Gather
by marKiu · Uploaded May 18, 2012
File Size: 10.55 MB
Downloads: 512
Rating: (7 votes)
Description
This is my fourth map and quite a challenging one! Your task: Gather all three cubes to open the exit door. Not enough? Then press the button infront of the exit and try the more challenging solution. Easter Egg included! Good luck v1.1 fixed unintended solution for the Easter Egg Many thanks to my awesome betatesters : Josepezdj, grayarea and Xtreger! <3
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I had the opportunity of playtesting this map for some time, and in my opinion this is markiu's best and toughest map. Really enjoyed playing it...
Recommended for those who like very hard puzzles
Agree 100%. Pre-testing this was the biggest challenge I've had in Portal for a long time. Stunning visuals combined with a puzzle that steadily increases in evilness. 5/5 from me.
this is going to hurt... wish me luck.
If you haven't heard from me in two days my brains are most likely fried 
Looks great and seems to be a great challenge. I still haven't solved it though but I thought I would give you some feedback. I noticed that you can swim under the 2 platforms in goo and there is a safe area down there.
Also is it intended to: In the moon room, I just press the button twice and use the after button delay to run and grap the cube from flight.
I won't be finishing this now but I will take another look tomorrow.
Great work again marKiu!
Thanks guys! I put a lot of work in this one and I'm happy about your positiv feedback.
@lpfreaky 
please let me know then if you make progress.
@shakky Thanks for dying and noticing that... I'll fix it in the next update. And Yes, your solution of getting the cube in the moon room is intended. 
@Logic Haha ;D I know that feeling. Do not look directly at the operational end of the device!
Wellllllll I'll give it a shot. To be honest I haven't played your stuff since your first map made you do that damn air strafe (is there anything like that in this one?). When I found out that was intended I wept and drank heavily 
. I know you're one of the few who solve the tough maps though, so I'll burn a few brain cells on this map! Hope I can make it through!
This map is driving me crazy from the start. The thought of Portal Prelude tricks being grafted onto your typical designs scares me.
My sloppy first moves managed to uncover an issue with the water platforms , though :
You can swim below them , and will stop taking damage. They probably need to be extended to the bottom of the pool.
Well, this wasn't as bad as I initially thought it was going to be after thinking you were going to make me practice my bunny-hopping for the first cube. Thankfully you have more propriety than that. But making glass that lasers can't pass through seems borderline. This was a fun map to play; as always the design work, to my untrained eye, seems impeccable. I like it less than some of your other maps only because maps where the hardest thing to figure out and accomplish is to get the cube aren't really puzzles (at least, in the traditional sense of the term). But I would highly recommend this map.
Also, the goo issue occurs in the exit room as well.
Evil as always! I had to close the game down for fear of throwing my laptop at the wall....
Solved 
If my solution is correct, last move was really evil.
Is X fizzler disabler only for challange version? I didn't use it at all, but I have an idea how to use it, to take funnel to the final room.
Design was simply stunning. Puzzle was really good too, especially part with cube in funnel blocked by the lighbridge. I find the same maneuver while playing with PTI editor, so figuring it out was easy for me. Solved in less than 24 hours, but it's still 5/5.
Thank you so much for this brainteaser, looking forward for more
@rogerL Thanks dude! I only did that little glassbox under the X catcher to prevent some unintended solutions that grayarea found. If it's not transparent you can barely see the catcher... Have you tried to finish the more challenging version?
@Jacu Thanks, I'm happy you like it. Looking forward to see you first map. I'm sure you have something evil in mind 
Btw you should try to finish the challenge version ( X fizzler is only for challenge version yes!) and I think none has found the Easter Egg yet
marKiu wrote:
I only did that little glassbox under the X catcher to prevent some unintended solutions that grayarea found. If it's not transparent you can barely see the catcher...
Yeah, I could tell why you did it, but it's just a bit of an anomaly when you use the same texture under the fizzlers in the first room and the laser passes through it there.
Also, two very minor things I noticed: one, a floor button is labeled with a moon, but what it activates (and deactivates) is not labeled, and, two, conversely, the lightbridge is labeled with a square, but the button that activates it is not. Since their respective associations are pretty obvious, it doesn't really matter.
As for the challenge course and easter egg, I have a savepoint just before pushing the button and I will go back and try it once I've recovered from the normal course.
RogerL wrote:
marKiu wrote:I only did that little glassbox under the X catcher to prevent some unintended solutions that grayarea found. If it's not transparent you can barely see the catcher...
Yeah, I could tell why you did it, but it's just a bit of an anomaly when you use the same texture under the fizzlers in the first room and the laser passes through it there.
As a map maker, I've run into this problem a few times. Often it's crucial to maintain visibility, but you don't want a laser to pass through. It's a shame that there aren't more types of glass and there's no variable opacity control (that I know of). I've tried to use a darker glass texture for laser-opaque surfaces but it's never obvious until the player experiments with it.
Definitely a tough one! Had to burn quite a few brain cells to get through! Good map Mark
Screen Shot 2012-05-21 at 7.03.05 PM.png
Very clever, I'm afraid to start the challenge version. The only thing I wasn't too fond of was the cube button trick in the beginning, which I discovered not through logic, but by angrily spamming the button
And I want that damn companion cube....
rock_n_rage wrote:
90 minutes in and I got one cube......
Don't feel bad, that's my status, too.
I still haven't had time to finish it intended way but I think I'm pretty close. Also I found an unintended solution and told marKui about it but I decided to put the pic here also if any of you are interested.
Unintended solution:
@gray agreed
@headshot I have to admit that I'm not proud of this trick but I needed something to get something else to work properly^^ Can't tell you exactly without spoiling...
About the Easter Egg... It's nasty, really nasty
@rock_n_rage & zivi7 I'm sure you will make progress...
Can you post a direct download link please ??...
In many poor countries the income per day is less than one Dollar...happily internet in cybercafes is for some cents..
Hey, marKiu, you took my sleep away for three nights (fortunately I can sleep at work in daytime )
So, well, I'm not the first to solve it. But no one post a video yet, and I realy want to see other solutions,
becouse my one is unintended I guess.
Still I've found a bug (see video at 7:30), when cube isn't going through portals.
vlv9qUv0Jw8
After watching greykarel vid I think, that I found challenge solution instead of normal
I was trying to make a vid with my solution, but I failed too many times and when I finnally get it, cube angle was wrong, so I simply closed the game. Tomorrow I'll try again. MarKiu, if my solution is correct, your mind must be really crazy, to came up with something like this. You are definitly a horrible person...
Solved the Challenge version Check the funnel!
Gather Challenge.png
Vicious method for setting it up, requires a very keen sense of controlling cube orientations. Overview of my method: One cube on bridge button. One cube flung under the bridge pointing upwards, blocked by bridge. Final cube must be placed in funnel at slight angle and flung back into funnel to get correct orientation. Funnel it up to triangle activator, shoot through to far surface, quick portal on the funnel to catch it. Cube redirects laser as it moves. Shoot to exit area when fizzler deactivates, cube drops down safely. Bring the vertical laser cube with you through funnel, redirect funnel to move yourself to each area for exit activators. Jump back over to center and funnel up to exit.
I'll make a video if anyone wants to see, but it will probably be quite a quicksaver. This thing was nasty, Mark! Well done Now I'm going to get that companion cube and fizzle it out of spite...
Eh I cant figure out the companion cube, decided making a video was easier. Challenge version solution is uploading, will be at:
**Upload was corrupted, new upload below
http://youtu.be/0kcpncen7kE
@greykarel Thanks for the video dude! This is the intended normal solution. I know there are multiple ways of getting all cubes in the last room but I can't or don't want to change them because it would affect the hard solution.
@Jacu Gratz! Guess you found the intended way if you are talking about cube angles. Thanks for the compliments 
@Headshot Great video!!! Absolutlely intended from every point of view Nice job!
As I said before the Easter Egg is hidden really nasty And I won't excuse because I think it's not a required part for the solution so it doesn't count as a puzzle. It's my own little secret that only really annoyed people can find :D
Anyways, after all I'm happy that some people still like hard puzzles and played this even if the forum gets flooded by PTI maps. That gives me enough motivation to continue mapping. Thanks again for your feedback NEXT CHALLENGE GELS!
marKiu wrote:
Anyways, after all I'm happy that some people still like hard puzzles and played this even if the forum gets flooded by PTI maps. That gives me enough motivation to continue mapping. Thanks again for your feedback
I think a lot of us are playing, it's just that most of us are embarrassed to admit how badly we're doing....
El Farmerino wrote:
marKiu wrote:Anyways, after all I'm happy that some people still like hard puzzles and played this even if the forum gets flooded by PTI maps. That gives me enough motivation to continue mapping. Thanks again for your feedback
I think a lot of us are playing, it's just that most of us are embarrassed to admit how badly we're doing....
Agreed! I've made some headway but will be working on night 4 this evening of trying to figure this sucker out.
rock_n_rage wrote:
Agreed! I've made some headway but will be working on night 4 this evening of trying to figure this sucker out.
I just managed to get two cubes in the final room, but I have a slight suspicion I may have needed to put the second and third in at the same time. I drank a bit too much this evening to carry on, really...
marKiu wrote:
Anyways, after all I'm happy that some people still like hard puzzles and played this even if the forum gets flooded by PTI maps.
For me the one like this is better than a hundred of puzzles for 10 minutes. And I miss Jonatan.
Now I'm going to press that button. Hope my brain won't melt.
El Farmerino wrote:
I just managed to get two cubes in the final room, but I have a slight suspicion I may have needed to put the second and third in at the same time. I drank a bit too much this evening to carry on, really...
So maybe that's the key - I need to lay off the Vodka for a few nights and maybe I'll make it through this bad boy! I'm oh so close to where you're at El Farmerino - update later this evening when I get home from the office.
marKiu wrote:
NEXT CHALLENGE GELS!
I'd love to see somebody try to use gels! I've only just begun using the PeTI editor to work out some concepts for my first map, and I was reminded what a small percentage of elements are used in most expert maps. Most top level maps only involve lasers and funnels (and bridges), but there are so many interesting combinations with gels, faith plates, etc. that could be explored! Looking forward to your next map, Mark! 
What a lovely map! Something about the way it looks really appeals to me... Like a futuristic portle hole temple of sorts! Been trying to figure it for a few days now, but quite often I wasn't sure if I was cheating or not. Anything goes =)?. Anyhoo, really loved it up untill the crazy mental cube orientation bit, but I know you have a fetish for that sorta thing so it was to be expected! Gj man ^^
Done !
Here is how:
1) Funnel yourself up 
2) Shoot another portal on the ground
3) While flying up and down try to place portal here
4) From this portal position you can grab the cube and toss it into the upper room while flying and then simply jump there
5) Turn the cube that it is aimed at the ceiling. Then slowly turn it to this position
6) Jump on it carefully, then into the tunnel and you are done ^^
Another great puzzle in the same map, congratulations MarKiu
6 Days later and I've finished it! Brilliant, Masterful, and EVIL! I don't think I've ever hit f6 more while playing another map. I may try the challenge in a few years after I regenerate some brain cells!
@rock_n_rage Nice one! I'm happy you finally solved it I guess your braincells won't regenerate if you drink vodka So don't hold back or it's getting worse
@sicklebrick Thanks for feedback! Well, since the player will need some hours to solve this I should take care that it looks good...
@headshot I've played around with speed gel for a while but gels in gerneral are so hard to control. So many unintended solutions :/ I got some nice mechanics but it's hard to place them in a nice puzzle... Well gimme some time to come up with something.
@Jacu Wow nice... I feel sorry but I have to say that this is not the intended way of getting the cube... I like the last part with the cube angle... Very cool, should have thought about that... I'll make an update and fix all that stuff.
marKiu wrote:
@Jacu Wow nice... I feel sorry but I have to say that this is not the intended way of getting the cube...
Hmm, that means, that I was proud undeservedly. But I'm still happy, that I found some hole in such a perfect wall. Well, I'm waiting for updated version, I hope I'll beat it too.
Was anyone of playtesters able to get this?
Well I managed to get the companion cube.... but its sort of..... 
I think its a bug.
Cube in one of the side buttons can be placed so it sits at an angle, not flush in the square. This allows it to be grabbed mid-fling. You funnel up to the exit height, start flinging, grab the button from the center button and bring it up. Jump back down, hit the challenge button mid fling, which reopens the door, even without the cubes in place.... Fling over to the side cube, grab, fling back up. Stack cubes to get in tunnel.
Screen Shot 2012-05-29 at 9.39.51 PM.png
Screen Shot 2012-05-29 at 9.41.07 PM.png
Sry for the late answere guys!
@Jacu Yes! Grayarea was able to find the Easter Egg. But I gave a little hint
@Headshot Nice find there! The button opens the door so the player can't get trapped inside the exitroom. Never thought about pressing the button while flinging. I prevent that by placing the button further away. Update coming this evening.
Ok so I got the companion cube again. And again its probably not the intended way...
Start from end of challenge solution, where you still have the funnel. Grab center cube out of its button as you back up through the door. You might not get the cube through, doesnt matter. Hit challenge button to open the door. Retrieve another cube like the ending of the challenge solution. Funnel up and stack them.
New version is updated... Sry guys. I'm very busy atm so it took some time... Please let me know if you make progress I'll start my paint map now...
I managed to get two cubes in the funnel.
That only took me a couple of days... ...now for the rest of the map...
Mhh I uploaded the new version on twp ( not on the workshop ).
Maybe you have to replace the old file manually and start the map over console.
Ahhh I'm sorry... Before I uploaded the map to the workshop and put the link here, I already had a rar uploaded on twp. The new rar file had the same name as the old one. AND AS WE ALL KNOW THIS DOESN'T WORK Kinda fooled myself here... I'm sorry, everything should work now.
The new map has the challenge button in the same place, but it no longer reopens the door. I thought you meant to have it reopen, but were just going to move the button. Is this intended?
Yes it is... The only purpose for opening the door was preventing the player to get stuck... AND I don't want to misslead you guys. You were paying too much attention on that door.
I started the map without the portal gun, is that intented? Cause I really don't know how to even start this map XD
No you need a gun from the start.
Edit: The only advice I could give is to make sure you're running a fully up-to-date steam version of the game. If you still have a problem, enable the developer console and enter "give weapon_portalgun" to the console.
marKiu wrote:
Yes it is... The only purpose for opening the door was preventing the player to get stuck... AND I don't want to misslead you guys. You were paying too much attention on that door.
Can you tell me if my solution is the intended one?
||1. I leaned 2 of the 3 cubes on their buttons (the one in the middle section and the one in the right section) so that the buttons were pressed yet the cubes were "grabbable".
2. I funneled myself up in the section on the right, crouching to get as high as possible (the funnel i was in was coming out a blue portal directly below me).
3. I quickly (well, super quickly) shot a blue portal into the portable area next to the cube in the midsection and then the same blue portal behind the door before it got closed (it had the effect of lifting the cube up and dropping it onto the portable surface).
4. I put an orange portal into the floor into which I was falling and it gave me enough speed to get onto the ledge before the elevator. Then i jumped back down and grabbed a cube from the area on the right.
5. Finally, to get the cube from the middle area, I put a portal under it while I was flying up out of the portal in the right section, put a portal underneath me, caught the cube on the way down and landed on the ledge.
It took me about hundred tries to manage to place a portal behind the gate before it closed, so I'm doubtful whether you had this solution in mind. And much thanks for yet another great map!||
@negorro I tried that for an hour now and I have no clue how you did it :O
I don't get point 3. How do you funnel a cube that is on the button? Is there a special method of placing the cube on the side? Please make a screenshot of the setup.
HERE'S A LITTLE HINT SPOILER ALERT
Someone is watching you!
marKiu wrote:
@negorro I tried that for an hour now and I have no clue how you did it :O
I don't get point 3. How do you funnel a cube that is on the button? Is there a special method of placing the cube on the side? Please make a screenshot of the setup.
It's not ON the button - it's leaned against it, just like you'd lean it in order to grab it while you're flying out of the portal next to the button. The funnel catches it since its diameter is wider than the portal its coming out of. And the setup will work only with the button the midsection, since the other 2 sections have a bit of an extra space between their buttons and portable flooring. But it looks like I've been simply wasting my time ))
Mhh I tried that too... But I can't activate the button by leaning it against. Seems like a very fiddly setup. ^^
Btw "Time you enjoyed wasting was not wasted time" John Lennon
marKiu wrote:
@negorro I tried that for an hour now and I have no clue how you did it :O
I don't get point 3. How do you funnel a cube that is on the button? Is there a special method of placing the cube on the side? Please make a screenshot of the setup.HERE'S A LITTLE HINT SPOILER ALERT
Someone is watching you!
How could I miss that -_-
This is it, right?
My method:
Bring all 3 cubes to the moon room. One on the button, the other two stacked next to deadly lasers. Jump on them and shoot blue portal on little surface below. Shoot the otrange portal on funnel. Throw one of stacked cubes into funnel. When it is on top shoot blue portal on wall vis a vis camera room, it will break glass. With one cube aim laser on triangle to deactivate fizzler. Using portable surfaces in camera room bring camera to main room, and then funnel it to final room as usual cube. Continue with challenge solution, at the and stack cube and camera on middle button, funnel yourself up, grab them mid fling and bring to the upper room. Stack them to get into a tunnel
Yeah that's it
Your solution is a bit diffrent from the intended way of breaking the window. As you can see I placed the lasergrid a bit further away from the edge to prevent shooting a portal down there. I even checked standing on one cube but I forgot that you can do it with two cubes -.-
But I'm fine with that and don't want to annoy you with anymore updates...
So congratulation Jacu you deserve cake. ( I already ate a piece for giving a hint )
Gray found a solution by just using portals that was very nice.
So now there are three solutions but I wont spoil mine because I'll maybe use it again in a future map.
Cheers, nom nom nom
Congrats Jacu. Yes I also got the hint to think about the security camera for the final part.
My glass-breaking solution had about a thousand steps partly because I missed the "easy" method for bringing cubes into the laser room. My brute force approach involved stacking cubes on the bridge button and re-spawning one of them from the laser room. Also, I was throwing a cube onto the moon button and running outside the laser-death-field so I could portal back into the laser room. That's how I set up the glass smash.
Congrats again Jacu and to marKiu for an amazing map.
Yes! Finally solved
Thus my overview:
Difficulty: Hard/Very hard
Looks: Excellent
lol you seem to be drunk in your avatar, if that is really you. Oh yes, and any other maps of this difficulty? I'm feeling adventurous
marKiu wrote:
Yeah that's itGray found a solution by just using portals that was very nice.
So now there are three solutions but I wont spoil mine because I'll maybe use it again in a future map.
Cheers, nom nom nom
\
I still don't understand Gray's solution, but here's how I broke the glass - you just need to go back to the laser room, get a cube like you did the first time, place it on the button, place a portal on the funnel's entrance, another portal on the floor of the laser room underneath the cube dropper, and press the button to get a new cube. Of course, it won't drop, since the funnel will keep it up - and then you just place another portal on the wall against the observation room, the cube comes out flying, and you're done.
Ahhh, so that was why there was an exit door sign in that observation room. It had me puzzled for ages, but I couldn't figure out its relevance. Never thought to try and break the glass. Very clever.
RogerL wrote:
Ahhh, so that was why there was an exit door sign in that observation room. It had me puzzled for ages, but I couldn't figure out its relevance. Never thought to try and break the glass. Very clever.
Yeah, I noticed it on my first visit there, and actually tried to break the glass by redirecting laser onto it, but since it wouldn't work i gave up and forgot about it
@negorro Haha nice! That was my solution to break the glass
I've one question to all of you guys.
What do you think about the challenging version inside the map? Should I continue splitting my maps into multiple endings? My idea was to address a larger group of players because I noticed that people give up and don't like the map if it's too hard. But I don't want to make the puzzle easier because there are players that really love hard puzzles.
I'm asking because I've almost finished my new gel map and got some ideas to split it up.
marKiu wrote:
I've one question to all of you guys.What do you think about the challenging version inside the map? Should I continue splitting my maps into multiple endings? My idea was to address a larger group of players because I noticed that people give up and don't like the map if it's too hard. But I don't want to make the puzzle easier because there are players that really love hard puzzles.
I'm asking because I've almost finished my new gel map and got some ideas to split it up.
Imo it's good idea becouse of what you just wrote. I like hard puzzles, so managing to do something again in other, harder way is really nice. I also love to see you work as mapmaker, where same objects can be combined in different ways to reach something more.
Waiting for your gel map. It probably would be very hard for me, cause I generally don't like gel maps, but of course I'll give it a try. Cheers
New map done already? 
It's a shame I won't get to play it till mid-July 
I guess it's a good idea to add a challenge version if the easier version isn't too hard in itself.
marKiu wrote:
I've one question to all of you guys.What do you think about the challenging version inside the map? Should I continue splitting my maps into multiple endings? My idea was to address a larger group of players because I noticed that people give up and don't like the map if it's too hard. But I don't want to make the puzzle easier because there are players that really love hard puzzles.
I'm asking because I've almost finished my new gel map and got some ideas to split it up.
There might be a few problems with that:
1. What you call "easier" some may call "pretty damn hard", so they will be pissed off anyway
2. Sometimes combining the elements of both easy and hard versions into one map may cause confusion - if the elements not relevant to one interfere with the other (like the door button in this map). But then you obviously have the skills to take care of that.
My personal take - just forget about the easy stuff and stick with the difficult one:) Thank you again for great work!
@Mark
I personally like the hard ones, and as long as the integrity and "cleanliness" of the solution can be preserved, I think chambers should be as hard as possible. I'd think it would be even harder to restrict a map to two specific solutions rather than one, but you'd know better than I would. On gather, did you start with the challenge and then arrange the "normal", or visa versa? I suppose its nice to make the chamber more accessible to the whole community, but I'd hate to see a clever concept of yours get watered down so that an easier approach could be fit in as well.
Keep them hard! For easier challenges, check out PeTI for chambers like this gem:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/f ... earchtext=
Couldn't solve this one In the end I resorted to looking at the solution video, after which I was:
Thanks for the replys...
I guess I'll continue with only one solution...
Basicly because of the facts that negorro mentioned. If I implement an easier solution there will be some puzzle elements that cause confusion. Not a big deal in a gel map because the gel is a mobile element so the only thing that could confuse the player are portable surfaces. But anyways the difficultly of the normal and challenging solution would only be slightly different.
So I'll stick to the challenging version.
I'm currently looking for a new place to hide that lovely companion cube and I think I'm ready to release it next week.
@Headshot
I started with the last part of the challenging solution and then built everything around. The normal solution was unintended at first. Then I had the idea to use it as an alternate solution and added the second exit. It was kinda lucky that everything was working so well. But you'll understand better when I release my tutorial on making hard maps. I'll start a new map and live record some parts with an audio commentary. I'm currently collecting ideas because it will actually take more time then I thought.
marKiu wrote:
...when I release my tutorial on making hard maps. I'll start a new map and live record some parts with an audio commentary. I'm currently collecting ideas because it will actually take more time then I thought.
Oh, oh, I wanna see this. If you live stream it, please let me know when and where.
This is my fourth map and quite a challenging one!
Your task: Gather all three cubes to open the exit door. Not enough? Then press the button infront of the exit and try the more challenging solution.
Easter Egg included! Good luck
v1.1 fixed unintended solution for the Easter Egg
Many thanks to my awesome betatesters : Josepezdj, grayarea and Xtreger! <3
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