The past week here at ThinkingWithPortals.com has been really busy. In the last 7 days, we have had nearly 100 new maps uploaded and over 100,000 total downloads with each map averaging around 1,500 downloads. I punch those numbers into my calculator and it says that my bandwidth overage this month is going to be through the roof.
But what it also means is that the Portal 2 mapping community is alive and well! I have been told that we seem to be favoring Coop maps here since the Portal 2 release, but it looks like the singleplayer mappers are fighting back. We had three times more Singleplayer maps uploaded this week than Coop! Let’s take a look and see what the most downloaded, highest rated, and most talked about maps are.
Singleplayer
Old Faithful by Lobster
Hot on the trail of his last stellar release, Spheres of Roundness, Lobster released the second on the series of 1940’s themed maps and once again hits the nail right on the head. Old Faithful takes a "what if?" stance on Aerial Faith Plates, and how they may have looked and been used in the heyday of Aperture. Some players have said the map is quite a bit easier than Spheres was, but one thing is for certain – Lobster isn’t banging rocks together over here. Old Faithful is both one of the most downloaded Singleplayer maps, and most frequently downloaded singleplayer maps of last week.
Motanum’s Test 01 by Motanum
The first Portal 2 map coming from the second place winner of our final Portal 1 contest, you would expect nothing but the best – and that’s exactly what this map delivers. Motanum throws light bridges and gel into the mix on top of some absolutely killer visuals and the entire map just works. You definitely don’t want to miss this one!
Stylus01 by Stylus
A map that feels more like some of the custom Portal 1 maps than probably any other Portal 2 map so far, this map relies on lots of fling techniques combined with some of the newer elements; a couple gel puzzles in the first half, and a fling puzzle centered around the need for an excursion funnel in the second. Some people seem to love the flinging, other are hating it, but the question remains – What do you think?
diportals, One by Hurricaaane
The first Portal 2 map by long time community member Hurricaaane, this map is a perfect laser-and-catcher puzzle morsel. Short, sweet and great looking as well, it would be hard to say much more without giving it all away. Check it out and see for yourself!
Cooperative
Colours Two, Three and Four by IanB
If there’s one thing to be said about last week, it’s that rising community star IanB has been busy working on a phenomenal Coop map pack, Colours. The first map made our Community Spotlight the first week of Portal 2’s release, and the following three parts have come out in the past week. IanB uses a load of custom materials, sounds and music (viewers with slow internet connections, be warned!) and each map has it’s own distinct visual look and puzzle element. Colours Two features light bridges, Colours Three focuses on faith flates, and Colours Four rounds it out with gels and lasers. Best of all, all four maps are designed to be played sequentially. Download them all and play them in order like intended!
Catapults and Buttons by Pjuvigny
Speaking of being busy working on maps, this map is the second by Pjuvigny this week as well. To steal what Hober said during our playtest, "a map called Catapults and Buttons is a lot like Snakes on a Plane; I know exactly what I’m getting, and it’s going to be hard to disappoint me." How true, Hober. Catapults is split into two distinct puzzles, both of which requiring a lot of timing coordination with your partner. Hober and I had a difficult time with the last puzzle because we played it at 4 in the morning after drinking beers. Is this map really that hard, or do we just pick the worst time to play games? Play it with a friend and decide!
Paint Mess by Macgta
A map that has gotten surprisingly few replies about it despite having nearly 1,000 downloads, Paint Mess tells you all you need to know in the title – two robots and lots of gels! Give it a try and tell us what you thought!
This is only the tip of the iceberg from last week, and with nearly 100 new files there is no way we could round up them all. Think we missed something? Is there another map that we should have mentioned that we didn’t? Post and tell us!
