Portal 2 Catch-All

Any fans out there of The Neverending Story?

the neverending stoooooooryyyyyyy, nuh nuh-nuh nuh nuh-nuh nuh nuh-nuh. Or is it an aha type sound? I guess they were making some sounds. f*ck it's been so long.

Loved that sh*t growing up.

Hyetal wrote:

the neverending stoooooooryyyyyyy, nuh nuh-nuh nuh nuh-nuh nuh nuh-nuh. Or is it an aha type sound? I guess they were making some sounds. f*ck it's been so long.

Loved that sh*t growing up.

I wanted to type out the same thing, but thought it would be weird.... so.. thanks?

Hey...

You got it, pal.

Artax!

Awesome, glad to see people responding to this awesome movie. I distinctly remember watching it as a kid, and being terrified of the Sphinxes Gate, when Atreyu approaches the knight, and the wind blew open his helmet and you could see he was singed...man. That burnt face stuck with me for quite a while...

Anywho, point of all this is because I'm almost done designing the Sphinxes Gate in the map editor. Hope it won't disappoint!

That's crazy. You're crazy.

I am crazy. This is known...

kexx wrote:

Awesome, glad to see people responding to this awesome movie. I distinctly remember watching it as a kid, and being terrified of the Sphinxes Gate, when Atreyu approaches the knight, and the wind blew open his helmet and you could see he was singed...man. That burnt face stuck with me for quite a while...

Anywho, point of all this is because I'm almost done designing the Sphinxes Gate in the map editor. Hope it won't disappoint!

Dude... Spoilers?

Man, I can't wait to see the map you're building.

Someone's working on a mod:

kexx wrote:

Someone's working on a mod:

Some of that looks pretty cool but other parts bother me. Personally I'd rather see Valve themselves extend the program. Whom knows, maybe those vacuum tubes will become and object we can place someday from Valve.

My only complaint is that I hate that you can't tell it to not have lines going to objects. I connect a row of objects I'd rather have one have the line instead of the whole row with their own lines.

Yeah, I agree. I'd rather Valve was behind this, and I'm pretty sure they're cooking up something similar for us. Doubt they'll have the airvent, but what I did like about this, was the bridge and the triggers, especially the autosave. Doors, crushers and energy pellets are nice, sure, but not specifically what I'm looking for in an update.

I have a rather long wishlist of my own. For starters, I wish they would allow us to combine certain elements. For example:

Portalable Piston Platforms: I want you to activate a button, and the portalable surface arises from the watery goo, or emerges from a wall.
Portalable Track Platforms: Same as above.
Portalable Angled Panel Piston Platform: There's a level in P2, where once you're done with most of the map, a dark surface from the wall opens up, and a piston platform turns on, extending a portalable surface, THEN it angles up, thus letting know the player he must jump through there.
Flip Panel Piston/Track Platform: Again, more variety, more possibilities on what we can do.
Angled Blocks: I like the angled panels, but they don't cover the entire hypotenuse. I want to be able to build long stretches of diagonal surfaces where you have to cover it with paint and run up a steep hill or something. Right now, I can't do that with angled panels because they either leave a hole, or I can't place 2 of them on the same Block. Obviously, 30,45,60 and 90 degree angles. Also, those surfaces should count as normal blocks, meaning I could place stuff on them, resulting in angled Tractor Beams, angled lasers, etc. Possibilities are endless.
Half and Quarter Blocks: Design-wise, there's just so much we could do, but also they could be part of puzzles, and making the creation of such easier. I've found myself numerous times trying to place a glass or grate, but it just doesn't cut it.
More behavior on items: For example, the angled panels. They can go from 0 to 30, to 45, to 60 and to 90. Or, they can go from 90, from 60, from 45, from 30, to 0. I want to be able to have one go from 60 to 30, or from 45 to 90. Or take Track Platforms for instance. Right now, you can't have its surface be parallel to the Block face where you attached it. A gizmo could help with that. Also, they're movement is a bit restricted. Size and memory issues might be the cause of this limitation, but I'm thinking about the final normal chamber in P1, where one single track platform makes rights and lefts, and then descends into the fire at an angle. Stuff like this could be so much fun.
Decorative/Indicative items: Lightstrips are helpful, but limited. I'm talking icons, like the ones at the beginning of every map, indicating if the puzzle has gel, or faith plates and such. It could help hint at puzzle elements, guiding the player when needed. Also, arrows. On the decorative side, just something as simple as third surface, where it's light colored, but non portalable. Much lighting and effect is sacrificed in the name of not having endless portalable surfaces so players can break the puzzle. Also, watery goo gets repetitive. I'd love to have the endless chasms we find in the later parts of P2 single player campaign.
Blue Connection Ant-lines: Include a gizmo and allow us to hide/show and also control where they appear. I've found one instance in which I had to move an exit door one block left, because the blue "X" at the end of the ant-line was blocking the portalable surface from opening a portal to its far side. It sounds minor, but it did break my puzzle because I needed that extra space to place the portal, so a laser would pass through.
Glass/Grating: I really wish we could cut them in half/quarter. Those extra lengths could change worlds. Also, I'd love it if we could place them adjacent to each other, and not obligated to attach to a block surface.
OR buttons: Self explanatory. It opens up a world of possibilities. Right now, we can do this, but at the cost of several items to achieve, and it eats up on our item limit, which brings me to...
Extend Item Limit: Most builders will put this to ill use, I'm sure. But those mappers who really fry their brains thinking on how to really achieve awesome maps, could really benefit from this.
Bit more freedom: There's obviously some memory issue here going on, but what I mean is, most items occupy an entire block, and we can't place 2 items on the same block, even if its on different sides. A little more wiggle room on this would also open up the possibilities. On another note about freedom, I feel the laser death field (red fizzler) is too restricted. I can't even share the same surface with a lightstrip, let alone other items. Blocking the field with stairs or angled panels could be part of the puzzle, but right now, we can't do that.
Tractor Beams: One minor fix. If you place two T.Beams facing each other, an equal strength is pushing you from both sides. If you jump right in the middle where these forces meet, you should be able to suspend in the air in that area, but right now, for some reason, you'll always go to one side. This broke one of my chambers as well, and had to trash that concept.

That's a long list, and I'm just righting stuff i'm thinking of. I know most or all won't happen, I just wanted to post that. Was fun to write. I'm curious as to what other goodjer mappers here would like to see in the future!

I finished my map for the GWJ Level Jam 4 and decided to try and work on improving my puzzle creation since I seemed to be creating puzzles that were a little too easy. So I created this new one to see what people think of some of my puzzles and so that I could improve a bit before finishing my other map.

So here it is: Up and Down and Up and...

IMAGE(http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/596974783431679607/E127F208B1391FFC9B66F164D48ECF735837C3A0/600x337.resizedimage)

Spoiler:

Link to workshop is the name

The feedback I received so far points out that the paint room can be a pain in the rear. I also found out that while I thought the way to solve the room was obvious, there are other ways to solve it that are much harder and much more mind bending. So I now love that room to pieces.

And jumping off the feedback there... I made a map covered in paint!

Cleansing Burn

IMAGE(http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/596974783442137092/04003B0A6BACEB1E408AD48D2987D964EA3618DC/600x337.resizedimage)

Spoiler:

This is a very, very easy map that involves one momentum puzzle and the rerouting of a lazer. Link to workshop is in the maps title.

Subbed!!

EDIT: Do people prefer their feedback here on the forums or on their specific public workshop page?

I'll keep posting on the workshop no matter what you damn creators prefer.

It's easier!

I've decided to start making videos that will detail how to solve some of my puzzles. This way players can compare how they solved the maps with how I designed them to be solved. It's also nice to have a cheat sheet to compare against when stuck somewhere.

First one up will be Cleansing Burn, then Up and Down, and then after the competition ends I'll put up the video for Playing Round the Water.

Solid idea. Might do that as well.

I just wanted to hand it to Valve again, for this amazing installment. I just found yet another mechanic with one of the items. Jesus, even with all the limitations the editor has, there's just so much one can do. I'm just amazed...truly, truly in awe. And this is just the initial installment. I can't wait to see what features they'll add in the inevitable release. My hat, unlike TF2, is off.

EDIT: To add...

THE GIFT

IMAGE(http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/542932039687081813/82E3C5372D1F12C3E84BF410E9EDD6A7A93C97C8/637x358.resizedimage)
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=80179511
------------

INDIANA JONES

IMAGE(http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/542932039687042735/ECE93CA63383FFF0819ECCB5A933646307E76F77/637x358.resizedimage)
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=80178849
------------

THE MONORAIL

IMAGE(http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/542932039687002557/7DD54F0F2ED24C0C2277C6C7B7A2620259DB7D32/637x358.resizedimage)
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=80178032

I like the monorails, though they are prone to coming out of alignment if you get stuck on them.

Also, I did not know you could fling the gel bombs on faith plates. That gives me an idea or two. Nice find.

Yeah, the alignment I didn't think was much of an issue since its hard to break it, and if so, doesn't really change the puzzle that much.

The Gel Bomb thing I thought was amazing. There's so much we can do with it. I found it on the portal 2 forums, and I'm glad I did. Gonna try a couple more puzzles with that mechanic.

Has anyone not done Portal 2 coop at all? I am ultra late to the party, and I am on Ch4 of the campaign, so I should be done in a day or two.

I had been trying to play through with ajudd, but we have a hard time coordinating. I think we finished the first 3 chambers? I would be up for having a go at co-op with you perhaps.

I only did the first few challenges (would that be a level?). Seemed like good stuff, for sure.

mooosicle wrote:

Has anyone not done Portal 2 coop at all? I am ultra late to the party, and I am on Ch4 of the campaign, so I should be done in a day or two.

If you're on 360 I'll give it a go. I'm keen to play the co-op but was also very late to the party.

I think Cyranix is on PC if you're on PC.

So, I've been screwing around with the Portal 2 Authoring Tools (Not SDK because you can't build mods for it, sadly). With the instancing they've added, it's a ton easier to use, and the linked_portal_door entity (Allows to to place what amounts to a linked square superportal. It looks like it's physically connected, but it's not. Can have some fun with that.

So, now we'll see how much I can abuse it. (Hell, it's worth it just to retouch in-game made maps. The decal tool is easy to use, and being able to spray down custom markers and remove superfluous blue lines would make things look notably cleaner.)

We'll also see if I can use the "impossible space in a can" I mentioned above to make a new place-able mechanic. It has potential. (It's been used, to great effect, in some community maps. I want to see if I can integrate it into the in-game editor, though.)

Kannon wrote:

We'll also see if I can use the "impossible space in a can" I mentioned above to make a new place-able mechanic. It has potential. (It's been used, to great effect, in some community maps. I want to see if I can integrate it into the in-game editor, though.)

Most people I've seen use it have called it the " TARDIS" mechanic. A reference to Doctor Who's own " It's bigger on the inside" police box.

Personally I can't wait to see how they use it for the next Valve product since they effectively created a tool that helps level creative in their as well as gave them a way to have giant battlefields that most used to believe Source couldn't do. Who knows, you might even be able to create a large city. If they used it for a Half Life game.

Edit: Also just remembered, if you don't know exactly what this is, every single map made with the editor uses it. The linked_Portal_door is what you enter through after the elevator to get into the map and then exit through upon completion.

Wolfen Victrocious wrote:

Edit: Also just remembered, if you don't know exactly what this is, every single map made with the editor uses it. The linked_Portal_door is what you enter through after the elevator to get into the map and then exit through upon completion.

Yep, saw it as I was looking at a PeTI map. Of course, Portal flipped out and lost the rooms they were instancing, so had to do a re-verify before I could actually find it. Mostly I was looking at a way to get a visual indication up. Which is still sort of a work in progress. (The best example, the Penrose maps, he was generous enough to release his textures, but they don't work on nonsolid brushes, and he's got his set so you can't fire portals through, which I want to be able to...). The light bridge texture works though, I just have to figure out how to pull it out to look at it to see why, and make my own.

I've also got a rotary turntable working, and a scripted hazard/gimmick inspired by one of the maps from this map competition working. They're all ugly as sin because I'm too tired to actually make them pretty right now, but they actually work.