What do you all think? What's your opinion about Observation Rooms being accessible to the player? Do you think it's a good idea or not?

It would fit to BTS maps, like in Portal 1.

And in Time Machine Maps they fit too! I like it in your Time Machine Map Masterlagger

Well, I think there are two reasons why you could access the observation rooms:
1) because there is some irrelevant easter egg.
2) because in that room you can do something that will effect your puzzle, but doesn't make sense in a normal test track.

so good example: as in your back in time map, shutting down turret production
other good example: an observation room with a turret guarding the testchamber

bad example: a room where you have to press a button to activate a funnel

I always tried finding ways into a observation room in both Portal games (usually unsuccessful). ML Combination took Observation Rooms a few steps further but I feel that there could be more done (employee lounges, lobbies, etc) and allow the player more freedom.

MasterLagger wrote:
...and allow the player more freedom.

Me like freedom!!!

lpfreaky90 wrote:
bad example: a room where you have to press a button to activate a funnel

my bad my bad, geez.

baca25 wrote:
lpfreaky90 wrote:

bad example: a room where you have to press a button to activate a funnel

my bad my bad, geez.

Didn't aim at your maps o_O it's just my two cents

MasterLagger wrote:
... but I feel that there could be more done (employee lounges, lobbies, etc) and allow the player more freedom.

Yes, that would be nice, but the models for that simply doesn't exist. You could make them though. And well, more freedom is fun, more exploring is fun, but I'm afraid big bts area's where there's nothing to do aren't really worth the trouble, unless you put them in a big mappack/mod.

lpfreaky90 wrote:
Yes, that would be nice, but the models for that simply doesn't exist. You could make them though. And well, more freedom is fun, more exploring is fun, but I'm afraid big bts area's where there's nothing to do aren't really worth the trouble, unless you put them in a big mappack/mod.

Use 1940s Aperture models? They look enough modern to use for Clean Aperture.

Pitkakorva is right, some of the Old Aperture models do look modern enough for Clean Aperture.

I was going to add a big office complex in my mappack. I already have office-like elevators.

BrainstoneX wrote:
I was going to add a big office complex in my mappack. I already have office-like elevators.

What stopped you from doing it?

Freedom is a good thing, but I wouldn't allow entrance to observation rooms very much. What made them special in Portal is that you always had the sense you were being watched. They were also empty, adding on to the lonely feeling of the labs. It gave a creepy feeling to the test chambers, (and also helped light them up.) In the BTS sections of Portal, it was very cool to be inside them. It let you see what the scientists saw. The circumstances and mystery behind them made them special. However, if you let the player in one every few maps, it loses some of what makes them so unique. That's why you rarely get to go inside them during game. They're cool when used in the right places; just don't overuse them.

Another Bad Pun wrote:
What made them special in Portal is that you always had the sense you were being watched. They were also empty, adding on to the lonely feeling of the labs.

That's kinda contradictory. I thought it was the cameras that were gave you the feeling of being watched while the observation rooms added the empty feeling.

It doesn't really matter what you and I think the Observation Rooms symbolize, (we could argue about it for hours on end,) because it would still have the same effect both ways. Although it's neat to be in them, it kind of ruins the affect they have. It's sort of a win loses type of thing. Ultimately, it's the mapper's decision that counts; there are exceptions.

Another Bad Pun wrote:
Freedom is a good thing, but I wouldn't allow entrance to observation rooms very much. What made them special in Portal is that you always had the sense you were being watched. They were also empty, adding on to the lonely feeling of the labs. It gave a creepy feeling to the test chambers, (and also helped light them up.) In the BTS sections of Portal, it was very cool to be inside them. It let you see what the scientists saw. The circumstances and mystery behind them made them special. However, if you let the player in one every few maps, it loses some of what makes them so unique. That's why you rarely get to go inside them during game. They're cool when used in the right places; just don't overuse them.

I agree completely with this. I also loved the way in portal that all the computers and stuff were all on, as if the scientists had just wandered off to lunch and never came back...

I guess it's all depends on how the observation room is used then.

I did some 'freedom' maps and allowed access to almost every room:

[BETA 4] A very Aperture adventure

It allows for a great "I'm not supposed to be here" feeling. But it has to be done properly.
Eerie ambient sounds, completely empty halls & offices, and a general feeling of abandonment are needed to properly pull it off.
As a player, I feel rewarded for being able to see things that I think I'm not supposed to see.

I'm a big fan of accessible observation rooms

&

I worked an observation room into a map when the "official" solution was broken by a quake and the player had to break the glass to progress. It felt rather liberating to actively destroy a portion of the map.

Aside from that instance, I prefer leaving them to light a level with no player interaction.