I know that HL2 npc's can't see trough portals like Portal Turrets do. I don't know if there are any other problems with them.
once in a test map I made, i placed a few rollermines on the floor. They followed me around like in HL2 nicely. (although not seeing me trough portals)

A good idea when using combine soldiers etc. is to prevent them from getting anywhere near portals. I think I've also noticed problems with ragdolls and portals, but for that you can use the fizzler effects to clean up bodies
hehe would be fun to get a few combine soldiers to walk trough a portal fizzler field and die ><

if possible, it could be a fun thing to try out. Sure, it will make Portal more of an action game, but that can be fun

HL2 turrets, on the other hand, can be used in this ('E key') method, which is how I managed through that nasty part in Nova Prospekt like it was nothing.

...

Nasty part = 3-turret boxed area with combine shooting at you from the catwalks above you. After this, Alyx says she'll never leave your side again. (SCORE!)

also, at the specific part you were talking about (where I have 5 turrets) I camp the small room with health, armor and the turret lockers. Nades can blast your turrets and you away, but thats your only concern :p

but actual Combine Soldiers. And perhaps hunters too!
that a hunter shoots at you, you dodge, his projectiles fly trough the portal and hits the hunter himself, killing him in time?
for such a map I would imagine GLaDOS trying to actually protect Chell and the Portal Gun against the combine and get the portal gun to safety. Chell, i dunno if GLaDOS cares about Chell ^^

Bulska wrote:
so nobody tried using live combine in Portal?

I wouldn't want to. And yes, people have. They don't like Portals.

Also, combining puzzle elements and heavy action has a high chance of creating very frustrating maps, so be careful!

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I think it was very frustrating. You press a button and some zombies and headcrabs comes out of a box dropper. And i tried pressing again after killing the first wave and i didn't expect more to come out but they did; I tried focusing on the puzzles but the headcrabs got annoying and i was not given my prefered weapon for killing headcrabs. (crowbar). My point is just that i agree with HMW that it can get frustrating.

&&

Those headcrabs must've been really annoying, I wouldn't make such a thing.

What I'd make is the following scene:
Player enters the room like any other test chamber. A wall bursts and breaks, with two combine elites with AR2's walking out of it. You need to use portals to move from cover to cover, to a location where you can direct a energy ball to the combines.

I might drop a rollermine out of a dropper, which you'd need for the buttons. But that might get frustrating.

Anyhow, it got potential, but its also easy to make a very messed up map with using npcs.

jrlauer wrote:
I don't particularly like this style of portal. I prefer to concentrate on the puzzles. If I want to shoot something (which isn't often) I'll play a different game.

In half-life 2 they rarely mix it up. Any puzzles in Half-Life will first appear when combat is over and as you solve the puzzle, that usally triggers some combat. Maybe this would be the best idea? The Portal turrets shoots you so that's kinda the same, isn't it?

Bulska wrote:
I know how to keep the gameplay good with combat and puzzels

Those headcrabs must've been really annoying, I wouldn't make such a thing.

What I'd make is the following scene:
Player enters the room like any other test chamber. A wall bursts and breaks, with two combine elites with AR2's walking out of it. You need to use portals to move from cover to cover, to a location where you can direct a energy ball to the combines.

I might drop a rollermine out of a dropper, which you'd need for the buttons. But that might get frustrating.

Anyhow, it got potential, but its also easy to make a very messed up map with using npcs.

Wouldn't players get sad when they try to put a portal under a combine elite and realize he walks over it?

Bulska wrote:
What I'd make is the following scene:
Player enters the room like any other test chamber. A wall bursts and breaks, with two combine elites with AR2's walking out of it. You need to use portals to move from cover to cover, to a location where you can direct a energy ball to the combines.

I've been running through my head how to do this well in a BTS section of my mappack, but so far it's much to large of a headache.

pestchamber wrote:
In half-life 2 they rarely mix it up. Any puzzles in Half-Life will first appear when combat is over and as you solve the puzzle, that usally triggers some combat. Maybe this would be the best idea? The Portal turrets shoots you so that's kinda the same, isn't it?

This is a pretty good idea. Puzzle solving while under fire doesn't sound like much fun... to me any way.

I wasn't planning combat for my map... but... erm... Secret..?

pestchamber wrote:
Wouldn't players get sad when they try to put a portal under a combine elite and realize he walks over it?

I know that would be a problem, so what the mapper needs to do is avoid all contact with combines and portals.

NPC's shouldn't be given the chance to get near a portal, so keep them on metal surfaces etc. Rollermines and manhacks can enter portals without problem

Bulska wrote:
I know that would be a problem, so what the mapper needs to do is avoid all contact with combines and portals.

NPC's shouldn't be given the chance to get near a portal, so keep them on metal surfaces etc. Rollermines and manhacks can enter portals without problem

Rollermines do too? Eeeexcellent....

Bulska wrote:
I know that would be a problem, so what the mapper needs to do is avoid all contact with combines and portals.

NPC's shouldn't be given the chance to get near a portal, so keep them on metal surfaces etc. Rollermines and manhacks can enter portals without problem

Just make an NPC clip wall between the concrete and metal floor so that it looks like for the player that the combines just dont want to go on concrete floor