On the Aesthetic Themes in Portal 2 - v0.9.1
Great work, Rubrica. In depth and a lot of helpful info.
I'm about to release a map that I've been working on in the Old Aperture style and, no kidding, it's a difficult task. I'll try to get some pictures up and some advice for anyone looking to design a map in it later on for your thread (and you can decide which pieces you like and don't like to be added to the section).
The biggest advice I can give, after restarting my project 2-3 times, is to design your map like an architect would - Old Aperture style maps have buildings that can be seen from both the inside and out, and it looks funky when your map has imbalanced proportions and incorrectly done supports. Luckily, I took a few architecture classes a few semesters ago, so I had some experience in mapping that all out.
As for the testing elements - Old Aperture's lines can be a bit blurry. I absolutely love some of the newer test elements, such as funnels and hard light bridges, when used in the style correctly. In example, I think Lobster's first map, Sphere of Roundness, epitomizes the perfect usage of funnels in an old aperture map, and I won't even mention the use of aerial faith plates in Old Faithful and Marlowe's Underground.
This is just amazing. You have some talent for writing a detailed tutorial. This will help me with my future maps. =]
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wow, this is fantastic! i agree massively that this should be on the VDC, this is immensly helpful. thanks!
I think in terms of boolean variables. Generally, it makes things easier.
This was really helpfull. Ive got lots of litle details to add to my maps after reading this.
You just won the gold medal in tutorialing!
"I hear voices. But I ignore them and I just carry on killing."
Great tutorial. One question: You say I should name the global_ents instance, but I don't see a field for a name in its properties. Am I missing something?
Thanks for over 1,000 downloads: The Cold Shoulder
The field is called 'fix up name'; instances are named slightly differently to normal entities. The fix up name, by default a prefix, is used to target entities in the instance that are not referred to by a standard instance input, Say you had an instance with a fix-up name of Bob, and an entity inside it called Bobson. You would send the input you wanted to Bob-Bobson.
In old aperture, in a map i'm releasing soon, I found that using the various air duct models around my larger room(s) along with some air conditioning models makes it a lot less boring to look around for the scenery. Also, a couple offices with plaster walls and tile floors, with rows of desks are nice. I hid one in my map.
[spoiler][SP] Alternate[/spoiler]
Alright Rubrica, I wrote an extensive analysis of the Old Aperture design from an exterior and interior point of view. Take a look, see what you like, and if you want, add in anything you feel is appropriate for your guide. This is purely for educational purposes.
http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/54177 ... 2120F7A83/
The map is almost completely revealed at the start of the course, exposing all of the brittle supports and winding pipes. However, the feeling of anticipation is built as the player wonders what incredible events occur in the upcoming structures. Valve's maps are designed like soundstages on a Hollywood movie lot to detach the player from the realities of Chell's dire situation and enter the world of Aperture Science in its 1950's heyday.
In this next picture, taken from one of my Old Aperture maps, I attempted to recreate that same feeling:
http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/54177 ... 6F9F4A356/
By raising the next chamber up, I've given the building a dominating presence in my map - this is a place that the player will ultimately have to make his climb to the exit. No matter what kind of map you are working on, designing it with a vertical perspective is a good idea as it makes gravity its own puzzle element and gives the player the sense of progress. I'd also like to take the time to note how important lighting is in Old Aperture maps. Unlike its clean counterpart, Old Aperture should have plenty of variance between dark and light to display the importance of certain areas and elements. There's a lot of extra space in the spheres, so designers need to use light to show where the player should and shouldn't need to go.
Since much of the exterior work is built to make the player anticipate the upcoming chambers (unless you specifically designed a puzzle to work outdoors in Old Aperture, which has its own upsides and downsides), making the interiors is equally important. Here is an example from the same Valve map:
http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/54177 ... D153227DB/
The important element in this map, and throughout the Old Aperture section of the game, is the function over cosmetic point of view. These "sets" aren't designed to impress people with their state-of-art architecture or beautiful design, but rather to supply as a testing stage that can be easily built. From this picture alone, we can see the bare bones of the structure are visible: the building's framework lining the ceiling, the air conditioning system riding up the wall, metal and wood supports holding up corners and edges and left-over paint work.
Here is my map again, trying to recreate that same feeling:
http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/54177 ... 324CDF62A/
If you use many different wall materials, it gives the impression that the builders of these sets were using whatever they could get their hands on: wood, metal, grating, sometimes nothing. Again, we see the left over paint work, which could have been used to tell the builders where to orient the test structure and is now left to hint the player. For the inside of the structure, I used a mixture of self-designed florescent lighting along with the "cold" light instances to give the section a more isolated, forgotten feeling in comparison's to the exterior's warmer, ominous glow. Again, it is important to highlight the pinnacle testing items.
That... Is a better guide than I could have ever written. Seriously, you should have written this article instead of me. 
After you went to all that trouble, it seems a shame to cut any of it, as it all seems perfect; do you kind if I use it as it is? Love the screens of your map, btw, I'll have to play it soon.
Hah. Thanks for the kind comments. Of course you can use it - I wrote it specifically for your guide.
And thanks, you can check it out in my signature. I don't want to seem like I'm advertising it, it just seemed appropriate as an example of practice. 