This is my first and only bonus map for Portal. My goal wasn't to make a challenging map, but to make a map that covers many of the basic elements of Portal. I hope you enjoy it nevertheless. Another version of it was an entry in the February contest. In this version I've fixed a lot of minor bugs and hopefully got rid of all exploits. The map is embedded in a bmz file and it includes the least portals/steps/time challenges.

Looking forward to see if you can beat my records (which are the gold challenges).

Download

Screenshots (click to enlarge)

oh you complete it?
Great! i try it this night ^^

PD: in the other post i had a other problem... Regards and Congratulations

How come in the second to last picture, the Exit sign is flipped, but normal in the others. Can't wait to try it!

Ald?z wrote:
and hopefully got rid of all exploits.

lol ahhww we'll lets see if i can scramble the new one

rellikpd wrote:
lol ahhww we'll lets see if i can scramble the new one

Hehe, waiting with expectation. Good luck... not!

reepblue wrote:
How come in the second to last picture, the Exit sign is flipped, but normal in the others. Can't wait to try it!

Talk about nit-picking. The texture is probably world-oriented. But, to my defence, I can say that the guy on the sign is running towards the exit on both signs.

Ald?z wrote:
Talk about nit-picking. The texture is probably world-oriented. But, to my defence, I can say that the guy on the sign is running towards the exit on both signs.

Heh, sorry. I seen many maps that have details flipped side.

Well done. One thing I noticed with this map is that it looks good... very good. In some places the HDR is a little bit overexposed but besides that it looks like a professional test chamber.

Being a companion cube map I was probably expecting more interaction with the cube, i.e. using the cube to solve puzzles. The only real use of the cube was the button at the beginning and after that it was just a burden to have to bring it through the rest of the puzzles.

I understand this map is designed to be easy but I didn't find the puzzles all that fun, probably because with the tons of custom maps out there that are all fairly similar someone needs to do something pretty innovative for me to still have fun. Also the map was shorter than I expected.

From what I remember the February mapping contest was for best looking map and for that purpose your map is really great. For that reason it makes sense why you have chosen looks over gameplay.

Hopefully you'll reconsider this being your only bonus map for Portal and make some others!

Did you add a BTS section for this release, or did I just miss it in the earlier version

reepblue wrote:
Heh, sorry. I seen many maps that have details flipped side.

Hehe, never mind, I'm a sort of a perfectionist myself.

Fusion wrote:
Well done. One thing I noticed with this map is that it looks good... very good. In some places the HDR is a little bit overexposed but besides that it looks like a professional test chamber.

Being a companion cube map I was probably expecting more interaction with the cube, i.e. using the cube to solve puzzles. The only real use of the cube was the button at the beginning and after that it was just a burden to have to bring it through the rest of the puzzles.

I understand this map is designed to be easy but I didn't find the puzzles all that fun, probably because with the tons of custom maps out there that are all fairly similar someone needs to do something pretty innovative for me to still have fun. Also the map was shorter than I expected.

From what I remember the February mapping contest was for best looking map and for that purpose your map is really great. For that reason it makes sense why you have chosen looks over gameplay.

Hopefully you'll reconsider this being your only bonus map for Portal and make some others!

Thank you! This isn't my last map for sure. And yeah, the puzzels aren't great, but as I said, this is my first map for Portal, so it was only a test (thereby its name). I have some new ideas for my next map I havn't seen in any other so far.

appunxintator wrote:
Did you add a BTS section for this release, or did I just miss it in the earlier version

You missed it.

well i broke your least portals (which is the only challenges i really care about lol) i will try to go play the least time and steps challenges after i post this. and after that try to shave atleast 1 more portal off of my record

ALSO some notes:
its possible to get stuck in the energy ball catcher cage
http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/462/testchamber0000cn3.jpg
http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/3953/testchamber0001jz1.jpg
i mean you would have to try to get stuck there on purpose. but it IS possible.

i have some other things i'm thinking are possible to "break" with your map and i'm gunna go test them out. will let you know.

7 portals? How?

And I found another way to get stuck, but you must be really stupid if you do it. Anyway, I might release another version and it will be even harder to break.

Ald?z wrote:
7 portals? How?

cuz i think with portals man! :p but i'm gunna try to beat 7 portals... and when i do (or if i find that i cannot) i will post a video. or atleast text instructions on how i did it.
your time record is HARD to beat. son of a gun. i can get 84 seconds. but not the required 82 and i can't think of ANY way to shave off more time. cuz of the energy balls and moving platform!
and its not required to be made any harder i think its fine the way it is. instead of tweaking it to make it so noone can POSSIBLY get a higher score than you. instead if you DO release any more versions just prevent the player from getting stuck. and rather work on new maps

also: Nice BTS area btw. very nicely hidden, but not impossible to find. just requires some good attention to detail

also: the thing i THOUGHT could be broken was; i thought that if you kept throwing cubes into the water you could get more than one. cuz when i would die (by falling into the water) while holding the cube.... and i landed on the bottom of the water... the cube was still there.... but i found that you actually did think of it. it just didn't trigger whatever makes the cube disappear because i was dead. so its not breakable. (that i can find) BUT: You CAN get the cube stuck by throwing it into the energy ball catcher cage, much like how the player can get stuck, but there's no REASON to do this. so its not really "necessary" to fix. but it is possible

Ald?z wrote:
Talk about nit-picking. The texture is probably world-oriented. But, to my defence, I can say that the guy on the sign is running towards the exit on both signs.

reepblue wrote:
Heh, sorry. I seen many maps that have details flipped side.

One of things I really love about the portal community is it's attention to detail-- I assume it's due to the nature of the game itself and the way it renders itself to look at the details; game mechanics and such--

I've been working on a level -- soon to be completed; and I just realized (although I'm extremely picky about these kind of details) I have to flip one or two of those doorway entrance textures. Can someone quickly tell me exactly how to flip it-- or am I just having a dumb moment-- because after taking a few days off working with source I can't seem to flip textures horizontally -- can only rotate on same axis.

sorry if this is off topic but it still is regarding Aldez's Test Chamber--

now to go play it

ecco wrote:
Can someone quickly tell me exactly how to flip it

on the texture face editor it has your "scale" (which SHOULD be x 0.25, y 0.25) making those -0.25 will flip it vertically and horizontally (respectively), use as needed

Well, that's one think I like about the maps on TWP, and the overall Portal maps; they're quality. Not like Counter-Strike, where 90% of the maps contains only 2 or 3 textures and is ugly like your sister's butt, or Team Fortress 2 which is being invaded by orangemaps.

well i broke it more. i knew i could shave atleast 1 portal off. but i believe this is the lowest possible score on portals aside from cheating/glitching... and i don't box jump or bunny hop... so i guess that won't be a problem
though i did have to use what i consider to be a "glitch" but most people don't... so i used it which is door jambing but even without this i can get 7 portals :-/

rellikpd wrote:
on the texture face editor it has your "scale" (which SHOULD be x 0.25, y 0.25) making those -0.25 will flip it vertically and horizontally (respectively), use as needed

thanks for the heads up on how to fix the textures, rellikpd

rellikpd wrote:
well i broke it more. i knew i could shave atleast 1 portal off. but i believe this is the lowest possible score on portals aside from cheating/glitching... and i don't box jump or bunny hop... so i guess that won't be a problem

Wow, I thought I did alright getting 11 portals! I guess I need to practice my ninja skills more...

Fusion wrote:
Wow, I thought I did alright getting 11 portals! I guess I need to practice my ninja skills more...

"Least Portals" challenges are my favorite. and i pride myself in trying to find the true lowest possible portals (especially on the retail maps, or user maps that are actually fun to play more than once (like this one is; most user maps are not fun to play more than once, many are fun the first time, but not necessarly more than once))

Fusion wrote:
Wow, I thought I did alright getting 11 portals! I guess I need to practice my ninja skills more...

You got silver in my book.

rellikpd wrote:
"Least Portals" challenges are my favorite. and i pride myself in trying to find the true lowest possible portals (especially on the retail maps, or user maps that are actually fun to play more than once (like this one is; most user maps are not fun to play more than once, many are fun the first time, but not necessarly more than once))

I like the portals challenge best too. Time isn't so bad either, but least steps isn't fun and extremly difficult. So... any chance you will tell us how you did it?