WAD: Unholy Realms
Filename: urdpfix.wad
Tags: UV Speed, TAS
Walkthrough: D2ALL
Source port: XDRE 2.20, XDRE 2.22 (Map 5)
Used complevel: -complevel 2

This is a tool-assisted speedrun that completes Unholy Realms quickly. It was recorded frame-by-frame in XDRE 2.20. 

Demo playback:
1) Make a shortcut of glboom-plus.exe
2) Open the Properties of the shortcut
3) Insert commands at the end of its Target field, so it would look similar to that:
D:\dsda-doom-0.29.4\dsda-doom.exe -iwad doom2.wad -file urdpfix.wad -playdemo urallx855.lmp

Alternatively, you can drag and drop the needed iwad, wad and lmp into dsda-doom.exe and it will play the demo from the beginning.

YouTube videos:
D2ALL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfWAJHbV2V4
Improved Map 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OypAOGoYBtM


------ Comments ------

I was going through Cacowards and found this wad. Surprisingly, almost all maps had relatively small timings on DSDArchive. I even found a thread about TAS making when the wad was still being developed, but odysseyofnoises and already banned Hock didn't come to anything.
The wad itself got its attention in 2014 and then fell of the grid.

The gameplay is pretty smooth. Sharp turns are avoided, except for a pair of homely moments. Bruteforces don't feature sharp turns as well.

! Map 1

Most of the maps feature speedrunning tricks, so some specific sections could be skipped. Right here, there is a tiny curb on the edge which lets you get on a higher platform with an imp and skip the red keycard section. And, of course, no need to raise a bridge to the exit.

! Map 2

I didn't think it was possible to jump on the box near the blue keycard. Fortunately, 4shockblast proved it. The position should be precise to make it because the distance is much longer than on Map 1. 

! Map 3

The actual UV Speed route is used, except for the end where I managed to bypass the bridge raise using a cacodemon's closet near it.

! Map 4

Again, a regular UV Speed route is taken. Thanks to Andromeda who found that you can jump across the fence using a pole. I guess, that's the first time in Doom's history when such a fence doesn't have the flag "Impassible".

Running around in the narrow room with spectres and demons was complicated.  

! Map 5

4shockblast discovered that the shotgunner (thing 246) could open the blue door, if you shoot the edge of his hitbox through the window.

Due to my inattention in urallx857, I forgot about the bars which take me straight to the the yellow key. Now I fixed that and saved 4 secs, however this improvement was done to fit into the existing D2ALL run. I lost 2 secs picking up the (P)RNG index (169) to make it sync with the rest of the TAS.

! Map 6

The way to the exit is guarded by a single gate which is enough wide for the player to get through. Pretty easy for a TAS.

! Map 7

I had to lose 2 tics on triggering a secret megasphere and another 3 tics to get out of the lowering lift back to the main room. Total HP fulfilment and a lot of rockets let me save much more time afterwards.

! Map 8

A lot of time is saved thanks to the ledge from the balcon with the berserk to the room with the red key.%%%
A rocket boost at the end saves just a little time since it's still possible to skip the linedef which lowers the exit gate, if your Y momentum is high enough.  

! Map 9

Normally, the player had to grab all three keys in order to finish the map.%%%
For some reason the closet with a voodoo doll, which collects the yellow key, is placed enough close to the wall and at the acceptable altitude, so you could grab it through the wall if your momentum is more than 20.

I don't know how 4shockblast lost that trick while marathoning this wad.

! Map 10

Another unseen trick. Red skullkey is surrounded with linedefs that open the gate to the final switch which can be activated easily.

! Map 11

I was upset when I discovered that you die at the end. Well, I had enough HP for some rocket boosts.

! Map 12

I spent a lot of time manipulating shotgunners to kill me faster because I found the chaingunner very slow, but I couldn't even beat Kraflab's time.

Eventually, I found nothing better than make both hell knights attack me. 

! Map 13

When you see the exit platform and an archvile which can easily take you there, you know what's gonna be. I had to lose enough HP though, so I would die and start a new level with 100 HP.

! Map 14 

This one was harder. I couldn't satisfy all the conditions for a fast AVJ to the exit, but at least I managed to save momentum of the wall, so it would be enough to reach the spot.

! Map 15

No, Map 31 would be much longer than the regular route. This map also feature a gate which takes a lot of time to reveal the exit, so I collected some necessary stuff for Map 17, like a rocket launcher and a BFG (through the wall, of course). 

! Map 16 

Even though it doesn't take much longer to get the red key normally, I found a shorter route thanks to the archvile near the starting area.
Since most non-door activities are assigned to linedefs near the keys and that one was set to the whole cliff border, I made the red closet open without taking the key. 

! Map 17

Another long map gets passed quickly thanks to a rocket jump outta the window. Killed myself to get through the exit bars.

! Map 18

Traditionally, an archvile helps to skip a major part of the map. Here, it's a blue keycard. Getting to switch that lowers the exit was tricky though.

! Map 19

By this moment I wasn't that enthusiastic about making this TAS. 

Even though the map was easy, the health management for Map 20 was still a problem.
Wallrunning in the first lift saves 3 tics over grabbing the blue armor in the secret room. Knowing my "luck" in monster manipulations, I decided to accept that "precious" lose.

Another problem is the secret platform with berserk which is used for AVJ to the exit. Berserk lies just in front of the teleport destination and imps  get teleported back, so it was difficult to get the path to the archvile clear.

! Map 20

At first, I tried playing in pacifist like Kraflab did, but since I was doing everything faster, the red skullkey section made me replay it again, since the chaingunners need more time on dying in infighting.

Since I didn't have a chaingun, I had to grab it first, so I wouldn't spend the time on inevitable weapon switching. It also prevented me from doing extra turns when blasting the chaingunners. I couldn't kill all three of them using a single rocket, but I expected one of them be close to a teleport spot, so I could blast him with a rocket and get unfreezed faster. 

I was also surprised that I managed to skip the linedef twice that reveals monsters and a baron of hell which would block my pass after taking the red key. 

The rest of the run was self-explanatory. The wall which opens the pit takes the post time than any other wall in this WAD 21 secs. I decided to use DSDA-Doom's regular slow motion to mess around a little bit.

The map also features Voodoo dolls which get damaged by barrels, and I could trigger false death at the end, but I had too much health =(

! Map 21

Pretty decent map, as an episode beginner. Nothing special. 
Grabbing either a berserk, or a shotgun would slow me down, even if I could ignore the switch that raises the platform to another switch which opens the exit.

! Map 22

I didn't expect Map 23 to have such a lowrise gap before the exit, so I had to replay this map because I took a green armor on the first place.

Pretty short map. The soulsphere from Map 21 came in handy.

! Map 23

It's still a mystery for me which factors make an archvile perform its attack. It could be improved, I'm sure. 

! Map 24 
 
I was planning to perform an AVJ to the area with that archvile and 2 revenants, and then jump down the same way I came from, but its strike slows me down so hard I could barely reach the yellow skullkey. Still a good time save!

The rest of the map was following an existing UV Speed route, but since I was low on HP and the archvile in the final area didn't give me enough time to get it up, I had to turn around quickly to perform a rocket boost.

! Map 25

The archvile that teleports in (thing 224) immediately goes to resurrect imps which died of infight the arachnotron and I couldn't manipulate it to attack me, so a different route was picked after the red skull pedestal, because the switch that reveals the exit area was enough close to me. 

! Map 26 

I think Brian Knox himself was expecting a speedrunner to perform that AVJ. All the map is surrounded with WR Teleport linedefs, so nobody could jump over the perimeter, but he left a big pocket, so a player could skip the keys and get to the exit. 

! Map 27

No wonder why this map is so unpopular. Only Cyberdemon531 made 3 NoMo runs, just to fill the table =)

There are 2 ways to pass the hexagon with demons and an archvile with BFG and without it. Ignoring the BFG saves about 25 tics (ideally). Considering the fact that later on I had to somehow run through 3 hordes of Revenants guarding 2 switches and the teleport that you have to use twice, I chose to take the BFG (+1.2 secs).

! Map 28

This time, I'm wondering why this map is unpopular. UV Speed route is pretty clear here. Maybe it would lose a lot of time to a TAS run, but still the yellow key zone can be skipped.

Well, there were 2 obstacles: imps walking on the bridge which would block my wallrunning along the fence, and the archvile which should attack me at the right moment, so I would keep the tempo fast. I focused on the first one, since it's easier to make imps walk away.

! Map 29

If I don't shoot, the archvile attacks me ~0,5 later, but I couldn't gain enough momentum because if I stay open, another archvile almost blocks my path and attacks me as well. If I try a different side, than zombiemen hurt me and I don't have enough HP to get to the exit.

Provoking the archvile was far way more efficient and the horde cleared the way.

! Map 30

This map is the apogee to convince everyone who plays it. Regular players get a long boring road with all 3 keys included, and speedrunners get an special route which lets them bypass the whole map entirely.
A simple AVJ, all necessary crags have steps to get up to a special area, another AVJ, a 45-degree angle to perform an easy void glide and another Romero's head sticking out of the wall, so you could kill it. I won't believe it was not done intentionally.

What's interesting, Brian wrote a hilarious victory screen text because there are two Romeros' heads and you, one way or another, kill just one of them xD

Frankly speaking, I'm satisfied with the finale. I was so messed up and I desired to finally finish it. 

! Summary

Brian Knox, the author of Unholy Realms, left a lot of speedrun tricks. I think he made it intentionally. Don't know about Map 9, but regarding Map 26, I don't see any reasons in leaving a big gap, so a player could jump over the wall and finish the map. 
skillsaw (Map 27) and Joshy (Map 29) definitely followed his lead. 


Time spent on building: ~90 hours + 8 hours (Map 5)
Production dates: 
December 18, 2021 - January 4, 2022 (D2ALL);
June 27, 2026 - June 28, 2026 (improved Map 5).


Author: Dmytro "Dimon12321" Moskovchenko
Doomworld profile: https://www.doomworld.com/profile/26471-dimon12321/
YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/Dimon12321/videos