Filename : bsal2h4958.lmp, bsal2h4958.txt
Date     : 03.12.2024
Iwad     : doom2.wad
Pwad     : bsal2023.wad
Game     : Doom2
Exe      : DSDA Doom 0.26.2 -complevel 2
Category : UV-Max
Map(s)   : MAP02
Skill    : 3 (HMP)
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Nickname : alexsa2015sa
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Map 02 - 49:58
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Description:

The lmp is recorded against an incorrectly named .wad file because the demo author is a dummy who renames the new files all the time instead of replacing old versions with correct ones. It should sync anyways.

Attempts: 31 (+several UV and freedoom-UV attempts I didn't bother to dig up, barely 50 in total)

It's the longest map in the set. I dared not touch that at the time after ALMS-04 grind which which alone cost me half the October, and the strenous 47-min success in MAP03 which too cost a week (I definitely noticed skill increase involved). Outside of few deathtraps it's actually somewhat relaxed - no random archviles spawning behind (hate you ALMS-04) or utterly ginormous demon hordes blocking your way to them (love you BSAL-04 invulnerability), but do one mistake with yellow skull switches and archviles dominate the open space of brick stairways, especially if you accidentally left the wrong doors open (but hey, at least I didn't run out of bullets that run...)
The less said about BFG secret platforming under the nose of a cyberdemon, the better. No, it isn't going to work. No, you shouldn't waste several dozen attempts or offer a black goat with seven eyes to RNGesus in the hopes you won't. Shoot the fucker manually and get on with it; if you aim for it early you can make the ammo costs work in the remaining timespan of the map (it costs > 400 pellets and because shotgun accuracy sucks it's > 50 shells, haven't tested whether the SSG spread works better but doubt it)

It is actually the third finished attempt; the first one is a 14-minutes worse UV-Speed one because I ran out of rockets and, uhh, yellow skull door archviles happened; the second was 10 minutes longer, which wasn't actually just because of me spending an unpaused minute looking up the 15th secret location that I missed (sue me, I could not remember there are actually so many blue armors scattered in the various nooks and crannies). This time, I had a stuck cacodemon in the chute that I had to backtrack for. Really, the level IS convoluted enough that it barely deserves the hub-and-spokes label, in spite of it being that - such "hub" is a hell to navigate (no pun intended).

The route on display is unreservedly not optional, aside from the fact that going with the obvious route herds you into multiple follow-up traps it doesn't divulge a blue armor until far into thorny hellknight traps (which are even worse for UV). This time I skipped using the blursphere secret for yellow key to save time (reaching the cyber-execution spot just before I detour for the red key), and it didn't turn out too bad with 10 minutes saved; I spent more cells and bullets but less rockets.

Conclusion: the HMP one is more tedious than difficult at my skill level. I lost ~6 hours in total to nearly-there-almost-successful attempts, which galls more than repeatedly dying in 30 seconds, to moments of inattention. And, no, I'm NOT doing that one damned trick jump while cyberdemon is alive OR leave the entire secret with precious BFG for its post-switch teleport, thank you very much; I rather like it predictable and penned into that balcony. In the end I actually ended up at 157/100/42/78 as far as ammo goes, which means I was excessively prone to fisticuffs when I needn't, but oh well. (The first success was 398/98/36/160, which was even more ammo)

As for Speed run (UV-Speed, HMP-speed, etc); the level is convoluted enough and full of entirely optional areas.
		One of possible routes:
	- You don't strictly need to spend time picking up the chaingun, you have a chaingunner 5 seconds later, but you need to herd the demon out of the lift and kill the chaingunner which almost evens out.
	- Blue key is quickly reachable through the same shortcut as in the demo, it doesn't strictly require a weapon for Speed, but there are many enough imps and demons you need at least the chaingun to clear the trash from the room or else there is nowhere to dodge the hellknights later.
	- You can skip all the secret detours,and go from blue for SSG then red key straight away. Pain Elemental is the only hurdle, the pinky-mancubus-arachnotron ambush is self-dismantled by infighting; just don't get cornered by strafing into fatface.
	- Route from there as follows: go from the red key lift west, to blursphere secret past the red key warehouse (don't get rocketed stupidly by trying to wallrun the impassable linedef), use it to diminish damage from the crowd at the yellow key, exit via blue key door to the exit sign and the exit room, pressing yellow skull switch and (finally) getting the RL. 
	- Enter south brick stairs via yellow skull doors and press the red-locked switch between black banners.
	- Use RL to kill the awakened viles from the yellow skull door, drop into lava to open the computer map secret and teleport to the final blue skull switch the fast way through.
	- Ignore demons beyond clearing your way through, you aren't coming back here.
	- You still need to lower the crackle wall by visiting the techbase-room-turning-to-hell near the start. It is probably faster to jump into yellow-locked teleport underneath pink spaghetti and then shortcut to exit via one of two red doors (not sure whethere the twists and turns and the slow lift of skull one are worse than the longer trek of the keycard one).

Notes for the UV route:
	- There are slightly more hitscanners in the first area; try to avoid getting tagged so much that you *need* a medikit before berserk pack.
	- Megasphere secret is more dangerous; if you don't have the skill to keep two revenants in melee you're getting rocketed.
	- North-central hellknight backtracking ambush involves two archviles. If you piled the crushed chaingunners or worse yet, hellknights or cacodemons and didn't come in with the RL = wipe.
	- The blue armor crate ambush of hellknights and pinkies is far fatter with so many hellknights squeezed into tiny closet, and there are multiple revenants ambushing instead of just one.
	- Yellow key hitscanners ambush are chaingunners. Trying to do it without secret blursphere is considerably taxing on health and armor if you miss even one in short range.

