I guess I picked a pretty decent time to come back and see what is new here. All in all, yes, I would love to see a "new" Blue Portals, it is after all what inspired me to make Portal maps from the get-go. My only concern is that you're currently still working on Vectronic, and balancing two projects at once may become a bit of a hassle down the road, and honestly, Vectronic seems to have more potential than Blue Portals ever did.

There are, on the other hand a few things from Blue Portals that I don't believe we ever saw released while the mod was still active. I believe it was called "Refresh." I'm wondering if you'll be expanding on that idea as well as reboot the already released content.

Overall, just by glancing over the forum posts I'm liking the Portal 1-esque look you're going for this time, and your ability to do lighting has improved exponentially from the original Blue Portals. Dark warm is good, it adds a more unique atmosphere from the original Portal's bright and sterile look, which is good because in a sense you are competing with the original, and looking different is a way to isolate Blue Portals from Portal.

I'll hopefully be coming around here a lot more to view updates and such. Really looking forward to seeing more on this.

RubyCarbuncIe wrote:
I guess I picked a pretty decent time to come back and see what is new here. All in all, yes, I would love to see a "new" Blue Portals, it is after all what inspired me to make Portal maps from the get-go. My only concern is that you're currently still working on Vectronic, and balancing two projects at once may become a bit of a hassle down the road, and honestly, Vectronic seems to have more potential than Blue Portals ever did.

Glad to here that my work inspired you to create your own, Ruby!

Vectronic is still the main focus in my eyes. I pretty much just need maps, but I wanna figure out how I want the mod to play out, so that's kinda on hold besides a few code edits here and there. I only "Started" this reboot to show off a maybe I've been thinking about for the past few years, but was not sure if people wanted a new BP or they were happy with what they had.

But yes, I'm kind of in that loop. I really want to make Blue Portals more special then just buggy maps with impossible flings, but I do want to move forward. I'm thinking that after Vectronic is done and out, I may pick this up just for fun, and I would be done with uber-serious stuff when it comes to Source. I plan on mostly just reusing most content from the original, but I'll be happy if I can get new things for it. This will be all for fun, I wanna share it with much people as possible when making it!

RubyCarbuncIe wrote:
There are, on the other hand a few things from Blue Portals that I don't believe we ever saw released while the mod was still active. I believe it was called "Refresh." I'm wondering if you'll be expanding on that idea as well as reboot the already released content.

Well, Refresh/Up was Colossal's idea. (I think Refresh was mine, dunno.) Some maps of Refresh did get done, but they are buggy, and other people of rHetorical was mapping for it so not all the chambers were consistent

RubyCarbuncIe wrote:
Overall, just by glancing over the forum posts I'm liking the Portal 1-esque look you're going for this time, and your ability to do lighting has improved exponentially from the original Blue Portals. Dark warm is good, it adds a more unique atmosphere from the original Portal's bright and sterile look, which is good because in a sense you are competing with the original, and looking different is a way to isolate Blue Portals from Portal.

I'll hopefully be coming around here a lot more to view updates and such. Really looking forward to seeing more on this.

I glad you like the new look. Even though I just quickly took a valve texture and Photoshoped it for 5 minutes, I think it works very well. I'm also doing the dark warm to more point at Blue Portals' inspiration, Logic-Portals by Hurricaaane. His GLaM-DOS project (although fell through) really motivated me to do something new at the time.

Besides that, sadly no updates. I have been working on AAK and Vectronic. But here's a question for you guys. Should I change the chamber locks? In BP, they where just a different set of portals, or should I do elevators, or something else?

reepblue wrote:
Glad to here that my work inspired you to create your own, Ruby!

Vectronic is still the main focus in my eyes. I pretty much just need maps, but I wanna figure out how I want the mod to play out, so that's kinda on hold besides a few code edits here and there. I only "Started" this reboot to show off a maybe I've been thinking about for the past few years, but was not sure if people wanted a new BP or they were happy with what they had.

But yes, I'm kind of in that loop. I really want to make Blue Portals more special then just buggy maps with impossible flings, but I do want to move forward. I'm thinking that after Vectronic is done and out, I may pick this up just for fun, and I would be done with uber-serious stuff when it comes to Source. I plan on mostly just reusing most content from the original, but I'll be happy if I can get new things for it. This will be all for fun, I wanna share it with much people as possible when making it!

That's good to hear. I've seen many people who make mods focus to much on making it look great and be top notch opposed to having fun with it, and focusing on the fun aspect of it so that not only will the mod maker enjoy it, but the fans will, too. Vectronic sounds like it's in the perfect place for this, too. Considering how the coding is probably the hardest part, and all you really need right now (for the most part) is maps, you might not run into that many issues balancing the two out.

reepblue wrote:

Well, Refresh/Up was Colossal's idea. (I think Refresh was mine, dunno.) Some maps of Refresh did get done, but they are buggy, and other people of rHetorical was mapping for it so not all the chambers were consistent

That's understandable.

reepblue wrote:
I glad you like the new look. Even though I just quickly took a valve texture and Photoshoped it for 5 minutes, I think it works very well. I'm also doing the dark warm to more point at Blue Portals' inspiration, Logic-Portals by Hurricaaane. His GLaM-DOS project (although fell through) really motivated me to do something new at the time.

Besides that, sadly no updates. I have been working on AAK and Vectronic. But here's a question for you guys. Should I change the chamber locks? In BP, they where just a different set of portals, or should I do elevators, or something else?

I can't say I didn't notice that. xD But the lighting is what really draws the eye, or if the textures are so spontaneously unique. You could use the same textures, but have epic lighting and people probably couldn't tell the similarities in them as well, still. I remember Logic Portals, that was pretty fun to play through and looked aesthetically pleasing, if I'm remembering the same map, that is. xD

As for the chamber locks, I feel doing an elevator has been done to many times, in to many mods. Unless of course you don't use the standard Portal, or even Portal 2, elevators and come up with something completely unique. I liked the idea of the Portal chaining the maps together, however how about instead of it being just an empty room with a Portal in it it's more like a waiting room? With desks, chairs, those posters on the walls, maybe a bed for the character to take a rest between tests, and a few other things. Then just have the loading screen in the waiting rooms and have the Portal to the next chamber activated when a button is pressed. Maybe have a sign over the Portal button that says, "When ready to continue testing, press this button." Or something cheesy and witty. xD It could give the player a sense of freedom, since it's making finishing the test feel more like a choice than forced upon them. (The illusion of free choice) It could also give a sense of comfort, and it could show that the BPDC cares for their subjects' well being. (Even if it is a lie) It's something I wanted to do in Secondary Fire, but felt that may make it more similar to Blue Portals than it already is, so I stuck to elevators until I could come up with something else.

Hmm, I'll see what I can do. I think I want to keep the portal linkage because I feel it's "special" to Blue Portals. On the flip side, I do want to do something like Hurry's Flash Chambers. I'll play with a few designs with the portal chamberlocks. I also having a hard time with them in Vectronic too.

Anyway, new content. Magnets!

[snip]

Pretty cool looking magnet models. They look a lot more streamlined and clean compared to the old ones you had. That particle effect is pretty cool looking, too. Might be a stupid question, but will the magnet that repels objects have the particle effect pulsing outward, while the one that attracts objects will have it pulsing inward?

RubyCarbuncIe wrote:
Pretty cool looking magnet models. They look a lot more streamlined and clean compared to the old ones you had. That particle effect is pretty cool looking, too. Might be a stupid question, but will the magnet that repels objects have the particle effect pulsing outward, while the one that attracts objects will have it pulsing inward?

Yep! Also, the inner parts also animate in the right direction. I might post a video of them soon. (Unlisted ofcourse cause I don't want to stir up the pot yet.)

Still figuring out what exactly to do with the chamberlocks/level transitions. I know in a previous build they were hallways much like in the BP2 demo video.

It's nice to see that Blue Portals Coming Back after all these Years.

BTW: Will this be coming to greenlight?
This is why i asked this:
- Easier support for Mac and Linux
- Easy download and install
- Easy update -
- Steam cloud support - Saved games, ect...

If it is "KILL ME RIGHT NOW

Will it support Portal 2 or just Portal?

radelite wrote:
Will it support Portal 2 or just Portal?

reepblue wrote:
When development of Blue Portals 2 started, the focus was it to be more based on the elements and cubes, and have it be taught like the player never played Portal before. (Because Blue Portals assumed you were pro at Portal). But because of the whole filesystem of the newer Source engine branches, Valve's love to break Portal 2, and the DLC1 update, Blue Portals 2 was said to be canceled, but it was truly just shelved.

. . . .

.....**The thing is that I want to keep it using Portal 1**, and that may be an issue because most people just have Portal 2. and since the filesystem is what shelved BP2, this can be a deal breaker.

Turret Cube wrote:
BTW: Will this be coming to greenlight?

So far no. Vectronic is still not going to be on greenlit and it just needs maps. Maybe when it gets more complete, I'll pay for a Greenlight page.

Also, I don't think you know how Steam distribution works. It does not magically make your mod better. Portal already supports Linux and XOS out of the box. Also since I can't use that leaked code, no Achievements, and it's actually more complex to keep the game up to date then just uploading a new file. I deal with Steamworks every day with Alive and Kicking, and most of the "Heavy work" is done by Omnicoder and his bot army.

I've always been a fan of Blue Portals and I would love to see it return. (Even though some of the trick jumps in the original were a little too hard for me...)

The visual style is really good, and refreshinlgy different from both of the original Portal games. At some point I want to start developing my own map style, and both Blue Portals and Hurricaaane's work have been a very good source of inspiration for this.

I do think it's a good idea to focus more on creative use of puzzle elements instead of trick jumps; it will make the mod more accessible to a broader audience.

RubyCarbuncIe wrote:
As for the chamber locks, I feel doing an elevator has been done to many times, in to many mods. Unless of course you don't use the standard Portal, or even Portal 2, elevators and come up with something completely unique. I liked the idea of the Portal chaining the maps together, however how about instead of it being just an empty room with a Portal in it it's more like a waiting room? With desks, chairs, those posters on the walls, maybe a bed for the character to take a rest between tests, and a few other things. [...]

This is a great idea! Linking the tests with portals has always seemed the most logical thing to do, since they're available already, but there's no reason not to spice up the transition rooms a bit. Makes a nice place for the player to relax a bit between tests.

Maybe you could keep the portal idea, but instead, have the room a bit smaller and have one portal on the floor of the first room and on the ceiling of the next map

Update:

I might amp the fog a bit. Other then that, most things are instances, and the door is now one model instead of three.

Wait, how did you get instances working in portal 1? I never managed to get them to work

Really liking those wall textures.

CamBen wrote:
Wait, how did you get instances working in portal 1? I never managed to get them to work

You need to use HL2/Source SDK 2013's compile tools, set up the InstancePath of the Gameinfo, then use some I/O "hacks" for communication. Also, the instancing is similar to how it is in L4D2 as there is no proxies, and stuff like func_doors will not work as you might expect it to.

Oh, here's a video on Unlisted, What do you think?

http://youtu.be/EBs1dcR0xoU

I'm liking it so far. Also, are you going to reskin the player model? (I haven't had much luck getting moddb downloads working when I was trying to download mods, and now that its working I haven't downloaded BP) so I don't know if you've done that or not, or if you're going to.

Are the top of the cube buttons ripped right from portal 2 or are they custom modeled?

CamBen wrote:
I'm liking it so far. Also, are you going to reskin the player model? (I haven't had much luck getting moddb downloads working when I was trying to download mods, and now that its working I haven't downloaded BP) so I don't know if you've done that or not, or if you're going to.

Are the top of the cube buttons ripped right from portal 2 or are they custom modeled?

Thanks, I'm still using the skin from the original BP which she has a darker skin tone, and a blue jumpsuit. The sockets are models from Portal 2, but they were broken. I decompiled it, fixed what texture sheet it uses, and the collision mesh. Valve left one left-over texture texture, although no model reads it in stock Portal 2.

What do I think? I think I want to play it RIGHT NOW Lighting, chamber design, colors are all spot on. Gogogo

Transition rooms are looking pretty nice although basic, I like the smaller design

Blue Portals is one of these games that sort of make you feel good while you're playing it... I really like what you've done. I also have this Blue Portals map for over a year now, that I just never released, because I couldn't understand the design until now and I don't know how good the puzzle really is.

Anyways, I want to know if this is missing maps or are you almost finished or something.