My second (and final) Portal 1 project. Five chambers, each of which must be played twice. However, each second round has a twist...

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This was absolutely bloody brilliant! The very first chamber was a little on the "meh" side, but served fine to introduce your try-anything-twice concept. The rest of the chambers were awesome!

I especially loved the part with all the [spoiler]lasers[/spoiler]. First you felt like your were manipulating some kind of really cool physics experiment, and then you felt like you were in Mission Impossible trying to dance around all the [spoiler]laser beams[/spoiler] knowing full well if you touched any you'd get caught!

I'm kinda hoping you will finish this in Portal 2 so many more will get to try it out

Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.

Player1 wrote: I'm kinda hoping you will finish this in Portal 2 so many more will get to try it out
That's a good idea, but I'm already well under way with the last chamber, still for the original Portal. It's puzzle-complete now and I'm currently working on the design.

I will probably adapt the whole series for Portal 2 at some point, with some enhancements...
edit: probably not, that would be a HUGE amount of work...

Strange, but in the second room ([spoiler]with the lasers and redirection cubes[/spoiler]) the [spoiler]laser[/spoiler] on the second floor seems to be too low.. It hits the [spoiler]bottom lip of the angled 'tray' you need to place the first redirection cube on[/spoiler]... I'll try to get a screenshot in a bit..

Have a nice day,
~Sidneys1

Sidneys1 wrote: Strange, but in the second room ([spoiler]with the lasers and redirection cubes[/spoiler]) the [spoiler]laser[/spoiler] on the second floor seems to be too low.. It hits the [spoiler]bottom lip of the angled 'tray' you need to place the first redirection cube on[/spoiler]... I'll try to get a screenshot in a bit..

I had that problem as well. But there exists a solution. With portals.

""

Sidneys1 wrote: Strange, but in the second room ([spoiler]with the lasers and redirection cubes[/spoiler]) the [spoiler]laser[/spoiler] on the second floor seems to be too low.. It hits the [spoiler]bottom lip of the angled 'tray' you need to place the first redirection cube on[/spoiler]... I'll try to get a screenshot in a bit..

Have a nice day,
~Sidneys1

No need for a screenshot; I know exactly what you mean. And it's intended

Did you know the portal2 betas had a mirror cube? before they made that lame glass orb thing? sweet either way

Cool, I didn't know that!
I also started out with a portable mirror, but it was way too difficult to aim accurately. I don't even remember if I decided to make the current cube before or after I saw Valve's laser map demo's

Full version is released!
(Sorry for the double post, but my update of the first post didn't seem to trigger a "topic updated" signal.)

I noticed the update in your signature. ;)

Great map! At first I thought I would be apprehensive of having to run though each chamber twice, but the changes made were interesting and appealing. I can't yet give a full review as I am currently stuck on the third (sixth?) puzzle [spoiler](the one where the room tilts on an angle)[/spoiler], but I can already get an idea of just how much effort has gone into preparing this.

Can't wait to see what you can do with Portal 2!

It's really fun, though I haven't finished it yet. I'm currently on the second version of the 5th chamber. I've also learned that the same method of thinking often won't solve the map on both tries.
With the fourth chamber, I found the part with the [spoiler]energy ball[/spoiler] difficult and the rest simple the first time through. The second time, is was the opposite.
The 5th chamber feels sort of intimidating to me. It took me a long time to figure out where to go from the main room, and I kept mixing up the entrances to the rooms, even on the second time through.
I really like the way that you see the changes that happen, even if the effects aren't obvious at first. The 5th chamber feels like it needs a bit more direction, but that'a partially because that's where I'm stuck now.
I noticed two problems:
[spoiler]in the first time through the fourth chamber, the energy ball started bouncing wrong at one point. On the final bounce before going into the receptor for the door, it would bounce at the wrong angle and go towards the back of the room. I don't remember doing anything particularly strange.
In the 5th chamber, at the entrance with the longer chute, I became stuck in the slanted tile at the bottom multiple times. This happened when I would try to go up the chute but not have enough speed. I fell back down and ended up at the foot of the tile. I cannot move from there quickly, but I could generally move eventually, often after crouching.
Sorry about my lack of screenshots for both of these.[/spoiler]
Edit: Completed map, some more comments:
[spoiler]The ladders at the very end were very hard to figure out. I thought that they were important, but I kept trying to jump up them, and that didn't work. Also you can shoot a portal onto the tile that the ladders lead to from below. It doesn't help, but it's sort of weird.[/spoiler]
All in all, it was a beautiful map, though a few of the elements required some very precise/quick movements (mostly on the second time through the fourth and fifth maps). I really enjoyed it, and I can't wait to see what you create for Portal 2.

Thanks for your comments, guys!

bugs
[spoiler]I got multiple reports from different people of the energy ball misbehaving, but I can't replicate it on my computer and I have no idea why it's doing that. Pretty frustrating.

About getting stuck when falling back down the chute: I think I know what you mean and I'll note that on the bugs list. I might release an update some time in the future, but I want to collect some more comments first; perhaps there are other things that need fixing.

The ladders work like in Half-Life 2. You should automatically climb up when you keep walking forward. I don't know for sure if it's another bug or if the fact that you're jumping makes any difference.[/spoiler]

I've reinstalled Portal1 just for playing this map. That was the best idea i had this month.
This was really great. I'm working on a speed run for spread it to youtube, but will be a loooong job.

P.S. I encountered a little glitch during my first playthrough.
[spoiler]the second time on second room, only one cube fallen from the dispenser. Even pressing the button won't fix that. I realoaded and everything worked fine.[/spoiler]

Wow, that's a commitment!

I love watching speedruns, especially all the crazy shurtcuts people come up with...
Looking forward to that video " title="Thumbs up" />

I'll also see if I can reproduce the cube bug.

Hey HMW, would you mind if I decompiled the map and tried to remake it for Portal 2? Without any changes in puzzles or anything?

Sure! But you don't need to decompile anything; the original vmfs are included in the "source" folder.

All my stuff is Creative-Commons licensed, so remakes are completely legit. As long as you mention where you got the original

Don't worry, wouldn't dream of taking credit. By the way, this is my favorite Portal 1 map, it does a lot with what's given to you.

I was very excited when I saw you had finally finished the fifth chamber.

I knew it was going to be bigger and harder than the fourth chamber... but oh man... I didn't expect it to be that big! Now I know why it took you so long to finish it... This is like the most thinking I've ever done in Portal 1... or in any game.

I am recording my first playthrough of the chamber. I think I'm about half way through the second time through it... and the video is already 3 hours long... I'm about to go and finish the rest... but man... the thing I was stuck on before I stopped... I only solved it after thinking about it for 5 minutes after playing. If the solution I came up with is the intended one... that's just pure devious... [spoiler]It's the bit with the button controlling a rising platform and two buttons controlling fiizzlers, one being behind bars.[/spoiler]

If you want to see my initial playthrough, I can do a lot of editing of my 3+ hours of footage to speed up boring bits. Otherwise, I'll just scrap the whole idea... Again, I had no idea it would be so long.

All I've been doing is giving praise... Maybe when I've finished it I'll come back and give you any suggestions.

So anyway, thanks so much for mapping. I look forward to seeing what you can do with Portal 2!

EDIT: Well, I've finished it now. It ended up at a total of 2 hours 20 minutes... and not 3+ hours like I said. Still, I'll edit it down as much as possible. In the video, I'll add annotations of my suggestions. The main problem with such a huge map is guidance...

Cool, another video! I can't wait to watch it " title="Thumbs up" />

The last puzzle is the result of "a bit of a brainwave". (Or, more accurately, [spoiler]of me getting hit on the head by exploding cubes while playtesting " title="LOL" />.[/spoiler])
The intended solution is: [spoiler]after the platform has come down, walk past the cube to start its timer, then step onto the platform. As it rises, put your 'local' portal so that you can catch the next cube on your way up (or have it pass by close enough to get activated), then put the portal back near the button before you reach the top.[/spoiler] I'd love to see how you did it, though. One of the most fun of making maps is to see how other people solve the puzzles.

Blaizer wrote: EDIT: Well, I've finished it now. It ended up at a total of 2 hours 20 minutes... and not 3+ hours like I said. Still, I'll edit it down as much as possible. In the video, I'll add annotations of my suggestions. The main problem with such a huge map is guidance...

You're definitely right about the guidance bit. Based on feedback from other players, I have already identified a few spots to add some extra indicators (arrows and such) to attract the player's attention to things. This is pretty hard to get right the first time, since I already know how to solve it

HMW wrote: Cool, another video! I can't wait to watch it " title="Thumbs up" />

Heh, I'm surprised you remember it... I didn't know what you meant for a second... So long ago...Well, I've started editing it down... speeding the boring bits up. If I finish editing it tomorrow... I'll figure something out with uploading it...

Hey, don't feel like you owe me anything. Take as long as you like!
Also feel free to cancel it if it turns out to be too much work.

Finally finished that:
W7387-vYAeM
Yes, it's segmented for each .bsp, and there was a lot of errors in last map..

Well, this mappack could be the best map ever made for Portal. The second one is Manic Mechanic... Then I became a fan of HMW maps.

The first thing you realize when start any of both mappacks is the "architectural" way of building the chambers. Each of them polished as an architect takes care of every single detail of his own house construction. Simply beautiful.

Try anything twice was already impressive to me even having played only the first 4 maps. The fifth one is the biggest and the hardest one. And it's the one that closes this whole insane thing created by the master HMW. After finishing the 5th map, it's easy to understand, 1: such this long time the 5th map has taken to HMW for finishing it, and 2: the latest map was necessary to show us HMW's idea as a whole... after the 4 first maps "climbing" upwards, the 5th comes: [spoiler]and it's clear that you have to reach the top of the vault... even in the beginning it's hard to figure out the way[/spoiler]. It has been hard to complete, you have to stop playing and rethink once an again about the rooms to find the solution. At the end, I know there has been some places in this 5th map where I didn't do it in the intended way because I didn't even use some "artifacts" in the rooms [spoiler]such as the ball into the pipe pressing a red button... I just forgot about that when I realized that I was able to get the cube from the upper room to the lower one passing across the hole near the glass with the "II" that leads down to the sliding ramp; I just stepped on the cube and pass through...[/spoiler].

My favorite part [spoiler]the tremendous moment after pushing the final red button that transforms all the environment for allowing you the longest way through the acceleration rail... and the music raising...[/spoiler]... Impressive.

The puzzles and invented "artifacts" or machinery shows much cleverness and dedication. They are not simply enjoyable, but also really beautiful to stop there and watch how they work and mechanically change the rooms little by little... The puzzles make you feel an intelligent person when you pass through out the levels, and a lucky guy for finding this treasure amongst all maps there are out there.

Sumarizing, this mappack SHOULD BE played by all those who really like Portal game in its most simple conception: a puzzle game, a logic game, a thinking game...

This mappack, altogether with Manic Mechanic are simply BRILLIANT.

THANK YOU HMW

Can't wait for Portal 2 maps by you... seriously!

infernet89 wrote: Finally finished that:
[video]
Yes, it's segmented for each .bsp, and there was a lot of errors in last map..

That was a lot of fun to watch! Especially how you did the second round of chamber 4 in a completely different way Thanks a lot for making that video!@josepezdj: Thank you for your super nice review! I like that my Portal 1 work is still getting so much attention after the release of Portal 2.Because of that, even though I initially said I wouldn't change this any more, I'm preparing an update that fixes some small bugs, one of which is the one you found, where [spoiler]players can jump down the cube shaft[/spoiler]. (Thanks for pointing that out, by the way.)For the correct solution, watch infernet89's great demo video in the post above yours. It's around the 17:00 minute mark for the first round and 24:20 for the second round. (Though you don't have to [spoiler]knock the cube off the conveyor belt the first time[/spoiler].)

Well I did actually edit that video them weeks ago when I said I'd do it the next day. Still got the problem of encoding and uploading it though...

I got it down to 1 hour 40. I'll watch over it again and polish it a little more. I hope you like feature length films!

So basically what I wanted to say was don't update until you see this video. I don't want all this effort to go to waste

Ok, got it " title="Thumbs up" />

Just played it. The architecture was brilliant, so were the new ideas (lasers, vent, those speed-paths). I only have a few things that disappointed me a little bit:

Map 1: How was I supposed to know I don't have to keep the ceiling button pressed? I had to see a video walkthrough. If I knew that the button should be pressed only for some little moment, I would have figured it myself. That's pretty much non-standard behavior...
Map 3, second round (when the room was sloped): couldn't get the ball fall onto the button because it required pixel-perfect portal positioning and pixel-perfect dropping of the ball there. Dunno how the author of the walkthrough managed it on first try. I have tried numerous tries and then saw that I figured it out myself correctly by watching the walkthrough but couldn't perform it. Frustrating!
Map 4: Timed puzzles are a bad idea " title="Thumbs down" />
Map 5: Only finished some particular puzzles of it. It looks great but is too large to navigate through in reasonable time (and one can get lost, as was already noted).

all in all, I would recommend these maps to everyone

Mek wrote: Map 1: How was I supposed to know I don't have to keep the ceiling button pressed? I had to see a video walkthrough. If I knew that the button should be pressed only for some little moment, I would have figured it myself. That's pretty much non-standard behavior...

The mechanics of the level itself let you know that the button doesn't need to be held. The floor button opens a door temporarily that causes another box to fall onto a button keeping the door open permenantly.



Mek wrote:

I don't think that's the intended solution. A much easier way is to [spoiler]place the ball on the button causing the lift to go up and then do a fling up to the lift. The slanted floor makes a new fling possible thast wasnt possible the first time around.[/spoiler]

'

Mek wrote:

That's a shame. The second half of chamber 5 has one of the coolest new mechanics I've seen in Portal 1 or 2, and some really great challenging puzzles to go with it.

Playing this after the release of Portal 2, the laser room in particular was baffling amazing. Love the idea the player blocking them, and especially the frequency switching. The laser cubes themselves fit well with the standard cubes.

My favourite mappack, after installing it again just to play 5th chamber I haven't expected it will be my best experience with Portal. I was expecting it will be something big, but not that big! When I was playing 5th chamber for the first time it took me 3 hours to finish only this one map! Every map in this mappack is masterpiece, but 5th chamber is godlike. Playing Your mappack was one of my best experiences with video games, thanks HMW. Also, you motivated me to start studying and making something in Hammer editor too.

Congrats on the spotlight!

Awesome Map!!!

Edit: [spoiler]After watching the speed run on youtube, I noticed that you changed the last part of the last map; I mean the glas wall infront of the last pressure switch. It still is possible to stand on the swith and jump to the side, shooting a portal behind that door before it closes. Not a big deal at all, but I thought I let you know[/spoiler]

About time it got spotlighted! "Try Anything Twice" is like the alpha and the omega of P1 modding. I'm not even exaggerating that much: sure, the scene didn't lack in genius projects but such an herculean endeavor to encompass so much for so long happens only once in a lifetime. Do yourself a favor and play it.

Haven't yet had a chance to finish this one due to outside factors, but I'm currently at chamber 4.

There were a lot of times in here when I forgot this was a Portal 1 map pack and not Portal 2. This is the first set of custom Portal 1 maps where I can honestly say I've enjoyed it thoroughly (tried plenty of others, all of them broken in some way). Very polished, excellent use of existing puzzle elements in new ways (still can't believe no Valve map in either game has relied on the Edgeless Safety Cube's rolling capabilities as part of the solution) and a great new element in the [spoiler]multi-colored lasers[/spoiler]. The best part is, absolutely zero of that bizarre reliance on engine glitches or stupid hidden exploits found in 97% of other Portal 1 maps!

Fun all the way through - difficult for one map, near impossible for 5 in a row. Well done sir. " title="Thumbs up" />

Thanks for all those kind comments guys! When I uploaded the first version containing chamber 5, I was a bit afraid that everyone would have moved on to Portal 2, and that my work wouldn't get much attention. I certainly wouldn't have thought that it would become a spotlight! That's totally sweet

And of course this happens just when I decide to take a short break from the forums because of other things needing my time... So thanks, Mevious, for filling in for me in the meantime " title="Thumbs up" />
(By the way, [spoiler]the fling solution is the intended one.[/spoiler])

ddeo wrote: Also, you motivated me to start studying and making something in Hammer editor too.
Cool! I'm inspiring people
Mapping is a lot of fun (except for some occasional " title="Fuck my life" /> moments), and learning it is fun too, as long as you don't try to reach for the stars right away. (As mentioned in plenty of other places on this site, the Valve mapping wiki is your friend.)

Valthiel wrote: [spoiler]It still is possible to stand on the swith and jump to the side, shooting a portal behind that door before it closes. Not a big deal at all, but I thought I let you know[/spoiler]
Oh I'm ok with that. I put the extra wall in only to 'slightly discourage' that solution. It's not much of an exploit since you still need to get [spoiler]an untriggered cube into the room to hold down the other button. (This is essentially just a checkpoint; the real puzzle is in the previous room.)[/spoiler]

HMW - Really great to see that you finished the map set. Number 5 is a fitting masterpiece capstone for the other four. I had to remember how to run a portal 1 map. Then what a treat this map is...consistent with your mapping, no gimmicks just complex puzzles. Maybe just a bit too complex - not sure if guidance would have helped reduce frustration - maybe? ...Still I got to the end.... The posted run(s) should help anyone who is really stuck....
a 5 rating? -- should be a 7 of 5!... this truly is a portal community spotlight map. thank you for persevering with P-1.!!

Wow! Seriously, the concept is amazing. The new elements based on existing elements, very cool. The fact that you made it work 5 times, unbelievable!

I am stuck, though.

Not sure which chamber it is. 4 or 5, I think. It's the one that starts with an [spoiler]energy ball puzzle[/spoiler].
Stuck-getting
[spoiler]The energy ball presses the energy button making the door open, I go in, push the button, get out, use portals to make the energy ball hit button I, as the ball leaves the portal I place the second portal in front of button II so it'll hit it later, and go catch the elevator. I go up the elevator, when the energy ball presses button II the bridge goes into place and I walk past. There I made the energy ball enter the reciever thingy, which I have no idea what it did, and no new energy balls are made. I fall back down to the floor, with no way to get back up.[/spoiler]
From here, I see no way to continue.

I'm pretty much done for today, so I'll try again tomorrow, but I don't think I can get past this without help.


Edit: It's tomorrow. I played it a bit, found what I was missing (I hate not seeing small white walls) and am now in chamber 5. Quite stuck, but I think I'll get through this one. I'll post here if not.

I LOVE those speedy things. Too bad they're scripted

EDIT: I see you figured that out already; congrats " title="Thumbs up" />

Let me know if you need any more help

ANOTHER EDIT: The "speedy things" are 100% map-entity based. Check the source VMF if you want to see how they work

I suppose this can be called a spoiler
[spoiler]Sometimes I go through a portal at ludicrous speed and spawn on the other side, no speed or anything. In layman's terms - speedy thing goes in, speedless thing comes out. This didn't happen in places where the speed was useful (like for getting through the square pipe things to the test chambers), which is why I was sure they're scripted. I don't know anything about mapping and not even sure if "scripted" is the right word - I meant that it only works where you hard-coded it to work and not dynamically anywhere.[/spoiler]

Cheating and more stuck-getting
[spoiler]I reached a room where there's a pipe with a ball inside it that holds down a button. There's a button that can rotate the pipe, causing the ball to fall to the other side and let go of the button. You know the rest of the place
I've gotten myself stuck inside a cage above the chamber, and I think this is intended. From here I can do all sorts of things: I can drop a cube down to the conveyor belt (but not myself), I can use a very cool pusher thingamabob using portals and I can basically push from any white wall (YOU ARE GENIUS), and I can place portals on most of the chamber. I needed to get the cube on a button so that I can get out of this limited position. I could not figure out how to continue, as I can only have one cube at a time so I can't have another cube holding down the button to make the first cube fall down to the button. Eventually I resorted to 'cheating' and using physics to fling the box to the button with portals. This allowed me to go out to the chamber again by placing one portal there and another portal where the cubes spawn, but I am still quite stuck. I can't continue, but I can 'cheat' again and go back to a button which makes a lift go down. I can hold the button down, and when the lift is all the way down jump through a portal and stand on it platformer-style. I can even go here with the cube if I want, I am still stuck.[/spoiler]


I'm not sure if giving it another try will help me... Did I break the game somehow or am I just missing something?

I try to refrain from "me too" posts; only commenting if I find a bug or have a suggestion " title="Blah blah blah" /> . But these maps are just too fantastic to sit idly by without heaping praise on their maker " title="We're not worthy!" /> .

It took me three days to get through all of these, and I didn't get stuck even once. Considering how I stumbled around, that's amazing! Sure, I used some quick saves to avoid having to use the resets, but only after using the reset once.

I handicap myself by playing with a controller instead of a mouse, so the pointy-shooty bits can give me trouble. However, the only puzzle I noclipped past was [spoiler]punting the explodocube off the conveyor belt[/spoiler]. While an extra second or two might have helped, the real sticking point for me was hitting [spoiler]the portal on the piston[/spoiler]. It was hard to hit just standing there, let alone under time pressure.

I look forward to playing these maps again and again. Sheer genius!!!

EDIT 10/9/2011: In the fifth chamber, there are gaps in the glass floor of the main chamber that you can see through but not shoot through. I wouldn't have spent as much time looking down if those panels were flush with their surroundings.

NeatNit wrote: I suppose this can be called a spoiler
[spoiler]Sometimes I go through a portal at ludicrous speed and spawn on the other side, no speed or anything. In layman's terms - speedy thing goes in, speedless thing comes out. This didn't happen in places where the speed was useful (like for getting through the square pipe things to the test chambers), which is why I was sure they're scripted. I don't know anything about mapping and not even sure if "scripted" is the right word - I meant that it only works where you hard-coded it to work and not dynamically anywhere.[/spoiler]

Ah, now I see what you mean by scripted. I thought it was referring to some sort of programming Because of game engine limitations, the speed gained from the accelerator is not maintained across portals. So I added 'pushers' at designated exit points to simulate the effect. So it is indeed scripted in the sense that it only works in the situations where I designed it to work. (Adding pushers for all possible portal placements would stress the game beyond its limits, unfortunately.)

""


NeatNit wrote:

Don't worry, I don't think you broke the game.Infernet89 has made a great video of this map pack. It's speedrun style, but you can see the correct solution for that part. (It's around the 17:00 minute mark.)There's a tricky part coming up after that, so if you get stuck there, just keep watching @KennKong: That one part must be seriously hard with a controller; I completely understand why you skipped that.You have a valid point about the [spoiler]design of the glass floor. I must admit that I had doubts myself about it, but in the end I decided that it just looked better the way it is. I assumed that there would be enough mechanical activity going on up above, that most players would realise where they should be going.[/spoiler] Unfortunately these assumptions never work out for absolutely everyone, since every player observes and explores their surroundings in a different way.

HMW wrote: NeatNit wrote: I suppose this can be called a spoiler
[spoiler]Sometimes I go through a portal at ludicrous speed and spawn on the other side, no speed or anything. In layman's terms - speedy thing goes in, speedless thing comes out. This didn't happen in places where the speed was useful (like for getting through the square pipe things to the test chambers), which is why I was sure they're scripted. I don't know anything about mapping and not even sure if "scripted" is the right word - I meant that it only works where you hard-coded it to work and not dynamically anywhere.[/spoiler]
Ah, now I see what you mean by "scripted". I thought it was referring to some sort of programming
Because of game engine limitations, the speed gained from the accelerator is not maintained across portals. So I added 'pushers' at designated exit points to simulate the effect. So it is indeed scripted in the sense that it only works in the situations where I designed it to work. (Adding pushers for all possible portal placements would stress the game beyond its limits, unfortunately.)

Interesting. What are the engine limitations? I thought momentum and speed are reserved across portals, so it's stange that when doing this they're not.


HMW wrote:

Thanks for that link!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7387-vYAeMt=17m38s (if the link doesn't send you there automatically, go to 17:38)Is this the proper way to get up there? Seems pretty cheatery to me :/ (this is what I had to do because I couldn't figure out any other way out of the area)Also I didn't pass that part the way it was designed and I see now what I was supposed to do. Oh well Edit: Oh I think I realised what the proper way is!

&

NeatNit wrote: Interesting. What are the engine limitations? I thought momentum and speed are reserved across portals, so it's stange that when doing this they're not.

I use trigger_push entities to speed up the player. There are other ways to make the player move, but this turned out to be the most reliable / least glitchy. The only negative is this instant speed loss through portals, which is why I made another trigger_push take over once you exit the portal.Another screwy thing with this entity is that, while it is possible to rotate it in-game, the pushing direction vector doesn't rotate with it, so I couldn't make just one exit-pusher that moves with the exit portal. I had to make separate ones for every place and direction where a player might get launched out of a portal.





NeatNit wrote:

Ehhh... no. I forgot that he did it that way The intended way is to [spoiler]re-use a certain thing from the previous room.[/spoiler] I'll leave it at that for now

Just finished first run-through; what an experience! A fun and challenging addition to the portal collection. [spoiler]It took me a minute to see the pusher device that everyone has been talking about, but after that the puzzle wasn't too hard. The only place I got stuck and had to watch the speed run video was in the fifth map, second time, the room with the tall elevator and the two fields on the exit.

I really like the novel changes you made in each of the second times through each map. The exploding cubes were especially fun![/spoiler]

Keep up the good work! " title="Thumbs up" /> " title="We're not worthy!" /> I can't wait for some portal 2 maps. Will you be focusing on single player or co-op?

Thanks! You did pretty well if the only thing you had to look up was that last room.
That one's pretty out of the box. [/incrediblylamepun]

The map I'm working on now is single player. I haven't played much co-op yet.

I thought it was about time I played this one since I remember when you posted screenshots in the showcasing thread.

Absolutely stunning! This map can be truly described with the word epic - it's got a sprawling size, breath-taking detail and scenery, and, most importantly, ingenious puzzles. I may have spent about 3 hours on the whole thing.
You should have seen the grin on my face when I saw how huge the last chamber was And you've got to love those [spoiler]exploding cubes[/spoiler].
While I can't think of any thing bad to say about it, a few things stuck in my mind at the end. It wasn't a problem to me, but if it is for you, in the room with the treadmill, I did not have to use the button that tilted the sphere in the tube. It wasn't until later that I figured out what it was supposed to be for, I could easily push the cube to the button without it. And I'm not entirely sure about those ladders at the end. I didn't even know they were ladders at first (they weren't really used in Portal, except for that broken one). That could have just been me being dumb, I did accidentally overcomplicate a few parts. I felt lame getting stuck at the very end while I was still thinking in terms of flinging.

Hey hmw? What's an average time to beat the whole pack? Because kizzycocoa claims he beat the entire mappack in 2 hours, which I don't believe at all, as I took over 2 hours for the final map alone...

[EDIT]

BTW I love your style, very very diverse and unique, I'm gonna steal some of your style ideas for a map, k? " title="Thumbs up" />

Wow man, wow. This is by far the best user-made Portal 1 or Portal 2 map I have ever played. The map had such a cool atmosphere, and it felt like a brand new game - the game that should have come between Portal 1 and Portal 2. I loved all of the new elements, and you just felt like a badass when you solved one of the puzzles. I had so much fun with this, and I spent a lot of time playing it. Some of the solutions were quite hard! Thanks for a creative, new, fun Portal map! I had a such a blast playing it that when I wasn't playing it, I was thinking about it in my head. Awesome job man

Well, my friend, I just would like to say thanks for this map.
It was a really great one, I enjoyed it really

Again, thanks for all the nice words guys!

Random wrote: It wasn't a problem to me, but if it is for you, in the room with the treadmill, I did not have to use the button that tilted the sphere in the tube. It wasn't until later that I figured out what it was supposed to be for, I could easily push the cube to the button without it.
Not a problem; it's a creative alternate solution. In fact, for upcoming maps I'm trying to work towards more open puzzles where there's a number of ways to solve them, instead of designing a Single True Solution and blocking off all alternatives. (More like the advanced maps in Portal 1.) It increases the chance for any given player to come up with a satisfying solution that works well for them.

Random wrote: And I'm not entirely sure about those ladders at the end. I didn't even know they were ladders at first (they weren't really used in Portal, except for that broken one). That could have just been me being dumb, I did accidentally overcomplicate a few parts. I felt lame getting stuck at the very end while I was still thinking in terms of flinging.
The ladders were a bit of a gamble. I would have liked to have used stairs of some sort, but that would have been a lot harder to make. (Remember that any additional parts have to somehow fit inside that central area until the final transformation of the room.)


yohoat9 wrote: Hey hmw? What's an average time to beat the whole pack? Because kizzycocoa claims he beat the entire mappack in 2 hours, which I don't believe at all, as I took over 2 hours for the final map alone...
That's hard to say. To avoid possible excrement weather formations, I don't want to comment on Kizzycocoa's claim specifically. However, the time of the first play-through for creative-thinking maps like these depends largely on how long it takes one to get the "a-ha moment" for a puzzle, and this can vary a lot between players. There are some places where, if the coin drops at the moment you walk through the door, you'll be out of there in under a minute. However, if it doesn't, and you have to go try different things, it can take a lot longer.

One more thing.

There was a bug for me.
When I finished a map, and went to a elevator, it's started but there wasn't level change for me.
The elevator just stopped, and nothing happened.

I had to edit the map_hmw01.bns after every map, to start on the next level.

I don't know what was the problem.

Did you copy the files to the right place in your Portal folder? If you followed the instructions in the readme file, you should have copied the "maps" and "materials" folder over (not into!) the existing maps and materials folders.

The complete path to the map_hmw01.bns file should be:

"C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\your_account_name\portal\portal\maps\hmw\map_hmw01.bns".

(If you're on 64-bit Windows then "Program Files" is replaced by "Program Files (x86)".)

Just felt compelled to say that this was the best community map or collection of maps I've ever played for either Portal. It even rivals the real games. It struck the perfect balance between difficulty and reward. I never felt like something was impossible or poorly designed but at the same time it never stopped being challenging. I loved the way it built on various mechanics that were introduced and sometimes turned them completely on their head. Great job all around.

Excellent map. Really, really, good job.

...that's all. " title="Thumbs up" />

How do I play the map? Whenever I download the file it's a .7v extension and I don't know what to dow with it. There's no read-me so I'm clueless.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=.7z

My bad; I should have mentioned that in the description.
(Fixed.)

The program is called 7-zip and you can download it at 7-zip.org.

winrar works for 7zip files also as well as zip

Some incredible ideas here. [spoiler]You made Portal 1 variants of lasers and hard light surfaces? Awesome. Then I met the exploding cube.[/spoiler] " title="We're not worthy!" />
Places I was stuck
[spoiler]Gutterball: was the gray surface under the ball dropper supposed to be portal-able? And, once the map was rotated, should I have been able to climb the "vent" up into that room? And how was I supposed to put the ball on the button? (I tried a few pointless things until one was "close enough" and noclipped up.)

Unreal Air (?): During phase II, I got stuck when I was in a room with three buttons (one controlling a lift, one an emancipation grid, and one high above controlling an emancipation grid in a hallway leading into the next room, with two more buttons. As far as I could tell, I could only have one cube at a time. What was I supposed to do?[/spoiler]
Incredible skills on display here. Several hours of puzzle-solving.

help
[spoiler]Gutter ball:
the grey surface is portal-enabled, but you can also just crawl in there, get the ball and then place it on the lift button.
To get up on top of the lift, you have to use a technique that is only possible with the rotated room, but it needs to be in the raised position.
(Additional hint: it involves this.)

Unreal Air:
I'll admit that the last bit is pretty hard, but you're almost there!
I assume that you figured out the basic idea: you leave one portal open at the dispenser (the one with the alignment mechanism), so you get an automatic replacement for exploded cubes, and you can make said replacement land on buttons without having to get near it. Then just follow this explanation I wrote earlier.[/spoiler]
I'm glad to hear that you like my custom mechanisms. I've already started working on a new testing element for Portal 2, that looks like it has lots of mind-bending possibilities...

HMW wrote: help
[spoiler]Unreal Air:
I'll admit that the last bit is pretty hard, but you're almost there!
I assume that you figured out the basic idea: you leave one portal open at the dispenser (the one with the alignment mechanism), so you get an automatic replacement for exploded cubes, and you can make said replacement land on buttons without having to get near it. Then just follow this explanation I wrote earlier.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]I had more or less worked out that much although I was wondering how to leave the upper ledge without using the emancipation grid. Its the double emancipation grids that get me. I dont see how I can have the cube on the high button while personally standing on the lower button and shoot through the hallway since geometry forbids this.[/spoiler]

()''()

I'll explain it in a bit more detail:

more help
[spoiler]

1. First, make a cube land on the lift button without triggering it (so it won't explode). Wait for the lift to lower completely.
2. Then go near the cube so it activates, and quickly step on the lift. During this stage, you don't want the next cube to fall on the button because it would send the lift back down too soon, and you also don't want to have one sitting around somewhere else, where you can't get to it any more. Therefore:
3. while going up, place your local portal on the wall so the next cube passes by you. (Or you catch and quickly toss it. It doesn't matter, as long as it's activated so it will explode. Make sure it doesn't land on the lift button.)
4. After doing that, place your local portal back near the lift button.
5. Step off the lift when it reaches the top. The cube you caught and threw away on your way up will eventually explode, and cause a replacement to drop on the lift button, sending it back down once again. You now have a clear path to the room below.
6. Put the local portal near the button at the top (that controls the second exit field) and hop back down.
7. Now pick up the cube from the lift button, put it on the button for the first field and go through. When it explodes, the first field (that you just passed) will come back on, but the next cube will turn off the second field, allowing access to the second room.
8. This airlock-principle is repeated there, with the double doors and the field on the floor above you. (To get a new cube, simply go through your local portal and press the reset button on the dispenser.)

Oh, wow. OK, I think I get it. I will try it later. Thanks for the help.

This was amazing. Your maps have inspired me to create my own maps. I really enjoyed your "style". Your puzzles are challenging, but not in a way that makes you give up. Instead the puzzles urge you to continue hacking at it until you get it right. You used custom signage, detailing, and texture cues effectively. You also brought the same old same old concept of exploding cubes to a whole new level " title="LOL" /> . I am thinking about posting a video playthrough, just to show you how far I went to solve the last puzzle in Chamber 5. It's an interesting solution, but it's probably considered cheating. On that note, I would suggest one thing. Although going to all ends to stop portal peeking is a little extreme, keep in mind that it's not really a cheat, and some would consider it a legit solution, even though my portal peeking solution to Chamber 5 Stage II is most obviously cheating, especially after you explaining the "correct" solution. One last thing, before I ask the question that I've wanted to ask FOREVER: It was very obvious that an extreme amount of effort and quality was put into the map pack, even more than the standard set by Manic Mechanic. Nice Job! You know what they say, Try Anything Twice! (Sorry, just had to do that " title="LOL" /> )

To make this map must have been daunting, so what steps did you take? What kind of drafting did you do, if any? How did you organize the different steps to making a map, such as making the shape, adding logic and physics, and doing lighting? How did you organize the million ideas that went into this map? How did you organize to make the construction of the map as easy as possible (As in, SUPER HARD)?

So you registered on the forum just to say this? That's very nice!
You may want to stick around if you're going to take up map making yourself. There are plenty of people here who can help answer mapping questions. But please read this first!

About the design process: I usually start out with a basic drawing or a small test map and gradually add things to it. There's not really a structured process behind this. The only thing I always try to do, is build things in a such a way that they can be easily changed later. Then it's possible to make it slowly evolve until you're satisfied with it.

I have never made a single map which ended up exactly as I initially planned. Usually it's not even close.

It's been 3 years since I first played Manic Mechanic, and from the beginning I knew that I wanted to map just like you! (AWE O.O) On a more serious note, I had a question. I wanted to map for Portal 2, so that I'm not outdated. That basically wipes my whiteboard of ideas. Especially all the ones with HEPs. " title="LOL" /> So I was wondering if I could bring back the TA2 concept, maybe add a pinch of exploding cubes just to make people groan. " title="LOL" /> I think I'm going to start to like this mapping business. Though I want to try to make it new and refreshing, and I thought making it Try Anything Thrice, but that's just... well... I don't know, what do you think? That was my only idea so far to freshen it up, but I'm sure there is other ways. I'm just not the most creative person in the world.

If you want a HEP launcher in P2 Skotty made some nice instances for it.

IMO a good "play it X times" puzzle is one where the changes in each round are as small as possible, but they cause it to have a radically different solution. (Less like that basement area in TA2 map 5, that changes completely each time, and more like map 3, where the only change is the rotation of the room.) That is hard to pull of though.

I think that the best way to get good at making puzzles, is to play a lot of other people's maps. You'll get a better idea of all the ways that different elements can be combined.

It would probably also be better if you start simple and learn to work with the standard Portal (2) testing elements first, before delving into things like HEPs and whatnot. However, that's just my opinion.

Thanks for all the tips. When I had started making ideas with HEPs was back when Portal 1 was the only Portal. Now I have to scratch them all, plus some. Back to square 1. One last question: What types of puzzles do you try to have in your maps, easy ones? Hard ones? Short ones? Long ones? Ones with new elements? How much of each? A healthy mix? I've never released a map because I was always afraid of the response I would get. Now I think I'll try it!

You can simulate most HEP puzzles with lasers, so you don't need to scratch all of them at least.

They're just not the same. D: It's okay though because I especially hated the HEPs, for the same reason they got removed. Testing puzzles will be much easier now.

lightOfDay wrote: One last question: What types of puzzles do you try to have in your maps, easy ones? Hard ones? Short ones? Long ones? Ones with new elements? How much of each? A healthy mix?

I like to start each new project with relatively easy puzzles, mostly to make players familiar with any new things I introduce. Then I try to gradually increase the difficulty.(By the way, getting the right difficulty level is probably the hardest part of puzzle designing. What is hard for one person may be easy for another. The best way to determine how hard a given puzzle is, is letting many people beta-test it!)

""


lightOfDay wrote:

You should not be too worried about negative responses. People on this site are generally friendly to beginners, as long as you show that you have made some effort to learn about the basics of mapping. Also remember that any (negative) criticism is not directed at you personally, just at your map in its current state. It's an opportunity to learn and improve your work!

The lasers in the second puzzle stopped working.

That wasn't very helpful. Here's what I meant. The lasers no longer redirect or extend through portals. They worked before. Maybe the Steampipe thing broke the laser mechanic? Maybe?

Yeah, I know. Some recent update (steampipe or otherwise) messed some things up in these maps, especially the lasers.

I noticed it some time ago and planned to fix it, but I forgot about it. So thanks for the reminder.

Bump. Is it fixed? Wish to play this map again after all these years! Any chances for the fix?

Someone noticed isse on steamcommunity: http://steamcommunity.com/app/400/discu ... 461662892/

Yeah it got pushed to the back again by other things. (Unfortunately, one of those things is me getting RSI, which means I have to limit the time I spend on the computer.)

Fortunately I have finally found out what the problem is; I'll have a look at it this weekend and see if I can get a fixed version out.

Done!

I had to increase some delays in the laser system to make it stable, so it will be a bit slower than the original version. <Insert Cave Johnson speed-of-light quote here.>

I tested it on both Windows and Linux and it works correctly on both platforms. (I don't own a Mac so I can't test that, unfortunately.)

Thanks You, Unreal Air is a masterpiece.

Not sure if this has already been reported, but in the 4th chamber the [spoiler]HEP deflection[/spoiler] will break after reloading the game. [spoiler]Pressing the button to rotate the deflector panel[/spoiler] will fix this, but doing so requires you to use noclip.

Edit: Noclip not required, [spoiler]the HEP can be redirected through portals to hit the catcher[/spoiler]. Still should be fixed though.

Another bug: Sometimes when using the [spoiler]booster-strip-thingys[/spoiler], the player will become "Stagnant Forever" below the map when [spoiler]the portal at the end is entered[/spoiler].

Thanks for the bug reports, Luke. I am aware of both of these problems.

The [spoiler]ball deflection problem[/spoiler] can perhaps be fixed, but I can't reproduce it reliably so I'm not sure if the solution I have in mind, actually works. The portal glitch happens very rarely for me too and I have not found a way to fix it yet, unfortunately.

This series of maps give me such mixed feelings. On the one hand, it's absolutely amazing: the new elements, the aesthetics, the puzzles, it's all great. On the other hand, some things feel so gimmicky, there's way too much walking/retrying if you fail a small step, and I just ragequit the last puzzle with [spoiler]the timed cube bombs[/spoiler]. I'd love to see some of these elements again, mainly with puzzles specifically designed for each. Would also be great if it was possible to port them to Beemod (especially [spoiler]the Talos-like colored lasers[/spoiler]), but I can see why it could be nearly impossible. Nice work regardless!

HugoBDesigner wrote: Would also be great if it was possible to port them to Beemod (especially [spoiler]the Talos-like colored lasers[/spoiler]), but I can see why it could be nearly impossible. Nice work regardless!

BEE2.4 ports[spoiler]Lasers: Probably. Should they work with normal reflection cubes or should there be a special version?Booster strips: Possibly. The way theyre set up in this map, they only work in specific places, which wouldnt work for BEE2. However, since BEE2 is a Portal 2 mod, trigger_catapult is available for us to use, which may allow it to work anywhere.Timebomb cubes: Probably. Wed need a new design though since Portal 2s cube model is different.Edit: The laser filter things and timebomb defuser fields would also be added, as separate items.[/spoiler]

''
''

I don't think the booster strips would be needed, since we have faith plates. The other two should be good though

Why don't you open an issue for this on the BEE2-items GitHub?

This is one of the best maps I have played, but please, can you upload a walkthrough so that I don't have to use cheat commands all the time?

" title="Deal With It" />