I'll try to do some challenge runs as well and post some numbers.

So that's 11 portals total. Your numbers are 14, 13, 12, which is fairly okay I guess. Though the 14 number is reachable if you can simply complete the level, so maybe it should be 13, 12, 11?

Most of my optimizations happened in room 4. Originally I did that in five portals. That was with two portals in the pit to traverse that, one in the ceiling on the other side of the forcefield, one at the top of the stairs and then one at the last button. First optimization was flinging across the pit instead which saved one on the floor and then another since I could re-use my fling portal later on. Last optimization was to simply jump over the pit. Fairly hard to do and required crouching.

One thing that I've noticed now that I've done challenges is that some areas can be really hard to hit with a portal and can require several tries to make a portal land. This really annoys me when going for challenges, time challenge mostly of course.

Where?

The piston thingy in the first room. Very hard to hit when in a rush.

The walls in the third room (fling thing), but this may be more because I'm still too near the fizzler?

The back wall in the fourth room (behind and to the left of the button. Not that big of a problem because you have time to try a couple of times while running there.

The ceiling on the other side of the forcefield in the fourth room. When looking up at it from the forcefield it seems the ceiling only really wanna be hit in the lower right parts on screen.

The wall bit at the very last button. Oh my god I've cursed this one by now!

These are mostly only problems when doing time challenge. Fixing them up would make the level feel more finished though. Nothing ruins the whole portal experience like having to find the magic pixel on a concrete wall that actually allows me to put a portal there.

The values for steps and time are the defaults of the bns maker, so I can see why they're inaccurate.

Thanks for helping me, player1.

I put a portal on the wall on the left door so it goes into the ball catcher, then put one under the right door when it was open. Then went into it under the door went thru the portal again and i was on the other side ^^.

youme wrote:
First off, the ball catcher puzzle is way WAY too easy to get stuck, then have to restart - players should never have to restart because they messed up, restart the puzzle, yes, restart the level, no. Need a get-out clause

I agree. Lucky for me on my first playthrough I noticed the danger of getting stuck, and I spent probably a good minute just watching the pellet bounce back and forth while I worked out the whole sequence in my head. Some people really prefer to dive into a puzzle and experiment with it, and those people are super-likely to get stuck in this room.

I was thinking about it, and it's obvious that making the doors too easy to open from the spitter/catcher side would break the puzzle. I suggest adding buttons that would open the doors, but only after a timer ticked down. This forced wait would likely cancel any advantage that being able to go back to the "button room" might create. Better yet, could you make the trigger that opens the doors also cancel any open portals? (Not sure if this is possible.)

Quote:
The first button (the timer one) what was the point? didn't need it, didnt use it.

It moves the wall panel in the top chamber closer to the button. In the current map version, it is unnecessary, but espen said he planned to make the floor in the first room unportalable (need a corresponding texture change). If you cannot portal anywhere in the lower part of the chamber, the button and its moving panel are needed.

Quote:
The last button (the other timer one) what did it do? I didnt even press it to find out because i didnt need it.

It does the same thing as the pedestal-button at the top of the moving stairs: it turns off the portal-cleanser part of the field (but the cube still won't go through). I guess technically this lets you set up your solution to this room beginning from either side of the field. Not sure why that's necessary either, now that I think about it. Espen?

Quote:
either they are a test chamber and so should look like one, or they arent a test chamber and shouldnt look like one at all.

I gotta disagree here. I think there's plenty of interest in maps that use test-chamber type elements without necessarily trying to look exactly like the SP game. I do think, though, then when a mapper uses elements familiar from SP, they should use them in the ways the player has already been trained to understand. (Using portalable textures as nonportalable and vice-versa should remain a big no-no, IMO.) But as long as the useful conventions that the SP game established are being followed, I welcome maps with different aesthetics. I really don't think everyone has to copy Valve's design to the letter.

Crooked Paul wrote:
It does the same thing as the pedestal-button at the top of the moving stairs: it turns off the portal-cleanser part of the field (but the cube still won't go through). I guess technically this lets you set up your solution to this room beginning from either side of the field. Not sure why that's necessary either, now that I think about it. Espen?

You need it to get back outside so you can portal to the last button. Remember that the floors will be non-portable in the final version (at least that's what I've understood). If not I can certainly do this level faster and with less portals

On the two part where you can place portals on the floor, you will notice it is distinctly lighter in color.

Things I have done:
-Replaces second blue forcefield with cleanser particle.
-Turned 75% of the light strips into overlays.

Things yet to do:
-Turn remaining 30% into oerlays.
-Make areaportals.
-Find a way not to get stuck in second room. Does anyone have an idea on how to do this?

espen180 wrote:
-Find a way not to get stuck in second room. Does anyone have an idea on how to do this?

Make the two portable surfaces in there smaller so they can only hold one portal each and put a portal detector on both that will open the door if, and only if, both surfaces have a portal?

You could even include a "Complimentary Aperture Science Escape Hatch" voice over to make it more obvious and more portal like

espen180 wrote:
-Turned 75% of the light strips into overlays.

Things yet to do:
-Turn remaining 30% into oerlays.

I see you failed basic maths

espen180 wrote:
-Find a way not to get stuck in second room. Does anyone have an idea on how to do this?

you could use a portal detector, place one big brush in the room and have some clever logic going on.
IF there are no portals in the detector AND both doors are closed THEN open one way escape hatch (you couldhave a lift to an all metal vent that drops you down in the room before, where both your portals are)

youme wrote:
IF there are no portals in the detector AND both doors are closed THEN open

Player1 wrote:
put a portal detector on both that will open the door if, and only if, both surfaces have a portal

lol we went for opposites, but in order for you to not get suck you need to open the escape hatch for BOTH these senarios

espen180 wrote:
Player1's version is more suited, as youme's version recuired that none of the walls have portals, yet you need to place at least one portal in there before you can enter it.

oh yeh. completely forgot about that

@me

espen180 wrote:
Player1's version is more suited, as youme's version recuired that none of the walls have portals, yet you need to place at least one portal in there before you can enter it.

Actually you need to fizzle the portals as well, otherwise the puzzle will be way too easy.

espen180 wrote:
On the contrary, because you need both portals to enter either room.

Ahh true!