The Ancient Aqueduct

Map layout

Map layout of The Ancient Aqueduct, as visualized in the Wolf3D Data Compiler

The Ancient Aqueduct is the eigth level (slot eight) of Catacomb Abyss (1992). In one of the game's more impressive designs, it is set in the watery channels of an aqueduct, including Water Trolls that can submerge themselves. It also features the Blue Gem.

Walkthrough

Catacomb Abyss

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Level Warp Codes

• 0: The Towne Cemetery
• 1: The Garden of Tears
• 2: The Den of Zombies
• 3: The Mausoleum Grounds
• 4: The Main Floor of the Mausoleum
• 5: Mike's Blastable Passage
• 6: The Crypt of Nemesis the Undead
• 7: The Subterranean Vault
• 8: The Ancient Aqueduct
• 9: The Orc Mines
• 10: The Lair of the Trolls
• 11: The Demon's Inferno
• 12: The Battleground of the Titans
• 13: The Coven of Mages
• 14: The Inner Sanctum
• 15: The Haunt of Nemesis
• 16: The Passage to the Surface
• 17: Big Jim's Domain
• 18: Nolan's Nasty
• 19: Tile Tester 3
• 20: Tile Tester 1
• 21: Tile Tester 2
• 22: Good Map To Use

^{"This aqueduct level is really something unique due to it's theme with the water effect. Together with the water trolls that can emerge from the water this creates a very nice atmosphere. Life get's easier, when the fourth gem (blue) is found."
--kraileth}

Recreation

Catacomb: ABYSS

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Level List

• MAP01: The Towne Cemetery
• MAP02: The Garden of Tears
• MAP03: The Mausoleum Grounds
• MAP04: The Main Floor of the Mausoleum
• MAP05: The Crypt of Nemesis the Undead
• MAP06: The Den of Zombies
• MAP07: The Subterranean Vault
• MAP08: The Ancient Aqueduct
• MAP09: The Orc Mines
• MAP10: The Lair of the Trolls
• MAP11: The Demon's Inferno
• MAP12: The Battleground of the Titans
• MAP13: The Coven of Mages
• MAP14: The Inner Sanctum
• MAP15: The Haunt of Nemesis
• MAP16: The Passage to the Surface

This level was re-created as part of the Catacomb: ABYSS total conversion for the ZDoom engine.

Messages

• The Bottom of the Well of Souls
• Leaking Walls
• Aqueduct Settling Pool
• Don't miss the Blue Gem in this region!
• Aqueduct Eastern Channels
• Aqueduct Southern Channels
• Aqueduct Northern Channels
• Aqueduct Western Channels
• Conduit to the Orc Mines

Enemies Present

• Water Trolls

Items Present

• Treasure Chests (submerged)
• Blue Gem

Trivia

"Flooded Lab" from LAB

• This level actually utilizes the fact that the floor and roof are not textured, by simply clearing the floor to blue which meshes with the blue bottoms of the wall textures.
• This theme is revisited in The Subterranean River in Catacomb Armageddon and The Water Node of Time plus The Flooded City in Catacomb Apocalypse.
• Water would play an increasingly important role in first-person shooter map designs, starting with the ground pools of water and toxic waste in Doom (1993), actually splashing and flowing rivers in Heretic (1994), and finally as submersible and fully explorable areas in Duke Nukem 3D (1996), Quake (1996) and beyond.
• A very similar effect is used in the seventh level of the freeware first-person shooter LAB, entitled "Flooded Lab", which features half submerged environs. The creator, mutantleg, confirmed that it was inspired by the Catacomb Abyss level remarking: "I see you are a man of taste, that was exactly the part where the flooded lab idea was stol-- borrowed from (it only looks different because i realised i can use the camera frustum to cut the bottom half of the map to make water look deeper)".
• Ankle deep sewage also appears in the indie first-person shooter Gun Godz in another parallel.