Looks great so far. I like how you implemented the cube buttons from P2 in there, too. That alone should add some diversity to the chambers. Also, I'm liking the "O" signs used in there, the happy faces where great in the original, but the simplistic design of the "O" actually adds to environment a bit better in my opinion.

The chambers look so inviting, and overall calming. This definitely seems like a good mod to play after a long hard day at work.

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

Most maps so far are right out of Blue Portals 2 with slight edits. Later chambers may be remakes/remastered versions from the original, and the rest will be new.

RubyCarbuncIe wrote:
Looks great so far. I like how you implemented the cube buttons from P2 in there, too. That alone should add some diversity to the chambers. Also, I'm liking the "O" signs used in there, the happy faces where great in the original, but the simplistic design of the "O" actually adds to environment a bit better in my opinion.

The chambers look so inviting, and overall calming. This definitely seems like a good mod to play after a long hard day at work.

Thanks Ruby! Remember, the model I used is not the exact model Valve used in the final build of P2. It's a broken model you can find in the game's files. Also, I was thinking about the indicators being that they are kind of low quailty (Pixelization) I was thinking about bringing back the old textures, but I may look into just remaking the indicator stuff when I get to it.

I made a slight change to the maps, I've made a version of the wall textures to be used under the metal tiles. Unlike the original, I want some decay, stains elements in the test chambers. Being it's gonna be a darker feel, I think it fits perfectly. I also got a new coolant texture, but I'll show that in another screenshot.

**Other thoughts:** I was thinking about stuff I did in BP2 like the vents, Electric Gel and such. Yeah, I can't do the gel, and the vents will be tough, but would you rather see those types of elements see light, or have the old elements return? For example, I was thinking about removing the light beams and replacing it with an edited energy ball that acts like the electric gel from BP2.

reepblue wrote:
yishbarr wrote:

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

Most maps so far are right out of Blue Portals 2 with slight edits. Later chambers may be remakes/remastered versions from the original, and the rest will be new.

RubyCarbuncIe wrote:

Looks great so far. I like how you implemented the cube buttons from P2 in there, too. That alone should add some diversity to the chambers. Also, I'm liking the "O" signs used in there, the happy faces where great in the original, but the simplistic design of the "O" actually adds to environment a bit better in my opinion.

The chambers look so inviting, and overall calming. This definitely seems like a good mod to play after a long hard day at work.

Thanks Ruby! Remember, the model I used is not the exact model Valve used in the final build of P2. It's a broken model you can find in the game's files. Also, I was thinking about the indicators being that they are kind of low quailty (Pixelization) I was thinking about bringing back the old textures, but I may look into just remaking the indicator stuff when I get to it.

I made a slight change to the maps, I've made a version of the wall textures to be used under the metal tiles. Unlike the original, I want some decay, stains elements in the test chambers. Being it's gonna be a darker feel, I think it fits perfectly. I also got a new coolant texture, but I'll show that in another screenshot.

**Other thoughts:** I was thinking about stuff I did in BP2 like the vents, Electric Gel and such. Yeah, I can't do the gel, and the vents will be tough, but would you rather see those types of elements see light, or have the old elements return? For example, I was thinking about removing the light beams and replacing it with an edited energy ball that acts like the electric gel from BP2.

Oh yeah, I remember passing that in the files. Even still, it functions the same way, so it should be cool to see in these chambers. Also, having both the old and the new would be nice to see. Not sure exactly which ones could make it into the NBP from BP2, maybe music cubes? Electric Gel, or something similar, would be cool. Also, just as a personal thing, I did love the purple flashlight cubes. Really hoping to see those again.

Calling it a night. Also managed to get BP2-like vents to work so they will replace the fans. Anyway, screen time.

That last pic is amazing Reep Loving the overall mood, the fog, lighting, the water material with the blueish mist, the dust motes around the point_spotlights, even the tideline overlay!

reepblue wrote:
Also, I was thinking about the indicators being that they are kind of low quailty (Pixelization) I was thinking about bringing back the old textures, but I may look into just remaking the indicator stuff when I get to it.

I made a slight change to the maps, I've made a version of the wall textures to be used under the metal tiles. Unlike the original, I want some decay, stains elements in the test chambers. Being it's gonna be a darker feel, I think it fits perfectly.

I've gotten similar bleeding effect of one texture over the adjacent one by adding the parameter $reflectivity and bouncing unequal RGB values. In your case, try for example adding the following to your upper dark texture:

$reflectivity "{ 26 17 2 }"

(I haven't tested that example in game)

That should actually make the texture to emit some sort of soft (dark) shadow over the white texture right on its bordering edge.

Anyways, it is already looking great with those subtle stains!

Keep up the great job!

reepblue wrote:

This is looking really nice, but the layout of the room is kind of boring.

Also, off topic. Will we be seeing the glass panes and cobblestone wall that were in the original BP?

That water looks really good, it might be better if it was a little darker. Right now it looks a bit like repulsion gel!

quaternary wrote:
That water looks really good, it might be better if it was a little darker. Right now it looks a bit like repulsion gel!

Imo it'll look even more like bounce gel if it's darker. I'd say lighter and dirtier.

josepezdj wrote:
That last pic is amazing Reep Loving the overall mood, the fog, lighting, the water material with the blueish mist, the dust motes around the point_spotlights, even the tideline overlay!

I've gotten similar bleeding effect of one texture over the adjacent one by adding the parameter $reflectivity and bouncing unequal RGB values. In your case, try for example adding the following to your upper dark texture:

$reflectivity "{ 26 17 2 }"

(I haven't tested that example in game)

That should actually make the texture to emit some sort of soft (dark) shadow over the white texture right on its bordering edge.

Anyways, it is already looking great with those subtle stains!

Keep up the great job!

Since the 2013 branch does not have "spectacular", I'm pretty sure that the $reflectivity keyvalue is strongly tied to env_cubemap in this branch. Plus, it was easier just to edit the texture. But thanks.

Ciirulean wrote:
This is looking really nice, but the layout of the room is kind of boring.

Also, off topic. Will we be seeing the glass panes and cobblestone wall that were in the original BP?

Room layout is straight from BP2, and the puzzle may change to be something more interesting and deserving. I dunno about the glass panels, but I'm not doing the cobblestone because I don't want multiple invalid portal surfaces in the test chambers, and they did not look as good with the new scheme.

And as for the Coolant, I made it more bluer. Making it more dirty is an idea, I'll go back to it again tomorrow.

What I did today for the most part was edit the viewmodel for the portalgun. I still need to make new textures for it but model wise, I deleted the hand in the back, the tube is now solid, and I added the glass holes on the muzzle. I've moved the tube lights to the front as you might assume, but there is a tiny ugly thing that happens when your portals fizzle in the cleanser. I can fix all of this and more with the source code, but I have not gotten any feelings about that so I'm avoiding it for now.

So wait are you actually thinking of using the leaked source code for this mod? Or am I just reading too much into this:

reepblue wrote:
I deleted the hand in the back, the tube is now solid...I can fix all of this and more with the source code, but I have not gotten any feelings about that so I'm avoiding it for now.

Also are you going to add a different hand back under the gun?

CamBen wrote:
So wait are you actually thinking of using the leaked source code for this mod? Or am I just reading too much into this:

I am, I know a while ago Hunter asked Jeep what would Valve do if they used the leak Portal code for a mod and his response was something like "We could not do anything about it." Basically, I think it will be the community; whether be TWP or ModDB that will take it down due to "Piracy", not Valve themselves. Recall, that Valve took Missing Information 1.4 down, but when 1.5 came out they said "Just keep it a mod, and it's fine by us."

A while ago just for laughs, I took Portal's leaked code from 2007, put it in 2013, fixed a few lines, and it compiled just fine. It's actually more up-to date then the retail game, minus the dinosaur radios. My setup only looks for custom dlls, and the Source SDK 2013 Singleplayer stuff. Other then that, it reads Portal for content, so Portal is still needed to play the mod. Here is some stuff I was playing around with: 1 2 3

For NBP, I would just use it for simple adjustments, minor improvements, and making things like the cubes entities like they are in Portal 2. It's stupid that all the boxes need to be named "box" to work correctly with the fizzlers. Again, it's more of what you want. If you think it's unfair/too fishy, I'll just use stock dlls. If you think it will make it more refreshing, then I will.

CamBen wrote:
Also are you going to add a different hand back under the gun?

I will add the hand if I can make it seem like it's not glued on there. I'm gonna watch both Chell's world models, and hold my Portalgun replica to see how would the hand would fit best. If it works out, then I'll re-add it.

Wow, those edits are sure cool! I wonder if valve would be okay with you using it, since they let missing info slide.
Also.... Do you know if that old source code supports the combine soldiers with working combat (functional shooting with AR2, SMG, etc etc) and/or citizen chatter? Because if so, that would be amazing.

Also that pickup color change would be really awesome to add into NBP if you are going to use the source code leak.

I do like that decay effect. I noticed that it only seems to be coming off of the black metal textures, which is cool because it leads me to think that it's rust, or something similar. The liquid texture looks good, however like mentioned before it may look a bit better if it where a tad grungier. Possibly slightly transparent, too? Not like, you can see the bottom of the pool, but a slight transparency. Idk, not to sure exactly how the liquid looks IRL, but I digress.

Also, as a question, and I apologize if it's been mentioned before hand, is the standard water going to make a comeback as well, allowing for underwater chambers and such? Or are they going to get cut from the final thing?

Either way, looking good so far.

Oh no... I didn't realize BP had swimmable water too....
Now my tests for my mod are going to look like I stole reep's ideas; fire cube, ice cube, electrical cube, fan, water, whatnot...
Although I'm thinking of the videos I've seen of BP that my thermal elements should be different enough (like being chilled/heated instead of dropped) and luckily they aren't a major element.

**Today's update: **
- Decided to go ahead and use the code base to fix/improve stuff. Fixed the Portalgun issue, added prop_weighted_cube, and prop_button.
- Made new skins for the portalgun. (world and view models).
- Adjusted the Portal colors
- Using a Portal 2 Collab hieght-map for the metal walls. More interesting then before.
- Made a new box dropper prefab.
- Attempted to make the coolant dirtier, but I just made it more detailed. Heh....

(I should stop showing off new maps.)

RubyCarbuncIe wrote:
Also, as a question, and I apologize if it's been mentioned before hand, is the standard water going to make a comeback as well, allowing for underwater chambers and such? Or are they going to get cut from the final thing?

No, looking back on that I think that concept was kind of silly.

reepblue wrote:
**Today's update: **
- Decided to go ahead and use the code base to fix/improve stuff. Fixed the Portalgun issue, added prop_weighted_cube, and prop_button.
- Made new skins for the portalgun. (world and view models).
- Adjusted the Portal colors
- Using a Portal 2 Collab hieght-map for the metal walls. More interesting then before.
- Made a new box dropper prefab.
- Attempted to make the coolant dirtier, but I just made it more detailed. Heh....

(I should stop showing off new maps.)

RubyCarbuncIe wrote:

Also, as a question, and I apologize if it's been mentioned before hand, is the standard water going to make a comeback as well, allowing for underwater chambers and such? Or are they going to get cut from the final thing?

No, looking back on that I think that concept was kind of silly.

I actually thought it was nice even though the puzzles made with it were a bit plain, but that goes for BP in general, so we now have this one instead. I like the idea of the electrified water replacement for green water in smallish areas like the one used in the scrapped logic portals map. Also, this screenshot looks like you're going for a more "logic portals" puzzle. The thing with logic portals is that the chambers were more compact, so it's a bit different.

Why though.

Ciirulean wrote:
Why though.

Very good question. Here's a story.

When I started, I did wanted to keep it for the original Portal as just making a mod for Portal 2 (as in with the sourcemods folder) is very clunky to setup, build cubemaps, etc. The Source 2013 branch is (or at least WAS) modding heaven as it was easy to make and mount VPKs. However, Portal has not been updated since the summer of 2013, and things like the particle editor crashed, and it was mostly outdated compared to the other games that share the same branch. So, being that I had the leak set up for 2013 before, I used that set of DLLs instead of Portals. Then a few days ago, I decided to actually make entities for it which just ended up being Portal 1 versions of Portal 2 entities.

It was a few weeks ago, and Valve released a update for the SDK bases. This change was so big, I needed to update my code base for the branch, and with that, rebuild my mods. However, I noticed that some tools acted strange with my batches as they would run outside the cmd window, then run again in the cmd window. So basically, things like maps, models, and textures would compile twice for each compile program. Yeah, this got real annoying, real fast. I've noticed older versions of the Base (like the MP branch that I did not update) would work as normal. Lucky, before the May SDK Base update, I backed up the binary folder before I updated it.

Last Fall/Winter, I experimented on importing things from Alien Swarm such as beam_spotlights, HDR fog, fog_volume, etc to the 2013. I've did a lot of editing other files, but in the end was a branch sorta similar to the original L4D branch. However, noticing Valve kept updating the base, I decided to use a stock build for Vectronic instead. Since I've found the compatible binary folder for that solution, I was pondering on using that as the base for Blue Portals.

There is a trick you can do with any source game, and if you plan to put it on Greenlight, it's best to start the project like this. If you just make a new folder under the common folder, copy over the binary folder (bin) and the platform folder along with the exe and such, you can make your project run 100% independently from the game you are modding. Not only that, but it's much easier when it comes to file management. This meant that I could use that backed up binary folder, along with my modified 2013 solution!

So I did just that, and then it hit me. "Now the only way to play it would be to have it on Greenlight, but that might signal a flag with Valve being that it will be on Steam." since what I was doing is kind of in the gray area. All my tweaks were again mostly Portal 2 related, I get all the 'updated stuff', and Hammer for 2013 is not that nice to work with with it's broken cursors, and crippled numbers for us AMD GPU users. So I restated the setup with Portal 2 stuff, rebuilt models and textures seeing what crashed the game, and what didn't, implementing my cube model, and I got this:

As you can see, I still wanna keep it Portal 1-esque; only using Portal 2 entities to make life easier. And with this, some ideas like oil will come back, and vents will work how they did in BP2. In the end, it's more updated, easier to work with, and for sure legal.

Sorry for the long story, but that's why I ended up going with Portal 2. I can say though that everything is about 90% exact to it's Portal 1 version.

So you basically managed to get it to work as an independent game on the P2 engine without the annoying things from Portal 2 sourcemods and stuff? Well, that makes things easier for people that don't have P1 out there. Also, P2 stuff like better grip of the cube would be especially useful.