Quote from iamafractal on January 29, 2008, 6:58 am

elt wrote:

<laughing>

And, stuck again. I managed to get through the bit with the angled energy ball by pure chance and dumb luck alone. The next part, doing a big fling through a tall forcefield into the room with the button in the corner and the broken elevator... I've watched the youtube video several times, somehow the person there is able to fling at an angle so they end up on the ledge across the room where the cube is... I can't seem to duplicate that feat, I fly out, hit the pillar in the middle of the room, and fall to the floor. When I try to do it like in the video, letting myself drop ceiling-to-floor several times before firing a portal into the wall and fling horixontally... well, I usually end up falling into the nasty water, or just end up on the floor in the far room again. How, exactly, does one alter horizontal trajectory mid-flight when merely getting to face forward is a near-impossibility? Am I just too slow? Maybe I could slow down the framerate of the game or something...

ya well that was a cheating ninja.

[spoiler]there is a much more conventional solution.. just look around carefully and you'll get past it.[/spoiler]

Quote from iamafractal on January 29, 2008, 6:59 am

elt wrote:

One more obstacle down, one more obstacle met. I envy the person who can get the companion cube to fling straight out like that. I can fling -myself- into the little alcove no problem, but...

Anyway, it's silly to post here every time I get stuck, so I'll just play a different map instead. Thanks for teaching me that initial trick from the second room, though.

it's not silly. we're right here for ya.

Quote from elt on January 29, 2008, 1:33 pm

it would be cool if there was a sort of training level for all these advanced techniques you guys use. Like, the same way the early valve levels teach things, one bit at a time. like:

How to 'portal-bounce' (the trick needed for the second room to get over the glass) and how to drop a weighted companion cube off a cliff down at a portal at the bottom, and not have it hit the sides and fly straight through. Or maybe tunneling, that seems like a pretty advanced technique. I looked at the 'Tunneling map' and I was like, WTF? Some instructions would be nice, thanks! Not even any little pictures on the wall! Anyway, please assume I'm an idiot, and need to be shown things explicitly over and over to learn them. Thanks.

Just as a note- I found the initial valve levels, in terms of difficulty, to be barely playable at points. The only downloaded level I've managed to finish is the one where you end up in companion cube heaven in the end. I sure did enjoy Renmiz' both puzzles, even though I couldn't finish them. People here are great level designers. I need to find the SDK somewhere so I can play with HAMMER.

Quote from Beer-Me on January 29, 2008, 2:17 pm

Hi elt.

The problem is, most of these mappers are trying to continue on from portal, trying to give more maps to be done. Thing is this is assuming everyone has completed portal and is bored of playing it over and over. Which means you should be pretty good at doing hard challenges. Most try to cater for people will less capabilities by adding easier puzzles at the start to work there way in but still the point of these custom maps is to be hard.

Teh other problem is mappin takes time, if you see some one do your map in like 20 seconds, and it took you a good few days to make, its annoying. Sure it was fun to make, but you try to get people to have to think about the puzzles.

To drop the cube, press e when looking STRAIGHT forwards, dont look down try to judge it so you let it down near middle, its hard but you get used to it over time.

Quote from elt on January 29, 2008, 2:25 pm

Oh I can understand that. If I spend 20 hours putting together something that could be solved in 20 seconds, I'd be disappointed too. I do enjoy being challenged and learning new techniques. I just need, perhaps, a bit more instruction than most. In the very first room, for example there's the marks on the floor and ceiling as a hint to put portals there... I'd like to see more use of the little picture-signs all over the place. Maybe even multiple signs, if it's a puzzle that has more than one solution.

Figuring out the logic of a solution (like the puzzles on the valve companion cube level) isn't quite the same thing as having to use Halo-like reflexes and twitchiness.

Heh, all that being said, I have yet to get HAMMER and start trying my own hand at it. I'm sure, reading that sentence, a lot of people are probably nodding and going 'yeah, then he'll get it'.

Umm... the SDK thingy with Hammer in it... you can only get that from Steam, right? OR can I download it somewhere?

Quote from Beer-Me on January 29, 2008, 2:34 pm

Via steam yes. Also my map that I'm making the first few stages introduces "techniques" quite easily I suppose, got the plans sorted just time to make it.

Quote from Duffers on January 29, 2008, 2:36 pm

Please take this discussion to another topic or PMs. If you're going off-topic here I don't want mail notifications about it. Thanks.

Quote from iamafractal on January 29, 2008, 3:13 pm

elt wrote:

it would be cool if there was a sort of training level for all these advanced techniques you guys use.

there is. try out logic portals.

Quote from Grudge on February 18, 2008, 5:00 pm

This map is going to be reviewed, if you would like to endeavour in an oh-so intelligent interview or you'd like to add some producer notes to the review, message me.