Hello everyone,

We're very pleased to be able to share a demo level for Portal Stories: Mel!
This demo will show some of the content we have created so far this includes:
- One level to play
- Custom loading screens
- Custom main menu

This demo is around 70mb in size, so if you're reading this description before you downloaded the map, start downloading the map and return here

The Level included is called "Past Power". It's a level that takes place in a cave far underneath the modern apperture and features various gels and flings.
Difficulty : Medium
Size : Medium

Past Power has the difficulty and number we are aiming for in Portal Stories.

installation instructions
To install this map:
- Browse to your Steam\steamapps folder and check if you have a \sourcemods folder there. If you don't, create one.
- Unzip the file to your Steam\steamapps\sourcemods folder.
(When you did this you should have a portal_stories_demo folder in sourcemods. In this folder there should be various maps like cfg, maps and materials. If this folder has another portal_stories_demo in it instead of the other folders, cut the content from the portal_stories_demo/portal_stories_demo and place them in the steam/steamapps/sourcemods/portal_stories_demo folder.)
- If you want to use your normal portal 2 settings: copy from stteam/steamapps/common/portal 2/portal2/cfg the config.cfg and videodefaults.txt files and copy them to your Steam\steamapps\sourcemods\portal_stories_demo\cfg folder.
- RE-BOOT STEAM
- You should now have Portal Stories Demo on steam!
- Launch the game and enjoy!

**Upgrade instructions: **
Remove your steam/steamapps/sourcemods/portal_stories_demo and follow the installation instructions.
We really hope you enjoy this map!

Changes in version 1.6
* Changed various things to work better in the mod
* Re-did optimization
* Changed fog colour
* Changed fog density
* Re-added fire
* Added more indicator lights
* Added some ropes as indicator lights
* Rebuild the paint station building
* Fixed various misaligned textures
* Added extra details
* Added some more sound effects
* Added a landing shake on the final walkway
* Fixed texture alignment issues
* Solved a bunch of z-fighting issues
* Added fire again
* Increased performance by aprox. 20%

Changes in version 1.2
- Fixed various graphical errors.
- Fixed a way where you can get stuck.
- Add a proper cube dispenser.
- Added proper fog
- Did some more optimization.
- Changed the damage done if you fall down.
- Changed the layout of the blue gel room.
- Fixed some clipping models.
- Added some models to make some parts of the level look better.
- Lowered the bridge a bit so it's easier to jump onto it!

Changes in version 1.1
- removed some of the files that weren't used in the demo. (therby reducing the file size with 20MB)
- Added a visual clue to what a certain button would do.
- Did some optimization improvements.
- Fixed a solution where you could stack two cubes, thereby bypassing the intended solution.
- Fixed a solution where you would only need one cube to solve the map.
- Hid a white surface from the outside to avoid confusion.
- Removed a confusing texture
- Removed a strange looking texture. Might be replaced when I've created a good looking alternative version

The Portal Stories team:
- Andy
- James
- Lpfreaky90
- Moth
- TheCakeIsASpy

Special thanks to:
- Skotty for custom models
- All the playtesters
- Every other person that was involved in the creation of this mod.

Click here to download [SP] Portal Stories Mel: Past Power

I made the original concept, the other people enhanced it. I really liked what they did!

Great detail
this demo was more of exploration rather puzzle.

But
It's laggy. FPS dropped to 20 at some areas whereas the portal 2 initial sequence drops only to 30 on my pc.
The mod doesn't remember my Portal 2 video settings.
And how do you get killed if you drop on the terrain. Don't we have boots on?

chimera201 wrote:
Great detail
this demo was more of exploration rather puzzle.

But
It's laggy. FPS dropped to 20 at some areas whereas the portal 2 initial sequence drops only to 30 on my pc.
The mod doesn't remember my Portal 2 video settings.
And how do you get killed if you drop on the terrain. Don't we have boots on?

We know. We're trying to work on the optimiztion now, so we're sorry of the frame drops, and the terrain death was quit weird but if you wouldn't die there you had nowhere to go.

chimera201 wrote:
Don't we have boots on?

Mel does not equal Chell

Really liked the map. Great attention to detail, I don't think a lot of people can pull off the underground style, me included. I mostly liked the first chamber, though I like the 'bring the cube'-mentality and the general openness of the map.
One thing though: After the second chamber, I couldn't really find the entrance to the repulsion gel pump station without the help of lpfreaky90. A hint of some kind, perhaps lighting to lure the players attention, would benefit the map.

chimera201 wrote:
Don't we have boots on?

I'll say that valve has made some stranger mistakes. Jumping down doesn't seem safe, so I wouldn't recommend it.

Overall I really like the map, especially in terms of visuals. Looking forward to the full mod!

EDIT: Oh, and my framerate was fine. And I have a slow pc...

chimera201 wrote:
Great detail
this demo was more of exploration rather puzzle.

But
It's laggy. FPS dropped to 20 at some areas whereas the portal 2 initial sequence drops only to 30 on my pc.
The mod doesn't remember my Portal 2 video settings.
And how do you get killed if you drop on the terrain. Don't we have boots on?

other maps will be more challenging puzzle-wise

And yes, the map is somewhat laggy, but that is because the map is extremely huge (~6000x6000x6000 pixels). Compiling told us it's over 2 million square feet... so that kinda slows it down. We will try to improve optimization so the performance can increase but it is really hard in this kind of map. Not all the maps will be so laggy but all of them will look good =D

The video settings is something we will look into later, it will be fixed with the next release.

And no, we don't have boots... we're Mel, Glados forgot us And the boots were sold out =(

Nice map, can't wait to play your mod.

And lol'd at Mel's makeup.

good looking map, I like the difficulty, got me stumped for a while.

P.S Mel may not have the boots. she has the knee replacement.

spongylover123 wrote:
good looking map, I like the difficulty, got me stumped for a while.

P.S Mel may not have the boots. she has the ### knee replacement.

insert arrow to the knee joke here
Also, it's nice hearing all of you guys enjoying the map. I made the puzzles and LP, Moth, James and Andy did the detail and enhanced it. Portal Stories will be released in Feb 2012.

TheCakeIsASpy wrote:
spongylover123 wrote:

good looking map, I like the difficulty, got me stumped for a while.

P.S Mel may not have the boots. she has the ### knee replacement.

insert arrow to the knee joke here
Also, it's nice hearing all of you guys enjoying the map. I made the puzzles and LP, Moth, James and Andy did the detail and enhanced it. Portal Stories will be released in Feb 2012.

Moth and I were discussing about letting ceilings fall down...
I think we should start with an arrow falling next to your cryo-stasis pod...

About Feb: that's what we're aiming for, but quality is more important then release date

Really cool, I like it. But I thought I have to go to the giant vault door (because of the signs), it was confusing then that you die by jumping down. (You die already before you actually hit the bottom .)

I keep getting an error that says:

Error
setup file "gameinfo.txt" doesn't exist in subdirectory
"hl2"
check your -game parameter or VCONFIG setting.

any idea on what to do

I am running steam on a Macbook Pro

edit: typo

brannanholland wrote:
I keep getting an error that says:

Error
setup file "gameifo.txt" doesn't exist in subdirectory
"hl2"
check your -game parameter or VCONFIG setting.

any idea on what to do

I am running steam on a Macbook Pro

There is a problem with sourcemods and mac computers, I'll look into it and I'll let you know as soon as I can help you :0

I take responsibility for framerate issues, since this map was originally just an underground sphere. I went detail-crazy and made a displacement cave, so sorry about that :-p

I examined a previous thread that LP posted, requesting system specifications, so I knew how many polys we had to play with. Although there's some noticeable slowdown in some areas on some hardware, I think the end result isn't too bad. The sheer number of visual models on show is what causes slowdown, not the size of the map.

So erm.. sorry again.

You can play the game on Mac temporarily using Bootcamp until we resolve the issues mentioned.
This demo serves to iron out problems in preparation for the full mod release, so please bear with us

setup file "gameifo.txt" doesn't exist in subdirectory
"hl2"

That should be gameinfo, not gameifo - have you tried renaming it?

Looks nice, but my graphics driver keeps crashing right before the map loads. Something tells me I need a new computer.

BOB74j wrote:
Looks nice, but my graphics driver keeps crashing right before the map loads. Something tells me I need a new computer.

what graphics card do you have?

lpfreaky90 wrote:
what graphics card do you have?

Apparently, it's some sort of integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD chip. It's not entirely an issue with the mod, since Portal 2 does the same thing to my computer with most maps. It's just that in the main game, I can stop the crash by switching off between different compatibility modes for portal2.exe before I start the game each time. That didn't work this time.

Moth wrote:
I went detail-crazy and made a displacement cave

would you be able to tell how to create one, or where to find tutorials about them?

Moth wrote:
I take responsibility for framerate issues, since this map was originally just an underground sphere. I went detail-crazy and made a displacement cave, so sorry about that :-p

I examined a previous thread that LP posted, requesting system specifications, so I knew how many polys we had to play with. Although there's some noticeable slowdown in some areas on some hardware, I think the end result isn't too bad. The sheer number of visual models on show is what causes slowdown, not the size of the map.

So erm.. sorry again.

You can play the game on Mac temporarily using Bootcamp until we resolve the issues mentioned.
This demo serves to iron out problems in preparation for the full mod release, so please bear with us

setup file "gameifo.txt" doesn't exist in subdirectory
"hl2"

That should be gameinfo, not gameifo - have you tried renaming it?

Sorry that was just a typo.