IGTAP VMAN Courses: Late-Game Routes Explained
VMAN is the IGTAP endgame course set. Here is how the five courses unlock, what the hidden message achievement tracks, and how players optimise it.
VMAN is the endgame course set in IGTAP. Five extra courses sit behind the main story, counted separately from the base game. Finishing each one has its own achievement, and the rarest achievement in the whole game hides inside a VMAN run.
What VMAN is
The game calls them Vman courses one through five, and the achievements count them in order. They run in a separate environment inside the facility rather than on the five base courses.
VMAN is not the same thing as the B-sides. B-sides are harder remakes of the base courses. VMAN is new content that opens after you complete the main story.
The name itself is not explained anywhere official. Treat the word as a label for that area rather than as a documented piece of lore.
How the five courses unlock
The completion percentages tell the story better than any guide could, because they fall in a strict staircase.
| Course | Achievement | Players who finished it |
|---|---|---|
| Vman course 1 | Deja vu | 9.9% |
| Vman course 2 | Getting Faster | 6.8% |
| Vman course 3 | Half done! | 4.9% |
| Vman course 4 | igtapithon | 3.7% |
| Vman course 5 | Waow... so fast | 3.1% |
Each course is rarer than the last, which means course two requires course one and so on. For comparison, finishing the main story sits at 23.5%.
Why VMAN is a speedrunning target
The game already times every course, and your best time feeds your clone income. VMAN continues that pattern, and the official achievement wording gives it away: the hidden message is described as appearing “within the Vman speedrun”.
That tells you two things. First, the area is meant to be run, not explored slowly. Second, the rarest content is tied to running it well.
The community treats it that way. The Steam board has a dedicated thread on VMAN route optimisation, and the leaderboard site lists 15 levels for individual timing alongside the full-game categories.
What the hidden message achievement tracks
Quam Formidolosum is unlocked by viewing an ominous message inside a Vman speedrun. Only 0.2% of players have it, which makes it the single rarest achievement in IGTAP.
Two community threads ask about it directly, one hunting secret upgrades alongside it and one asking what comes after VMAN. The developer has not published an explanation.
The message is not spoilt here, because finding it is the point. What matters for planning is the trigger: it appears during a run, not while wandering.
How to approach VMAN routes
- Finish the main story first. The entrance does not open earlier, and the 9.9% completion rate confirms it.
- Make sure omni-dash is unlocked. Most players arriving at VMAN already have it, and the late courses assume it.
- Clear each course once before optimising it. A slow completion unlocks the next course and starts earning income.
- Then improve the time. Your best time is the multiplier behind your clones, so a faster VMAN route pays twice.
- Watch for the message during runs. It appears inside the speedrun, not in normal exploration.
- Check the balance patch. The September 22 hotfix sped up the endgame, so older complaints about the grind may no longer hold.
What comes after VMAN
VMAN is not the last goal. The achievement list includes escaping the facility at 2.8%, and completing every course in reverse order at 1.0%. Another achievement covers finding all secret upgrades at 0.5%.
That pattern suggests VMAN is the middle of the endgame rather than its end. The Steam board has an open thread asking what lies past VMAN, with no official answer yet.
Sources: the official IGTAP achievement list on Steam, the official Steam announcement feed, the Steam discussion board, and the community leaderboard at speedrun.com/IGTAP.