[IDEA] Portal Ball

#1 · February 15, 2012, 1:54 am

Quote from tom59593 on February 15, 2012, 1:54 am
Hey guys,

I'm pretty sure there is no way in heck we'd be able to pull this off with the tools so far, as multiplayer beyond the standard 2-player co-op maps is incredibly unstable...but I figured I would share my idea anyways:

So I've been creating Portal 2 maps for a little bit now, and I find myself thinking about fun ways to use/abuse the tools that Valve has given us sometimes. Today, I had a cool idea that I thought would be a really fun (and deep) multiplayer experience: Portal Ball.

This would be an objective based game where the basic idea is to deliver an edge-less safety cube into your team's designated receptacle...pretty much like basketball with some CTF elements. To make things interesting, the stadium would need to be a large playing surface with a huge assortment of portal-enabled and portal-disabled surfaces. You could add in random walls, pillars, and other obstacles to give players an incredibly vast array of mobility. Note that for balance purposes the map should be symmetric (if not in exact elements, at least in counter play opportunities...for example one side could have a lot more complicated wall structure for hiding but a lot more difficult path for returning the ball...or something).

To further mix things up, there would be a large variety of lethal hazards that opponents could portal you into if you weren't careful. This is how you'd play defense (as it's hard to force a player to drop an object without killing them). I'm thinking large tanks of toxic goo, turret rooms, lazer rooms, and endless pits that you could drop your opponents into to reset the ball. Balancing the player's abilities to portal around the map and their opponent's abilities to kill them would take some tinkering, but it could be done.

I would think this would work best in a 3v3 or 4v4 kind of format...too many players and the game might be far too hectic. You might play until one team scores and then you switch sides and start over...first to 3 points wins the match.

Like I said, I am sure this project is FAR beyond the scope of the tools we've been given...but it would be fun as hell I'm sure.

Any thoughts?

Hey guys,

I'm pretty sure there is no way in heck we'd be able to pull this off with the tools so far, as multiplayer beyond the standard 2-player co-op maps is incredibly unstable...but I figured I would share my idea anyways:

So I've been creating Portal 2 maps for a little bit now, and I find myself thinking about fun ways to use/abuse the tools that Valve has given us sometimes. Today, I had a cool idea that I thought would be a really fun (and deep) multiplayer experience: Portal Ball.

This would be an objective based game where the basic idea is to deliver an edge-less safety cube into your team's designated receptacle...pretty much like basketball with some CTF elements. To make things interesting, the stadium would need to be a large playing surface with a huge assortment of portal-enabled and portal-disabled surfaces. You could add in random walls, pillars, and other obstacles to give players an incredibly vast array of mobility. Note that for balance purposes the map should be symmetric (if not in exact elements, at least in counter play opportunities...for example one side could have a lot more complicated wall structure for hiding but a lot more difficult path for returning the ball...or something).

To further mix things up, there would be a large variety of lethal hazards that opponents could portal you into if you weren't careful. This is how you'd play defense (as it's hard to force a player to drop an object without killing them). I'm thinking large tanks of toxic goo, turret rooms, lazer rooms, and endless pits that you could drop your opponents into to reset the ball. Balancing the player's abilities to portal around the map and their opponent's abilities to kill them would take some tinkering, but it could be done.

I would think this would work best in a 3v3 or 4v4 kind of format...too many players and the game might be far too hectic. You might play until one team scores and then you switch sides and start over...first to 3 points wins the match.

Like I said, I am sure this project is FAR beyond the scope of the tools we've been given...but it would be fun as hell I'm sure.

Any thoughts?

#2 · February 15, 2012, 3:00 am

Itd be good, but unfortunately I doubt it can be done.

I think in terms of boolean variables. Generally, it makes things easier.

#3 · February 18, 2012, 12:58 pm

you could use a similar idea with the glass futbol, its spawners, and its catchers.

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