This is a medium difficulty map containing two puzzles which focus on catapults, excursion funnels and lasers.

Notes:
Revision notes:
Rev A.- initial release
Rev B.- Removed portable surfaces in 3 areas
- Organized logic entitie I/O's
Rev C.- Added barrier on vertical laser
- Removed ability to slide cubes over emancipation grid
- Fixed missing emancipation grid emitter
- Added no-portal panels in 2nd puzzle
- Hopefully, fixed the glitchy laserbeam when portaled on platform wall
- Aligned and fit emancipation grid texture in 1st puzzle

File Name: sp_birefringence_c.zip
File Size: 11.88 MiB
Click here to download sp_Birefringence

The beginning feels like d?j?-vu, did you release any map like this before? Maybe a WIP of this?

That truly was the most fun i have ever had playing a custom portal map. I do not have anything bad to say about this map at all. Please, please make more.

EDIT: Completed version of post38024.html#p38024 ?

dunno if that is the proper way to solve, but the first chamber I passed without using the vertical laser

Korl wrote:
dunno if that is the proper way to solve, but the first chamber I passed without using the vertical laser

Actually, now that you mention it, i didnt use the vertical laser too.

Hmmm don't know how you planned this to be solved. In the first chamber one can get ontop of the glass wall which makes things easier. In the second chamber, one can place portals at the ends (angle and upper platform) through the old building. Bug? when one jumps off the upper ball platform it fizzles the portals. thanks for creating, enjoyed the big room and flings...

Djinndrache wrote:
The beginning feels like d?j?-vu, did you release any map like this before? Maybe a WIP of this?

Yeah, I uploaded a very incomplete version during one of the contests. I wish I hadn't, oh well.

Thanks for the comments everyone but how the heck are you solving it without using the vertical laser? I'm gonna have to look into this a little further.

Fun map, very well built with the style in mind, but I must have solved the first part unintended as well.
Don't look it's an alternate solution and will ruin your fun I warned you.
I portaled the normal cube into the top of the "cage" to block the laser, then was able to simply push the laser cube over the emancipation grills in the bottom section, completely skipped the timing and the laser wall that divides the sections.

I think if you take the laser cube into the top section one could simply aim the laser slanted through portals on the wall and into the reciever EDIT: Yep, you can
. You can have the laser come out of the ceiling as well.
Definitely needs fixing because as is, you don't need to use the normal cube.

Rev B. has been released. I've removed a few of the portable surfaces, hopefully this will force the use of the vertical laser.

I'll update the map further if problems arise.

Found a problem with the thermal beams.

If you use the top panel (for beam #2) and make it will go in that portal and come out portal regardless of where it is placed...like it should be. But if you put the redirector on top of the beam and make the beam go vertically, it will not all the way go through the enter portal and will have a gap, then start again. See below pictures.



Normal

beam1.png


Beam not going through.

beam2.png


Gap in beam. Beam still hurts, but can walk through gap with no pain.

beam3.png




Otherwise, I liked the map. Good job.

UnknownTBeast wrote:
Found a problem with the thermal beams.

If you use the top panel (for beam #2) and make it will go in that portal and come out portal regardless of where it is placed...like it should be. But if you put the redirector on top of the beam and make the beam go vertically, it will not all the way go through the enter portal and will have a gap, then start again. See below pictures.

Otherwise, I liked the map. Good job.

Thanks. I'll take a look at this tonight (at work now). There shouldn't be anything stopping the beam, there's no entities/brushes/etc. at that point in the map. Weird... Thanks for the feedback!

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:

wxoD9yeOugU
(Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxoD9yeOugU)

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

Djinndrache wrote:
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:

That was actually very helpful. Thank you for the upload. Ill definitely be using this example to fix up the areas that need work.

A small visual problem: the fizzler on the side near the exit is missing emitter models.
I still never had to use the button that reverses the funnel. Did Djinndrache do it right when he carried the cube over the fizzlers? Because that's the only use I could think of for the reversed funnel and that surface under the grate. If so, those laser walls should be fizzlers instead.

Random wrote:
A small visual problem: the fizzler on the side near the exit is missing emitter models.
I still never had to use the button that reverses the funnel. Did Djinndrache do it right when he carried the cube over the fizzlers? Because that's the only use I could think of for the reversed funnel and that surface under the grate. If so, those laser walls should be fizzlers instead, I have a feeling you're not supposed to be able to portal into the top area of that cage from the outside.

No, he didn't solve it as I intended. Parts of the puzzle were sort of skipped and/or made far to easy by mistakes I made. However, Id like to try to find balance between "allowing freedom for alternate solutions" and guiding the subject through the intended path.

Yes, you can portal up there.

A third revision has been released that contain corrections which will "hopefully" solve the oversights.

Rev C.- Added barrier on vertical laser
- Removed ability to slide cubes over emancipation grid
- Fixed missing emancipation grid emitter
- Added no-portal panels in 2nd puzzle
- Hopefully, fixed the glitchy laserbeam when portaled on platform wall
- Centered portal helper on puzzle 2 exit panel
- Aligned and fit emancipation grid texture in 1st puzzle

quite enjoyable, good job.

I remember the first chamber from the contest, but you must have tweaked it quite a bit since. This is one of the best-looking decayed style maps out there, although I think the style of the second room doesn't fit with the first. Your transitions are a refreshing change from elevators and hallways. The puzzles are mindbenders, but aren't trivial, either. Usually, I criticize portal sniping, but the way you designed the second room, you know where the portal surfaces are before you have to snipe them. Overall, a very well done map that would rate 4/5 from me, but I'm giving you a bonus for the looks and transitions. 5/5.

I had fun with this one. First puzzle made me think, but not so hard that my brain hurt. Second puzzle was not difficult, it seemed pretty obvious what you had to do from the layout of the room. Overall look, and the transitions, were excellent.

5/5 from me.

Very nice map! It took me forever to realized the funnel can take me up far enough to portal into the glass/laser-grid-area in chamber one. The second one was pretty easy in comparison, maybe the order of the two should be switched?

The only rather bad thing was the light for me: Both maps are very dark, in the second one I couldn't even distinguish surfaces from the water.