GO HERE To play the workshop version of this map: It's slightly different, you might enjoy it: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/f ... d=68660035


Power Interference is a medium sized, easy/medium difficulty map for single player.

Changelog
v1.0
-Release
v1.1, v1.2
-Random fixes
v2.0
[Insomnautik's Changes]
-Map completely revised, edited, and changed for a better look (Thanks)
-Textures completely redone
-Added more general freedom to the first room
-Added frames to glass and grate
-Fit the funnel in the wall
[UsCobra11's Changes]
-Fixed alternate solution
-Altered textures in second room
-Moved various things
v2.1
-Fixed unintended solution (again...)
-Added autosave
v2.2
Ran map through Pakrat for lp's fizzlers
v2.3
-Replaced Lp's Fizzlers with a glass wall
-Added music
-Fixed the unintended solution (Again, lol)
v2.4
-Player spawns without potato
-Added arrival text

File Name: usc_power_int.zip
File Size: 3.33 MiB
Click here to download Power Interference

UsCobra11 wrote:
Power Interference is a medium sized, medium difficulty map for single player.

For me it played more like an easy or easy/medium map. That said, I found the puzzle to be enjoyable. Well done.

UsCobra11 wrote:
I decided not to add elevators. You don't need them in a single map anyway.

I disagree. Elevators make everything better. Your map ends in a tiny room that doesn't fire a trigger to close the map. This should be fixed.

UsCobra11 wrote:
"Power Interference" isn't the best name I thought of. I need to rename it later.

If you ever have children, I hope you treat them better than this (learn to love the name you gave it!).

UsCobra11 wrote:
Feedback is also appreciated.

The map is pretty short, though I did have fun solving the puzzle (I would list this map as easy or easy/medium difficulty). Tractor beaming, lasering, faithplating and cubing - there is a lot going on but it never feels overwhelming and it actually works pretty well together. The puzzle is easily the strength of the map.

UsCobra11 wrote:
Anything that should be changed?

The map looks bad. Really, really bad. You have brushes that are incorrect sizes, misaligned brushes, misaligned textures, misaligned lights. You have wall textures on the floors. The angled faithplate looks horrible. The room behind the grate needs a light in it so that you can see the portalable-wall in it. Your glass needs to be framed (like a frame on a window). The tractor beam looks like you jammed it into the ceiling. I understand why you have a fizzler and a laser-grid back-to-back but it looks bad - there must be a better way (maybe a glass wall that you can't easily jump on top of?). Also, the map needs a better ending (exit the map or add an elevator).

Perhaps one of those "Thanks For Testing" messages at the end. It kinda leaves us hanging for a second. Also, I have no idea what the weighted cube was for, so I just fizzled it.

Well the puzzle itself is decent. It's short and doesn't reuse a lot of mechanics, but it works in it's own way. It took me a while to figure out what the weighted cube was for, but it was sort of the "Aha" moment that Valve creates in their maps.

There are some things you should change though:

CHANGES TO BE MADE IN MY OPINION
Optional:
- Make the way you grab the first cube different from the way you get up to the button. You use the same mechanic of funneling up somewhere twice in a row
- Think like a Aperture employee and add another observation room so that they can watch the testing in the second room as well

Required:
- Add lighting too the wall behind the bars in the second room so that players can see that it's white
- Move the funnel to the other corner so that you don't have to jump to get a portal under the funnel from the other room
- Improve the textures. Use floor textures for the floor!
- Add elevators or at least a message saying that the map is done
- Change the way the "funnel-machine" is put into the wall
- Make the faith plate model actually animate the fling!
- Make the faith plate fire straight (it fires the player slightly to the left)
- Carve out a hole for the faith plate (not using carve! )
- Make a frame around the glass in the second room and make it thinner
That's my take on the map. It does need some improvements but it's fairly well executed.

I'm glad you guys enjoyed the map for the most part. I'll get to work on fixing it up. And yeah, sorry for not including a proper ending

SkyFerret wrote:
Perhaps one of those "Thanks For Testing" messages at the end. It kinda leaves us hanging for a second. Also, I have no idea what the weighted cube was for, so I just fizzled it.

Did you use the cube at all for solving the puzzle? Because you're suppose to..

I dont think I used it either,just the redirect cube although I did try using it.





CkQmby6w4qM

It's quite a nice map,there's still room for improvements, but it's still rather fun!
Didn't need the cube either

3/5 good: but needs improvements

Nice one! Enjoyed this. Needs elevators though.

I did need the cube. WTF did you guys do? :S

Recorded my playthrough...

lcJhW03KXwY

I just replayed the map and figured out where to use the cube.Staring me in the face the whole time lol.DUH. Easy fix thou for the mapper

@ mZLY I just used portals to turn laser on/off my first time

Ah, i see how you guys managed to do it without the cube. I'm going to have to fix that! Very clever, though... i'll probably turn the grates into a hole with glass instead, so the funnel can't go through.

UsCobra11 wrote:
Ah, i see how you guys managed to do it without the cube. I'm going to have to fix that! Very clever, though... i'll probably turn the grates into a hole with glass instead, so the funnel can't go through.

The funnel can't go through, can it? I tried to use the funnel through the grate to move the cube first, but it didn't work.

Funnel didnt come through for me.I tried it lol.I pointed the laser through 2 portals.Just make that grated area big enough for one portal

Oh. I just assumed. I understand now

I think I found the intended solution. I first tried blocking the laser with the weighted cube and moving it but then I saw how it was intended to be solved. The little block on the roof near the laser worked as a good hint.

I did enjoy the puzzle, but there were some things to fix. Missaligned textures in many spots and the faith plate is pointing at wrong direction. That last one caused me to die once.

Here is my blind playthrough.

Xd9u4MNVbbM

Good job but I still can't give this more than 3/5. I hope I see more maps from you.

UsCobra11 wrote:
Did you use the cube at all for solving the puzzle? Because you're suppose to..

I used the same method as andyb did in his video. I guess therefore, you would want to make the wall behind the mesh only wide enough for 1 portal. However, if you did, I was also able to redirect the beam into a portal behind the mesh, and then put a portal on the floor sideways and have the beam come out of it upwards but on an angle and hit the laser pick up.

Decent room..fairly easy.. an indication that you have solved, or at the end would be nice... 4/5 fpor the effort but prolly should be in WIP

Few suggestions:
Add elevators
Use my death fizzler: Lp's Fizzlers
Rotate the faith plate
Add light behind the grating
Change the grating so it makes sense the funnel can't pass through it.
Make the surface between the grating a bit smaller so you can't use that to surpass a part of the pzzle. I think 128x128x128 will do.

I think that one grating would be good enough, and that one grating could be the part with the hole in the glass. Just my two cents.

Ip, I actually just finished adding elevators, your death fizzler, moving the faith plate, adding the light, and fixing the unintended solution. Guess I'm on the right track. I'll fix the grates now. v1.1 will be released shortly.

I recorded my blind playthrough for you. Now that I've seen others' playthroughs, I see I missed a use for the cube. I edited out all the time I wasted trying to find a purpose for it. I have no comments beyond what has already been said. It should have taken a lap around the WIP track first. 2/5.
Link:Power Interference blindembedded
RYG9uhy5Pa8

Alright. Most issues are fixed, v1.1 is uploading now. Hope it's better.

UsCobra11 wrote:
Alright. Most issues are fixed, v1.1 is uploading now. Hope it's better.

Still not uploaded... you sure you did it right?

Yeah... the file size is now 3MiB and there's a new current file

UsCobra11 wrote:
Yeah... the file size is now 3MiB and there's a new current file

The current file was created on the 2nd and is the same as the other file. There are no changes. The upload either didn't work or you accidentally uploaded the same version.

Odd.. im reuploading now... still says its 3MiB, so i dont know whats going on
The previous version, 1.0, was 1.69MiB

Are you making sure that the new upload doesn't have the same name as the original upload (ie. add a v2 or something)?

Fairly easy map, but y'know... looks good and it played through without any glaring issues.
I didn't use the funnel, but it seems straightforward enough, chers
I apprecate that you didn't put elevators in 'cause they're fucking annoying and yes we all get it "lift goes up, lift goes down", but a trigger at the end to disconnect or fade the map would be nice!

-N7yh9IYJ3k

Edit:
Looks like I didn't get 1.1 either... uhm.. nevermind, changed the title

Nice job sickle, that cube throw over the fizzler was nice! I'm trying to reupload 1.1 one last time. I tried downloading it for myself, worked fine.. so I really don't know what's going on

UsCobra11 wrote:
Nice job sickle, that cube throw over the fizzler was nice! I'm trying to reupload 1.1 one last time. I tried downloading it for myself, worked fine.. so I really don't know what's going on

Why would you only try one more time if it's not working? And it's not working. Are you sure you are uploading the right map? Are you giving the .rar a different name?

UsCobra11 wrote:
Nice job sickle, that cube throw over the fizzler was nice! I'm trying to reupload 1.1 one last time. I tried downloading it for myself, worked fine.. so I really don't know what's going on

ALWAYS GIVE YOUR UPDATES A NEW NAME!!! like sp_power_interference_v1_1.zip sp_power_interference_v1_2.zip etc. that will prevent these kinds of problems.

lpfreaky90 wrote:
ALWAYS GIVE YOUR UPDATES A NEW NAME!!!

I'm sure there's a rule about shouting in giant red caps... :p

I've already tried changing the name of the zip file... i'll try changing the map name itself. First i'm going to fix some issues I noticed while flying around, v1.2 will hopefully be uploaded in a few.

Nice map, relatively uninteresting until the second room - finish puzzle took a bit of thought...Thanks for creating. I look forward to the continuation map(s).

Alright, the next version should be working. Tell me what you guys think.

Things I still need:
Videos on the elevator screens (help?)
Making the funnel look better in the wall

UsCobra11 wrote:
Alright, the next version should be working. Tell me what you guys think.

Things I still need:
Videos on the elevator screens (help?)
Making the funnel look better in the wall

Videos in elevators:

https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wik ... ie_display

Funnel wall:
There is an instance for the funnel-hole. But you could probably make something better yourself...

Alright, i've fixed those things but recently I encountered a crash error upon running the map :/. I've been trying to fix it for over an hour. v1.2 will have to do for now.

Very cool puzzle, I think you nailed a sweet spot of difficulty.

The only issues I had were with visibility. It might have just been a graphical bug, but the death lasers totally killed me because they just looked like a big white wall. Not sure why that couldn't have just been a glass window to avoid frustration. Wouldn't that be effectively the same thing, minus a frustrating reload if you accidentally kill yourself? Just a thought.

Also, the lighting made it difficult to see the portalable surface behind the grate. If I hadn't fired a random portal at it, I might have been stuck for a long time. Working on the lighting there would help a lot.

Overall, great map. Like I said, I think this was like the perfect difficulty to be accessible while still making me think. I'll have a YouTube video of my play-through in a little bit after it uploads.

Edit: Video!
_gg23Qw3F9Y

autobzooty wrote:
It might have just been a graphical bug, but the death lasers totally killed me because they just looked like a big white wall.

That might be because I used a downloadable instance for a death fizzler (Basically, a fizzler and death lasers combined.) That's probably why it showed up as a white wall.. is my guess...

I played the latest version. Worked well. no issues. Good job.

I enjoyed this puzzle - fairly easy but fun nonetheless. I did happen to step on the faith plate before deactivating the death rays.....actually twice Might not be a bad idea to throw at least one save game in there, perhaps when you get into the second room.

Anyway, thanks for uploading.

Just played the map. For some reason the death field was white. I was disappointed when the funnel didn't pass through the grate, but I found the intended solution not long after. A few construction oddities here and there (e.g. grating not inside a frame, the funnel frame 'sticking in the wall') but I think you're aware of all that. Thanks for mapping.

Oh, and as the previous reply mentioned, an autosave would make a good addition.

I played through this one again and found some stuff you'll need to look into...

- If you fizzle the second cube you can't solve the puzzle the intended way (add a dropper)
- The funnel-machine sticks out from the wall and is still not carved into the wall
- I'd add some more white surfaces that didn't play a part in the puzzle
- The textures are still a bit repetitive

A much better version of this map, v2.0, has been uploaded!

That's quite nice ^^ I like how you can see the area behind the grate clearly now

Personally, I quite liked the fact that the surface behind the grate wasn't lit. It made me feel like Einstein when I realised it was portalable. xD

Adding some more random portalable surfaces throughout the test should make the solution to the rest of it a bit less obvious though.

sicklebrick wrote:
lpfreaky90 wrote:

ALWAYS GIVE YOUR UPDATES A NEW NAME!!!

I'm sure there's a rule about shouting in giant red caps... :p

I am indeed shouting here, to make something obvious

UsCobra11 wrote:
autobzooty wrote:

It might have just been a graphical bug, but the death lasers totally killed me because they just looked like a big white wall.

That might be because I used a downloadable instance for a death fizzler (Basically, a fizzler and death lasers combined.) That's probably why it showed up as a white wall.. is my guess...

This is a missing death fizzler
UsCobra11; make sure you pack this with pakrat.

mZLY wrote:
Personally, I quite liked the fact that the surface behind the grate wasn't lit. It made me feel like Einstein when I realised it was portalable. xD

Adding some more random portalable surfaces throughout the test should make the solution to the rest of it a bit less obvious though.

Personally I think that you shouldn't hide test elements (and then people say I do that )
More white surfaces are always a good idea, but it also increases the chance of ways to break your puzzle, make sure you test it properly

Anyways; haven't been able to play the new version, I'll do that later today.

sp_powerinterferencev2_2
Okay, I didn't use the companion cube (or weighted storage cube if you want to call it that), nor did I use the excursion funnel in the second chamber. I've uploaded just the ending in the second chamber for the sake of file size and upload time. If there was any way to break this map, I guess this would be it
cV4TmYZNAmQ

SkyFerret wrote:
If there was any way to break this map, I guess this would be it

argghhhhhh. There's always a way to do that alternate solution. I guess i could retract the catcher into the wall. Should of thought of that earlier...

Edit:
V2.3 is out. Alternate solution is fixed. I sure hope.

UsCobra11 wrote:
SkyFerret wrote:

If there was any way to break this map, I guess this would be it

argghhhhhh. There's always a way to do that alternate solution. I guess i could retract the catcher into the wall. Should of thought of that earlier...

Edit:
V2.3 is out. Alternate solution is fixed. I sure hope.

Well sir, it looks like I can't break it. I dickered around with it for a while, and nope, no can do. Unless someone else finds a way, then I'd say that's it.

Also, with that glass wall between rooms, it's a better alternative because if someone accidentally fizzles the weighted cube, they would need another, giving the need for a cube dispenser.

Great map! Blew through it in like 2 mins, EXCEPT FOR THE LAST PART THAT TOOK ME AN HOUR!!!! elegant solution, just took me a while!

Nice map. Took me a little while to figure out what the weighted cube was for. I like all the changes you made in v2.3. It made the map look a lot better.

I think I skipped a part of it.. Didn't have to use all elements
This may not be the latest version of the map though; I played this some days ago.

ekl_4Iu1VeI
(Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekl_4Iu1VeI)

I played v2.4 today. The puzzle is tighter: I needed the weighted cube this time. The appearance is somewhat better, with better lighting and more varied textures. I'm glad you had the integrity and perspicacity to fix this one up. Good work!

KennKong wrote:
I played v2.4 today. The puzzle is tighter: I needed the weighted cube this time. The appearance is somewhat better, with better lighting and more varied textures. I'm glad you had the integrity and perspicacity to fix this one up. Good work!

You can thank Insomnautik for most of the appearance changes! I'm glad you enjoyed the new version.

Also, there is a new Workshop/PeTI version of this map that is slightly different. Of course, it won't be as good as the hammer version, but anyone can feel free to try it out! Link is added in the upload description.

UsCobra11 wrote:
Also, there is a new Workshop/PeTI version of this map that is slightly different. Of course, it won't be as good as the hammer version, but anyone can feel free to try it out! Link is added in the upload description.

I'm pretty sure I completed the PeTI version in a rather unintended fashion (the very last part at least). I'll see what I can do about making a video.

Edit for video:
0ZPKoNVWWSQ

taco wrote:
I'm pretty sure I completed the PeTI version in a rather unintended fashion

Nah, that wasn't that bad. Same idea, though, pushing the cube with the funnel.

As requested, there you get a newer version:

y8_YrlNtGfA
(Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8_YrlNtGfA)

Nice map but a little too predictable/obvious - I didn't have to stop to think what my next move would be - I just knew what to do from the configuration of the room.