Map test created in Hammer and Authoring Tools
The game is based on the remote positioning of a cube reflective transporting it in a tractor beam funnel from one position to another of a vertical labyrinth.
The passage of the cube through the portals determines a change of position of its reflective lens, a fundamental element for the resolution of the test.

The level of difficulty evolves from easy to medium / hard and the requirements are mostly a good grasp of mouse and headboard, logical reasoning for the exchange of the portals and the management of 'funnel, quick reflexes.
The first room is a simple practical example and a tutorial that shows how the cube reflective is turned upside down depending on how it is positioned in the passage between the portals.

I hope it is interesting and enjoyable and I wish you all good fun.

A special thanks to the friends who have helped me and especially so in Josepezdj for the many tips and the all-new water texture created specifically for this map.
Special thanks to FourthReaper for technical advice and the management lights and Brainstone for the instances elevator.
A special thanks to our friends at Steam who participated in the beta test and helped with ideas and suggestions for the improvement of the map: to_Alex_77, Ravenmorke, Arcanio.

Click here to download Variable Reflection

Click here to download Variable Reflection

Here you have my 5 points rate. I think this is an awesome second map that may turn you into a not-newbie mapper Also I think it's a very interesting puzzle line, very well carried out and developed. There are many changing elements in the structure of the map that really make this map complex mapping-wise for which I sincerely congratulate you.

Hehe... I've seen you were so eager to publish it! I hope ppl will like it as I do. The best of luck, my friend!

Josepezdj, dear friend
I will never cease to thank
Great satisfaction for me to read your review and your feedback.

I know, there are still some mapping errors to be corrected but I really am tired of retouch and review.
I'm taking a few days off and when you have time we see certain things together in order to optimize the whole.
Thanks again for your experience and availability.

... see you soon!

Excellent map; I thoroughly enjoyed working through the labyrinth with the lasers. I do have one complaint, though: at the part where the turrets start the rise up from the water, I am able to kill all the turrets but one (the one in the tallest tower), but when I try to portal on top of one of the dead turret's towers, my game crashes. But other than that, I really enjoyed it.

@Mog Thank you for your appreciation

I noticed that in the last part you can encounter a error graphics engine and I'm trying to solve the problem by deleting instances from then on no longer needed and other optimizations to lighten a little bit of everything.

I've uploaded a new version of the WS and advise you not to use any savegames created in previous version of the map.

This is the solution video expected:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPtcVfnVf2k&feature=plcp

I loved the map until I got to the point where I completed all button presses and lit the final sensor at the top. At that point I heard the "danger alarm" but nothing rose up from the bottom.

I did it differently than the solution.
To get the 2nd laser sensor where the cube had to be facing UP, I beamed myself and the cube over to the far side and used the floor portable surface there and the far side vertical panel to simply drop and reposition the cube to reflect upward, and shot the portal to light the 2nd sensor. I did not see the more complex method that you used although I suspected there had to be a way similar to that.

After a lot of finagling and even going over to the parts where the cube was myself . . .I managed to funnel the cube up to both buttons and then get myself up top and got the laser to beam across the top and light the final sensor.

The alarm sounded and the door opened - BUT sadly, the floor did not raise up and I saw no Turrets and could not reach the faith plate to escape. In desperation - before I watched the video - I no-clipped down through the water and saw the turrets shooting at me and the view kept vanishing oddly - and I was thinking "what in the world is this about ?"

Still - it is the BEST map I have seen in all of 2012. Major Kudos, dude.

### ADDENDUM: I replayed the entire thing - what a blast. When you do the correct way everything works. I usually hate Turrets but it was fun and challenging to kill each one and watch the platform raise little by little. This was sheer genius and you have created an amazing map that is challenging, intriguing, and is way up there on the cool factor with all those redirected lasers, special sounds, and the rotating / repositioning that occurs as you progress through the map.

What an outstanding map... More than anything I appreciate if a map introduces a novel way to think with portals, and this is one of the prime examples at least to my knowledge. Thoroughly enjoyed this from start to finish; that is all I can say.

I don't rate on the basis of technical aspects, but based on how much fun I had, so this is an easy 5/5...

I am very happy to read your feedback. Thanks to all !

@PCdoc
I did not understand how did you activate the second sensor but did you notice, any attempt to prevent predetermined path locks the game forcing the player to regenerate a new cube by resetting the room.
When you turn the last sensor is necessary that the player is on one of the 16 central towers to trigger the trigger that sends down one by one all the towers and do emerge from the other 6 towers with turrets.
The tower on which the player is always the last to fall, leaving time to understand that you are in a dangerous position and must be found as soon as possible a way to escape by jumping over the towers that emerge.
In fact, thinking with portals, you can prevent the correct procedure and I have done everything possible to avoid that you could go from one maze to another with the cube but the only solution I thought was to close the panels portalable or setting of the cube dissolves when touched by the player, but both solutions I do not like and I let it go.
All in all, it's a puzzle and if you do not fit the right pieces into place do not complete the drawing.

@xTreger
I really enjoyed your maps full of original ideas that have inspired me and taught to think with portals.
Thank you very much for your comment and feedback.

update:
I uploaded the new version in the WS optimized.
Thanks to Josepezdj who taught me how to use the func_areaportal and there should be no more problems even on less powerful computers.

This is a vary nicely made map. I was referred here by PCdoc, who thought that this map deserved some more exposure. I must say I fully agree

I also left a comment on the workshop, so I won't repeat that here. One thing I just thought of though: perhaps you can switch the "action music" off after all turrets are destroyed? That would be a good signal to the player that they completed that part of the map and the turret-threat is now gone. Just a suggestion, of course.

BTW I like the music for the main part of the map. It reminds me a bit of The 7th Guest

Speaking of HMW, actually, and although I do not remember the map name - HMW did a similar complex redirection of Lasers through convoluted pathways. Except he used shiny, gold mirrors. It was fascinating and difficult to solve. I assume Hammer would be required for that.

As to how I lit the 2nd sensor . . by 2nd sensor I mean the 2nd laser catcher (not button).
It was fairly simple really. After you shoot a blue portal behind the cube and shoot an orange portal to light the first sensor, there is still a vertical blue portal behind the cube.
I stood in the middle portion facing that blue portal and shot the Orange at the top of the funnel.
This caused the funnel to send me and the cube backwards and to the other side.
I then shot the orange portal into the floor there, and held the cube 1 foot above it.
I then dropped the cube through the orange portal which exited out the vertical blue portal (way over on the other side with the laser), and it was aimed upward with laser then shooting UP.

I then had to go back to the middle area.
Now with cube repositioned and redirecting laser UP - I shot the Blue portal into the spot where the laser was hitting (just above the cube) and the Orange portal onto the sideways surface up high on the other side to activate the 2nd laser catcher. This is all BEFORE working on the button presses and the 3rd laser catcher.
Your way is much easier - however it was not apparent to me that sending the cube to the other floor surface on the right would also cause it to aim UP.

PCdoc wrote:
Speaking of HMW, actually, and although I do not remember the map name - HMW did a similar complex redirection of Lasers through convoluted pathways. Except he used shiny, gold mirrors. It was fascinating and difficult to solve. I assume Hammer would be required for that.

Ejemmm... TRY ANYTHING TWICE !!!!!! (you should try it a couple of times more indeed... )

Wow - this was very interesting. It took me a long time to figure it all out, which made it all that more fun to play. I hope you make a couple more maps - very few great ones are coming out these days. I will look for your name on anything that is posted.

I gave this a 5 out of 5. Well deserved.