A pretty small but tricky puzzle for hardcore portal players.

Note to solver: This is not a puzzle in which you will be held hand through, but if you think a move is next to impossible, it probably is and there will be an easier to execute solution for you to find.

v1.2: You can no longer walk on the fizzlers.
v1.3: Some minor changes and bugfixes.
v1.4: Added some hints.
v1.5: Removed the x mark the spot. Added some portal bumpers.
v1.6: Fixed some minor leaks.

File Name: sp_enigma_v1.6.zip
File Size: 2.58 MiB
Click here to download Enigma

This person is not bluffing this map is hard so much so that and do 6 more times like this and then keep doing it and also the name is realy what it is.

so you defenitly deserve some



becarefull not to go or get really or

Video please, i wont get to play it anytime soon because im a 360 player.

its almost 7 am but i fucking beat this map also wall hacks are for noobs

This map is hard, but totally worth it in the end! Love the easier solution - I had to solve it for two guys, one who had to use map hacks.. and another who worked on it for literally 24 hours... coughyugiocough Anyway. Was tons of fun.

Boar, i beat this, too. This is hard, but not funny hard. I really don't know if i solved it correctly. Two things feels buggy solved. One element was unlogic for me. But now i'm happy i solved this hard puzzle.

I'm a little confused with this map, for 2 reasons...

I didn't completely finish this map, I managed to open the door to the exit elevator, but couldn't work out how I was supposed to get there.

Also, there seems to an upper area to this map which is completely inaccessable - with lasers, fizzlers, buttons and a lightbridge.

This area:
http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/576683235389009018/49FAA9DA4E1240EDBB131CBD87CEB0EFEA158208/

I only stubbled upon it while using noclip. Is it possible to get up there? I couldn't find a way. And is it even part of the puzzle? I didn't even attempt to see what I could do up there as there doesn't seem to be any useful outcomes that would help me get to the exit elevator.

I'd really like to see a video walkthrough of this map. Half of what I was doing certainly didn't feel like intended solutions.

Hey shawy89, it's all part of the puzzle. Hint: You might want to put your post in spoiler tag. Cheers.

Edit: I've made a playthrough video, and I will put it up.. eventually.

Didn't think I said anything that was a spoiler... the upper area really needs to be more obvious I think.

I'll give the puzzle another go now I know there's more to it. Just so you know - using some slightly 'ninja' techniques (like cube throwing) I was able to open the final door without ever leaving the starting room. I assume that was not intended.

jonatan wrote:
... it's all part of the puzzle...

Oh then i definitely solved it buggy. I don't reach this upper room, i was only in this first room.

Like I said, it's really not obvious. And I don't see the need to put that in spoiler tags as I believe that it should be made very clear to the player that there's more to the map than just that first room.

dakx, I have no idea how you managed to do that without the upper room. Unless you managed to do the 180 degrees super impossible turnaround shot?? I thought that humanly impossible to perform. If you have time please let me know how you did that.

shawy, it's not really meant to be super obvious. The fact that you don't see the cube droppers but only two holes in the roof should be hint enough to go check them out. Also there is the big shaft behind the grates. That should also give a clue there is something more in the level.

What's up with all these brain teaser maps this month. This is another one where i'm stuck, though i got to the upper section with both cubes.

The thing I love about this map is that A) it's name is perfect and B) the solution is incredibly simple compared to some of the stuff I tried to solve it. If anyone needs help don't be afraid to ask - I'm relatively positive that I did this map 100% in the way it was supposed to be done - and if it wasn't supposed to be done this way then it should have been, because everything fit together VERY well.

I uploaded a video of how I and 2 friends solved this map. I don't think this is the way the creator intended it to be solved, but maybe seeing this will help him edit the map or on his future maps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSk8J-fNWH0

How embarrassing! No, it's certainly not supposed to be that easy. I updated the map so that you no longer can walk on the fizzlers. That should take care of that. Many thanks.

Blasted Jonatan... my solution was BRILLIANT. Now I might have to actually use that room that I didn't use at all... Can't wait to see if I can figure it out the new way! That being said - I felt that our solution was actually rather hard to get! It took us hours to actually solve the blasted thing, so don't be embarrassed! It's a fun map, I just hope I can actually solve it. =/

I admit it was a nice and creative solution but I can't keep it because it bypasses a large portion of the puzzle.

Here my Bugsolution:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnazTL1C7EU

After this i did this a second time and then i complete it with a fast runnoove from the Button and put a portal to the "exitwall". This moove was not easy so i don't have it on Video. Before i did this Solution i tried a long time normal ways. I will play the map again and try to find the normal Solution.

Thank you for the video. Didn't think there was enough time for the sideway move. That must have been quite a lucky shot. Also rotating the cube this way, while I'm aware it's possible it is making things more complicated than it needs to be. I should probably discourage this to not let solvers waste their time on trying it and not finding the much more easier solution to execute instead.

beat it again. i liked it a lot better the first way.

Yeah - I honestly have to say, that after beating it the real way... if it is the real way - I thought that the way we did it first was more creative and a lot more fun to execute. =/ It was still a fun map, but i just preferred it before. Sorry!

Keeliekins wrote:
Yeah - I honestly have to say, that after beating it the real way... if it is the real way - I thought that the way we did it first was more creative and a lot more fun to execute. =/ It was still a fun map, but i just preferred it before. Sorry!

wasn't a fun map the 2nd time. also i redact my rating of 5/5 and give it a 2/5

Made some additional changes v1.3: Fast sidestep running and shooting to the exit from the button should now be impossible due to increased room size and also changed floor a bit to discourage time consuming rotation of cube with distant action.

Hmm I don't think you solved it the correct way then maybe? Maybe there is yet another loophole I need to fix?

also your light bridge thing thing is broken and you can't jump from the bridge into the target and get up next to the barrier, we had to do the momentum glitch to get up there.

I am pretty sure that we are still not solving it correctly. I can appreciate the making you think idea, but the three of us play A LOT of portal, and we have spent hours on this map. We've solved it multiple times and we still can't come to the right solution. I sooo want to solve it right, and figure it out - but I'm thinking that there may be bugs or the like that are preventing us from finding the right solution. Until I can see the correct solution, I wont know!

I do not know what the momentum glitch is but it sounds like you are doing something in a way not intended.

i am also a yugioh master, come at me. i summon blue eyes white dragon

Keeliekins wrote:
I sooo want to solve it right, and figure it out - but I'm thinking that there may be bugs or the like that are preventing us from finding the right solution.

I can assure the intended solution is very logical and fairly easy to execute once you got the idea. Nothing super ninja. The solution can in fact be executed without making any mistakes. When I made the solution video, which I will post soon enough, I did not use any quicksaves. Maybe that will help.

It will certainly help - but I gotta say I think you have us stumped! I hope that it is easier than how we DID solve it, because while it wasn't particularly difficult, I messed up one part and it took ages to get back there. I know you don't want to give it away - but you might want to add in a numbering system of sorts just so we know where to start! give a little shove in the right direction.

I can't think of any hints that don't give out the solution directly. Anyway I'm curious, how DID you solve it? (without walking on fizzlers) I should close this loophole.

I think i'm done trying to solve this. I don't have the faintest of idea of what to do. I still don't know how's the upper section supposed to help me. Tried to fling myself to the ledge by jumping from the lightbridge but i always come up short. And it's probably not part of the solution.

I would have been pretty satisdied just with the main section of keeping the 2 cubes alive, getting one lined up for the laser and then throw the cube to the other button so i could portal myself to the exit elevator.

this map was way better before but he keeps editing it and making it less and less fun and thought provoking and more linear and boring. please just revert it to the first version and stop "fixing" what wasn't broken. portal isn't about thinking linear and having only one solution, it's about self liberation and achieving a goal through creativity and thinking outside the box.

Added some hints in version 1.4. Not sure if this is a good idea. If people complain this puzzle is now too easy and casual, I will remove them. This puzzle is meant to be difficult.

As to answer yugio's question: Is it fun when there is unintended solutions that bypasses the whole or a large portion of the puzzle? Is it fun when there is unintended solutions that's totally frustrating to execute?

jonatan wrote:
As to answer yugio's question: Is it fun when there is unintended solutions that bypasses the whole or a large portion of the puzzle? Is it fun when there is unintended solutions that's totally frustrating to execute?

Yes.

And yes.

Beat it again, with what I'm sure is another unintended solution.

I threw the cube from the excursion funnel button to the laser button to open the door the first time. Then I used the momentum glitch on the second floor to get on the ledge, never even activated the light bridge ;P

I can't remove the momentum glitch. It's kind of silly and I really wonder why Valve made it so. In fact using this trick probably break a whole bunch of maps out there. I can assure you though you don't need to use it.

I think I solved it the intended way!

My solution here (Spoiler)

Start by getting the 1st cube down to hold the funnel button while the second cube is still in the air. Then, get the 2nd cube using the funnel to go up there, and bring it down in the first room to place it against the glass aligned with the laser receptor, still holding in place with the funnel. Then, while standing on the funnel button, throw the 1st cube on the laser button while standing on the funnel button. Door opens. Make a portal into the final room. Go press the buton to open the door. Then, just press the button to reset the cubes, get 1st cube again the same way and place it on the funnel button. Use the funnel to go in the room above. Bring the 2nd cube on the lower floor of the above room. Make a portal and bring the 1st cube on that floor as well. Get 1st cube past the fizzler, and put 2nd cube on the laser button. Place 1st cube aligned with the laser, having the laser poiting to the wall with a specific angle so it will be possible to activate all 3 laser receptors using portals. Place a portal on the floor button side of the fizzler with an angle so its lined up to activate the bridge laser receptor. Get on the edge of the bridge emitter then activate the bridge. By jumping down from the bridge, place a portal on the floor next the higher doorway, and fling yourself to get to the doorway (blue portal is still on the floor button side of the fizzler). Once up there, place a portal lined up with the laser again (cube should already be placed correctly since u cant touch it) and place another portal to shut down the fizzler next to you. Place yourself just behind where the fizzler was, and place another portal to have the laser pointing at the other receptor to desactivate the other fizzler (will reactivate the first fizzler). Now, go all the way down to the small room behind the first room, the one separated with a fence. From there, make a portal to go in the room where u carefully placed the cube on the laser previously (laser should still be active), and place ur cube with a different angle so its possible to activate the laser receptor of the first room by placing the second portal in the first room under the big fizzler. Door to the final room will open again, but this time, place a portal on the back wall of the final room, and head there to complete the map! I skipped a few obvious steps, but I think this is the intended solution!

Please tell me if it is the intended solution, I took a few hours to figure it out!

And also, very awsome brain challenging map!

That's a very creative solution. However not the one I had in mind. The only problem I had was to get an angle to activate the first fizzler once I was up on the platform. Maybe you used another angle but I had to align the laser into the blue portal out from the yellow and then into the blue portal again before hitting the receptor.Very complex! Maybe you did it slightly different.

Anyway the intended solution was this:

LT0Wf7Y3Xrs

jonatan wrote:
That's a very creative solution. However not the one I had in mind. The only problem I had was to get an angle to activate the first fizzler once I was up on the platform. Maybe you used another angle but I had to align the laser into the blue portal out from the yellow and then into the blue portal again before hitting the receptor.Very complex! Maybe you did it slightly different.

Anyway the intended solution was this:

LT0Wf7Y3Xrs

Very nice solution there, pretty much the way i did it, just didnt activate the bridge the same way, made it from an horizontal portal carefully placed button side of the fizzler, so the portal was already there for the fling, and pointed the laser on the other wall getting a different angle. Anyway its pretty cleaver, congrats!

Screenshots of what's different in my solution

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/7148/enigma0000.jpg
http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/1343/enigma0001.jpg
http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/1089/enigma0002.jpg

Great map Jonatan!
As in your previous one, you are demonstrating a very high level in puzzlemaking. It is true that you have made many "enemies" with such that amount of changes EACH DAY!

Frankly speaking, I wanted to be the one beating this up, but when I was about to have it all finished and recorded, you posted a new version... I started again, and new version... and yesterday I was at the end of v1.4, with the 2 cubes in the room, having already thought-out of the final solution (I knew I had to place the reflectocube pointing the laser beam angled agaisnt the wall in the upper room because I planned to fall down through the long shaft into the mini-room behind the grill and portal on the floor to the laser target for opening the main room's door, and portaling through that door to the final surface near the exit door), I was just dealing with the fliing, which I already figured out that had to do with the outside floor white surface... but I didn't have more time to finish it and anyway you have just uploaded the solution, and later a new version 1.5!!!... this has made me giving up and also get frustrated because I've spent many hours in this!

If I may, my advise is: try to upload it first into the WIP section, or find some beta-testers BEFORE releasing the map in the Single maps section. This is incredibly useful to find out gaps and unintended solutions that you were not able to find yourself, or that you never even imagined that was possible... give it a think.

In fact, for this map, it has been demonstrated, or better: stated!, how creative people can be in Portal. Due to the fact that most of us are really obstinate, when we're stuck we try crazy maneuvers to beat it.

Anyway, I liked much the map (all the versions). Mostly because it's a twisting puzzle! Congratulations!

Thanks for mapping.

EDIT: you have leaks in the map. One I detected is located around the env_portal_laser in the upper small room (the one with the light bridge, etc. etc.) below the glass panel; and another near the outside button (the one that deactivates the filler). Check out

I did try it out against people before releasing it and the changes are VERY few in each update. Maybe I should have used 1.03, 1.04 etc. Really the puzzle stands almost identical with the first released version. It is true one wishes that you can find ALL the bugs beforehand but in practice this is not possible until you have released it unless you are very lucky. Thanks for reporting the leaks. Will look into it.

Great solution. Dunno what to say about why we all found it to be so difficult, but i will say this:

1. The 'hints' don't take out of the puzzle at all. I was still unable to solve it before watching the vid. You don't have to worry about them giving the puzzle out. It seemed people knew what to do ( fling to the top in the laser room while still being able to redirect the laser with portals) but they couldn't just figure out the way to do it.

2. The actual solution isn't that easy to execute. Even after watching the vid it tooke me numerous times to do the fling and the cube-throw. Don't get me wrong, i don't want you to change it.

3. I suspect that people were psychologically drained out after they did the first main room puzzle. They got the laser cube in place, the door opened and they thought that they conquered the puzzle only to get to a road-block. Then they realized there's an upper room to deal with it which proves not to be straightforward. So it's like they already gave the puzzle as much as they could or thoght they need to do. They were ready to be done with it.

My suggestion would to better mark the fact that there is an upper room that works into the main puzzle. The numbering does aid that. You could even remove the numbering alltogether and just have a clear arrow pointing up next to the narrow shaft the cubes drop from.

Hope this helps.

Yea i agree with saturn, and I love how we know what to acheive but can't figure out how. It took me a while before i figured the solution I've shown on the screenshots of my previous post. Also, about the numbers, they arent necessary but as Saturn said once again, an arrow would be indicative enough. I suggest a blood painted arrow next to the shaft leading to the upper room, and adding atmosphere details like "the cake is a lie" or something similar painted with blood in the 2nd laser room, adding even more to the fact that we know what to do but have no clue on how to acheive it, making it look even more impossible (maybe at the location the red X was in version 1.4, which would be an hidden clue)!

What a letdown, I remembered your previous Quadro map and never would I have realized that all those exploits and forced solutions we were happily bringing forth were actually your idea of a puzzle. To squeeze the player through the cracks of a normally functioning level isn't a puzzle - at most it's evasion, but even so you're not avoiding turrets: only normal mechanics, by employing ugly gameplay (self defeating...).

I completed the level in the intended way, even cutting short the second part with a lucky step on a cube (never went upstairs. And it felt cheap, indeed I thought I was breaking through a masterfully difficult map with the worst of cube throws and skips - while burning neurons to get it properly. That wasn't the case: smearing the puzzle was actually the solution. Sigh, no go.

Some great ideas- but I feel they were all forced into each other.
I got far, but didn't bother finishing it when I started to feel like I was just searching for exploits over and over. There is hardly any direction.
You can make a puzzle solvable, without lowering your desired difficulty, that should be the goal.

My suggestion- since the puzzle seems to be completed in part, put a check point system that lets the player know when they've completed a part, and should not backtrack to make sure they didn't miss part of the solution. Like with the two cubes, you have to get them both up above first. Use logic relays (enable and disable) along with triggers to make specific checkpoints that work only when the player has reached certain conditions.

Also, it helps very much to use glass walls. They aren't always ideal for optimization, but it helps the player when their vision isn't too restricted, and they can see other parts of the puzzle- it puts less focus on them memorizing where everything is, so they can think more with portals and spacial reasoning.

Jonatan first of all I really admire your work and will eagerly await for new releases. Quadro was great and Enigma well had great potential.

For me it all started impressive with the idea of cubes falling into fizzler being a brilliant one. The numbers as indicators are great as well as the map title. The atmosphere is amazing and getting to upper level is also awsome.

Being said that however I think that afterwards I felt dissapointment and frustration. When I figured that I had to throw the cube I felt discouraged (as I`m not good at it and use only when desparate). I find cube throwing on a cheap side and not "clean". Upstairs even watching your vid I was unable to execute the manouver for like 10 min. This is not fun.

I know that you wrote this is for hardcore players but for me this was over the top. Still as wrote before eagerly awaiting your new map

I doubt I will make any more maps. People does not seem to appreciate my idea of what a difficult puzzle is. The cube fling was a bit too technical I agree, but for the rest there are no really difficult to execute maneuvers. Just problem solving. People seems to prefer easy hand-held maps though which I'm not interested in making.

Amazing map, the hardest I ever played in portal 2 till now, keep up the good work!! (Still trying to solve it)

Solution that doesn't include cube throwing
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/7148/enigma0000.jpg
http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/1343/enigma0001.jpg
http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/1089/enigma0002.jpg

Oh, common jonatan. Don't stop mapping. On the contrary, people are appriciating your work, hence all the comments and 'one the best' remarks. Like i said, the specific set of circumstances caused a bit of a miscommunication about the puzzle. I don't think making it slighlty more 'readible' compromises what you set to do.

And anyhow, now that players know your type of work they will challenge themeselves even more to solve the puzzle and not throw their arms up questioning the validity of the whole thing.

Ok, I'll make another map. But I will not compromise on the difficulty. Next one will be hard.

GREAT!!! I'm waiting for it Jonatan!

Thanks for mapping

jonatan wrote:
I can assure the intended solution is very logical and fairly easy to execute once you got the idea. Nothing super ninja. The solution can in fact be executed without making any mistakes. When I made the solution video, which I will post soon enough, I did not use any quicksaves. Maybe that will help.

I was able to figure out what I needed to do, but there is no way to do this with a controller. I was able to get upstairs with one cube, but I can't even noclip around the cube toss. I might finish it by making my own cube.

Your definition of "super ninja" is clearly much different than mine (I think cube tossing is.) And if watching you struggle through your own solution video is what you call "easy to execute", I really don't want to see hard.

If I understand Valve's recent announcement about DLC2, the console players (or PS3 at least) will finally have a shot at custom maps. Not this one!

It's not your fault I play with a controller, so I will decline to rate this map.

My solution doesn't include cube toss, u might want to check it out!

Yes, but this is only an alternative solution to the last part. You still need the cube toss in the large room don't you?

KennKong and others are right. This map needs redoing. In its current state its bad. Definately my weakest one.

First off, another awesomely devilish map. Thanks! I didn't like this as much as devil's chamber though. I manged to get the door open the first time and did the cube toss (which at the time I assumed was not intended), but when I got in there I was really disappointed and confused. I had assumed that the back shaft and portal surface over there were to allow for coming back to the first room from a later part in the level, but when I saw that the exit was through the door I had to turn on noclip to see what the hell was going on with that shaft. I never thought about going up the box dropper to another area.
Besides that, it was awesome. I loved the puzzle in the area up top.

you said, you made this solution without quicksave? well, i surely suck at throwing, but i tried 50 times, before i actually hit the button, just to find out the cube rotated itself while it was going up (1:25 in your video), and i had to repeat the map, because i needed an earlier save state to fix this, than i had. when i finally opened the door and got stuck immediately, imagining more ninja-moves, i got and wanted to know this was the intended solution or not - well, it was ... ... of course i had spent some time to think about an alternative solution first, what made me a little bit frustrated...

if you ever want to optimize your map, you may consider putting an upside-down-button up there (you know, the kind of button only the boxes fit in) instead or together with the laser and put the buttons on the ground closer together or something like that, so i wont have to repeat it a 100 times. think outside the box..? well, maybe it was your intention to have it solved like this