Challenge maps in Portal 2?
OK, so as I've stated repeatedly in other threads I'm really disappointed by the lack of challenge maps / advanced chambers in Portal 2. It feels like the content is _almost_ there, it just needs the proper wrapping to make it work.
If we could create the right *.bms files (or whatever the equivalent is in P2) so that we could launch specific Portal 2 single-player maps and start the player at the correct position, I think we could "create" some fairly interesting challenges.
There's some pretty major open questions though:
1) Does Portal 2 even support any kind of challenge? I mean does the engine actually support doing a timed run, a least portals run and/or a least steps run? We can't really know yet, since the game obviously didn't ship with any, but I find it likely that they'd have the functionality in there somewhere.
2) Is it possible to modify player spawn position outside a .bsp? I'm thinking some of the mappers here should be able to answer that. If not many of the single-player chambers that would otherwise work might not be that good since a lot contain too much fluff around the actual puzzle bit.
I'm gonna spend some time over easter trying to see if I can peek into the inner workings of P2 and see what can be found. Now if only it had installed it next to Portal 1 so I knew where to look 
OK finding it was not hard. It's in Steam/steamapps/common/portal 2.
And look what I found in portal 2/portal2/scripts/bonus_maps_manifest.txt:
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bonus_maps_manifest
{
"dir" "scripts/advanced_chambers"
"dir" "scripts/challenges""search" "maps" [$WIN32]
"map" "scripts/challenges/challenges.bns" [$GAMECONSOLE]
"map" "scripts/advanced_chambers/advanced_chambers.bns" [$GAMECONSOLE]
}
I'd say that is pretty promising
After looking through the files present and inside the VPK files I can unfortunately not find a single *.bns file. Also there's a dire lack of an actual menu entry that would actually use them, so I'm a bit stumped by now. Better keep looking...
Speaking of menus however extending the Extras menu is very easy:
Hm, wonder if these will be way too big:
This makes me wish for a BBCode to include an image, but scaled down :S
BTW that was done by editing portal2/scripts/extras.txt:
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"Extras"
{
...snip...
"twp"
{
"title" "TWP"
"subtitle" "www.thinking.withportals.com"
"pic" "vgui/extras/attract_panels"
"url" "https://www.thinking.withportals.com/"
}
}
Aha, extras.txt can also be used to launch maps, so this might be a way to trigger directly the maps that could do with some bns love:
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"Extras"
{
...snip...
"trustflings"
{
"title" "Trust Flings"
"subtitle" "Chamber 06 - Advanced Aerial Faith Plates"
"map" "sp_a2_trust_fling"
}
}
I can't do it right now, but have you tried typing "sv_bonus_challenge #" into the console?
(# being a number between 1 and 3)
(# being a number between 1 and 3)
I have not, I'll get right on that. Do I have to have a map already loaded? Or does it apply to subsequent map loads?
(Right now I'm compiling a list of test chamber #XX -> map filename since that's less than obvious from the map names this time round.)
It only does it if you type it in then load the map.
For reference:
sp_a1_intro1: game start, meet wheatley, container ride, and Chamber 00/19 in disprepair
sp_a1_intro2: Chamber 01/19 redesigned and in disrepair
sp_a1_intro3: Chamber 02/19 in shambles and drop to underground with gun
sp_a1_intro4: Chmbaer 03/19 (chamber sign broken) in disrepair and Chamber 04/19 in disprepair
sp_a1_intro5: Chamber 05/19 new design in disrepair
sp_a1_intro6: Chamber 06/19 new design in disrepair
sp_a1_intro7: Chamber 07/19 new design, in shambles and open unto Chamber 08/19 new design and in shambles, meetup with wheatley, bts
sp_a1_wakeup: bts, dead glados, waky waky glados
sp_a2_intro: drop down to incinerator room, work back through Chamber 19/19
Chapter 2: The Cold Boot
sp_a2_laser_intro: Chamber 01/22 laser1
sp_a2_laser_stairs: Chamber 02/22 discouragement redirection cubes
sp_a2_dual_lasers: Chamber 03/22 double lasers
sp_a2_laser_over_goo: Chamber 04/22 laser over water, moving platform
sp_a2_catapult_intro: Chamber 05/22 aerial faith plate intro
sp_a2_trust_fling: Chamber 06/22 advanced aerial faith plates
sp_a2_pit_flings: Chamber 07/22 companion cube refizzle, no emancipation field
sp_a2_fizzler_intro: Chamber 08/22 lasers and emancipation field
Chapter 3: The Return
sp_a2_sphere_peek: Chamber 09/22 broken aerial faith plate, wheatley teaser, ceiling afp fling x 3 and lasers
sp_a2_ricochet: Chamber 10/22 afp x 3 with cube and drc
sp_a2_bridge_intro: Chamber 11/22 hard light bridge
sp_a2_bridge_the_gap: Chamber 12/22 wheatley and bird, easier hlb -.-
sp_a2_turret_intro: Chamber 13/22 turrets, drop bts,
sp_a2_laser_relays: bts up into Chamber 14/22 laser relay triggers (x3)
sp_a2_turret_blocker: Chamber 15/22 using hlb as a blocker
sp_a2_laser_vs_turret: Chamber 16/22 using drc to kill turrets
sp_a2_pull_the_rug: Chamber 17/22 laser + hlb cube drop
Chapter 4: The Surprise
sp_a2_column_blocker: surprise into Chamber 18/22 vertical hlb, drc, turret and 4 x laser relays, wheatley outro
sp_a2_laser_chaining: Chamber 19/22 afp ceiling fling x N, 3 x drc, turret kill
sp_a2_triple_laser: Chamber 20/22 clean look, triple laser receiver
sp_a2_bts1: Chamber 21/22 interrupted, wheatley escape (also fake last test)
sp_a2_bts2: wheatley escape part 2, turrets, smashings
Chapter 5: The Escape
sp_a2_bts3: darkness, factory
sp_a2_bts4: more factory, turret testing, daycare, bring your daughter to work, potatoes
sp_a2_bts5: neurotoxin facility
sp_a2_bts6: tube ride
sp_a2_core: GLaDOS trap, core transfer, evil wheatley pounding
Chapter 6: The Fall
sp_a3_00: the fall
sp_a3_01: rock bottom, condemned, big ass seal door
sp_a3_03: 1950'ies aperture, cave johnson intro, pump station alpha
sp_a3_jump_intro: 1953 Chamber 01 blue gel intro, 1953 Chamber 02 more blue gel
sp_a3_bomb_flings: broken entrance, 1957 Chamber 02, blue gel spray
sp_a3_crazy_box: 1958 Chamber 27, blue gel and water, into blue gel wall from fling, into 1958 Chamber 28 blue gel box
sp_a3_transition01: 1950'ies complete, into 1971 pump station beta, 1970'ies intro, PotatOS
Chapter 7: The Reunion
sp_a3_speed_ramp: 1972 Chamber 01, red gel intro, portrait of a lady, 1972/02 red gel + blue gel fling
sp_a3_speed_flings: 1976/06 more red gel + blue gel flingage
sp_a3_portal_intro: 1978 exit to 1982 pump station gamma (white gel intro) to 1980'ies intro
sp_a3_portal_intro: (huh again?) 1982/?? (unnumbered) white gel bonanza, into 1982 exit, up elevator shaft
sp_a3_end: up through bts industrial (not elevator shaft though), misc goo puzzles to hatch override
Chapter 8: The Itch
sp_a4_intro: wheatley chamber 00 into 01/01 (x2)
sp_a4_tb_intro: wheatley chamber 01/19, funnel cube ceiling button
sp_a4_tb_trust_drop: wheatley chamber 02/19, funnel funnel funnel cube ceiling button again
sp_a4_tb_wall_button: wheatley chamber 03/19, funnel wall button
sp_a4_tb_polarity: whealtey chamber 04/19, reversable funnels
sp_a4_tb_catch:wheatley chamber 05/19, faith plate + funnel, fling self + cube
sp_a4_stop_the_box: wheatley chamber 06/19, vertical hlb, faith plate fling, cube grab, turrets
sp_a4_laser_catapult: wheatley chamber 11/19, funnel, lasers, faith plate flings, drc + cube, ceiling button, remote lifts
sp_a4_laser_platform: wheatley chamber 12/19, laser remoted platform, bts exit
sp_a4_speed_tb_catch: wheatley chamber 15/19, funnel catch cube, funnel speed goo
sp_a4_jump_polarity: wheatley chamber 16/19, reversable funnel blue goo, turrets, funnel fling bounce
Chapter 9: The Part Where...
sp_a4_finale1: wheatley chamber 17/19 but surprise trap
sp_a4_finale2: bts, wheatley chamber 75/19 (broken turrets), misc semi-puzzles
sp_a4_finale3: more bts puzzles
sp_a4_finale4: boss battle, moon, outro, turret opera and credits