thy Flesh Consumed does not follow the expected learning curve as one progresses through the levels. It could be argued that E4M2: Perfect Hatred and E4M1: Hell Beneath are the most difficult, not only of the entire episode but also the whole Doom series, as the player faces a large number of monsters all at once, while having little cover and a lack of health pickups. By contrast, E4M7: And Hell Followed and E4M8: Unto the Cruel are tricky but relatively straightforward, as the monsters are more dispersed and can be dealt with piecemeal. However, E4M4: Unruly Evil is easier than most of the episode, but a little difficult from a pistol start because there are three spectres.
Additionally, unlike the earlier episodes, the intermission does not display the player's current progress on a map; rather, a grayscale version of Doom II's intermission screen is shown.
Levels[edit]
| Ultimate Doom episodes |
|---|
|
- E4M1: Hell Beneath
- E4M2: Perfect Hatred (Exit to secret level)
- E4M3: Sever the Wicked
- E4M4: Unruly Evil
- E4M5: They Will Repent
- E4M6: Against Thee Wickedly
- E4M7: And Hell Followed
- E4M8: Unto the Cruel (Spiderdemon is the boss)
- E4M9: Fear (Secret level)
Speedrunning[edit]
Current Compet-n records[edit]
The Compet-n records for this episode are:
| Run | Time | Player | Date | File | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV speed episode | 04:19 | Tamas Flamich | 2012-10-22 | ep4-0419.zip | |
| NM speed episode | 05:54 | Drew DeVore (stx-Vile) | 2002-09-16 | e4nm0554.zip | |
| UV max episode | 20:58 | Tatsuya Ito (Tatsurd-cacocaco) | 2014-12-30 | ep4-2058.zip | |
| NM100S episode | 09:13 | Vincent Catalaá (Peroxyd) | 2002-01-06 | e4ns0913.zip | |
| UV -fast episode | 36:00 | Chris Ratcliff (Ryback) | 2001-03-23 | e4fa3600.zip | |
| UV -respawn episode | 1 | ||||
| UV Tyson episode | 1 | ||||
| UV pacifist episode | 1 |
The data was last verified in its entirety on November 22, 2020.
- No qualifying run verified and published, as of the most recent Compet-n database update.
Current DSDA records[edit]
The DSDA records for this episode are:
| Run | Time | Player | Date | File | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV speed episode | 03:31 | Zero-Master | 2021-03-27 | ep4-331.zip | |
| NM speed episode | 05:42 | Zero-Master | 2020-08-22 | e4nm542.zip | |
| UV max episode | 17:50 | Zero-Master | 2024-01-23 | ep4m1750.zip | |
| NM 100S episode | 08:36 | Zero-Master | 2023-01-23 | ep4ns836.zip | |
| UV -fast episode | 40:26 | Chris Ratcliff (Ryback) | 2001-03-23 | e4fa3600.zip |
The data was last verified in its entirety on January 27, 2024.
Notes[edit]
The level names were taken from the following passages in the King James Version of the Bible:
- Thy Flesh Consumed
- Proverbs 5:11 - And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed
- E4M1: Hell Beneath
- Proverbs 15:24 - The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from Hell beneath.
- E4M2: Perfect Hatred
- Psalm 139:22 - I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.
- E4M3: Sever The Wicked
- Matthew 13:49 - So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just
- E4M4: Unruly Evil
- James 3:8 - But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
- E4M5: They Will Repent
- Luke 16:30 - And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
- E4M6: Against Thee Wickedly
- Psalm 139:20 - For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain.
- E4M7: And Hell Followed
- Revelation 6:8 - And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
- E4M8: Unto The Cruel
- Proverbs 5:9 - Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel
Trivia[edit]
- Despite the fact that id Software had released for free a patch to upgrade registered Doom version 1.9 to The Ultimate Doom, a British magazine referred pejoratively to Thy Flesh Consumed as Thy Cash Consumed, as they considered it as a cheap attempt of earning more money from an already successful title.[3]
External links[edit]
- Thy Flesh Consumed demos from the Compet-n database: UV speed • NM speed • UV max • NM100S • UV -fast • UV -respawn • UV Tyson • UV pacifist
- Thy Flesh Consumed episode runs at the Doom Speed Demo Archive
References[edit]
- ↑ The Romero (6 July 2002). "Ultimate Doom thread." Planet Romero, id Games Discussion forum (archived 🏛). Retrieved 5 April 2008.
- ↑ Doomworld (14 January 1999). "Interview with John Carmack (questions 1-2)." Doomworld. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
- ↑ McCandless, David (1 August 1995). "Ultimate Doom: Thy Flesh Consumed." PC Zone. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
