topbanner_forum
  *

avatar image

Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?

Login with username, password and session length
  • Tuesday March 19, 2024, 4:22 am
  • Proudly celebrating 15+ years online.
  • Donate now to become a lifetime supporting member of the site and get a non-expiring license key for all of our programs.
  • donate

Author Topic: Portal 2 gets a new level maker! Woohoo - thousands of new levels  (Read 13261 times)

Carol Haynes

  • Waffles for England (patent pending)
  • Global Moderator
  • Joined in 2005
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,066
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Portal 2 has been updated to include the new test chamber maker.

Lots of Brilliant new games to play plus you can make your own.

Portal fans give my first attempt a quick try and see what you think:

http://steamcommunit...details/?id=68641863
(updated to version 2 and added a few extra tasks and gotchas)

(Note there doesn't seem to be an easy way to search on Steam Workshop but that link will open the page in a browser - if you log in to your steam account in the browser you can subscribe to my new level which will then appear in your game!!!).

Please rate it and leave a comment - especially if you think it is OK!!

By the way this one (not mine) drove me to distraction and the solution is satisfyingly easy when you stop thinking:

http://steamcommunit...details/?id=68458711
« Last Edit: May 09, 2012, 07:39 PM by Carol Haynes »

Deozaan

  • Charter Member
  • Joined in 2006
  • ***
  • Points: 1
  • Posts: 9,746
    • View Profile
    • Read more about this member.
    • Donate to Member
Thanks for pointing this out. I've subscribed to your test chamber and the other one you mentioned. :Thmbsup:

Carol Haynes

  • Waffles for England (patent pending)
  • Global Moderator
  • Joined in 2005
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,066
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Ooo err missus - I have done it again. I must say I am quite pleased with this new level:

Labyrinthine Treasure Hunt
[Edit ... sorry Steam had a hissy fit and munched my original map - consequently I had to unpublish and publish again so the URL has changed]

17-05-2012 19-59-43.jpg

Spent the last 3 days setting this one up. In terms of the number of bits and piences it is about at the limit of what the new puzzle maker is capable of. (I had grand ideas but the compiler kept saying too many objects).

PLEASE can some fellow Portallers give it a go and leave a comment on Steam (would be fun if you left one here too)
« Last Edit: May 18, 2012, 06:58 AM by Carol Haynes »

Deozaan

  • Charter Member
  • Joined in 2006
  • ***
  • Points: 1
  • Posts: 9,746
    • View Profile
    • Read more about this member.
    • Donate to Member
I tried your Flying About map.

I didn't particularly care for it. I think the reason was because normally in Portal Test Chambers you are able to see what your goal is. But in Flying About, everything I wanted to reach was way up high and out of sight, which made me assume that it wasn't important until I was able to get somewhere or do something that brought it within sight.

After "flying about" for 15 minutes or so trying to figure out what to do, I just got frustrated. I saw the power indicators but I had no idea how to activate any of them. And maybe I just haven't played enough Portal 2 lately, but seeing non-activated, round, metal devices on the wall doesn't help me know what those things are or what they do, or why I should try to activate them, or even how to activate them for that matter.

Finally I noticed some white wall way up high behind a glass wall, but what I actually noticed was that I could just barely see some of the wall that wasn't behind the glass wall, and if I jumped and shot the portal gun at it while in the air, I could hit it. I actually felt like I was cheating. Was this section of the wall supposed to be accessible from just standing around? Shouldn't I be "flying about" somehow to get up there? Later I realized it would be even easier to shoot that wall if I had been "flying about" from a certain position. But the layout of the level was such that nothing made me look the way I was supposed to look.

If you've ever played Valve games with the commentary on, you may have heard them talk about how players almost never look up, and you have to give them a reason to look up. (Come to think of it, I think it was the Half Life 2: Lost Coast Demo that specifically mentioned this.)

Almost immediately upon entering the test chamber I went to the place where I was supposed to look and "fly about" and see that patch of wall way up high, but there was something else that drew my attention away toward the opposite direction: A black section on the wall. This was curious to me because I hadn't seen it before. Everything else was grey or white. So I was busy trying to figure out what this black section of the wall was. After spending a minute or so trying to get into it or activate it somehow I decided I'd have to activate it from the other side of the lasers. So then my attention was turned to that. And as I said, that led to several minutes of me flying about trying to figure out what all those mechanical devices were for or how to activate them and wondering what was up on the shelf way up high by the acid or slime or whatever it is.

When I finally saw the patch of white wall behind the glass--or more accurately the patch of white wall that wasn't behind the glass--the puzzle was fairly straightforward and easy. I just needed to have an idea of where to begin.

But then again, had that been obvious from the beginning, the puzzle would have been solved in just a couple of minutes and may have seemed too easy.

At the end of it all, I was just too frustrated to want to try the Labyrinthine Treasure Hunt, especially after reading the description. It sounds too laborious and not enough fun, crazy, portal physics, action-y stuff.

So there's my review of Flying About.

Carol Haynes

  • Waffles for England (patent pending)
  • Global Moderator
  • Joined in 2005
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,066
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Oh dear - sorry! The intention of the game was to get you jumping through Portals to gain height to get onto the ledge on the left as you walk in - once up there the rest of the puzzle layout is pretty obvious. I though it would be clear that you had to get onto the ledge because you can actually do anything else in that part of the chamber. Also there are blue indicator lines up there showing you that is how you get the ball and cube to drop.

Have a look at the second puzzle it isn't nearly as quirky (remember flying about was my first attempt).

The thing to remember in Treasure Hunt is that all the items you collect en route are used almost immediately after you collect them but then to finsh the level you have to retrieve them all to use again at the exit (watch out for a mysterious button in the first room that doesn't seem to do anything - it is used at the end but is only a funnel ride away) - not nearly as tedious as it sounds at the end because you activate various shourtcuts to go back to the location of those bits and pieces. The level it self consists of a number of rooms and corridors, each with a fairly standard (easy) Portal test.

Carol Haynes

  • Waffles for England (patent pending)
  • Global Moderator
  • Joined in 2005
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,066
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Update - Deozaan edited the room to hopefully make it much clearer that you need to look up (unfortunately the new puzzle maker doesn't have simple things like signs that you can use so I have used line of lights to draw the eye upwards).

I have fixed a potential cheat for gaining the high ground and also reorganised a few parts of the puzzle to make it clearer which devices get dropped and turned off by which switches.

Can you do me a favour and have one more look and see if it is a bit clearer.

Deozaan

  • Charter Member
  • Joined in 2006
  • ***
  • Points: 1
  • Posts: 9,746
    • View Profile
    • Read more about this member.
    • Donate to Member
Oh dear - sorry! The intention of the game was to get you jumping through Portals to gain height to get onto the ledge on the left as you walk in - once up there the rest of the puzzle layout is pretty obvious. I though it would be clear that you had to get onto the ledge because you can actually do anything else in that part of the chamber. Also there are blue indicator lines up there showing you that is how you get the ball and cube to drop.
-Carol Haynes (May 19, 2012, 04:35 AM)

Update - Deozaan edited the room to hopefully make it much clearer that you need to look up (unfortunately the new puzzle maker doesn't have simple things like signs that you can use so I have used line of lights to draw the eye upwards).

I have fixed a potential cheat for gaining the high ground and also reorganised a few parts of the puzzle to make it clearer which devices get dropped and turned off by which switches.

Can you do me a favour and have one more look and see if it is a bit clearer.
-Carol Haynes (May 19, 2012, 04:24 PM)

Okay, well, now that you fixed the cheat, I can't figure out how to solve it. :-/ I just can't get enough height. I tried jumping from the first ledge down to the floor, but that doesn't get me high enough. And I don't keep enough momentum to jump down into a portal which takes me back up to the ledge, flying off the ledge again back down again into the portal for extra height. And there's no higher ledge I can jump off of on the other side of the lasers. So yeah, it looks like I only ever solved it in the first place because I found the cheat.

I'm stumped. :'( :huh: :-[


Carol Haynes

  • Waffles for England (patent pending)
  • Global Moderator
  • Joined in 2005
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,066
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
You jump from the ledge to a Portal on the floor and as you emerge from the Portal up on the edge of the ledge you move sideways to drop down through the hole on the floor again - each round gives you more height - repeat until you can get to the high ledge. This was the reason I called it flying about!

Carol Haynes

  • Waffles for England (patent pending)
  • Global Moderator
  • Joined in 2005
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,066
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
If you want a walk through of Flying About see: http://www.youtube.c.../watch?v=oEPcXigeNPk

Deozaan

  • Charter Member
  • Joined in 2006
  • ***
  • Points: 1
  • Posts: 9,746
    • View Profile
    • Read more about this member.
    • Donate to Member
You jump from the ledge to a Portal on the floor and as you emerge from the Portal up on the edge of the ledge you move sideways to drop down through the hole on the floor again - each round gives you more height - repeat until you can get to the high ledge. This was the reason I called it flying about!
-Carol Haynes (May 20, 2012, 03:41 AM)

I tried that, except I didn't think to attempt it sideways. Going "forwards" or "backwards" makes you lose your momentum and you can't travel far enough to get much beyond the borders of the portal you came out of. But going sideways works really well. Too well, sometimes. :)

Carol Haynes

  • Waffles for England (patent pending)
  • Global Moderator
  • Joined in 2005
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,066
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: Portal 2 gets a new level maker! Woohoo - thousands of new levels
« Reply #10 on: June 01, 2012, 06:27 AM »
I have revamped my Labyrinthine Treasure Map with extra puzzles and challenges.

Can somebody have a go at it please (it is sitting there all lonely with no feedback on Steam - no thumbs up or down and the only comment is min - looks very sad and lonely).

I am quite pleased with it now and seems to have the right feel (but maybe that's because I designed it) - it would be really good to know if I am hitting the spot!

My other puzzle Flying About is also getting a facelift with whole new funnels and lasers section (coming soon).

I think one of the big problems with the new community editor for Portal 2 is that so many people are producing puzzles it is almost impossible to he visible in the community and an awful lot of frustrated designers have now taken to spamming other designers threads trying to get visitors. Apart from the Steam Workshop page there doesn't seem to be any way to promote custom maps and that page is seriously broken - search doesn't actually work - even when you know the name of the user and/or the name of the map you are looking for and the only maps displayed prominently are the ones with 5* ratings meaning it is impossible to get new maps off the start.

Carol Haynes

  • Waffles for England (patent pending)
  • Global Moderator
  • Joined in 2005
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,066
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: Portal 2 gets a new level maker! Woohoo - thousands of new levels
« Reply #11 on: June 01, 2012, 12:35 PM »
New extended version of Flying About online now: http://steamcommunit...details/?id=68641863

I have tried to make the original puzzle slightly more obviously logical by only supplying the bits as you need them!

lanux128

  • Global Moderator
  • Joined in 2005
  • *****
  • Posts: 6,277
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: Portal 2 gets a new level maker! Woohoo - thousands of new levels
« Reply #12 on: June 25, 2012, 12:17 AM »
thanks for the link, i'm subscribed too.. though i just started the main storyline and it'd be a while before i branch out into custom maps. anyway, it's so awesome to have a modder in our midst. :up:

Carol Haynes

  • Waffles for England (patent pending)
  • Global Moderator
  • Joined in 2005
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,066
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: Portal 2 gets a new level maker! Woohoo - thousands of new levels
« Reply #13 on: June 25, 2012, 04:21 AM »
Added two new maps yesterday -

Slide into Despair - A classic puzzle (but with lasers and without a pencil!). Slide into the bowels of Aperture and then work to get out again!

Wall Bounce - A very simple short map as a proof of concept. It isn't a new idea but I had real problems getting this to work in anything other than this way!

For all my maps see: http://steamcommunit...141/myworkshopfiles/

It would be really good if DC Portal 2 players could give them a go and leave a rating (thumbs up or down) and a comment on Steam. Ta.

Carol Haynes

  • Waffles for England (patent pending)
  • Global Moderator
  • Joined in 2005
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,066
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: Portal 2 gets a new level maker! Woohoo - thousands of new levels
« Reply #14 on: June 26, 2012, 05:10 PM »
Two more maps today (I am on a roll) - both turret related! One is a silly bit of nonsense to get your revenge on the turret race, the other is a sort of Drity Harry style shoot em up!

Carol Haynes

  • Waffles for England (patent pending)
  • Global Moderator
  • Joined in 2005
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,066
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: Portal 2 gets a new level maker! Woohoo - thousands of new levels
« Reply #15 on: July 01, 2012, 11:14 AM »
Just added a new, and separate, version of Dirty Harry (version 2). Someone on Steam managed to play the original game without having to kill a single turret by using bunny-hopping (which I am now working on mastering).

Dirty Harry version 2 is a lot harder (hopefully) and puts obstacles to slow down the bunny hopping - it also has a lot more turrets (and they are more vicious)! If you fancy a go at it see: http://steamcommunit...details/?id=79579536 (or you can see all my maps at http://steamcommunit...kshopfiles?appid=620 )

Carol Haynes

  • Waffles for England (patent pending)
  • Global Moderator
  • Joined in 2005
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,066
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: Portal 2 gets a new level maker! Woohoo - thousands of new levels
« Reply #16 on: July 26, 2012, 09:49 AM »
Woo Hoo - one of my maps (called Bouncy Castle) has made it to the Steam Workshop "Most Popular this week" front page (currently at the number 12 slot but climbing slowly!).

It is very strange - the map I spent least time and care on has attracted more attention that all my other maps combined (by a rather large margin).

It is a deliberately simple puzzle to solve - but designed to be humerous (silly).

Here is a picture ...

2012-07-26_00006.jpgPortal 2 gets a new level maker! Woohoo - thousands of new levels

If you have Portal 2 check it out at:

http://steamcommunit...details/?id=84113218

(it is a short map that probably takes less than 5 minutes for most to solve - for want of a better word.)


jgpaiva

  • Global Moderator
  • Joined in 2006
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,727
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: Portal 2 gets a new level maker! Woohoo - thousands of new levels
« Reply #17 on: July 26, 2012, 10:44 AM »
Congrats, Carol!

wraith808

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2006
  • **
  • default avatar
  • Posts: 11,186
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: Portal 2 gets a new level maker! Woohoo - thousands of new levels
« Reply #18 on: July 26, 2012, 11:47 AM »
Your steam id is usually a good way to find all of the workshop files by one person, I've found.