Quote from Neoxx on May 17, 2011, 2:43 pm

Not bad, but I dont understand the title. [spoiler]The laser isnt really used in any interesting way, and you can actually solve the puzzle pretty easily without ever touching the laser. Just use the funnel to grab the first cube, then reverse the flow to bring it to you. The emancipation field can stay there the whole time.

And, I dont know if this was the intended solution, but I just used the second cube to block the bullets as I walked through the door. I imagine you meant for the laser be directed through a portal and then pointed at the turrets to kill them, but that sounds a bit too fiddley to bother with.[/spoiler]

So I played it again and got the "intended" solution, but it did take a good bit longer. Its clever [spoiler]how you have to put the cube into the funnel to direct the laser at the turrets while the laser points down from the ceiling[/spoiler], but again I found that was too fiddley and took longer than how I solved it the first and second time.

I was also able to [spoiler]use the first cube to block the laser before ever going through the grille. I put a portal on the wall and jumped to grab the cube from the platform, changed the portal to lead to the laser, then jump-threw it back through to block the laser.[/spoiler] I like your intended solution to that much better by [spoiler]making the player use the funnels to lead the cube into the laser area, then reposition it to point at the slanted wall[/spoiler] but I apparently circumvented that altogether. I'd suggest just making the portalable wall in the first room high enough that you [spoiler]cant jump up to it and snag the first cube.[/spoiler]

Quote from McGinge on May 17, 2011, 2:47 pm

[spoiler]I tried to unfiddlify [new word] the laser redirecting to the turrets, you essentially have to use portals and a cube to bring it down in front of the turrets and then float a cube along the excursion funnel to kill them. It would have been more effective if the turrets were more of a threat to you than being easily blocked by the cubes. Something to look at for future iterations, thanks for the feedback![/spoiler]

[spoiler]And just saw your edits; I'm glad you enjoyed that solution, just seems like I need to exploit-proof it a little more. Thanks again![/spoiler]

Quote from Neoxx on May 17, 2011, 2:56 pm

Btw, your name reminds me of this amazing song by Tim Minchin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVN_0qvuhhw

Quote from McGinge on May 17, 2011, 2:59 pm

Hahaha hadn't seen that before, thats awesome

Quote from McGinge on May 17, 2011, 5:52 pm

Updated with v1.1, plugged the shorter alternate ways of solving, and added some better leading to get to the main solution.

Laser Articulation

Quote from Neoxx on May 17, 2011, 6:23 pm

GJ fixing the first part, but I can still beat it without the intended solution.

[spoiler]All you have to do is use the second cube, use the funnel to guide the cube to the last button, then just 'stall' yourself in the funnel (tap left and right quickly, it will nearly halt your forward movement) until the cube reaches the button, jump down and run to the exit. I was able to get there without dying. Maybe just extending the exit hall a bit more so you cant possibly out run the turrets if they're still alive.[/spoiler]

Another thing: [spoiler]I dont see a reason for the reversal button. I solved it, killing the turrets, without ever using it. I assume its meant to retrieve the cube from the laser, but for what reason? I guess if you got both cubes in the laser area you'd want a way to get them out... so they have a reason for the idiots [/spoiler]

As for the other unintended solution: [spoiler]Blocking bullets with the cube. An emancipation grill would be the best solution, but that would remove portals and drop the cube keeping the door open. So, if you put that button inside a glass tube or something like that where you had to navigate the cube then drop it onto the button it would stay there when you went through the grill. With the longer hall it would also force you to destroy the turrets, which is really the entire point of this puzzle.[/spoiler]

Certainly making progress, but not quite there yet

Quote from kirgothi on May 17, 2011, 9:52 pm

Great map! It felt a lot like the in game maps. I thought of a solution, tried it and realized half way through it wouldn't work. Then looked again and "got it." A nice combination of portals, lasers, and funnels. I loved the solution to the turrets! Good job.

Quote from McGinge on May 18, 2011, 5:21 am

Neoxx wrote:

GJ fixing the first part, but I can still beat it without the intended solution.

[spoiler]All you have to do is use the second cube, use the funnel to guide the cube to the last button, then just 'stall' yourself in the funnel (tap left and right quickly, it will nearly halt your forward movement) until the cube reaches the button, jump down and run to the exit. I was able to get there without dying. Maybe just extending the exit hall a bit more so you cant possibly out run the turrets if they're still alive.[/spoiler]

Another thing: [spoiler]I dont see a reason for the reversal button. I solved it, killing the turrets, without ever using it. I assume its meant to retrieve the cube from the laser, but for what reason? I guess if you got both cubes in the laser area you'd want a way to get them out... so they have a reason for the idiots [/spoiler]

As for the other unintended solution: [spoiler]Blocking bullets with the cube. An emancipation grill would be the best solution, but that would remove portals and drop the cube keeping the door open. So, if you put that button inside a glass tube or something like that where you had to navigate the cube then drop it onto the button it would stay there when you went through the grill. With the longer hall it would also force you to destroy the turrets, which is really the entire point of this puzzle.[/spoiler]

Certainly making progress, but not quite there yet

Thanks for the patient repeated playtesting

[spoiler]I'd been pondering the exit for a little while; as you say a fizzler just removes your portals as well so you're unable to continue to open the door. I like your suggestion of having to manually put the cube in place though, I'll try and think of something around those lines.

About the reversal button; it used to be part of the requirement to complete the puzzle but it became too complex, and now just exists as a convenience incase you let the cubes get stuck somewhere in a vortex. Possibly that's confusing as well, I suppose if there's a puzzle element that players didn't use they'll end up thinking that they achieved a "dirty" solution somehow. Again, something else to address.

And elongating the hall should be a fairly simple fix to just outrunning the turrets. I tried to outrun the turrets a few times and couldn't succeed, it seems your skills are far more leet than I was able to simulate [/spoiler]

Quote:

Great map! It felt a lot like the in game maps. I thought of a solution, tried it and realized half way through it wouldn't work. Then looked again and "got it." A nice combination of portals, lasers, and funnels. I loved the solution to the turrets! Good job.

Thanks! If you have any suggestions or bugs that you encountered I'd love to hear them as well.

Quote from Thursaz on May 18, 2011, 6:54 am

The thing about outrunning turrets is timing. One thing to remember about turrets is this- They take a while to reset. Once they go "Hibernating" or such, they will not shoot again until they have retracted their arms and 'shut down'. So you can see-

[spoiler]hCpDiz02zUE

You'll note they said 'target lost'- meaning they started to reset- as I went in.[/spoiler]

Elongating the hall would not fix this, I don't think. I could, for example, [spoiler]take the second cube from the first room, reverse the flow of the funnel, and then use the second box to block bullets as I retreat down the hallway.[/spoiler]

(I do think this is a great map, though, heh- Just in need of refinement!)