E1M5: Palace of Culture

Palace of Culture is the fifth mission in HROT Episode 1 — Kiss Me Gustav, that recreates an actual location in Prague, and which has trains, a Helicopter, and two new weapons.

# Walkthrough

The Player enters the map from at the bottom of the stairs at the end of Sokol Gym into an empty room with two doors. The door at the immediate right opens to a room with a bag of Semi-Skimmed Milk and some bullets.

Return to the room where you started, and proceed forward to the second door that will allow you to exit, pausing briefly to read the sign that says **Joint Work for the Prosperity of Homeland, Socialism and Peace!** (**Svornou prací za rozkvět vlasti, za socialismus, za mír!**).

Now you are standing next to the entrance to a metro station platform beneath a sign that says **All Might of the Party and the People for Building a Developed Socialist Society** (**Všechny síly strany a lidu k úspěšnému budování rozvinuté socialistické společnosti**), which is mounted next to a shield dedicated to Czechoslovakia's 8th Five Year Plan, 1986-1990.

On the stairs to the right is a Konfident who is descending to catch the next metro. At the top of the stairs are two Kejdovecs patrolling the plaza surrounding the Palace of Culture, along with two Turrets who would like you to stand still for their target practice.

There are also two cans of Tasty Canned Chicken, one to the left of the stairs, and another near a sign for the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. Between them is the entrance to the first secret. To the right is a storage shed with the Aluminum Key door, and at the entrance to the Palace of Culture, the Common Key lock.

Head back down the stairs and onto the metro platform. Proceed down a second stairs to your left so you can cross to the other platform, meeting a couple of commuting Smaskous along the way, and passing by the entrance to the second secret.

Climb the steps to the opposing platform and walk to the end where there are two doors, one with a sign that indicates that entry is restricted. Proceed through the door to the metro employee locker room where you will see the Rusted Key door, and a Hazmat Suit and a Kejdovec getting ready for work.

At the back of the room is a valve you must turn to open the second platform door. It stands next to a bathroom and a sign that says **Keep Clean!** (**Zachovejte Čistotu!**), where you an earn another achievement.

Exit the locker room and enter the now open second door to a storage area for cleaning supplies, where two Smaskous and a Hazmat Suit are busy working. You will also find some clips and the Aluminum Key door.

Return to the station platform where four disgruntled Smaskous are waiting on the platform opposite. Cross to the platform and as you ascend the stairs you will see a Helicopter who has an important message for you, along with another Hazmat Suit and some clips.

Open the Aluminum Key door, where there is a button waiting for you to press it, lowering a wall in front of the Palace of Culture. Behind it you will find five Pedros and two Konfidents frolicking around on a set of stairs. There is also a bag of Semi-Skimmed Milk and the second new weapon, the Brno Super Shotgun.

At the bottom of the stairs is another door that leads to a utility room where the Rusted Key awaits. Taking it will open a sliding panel to reveal two Pedros who believe you do not have enough spit in your life. Return to the metro station locker room and open the Rusted Key door. Inside is a Miner, who is jumping at the chance to shake hands with you, and a Kejdovec who is working on an Electric Cabinet.

Take the stairs to the left down to a utility room, passing by the entrance to the third secret, where there are two Smaskous are hard at work. There is a doorway at the left that leads to an unlit room with an Electric Cabinet and another Smaskou. Back in the utility room there is a corridor that leads to a large open room with a platform, where there are three Konfidents hanging out. Jump to the floor, where there is a hold with a ladder leading down to a mechanical room.

Here there is a large regulator with a valve and a bag of Milk. Turn the valve and a portion of the wall will open to reveal two Kejdovecs. Return to the platform room, where you will be confronted by a Skapucí then circle around the platform to the right, through another room to a ladder. Climb the ladder to a catwalk where there is a switch that will raise a second platform. Shoot open the ventilation duct, then jump down to the platforms and make a running jump into the duct.

Follow the duct around and down until it drops you in another storage room with some shelves and bullets. It leads to a second room with a closed door on the left and a sign that says **Emergency Exit** (**Nouzový východ**), and the entrance to another storage room at the right. Proceed to the second store room where there is a standing grate with an electrical panel behind it. Shot the panel to open another hole in the floor, across from more shelves with some clips.

Drop into the hole and climb the ladder at the other end of the corridor where it drops you. At the top of the ladder is a bag of Semi-Skimmed Milk and a fan that will boost you to the room with the Common Key. Once taken, a small elevator will descend to deliver a Kejdovec who wants you to put the key back. Climb ladder next to the elevator to find yourself back on the Palace of Culture plaza. There is also a Hazmat Suit, who when killed, will be replaced by two more.

Open the Common Key door at the front of the Palace of Culture, where two Hazmat Suits and a Kejdovec are waiting for the next show to begin. Climb the stairs to reach the cinema and hop over the chairs to reach the projectionist's room. Hit the button to start the movie and the curtain will open to reveal a backstage area with a Smaskou. Once you move behind the curtain two Konfidents will appear, and two Pedros, if you are playing the Hard difficulty.

Continue backstage where another Smaskou wants to see your VIP pass. Continue down a set of stairs to the left to reach an elevator operated by a Konfident, with some Tasty Canned Chicken in front of it. Ride the elevator down and it will deposit you in a corridor with a Konfident and a Hazmat Suit that leads to a door with a sign that says **Lounge** (**Salónek**). Inside is a round table with chairs, a draped Czechoslovakian flag, and another picture of Gustáv Husák.

Above the door is an electrical panel, which when shot will open an alcove at the other end of room, containing another Konfident and a button with a sign that says **Evacuation** (**Evakvace**). Press the button and the room will descend a long way down until it stops in front of an open doorway.

The door leads to a ledge overlooking the storage area where you were previously, which has four Smaskous waiting for you. The door to the **Emergency Exit** are now open. Proceed through them to some stair leading down, and a Miner running up to greet you. Continue down to a corridor that doglegs right and continues further down. There are two Turrets at the end of the hall along with the AZ-5 button to end the level, which will lead you past the entrance to the fourth secret.

**Previous:** E1M4: Sokol Gym

**Next:** E1M6: Vysehrad Castle

# Secrets

### Secret 1

Go to the left front corner of the **Palace of Culture** where there is some slotted decorative paneling. Interact with the panel to open it and descend the ladder to a small room, where you will find a Hussite Hand Cannon and a Grenade.

### Secret 2

In order to reach this secret you will need to move the trashcan near the door you exited at the start of the map down the stairs to the commuter tunnel between the two platforms. Position the can under a ventilation duct and break it open. Jump on top of the can and into the duct to find a bottle of Red Wine.

### Secret 3

In the area past the Rusted Key door, take the stairs down to the first landing, overlooking a mechanical room. Jump from the landing onto the top of an Electric Cabinet and interact with the wall to reveal some Tasty Canned Poultry.

### Secret 4

The last secret of the level is a cracked wall in the corridor where you find the Turrets and AЗ-5 button. Take out the Turrets and blow open the wall to find a Medal.

# Lore

* The **Gottwaldova Station** is a real Prague Metro station (Line C). It was open in 1974 and was named after Klement Gottwald. The station was renamed to Vyšehrad in 1990.

* The **Palace of Culture** is based on a real building that is today called the **Prague Congress Centre** (**Kongresové centrum Praha**). Built between 1976 - 1981, it is a large neofunctionalist building in Prague district **Nusle**, located on the edge of **Nusle Valley** (**Nuselské údolí**), near to the **Nusle Bridge** and **Metro station Vyšehrad**. There are 70 halls, lounges and meeting rooms of various sizes in this building, with total capacity of 9,300 people. It was renamed in 1995.

* The KSČ sign that stands in front of the Palace refers to the Komunistická strana Československa (Communist Party of Czechoslovakia). It was was a Communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. Between 1929 and 1953, it was led by Klement Gottwald. The KSČ was the sole governing party in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic though it was a leading party alongside with the Slovak branch and four other legally permitted non-communist parties. After its election victory in 1946, it seized power in the 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état and established a one-party state allied with the Soviet Union.

* The cinema in the Palace of Culture is a reference to two different things. The movie itself, with the historic footage of Lenin giving his 1919 Middle Peasants speech, is a tribute to the Czech demogroup MovSD and their old demo **Pragma Aux**, which took 1st place at the Fiasko 1998 demoparty. The portion with Lenin can be seen starting at 4:18 in the video. The movie curtain itself is a reference to the classic FPS game Duke Nukem 3D, and the opening curtain in E1M1 Hollywood Holocaust.

* The **Lounge** is a reference to the K-116 facility under Zlíchov hill in western Prague, which was designated to house the Czechoslovak government in case of nuclear attack (together with the K-9 facility in Jihlava) and might still be used as the emergency headquarters of the Czech government and military.