Just want to make some minor alterations to a map I created in the BEE, and I find the default lifespan (IE the time it takes the energy ball to fizzle out after leaving the emitter) to be a touch too short for the puzzle I had in mind, however there are a plethora of values to edit and to be honest I'm not sure which one does what. So what do I need to edit to increase the lifespan of the pellet by, say, 30%? (I presume i'll need to edit both the lifespan, and the lifespan after it passes through a portal?)

yup do that

So $lifetime and $life_after_portaltransition?

Also Is the measurement in seconds?

Tried editing those values, even tried editing the actual instance. No difference.

well if you changed the values in the actual instance, then you probably made them static, in which case you should reinstall the mod to get them back to normal.
unless you saved the new instance as a different file
you should be able to control those params from outside the instance
but on the off chance you cant, open the emitter... make a copy of the vmf so you dont change the bee files
then change the params on the energy ball instance its self

Isn't it a point_combine_ball_launcher? On that you can change the life span of the ball and how many times it can bounce. Look for that in the instance.

Btw, Ben, just wondering, what kind of light entity did you use for that super awesome spotlight in the catchers? Or is that a particle system?

Editing the pellet instance worked.

It should be a point_energy_ball_launcher, that's the Portal-specific version.

Also, Ben, you should put a counter in the BEE for the launcher to set the lifetime.