force field properties
There was a discussion just now in the IRC about how different force field elements should look...
lets say you can have various force field properties... such as...
A1 can walk through, can portal through (air)
A2 can walk through, cannot portal through (fizzler field)
B1 cannot walk through, can portal through
B2 cannot walk through, cannot portal through (combine style ff)
up to this point i have seen use of B2, but now Nacimota would like to have B1 in his map.
a fizzler field and a combine field have completely unique looks already... therefore... i suggested that B2 ought to have a unique look or sound queue so that it enhances the game play experience.
maybe somebody here would like to design the look of a B1 type force field?
I thought a different pattern, sound, or color for such a force field would make it obvious when there are mixed and matched forcefields either in one map or among many maps.
what do you think?
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Personally, I think that visual designs and concepts should be entirely in the mappers hands. People should follow the ideas and concepts taught in Portal, and if a map wants to introduce a new concept, they can teach it to us just like Valve did.
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I agree completely, as long as the mapper provides his/her players with consistancy when using these new mechanics.
ok then but if you are introducing a new concept and utilizing graphics that belong with an old concept, that's where i have an issue. new concepts... new graphics.. new queues... not old queues. otherwise how would a player know the new concept is being utilized and that it isn't just a re-use of the old one?
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Throw in a custom GLaDOS voice? Put it in the readme? Give players more credit than assuming they have the mental capacity of mongoloid 4 year olds?
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If a new element is added in the player should either see its different or hear that it is different. They should not have to find out by stumbling into it blindly.
Basically if you use a new feature give it a little 'safe' introduction (like everything in portal does)
duffers had a good idea, which is that a force field you could portal through but not walk through is just like a grate...
so if somebody wanted to make the texture of a grate for a forcefield, that would be really cool... then people could use that in their maps if they want.
to me that would be the nicest solution.
The cake is a PI
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Add me on STEAM: iamafractal
I'm up for coop games & beta testing your maps...
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This would work.
This would not. People don't read readmes unless they have a problem.
That said, gamers make a connection between what something looks like and how it works. If you alias (re-use) one material into two purposes, you will confuse players. If that's a cost you're willing to accept, okay.
Otherwise, I would recommend trying to find a new look.
B2 cannot walk through, cannot portal through (combine style ff)
Actually, the primary use of combine forcefields I've seen in in GlassPrison, and in that one, they behaved like B1 above, not B2. Just like a grate. Its not like we have an official map that shows how combine shields behave; its more like whether or not you decide to put a func_no_portal there or not. 
so if somebody wanted to make the texture of a grate for a forcefield, that would be really cool... then people could use that in their maps if they want.
to me that would be the nicest solution.
As images go, I think thats about as intuitive as you can get; assuming that you can imitate the grate using effects only. A close second though is simply to change the combine ff color between option B1 and B2. The the combine field texture implies that you cant walk through it, and the color tells you whether you can portal or not.
