[SP] Testing is the future

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soptipp1
60 Posts
Posted Apr 23, 2012
This is my second map release. Its is a map pack where you explore a decayed Aperture Science and start testing as you go deeper into the facility. Feedback is appreciated.

Credits:
Skybox texture: komaokc (http://www.gamebanana.com/css/textures/3097)
Grass texture: TopHATTwaffle (http://www.tophattwaffle.com/?page_id=63)

v 1.0
-release

v1.1
-changed white textures you couldn't place portals on to black textures
-made fizzlers non-solid in map 2 chamber 3
-added a button for the box-dropper in map 2 chamber 3
-made the door close later in the end of map 3 so you won't get stuck
-changed textures and lighting to improve visibility in some areas

v1.2: check workshop for info

Click here to download [SP] Testing is the future

Click here to download [SP] Testing is the future

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RubyCarbuncIe
303 Posts
Posted Apr 23, 2012
Replied 40 minutes later
These are really fun to play, I like how there is always something for the player to do even when not in the testing areas. I liked the idea with the faith plates that was a really creative way to use them. In the end,I thought the rocket escape pod thing was going to take me to the moon. xD Really fun set of maps to play.
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benvent
154 Posts
Posted Apr 23, 2012
Replied 35 minutes later
Nice map pack. Not to difficult and lots to look at. Good Job!
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Logic
298 Posts
Posted Apr 23, 2012
Replied 11 minutes later
I had fun playing these. I think I'll play it through once more tomorrow and give you some feedback on the gameplay and aesthetics of things. But here is my notes on some of the things you might wanna change.

LIST OF PROBLEMS
||Map 1:

Puzzle 1 (Outdoors):
- Some walls in the spawn area have nodraw textures ontop. Make the top texture the same as the side texture

Map 2:

Puzzle 1 (Funnel):
- In the test with the funnel you can get trapped if you're on the exit-door platform and mess up the "cube-change-button" part of the puzzle

Puzzle 2 (Fizzlers & Flinging):
- You can walk on some of the fizzlers on your way to the 3rd floor when flinging
- Don't know if I'm missing something but I couldn't fling myself up to the exit in the second level (skipped it since I have to go to sleep soon)
- Remove the white walls by the exit and replace them with metal surfaces. Might trick some players into shooting at them midair. You can't place portals on them anyway

Map 3:

Puzzle 2 (Circular pressure plates):
- Below one of the cube droppers you have a white texture that you can't place portals on
- The sealing and floors in the downstairs area is white as well but you can't place portals there either. I'd change that so that players know that you can't place portals on there

Puzzle 3 (Escape):
- Hard to find the right way
- It took me a while to understand that I needed the keycard as well. You've already solved the escape pod door problem, the keycard is kinda unnecessary.||
I'm not telling you that the maps were bad just because of all those things, it's just some things I noticed the first time playing.

One more thing:
?r du svensk?

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zivi7
649 Posts
Posted Apr 23, 2012
Replied 7 minutes later
Awesome maps! They are not too difficult, but the visuals, all the custom elements and the idea to go in and escape are just great! Very good work on all the details that made the decayed style work. For example the rusty squeaking sound of that circular faithplate surface.

One very tiny negative thing: That first alarm siren when entering the complex faded out a bit too quickly, making it sound artificial. A real siren would have taken a while to turn completely silent.

Small issue: When I wanted to enter the escape pod, I got stuck in the door and kept turning around automatically. But it was no problem to hit the button from there, the door then closed and pushed me into the pod.

Great job, 5/5 from me.

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Lpfreaky90
2,842 Posts
Posted Apr 23, 2012
Replied 1 hour later
Awesome maps. Visuals were pretty nice, interesting change of scenery. In the final map it took me a while to find the door in the bts part. Very interesting stuff 5/5!
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Kaleido
272 Posts
Posted Apr 23, 2012
Replied 58 minutes later
That was really cool, I enjoyed it a lot

Nice detail and brushwork.. and some of the puzzles were pretty tough, and pretty different. Good work!

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soptipp1
60 Posts
Posted Apr 24, 2012
Replied 5 hours later

Logic wrote:
I had fun playing these. I think I'll play it through once more tomorrow and give you some feedback on the gameplay and aesthetics of things. But here is my notes on some of the things you might wanna change.

LIST OF PROBLEMS
||Map 1:

Puzzle 1 (Outdoors):
- Some walls in the spawn area have nodraw textures ontop. Make the top texture the same as the side texture

Map 2:

Puzzle 1 (Funnel):
- In the test with the funnel you can get trapped if you're on the exit-door platform and mess up the "cube-change-button" part of the puzzle

Puzzle 2 (Fizzlers & Flinging):
- You can walk on some of the fizzlers on your way to the 3rd floor when flinging
- Don't know if I'm missing something but I couldn't fling myself up to the exit in the second level (skipped it since I have to go to sleep soon)
- Remove the white walls by the exit and replace them with metal surfaces. Might trick some players into shooting at them midair. You can't place portals on them anyway

Map 3:

Puzzle 2 (Circular pressure plates):
- Below one of the cube droppers you have a white texture that you can't place portals on
- The sealing and floors in the downstairs area is white as well but you can't place portals there either. I'd change that so that players know that you can't place portals on there

Puzzle 3 (Escape):
- Hard to find the right way
- It took me a while to understand that I needed the keycard as well. You've already solved the escape pod door problem, the keycard is kinda unnecessary.||
I'm not telling you that the maps were bad just because of all those things, it's just some things I noticed the first time playing.

One more thing:
?r du svensk?

Yeah, I thought there would be some issues...

||In the outside area, can you see the nodraw textures? I'll check it out, made it that way to optimize.

You can actually get back in the funnel puzzle since the funnel changes direction if you fail. You can just get back the same way.

About the white walls, I had most of them there to help lighting. I can see how it's confusing and will change the textures and improve lighting instead.||

I'll try to fix the problems.
Och ja, jag ?r svensk. Ganska kasst namn jag vet...

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misjah
2 Posts
Posted Apr 24, 2012
Replied 59 minutes later
Awesome and fun map! Great job!!!
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Logic
298 Posts
Posted Apr 24, 2012
Replied 1 hour later

soptipp1 wrote:
RESPONSE
||In the outside area, can you see the nodraw textures? I'll check it out, made it that way to optimize.

You can actually get back in the funnel puzzle since the funnel changes direction if you fail. You can just get back the same way.

About the white walls, I had most of them there to help lighting. I can see how it's confusing and will change the textures and improve lighting instead.||
I'll try to fix the problems.
Och ja, jag ?r svensk. Ganska kasst namn jag vet...

RESPONSE TO YOUR RESPONSE
||You can see some of the walls top-side. A few more textures won't mess anything up ^^

Oops, guess that you could get back to the other platform, my bad...

It's confusing when you can't place portals on white walls. So changing it is probably the best option ||
Best name ever ^^

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PsyMan
17 Posts
Posted Apr 24, 2012
Replied 58 minutes later
Fantastic map pack, The puzzles were spot on (for me anyway) Details were great, I particularly liked The bedroom scenery room thing if you stray from/explore the girders before the final partHavent had that much fun since the original Portal 2 was released, if I could award 10 I would. Brilliant work.
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sicklebrick
876 Posts
Posted Apr 24, 2012
Replied 1 minute later
Thanks for these sopptipp The first map was a bit of a slow starter, but it was a nice intro to the way you use the testing switches and bts switches. Outdoorness is good too! Good attention to detail, nice well thought out puzzles, decent sized maps, cheers!

Solution
8bjA7Z1M4Qg

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soptipp1
60 Posts
Posted Apr 24, 2012
Replied 2 hours later

sicklebrick wrote:
Thanks for these sopptipp The first map was a bit of a slow starter, but it was a nice intro to the way you use the testing switches and bts switches. Outdoorness is good too! Good attention to detail, nice well thought out puzzles, decent sized maps, cheers!

Solution
8bjA7Z1M4Qg

Wow! You had some really cool solutions I didn't think of when I designed the puzzles.

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sicklebrick
876 Posts
Posted Apr 24, 2012
Replied 1 hour later

soptipp1 wrote:
Wow! You had some really cool solutions I didn't think of when I designed the puzzles.

Balls >.< Thought I was doing this one as intended. Didn't feel cheaty though

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soptipp1
60 Posts
Posted Apr 24, 2012
Replied 8 minutes later
I didn't mean your solutions were wrong, they were just others than the ones I thought of. IMO a smart solution is always good, it doesn't matter if it isn't the intended one.
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hondaott
4 Posts
Posted Apr 24, 2012
Replied 1 hour later
I find them very very well
I hope you do more of it
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Shakky
228 Posts
Posted Apr 24, 2012
Replied 48 minutes later
Great map! I really liked the look and puzzles were pretty fun. Only problem I have with the map is the difficulty because I found none of the puzzles even slightly challenging. Spinning faith plates were great idea!

Also on the part outside the map on beams I didn't notice where I should be going instantly and I was jumping around and hit non solid props and fell to my death.

Still it was really well done map. Great job and I hope we will hear more from you.

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soptipp1
60 Posts
Posted Apr 24, 2012
Replied 44 minutes later
I was worried myself that the puzzles would be a little too easy but I found it hard to make a good map pack with challenging puzzles. That would have taken a very long time for me (since I had to know a lot more about hammer than the basic stuff I knew before to make this map pack). Anyway, if I make a one-chamber map some time in the future it might be more challenging.
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soptipp1
60 Posts
Posted Apr 24, 2012
Replied 27 minutes later
I have now released v1.1 of the map and the problems mentioned before are fixed!
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Dom44
73 Posts
Posted Apr 24, 2012
Replied 7 minutes later
Very, but very cooooooooooool!!! I loved that, pretty nice design, very nice ideas with puzzles and I really liked the escape! That was just awesome. Thanks for making this! Really great work!