This is a multi-part puzzle created for the My Aperture Labs contest. It gets harder as you progress, and several of the parts are interconnected and must be reused. Most of the time it is not obvious what to do next. Most people will probably find this level to be very difficult, but it is solvable without using any hacks or glitches (e.g., "portal tunneling").

Note: Unfortunately I don't know of a way to have a second "scenes.image" file specifically for this map. So, for now, the voices are played by ambient_generics rather than scenes, and subtitles are faked by game_texts.

File Name: resurrection_v1.3.zip
File Size: 11.7 MiB
Click here to download Resurrection

Nice map but, ... hard. I didn't understand a signle puzzle
I exited when I realised that the non-greenish glass at the end of the goo pit (with the hand tracks on it) was unbreakable, even though it should be breakable.

That glass is the same color green as the others. Although now that you mention it, lighting and reflections do make it look non-greenish when viewed from certain angles. I'll try to make it more apparent.

Does the bit where you have 2 cubes and need to get the WCC back to the beginning require extreme timing, or am I doing it wrong?

It requires a bit of timing but definitely not anything extreme. I'm curious to know what you're trying to do though.

Here's my walkthrough.
walkthrough
8pLX4Zv1Nek

Waow i just watched your walkthrough and i can't believe it. I spent so much time triyng to figure this out, i knew i would be slapping my forehead once i'd seen how to do it.

There's something you should fix to prevent confusion : To get though, at some point i held both buttons down with chairs taken from an observation room. I thought it might be part of the solution since it worked and it usually dont in most maps.

I gave 5 cakes on myapertutrelabs, this map is awesome. Keep em comming, you really got talent.

Thanks for the heads up portalgrinder. I didn't realize you could use chairs on the buttons. This is a problem that needs to be fixed with my map pack too. Luckily I know how.

Just need a filter_activator_name to fix the buttons.

Actually it was slightly more complicated than that. I use instances for all my cube droppers and the name fixup, in addition to me manually naming some cubes (like for the cube killing switch and checking for the companion cube) prevented me from using the filter_activator_name even with wildcards. Instead, I used two filter_activator_mass_greater filters in my button instance to ensure whatever activates it has a mass of 40.

Definately one of the best maps I've played, I loved the design, and I loved the hidden cake when you make the platform with the button go up.

Also the design was unique with the cliff like rocks at the top, and out of the glass near the companion cube, how long did this map take to make?

Also, I'm very proud to say that I beat the map without cheating or looking up how to beat it, even though it literally took me an hour and a half, but I solved it slightly different than your intended solution I think...

Mevious wrote:
It requires a bit of timing but definitely not anything extreme. I'm curious to know what you're trying to do though.

Here's my walkthrough.
walkthrough
8pLX4Zv1Nek

Oh right, lol.
I was pressing the button to make the second platform come back after a certain amount of time and wasn't thinking with portals. I can probably do it now.

New spotlight!

I had to watch they very first part of the video to get me going in the right direction, but once I saw that I kind of "got" what you were trying to do. I went a really roundabout way getting the CC out of the main puzzle area but it was more or less the same I think. Really great map, and like I said on the news page, deceptively simple.

Oh and I found both the cakes.

This map was pretty awesome. Well made and quite difficult. Unlike all these 3p1c n00bs (jk) I didn't have to use a walkthrough, just trial and error, to solve the puzzles. I like this map and I liked portal pro, keep up the good work

Quote:
I went a really roundabout way getting the CC out of the main puzzle area but it was more or less the same I think.

Me too, I can't remember how I got it through, but I did a more complex way then was required, I felt so dumb when I saw the walkthrough, and I agree, such a simple solution, but the map is made in such a way that u feel completely clueless half of the time

Finished it, got both cakes.

I had to peak a little bit at the walkthrough because the speeds of the platforms was just fast enough for me to think I could do it a different way with ninja timing. That threw me off.

I felt the companion cube was totally redundant, if you lost it you just got another which totally destroys the point of making it a companion cube. It should have just been a normal cube since the only thing special about it was the incineration at the end, which was not really all that well justified and I was told to incinerate the cube about 60 seconds after getting the damn thing and being told to look after it. I did a lot of cube swaping too, realising halfway through something I'd realise i'd got the wrong cube on the pad, but if I emancipated the WCC I'd just get given another one..IMHO you should just totally remove everything to do with it being a WCC and just make it a normal cube because it was just a total waste and only acts to water down any proper WCC levels. (ie use it when you need to, not when you can)

I'm pretty sure it was only a CC because of the scoring system in the contest they had, but I agree with you entirely that it was extremely arbitrary.

youme wrote:
Finished it, got both cakes.

I had to peak a little bit at the walkthrough because the speeds of the platforms was just fast enough for me to think I could do it a different way with ninja timing. That threw me off.

I felt the companion cube was totally redundant, if you lost it you just got another which totally destroys the point of making it a companion cube. It should have just been a normal cube since the only thing special about it was the incineration at the end, which was not really all that well justified and I was told to incinerate the cube about 60 seconds after getting the damn thing and being told to look after it. I did a lot of cube swaping too, realising halfway through something I'd realise i'd got the wrong cube on the pad, but if I emancipated the WCC I'd just get given another one..IMHO you should just totally remove everything to do with it being a WCC and just make it a normal cube because it was just a total waste and only acts to water down any proper WCC levels. (ie use it when you need to, not when you can)

I agree in the fact that the weighted companion cube should not have been "refundable". However, I noticed a lot of fizzlers using a non-standard particle effect. I'm thinking that they were meant to not affect the WCC. I'd like to see some way of preventing Cindy from being fizzled, such as func_clip_vphysics around the standard fizzlers.

Overall, it's an awesome map, but with a few (see above) that need to be fixed.

msleeper wrote:
I'm pretty sure it was only a CC because of the scoring system in the contest they had, but I agree with you entirely that it was extremely arbitrary.

The idea of incinerating a cube wouldn't make sense with a|| normal ||weighted storage cube.

Yeah what I mean is that whole CC +|| incinerator concept should have been ||scrapped, and it seems like it only exists to pad points in the contest.

Also, easy on the spoiler tags there killer. Or try using bigspoiler.

Ah, I was unaware of any special prerequisites regarding the presence of a WCC.

I didn't notice any non-standard fizzlers though, where were they? the small square ones with the raising buttons just had four particle effects close and at different angles, that's possibly why they looked different

Overall the complexity of the puzzle was about right for me, it was just hindered by all the getting the right cube which actually didn't matter at all.

I also noticed a few unorthodoxies: The unstationary platform beams (and ends) kill you which I found quite annoying, what looked like an easy jump to the other side became a
quick death. There are never any slanted tiles in portal except a few chamfered corners, but near the outside cake there are a few which felt odd.

Just a niggle: The two unstationary platforms, when they were in the 'home' position, I'd have liked to be able to run straight over them but there was a gap on one side which I felt was just a little bit of an unnecessary death hazard. (I have strong opinions on death as a punishment in games)

Also, I'm tearing it down cause it was good, don't forget that

Thanks for the suggestions regarding the WCC, but I am not convinced that it should be changed. And no, it wasn't added just to get points for the contest, but that helped. The fact that you can destroy the WCC and get a replacement was planned from the start. What do you think the name of the map is referring to?

There are many reasons why I used the WCC rather than another normal cube.
1. You can tell the two cubes apart.
2. The intended solution requires you to destroy the normal cube while keeping the WCC alive. This forces you to think about which cube to use for what, and it adds depth to the puzzle.
3. Part of the puzzle is to get that specific cube to the incinerator room. If it was just a button, then either cube should work, it can't be two buttons because then it would be impossible, and if it wasn't a WCC, the incinerator wouldn't make much sense.
4. Most of the dialog plays off of the original WCC dialog from the game. It provides an excuse for glados to say some ironic stuff, like telling the player to take care of it just so that it can be properly incinerated later.
5. The incinerator is a great excuse to make a cool fire room.

I could have added another type of cube so that the player could tell them apart, but that new mechanic would require extra training and explanation at the beginning of the map. Why would I do that when the WCC skin conjures all of the expectations and associations I want the player to have? (e.g., Try not to kill it until you get it to a certain point, it is more important than the other cube, only it can activate the exit door, etc.)

youme wrote:
if you lost it you just got another which totally destroys the point of making it a companion cube

I don't think it totally destroys the point, it's just a minor difference. In my opinion the WCC should be about more than just bringing it through a set of puzzles without being allowed to destroy it. In this map the player gets punished for destroying the WCC early. If he does, he must stop what he is doing and go get another, or load. At the same time, the intended solution requires that you destroy the normal cube. There is a drastic difference between the two cubes, because of where they are dropped, that I want the player to realize. I too am annoyed when a map has a WCC just for the sake of having it, but I think this map uses the WCC concept well (even if it is a little different than how the original game uses it).

Nightgunner5 wrote:
I'm thinking that [the fizzlers] were meant to not affect the WCC. I'd like to see some way of preventing Cindy from being fizzled, such as func_clip_vphysics around the standard fizzlers.

If I were to add invisible walls to all the fizzlers so that only the WCC couldn't pass and invisible floors so you couldn't drop the cube into the liquid, that would be more arbitrary and exploitable than getting a replacement. I don't like to use invisible walls as a solution because I get frustrated myself when I encounter something like that in a custom map.

Tl;dr: Yes, it is odd that you can destroy the companion cube and get a replacement, but it serves other purposes in the map.

youme wrote:
it was just hindered by all the getting the right cube which actually didn't matter at all.

As I was writing this, I saw this post. If it didn't matter which cube you used for certain things then you probably have found an alternate solution. In this case I can see how the WCC would feel unnecessary. Can you explain further?

Mevious wrote:
As I was writing this, I saw this post. If it didn't matter which cube you used for certain things then you probably have found an alternate solution. In this case I can see how the WCC would feel unnecessary. Can you explain further?

Unless I'm mistaken, until you get to the actually taking the WCC to the endthere is no part of the puzzle which requires 3 cubes to do, so each smaller 'section' of the puzzle can be done with either cube and you simply have to go get another WCC at the end when getting the WSC would have been easier to do.

And I think you're wrong about the WCC being respawned as not defeating the point of the WCC itself. The whole point of the WCC is that you have to protect it and take it with you, if you are able to lose it and can just get another then why even have it? If you lose your WCC then you should have to start again from the point where you first get it. That is what the WCC is for. (And that's why there are no fizzlers or water in the original WCC chamber, so you can't lose it)

If I was gunna walk into a high security facility and needed a swipe card to get through every door to get to the top secret core of it, I'd have to keep my card with me. If I lost it then I wouldn't be able to progress and there would be no helpful person running down the corridor with a replacement when I reached a door and didn't have my card with me. I'd have to retrace my steps until I was where I lost it, pick it back up and take it with me.

In short: The WCC should never ever be respawnable, that is as fundamental a mechanic of Portal as the orange portal leading to the blue portal.

youme wrote:
Mevious wrote:

As I was writing this, I saw this post. If it didn't matter which cube you used for certain things then you probably have found an alternate solution. In this case I can see how the WCC would feel unnecessary. Can you explain further?

Unless I'm mistaken, until you get to the actually taking the WCC to the endthere is no part of the puzzle which requires 3 cubes to do, so each smaller 'section' of the puzzle can be done with either cube and you simply have to go get another WCC at the end when getting the WSC would have been easier to do.

And I think you're wrong about the WCC being respawned as not defeating the point of the WCC itself. The whole point of the WCC is that you have to protect it and take it with you, if you are able to lose it and can just get another then why even have it? If you lose your WCC then you should have to start again from the point where you first get it. That is what the WCC is for. (And that's why there are no fizzlers or water in the original WCC chamber, so you can't lose it)

If I was gunna walk into a high security facility and needed a swipe card to get through every door to get to the top secret core of it, I'd have to keep my card with me. If I lost it then I wouldn't be able to progress and there would be no helpful person running down the corridor with a replacement when I reached a door and didn't have my card with me. I'd have to retrace my steps until I was where I lost it, pick it back up and take it with me.

In short: The WCC should never ever be respawnable, that is as fundamental a mechanic of Portal as the orange portal leading to the blue portal.

Wait, what?
There were three cubes?

youme wrote:
And I think you're wrong about the WCC being respawned as not defeating the point of the WCC itself. The whole point of the WCC is that you have to protect it and take it with you, if you are able to lose it and can just get another then why even have it?

You still need to protect the WCC, in fact since it can be destroyed means you need to be more protective of it. What's the point of protecting it in a chamber where nothing can destroy it?

youme wrote:
If you lose your WCC then you should have to start again from the point where you first get it.

You do. It's not like the cube is just handed to you here. If you lose it then you essentially lose all progress you have made since you got it. You need to retrace your steps and get it again, at least I thought so. I think you have found a solution that I'm not aware of.

youme wrote:
In short: The WCC should never ever be respawnable, that is as fundamental a mechanic of Portal as the orange portal leading to the blue portal.

It seems we just have a difference of opinion here. I don't think either of us is going to convince the other at this point.

youme wrote:
Unless I'm mistaken, until you get to the actually taking the WCC to the endthere is no part of the puzzle which requires 3 cubes to do, so each smaller 'section' of the puzzle can be done with either cube and you simply have to go get another WCC at the end when getting the WSC would have been easier to do.

Wuh? How would you get 3 cubes? Or if I misunderstood, how did you get to where a new WCC drops while the normal cube is still sitting on the button to turn off the fizzler?

I meant where you'd use two, emancipate one then have to get another to complete the current task

Oh I think I just realized how you solved it. If you found the secret cakes first, then you probably used that path to get to the WCC. If you get the normal cube to the button to turn off the fizzler and then get back to the WCC via the secret cake room, you could potentially bring the WCC straight to the incinerator without messing with the WSC again.

I didn't think about that solution. I could potentially force the player to get the WSC again, but it seems like such an unnecessary restriction. If someone has gotten that far then they are very close to the end anyway.

Looking at the competition results, I think the point system was flawed. The map that got the second highest score, Map 'o' fun, recieved the lowest overall score from the community members, but because it had many of the requirements for the competition, it recieved a high score. In fact, if quark hadn't gotten the highest community rating, it would have recieved less points overall than Map o fun did.

(Why am I posting this here? Because I can. Without upsetting anyone on MAL.)

hanging_rope wrote:
Looking at the competition results, I think the point system was flawed. The map that got the second highest score, Map 'o' fun, received the lowest overall score from the community members, but because it had many of the requirements for the competition, it received a high score. In fact, if quark hadn't gotten the highest community rating, it would have received less points overall than Map o fun did.

(Why am I posting this here? Because I can. Without upsetting anyone on MAL.)

No, I'm moderator at MAL, and I totally agree (...is it just cause my map got like 90 points? XD)

My map was the longest, and had the highest filesize (it's the largest file on MAL, just sort by filesize to see) but because of that I got tons of points taken away. Nickworks mentioned that he wants to tweak the point system for the next contest, which I'm assuming will be after portal 2 comes out (assuming he doesn't want to conflict with TWP's)

p0rtalplayer wrote:
No, I'm moderator at MAL, and I totally agree (...is it just cause my map got like 90 points? XD)

I was mainly referring to those 12 year olds that can't take criticism and sometimes don't even let others take criticism.

Mevious, Nice map. I have not read the spoiler info in this thread. I have solved about 50% of the puzzle. The only hint that I'm looking for is whether or not the map can be solved using only the two cubes to trigger the super buttons, or does the puzzle require the use of other items that can be found within the play boundaries of the map? I know the puzzle can be solved with the use other items that currently exist in the map, but I'm seeking to know if can be solved without them. To be clear, I am not asking about using cheats, glitches, or stunts such as walk climbing or OoB play Thanks! .

JackSafari wrote:
Mevious, Nice map. I have not read the spoiler info in this thread. I have solved about 50% of the puzzle. The only hint that I'm looking for is whether or not the map can be solved using only the two cubes to trigger the super buttons, or does the puzzle require the use of other items that can be found within the play boundaries of the map? I know the puzzle can be solved with the use other items that currently exist in the map, but I'm seeking to know if can be solved without them. To be clear, I am not asking about using cheats, glitches, or stunts such as walk climbing or OoB play Thanks! .

You can do it with just cubes. The usability of other items was a mistake.

Thanks. I finished the map without watching\reading any walkthroughs. I estimate to took me a couple hours total to solve the puzzle. It takes a while to analyze the map to get a sense of what needs to be done and in what order. Clearly not a map that can be solve using ad-hoc methods of solving puzzles.

One thing that is cool about Mevious's map design is at any point you can try something different without the concern of getting stuck and being forced to reload from a save and repeat completed sections to get back to where you were. In Resurrection, I was always able to try something different without relying on saved games thus I ultimately figured out what combinations needed to happen to reach the exit elevator.

Note: During my first attempt I discovered within about 15-20 minutes I could blow out the windows to the offices using the rocket launcher and then use the chairs to trigger the super buttons. Without knowing the authors intent\goal the first time through, it's always possible using the chairs was the only solution (so I asked). I suspect this will be a common method for a lot of gamers who get stumped or want to claim they beat the map without having to solve the puzzle. This method seemed too easy and a rather cheap shortcut (no satisifaction), so on my second attempt I solved the puzzle in the way the author had intended

Here is how I completed the chambertIToJIKG5sA

You would all laugh at me if you knew how I tried to solve the map at first. I spent my first hour trying to blow out the windows above the rising buttons with the rocket turret. And I finally did manage to do that thinking that must be the intended way to go . Then I got my first cake there, which was a beautiful surprise . But that made me think I was on the right path From there I managed to portal to the room with the WCC and got my second cake there which gave me even more confidence. But after that I got stuck and had to peek to the walkthrough only to find a very different and surprisingly easier solution.

Thanks for the entertainment man. That was a good map; although a little hard. Keep up the good work.

Best map I ever played. INCREDIBLE.
And the solution was so ingenious - it must have been a huge effort.
So detailed and intricate.

I really though I had to use the hidden area to shoot a portal into the room with the rocks but realize that is not needed.

This review is for the Portal 2 version of Resurrection, sorry if there is another topic for that one.

The look and feel is very well done. I like the hole in the ceiling with the trees.

I found a potential cheat, not sure because I only almost got it once. If you put a light bridge under the sphere platform, and put a cube on the light bridge, if you jump *just right you can grab the sphere... I think. I was only able to grab it once, but it slipped back onto the platform =). Not a big deal, definitely trickier than the intended solution =). I guess I can understand why the sphere is there initially, so people know that it is a sphere dropper.

Good job overall on your maps in general. Your maps are some of my favorites. I haven't even scratched the surface of Hammer customizations yet, but I would be happy if I could make a puzzle's problem solving on par with a Mevious puzzle. Still working on my first one... =)