Necromantic Thirst - Extra information


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#  MAPLIST  #
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01: LD50 Processing - franckFRAG
02: Voltigo - [WH]-Wilou84
03: Stone Strength - Devisin and [WH]-Wilou84
04: Chromescale Nightmares - Oxyde and franckFRAG
05: Taste The Poison - Necrotikflesh and [WH]-Wilou84
06: And Then You Die - Valkiriforce, Dutch Devil, DeathevokatioN, Captain Toenail and [WH]-Wilou84
07: Sharp Groan - franckFRAG
08: Fear of a Blank Planet - Roofi
09: Liquid Filth - AconyX
10: Quadra Mercury - franckFRAG
11: Radiation Sickness - DeathevokatioN and [WH]-Wilou84
12: Turn in Your Grave - DeathevokatioN and franckFRAG
13: A Step Forward Into Terror - franckFRAG
14: Trust us we're science - Yugiboy85
15: Below the Hill - franckFRAG
16: Lash By Lash - Dislogical
17: Cryptic Realms - Dislogical
18: Calagah - franckFRAG
19: Unfold the Darkest Scheme - Yugiboy85
20: Emeraldeus Mons - franckFRAG
21: Chapel of Ghouls - DeathevokatioN, Rauno Marks, and [WH]-Wilou84
22: The Void Watchers - Darkwave0000
23: Spectral Shift - Datacore and [WH]-Wilou84
24: Korzega Ruins - franckFRAG
25: Freed From The Real - franckFRAG
26: Dark Pulse - [WH]-Wilou84
27: Neodammerung - [WH]-Wilou84
28: Lyar - [WH]-Wilou84
29: Netherborn Phalanx - [WH]-Wilou84
30: Well of the Sacrificed Gods - franckFRAG
31: Simeon Le Rouge - franckFRAG
32: Hungry Hearts - franckFRAG


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#  SOUNDTRACK  #
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01: "Skybase 300" map05 from Zone300 by Paul Corfiatis
02: "Faultline" by Jimmy
03: "Industrial Incandesence" from Donkey Kong Country by Rare
04: "Quicksilver" by Jimmy
05: "Stormy Volcano" by Petter Mårtensen
06: "Patterns" by Psyrus
07: "How About I Slap Your Bass" by Jimmy
08: "Fear of a Blank Planet" by Porcupine Tree
09: "I Don't Want You To Leave (Regretful Edit)" by Varis Alpha
10: "Knock It Off!" by Jimmy
11: "Isosceles" by Psyrus
12: "And so I carry on..." by David Shaw (from Gothic DM 2)
13: "Blizzard" by Jimmy
14: "Kuiper Belt" by AD_79
15: "Crawling Vermin" by Maxime Tondreau
16: "Grin Of The Necromancer" by Andrew Carson
17: Track14 from Blood
18: "Outdoor Theme 2" from Dungeon Master 2
19: "Gyászolás" by Tristan Clark
20: "Twisted Royalty" by LPad
21: "Plessure" by Paul Corfiatis
22: "Diaphragm" by AD_79
23: "The Gateway of Hell" by Sam Woodman
24: "Eflast" by ribbiks
25: "The Stones Of Cartmanmania" by Maxime Tondreau
26: "Boss Bossanova (Extended)" by David Wise and Mark Jansen from Donkey Kong Country 2 (Extensions written by James Paddock)
27: "Dancing Mad" from Final Fantasy VI and "Death Seal" by Maxime Tondreau
28: "Maria" by Ribbiks
29: "The Overseer" by by Eveline Fischer and David Wise (Remixed and rearranged by James Paddock)
30: "Eternal Breath" by AD_79
31: "Crystal Iris" by Jimmy
32: "Threads of Fate" from Valen's Fortress by Squaresoft

Intermission : "Apophysis" by Gus Knezevich (Alfonzo)
Title screen : "Benevolent Ghosts" by Jimmy/Alfonzo


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#  TEXTURES, SPRITES & GFX  #
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- ENDOOM : Peccatum Mihzamiz
- 3D Realms (Duke Nukem 3D resources)
- Aardappel
- Adelusion (GothicTX textures)
- Afterglow (GothicTX textures, website)
- BioWare (Neverwinter Nights symbol)
- BlazingPhoenix (Heretic Baker's Legacy texture pack)
- Cage (Cagetex)
- Capcom (Resident Evil 4 textures)
- Captain Toenail (Heretic Baker's Legacy texture pack)
- Cardboard Marty, Stopsignal and Revenant100 (Baron sprites)
- Chico (Ruin textures)
- Dario Casali (Plutonia textures)
- David Gevert (Darkbase textures, among others)
- DefconRazor32 (Doom II Recolored)
- Dislogical (texture edits)
- Dragonfly (base for spectral sky texture)
- EarthQuake (old tree, pipe textures)
- Emerson Tung (Doom 2016 demon runes)
- Enjay (Heretic Baker's Legacy texture pack)
- Eric "Amuscaria / Eriance" Ou (Demon Eclipse resources)
- Espi (Suspended in Dusk textures)
- esselfortium (Back to Saturn X textures, Heretic Baker's Legacy texture pack)
- Evil Space Tomato (Heretic Baker's Legacy texture pack)
- franckFRAG (lots of new textures, sprites, recolorations, NT logo, GFX, resource management)
- François-Xavier Delmotte (Ogro textures)
- Gez (Heretic Baker's Legacy texture pack, base for spectral sky texture)
- Huy "Doom Marine" Pham (Deus Vult, Deus Vult II textures)
- Iceman57 (base for INTERPIC)
- Icytux (Heretic Baker's Legacy texture pack)
- id Software (Doom, Doom II, Quake, Quake III Arena resources)
- Iikka Keränen
- Ion Storm (Daikatana textures)
- Jimmy Paddock (zo0n)
- KeksDose (sprites, GFX)
- Kell (Knave textures)
- Lobotomy Software (Powerslave textures)
- Martin Howe (Panperil)
- Matthias Worch
- Mechadon (CR8 textures recompilation for Doom, map09, map10, map11 and episode 3 skies)
- Midway (Doom 64 textures)
- Milo Casali (Plutonia textures)
- Monolith (Blood textures)
- Mummi (animated sky for the map30)
- NeoWorm (Heretic Baker's Legacy texture pack, base for large slimefall textures)
- Nick Baker (texture edits and recolorations)
- Ola Björling (OTEX)
- Oxyde (early sprite and GFX management)
- Pawel Zarczynski (NMN Corporation Part 2 textures)
- Pun1sh3r (Heretic Baker's Legacy texture pack)
- Raven Software (Heretic, Hexen, Hexen II resources)
- rf' (Hellish skin panel variants)
- RottKing (Heretic Baker's Legacy texture pack)
- SailorScout
- Sam "Metabolist" Woodman
- Speedy (original CR8 textures for Quake)
- Tormentor667 (Heretic Baker's Legacy texture pack)
- Thomas Moeller
- Thomas van der Velden
- Vader (Heretic Baker's Legacy texture pack)
- Worst-vd-plas (GFX)
- Xaser (Heretic Baker's Legacy texture pack)
- Yang Xueguo (spectral sky original artist)
- [WH]-Wilou84 (many recolorations and edits, secondary resource management)



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#  MAP INFORMATION  #
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-=-=-=--=-=|MAP01|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : LD50 Processing
Author(s) : franckFRAG
Build time : The main structure was made in a week, around 2013 I guess. I chose to rework the map around 2022 or 2023. I also added the exterior of the beginning while finalizing the map.
Editor(s) used : Doom Builder 1.68, Ultimate Doom Builder, XWE 1.16
Music track : "Skybase 300" map05 from Zone300 by Paul Corfiatis
Bugs : None known
Inspiration :The map01 was supposed to be the map of Oxyde.
I was inspired by the three doors of the parking lot from the original map, in order to create a tribute.
Author comments : Originally, this map was supposed to be in slot02. I then reworked the beginning so that it could be an introduction to wad. While respecting the idea of Oxyde’s original map, I chose that the map start at a parking lot or a heliport. The map is very short because from the first version of this map, there were already big maps at the beginning of the episode.


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP02|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : Voltigo
Author(s) : William "[WH]-Wilou84" Huber
Build time : ~3 months
Editor(s) used : Doom Builder 1.68, Ultimate Doom Builder, XWE 1.16, Adobe Photoshop CS 5.5
Music track : "Faultline" by James Paddock
Bugs : None known
Inspiration : The Ultimate Doom, Back to Basics, Suspended in Dusk, Back to Saturn X E1, Phobos : Anomaly Reborn, Doom II In Name Only (Russian Edition)
Author comments : Along with 3 Heures d'Agonie's "Upsilon-Synth" and 180 Minutes Pour Vivre's "Yttrium", this level's a prime example of my classic "Shotgun frenzy" affairs, with many low-tier monsters and heavy single Shotgun focus. Other weapons usually make guest appearances in such maps (the Rocket Launcher in this map's case, provided you find it).

This level was created in late 2015. Around that time, most of NT episode 1 was filled with old levels made by former project lead Oxyde, and since these maps had been pulled out of the project and publicly released a few years before, we decided to free most of these map slots. I then took a shot at creating a new early-wad map that would follow the gameplay recipe that Oxyde wanted to implement in this episode, which is basically "Ultimate Doom weapons and enemies + Chaingunners + a select few Doom II monsters here and there". Despite its placement as map 02, "Voltigo" packs a punch and shall be the first block on the road.

For this map, I've also tried a couple visual tricks borrowed from other wads. The moving hazard machinery evokes Doom II In Name Only (Russian Edition), while the yellow keycard liquid replacement sequence (and Cacodemon introduction) was inspired by a scene in Chris Lutz's Phobos : Anomaly Reborn.


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP03|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : Stone Strength
Author(s) : Devisin, William "[WH]-Wilou84" Huber
Build time : Unknown. Devisin's original map was delivered in January of 2008, and
   the map's been edited multiple times by William Huber over the years
Editor(s) used : Doom Builder 1.68, XWE 1.16, Adobe Photoshop CS 5.5, Ultimate Doom Builder
Music track : MIDI rendition of "Fear Factory" by David Wise, Eveline Fischer and Robin Beanland, from the Donkey Kong Country OST
Bugs : None known
Inspiration : 
- WH :	Devisin's mapping style
Author comments :
- WH :	Devisin was a ZDaemon player and a friend of the French crew back when we used to play lots of CTF games there, from 2006 to 2010. After she submitted a map for the Lazarus Deathmatch map compilation, she was offered a spot in the Necromantic Thirst team and created this cute brown/grey techbase. Unlike her map in Lazarus, this one doesn't feature any natural/outdoor scenes.

Early versions of the map suffered from extreme linearity, and changes needed to be made. Devi allowed me to modify her map back in 2011. First thing that's been added is the Blue key area with the Rocket Launcher and the Cacodemon duo in the toxic reservoir. Note that the rocket jump trick that this area allows is intentional.

In October of 2015, the later half of this map went under massive improvements to reduce linearity. A proper ending fight was added in there as well (the first proper Arachnotron fight of the wad).

Other additions were made in 2018, 2021 and 2024. Most notably, two secrets were added, and the gameplay's been completely overhauled.

This level is more linear and slightly easier than map 02, and relies on the same gameplay principles. Shotgun, Chaingun and Rocket Launcher are the main weapons here, RL being given on the main path instead of in secrets this time around. Super Shotgun deprivation is still intentional, as part of the gameplay rules that were chosen for the first part of Necromantic Thirst. Have fun with rockets instead !

Reworking Devisin's stuff has been time-consuming, but enjoyable. I like her unusual way of using DOORTRAK and white light beam textures as support, and tried my best to remain as close as possible to her style while adding a couple personal twists.


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP04|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : Chromescale Nightmares
Author(s) : Oxyde / franckFRAG
Build time : The first version of this map was created in 2008 by Oxyde. It was then reworked by franckFRAG around 2022.
Editor(s) used : Doom Builder 1.68, Ultimate Doom Builder, XWE 1.16
Music track :
Bugs : None known
Inspiration :
- Oxyde: Back in 2008, I used to play a lot of Skulltag and ZDoom oriented wads that I really enjoyed exploring.
I would spend hours figuring what made these wads have such a unique vibe that I digged. And while
I'm unable to share a specific name to be the root, clearly, WADs like Genesis of Descent, 
Claustrophobia: The walls close in, and even Sabbat Martyr Deathmatch were a great inspiration.

Author comments :
- Oxyde: Well, this is one is quite the remake, and a very impressive one none the less!
I initially went with a gritty, gloomy and atmospheric, theme throughout the exploration, though
not much of it made any sense. Useless dead ends, empty room, switches with no purposes, and
a very basic and uninspired arena for tags 666/667.
FranckFRAG being the absolute chad that he is, was able to make the map not only infinitely better,
but also extremely gorgeous while keeping the global architecture and key layout of the original.
If anything, it's a net positive I gave up on that project: FranckFRAG was able to make NT way better
than I could ever hope for it to become should I have done it.

- franckFRAG : This map was originally a map07. Moved to map04 following a new organization of the maplist. The original map was more closed and claustrophobic. I choose to open it further with more space.


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP05|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : Taste The Poison
Author(s) : William "[WH]-Wilou84" Huber, based on Christophe "Necrotikflesh" Calamoneri's map design and ideas
Build time : a few months from August of 2018 to May of 2019
Editor(s) used : Doom Builder 1.68, Ultimate Doom Builder
Music track : "Sormy Volcano" by Pekka "Thyrbse" Marttinen, from Hell Revealed II
Bugs : Rock texture misalignments here and there
Inspiration : Necrotikflesh's map, Ultimate Doom E2M8, Deus Vult II map 01
Author comments : The first behemoth map in NT, with almost 700 monsters (RC1 version had even more). Demons are out in full force here, but fortunately, if you look hard enough, you may find powerful tools to help you on your quest.

Necrotikflesh's original map (made in 2010) had some interesting locales, such as mining shafts, ventilation tunnels, a central "hub" with two keys on top of pillars, and an outdoor section with a dam. He also wanted to have a Cyberdemon fight at the top of the dam, and a sewer fight in which some hellish flesh formations would emerge from the depths. The map was almost complete, but still needed a lot of work to fit in what franckFRAG and I had in mind for Necromantic Thirst, so when I was tasked to work on it, I decided to recreate it from scratch, using Necrotikflesh's layout and ideas as inspiration.

Map development came to a halt in the last quarter of 2018, since I began working on the 180 Minutes Pour Vivre megawad at that point (starting with creating a resource wad as well as the first map, "Inquiétude"). The map then came to fruition in 2019.

The almighty Super Shotgun finally makes its appearance, and this represents a major shift in gameplay as we go from what I'd call "Ultimate Doom with Chaingunners" to more standard Doom II / Plutonia action. Note that previous iterations of the map didn't feature a Super Shotgun (I wanted players to make heavy use of the Rocket Launcher and secret Plasma Gun), but early playtester feedback proved that adding a SSG in there was a reasonable choice.


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP06|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : And Then You Die
Author(s) : Captain Toenail, Adrian "DeatheokatioN" Hanekom, Ronald "Dutch Devil" Lubbelinkhof, Michael "valkiriforce" Jan Krizik, William "[WH]-Wilou84" Huber
Build time : Unknown, as many people worked on parts of this map over several years
Editor(s) used : Doom Builder 1.68, Doom Builder 2, XWE 1.16, Adobe Photoshop CS 5.5, Ultimate Doom Builder, and probably a couple other map editors as well
Music track : "Patterns" by Chris "Psyrus" Leeson
Bugs : The Red keycard puzzle can probably be brute-forced, despite our efforts at preventing that.
Inspiration :
- DeatheokatioN : Nothing in particular

- WH : Nothing in particular

Author comments : 
- DeatheokatioN : Received a half complete shell of a map by Captain Toenail, Valkiriforce finished the layout in a really outstanding way, I stitched on a starting zone that Dutch Devil made as well as designing a super cool key area where you teleport across a nukage damn to get across, Wilou textured the map with the NT theme and made it make sense. Big thanks to everyone involved, was lovely seeing this come together!

- WH : This level is made from distinct parts created by four people and stitched together by a fifth one. Textbook frankenmap stuff, in short.

At some point in 2013, DeathevokatioN came to us with this collaboration between valkiriforce and Captain Toenail, made for an abandoned project led by him. Map was looking very promising, and DeathevokatioN offered me to touch it up. He then added another part (the outdoor area with the Shotgun and Imps down in the water) that was made by Dutch Devil for the same project. Afterwards, editing this map has been a back-and-forth affair between DeathevokatioN and me, up until the late development stages for which I completely took over the map. Aside from working on general gameplay and visuals, I'm responsible for the Blue keycard fight, and that sneaky Arch-Vile / Baron pincer near one of the Yellow doors.

Aside from the beginning, which is definitely Dutch Devil's style, I don't really know who made what for this map. I can only assume the cool Red keycard puzzle is by valkiriforce, as this is typically something he'd come up with.

Gameplay-wise, Doom II enemies appear in larger numbers here, and there's a couple hot encounters, like the one outside before the warehouse leading to the Blue key, and the Blue key fight itself. Now that the Super Shotgun has been added to the player's arsenal, it is time to increase gameplay intensity a bit.

There's also an unused Deathmatch area that was probably made by valkiriforce, I decided to let it in for trivia purposes.


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP07|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : Sharp Groan
Author(s) : franckFRAG
Build time : I made this map probably around 2013. Improved around 2022/2023
Editor(s) used : Doom Builder 1.68, Ultimate Doom Builder, XWE 1.16
Music track : "How About I Slap Your Bass" by Jimmy
Bugs : None known
Inspiration : Nothing in particular.
Author comments : I wanted this map to be short and little challenging, because it is located between two big maps. It is about bringing a little breath in this episode. As usual, the beginning and end of the map transition between map 06 and map 07.


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP08|=-=-=--=-=-
Level Name : Fear of a Blank Planet
Author : Roofi
Build Time : More or less one month
Editor(s) used : Gzdoombuilder + Slade
Music Track : Midi rendition of "Fear of a Blank Planet" by Porcupine Tree
Bugs : Some 3D bridges may act glitchy in cooperation mode
Inspiration : Dark Resolution 2008 Map 06 ; Necromantic Thirst map 05 in terms of how to create natural settings and the song for its rhythm and lyrics.
Author comments : One of my few maps made in Boom-Compatible format. I'm very proud to have been able to make a map for NT and pay homage to one of my favorite rock songs in Doom.


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP09|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : Liquid Filth
Author(s) : AconyX
Build time : Some months between 2018(December)- 2024
Editor(s) used : Ultimate Doom Builder
Music track : "I Don't Want You To Leave" by Viscra Maelstrom (TNT: Revilution MAP32)
Bugs : None as I am aware of
Inspiration : Can't remember anymore
Author comments : None


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP10|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : Quadra Mercury
Author(s) : franckFRAG
Build time : I made this map probably around 2013/2014. Improved around 2022/2023
Editor(s) used : Doom Builder 1.68, Ultimate Doom Builder, XWE 1.16
Music track : "Knock It Off!" by Jimmy
Bugs : None known
Inspiration : Jimmy's maps, Skillsaw's maps, Hell Revealed
Author comments : Most of the NT maps are quite demanding. For this map, I chose to set up a fun gameplay, quite direct. This is a small map with a classic route. Another map to bring breathing before the big map11.


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP11|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : Radiation Sickness
Author(s) : Adrian "DeathevokatioN" Hanekom, William "[WH]-Wilou84" Huber
Build time : Unknown, map's been worked on and off since 2012. Two more months were spent by William Huber on it in 2024.
Editor(s) used : Doom Builder 1.68, Ultimate Doom Builder
Music track : "Isoceles" by Chris "Psyrus" Leeson, from 1000 Lines Community Project 3
Bugs : None known
Inspiration :

- DeathevokatioN : Duke Nukem 3d, Scythe, Alien Vendetta, 90's megawads

- WH : DeathevokatioN's base map
Author comments : 
- DeathevokatioN : This map had more parts cut out of it than existing parts, it started out as a collab between Valkiriforce, Snakes and myself; the idea was to set out to create an interconnected and non linear old schoolish map.. and well.. our styles and design philosophies clashed violently it required many layers of polish to become a seemless masterpiece that it is..
Thinking back, I think the problem is that we each had different ideas of what "classic megawad" was and that's what caused the map to grind to a halt... eventually I was the only one working on it the map until I borrowed Wilou to become the quality control villain that I could use as my shield. :)

- WH : When DeathevokatioN came to us with the first draft of this map in 2015, after 3 years of teasing us with screenshots posted on the French forums, I knew we had a diamond in the rough with this one. Non-linear, with a lot of verticality and a Plutonia-styled gameplay showcasing an interesting Cyberdemon encounter (the static Cyberdemon overseeing the Blue key area), the level that was called "Chemical Exposure" at first would surely find its spot at the end of Necromantic Thirst's first episode.

I gladly accepted Adrian's collaboration offer, and got to work on this in 2015. My first contribution to the map is the grey cave and bunker area leading to the Yellow keycard, including the slime pit fight featuring multiple Hunters of Darkness. At that point, the map was still lacking an ending area, and I felt the old middle section that needed both keys was a bit weak.

The map remained in this unfinished state for many, many years, until I picked it up again in 2024, creating a new middle section, as well as a dynamic ending fight, in two main phases. Hopefully this fight is worthy of the "Radiation Sickness" level name.

Definitely my favorite contribution from Adrian Hanekom in the whole wad. Thanks again Adrian for this collaboration, and for your endless passion for Necromantic Thirst. You've helped us a great deal !


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP12|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : Turn In Your Grave
Author(s) : DeathevokatioN / franckFRAG
Build time : This map was probably built around 2012. Redesigned around 2023.
Editor(s) used : Doom Builder 1.68, Ultimate Doom Builder, XWE 1.16
Music track : "And so I carry on..." by David Shaw (from Gothic DM 2)
Bugs : None known
Inspiration : Hell Revealed Map01, Doom 2, Alien Vendetta
Author comments :

- fF : This map was not originally intended for NT. The idea of a base diving into the night is interesting. As usual in my maps, we can see a huge outdoor area that announces a big fight. On the original version, there was simply a Spider Mastermind in one room. The map expanded as I spoke to improve it.

- DeathevokatioN : Fun simple map, originally the rooms were smaller and more crowded with monsters.. but was later made bigger and retextured to fit the project better and the map was less jam packed by monsters.. it's a lot more atmospheric now and a decent episode opener.


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP13|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : A Step Forward Into Terror
Author(s) : franckFRAG
Build time : I made this map in 2008, redesigned around 2023/2024.
Editor(s) used : Doom Builder 1.68, Ultimate Doom Builder, XWE 1.16
Music track : "Blizzard" by Jimmy
Bugs : None known
Inspiration : Nothing in particular
Author comments : This map was my first map for NT. I kept the structure, and improved the design. This map was originally supposed to transition between the base theme and the hell theme. This is a very non-linear map, with a lot of exploration, it can be off-putting for some players because it’s quite easy to get lost.


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP14|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name: Trust us, we're science
Author: Yugiboy85
Build time: a month and a half 
Music: Kuiper belt, Ad_79
Bugs: none that i can think of
Inspiration: Back to Jupiter Z
Author comments: I really enjoyed making this map. I wanted to see what a btsx styled map would look like with little to no limitations. The result was really nice. Clearly one of my best creations to date tbh.


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP15|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : Below the Hill
Author(s) : franckFRAG
Build time : I made this map in 2023 - between 4 and 6 month
Editor(s) used : Ultimate Doom Builder
Music track : "Crawling Vermin" by Maxime Tondreau
Bugs : None known
Inspiration : I was mainly inspired by the texture choices of the map. The beginning is a transition from the previous map. My main inspiration: the maps of Darkwave from Speed of Doom. Undoubtedly one more reason why the areas of this map are so wide.
Author comments : This map was created when the map14 and map16 had already been done. I initially wanted to make a transition map. But the structure in the center, which includes the 4 spawn squares of the map16, pushed me to make a large map. Finally, it is a rather massive map, with some combat slaughter.


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP16|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : Lash By Lash
Author(s) : Dislogical / William "[WH]-Wilou84" Huber
Build time : Maybe 6 months in total
Editor(s) used : Doom Builder
Music track : "Grin Of The Necromancer" by Andrew Carson
Bugs : None
Inspiration : A bit of Quake for the textures, and pretty much any "come back to the main hub multiple times" map
Author comments : The first out of the two maps I made for NT. I wanted to create a map where you'd have to get back to the main area on a regular basis after cleaning each adjacent zone, including an arena where you'd have to fight waves of enemies in some kind of cramped room.
Map title comes from the music "Lash By Lash" by Spawn Of Possession.


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP17|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : Cryptic Realms
Author(s) : Dislogical / William "[WH]-Wilou84" Huber
Build time : Oof... 4 years I'd say ?! I took lots of breaks while creating this map.
Editor(s) used : Doom Builder
Music track : Track 14 of the OST from Blood
Bugs : None
Inspiration : Plutonia map 11 & Plutonia 2 map 11
Author comments : Yet another tribute to the infamous "Hunted" map from Plutonia. I wanted it to be gloomy while forcing you to save up ammo as much as possible (hence the very scarce ammo boxes in the maze). Backtracking in the maze is a necessity while even more arch-viles spawn here and there, enhancing the difficulty to navigate it. The vast area which consists of the second half of the map is mostly inspired by large and open areas of slaughtermaps, intended to be a sharp contrast with the first part.
Map title comes from the music "Cryptic Realms" by Massacre.


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP18|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : Calagah
Author(s) : franckFRAG
Build time : Began around 2012 I think, I decided to finish this in 2024.
Editor(s) used : Ultimate Doom Builder, Doom Builder 1.68
Music track : "Outdoor Theme 2" from Dungeon Master 2
Bugs : None 
Inspiration : My nightmares
Author comments : The map follows the theme of the previous map, that is to say a dark and sinister place. From the beginning of the design of the map (around 2013) I had the idea to make a strange and terrifying map. It is about exploring the different areas without killing monsters, but guessing their presences. Then the fights start. There is a lot of exploration and the player is free to start any fight.


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP19|=-=-=--=-=-
Name: Unfold the darkest scheme
Author: Yugiboy85
Music: "Gyászolás" of Tristan Clark
Bugs: didn't find any
Inspiration: none really. 
Author comments: I wanted to make a big castle type level. Green/black combo ended up really good. The red key section was a way to break the overall green aspect of most of the maps at that point.


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP20|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : Emeraldeus Mons
Author(s) : franckFRAG
Build time : Began around 2015 I think, I decided to finish this in 2024.
Editor(s) used : Ultimate Doom Builder, Doom Builder 1.68 
Music track : "Twisted Royalty" by LPad
Bugs : None (I keep my fingers crossed so that there is no longer a teleportation problem.)
Inspiration : Ribbiks's maps like SWTW maps for the architecture.
Author comments : It is an uninhabited and silent temple, making the portal to the green Hell. Monsters appear as you approach arenas. A very challenging map but fortunately small and very short.


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP21|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : Chapel of Ghouls
Author(s) : Adrian "DeathevokatioN" Hanekom, Rauno Marks, William "[WH]-Wilou84" Huber
Build time : ?
Editor(s) used : Doom Builder 1.68, XWE 1.16, SLADE, Ultimate Doom Builder, Adobe Photoshop CS 5.5
Music track : "Plessure" by Paul Corfiatis (from Whispers of Satan)
Bugs : None known
Inspiration :
- DeathevokatioN : Thy Flesh Consumed marble theme

- [WH]-Wilou84 : Rauno Marks and DeathevokatioN's map, Vela Pax

Author comments :
- DeathevokatioN : For this I was very inspired by Crucified Dreams  just wanted to "make a map", someone on Doomworld offered to do a collaboration map and I took him up on it, he made some neat secrets, I can't remember the specifics because it was very long ago but that's how it started! Wilou eventually helped me finish the layout and it turned out to be quite fun.

- [WH]-Wilou84 : This map was submitted by DeathevokatioN in 2015. At that point, he had reworked Rauno Marks' map (Marks is responsible for the Red key route), and the map needed some reworking and texture adaptation, as it was a standard Doom II Hell-themed map. The Yellow key route also needed to be made, so I got to work on this and created a short marble + cave area leading to it. I also designed the ending fight, a tight close quarter brawl, as well as the small "garden" outside filled with white herbs, near the Blue key.

It was clear to us that this level would end up as the intro map for episode 3, since it's short and punchy while clearly being on the easier side. I considered adding a second Cyberdemon in there, accompanying the first one in pressuring the player early on, but opted against it in the end.


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP22|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : The Void Watchers
Author(s) : Darkwave0000
Build time : 6 months
Editor(s) used : SLADE
Music track : "Diaphragm" by Brayden Hart (AD_79)
Bugs : None known
Inspiration : No specific inspiration
Author comments : In the beginning, this map was very small and simple. There was only one tower and one key in the map. In order to expand the map, I added additional towers and keys. Because of the scale of this map, after the addition of many areas in order to connect the towers, the map became much bigger than I was planning initially. There is no intended order to progress the map and the player can collect the keys in any order. As a result, there are many possible routes to complete this map. I hope that players enjoy exploring this map and discovering its secrets.


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP23|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : Spectral Shift
Author(s) : Maxime "Datacore" Bisiaux, William "[WH]-Wilou84" Huber
Build time : 1 month for Datacore, around 6 months for [WH]-Wilou84
Editor(s) used : Doom Builder 1,68, Ultimate Doom Builder
Music track : "The Gateway of Hell" by Metabolist (taken from Hell Revealed II Map 30)
Bugs : In Co-op mode, each time a player has the misfortune of getting eaten by a Hungry Old One, every player gets killed. Technically, this is due to the fact that it's impossible to know which player crossed the lindefs in front of the monsters, so I opted to kill all players at once. On the other hand (due to linedef limit), this phenomenon can only happen 5 times per Co-op game. After that, Hungry Old Ones will have their fill of human flesh and become harmless.
Inspiration : Stardate 20X6, Wormwood
Author comments :
- Datacore : After several failures to create a map that meets NT's quality criteria with a Spectral theme, I asked [WH]-Wilou84 to take over, and I thank him very much.

- [WH]-Wilou84 : This map is at least Datacore's third attempt to participate in Necromantic Thirst (some of his other maps had made their way into Flesharmonic in the meantime).

The basic version of "Spectral Shift", provided by Datacore in December 2022, was interesting in that it offered a cool idea : at one point in the map, you would retrieve a key in an area where the green color would give way to a more monochrome, grayish style. As it stood, however, the map suffered from several problems, and I volunteered to make the necessary adjustments to bring the map up to the level of ambition that franckFRAG and I wanted for Necromantic Thirst. In particular, the concept of passing through a gray area could be taken much, much further to become truly memorable, and I was already considering recreating it from scratch.

It was 2023, and the development of the wad was finally coming to an end. For my version of "Spectral Shift", I wanted to add things that I felt the wad was still lacking at that stage, in order to give players as much content as possible. As with the creation of "Lyar", I first wanted to create vicious and intelligent combat in the style of Stardate 20X6, something that my other contributions to NT's Hell episode may had lacked. Another shortcoming of the whole wad, in my opinion, was related to gimmicks, or specific gameplay concepts. NT maps don't necessarily have many specific gimmicks, if I compare them, for example, to the second phase of Valiant, which skillfully strings together maps centered on a particular gimmick (exploding barrels in a chain, then platforming, then crushers, then slaloming between Cyberdemons, etc.). So I decided that the gray area of "Spectral Shift" should contain a unique gimmick, something truly unique.

To complete these specifications, "Spectral Shift" also had to reinforce the morbid atmosphere of the wad, with imagery centered on death, the afterlife, the occult, and black magic. Once again, I decided to focus heavily on this gray section to reinforce this macabre atmosphere.

In short, I had to find a horror gimmick. At first, I thought about creating a variation on the man-eating trees seen in a Mortal Kombat II stage, but then the idea took a different turn. I was inspired by the giant jaws seen in some Ribbiks maps (notably at the end of Wormwood), except that in my version, the mouths would be truly dangerous and would have to be dodged to make progress. From a staging point of view, the mouths would first be inactive, asleep, and then wake up and come to life after a certain amount of time, surprising the player. There you go, I had my horror gimmick.

Still with a view to further developing the occult and magical theme of the wad, I also wanted to put the key at the top of a medieval tower whose walls would be covered with runes, forming sinister incantations incomprehensible to the human mind. In my initial concept, I wanted to make a black tower covered with white runes that would glow on the walls, somewhat like a sequence well known to fans of the first Lord of the Rings movie. However, this idea was modified. The tower became white, so it would be more visible in the dark environment of the large cave where the action would take place. The idea of animating the runes was abandoned due to lack of time : it would have required a huge number of animation frames for the textures, and the map would have taken even longer to release.

Other more or less crazy ideas were considered for this spectral area, such as the presence of a huge, invulnerable, static spider made of middle textures. The idea was that when the player ventured into the cave that introduced the mouths gimmick, the spider would be moved to another area of the cave, creating the illusion that the spider was alive and active. This thing was shelved : the gray section already contained enough content, and we didn't want to spread ourselves too thin.

Creation of the mouths, which I named "Hungry Old Ones", took a considerable amount of time, especially for the different textures. They had to be varied, and horrible to look at in order to truly instill fear. These textures were made from AI-generated patterns, then resized, recolored, and cut into pieces to fit the mechanics of opening and closing the mouths. Each pair of mouth textures took about an hour to make, and there are 19 in total (not counting those that were simply flipped horizontally).

The revised map was sent to the team at the end of October 2024, and it is one of the very last maps created for the project.

It would be wrong to summarize the map based on this spectral section alone : the other areas contain quite a few fierce battles and some changes to the route compared to Datacore's initial plan. The final battle, in particular, should prove challenging for most players.


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP24|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : Korzega Ruins
Author(s) : franckFRAG
Build time : Some months
Editor(s) used : Ultimate Doom Builder
Music track : "Eflast" by ribbiks
Bugs : None
Inspiration : Inspired by a very old map for the layout, that I made around from 2012.
Author comments : For this map, I chose to create a more destructured layout, as I sometimes like to do. It can resemble the architecture of Yugiboy’s maps, or of certain Ribbiks' maps. It’s mainly about doing something different compared to the next map, much more square and massive. The gameplay is quite demanding, with crossfire of monsters at the top of the corridors. The map is intended to be short with some short and challenging fights.  


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP25|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : Freed From The Real
Author(s) : franckFRAG
Build time : Some years
Editor(s) used : Ultimate Doom Builder, Doom Builder 1.68 
Music track : "The Stones Of Cartmanmania" by Maxime Tondreau
Bugs : I strongly recommend you to play this map on the latest version of DSDA (at least version 0.29), to avoid framerate falls.
Inspiration : Speed of Doom, Alien Vendetta
Author comments : A very massive and long map. It is the last rampart before the deep Hell. Unlike the previous map, the fights can last several tens of minutes, it is not a sprint but a marathon. The fight for the blue key requires, for example, a fairly advanced strategy, probably the most demanding fight I have ever fought for NT. The end of the map is a release, a bit of humor to relax after the fight for the blue key. The map directly transitions to the next map created by Wilou.  


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP26|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : Dark Pulse
Author(s) : William "[WH]-Wilou84" Huber
Build time : Many months from February 2008 to April 2025
Editor(s) used : Doom Builder 1,68, Ultimate Doom Builder, SLADE, Adobe Photoshop CS5.5, Paint.NET
Music track : "Boss Bossanova (extended)" by James Paddock
Bugs : Non known, hopefully all the softlocks have been taken care of
Inspiration : Hell Revealed map 24, Alien Vendetta map 32, Kama Sutra map 28, Stardate 20X6, Generator of Evil (huge Cacodemon horde)
Author comments : If my memory serves me correctly, in the text file for Alien Vendetta, Anders Johnsen stated that he designed "Dark Dome" in response to "Post Mortem", the legendary map 24 from Hell Revealed.
I started out with the same mindset at the beginning of 2008 when I began creating "Dark Pulse". I wanted to take the codes from "Post Mortem" and adapt them on an even larger scale. The goal would still be to survive the suffocating chaos that engulfs us from the start and to struggle in the slime (with the help of a good supply of radiation suits) in order to gradually take control of the surroundings and find the right path through a complex network of teleporters, all in the greenish, gothic style of Necromantic Thirst.

It was while working on this map (and retouching it over several years) that I learned how to detail caves and natural forms in Doom. It's a long and meticulous process, but it's often worth the effort.

From a gameplay perspective, "Dark Pulse" has changed a lot since the first playable version in February 2008 to the public version at the end of 2024. For example, when it comes to the placement of the BFG9000, there have always been two of them in the map : one secret, accessible fairly early on, and one positioned in the normal path, roughly halfway through the adventure. In past versions, however, the BFG9000 obtained normally was positioned in the Red Key room, which meant that a player who did not know the secrets would find themselves facing the gigantic horde of Cacodemons guarding the yellow key WITHOUT the BFG9000. To avoid this, the BFG9000 was given next to the yellow key. As for the one placed in a secret location, obtaining it was made more difficult via a battle heavily inspired by Stardate 20X6 and contrasting greatly with the rest of the map's gameplay, which was much more in the style of Hell Revealed / Kama Sutra. The gameplay was also influenced by feedback from numerous testers, such as Joshy and Darkwave0000 (who came up with the idea of the black wall lowering in front of the Hunters of Darkness towards the east of the map), and much later, Roofi / Gromat (whose gameplay video prompted me to make the escape route more difficult during the battle for the red key), Flyxolydian (who came up with several good ideas for improvements to maps 26 and 27), stx-Vile (whose stream on RC1 convinced me to make the fight against the pile of Cacodemons less tedious), John Spartan, apichatpong, and finally TheSoulIngredient and Vytaan. Thanks again to everyone !

Also yes, Joshy was part of the Necromantic Thirst team at some point. He had a cool map concept which could have ended up as something very interesting.

Back to "Dark Pulse"... Visually, the map has also undergone a lot of updates and improvements over the years. In 2023, for example, I created a new set of animated textures for the large slime waterfalls, so that they would be less monotonous visually (these textures are based in particular on the work of Neoworm and Rungy). These textures were then used to enhance other maps (the resource set having constantly evolved throughout the development of the wad).

Finally, I'd like to raise a glass of champagne to James Paddock, who brilliantly expanded on the original music (from Donkey Kong Country 2), keeping its heart and soul and multiplying its intensity. Jimmy's remix is a real pillar for this map and brilliantly accompanies the entire adventure.


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP27|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : Neodammerung
Author(s) : William "[WH]-Wilou84" Huber
Build time : hard to determine with certainty. The map was started in early 2008, first version was completed in March 2008. Edits were made to the map in 2011, in 2018, 2022, 2023, 2024 and even 2025. I'd say it took more than 6 months total.
Editor(s) used : Doom Builder 1,68, Ultimate Doom Builder
Music track : "Dancing Mad" (movements 1-3) by Nobuo Uematsu (taken from Scythe II Map 27), "Death Seal" by Maxime Tondreau
Bugs : Non known
Inspiration : Hell Revealed, Deus Vult, Deus Vult II, Alien Vendetta, Hell Revealed II, Sunder, The Plutonia Experiment
Author comments : My very first contribution to Necromantic Thirst, and chronologically the first map to feature the famous black and green Hell theme, which at the time was nothing more than a concept.

"Neodammerung" was started in February 2008. In "Neodammerung", we find elements directly inspired by Hell Revealed (the red key room with the group of Cyberdemons and the static Arch-Viles in cages above), Plutonia (the outdoor area with the blue key is reminiscent of "Go 2 It"), and Sunder (the old final arena is an extension of the final battle concept from map 10 of Sunder), but there are also some influences from Alien Vendetta, Deus Vult, and Hell Revealed II.

This map was originally intended to occupy slot 25. From the very beginning, the gameplay had to be furious. Like a map from the third episode of Hell Revealed, all weapons are given at the start, and the BFG9000 can be obtained fairly quickly (either via a secret or a little later during the main progression). The gameplay thus naturally tends towards spectacle.

The structure of the map has undergone several changes over time in an attempt to mitigate its amateurishness. This is only my second real map, and its initial design suffers from a lack of mastery. In 2011, substantial additions were made to the southwest part of the map (the entire quest for the yellow key) to give it more verticality and interconnectivity, while adding a close-quarter battle to bring some variety to the gameplay.

The name "Neodammerung" is obviously a tribute to the third film in the Matrix saga. It's not my favorite of the original trilogy, but the first moments of the final battle between Neo and Smith (until the end of the passage in the building and before the Dragon Ball Z inspiration became too apparent in the confrontation) particularly impressed me, and I found it interesting to make a strong reference to it in a Doom map. Walking with anxiety and determination in the pouring rain amid all these Cyberdemons watching us, until one of them breaks ranks to come and confront us... The rest of this epic battle was to take place in a hellish arena where the rest of the Cyberdemons would join the demonic troops in gigantic chaos.

The first version of this final arena, whose deserted remains can still be found in the current version of the map (though they are not naturally accessible), was a large square area with a circular structure in the middle. Over time and as I progressed in level design, I realized that it was too easy to circle around the monsters to win the fight, and that it would be of no interest to a player worthy of the name. So, I decided to completely redo the end area to give this map a more exciting finale, with several distinct phases.

It was after seeing Vytaan play through this map, and thanks in particular to Mancubian Candidate's insightful commentary, that I decided to use different music for the first and second parts of the map. This accentuates the eerie feel of the ending while reducing the player's potential fatigue with the music from the first part. If I had had more time, I would have commissioned James Paddock again to create an extended version of this music, but that didn't happen.

I still have a few regrets about this map, particularly regarding the layout, which is a little too simplistic (but which favors Hell Revealed-style confrontations). Nevertheless, I am proud to release it to the public after so many years and so many revisions. It bears witness to several eras of Doom mapping and my own progression as a level designer.


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP28|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : Lyar
Author(s) : William "[WH]-Wilou84" Huber
Build time : Two months in early 2022
Editor(s) used : Ultimate Doom Builder, Adobe Photoshop CS 5.5, SLADE
Music track : "Maria" by Ribbiks, from MAYhem 2016 map18
Bugs : None known
Inspiration : Sunlust, Sunder, The Slaughter Spectrum, the Game of Thrones TV show
Author comments : It wasn't originally planned that my three old large maps, "Dark Pulse", "Neodammerung", and "Netherborn Phalanx", would end up stuck together at the end of the wad. The idea was that "Dark Pulse" and "Neodammerung" would occupy slots 24 and 25 respectively, and that "Netherborn Phalanx" would go in slot 29. When these three long maps ended up in successive slots, I thought it might cause a problem with the pacing. In concrete terms, in a wad like Sunder, where each map is massive and players usually wait for several years between the release of each map, the fact that the wad is a succession of very long maps is not a problem, because it is part of the wad's identity. For Necromantic Thirst, on the other hand, I thought that the succession of three long maps would be a potential source of weariness and too big a change from the beginning of the wad. Sunlust shows this well : it's good to vary the length of maps for a project for which you hope to get demos in the D2All category, for example.

This long preamble is to say that "Lyar" comes from this desire to create a shorter map that would fit between "Neodammerung" and "Netherborn Phalanx" and offer this change of pace, like a breath of fresh air for many players. It would also aim to offer more modern, vicious, and choreographed combat inspired by Stardate 20X6 (something that was missing from my maps at the time of "Lyar"'s creation in early 2022). This map would consolidate the impact of my various inspirations on the wad and, I hope, bring a little more mastery to the design.

"Lyar" also aims to bring variety to the visual themes. There is less bright green, and more emphasis on yellow and pale green instead. Small subtle variations can make a big difference in the end.

To add an extra visual gimmick, I based the two major battles in "Lyar" around the idea of "evil energy paths" emanating from the yellow hellstones and tracing their way through the ground to a point of interest for the player (usually a place where monsters are revealed). The first major trap using this visual theme consists of a small arena surrounded by emptiness and overlooked by 5 static Cyberdemons appearing in turn. This tense battle, called "The Fingers", forces the player to fight for dominance of the arena while keeping in mind the position of the Cyberdemon(s) above.

Outside, the second battle using energy paths is a free-for-all where Pain Elementals will have the upper hand, if not tamed fast.

In the end, the map is a little longer than I had originally planned, but still much shorter than its big sisters.


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP29|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : Netherborn Phalanx
Author(s) : William "[WH]-Wilou84" Huber
Build time : Several months over the span of far too many years
Editor(s) used : Doom Builder 1.68, Ultimate Doom Builder
Music track : "The Overseer" by James Paddock, based on "Big Boss Blues" by Eveline Fischer (Donkey Kong Country 3 final boss theme)
Bugs : None known
Inspiration : Deus Vult map 04, zer1m6 ("True Love Waits") from Zerstörer - Testament of the Destroyer
Author comments :
 /!\ Warning : this map is very long, so it is strongly recommended that you take a break before tackling it. We're not kidding. /!\

In most classic WADs, and even in modern WADs, map 29s are designed to leave a strong impression on the player. Obviously, we think of Sunlust and its deadly carousel, Alien Vendetta and its legendary underground battle against the Revenant curve, Hell Revealed II and its journey to the heart of the volcano in "Hell's Cauldron", Eviternity and its course through the palace of fallen angels, and even the classic "The Living End" from Doom II, which ends in a grand finale at the top of the map's central structure. There is always the same constant : it's almost the end, we're there, we know it, and the map has to hit hard.

Since its inception in 2009, "Netherborn Phalanx" has been designed to fit this trope. It has the daunting task of concluding the main gameplay phase of NT, before a final boss that had not yet been conceptualized at the time of the map's creation. It had to offer an epic adventure punctuated by Dante-esque battles, perhaps the most grandiose I've been able to create to date.

Like almost all of my maps in NT, "Netherborn Phalanx" is full of not-so-subtle tributes to levels that made an impression on me when I was younger. Here, it's notably the legendary map 04 from Deus Vult, and especially its large lava river at the beginning, that are in the spotlight. I wanted to create an ominous green river with a nasty battle by an inside bend. The design of some of the traps in this Deus Vult-ish passage is very old school, with sometimes sneaky teleportations when you venture too far or when you pick up an important item. We're on their territory here, so they dictate the rules. Get ready for anything.

A fun detail : in previous versions of the map, the black BFG9000, given in one of the bends in the river, blended in a bit too well with the black rocks behind it, and some players had trouble finding it (hello Vytaan !). I hope that the improvements made to enhance the BFG9000's visibility will pay off, as picking up this weapon is mandatory for the following passages.

In contrast to the early battles on the map, which focus on unrestrained use of the BFG9000 against large hordes of enemies, the metal temple housing the coveted Red Key offers a more stressful and devious sequence where Arch-Viles and Mancubuses launch surprise attacks and precious cell ammunition becomes scarcer. This seemed like an excellent idea in 2009, but in retrospect I'm not sure if creating such a contrast in gameplay (a break between two major BFG9000 carnage sequences) is something I would try again in a map today. Indeed, it can be frustrating for the player to have the BFG9000 and not be able to use it for a certain period of time after having used it so much a few minutes earlier. On the other hand, and this is a general rule in Doom, knowing how to manage your ammunition and not wasting Cell Packs is a skill that you need to master, and the Red Key sequence in this map teaches exactly that.

Once you have the Red Key, the goal is to go back to the start and open the passage that leads into the depths of the map. This concept of having to go back to the beginning of the map after finding an item or performing a specific action was inspired by "True Love Waits", a map from a very old Quake mod called Zerstörer - Testament of the Destroyer. The large black and green temple - the setting for the final battle - is also inspired by a memorable passage from the same Quake map.

And since we're talking about the final battle, I also wanted to mention that it's been heavily reworked during the summer of 2021. The architecture has been enlarged, and the cavernous passage leading to it has also been revised and corrected. This multi-phase battle is certainly the most monster-filled of anything I've done so far, with the aptly named dark phalanx finally making an appearance, and only the most enduring warriors will be able to survive.
The challenge this arena posed for me, as a level designer, was to maintain a high level of difficulty while having a gigantic combat area. A general gameplay rule in Doom is that the more space the player has to move and dodge, the less effective Doom monsters become. Thus, between RC1 and the final version, the arena's surface area was slightly reduced to maximize the level of danger and pressure inflicted by the Revenant army in the second battle phase. Other adjustments were made, such as reducing the number of enemy teleportation phases between the 2021 version and RC1 from 3 to 2. The fight is long enough already. 

Good luck to all those who will try to survive "Netherborn Phalanx". As I write this, it may be my most difficult map released to date (notably because of its length), but who knows what the future holds.


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP30|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : Well of the Sacrificed Gods
Author(s) : franckFRAG
Build time : Some months
Editor(s) used : Ultimate Doom Builder
Music track : "Eternal Breath" by AD_79
Bugs : For reasons I don’t know, on some source ports, the animated sky appears from the beginning of the map when it is supposed to appear during the second step of the final fight.
Inspiration : Eviternity
Author comments : The calm before the storm, the map30 traditionally has an Icon of Sin, which is not the case here. Who really likes to play against an Icon of Sin? Instead, it is a fairly classic arena, but the management of time following the appearance of monsters makes the fight very demanding. You will need a lot of concentration. Fortunately, the fight can last 15 minutes if everything is fine. The map therefore ends quite quickly, after an extremely dense and enduring map29. There are some meanings on this map, such as the number of cyberdemons in UV, which corresponds to the development number of the wad.


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP31|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : Simeon Le Rouge
Author(s) : franckFRAG
Build time : Some month (First version of this map in 2016)
Editor(s) used : Ultimate Doom Builder
Music track : "Crystal Iris" by Jimmy
Bugs : None
Inspiration : Sunlust
Author comments : This map was planned in another mapset, called "DEST", finally I added it in NT. Wilou had suggested me to choose a complementary color to green (the map was originally black and red). I followed his advice for a green and red map. Thus the map stands out from the others. Short, narrow map, with some demanding fights. The fight for the secret level is definitely inspired by the yellow circle of the map29 from Sunlust. I chose to do something like a puzzle between the two cyberdemons and the archviles. The result is rather convincing, it’s probably the most notable place on the map.


-=-=-=--=-=|MAP32|=-=-=--=-=-
Level name : Hungry Hearts
Author(s) : franckFRAG
Build time : Some months (map made in 2016)
Editor(s) used : Ultimate Doom Builder, Doom Builder 1.68 
Music track : "Threads of Fate" from Valen's Fortress by Squaresoft
Bugs : None
Inspiration : Skillsaw's maps
Author comments : A map where I wanted to get closer to the style of Skillsaw. Something fun, and without any hassle, it’s a very generous map with ammunition and life. The map looks like a Bellatrix, it is an old map that I created around 2013 and 2015. In the end, I changed almost nothing about its structure.


####################
#	       	   #
#  SPECIAL THANKS  #
#	       	   #
####################

Thanks to Roofi for your DEMO1, DEMO2 and DEMO3.
Thanks to apichatpong for your high quality reviews and feedback on each map.
Thanks to Gromat for testing each map on all skill settings. Your test sessions were a great help!
Thanks to John for your accurate feedback.
Thank to Vytaan for taking the time to play maps from every angle.
Thanks to John and Lili for writing and fixing the intermission texts.
Thanks to Jimmy for the great music rearrangements for map26 and map29.
Thanks to all the people who contributed to the release of Necromantic Thirst!