recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Cyber Pox

File:Cyberpox.png
**Cyber Poxes**, also known as **War Machines**, are massive mechanical menaces made in the general shape of a Wretched Pox from *Catacomb Armageddon*. Whereas the earlier Poxes were relatively fragile melee units, however, their futuristic counterparts are devastating ranged combatants and are heavily armored.

They are a powerful, late-game enemy, and only appear in *Catacomb Apocalypse*.

## In *Catacomb Apocalypse*

Functionally the ranged equivalent of a Cyborg Demon, Cyber Poxes do massive damage (15 a hit), appear in sizable groups, and are extremely durable (25 Hit Points). With the ability to ladle out considerable firepower, high endurance, and the same stun resistance that Demons have, the Cyber Pox is a particularly nasty threat. About the only good thing about them is that due to their massive size, they're extremely easy to bottleneck, and an Xterminator will cut their HP by more than half if used from point-blank. They first show up in The Computer Core.

Kiting is a key skill when fighting Cyber Poxes; if you can help it, you never want to fight too many at once. Back off, and count on their large size to hinder their ability to pursue, then pick them off one by one to keep them from overrunning you. Thankfully the Cyber Pox is rather slow and easily outmaneuvered, so this isn't terribly difficult. Unfortunately, once they're destroyed, Cyber Poxes continue to be irksome; their corpses are extremely large, and while they don't block movement or shooting, they do obstruct the player's line of sight.

One additional weakness Cyber Poxes have is their sheer size. They are so large that their hitbox actually is big enough to allow them to be hit easily from their left and right sides, so it's possible to get them into a position where the player can fire on them without them being able to retaliate, especially around corners.

When killed, the Cyber Pox overloads before the upper half of its body explodes, leaving its legs behind which remain standing where the Pox was, in a reference to its predecessor. As is the case with the Wretched Pox, this does no damage to the player despite the loud and obvious report.

They require the Blue Jewel to appear on the Crystal Sphere. They show up as a pale blue dot with it.
Zone 8: Sewers below New Trenton

**Hovertank 3D**

*Level Warp Codes*

* **Zone 1: Langston Research Facility**
* **Zone 2: Gardens of Marvin H. Mitchell**
* **Zone 3: Caves, Brazos de la Madre**
* **Zone 4: Fort Smith**
* **Zone 5: Coyote Canyon**
* **Zone 6: Santa Maria Cathedral**
* **Zone 7: Pax Humana Commune**
* ****Zone 8: Sewers below New Trenton****
* **Zone 9: Old UFA Headquarters**
* **Zone 10: Braker's Mountain**
* **Zone 11: Wounded Village**
* **Zone 12: Murder Hill**
* **Zone 13: TerraChem Corp.**
* **Zone 14: Gulf Tech University**
* **Zone 15: Agromatic Inc. Farm**
* **Zone 16: National Agency for Defense**
* **Zone 17: Jackson International Airport**
* **Zone 18: Museum of Modern Art**
* **Zone 19: AUF Headquarters**
* **Zone 20: UFA Headquarters**

**Zone 8: Sewers below New Trenton** is the eighth level of *Hovertank 3D*. This is quite possibly the first sewer level (ding!) in a first-person shooter, not that it changes much.

## Present

* 11 Hostages
* Mutant Demons
JAM Productions

**JAM Productions** was an American game developer founded by former Gamer's Edge staffers Jim Row and Mike Maynard (aka Jim & Mike Productions), soon joined by artist Jerry Jones. They developed the the *Blake Stone* series of video games, *Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold* (1993) and *Blake Stone: Planet Strike* (1994), using the *Wolfenstein 3D* engine. In this sense, it is a successor to the *Catacomb Adventure Series*. The games were published by Apogee Software. After the company folded, Maynard later worked for 7th Level, Ion Storm, Third Law Interactive, TKO Software and later *Catacomb 3D* developer id Software (who originally suggested him to Apogee Software in the first place; also the only Gamer's Edge alumni left after the resignation of John Carmack in 2013).

The name was created from the initials of the two founders' first names: Jim and Mike.
The Council Chamber of Time Wizards

File:The-Council-Chamber-Of-The-Time-Wizards.png
 File:WDC TheCouncilChamberOfTheTimeWizards.png
**The Council Chamber of the Time Wizards** is the third level (slot two) of *Catacomb Apocalypse* (1993). It is the first level with a futuristic theme and contains a single large room. The combat is arena style, as the objective is to survive an attacking horde of enemies until a time portal opens.

## Walkthrough

**Catacomb Apocalypse**

*Level Warp Codes*

* **0: The Sanctuary of the Dead**
* **1: The Wizard's Garden**
* **2: **The Council Chamber of Time Wizards****
* **3: The Axis of the Time Lords**
* **4: The Future Node of Time**
* **5: The Fire Node of Time**
* **6: The Ancient Node of Time**
* **7: The Water Node of Time**
* **8: The Wizards Maze**
* **9: The Underground Sewers**
* **10: The Flooded City**
* **11: The Computer Core**
* **12: The Chamber of Invisible Horror**
* **13: The Encounter Chamber**
* **14: The Testing Chambers of Nemesis**
* **15: The Passage to the Surface**
* **16: First Secret Level**
* **17: Second Secret Level**

## Messages

* Council Chamber of the Time Wizards
* A chilling power emanates here
* The Most High Lord of Time
* Survive until the time has come!

## Enemies Present

* Wizard
* Robot Ant

## Items Present

* Treasure Chests
* Time Gate

## Trivia

* The time portal opens 93 seconds after the level started.
* It seems unclear if the Time Wizards are simply a different title for the Time Lords mentioned by the next level title.

 * The Approach
* Nemesis's Keep
* Ground Floor
	+ Secret Halls
* Second Floor
* Third Floor
* Tower One
* Tower Two
* Access Floor
	+ The Dungeon
		- Lower Dungeon
	+ Catacomb
		- Lower Reaches
	+ The Warrens
		- Hidden Caverns
	+ The Fens of Insanity
* Chaos Corridors
* The Labyrinth
* Halls of Blood
* Nemesis's Lair
* The Garden of Tears
* The Mausoleum Grounds
* The Main Floor of the Mausoleum
* The Crypt of Nemesis the Undead
* The Den of Zombies
* The Subterranean Vault
* The Ancient Aqueduct
* The Orc Mines
* The Lair of the Trolls
* The Demon's Inferno
* The Battleground of the Titans
* The Coven of Mages
* The Inner Sanctum
* The Haunt of Nemesis
* The Passage to the Surface
* The Dark Forest
* The Garden of Forgotten Souls
* The Lost City of the Damned
* The Temple of Vipers
* The Torture Chambers
* The Demon Hold
* The Ant Colony
* The Hall of the Wretched Pox
* The Lair of the Succubus
* The Chamber of the Evil Eye
* The Flaming Inferno
* The Subterranean River
* The Crystal Maze
* The Ramparts of Nemesis
* The Fortress of Nemesis
* The Passage to the Surface
* The Wizard's Garden
* **The Council Chamber of Time Wizards**
* The Axis of the Time Lords
	+ The Future Node of Time
	+ The Fire Node of Time
	+ The Ancient Node of Time
	+ The Water Node of Time
* The Wizards Maze
* The Underground Sewers
* The Flooded City
* The Computer Core
* The Chamber of Invisible Horror
* The Encounter Chamber
* The Testing Chambers of Nemesis
* The Passage to the Surface
Wizordum

* Catacomb (1990)
	+ Catacomb II (1991)

*3D DOS Games:*

* Catacomb 3D (1991)
	+ Catacomb Adventure Series (1992-1993)
		- Catacomb Abyss (1992)
		- Catacomb Armageddon (1992)
		- Catacomb Apocalypse (1993)

*Apple II & IIGS:*

* Catacombs (1991)
	+ Sylvan Idyll (1992)
		- Ether Quest (1993)
			* Sand Trap (1994)
* Catacomb Abyss IIGS (1994; unreleased)

*Related Games:*

* Dark Designs (1990-1994)
* Commander Keen (1990-1991)
* Dangerous Dave (1988-1993)
* Hovertank 3D (1991)
	+ Wolfenstein 3D (1992)
		- Blake Stone (1993-1994)

*Recreations:*

* Catacomb: ABYSS (2013)
* Catacomb WebGL (2017)
* Catacomb 3D FPS Maker (2019)

*Homage Games:*

* Rombo (2008)
* Two Lords (2008)
* Rombo Rush (2011)
* Bad Vibes (2017)
* Catacombs of the Damned (2018)
* Panty Panic Princess (2019)
* Crypt 3D (2019)
* Glacierbound (2020)
* The Vigilance of Nephthys (2020)
* Arkos (2021)
* Trial of the Sorcerer (2021)
* Crypt of the Slime Lord (2022)
* UNNAMED HERO IN THE UNDERWORLD (2022)
* **Wizordum** (TBA)

**Wizordum** is an upcoming retro first-person shooter under development by Emberheart Games. The game is placed in a fantasy world and focuses on action and light puzzle elements with plenty of secrets filled with loot and bonus items. It is inspired by classics from the 1990s such *Hexen*, *Heretic*, and *Catacomb Abyss*.

## External links

* Wizordum on Steam
* Wizordum on Twitter
Sylvan Idyll

* Catacomb (1990)
	+ Catacomb II (1991)

*3D DOS Games:*

* Catacomb 3D (1991)
	+ Catacomb Adventure Series (1992-1993)
		- Catacomb Abyss (1992)
		- Catacomb Armageddon (1992)
		- Catacomb Apocalypse (1993)

*Apple II & IIGS:*

* Catacombs (1991)
	+ **Sylvan Idyll** (1992)
		- Ether Quest (1993)
			* Sand Trap (1994)
* Catacomb Abyss IIGS (1994; unreleased)

*Related Games:*

* Dark Designs (1990-1994)
* Commander Keen (1990-1991)
* Dangerous Dave (1988-1993)
* Hovertank 3D (1991)
	+ Wolfenstein 3D (1992)
		- Blake Stone (1993-1994)

*Recreations:*

* Catacomb: ABYSS (2013)
* Catacomb WebGL (2017)
* Catacomb 3D FPS Maker (2019)

*Homage Games:*

* Rombo (2008)
* Two Lords (2008)
* Rombo Rush (2011)
* Bad Vibes (2017)
* Catacombs of the Damned (2018)
* Panty Panic Princess (2019)
* Crypt 3D (2019)
* Glacierbound (2020)
* The Vigilance of Nephthys (2020)
* Arkos (2021)
* Trial of the Sorcerer (2021)
* Crypt of the Slime Lord (2022)
* UNNAMED HERO IN THE UNDERWORLD (2022)
* Wizordum (TBA)

 File:Sylvan-Idyll.png
**Ether Quest** is the second entry in the line of *Catacomb* games for the Apple II and Apple IIGS. It was released in 1993 by Softdisk and was developed by Peter Rokitski, taking over from John Carmack, with the GS port by Nate Trost and Linoleum Software. Having retaken Mount Kel-Keriad, Petton Everhail takes on the Fire Giants occupying the surrounding forests. Like its predecessor, it features fifteen levels.
Level 11 (Catacomb II)

**Catacomb II / The Catacomb**

* **Level 1**
* **Level 2**
* **Level 3**
* **Level 4**
* **Level 5**
* **Level 6**
* **Level 7**
* **Level 8**
* **Level 9**
* **Level 10**
* ****Level 11****
* **Level 12**
* **Level 13**
* **Level 14**
* **Level 15**
* **Level 16**
* **Level 17**
* **Level 18**
* **Level 19**
* **Level 20**
* **Level 21**
* **Level 22**
* **Level 23**
* **Level 24**
* **Level 25**
* **Level 26**
* **Level 27**
* **Level 28**
* **Level 29**
* **Level 30**

Level 11 - 11th Hour

 File:Level 11 - 12 Tombs Message.png
Accessed from Level 10. Exits to Level 10.

Contains the messages, "The way to the twelfth tomb is guarded by the sisters" (a reference to Level 13), and "Heaven knows where it is hidden" (a reference to Level 17).

 File:Level 11 Clue Messages.png
Access Floor

**Catacomb 3D**

*Level Warp Codes*

* **1: The Approach**
* **2: Nemesis's Keep**
* **3: Ground Floor**
* **4: Second Floor**
* **5: Third Floor**
* **6: Tower One**
* **7: Tower Two**
* **8: Secret Halls**
* **9: **Access Floor****
* **10: The Dungeon**
* **11: Lower Dungeon**
* **12: Catacomb**
* **13: Lower Reaches**
* **14: The Warrens**
* **15: Hidden Caverns**
* **16: The Fens of Insanity**
* **17: Chaos Corridors**
* **18: The Labyrinth**
* **19: Halls of Blood**
* **20: Nemesis's Lair**

**Access Floor** is the ninth level (slot nine) of *Catacomb 3D* (1991). It serves as the main hub world for the next block of the game's levels via several Gates.

## Walkthrough

### Gates

* Gate of Stone
	+ The Dungeon
		- Lower Dungeon

* Gate of Slime
	+ Catacomb
		- Lower Reaches

* Gate of Horror
	+ The Warrens
		- Hidden Caverns (secret level)

* Gate of Tar
	+ The Fens of Insanity

Lower Reaches ultimately contains the final exit out of the hub, leading to Chaos Corridors.

## Messages

* Access Floor
* Gate of Stone
* Gate of Slime
* Gate of Tar
* Gate of Horror

## Trivia

* A hub system would return to the series with *Catacomb Apocalypse* (1993).
* This level may be arrived at earlier from Secret Halls and even from level one The Approach.
* The only other levels without any enemies in the *Catacomb 3D* games are The Passage to the Surface levels.

 * The Approach
* Nemesis's Keep
* Ground Floor
	+ Secret Halls
* Second Floor
* Third Floor
* Tower One
* Tower Two
* **Access Floor**
	+ The Dungeon
		- Lower Dungeon
	+ Catacomb
		- Lower Reaches
	+ The Warrens
		- Hidden Caverns
	+ The Fens of Insanity
* Chaos Corridors
* The Labyrinth
* Halls of Blood
* Nemesis's Lair
* The Garden of Tears
* The Mausoleum Grounds
* The Main Floor of the Mausoleum
* The Crypt of Nemesis the Undead
* The Den of Zombies
* The Subterranean Vault
* The Ancient Aqueduct
* The Orc Mines
* The Lair of the Trolls
* The Demon's Inferno
* The Battleground of the Titans
* The Coven of Mages
* The Inner Sanctum
* The Haunt of Nemesis
* The Passage to the Surface
* The Dark Forest
* The Garden of Forgotten Souls
* The Lost City of the Damned
* The Temple of Vipers
* The Torture Chambers
* The Demon Hold
* The Ant Colony
* The Hall of the Wretched Pox
* The Lair of the Succubus
* The Chamber of the Evil Eye
* The Flaming Inferno
* The Subterranean River
* The Crystal Maze
* The Ramparts of Nemesis
* The Fortress of Nemesis
* The Passage to the Surface
* The Wizard's Garden
* The Council Chamber of Time Wizards
* The Axis of the Time Lords
	+ The Future Node of Time
	+ The Fire Node of Time
	+ The Ancient Node of Time
	+ The Water Node of Time
* The Wizards Maze
* The Underground Sewers
* The Flooded City
* The Computer Core
* The Chamber of Invisible Horror
* The Encounter Chamber
* The Testing Chambers of Nemesis
* The Passage to the Surface
Softdisk

File:Softdisk-Logo.png
**Softdisk** was a software and Internet company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Founded in 1981, its original products were disk magazines (which they termed "magazettes", for "magazine on diskette"). It was affiliated and partly owned by paper magazine Softalk at founding, but survived its demise. The company has been known by a variety of names, including Softdisk Magazette, Softdisk Publishing, Softdisk, Inc., Softdisk Internet Services, Softdisk, L.L.C., and Magazines On Disk.

Softdisk is most famous for being the former workplace of several of the founders of id Software, who worked on a short-lived game subscription product, Gamer's Edge. Gamer's Edge was a monthly[3] PC game disk started in 1990 by John Romero. The disk's developers were John Carmack, John Romero, and Adrian Carmack. Tom Hall, then a programmer who worked in the Apple II department of Softdisk, would come in at night to help with the game design. Lane Roathe was the editor. Before he became a popular author Clayton Crooks had several games published by Softdisk.

These developers later left Softdisk to found id Software. To complete their contractual obligation to Softdisk, the developers built several more games for Softdisk, including Dangerous Dave in the Haunted Mansion, Rescue Rover, Hovertank 3D, Rescue Rover 2, Tiles of the Dragon, Catacomb 3D and Keen Dreams (the "lost" episode of the Commander Keen series). Softdisk later hired a new team to create new titles using the game engines of the earlier games, including the later founders of JAM Productions. This connection led to Softdisk being mentioned extensively in the earlier parts of the id chronicling book Masters of Doom.

Also, some of the earliest employees of Origin Systems worked there before moving on: Greg Malone (Moebius, Windwalker), Dallas Snell (The Quest and Ring Quest), Joel Rea (The Quest and Ring Quest), and Alan Gardner (Windwalker, Ultima VI). Malone also later worked as a producer for 3D Realms. Softdisk continued to publish video games into the mid-1990s, most notably In Pursuit of Greed, based on an alpha version of the Doom engine derived from Shadowcaster, and Alien Rampage, based on the original Duke Nukem Forever side-scroller once being developed by 3D Realms.
Gate

**Gates** are a means of teleporting between areas (and levels) in *Catacomb 3D* and the Catacomb Adventure Series. A similar item exists in *Hovertank 3D*, called the Teleporter.

## In *Catacomb 3D*

In *Catacomb 3D*, the player runs into two different kinds of Gate, though they look identical to one another. The first kind is a teleportation gate that will move the player around between different locations on the same floor; the other is the kind that will function as the end-of-level marker and will move the player to the next area. Because the two are indistinguishable from one another visually, the only way to know what lies beyond a gate is to head through it. Gates in *Catacomb 3D* are bright blue swirling vortexes of energy, and are mostly created by Nemesis, using Grelminar's stolen power.

Because *Catacomb 3D* has a level of non-linear design, there are multiple routes through the game, but the player must beware, for two reasons:

The first is that while a hidden gate can get the player through the early game much faster, they will miss out on valuable treasure caches that can help the player later on, such as Bolts, Nukes, and Cure Potions. A few Gates lead to unique secrets or shortcuts, but will bypass these critical supplies.

The second is that some of the Gates are, in fact, traps. Of particular note is a series of Gates in the Halls of Blood; only one of these gates - the one with no items near it - leads to Nemesis's Lair. All the other gates in Halls of Blood will instead dump the player back at Access Floor! Because of this, it may be a good idea to save before heading through a gate.

## In the Catacomb Adventure Series

The Gate returns in the Catacomb Adventure Series, now mostly used to move players between different areas on the same floor, since locked exit doors are now normally used to demarcate the end-of-level transitions in these games.

There are a few exceptions, such as the Well of Souls in *Catacomb Abyss*, or Time Gates in *Catacomb Apocalypse*, but these are relatively rare and are, for the most part, clearly marked. Teleportation Gates have a very distinctive stone doorway surrounding them now, with either a blue glow (Abyss) or Red glow (Armageddon, Apocalypse).

## In *Sylvan Idyll*

A portal is found at the end of *Sylvan Idyll* (1992) which takes Petton Everhail into the ethereal plane, setting up the next game *Ether Quest* (1993).

## In *Dark Designs*

The *Dark Designs* trilogy of role-playing games by John Carmack has the player trying to recover the long dead Grelminar's staff to close a dimensional gate at Mount Delkeina that is unleashing an army of demonic invaders.
DOSBox

File:DOSBox icon.png
**DOSBox** is an emulator program which emulates an IBM PC compatible computer running a DOS operating system. Many IBM PC compatible graphics and sound cards are also emulated. This means that original DOS programs (including PC games) are provided with an environment in which they can run correctly, even though the modern computers have dropped support for that old environment. It is used in the gog.com re-release of the *Catacomb* games to allow play on modern systems, with wrappers currently available for Microsoft Windows and macOS (Linux support still forthcoming).
The Dungeon

**Catacomb 3D**

*Level Warp Codes*

* **1: The Approach**
* **2: Nemesis's Keep**
* **3: Ground Floor**
* **4: Second Floor**
* **5: Third Floor**
* **6: Tower One**
* **7: Tower Two**
* **8: Secret Halls**
* **9: Access Floor**
* **10: **The Dungeon****
* **11: Lower Dungeon**
* **12: Catacomb**
* **13: Lower Reaches**
* **14: The Warrens**
* **15: Hidden Caverns**
* **16: The Fens of Insanity**
* **17: Chaos Corridors**
* **18: The Labyrinth**
* **19: Halls of Blood**
* **20: Nemesis's Lair**

**The Dungeon** is the tenth level (slot ten) of *Catacomb 3D* (1991). Arrived at from the Gate of Stone in the Access Floor, this level is set inside a dungeon with a succession of prison cells.

## Messages

* Dungeon Hallways
* Cell
* Large Cell
* Slimy Entrance Hall

## Enemies Present

* Orcs
* Trolls

## Trivia

* This level concept is revisited in The Demon Hold from *Catacomb Armageddon* (1992) and The Encounter Chamber in *Catacomb Apocalypse* (1993).
* It is also very similar to the first and numerous other levels in *Wolfenstein 3D* (1992).

 * The Approach
* Nemesis's Keep
* Ground Floor
	+ Secret Halls
* Second Floor
* Third Floor
* Tower One
* Tower Two
* Access Floor
	+ **The Dungeon**
		- Lower Dungeon
	+ Catacomb
		- Lower Reaches
	+ The Warrens
		- Hidden Caverns
	+ The Fens of Insanity
* Chaos Corridors
* The Labyrinth
* Halls of Blood
* Nemesis's Lair
* The Garden of Tears
* The Mausoleum Grounds
* The Main Floor of the Mausoleum
* The Crypt of Nemesis the Undead
* The Den of Zombies
* The Subterranean Vault
* The Ancient Aqueduct
* The Orc Mines
* The Lair of the Trolls
* The Demon's Inferno
* The Battleground of the Titans
* The Coven of Mages
* The Inner Sanctum
* The Haunt of Nemesis
* The Passage to the Surface
* The Dark Forest
* The Garden of Forgotten Souls
* The Lost City of the Damned
* The Temple of Vipers
* The Torture Chambers
* The Demon Hold
* The Ant Colony
* The Hall of the Wretched Pox
* The Lair of the Succubus
* The Chamber of the Evil Eye
* The Flaming Inferno
* The Subterranean River
* The Crystal Maze
* The Ramparts of Nemesis
* The Fortress of Nemesis
* The Passage to the Surface
* The Wizard's Garden
* The Council Chamber of Time Wizards
* The Axis of the Time Lords
	+ The Future Node of Time
	+ The Fire Node of Time
	+ The Ancient Node of Time
	+ The Water Node of Time
* The Wizards Maze
* The Underground Sewers
* The Flooded City
* The Computer Core
* The Chamber of Invisible Horror
* The Encounter Chamber
* The Testing Chambers of Nemesis
* The Passage to the Surface
Wretched Pox

File:Pox.png

Particularly distressing minions of Nemesis, the **Wretched Pox** is a foe encountered in *Catacomb Armageddon*.

They resemble grotesque, flabby green humanoids with lanky limbs and red eyes, intended to spread plague amongst Nemesis' enemies.

## In *Catacomb Armageddon*

Poxes have a mere 10 Hit Points, but do an impressive amount of damage in close-combat, and are surprisingly fast relative to their size. They're extremely prone to rushing the player, often forcing their way to the forefront of a gaggle of enemies in order to get to the player first with their filthy claws. Often this works to the player's advantage, as they have low hit points and high damage, making their destruction a priority. They notably have less attack range than other melee-based enemies, so it's often a challenge for them to hit you, even with their high damage.

They require the Green Jewel to appear on the Crystal Sphere.

### Death Explosion

 File:Pox Corpse.png
The Wretched Pox is notable for its rather unusual death animation, whereby it goes bug-eyed as the pressure in its body builds, and ultimately, it detonates in a cloud of gore, leaving only a pair of legs. The Pox is *supposed* to be able to damage the player and destroy nearby treasures with this explosion, but due to issues with *Catacomb Armageddon'*s engine, this doesn't work, leaving the Wretched Pox as a bizarre melee enemy with a quirky death animation.

Curiously, players have reported the Pox exploding without ever shooting one, usually when it can't get anywhere near a player. The reason for this is unknown.

## In *Catacomb Apocalypse*

The Wretched Pox does not return, but its decidedly nastier futuristic equivalent is.
Hidden Caverns

**Catacomb 3D**

*Level Warp Codes*

* **1: The Approach**
* **2: Nemesis's Keep**
* **3: Ground Floor**
* **4: Second Floor**
* **5: Third Floor**
* **6: Tower One**
* **7: Tower Two**
* **8: Secret Halls**
* **9: Access Floor**
* **10: The Dungeon**
* **11: Lower Dungeon**
* **12: Catacomb**
* **13: Lower Reaches**
* **14: The Warrens**
* **15: **Hidden Caverns****
* **16: The Fens of Insanity**
* **17: Chaos Corridors**
* **18: The Labyrinth**
* **19: Halls of Blood**
* **20: Nemesis's Lair**

**Hidden Caverns** is the fifteenth level and second secret level (slot fifteen) of *Catacomb 3D* (1991). It is accessible from level fourteen The Warrens, past the Gate of Horror from the Access Floor.

## Messages

* Hidden Caverns
* Bat Cavern
* Orc Cave
* Hidden Scroll Room
* Gate Cave

## Enemies Present

* Orcs
* Trolls
* Bats

## Items Present

* Scroll
* Treasure Chests

## Trivia

* The scroll in this level contains a fantasy knock-knock joke.

 * The Approach
* Nemesis's Keep
* Ground Floor
	+ Secret Halls
* Second Floor
* Third Floor
* Tower One
* Tower Two
* Access Floor
	+ The Dungeon
		- Lower Dungeon
	+ Catacomb
		- Lower Reaches
	+ The Warrens
		- **Hidden Caverns**
	+ The Fens of Insanity
* Chaos Corridors
* The Labyrinth
* Halls of Blood
* Nemesis's Lair
* The Garden of Tears
* The Mausoleum Grounds
* The Main Floor of the Mausoleum
* The Crypt of Nemesis the Undead
* The Den of Zombies
* The Subterranean Vault
* The Ancient Aqueduct
* The Orc Mines
* The Lair of the Trolls
* The Demon's Inferno
* The Battleground of the Titans
* The Coven of Mages
* The Inner Sanctum
* The Haunt of Nemesis
* The Passage to the Surface
* The Dark Forest
* The Garden of Forgotten Souls
* The Lost City of the Damned
* The Temple of Vipers
* The Torture Chambers
* The Demon Hold
* The Ant Colony
* The Hall of the Wretched Pox
* The Lair of the Succubus
* The Chamber of the Evil Eye
* The Flaming Inferno
* The Subterranean River
* The Crystal Maze
* The Ramparts of Nemesis
* The Fortress of Nemesis
* The Passage to the Surface
* The Wizard's Garden
* The Council Chamber of Time Wizards
* The Axis of the Time Lords
	+ The Future Node of Time
	+ The Fire Node of Time
	+ The Ancient Node of Time
	+ The Water Node of Time
* The Wizards Maze
* The Underground Sewers
* The Flooded City
* The Computer Core
* The Chamber of Invisible Horror
* The Encounter Chamber
* The Testing Chambers of Nemesis
* The Passage to the Surface
Grelminar

File:Grelminar.png
**Grelminar of Kelquest** is a friend of Petton Everhail, whom Petton is trying to rescue from the clutches of Nemesis in *Catacomb 3D*.

An accomplished mage himself, Grelminar specializes in teleportation and cross-planar magick, and Nemesis was intending to use his abilities to finally defeat his rival and remove any remaining obstacles to his evil reign. The Gates that Petton encounters throughout *Catacomb 3D* are due to Nemesis harnessing Grelminar's abilities, which he's done by sealing Grelminar in an amber coffin and siphoning off his power.

Grelminar is found in the final level of *Catacomb 3D*, Nemesis's Lair, after vanquishing the evil lich. He is hidden in Nemesis' workshop, which is secluded behind the throne in the final boss room. Touching the capsule breaks it open and wins the game.

 File:Grelminar Ending.png
## Trivia

* Nemesis and Grelminar's names were switched prior to release; in the Gamer's Edge versions and the Catacombs 3 box, Greliminar is called Nemesis and vice-versa in all in-game materials. This resulted in considerable confusion for players in the 90s who played the later Catacomb Adventure Series after playing the Gamer's Edge version of *Catacomb 3D*. John Romero has claimed that Grelminar is in fact meant to be the lich, but regardless this would now contradict the majority of the canon.
* The theme of teleportation would later be used for the teleporters to Hell in id Software's *Doom* and the slipgates in *Quake*, as well as the similar portals to Xen in Valve Software's *Half-Life*.
* Grelminar is a character referenced in John Carmack's trilogy of role playing games called *Dark Designs*; he is stated to be a great wizard but long dead, while his magical staff is key to the first game's plot due to its ability to close inter-dimensional portals.
Treant

File:Treant Hiding.png

One of the most unique foes in *Catacomb Armageddon*, the **Treant** is an enemy full of surprises that can catch an unwary player off-guard.

## In *Catacomb Armageddon*

 File:Treant Active.png
The Treant is an enemy that only appears in The Dark Forest, but will almost certainly stick out among the most memorable monsters, fitting the spooky woods aesthetic beautifully.

When a player first enters the area, sometimes, ominous-looking trees with faces can be seen. Occasionally, these will be simple decorations, but the majority are, in fact, enemies lying in wait. If the player waits long enough in their line of sight - or shoots one - the Treant will activate, its eyes will glow red, and it will begin advancing on the player's position. In addition to being one of the larger monsters, hey're quite tough (12 Hit Points) and boast reasonably high damage. They do not show up on the Crystal Sphere until they attack (and even then, they require the Yellow Jewel to detect), and don't make any noise until they do, which makes them very good at ambushing the player, more so because they often appear alongside groups of Bats or other Treants. Thankfully, they are rather slow-moving.

 File:Burning Treant.png
When destroyed, Treants have one more trick up their sleeve: They catch fire, and continue to burn. Touching a burning Treant inflicts damage on the player, and while the damage is very low (a single percent point), it causes damage for as long as the player is touching it, which can actually cause quite a lot of damage if the player sticks around. Touching a Treant can be unavoidable if it dies in a hallway, necessitating the player take damage to advance, so a canny wizard will kite Treants towards the center of a larger room before killing them, where their burning remains will do little harm.

## Trivia

* The Treant is one of only two monsters (the other being the Giant Ant) that has an animated corpse in *Catacomb Armageddon*.
* It's also the only enemy that has a damage effect tied to where it dies in *Catacomb Armageddon*.
	+ While the Wretched Pox is intended to have a similar feature, it does not work due to an engine limitation.
Catacombs Pack

File:Catacombs-Pack.jpg

The **Catacombs Pack** is a complete digital release of the *Catacomb* games for IBM PC compatibles put out by Flat Rock Software and distributed by gog.com since March 14, 2013. The set features all of the games, both 2D and 3D, for MS-DOS which is then emulated using DOSBox for Windows and macOS (first party Linux support still forthcoming). It is currently the easiest way to purchase a legitimate copy of the game, and to get the game data for ports such as CatacombSDL, Reflection Keen and CatacombGL. Following the purchase of the *Catacomb* intellectual property by Jay Weisskopf in 2017, the pack is now released under the auspices of Catacomb Games.

## Games

* Catacomb (included in the Catacomb1989 directory alongside the Gamer's Edge version of *Dangerous Dave*)
* The Catacomb (included in the Catacomb directory)
* Catacomb 3D (included in the Cat3D directory)
* Catacomb Abyss (included in the Abyss directory)
* Catacomb Armageddon (included in the Armageddon directory)
* Catacomb Apocalypse (included in the Apocalypse directory)

## External Links

* Catacombs Pack - gog.com
* Release: Catacombs Pack - gog.com
* Catacombs Pack - MobyGames
Glacierbound

* Catacomb (1990)
	+ Catacomb II (1991)

*3D DOS Games:*

* Catacomb 3D (1991)
	+ Catacomb Adventure Series (1992-1993)
		- Catacomb Abyss (1992)
		- Catacomb Armageddon (1992)
		- Catacomb Apocalypse (1993)

*Apple II & IIGS:*

* Catacombs (1991)
	+ Sylvan Idyll (1992)
		- Ether Quest (1993)
			* Sand Trap (1994)
* Catacomb Abyss IIGS (1994; unreleased)

*Related Games:*

* Dark Designs (1990-1994)
* Commander Keen (1990-1991)
* Dangerous Dave (1988-1993)
* Hovertank 3D (1991)
	+ Wolfenstein 3D (1992)
		- Blake Stone (1993-1994)

*Recreations:*

* Catacomb: ABYSS (2013)
* Catacomb WebGL (2017)
* Catacomb 3D FPS Maker (2019)

*Homage Games:*

* Rombo (2008)
* Two Lords (2008)
* Rombo Rush (2011)
* Bad Vibes (2017)
* Catacombs of the Damned (2018)
* Panty Panic Princess (2019)
* Crypt 3D (2019)
* **Glacierbound** (2020)
* The Vigilance of Nephthys (2020)
* Arkos (2021)
* Trial of the Sorcerer (2021)
* Crypt of the Slime Lord (2022)
* UNNAMED HERO IN THE UNDERWORLD (2022)
* Wizordum (TBA)

**Glacierbound** is a browser-based first-person shooter released on April 27, 2020 that was written by Brian J. Boucher as a raycaster in JavaScript. Reminiscent of the *Catacomb 3D* games, the player is a spell-caster, who has to fight various monsters while collecting keys to progress through levels of uniform height.

## External links

* Glacierbound - itch.io
* Portfolio entry
Trial of the Sorcerer

* Catacomb (1990)
	+ Catacomb II (1991)

*3D DOS Games:*

* Catacomb 3D (1991)
	+ Catacomb Adventure Series (1992-1993)
		- Catacomb Abyss (1992)
		- Catacomb Armageddon (1992)
		- Catacomb Apocalypse (1993)

*Apple II & IIGS:*

* Catacombs (1991)
	+ Sylvan Idyll (1992)
		- Ether Quest (1993)
			* Sand Trap (1994)
* Catacomb Abyss IIGS (1994; unreleased)

*Related Games:*

* Dark Designs (1990-1994)
* Commander Keen (1990-1991)
* Dangerous Dave (1988-1993)
* Hovertank 3D (1991)
	+ Wolfenstein 3D (1992)
		- Blake Stone (1993-1994)

*Recreations:*

* Catacomb: ABYSS (2013)
* Catacomb WebGL (2017)
* Catacomb 3D FPS Maker (2019)

*Homage Games:*

* Rombo (2008)
* Two Lords (2008)
* Rombo Rush (2011)
* Bad Vibes (2017)
* Catacombs of the Damned (2018)
* Panty Panic Princess (2019)
* Crypt 3D (2019)
* Glacierbound (2020)
* The Vigilance of Nephthys (2020)
* Arkos (2021)
* **Trial of the Sorcerer** (2021)
* Crypt of the Slime Lord (2022)
* UNNAMED HERO IN THE UNDERWORLD (2022)
* Wizordum (TBA)

**Trial of the Sorcerer** is a procedurally generated retro first person shooter by Tom Mulgrew released in 2021 and inspired by *Wolfenstein 3D* and *Catacomb Abyss*.

## External links

* Trial of the Sorcerer - itch.io
* Trial of the Sorcerer - lexaloffle
* Trial of the Sorcerer - KBHGames
Id Software

**id Software** is an American video game developer based in Dallas, Texas. The company was founded on February 1, 1991, by four members of the computer company Softdisk, programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack (no relation to John Carmack). Business manager Jay Wilbur was also involved. id Software made important technological developments in video game technologies for the PC (running MS-DOS and Windows), including work done for the *Wolfenstein*, *Doom*, and *Quake* franchises. id's work was particularly important in 3D computer graphics technology and in game engines that are used throughout the video game industry. The company was involved in the creation of the first-person shooter (FPS) genre. *Wolfenstein 3D* is often considered as the first true FPS, while the original *Doom* was a game that popularized the genre and PC gaming in general, and the first *Quake* was id's first true 3D FPS. On June 24, 2009, ZeniMax Media acquired the company, which in turn was purchased by Microsoft in March 2021 as part of XBox Game Studios. In 2015, they opened a second studio in Frankfurt, Germany.
Froggman

**Froggman** was the banner of a game line published by Expert Software, a company based in Coral Gables, Florida. Expert Software focused on producing budget software titles, until they were acquired by Activision in 1999.

Two Catacomb games were rebranded in 1993 and sold as part of the Froggman game line: *Curse of the Catacombs* (Catacomb Armageddon) and *Terror of the Catacombs* (Catacomb Apocalypse).
Secret Halls

**Catacomb 3D**

*Level Warp Codes*

* **1: The Approach**
* **2: Nemesis's Keep**
* **3: Ground Floor**
* **4: Second Floor**
* **5: Third Floor**
* **6: Tower One**
* **7: Tower Two**
* **8: **Secret Halls****
* **9: Access Floor**
* **10: The Dungeon**
* **11: Lower Dungeon**
* **12: Catacomb**
* **13: Lower Reaches**
* **14: The Warrens**
* **15: Hidden Caverns**
* **16: The Fens of Insanity**
* **17: Chaos Corridors**
* **18: The Labyrinth**
* **19: Halls of Blood**
* **20: Nemesis's Lair**

**Secret Halls** is the eighth level and first secret level (slot eight) of *Catacomb 3D* (1991). It is accessible from level three Ground Floor.

## Messages

* Small Secret Room
* Hidden Corridor
* White Room
* Big Room of Treasure 'n' Death
* Slimy Tunnel
* Small Yellow Gate Room
* Gate Room

## Enemies Present

* Orcs
* Trolls

## Items Present

* Yellow Key
* Blue Key
* Cure Potions
* Treasure Chests

## Trivia

* Secret levels would continue to be an id Software staple in their subsequent games, such as the Pacman secret in *Wolfenstein 3D* or the duo of hidden levels in *Doom II* that reference *Wolfenstein 3D* and *Commander Keen*. In comparison, this one is fairly mundane.

 * The Approach
* Nemesis's Keep
* Ground Floor
	+ **Secret Halls**
* Second Floor
* Third Floor
* Tower One
* Tower Two
* Access Floor
	+ The Dungeon
		- Lower Dungeon
	+ Catacomb
		- Lower Reaches
	+ The Warrens
		- Hidden Caverns
	+ The Fens of Insanity
* Chaos Corridors
* The Labyrinth
* Halls of Blood
* Nemesis's Lair
* The Garden of Tears
* The Mausoleum Grounds
* The Main Floor of the Mausoleum
* The Crypt of Nemesis the Undead
* The Den of Zombies
* The Subterranean Vault
* The Ancient Aqueduct
* The Orc Mines
* The Lair of the Trolls
* The Demon's Inferno
* The Battleground of the Titans
* The Coven of Mages
* The Inner Sanctum
* The Haunt of Nemesis
* The Passage to the Surface
* The Dark Forest
* The Garden of Forgotten Souls
* The Lost City of the Damned
* The Temple of Vipers
* The Torture Chambers
* The Demon Hold
* The Ant Colony
* The Hall of the Wretched Pox
* The Lair of the Succubus
* The Chamber of the Evil Eye
* The Flaming Inferno
* The Subterranean River
* The Crystal Maze
* The Ramparts of Nemesis
* The Fortress of Nemesis
* The Passage to the Surface
* The Wizard's Garden
* The Council Chamber of Time Wizards
* The Axis of the Time Lords
	+ The Future Node of Time
	+ The Fire Node of Time
	+ The Ancient Node of Time
	+ The Water Node of Time
* The Wizards Maze
* The Underground Sewers
* The Flooded City
* The Computer Core
* The Chamber of Invisible Horror
* The Encounter Chamber
* The Testing Chambers of Nemesis
* The Passage to the Surface
Handler

File:Handler.png
The **Handler** is an agent of the UFA in *Hovertank 3D* who sends out Brick Sledge on missions and handles his payment. He is seen on every mission completion screen, either pleased at a successful outcome, or angered by unnecessary loss of life.

The character is never directly named or referred to in the game, but it can be assumed he is the one who writes the mission briefings and directs the repair of Sledge's hovertank. He is depicted with a greying beard and a blue sweater. It is unclear if he is the UFA President mentioned in the end text, described as a "distinguished figure".
Chaos Corridors

**Catacomb 3D**

*Level Warp Codes*

* **1: The Approach**
* **2: Nemesis's Keep**
* **3: Ground Floor**
* **4: Second Floor**
* **5: Third Floor**
* **6: Tower One**
* **7: Tower Two**
* **8: Secret Halls**
* **9: Access Floor**
* **10: The Dungeon**
* **11: Lower Dungeon**
* **12: Catacomb**
* **13: Lower Reaches**
* **14: The Warrens**
* **15: Hidden Caverns**
* **16: The Fens of Insanity**
* **17: **Chaos Corridors****
* **18: The Labyrinth**
* **19: Halls of Blood**
* **20: Nemesis's Lair**

**Chaos Corridors** is the seventeenth level (slot seventeen) of *Catacomb 3D* (1991). This level marks the beginning of the final stage of the game, exiting from the hub environs started in Access Floor.

## Messages

* Entrance to Chaos
* Dark Soul's Reach
* Graysoul's Run
* Purespirit Path
* Goldenlight Way

## Items Present

* Green Key
* Red Key
* Blue Key
* Yellow Key
* Cure Potions

## Trivia

* Each region has a different texture:
	+ Dark Soul's Reach - slime bricks
	+ Graysoul's Run - grey bricks
	+ Purespirit Path - white bricks
	+ Goldenlight Way - yellow bricks

* The setting of this level, a wizard's guild, is returned to in The Coven of Mages in *Catacomb Abyss* (1992).

 * The Approach
* Nemesis's Keep
* Ground Floor
	+ Secret Halls
* Second Floor
* Third Floor
* Tower One
* Tower Two
* Access Floor
	+ The Dungeon
		- Lower Dungeon
	+ Catacomb
		- Lower Reaches
	+ The Warrens
		- Hidden Caverns
	+ The Fens of Insanity
* **Chaos Corridors**
* The Labyrinth
* Halls of Blood
* Nemesis's Lair
* The Garden of Tears
* The Mausoleum Grounds
* The Main Floor of the Mausoleum
* The Crypt of Nemesis the Undead
* The Den of Zombies
* The Subterranean Vault
* The Ancient Aqueduct
* The Orc Mines
* The Lair of the Trolls
* The Demon's Inferno
* The Battleground of the Titans
* The Coven of Mages
* The Inner Sanctum
* The Haunt of Nemesis
* The Passage to the Surface
* The Dark Forest
* The Garden of Forgotten Souls
* The Lost City of the Damned
* The Temple of Vipers
* The Torture Chambers
* The Demon Hold
* The Ant Colony
* The Hall of the Wretched Pox
* The Lair of the Succubus
* The Chamber of the Evil Eye
* The Flaming Inferno
* The Subterranean River
* The Crystal Maze
* The Ramparts of Nemesis
* The Fortress of Nemesis
* The Passage to the Surface
* The Wizard's Garden
* The Council Chamber of Time Wizards
* The Axis of the Time Lords
	+ The Future Node of Time
	+ The Fire Node of Time
	+ The Ancient Node of Time
	+ The Water Node of Time
* The Wizards Maze
* The Underground Sewers
* The Flooded City
* The Computer Core
* The Chamber of Invisible Horror
* The Encounter Chamber
* The Testing Chambers of Nemesis
* The Passage to the Surface
Skeleton Warrior

Animated **Skeleton Warriors** are the rank-and-file soldiers of Nemesis's army of undead.

Equipped with swords and shields they show up first in *Catacomb Abyss* and then later in *Catacomb Armageddon*.

## In *Catacomb Abyss*

 File:SkeletonAbyss.png

**Skeleton Warriors** bearing a gold sword and shield are the toughest enemy of the early game, boasting 12 hit points and having decent damage output. It often appears in sizable packs, and backed up by other monsters (Wraiths and Zombies in particular). Curiously, Skeletons are not always that aggressive, often taking their time to approach or wandering off if it can't work out a way to the player, but they can be particularly dangerous in groups due to their sheer bulk. Big groups of Skeletons, such as the ones in The Crypt of Nemesis the Undead, may justify using a Zapper or two to thin out their ranks.

Skeleton Warriors only show up on the Crystal Sphere if the player has the Yellow Jewel.

In later levels, the player may see Skeletons embedded in the walls, or strung up with manacles. Some will be environmental decorations, but others will become Skeleton Warriors if the player gets too close!

When destroyed, they collapse in a pile of bones and equipment.

## In *Catacomb Armageddon*

 File:Skelmageddon.png

The **Skeleton Warrior** returns, improved from its *Catacomb Abyss* incarnation, bearing a bronze sword, shield and a new headdress. They are as durable as ever, at 12 Hit Points, and are more aggressive than their predecessor. They also tend to appear with other enemies, specifically Vipers - and while their damage is no higher, they aren't quite as prone to wandering off as their earlier version was. In big groups, or with other enemies, they are a much bigger threat. Zappers can help whittle them down in short order.

As was the case in *Catacomb Abyss*, they require the Yellow Jewel to detect on the Crystal Sphere.

Also like their *Abyss* counterpart, they are often used as traps.

## In *Catacomb Apocalypse*

Skeleton Warriors aren't in this game, but their futuristic counterpart is.

## In *Catacombs of the Damned*

This homage game features fully armoured knights in a similar role.
Tile Tester 1

File:WDC TileTester1.png
**Tile Tester 1** is a test level from the *Catacomb Abyss*, residing in slot 20. It has no official name, but the MAPSABS.H file in the source code refers to it as 'TILE\_TESTER\_1\_MAP'. It appears to be designed for testing the wall textures.
This level is not accessible via the orginal DOS game executable. However, it is playable in the CatacombGL source port, via the level warp cheat. The layout of the level can also be viewed in the Wolf3D Data Compiler.

## Walkthrough

**Catacomb Abyss**

*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**

 File:CatacombGL TileTester1.png
Tile Tester 1 consists of a single, large room, containing 28 columns with various wall textures. Some walls have a door texture, which upon use will take the player to The Towne Cemetery. Also present in the level is the archway as seen in the final room of The Passage to the Surface. Going through the archway takes the player to the victory screen.

## Messages

There is no LEVEL21TEXT entry in the EGAGRAPH.ABS file, hence there are no messages defined for this level.
Mike's Blastable Passage

File:WDC MikesBlastablePassage.png
**Mike's Blastable Passage** is a secret level residing in slot five of *Catacomb Abyss* (1992). It is accessible via the level warp cheat and via the exit of Nolan's Nasty, another secret level.

## Walkthrough

**Catacomb Abyss**

*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**

## Enemies Present

* Evil Eyes
* Skeleton Warriors
* Mages
* Wraiths

## Items Present

* Treasure Chests
* Red Key

## Trivia

* The level is named after programmer Michael Maynard.
Sprite

File:Nemesis-Sprite-Sheet.png
**Sprite** is a computer graphics term for a two-dimensional bitmap that is integrated into a larger scene. Originally sprites referred to independent objects that are composited together, by hardware, with other elements such as a background. Use of the term sprite has expanded to refer to any two-dimensional bitmap used as part of a graphics display, even if drawn into a frame buffer (by either software or a GPU) instead of being composited on-the-fly at display time. In *Catacomb 3D*, the game objects such as enemies and items are drawn as raster sprites, whiles the actual geometry of the world itself is drawn as vector polygons subsequently put through a rasterizer and texture mapped for visual consistency.

The term sprite was first used in the graphic sense by one of the definers of the Texas Instruments 9918(A) video display processor (VDP). The term was derived from the fact that sprites, rather than being part of the bitmap data in the framebuffer, instead "floated" around on top without affecting the data in the framebuffer below, much like a ghost or "sprite". By this time, sprites had advanced to the point where complete two-dimensional shapes could be moved around the screen horizontally and vertically with minimal software overhead.
The Towne

**The Towne** is the main setting of *Catacomb Abyss* and presumably the capital of the kingdom of Thoria. Little is known about its above ground condition, aside from The Towne Cemetery. It is presumably supplied with running water through The Ancient Aqueduct and might have had The Orc Mines as part of its economic basis, prior to its incursion by Orcs. The Battleground of the Titans might well have started out as a spectated bloodsport between Demons and Trolls. The extensive network of subterranean catacombs beneath the the settlement implies a community of some age. A corrupted version, The Towne of Morbidity, is featured in *Catacomb Armageddon*.