Hi,

I'm new to modern level editing, although did play with DEU quite extensively, if anyone remembers that.

I have decompiled a few official portal levels, and have noticed that ball catchers seem to be built in a sealed room, and an instance created in the desired spot using env_entity_maker. I was just curious, why would this method be used rather than building the ball catcher in place?

Thanks,
John

Modularity.

I thought it might be that, but why just the ball catchers? I haven't been through every level, but I haven't seen anything else done this way.

Also, none of the ball catcher tutorials or prefabs I have come across seem to use this method. Why not?

Valve moves in mysterious ways.

Really, there is more than one way to create many of the effects you see in Portal (or Half-Life or TF2, or probably any game). There is no "right" way to make most setups, with the exception of maybe doors and buttons, and cameras. There are plenty of wrong ways to do them though!

msleeper wrote:
Valve moves in mysterious ways.

Valves turn left or right, for a number of reasons, most commonly to control water flow or some other flow, such as gas or oil.

In the odd occasion Valves levitates and spits out acidic slime while singing "Never Gonna Give You Up".

Valves are also rarely know to be carnivores.

That was a fail attempt at good Humor. But really it's just how they map, and by they, I mean Jeff Lane, and sometimes Robin Walker.

MrTwoVideoCards wrote:
That was a fail attempt at good Humor. But really it's just how they map, and by they, I mean Jeff Lane, and sometimes Robin Walker.

You try and do better.

msleeper wrote:
with the exception of maybe doors .... There are plenty of wrong ways to do them though!

Yeah, that would be my problem (see cake/radio toipic)

Also, lol at 4 mod posts in a row.

Speaking of ball catchers, can anyone offer extremely tricky locations for a puzzle out of them, similar to the one (forgot what level) with the launcher past one emancipator grid and the catcher past another?

Duffedwaffe wrote:
You try and do better.

It's never really a challenge, so I never try cause I know I'd never do that good, since the Internet is serious Business.

i thought the valves joke was pretty funny :-/ i had to read it twice. that makes it pretty good. (of coarse i AM tired, but none the less)

also Aru493: don't shit up this thread by diverting its topic. feel free to make a new thread/discussion about what kind of ball catcher puzzles people would like to see.

and foresthippy. welcome aboard.

rellikpd wrote:
also Aru493: don't shit up this thread by diverting its topic. feel free to make a new thread/discussion about what kind of ball catcher puzzles people would like to see.

I wasn't trying to. I was just asking a question.

I know, I'm fail.

rellikpd wrote:

also Aru493: don't shit up this thread by diverting its topic.

That's what I was doing dude.

shitting up the topic? yeah i agree, i see you do that alot lately
but anyway. i've seen "developers" do LOTS of crazy stuff. sometimes i look at it and think "wtf its easier to do it this way" (and sometimes i look at it and think "WHY THE FUCK would you do it like that?") but programmers/modelers/mappers (like anyone who had a hard/confusing/weird job) usually find the way that works for THEM and sticks with it. regardless if there is an easier way - "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"

I haven't posted in weeks and everyone is pissed off, what have I done?

@Remmiz: You posted.

@Aru493: I can only repeat what others have said: there are multiple ways to do things in Hammer, there is no right way for anything, though there are many wrong ways. Everyone maps in his own way. If you can leave a personal touch to your maps, that's only great, isn't it? Just like everyone has his/her own style of drawing or writing.

im sure lots of maps have hidden quirks about them when you look behind the scenes. I know for a fact mine do... walls that extend further than they need to but im too lazy to trim them back, just for one

Yeah sometimes valve may be lazy to take some things out, and believe me I mean LAZY as hell.

MrTwoVideoCards wrote:
Yeah sometimes valve may be lazy to take some things out, and believe me I mean LAZY as hell.

Yeah like that unconnected bonus part that is in Test Chamber 17?

"Ricotez@Aru493 wrote:
: I can only repeat what others have said: there are multiple ways to do things in Hammer, there is no right way for anything, though there are many wrong ways. Everyone maps in his own way. If you can leave a personal touch to your maps, that's only great, isn't it? Just like everyone has his/her own style of drawing or writing.

Amen to that Ricotez. Everyone adopts a style for their maps, just like a style of hand-writing. It's your stuff, and if it works, and you understand it, then by all means keep on chugin'.

reepblue wrote:
Yeah like that unconnected bonus part that is in Test Chamber 17?

!!! !!! I don't think I noclip'd at all in Portal so I've gotta go check this shit out!!