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hints.txt: Hints for the bigport levels
Author: Jay Greguske
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General:

- Every level can be beaten from Pistol Start.
- Play through on Hurt Me Plenty first, then try Ultra-Violence.
- Frequently UV will move very useful items (such as light goggles or radiation
  suits) to hidden or more remote locations. As a general rule, you'll find less
  health and armor on UV, but more ammo to compensate for the extra enemies.
- On UV sometimes the resources you need to take down a horde of bad guys is
  located behind them, or some time after instead of before like in HMP.
- 100% kill rates are possible on UV, but you may have to skip some monsters
  until you've found more resources later. Use melee attacks on Demon hordes.
- The maps are designed to reward observant players; always keep a look out for
  secrets and trinkets. All secrets have a tell of some kind.
- Candles on the floor frequently indicate a teleport destination for monsters.
  If you see one, consider restocking from a cache you left behind earlier.
- Lost souls and pink demons frequently come in large numbers.
- Some locations are intentionally very dark, lure out monsters to better lit
  areas if you have to.
- Every level has a Computer Area Map, but they are usually in secrets.
- Blood trails often are the author's way of saying "Go this way first"

01 - The Outpost

- A large outdoor level, take it in small amounts at a time.
- The dark cave near the beginning leads to a health cache, which you can
  come back for later if you need it.
- The light goggles before the large room in the outpost are placed in a
  secret a couple rooms back on UV.
- Keep an eye out for items you can drop down on from a cliff above.
- Unless you get a lucky break from a sergeant on UV, you will be using the
  pistol for the majority of this mission.
- Brown mud is harmless.

02 - Subterranean Access

- This level features many dark caverns outside of better-lit facility. Don't
  waste ammo firing at imps in the dark if you can ignore them.
- The berserk pack comes early in this level. Use it to fend off pink demon
  hordes and conserve ammunition.
- There are a lot of sergeants in this level. They should be your priority
  targets because their shots are a lot harder to dodge than imp fireballs.
- There are 3 pink demon hordes.
- Brown mud is harmless here too.

03 - Sludge Disposal Facility

- This map includes a lot of green slime which always will damage you.
- Many ambushes come from pools of slime, be wary around them.
- Be judicious when picking up radiation suits. There should be enough to
  explore a bit in HMP, but on UV you only have a few to get you where you need
  to go.
- The toxic cave maze late in the level is very dangerous, watch out for
  ambushes.
- The yellow key is much harder to get to in UV. Make sure you save a
  radiation suit to reach it.

04 - Server Farm

- You are forced to deal with the horde teleporting in while the doors slowly
  open. Find a defensible position and fend them off the best you can, but
  keep an eye on the doorways so you can escape before being overwhelmed.
- The rocket launcher is finally introduced, but you must find a nearby secret
  to reach it. Rockets are rare, make them count!
- The combat shotgun is available too, but on UV it moves to a secret. Relatedly
  that secret leads to a way to thin out the Demon horde a little before hitting
  the switch in the dark room filled with pillars.
- You need to find 2 switches before you can escape this level. They are
  located geographically close to the gates, but you have to find
  2 different routes to get them.
- The yellow key does not move in UV, but the blue key does.

05 - Defunct Plants
- Be on guard for flocks of lost souls when you are outside
- Not far into the level are major ammo stocks. Make frequent trips back here
  to reload.
- Avoid locking yourself in a room unless you are loaded up with ammo and health.
  In particular watch out for a door that requires a blue key to get back out.
- Keep your armor up by scouring the place for bonuses
- Get in close to the Spider Mastermind and use the crates as cover.
- In the room with 4 automatic elevators, each switch teleports in more monsters.
  The first one is the most difficult because you do not have an defensible
  position.

06 - Cobalt Cruelty
- Your first objective in the blue maze is to locate 3 switches to raise the
  blood river in the glowing area.
- Make notes of ammo caches in the blue maze too. (use M on the automap)
- The red key is hidden very early in the level, it will open doors with
  your rewards later on.
- A door to where the rocket launcher lies in the southeast corner of the maze.
- In the large room with the fence, ignore the monsters on the opposite side
  until you reach it yourself. Clean the place out before venturing down.
- If you can, lure monsters in the darkened corners of rooms into the lit
  areas to make your shots count.
