Solving puzzles in a Dali-esque world while being threatened by turrets can be hazardous to your health.

This map contains puzzle elements that have never been seen in any of the official Portal 2 maps, either single-player or coop. If you can solve this puzzle, you prove that you can think outside the box.

All known bugs fixed in version 2.5

With the latest updates, the puzzles are more challenging than ever, but not in an impossible sort of way. Good luck solving them.

Watch a playtest video of this map: h2pPRu6fQDE
Needless to say, this video contains spoiler for the puzzles.

File Name: sp_suspended.zip
File Size: 5.27?MiB
Suspended

Please don't use external links for downloads. Just upload the zip.

I'm not quite sure how this one is supposed to be solved. I finished it mostly by retrying the same thing over and over until I got a favorable outcome.
For instance, I used a turret to block the lower laser but since sometimes they burn and explode, I'm not sure it's the correct solution, moreover one could run out of turrets.

I never used the reverse funnel either.

Somehow, the turret on the left on the lower level can see through the upper floor when the player is against the wall with the exit door and near the hole above the other turret. It doesn't shoot so it's not too bad but if the player does jump in that hole, he gets killed immediately since the turret is ready to fire.

Nahor wrote:
I never used the reverse funnel either.

Yea I have no idea how it is supposed to be solved either. Here's how I did it though..
Went around and murdered all the turrets first. Then used the hardlight to get on the platform with the prism cube drop button, and while up there I placed a portal on a panel off to the left near the excursion funnel, to run the hardlight bridge in that small horizontal gap between platforms, thereby sorta blocking the prism cubes from falling into that fizzle protected room. Then I hit the button like a million times until the dropped prism cube managed to land on the hard light bridge near the left side, which I was then able to carefully grab through the gap while crouching on the hard light bridge on the other side of the wall. I couldn't throw it off completely from that position, but I managed to get the box close enough to the corner of the top of that room that I could grab it while jumping toward the room from a hardlight bridge placed high up. One I got the damn prism cube, I just redirected the bottom laser into the far wall, threw a couple portals up to redirect it to the goal receiver on the ground floor, and the exit door opened.

I have to imagine there is an easier way.

I designed this puzzle.

The intended, less brute-force and frustrating, way to solve the puzzle is:

Use the light bridge to get to the high turret on the right side on the upper level first. Get to the other turret on the upper level from the back side to avoid getting shot at.

Drop one of the deactivated turrets from the upper level directly at the turret on the lower level to deactivate that one (the one on the higher platform). For the last turret on the lower level, use the light bridge as a shield, and crouch while walking slowly toward it to avoid any hits. If you do it correct, you will not be hit even once by the turrets.

Use the light bridge to press the button to drop the reflective cube. Portal a light bridge on the paneled wall between the two lasers. Bring one of the deactivated turrets to the upper level, and release it into the excursion funnel upward. Your light bridge will protect it from rising all the way to the top and getting burned.

Now, walk to the button and stand on it. Once the funnel direction is reversed, the turret inside the funnel will move downward and interrupt the cube laser and deactivate the emancipation grid for a fraction of a second. This allows you to shoot a portal onto the floor of the room containing the reflective cube, and you can get the cube through the portal.

After going through the laser, the turrets have the tendency to explode, so you have only a limited number of tries before you are out of turrets. However, if you reverse the funnel again even after the turret has exploded, the debris from the turret can block the laser beam too, and that allows the player to have additional opportunities to shoot a portal into the cube room before the debris ultimately disintegrate.

Then just use the cube to deflect the upper laser near the ceiling toward the exit door.

If you follow the method that I intended, it's not frustrating at all. It just takes a lot of thinking and planning ahead.

I since uploaded the file instead of using an external link.

I wonder how is it possible to solve it without reversing the direction of the funnel. You must have super-human reflexes. It's not meant to be solved that way.

And if you do it the way it's meant to be solved, you will not run out of turrets, because four is plenty, even accounting for mistakes and missed trials.

satchmo wrote:
Drop one of the deactivated turrets from the upper level directly at the turret on the lower level to deactivate that one (the one on the higher platform).

I put a light bridge behind that platform so that I was hidden from the other turret then I just fell on it and grabbed the turret with the portal gun

satchmo wrote:
For the last turret on the lower level, use the light bridge as a shield, and crouch while walking slowly toward it to avoid any hits.

Or put the light bridge over that turret so you don't need to crouch then remove the bridge to fall on the platform, behind the turret.

satchmo wrote:
If you do it correct, you will not be hit even once by the turrets.

Except that you need to know the map. With the turrets, especially since they are not very forgiving, it's difficult to explore to figure out what the options are. So you'll get killed plenty of time.
I died a few times while playing and replaying the map, trying to kill the first turret (highest one), because I need to move bridge nearer to the platform while I was hiding from the other turret, placed the portal too much to the left and got the bridge blocked by the platform, so I fell and got killed by that other turret (you might want to add a hint wall or a non-portalable one).

satchmo wrote:
the turret inside the funnel will move downward and interrupt the cube laser and deactivate the emancipation grid for a fraction of a second

Tried your solution, it didn't always worked. Sometimes it was floating in a way that didn't interrupt the laser.

satchmo wrote:
I wonder how is it possible to solve it without reversing the direction of the funnel. You must have super-human reflexes. It's not meant to be solved that way.

If you hold the turret with the laser going between its legs than release it, it will stay upright, block the laser and not burn, giving plenty of time to get the cube.

satchmo wrote:
And if you do it the way it's meant to be solved, you will not run out of turrets, because four is plenty, even accounting for mistakes and missed trials.

• Don't underestimate the stupidity of the players . Some will easily waste 2 or 3 turrets trying to run for the fizzler.
• Sometimes I burn turrets just for fun, or for revenge if they kill me to often, or out of frustration if I have problems finding the solution..
• Then there are the accidents like moving the turret in front of the laser while trying to put it in the funnel.
• Then there are possible timing and/or aiming issues when trying to put the portal. For instance, if the cube falls on the left side (when standing on the button) of the box, the fizzler "pole" can prevent you from placing a portal (there is some kind of hidden wall around those "poles")
• Another solution like inserting the turret at the bottom of the funnel and to running for the fizzler while the turret rises but because you're in a hurry then, it's fairly easy to hit a wall instead of the floor.
  In my opinion a regular cube would be better even if it makes the solution more obvious, which is a good thing, also in my opinion, I tend to prefer mild challenges.

(this post looks like a redacted CIA document :p)

Thank you for the insightful comments. It's great to hear the perspective of another player, and to see alternative approach to the puzzle.

Quote:
placed the portal too much to the left and got the bridge blocked by the platform, so I fell and got killed by that other turret

Or the way I approach it, I portal the bridge while standing in the safety zone near the entrance, so the opposing turret cannot even see me.

Quote:
if the cube falls on the left side (when standing on the button) of the box, the fizzler "pole" can prevent you from placing a portal

You do not need to place the portal on the floor directly below the cube. You can shoot a portal anywhere on the floor and just walk into the room to pick up the cube.

Quote:
Tried your solution, it didn't always worked. Sometimes it was floating in a way that didn't interrupt the laser.

That's where the funnel reversal comes in. If you toggle the directional flow of the funnel a few times, the floating turret is going to block the laser.

Quote:
If you hold the turret with the laser going between its legs than release it, it will stay upright, block the laser and not burn, giving plenty of time to get the cube.

Wow, that's a glitch that I had not anticipated. Good to know.

Quote:
I tend to prefer mild challenges.

Someone played an earlier version of this map, and told me that it's way too easy. That's why I made it less intuitive. The player really needs to think outside the box to solve this puzzle.

Based on the feedback I've gotten, I modified the map so all the known "glitches" of the previous version have been fixed.

I also added indicator lights to give additional hints for the solution.

New version (v1.6) now available for download.

satchmo wrote:
Or the way I approach it, I portal the bridge while standing in the safety zone near the entrance, so the opposing turret cannot even see me.

I did too, but once on the bridge, I noticed it was too far from the platform and needed correction. But my point wasn't that there wasn't a better way to do it, but that there are valid ways that can easily frustrate the player.

satchmo wrote:
You do not need to place the portal on the floor directly below the cube. You can shoot a portal anywhere on the floor and just walk into the room to pick up the cube.

There too you miss my point. Yes there are "safe" ways to do it. But most people will try to put a portal under the cube. And there are places where the player can shoot at the floor but the portal will not be created anyway. It's probably a bug in the way Valve designed the pole but if the map can be designed around that limitation, it can only be better.

satchmo wrote:
That's where the funnel reversal comes in. If you toggle the directional flow of the funnel a few times, the floating turret is going to block the laser.

But if the player is unsure of the solution, he may just think that it's not possible and abandon it after the first try, especially since it's not the usual way to do it.

So I agree with you that things can be done safely but Portal is a lot about experimenting and so you cannot expect the players to always do the right thing. If the map can forgive these mishaps (doesn't kill the player, doesn't block the player) or even better if it can prevent them altogether, all the better.
But then again, it just a personal preference, same as the difficulty. I'm more interested in finding the solution of a map than in implementing it so I get more easily frustrated when I fail in the execution.

I solved it two different ways, neither of which is the "official" way, though my second is close.

First: I placed the light bridge so it was at almost it's highest point, giving just enough room so I could jump up slightly. This got me close to the top of the protected room but not close enough to jump in, or shoot the floor, especialy with the wall in the way. If you jump towards it as if you are trying to jump in you get a split second clear view of a piece of the floor to shoot. I managed to get it, got the cube and the rest was simple.

Second: I placed the light bridge so it crossed the funnel, but it was at the bottom, I managed to wedge a dead turret under the light bridge in the funnel, then used to funnel to get back up. I stood on the revers button and removed the light bridge from blocking the turret. Then stepped off the button and waited for the split second I had to shoot a portal into the room with the cube.

Side note about Turrets: I took out the highest turret using the light bridge as a weapon. Two others I did a run by grab and drop while avoiding the tracking from another turret. The last one (closest to the origin of the light bridge) I placed the light bridge over him as low as I could, and "crawled" to just above him and removed the light bridge to get the "drop" on him.

You must have incredible agility and perfect timing to be able to do it with the first method.

DrakeBrimstone wrote:
Second: I placed the light bridge so it crossed the funnel, but it was at the bottom, I managed to wedge a dead turret under the light bridge in the funnel, then used to funnel to get back up. I stood on the revers button and removed the light bridge from blocking the turret. Then stepped off the button and waited for the split second I had to shoot a portal into the room with the cube.

Clever solution. I had not thought of that.

I tried it myself, and it's quite tricky to accomplish. I did it, but only after a few failed attempts.

satchmo wrote:
DrakeBrimstone wrote:

Second: I placed the light bridge so it crossed the funnel, but it was at the bottom, I managed to wedge a dead turret under the light bridge in the funnel, then used to funnel to get back up. I stood on the revers button and removed the light bridge from blocking the turret. Then stepped off the button and waited for the split second I had to shoot a portal into the room with the cube.

Clever solution. I had not thought of that.

I tried it myself, and it's quite tricky to accomplish. I did it, but only after a few failed attempts.

Maybe I'm missing something but isn't that pretty much the same solution as yours except for the starting point of the turret in the funnel?

Nahor wrote:
satchmo wrote:

DrakeBrimstone wrote:

Second: I placed the light bridge so it crossed the funnel, but it was at the bottom, I managed to wedge a dead turret under the light bridge in the funnel, then used to funnel to get back up. I stood on the revers button and removed the light bridge from blocking the turret. Then stepped off the button and waited for the split second I had to shoot a portal into the room with the cube.

Clever solution. I had not thought of that.

I tried it myself, and it's quite tricky to accomplish. I did it, but only after a few failed attempts.

Maybe I'm missing something but isn't that pretty much the same solution as yours except for the starting point of the turret in the funnel?

Except that with his approach, the funnel does not need to be reversed. I know he did, but it does not have to be.

It's a simpler solution, but technically more challenging to execute.

satchmo wrote:
Except that with his approach, the funnel does not need to be reversed. I know he did, but it does not have to be.

Yes of course but why does that make it more challenging? If anything, the fact that you don't have to reverse the funnel should make it easier (not that pushing that button is difficult in the first place).

Alright well it was relieving to see that there was actually a clean solution that we were intended to find, however, I think I didn't do anything the intended way.

Firstly I killed the turret in the front right corner (relative to entrance) of the map by dropping onto him and then quickly evacuating through a portal to safety. Then I used a high light bridge along the right wall to get rid of the turret at right. Then I got rid of the turret near the emancipation grill, and threw all three turrets into the emancipation grill. Next, I hit the button, jumped into the little boxy area, and threw the cube out over the wall (this took a decent amount of tries, as it kept getting stuck on top...) Then I redirected the laser into the laser catcher and rushed the door (4th turret was still happily alive)

So I didn't really need the excursion funnel or the top laser, but it's not exactly the cleanest solution. I'm going to go try out the intended solution now

All known bugs fixed in version 2.0

I hope the new design will force the player to solve the puzzle in the intended way.

Now the puzzle is more challenging than ever, but not in an impossible sort of way.

Here's my intended solution:

To get rid of the turret on the highest platform, portal the excursion funnel to the opposing wall in the distance.

Jump to the lower level and portal the light bridge to the back safe room. Walk on the light bridge through the portal and create a bridge just above the twin turrets guarding the exit door. The light bridge will protect you from the turret fire.

Walk just above the turret closer to the observation window, and shoot a portal to the floor of that turret. That will knock that turret off.

Walk on the bridge while crouching to use the bridge as a shield and carefully approach the turret further away from the observation window. When you are close enough to the platform, jump onto the platform and grab the turret to deactivate it.

For the final turret on the upper level, you have to get behind it from the upper level. While standing on the light bridge, portal a rising funnel to elevate yourself to the upper level. This requires you to shoot two portals in quick succession--one on the distant ceiling to portal the funnel, and one on the floor of the turret platform. Once you rise to the upper level, take out the central turret.

Press the button to drop the reflective cube. Bring a deactivated turret to the lower level, and drop it into the rising funnel. Quickly portal your way to the upper level. When the rising turret interrupts the laser beam activating the emancipation grid, you have half a second to shoot a portal on the floor of the protected room containing the cube.

If the turret misses the laser on the way up, stand on the button to reverse the direction of the funnel. After reversing the direction a few times, the turret is guaranteed to interrupt the laser and turn the grid off briefly.

If you don't want the upper laser to burn up the turret before it has a chance to interrupt the lower laser, shoot a light bridge between the laser beams so the turret only traverses through the lower beam without getting burned up by the upper beam.

Take the reflective cube to the top of the ceiling using the rising funnel, and re-direct the upper laser beam at the distant wall. Portal the laser from that wall to the wall on the lower level to direct the laser and open the exit door.

By running and jumping along the right wall, I can get past the second turret on the top floor about 50% of the time.
I think you should fix that one. As it is, when you die, it feels that you're near enough to make it that you want to try again. And if you keep getting killed, it gets frustrating.

Another solution for killing a turret, put the light bridge below the observation window and jump&grab the turret on the floating platform.

Another minor change is to make the ceiling of the lower floor slightly higher or the observation window slightly lower so that one doesn't have to crouch to go the other turret, or if you really want to make the player crouch, lower the ceiling. As it is, it's so nearly possible that it's annoying and sometimes, if the conditions are just right, you can actually walk.

Thanks for the feedback, Nahor.

I've fixed those things.

If anyone is having difficulty solving this puzzle, here is a playtest video made by one of my friends.

Standard appearances, heavily punishing. Basically a stealth map, you have to avoid and kill viciously placed turrets: vicious turrets with super damage (sigh), sitting on vicious floating blocks.

I found it easy, so I tried a no-kills approach (pure evasion) but it just wasn't possible with both that damage and the following puzzle. Speaking of which, I suspect you can very well get stuck for good, once all the corpses are gone.

I guess the trick for this map is not to be vengeful toward the vicious turrets after you've deactivated them.

Part 1 of my let's play! Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBSc2QEEp8M

I'm playing custom maps and record my first time of playing them. So the run is not perfect and may not use only intended ways, but maybe it can let you see how other people may understand the map or you could just enjoy someone playing this map for entertainment.
Anyways, here is the recording:

7BDvFWzQkac
(Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BDvFWzQkac)

Also note the video description for more feedback and my signature for additional project information.

OK, well, I solved it pretty much the intended way and it was a hard and satisfying puzzle. On the other side, in my opinion, portal puzzles shouldn`t let the player stuck. Also I could see a bit Nodraw texture in the very top left. Another useful thing would be some autosaves. Apart from that, challenging and good.

Thanks.

Some people have also complained that the map is too dark.

I have fixed the nodraw texture and added some additional lighting to the map. I also added two autosave points in the map to avoid frustrating the players if the turrets get them.

As for the "stuck", everyone I talked to eventually solved the puzzle. There is a fine line between making the puzzle too easy and making it impossible. I feel that I have struck a balance between too difficult and not challenging enough. I have gone through numerous playtesters, and they seem to agree that the difficulty is balanced.

Granted, this map will undoubtedly be one of the more challenging custom maps you will ever play, but that's the point. It took me days to come up with this puzzle.

Enjoy.

Here's how I solved it:

I started by taking out the first turret on the top floor using the funnel. I then used that turret to take out the turret closest to the light bridge on the lower level. I then proceeded to use the light bridge as my shield to take out the other one.

I then used the funnel, continuelsy shooting it on the wall on the lower level in the room with turrets in it to make my way up to the light bridge. I then shot it at the platform where one of the turrets once stood and thus made my way up the to upper level. From here it was an easy task to just go grab the last turret.

I then dropped the reflect cube and put a light bridge so I could jump into the little place that kept it. I then threw (this took about 3 minutes of tries) the cube through the little cube hole without using portals.

I then put the cube in the funnel and aimed it at the wall so that I could portal the beam to where it was supposed to be

Wow, I never thought that the reflecto cube could possibly fit through the small hole that's meant to tease the player.

I sealed that little opening that could be misconstrued as an intended solution for the puzzle.

Hey satchmo, wouldn't you like an hardmode with glass encased turrets? I tried already to play it that way, but it would need a couple lodges in the walls to make it through. Best way to make it looked like sneaking past the first turrets into the second room, then portaling up along the wall to the 2nd floor. What was really impossible was to retrieve the cube like that.

A hard mode? I've already got complainers saying that the turrets are too vicious. Making them even harder to evade would probably land me in purgatory.

I designed this map intentionally to mess with the player's mind. It's inevitable that the turrets will kill you at least once or twice. This generates some animosity toward them. And the player have to temporarily suppress the urge to seek revenge on the turrets so that there is a way to solve the puzzle later.

satchmo wrote:
A hard mode? I've already got complainers saying that the turrets are too vicious

It was me saying they were vicious and I also mentioned performing a full stealth run which proved impossible due to the firepower. If you could hide from them, while completing the puzzle, it would be more logical to have such firepower (at least in another version).

I just updated this map (yes, yet again) this morning. There are a few gameplay changes.

I added some additional hints to where players tend to get stuck, and I made other parts a bit more challenging because they were too straightforward.

Now playing . . . version 2.5

Easy to solve (for me at least) but just too damn deadly while figuring it out. Also, using turrets to block lasers is just a bad idea, because you can get stuck. It would have been 4/5 on the design and construction, but it just sucked to play, so 3/5 from me.