I recorded my blind playthrough of Part 1, but it took 2:37:59, and that doesn't include the stuff I didn't record because I was having repeated failures. So I just edited the hell out of it to show just the things that worked.
Link: The Ledge, Part 1embedded
WTXEOt9-hEg
I tried zivi7's method for climbing the funnel, but the timing was just too tight for me. The fizzler would come on just as I got above the red field. I felt confident it was the intended solution, and a good part of the two-plus hours was spent attempting that, but I finally had to try something else.

My solution for getting the cube on the 1 dot button was very similar to sicklebrick's, except that I dropped myself and the cube together. I realize now I didn't show how I got the cube into the tower, but it was done by shooting the portal from the 2 dot platform. I pulled off that move while not recording, then went back and did it again. It only took 3 tries. Frankly, I consider that move to be much easier than the similar move required in Chander's Test 1.

I look forward to completing the rest of this map pack. As frustrating as Part 1 was, I had a blast doing it.

Just updated the file: Please download the new version!

KennKong wrote:
I look forward to completing the rest of this map pack. As frustrating as Part 1 was, I had a blast doing it.

Thanks for having taken the time to play and for the vid.

It actually isn't as frustrating as you might think to bring up the cube to the uppermost level if you first climb up and start thinking about a way of doing it from there.
There is a good reason why the sliding windows allow the cube to be inserted above the funnel, and are 'closed' (the gap is narrower then) later on. I am sure that you'd laugh about how easy it actually is. The only frustrating element might be the fact that it requires to climb up thrice. At least if you don't find an alternative way of doing it.

Hope you'll enjoy the rest of the map as well. Please make sure to play the latest version. Else some stupid mistakes would allow you to skip whole puzzle elements. Thanks!

Addendum: Well, as you might possibly have noticed it, in the meanwhile, has become version 3

Here's a demo of me doing map 3 (updated version, I believe). Again, I didn't need to use that laser. Apologies for the shoddy portalmanship, couple of brain spasms and laughable attempt at a cube toss... About 10 mins in total, I think.

theledge3.zip

EDIT: And... I'm done. Overall a highly impressive map pack; looks fantastic for one (though I agree with zivi that in a couple of places it was difficult to see which surfaces took portals - for example, in the mini-laser puzzle at the start of chapter 3). There are some good concepts I haven't seen before (I thought the 'intelligent' surfaces in chapter 4 were especially inspired) and I loved the puzzles, particularly chapter 2 and most of chapter 4. Difficulty is nice and high without being too frustrating and I got a real sense of satisfaction from finally finishing it.

A few notes I had:

• The laser cube next to the funnel in chapter 4 doesn't seem to collide with the player at all - I couldn't stand on it or anything. Not sure if that's intentional or not, but it seems a bit weird.

• A personal thing, but I didn't really like the laser puzzle in part 4 at all. It wasn't quite as bad as I feared when I saw all those cubes, but still... not really my bag. It's also very difficult to tell that the pillar with the cube stuck on top of it accepts portals (perhaps it's not supposed to?) and I only discovered so by wildly firing all over the room. I'm not sure if my solution was intended, but in a way I hope it wasn't as it wasn't very satisfying (spoiler, obviously):
  http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198002380422/screenshot/595842621606917285

Other than that, though, this was easily one of the most enjoyable mappacks I've ever had the pleasure to play through. Many thanks for uploading, and you get a nice juicy 5 from me!

El Farmerino wrote:
Here's a demo of me doing map 3 (updated version, I believe). Again, I didn't need to use that laser. Apologies for the shoddy portalmanship, couple of brain spasms and laughable attempt at a cube toss... About 10 mins in total, I think.

theledge3.zip

Oh dear, you're giving me a hard time. Have just uploaded a new version (sp_the_ledge_v3.rar)...again....
Thank you very much for the dem-file and pointing out the unintended solution. I dearly hope that you guys won't find many more of those exploits.

neco wrote:
I dearly hope that you guys won't find many more of those exploits.

Ha, looking at that picture I just linked for a second time I'm pretty confident I just did....

Yeah.. After watching a few unintended vids, and the kendoggs vid, my suspicions are confirmed. I don't think I'll be playing this pack... While it is beautifully done, some of the solutions require almost perfect timing to execute. I tried kens solution to just the first dot, and even knowing the solution it took me 6 attempts to get it. Thanks for mapping..your efforts are appreciated, but I'll bow out on this one.

@El Farmarino

Quote:
- The laser cube next to the funnel in chapter 4 doesn't seem to collide with the player at all - I couldn't stand on it or anything. Not sure if that's intentional or not, but it seems a bit weird.

Can't confirm that. It behave absolutely normal to me. I can remember that Jose had some problems in the laser puzzle. They weren't solid. I have to ask if he has coped with that problem. I can't remember. Sorry!

Quote:
- A personal thing, but I didn't really like the laser puzzle in part 4 at all. It wasn't quite as bad as I feared when I saw all those cubes, but still... not really my bag. It's also very difficult to tell that the pillar with the cube stuck on top of it accepts portals (perhaps it's not supposed to?) and I only discovered so by wildly firing all over the room. I'm not sure if my solution was intended, but in a way I hope it wasn't as it wasn't very satisfying (spoiler, obviously):

No indeed it's not supposed to; it's a leftover from former versions when I used func_noportals instead of the custom non-portalble surfaces. The solution is totally different. There's also no cube stacking or flipping required Will fix that ASAP, thank you!
However that part was quite different at the beginning but I had to redisign it due to performance issues.

Portal can't handle more than 3 activated reflective cubes without drastic frame-rate drops, when they're within a funnel. Else it's up to 27 reflecto cubes in a row, as far as I've read in a recent thread.

Quote:
Other than that, though, this was easily one of the most enjoyable mappacks I've ever had the pleasure to play through. Many thanks for uploading, and you get a nice juicy 5 from me!

I'm very glad that you liked it despite all the exploits so far. Thank you so much for having taken the time to play, record, comment and rate!

Szieve wrote:
Yeah.. After watching a few unintended vids, and the kendoggs vid, my suspicions are confirmed. I don't think I'll be playing this pack... While it is beautifully done, some of the solutions require almost perfect timing to execute. I tried kens solution to just the first dot, and even knowing the solution it took me 6 attempts to get it. Thanks for mapping..your efforts are appreciated, but I'll bow out on this one.

I can assure you that the intended solution doesn't require that tedious climbing to the uppermost platform. And no perfect timing at all. Read my reply to KennKong if you like.
Things would look different if you'd know the intended solution. Up to you....

neco wrote:
Can't confirm that. It behave absolutely normal to me. I can remember that Jose had some problems in the laser puzzle. They weren't solid. I have to ask if he has coped with that problem. I can't remember. Sorry!

It happened to me once, but when I spawned a new cube via the button, that one was solid.

neco wrote:
Can't confirm that. It behave absolutely normal to me. I can remember that Jose had some problems in the laser puzzle. They weren't solid. I have to ask if he has coped with that problem. I can't remember. Sorry!

Was it maybe something like this? If so, it's an engine bug and not a map issue

a0uaF3dRE2Y

zivi7 wrote:
neco wrote:

Can't confirm that. It behave absolutely normal to me. I can remember that Jose had some problems in the laser puzzle. They weren't solid. I have to ask if he has coped with that problem. I can't remember. Sorry!

It happened to me once, but when I spawned a new cube via the button, that one was solid.

Sounds strange. Will take a look at it. Can you still circumvent activating the laser in 274???

sicklebrick wrote:
neco wrote:

Can't confirm that. It behave absolutely normal to me. I can remember that Jose had some problems in the laser puzzle. They weren't solid. I have to ask if he has coped with that problem. I can't remember. Sorry!

Was it maybe something like this? If so, it's an engine bug and not a map issue

That one is exactly the bug. It also happened to me 1-2 times in my beta-testing of The Ledge, but then never again... I don't really think it's related to the mappack, but to Portal2. Indeed it's clear that this bug envolves funnel + reflector_cubes... Once funnelled, their collision properties seem to be affected somehow!

@Szieve: Man, listen to Neco. I can assure you you'll have a very different opinion after giving this map a more personal try! I've seen you posting about some maps and I more or less can deduce your taste about maps/difficulty level/difficulty type, and again, I sincerely recommend you to give this a try. You won't regret!

neco wrote:
Can you still circumvent activating the laser in 274???

Man, I hate to keep doing this to you, but I think so:

stillpossible.zip Can't say for sure because I still have absolutely no idea what your intended solution might be, but I think the problem was the way I got myself and the cube over there, right? Which is still totally doable, and arguably easier now because I didn't even need the cube on the button. Maybe simply adjusting that railing height to somewhere between before and now would do it? EDIT: about the cube problem - yup, was exactly like sicklebrick's vid. Weird. I might have another go at that laser room in chamber 4 again, then, seeing as you've already given me quite a big hint and assured me there's no stacking/flipping involved. I swear, walking into that room at first was like walking into the surgery of a dentist who's grinning evilly and clutching a device that looks like it should be called 'The Punisher'.

El Farmerino wrote:
Man, I hate to keep doing this to you, but I think so:

Brilliant! I didn't find that, still trying to figure out the intended way.

josepezdj wrote:
That one is exactly the bug. It also happened to me 1-2 times in my beta-testing of The Ledge, but then never again... I don't really think it's related to the mappack, but to Portal2. Indeed it's clear that this bug envolves funnel + reflector_cubes... Once funnelled, their collision properties seem to be affected somehow!

If you and your cube are smooshed up against something in a funnel and re-place the funnel (even by a few inches) that's pushing you, the cube goes floppy :\

Just remembered while reading back ... when the alarm went off this morning, I realised I'd been dreaming about part 4 and how to solve it properly >.<

Also, I'm not sure if I got the laser puzzle right at the beginning of part 3 correctly (the one with the two ground buttons right before room 274). What I did now was stack the cubes on the left button with the higher one facing the slide on/off receiver to the right. Then I stood on the other ground button that opens the slider and just hurried back to the middle to shoot a portal into the room before the glass door closes.

My solution to Part 4:

theledge4.zip

I'm not convinced the way I got the cube over to the railings isn't a shortcut - it doesn't seem like I should be able to portal that angled panel - but I'm pretty sure the rest is what you were going for. I take back what I said earlier about that laser puzzle; she looks monstrous, but deep down she's a beauty.

El Farmerino wrote:
Man, I hate to keep doing this to you, but I think so...

Don't hate yourself, I'll do it for you No seriously, I think this is my last attempt at trying to fix that darn exploit.

Have just uploaded the fourth version. Hopefully this will do the job, else I'll build a DIY discouragement field and walk straight into it.

El Farmerino, the solution for 276 is the intended one but could you please use spoilers?! Thank you!
Glad you liked it anyways.

As I suspected, I awoke from my slumber yesterday morning with the answer to getting the cube on the dot one button in room 272. Unfortunately, I had to go to work and think about it all day long. When I did get the chance to try it out, I quickly executed the palm to forehead movement. Still not sure if it is the intended solution but I will check out some of the vids for 272 later.

I moved quickly through the rest of 272 as well as 273 and the "lobby laser room" for 274. I shut her down for the night in 274 and am still stumped. I've been able to move pretty freely around the map, just need to figure out how to get the funnel going.

Outstanding Map Pack neco! While I am still very new to the group here, I've played many of the maps available and have found these offerings to be the most challenging so far.

<EDIT> Made it past dot 1 & 2 in room 274 </EDIT>

Neco: Incredibly complex map - and a masterwork to look at as well. I only needed the occasional "hint" (thanks to the P-2 guru's for the hints, videos and demo) to get through the map without spending days attempting to sort out the puzzles. I also had to noclip a cube once as I am a pathetic cube tosser...
Enjoyed it immensely as I found it all readily playable - exotic moves were not really necessary. I still look forward to seeing your intended path in due course... Thanks for creating.