Oscilating laser field/fizzler
Okay So I've checked trough all the link search bars wiki's and tutorials I could lurk through and even attempted to export an existing map and view it in hammer to try to figure it out. Unfortunatly I found no success.
I simply want to create a laser discouragement field that can move back and forth like in the 12 angry tests map. 
I'll keep looking in the meantime but any hand holding would certainly be appreciated. I am sorry if I overlooked something that could have helped make this forum less a clutter but I can assure I checked everywhere so if I overlooked it, I'm sorry in advance. Thank you very much. 
The wiki has a very nice tutorial on making a laser field, which I'm sure you've seen as you called it a "discouragement field". From there, it's not too hard to make it move: simply parent all that to a func_tracktrain to move it back and forth. (You also need to replace the prop_statics with prop_dynamics, and then they have nice animations for starting up and shutting down.)
SolarChronus has many tutorials ffor beginners. Here is the one to follow for the discouragement fields.
In order to make the discouragement fields move wherever you'll have to create a func_tracktrain which path is determined by path_tracks... There are many written tutorials and video-tutos out there, this is easy but you msust have a basic/intermediate hammer knowledge. Check out the rest of hammer tutorials by SolarChronus as well.
Good luck! 
useful tools and stuff here on TWP 
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On the subject, how about if you wanted the emitters to move towards and away from each other, shortening and lengthening the size of the field? Is that possible without scripts and stuff?
My maps: Double Bill / Jam / Oval Window / Gymnasium / Gymnasium Part 2 / Minimalism (collection) / Resolution
All feedback welcome!
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You can't shorten or lengthen brushes but you can enable/disable them... The only thing I can think of is to prepare a bunch of brushes (I mean the func_brushes for the laser fields and the trigger_hurt brushes) with different sizes that will be enabled/disabled as you make the moving pillars get closer / further... too complicated?
useful tools and stuff here on TWP [spoiler]
[/spoiler]Ha, well, I guess that would work. Would be okay if your interactions with them were only when static and they didn't move too much. Otherwise it would just be basically trying to animate through enabling and disabling brushes, which sounds to me like a recipe for a total clusterfuck....
My maps: Double Bill / Jam / Oval Window / Gymnasium / Gymnasium Part 2 / Minimalism (collection) / Resolution
All feedback welcome!
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If you use scripting, there's SetSize(Vector, Vector); which could resize it for you.
Man, I wish that any of you could write a scripting tutorial for such these daily basic ideas in order to let the rest understand little by little how to make things easier . Seriously, I'd love to learn the basics of scripting but as my computing knowledge is close to zero, I can't really extract much information from the scripts I check... and I've got reduced time for taking some classes...
useful tools and stuff here on TWP [spoiler]
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short solution:
Laser texture -> func_brush
damage thing -> trigger_hurt
laser-field-emitter -> prop_dynamic
then add an invisible brush somewhere at the side, overlapping with a laser-field emitter,
make it a func_track_train
parent the func_brush, trigger_hurt and prop_dynamics to the func_track_train.
and use a path_track to set how it's suppose to move.
Ye3s i did check out that wiki. It was helpful . However for the life of me I cant make a decent tracktrain to save my life. I must be doing something wrong on that one. Admittedly I was following a portal 1 moving platform tutorial so maybe that is it? I'll keep looking for a proper tutorial then in the meantime.