Particle editor, Commentary node adder and material editor!
launch the tools as well as some example particles and commentary files."
For the time being, you can run any of the three games with the additional command line of '-tools' included in order to access the new tools.
Full documentation is also on the way. For the time being, have a read through of the CliffsNotes version of the changes.
* 1. These three tools run in the same process as the engine and you can switch between the tools.
* 2. The F10 button changes context between playing the game in the 'Engine Viewport' window and editing content via the current tool.
* 3. In the lower left corner is an input field that allows the user to dispatch console commands to the game while working with the tools.
* 4. Particle systems are defined in .pcf files that are located in the 'particles' subdirectory beneath the game directory. You should extract some of the TF2, Portal, or Ep2 particle files from the game caches if you would like to see some examples. The SDK update will include example particles.
* 5. Commentary node information is stored in text files in the games' 'maps' subdirectory and the established naming convention is _commentary.txt. Again, you can extract these files from our shipping games to check out the editor ahead of the SDK update and example nodes.
* 6. The material editor is a GUI front-end and preview tool that provides a more convenient way of tweaking materials settings. You can extract VMT files from our shipping games or those from your own mods to check it out.
So has anyone got the particle editor to work? I've heard reports of crashing upon saving and some people who can't run it at all. I myself get to the save part and then it crashes.
Does no one care about this? It opens HUGE possibilities! and I mean HUGE
Like you can now make your own fizzler effects, change the portal gun fireball thing, add new effects for custom technologies you've invented... (all can be pakrated into the BSP)
Here is a screenshot of something a much less mature was begging me to to last night:
The pyro "sperm gun"
Once the tools are updated and we can save the effects I'll be able to send him this file and he will see all pyros spewing sperm everywhere or a mapper can use pakrat to put it in the BSP and then every player will see it for that map only.
Seriously guys, more excitement please!
oh i thought that was water 
How do I get it? '.' I found nothing about it in Steam...
By the way, do you need Orange Box to get it? I only have TF2 and Portal because I'm nto interested in Half-Life 2. That looks and sounds great, It would be awesome to get it.
ASHWSCS
I wouldnt have thought you'd need the full OB
Thats how you 'get' them (you've already got them, everyone with portal/tf2/hl2ep2 has them already)
in the steam games list click portal and hit properties, open up the "launch options" and punch in "-tools" then simply run portal
Ah thanks :> I'll try it now and edit if it doesn't work.
ASHWSCS
This is awesome, I haven't had a chance to really play with it yet though.
What Portal particle effects are there exactly?
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Fizzler, ALL the portal stuff (with the exception of the flames texture) so thats the ball it fires, the sparks when you fire it at metal...etc, the fire(will be popular), neurotoxins, some GLaDOS destruction, the lifts and I think thats about it for portal stuff.
Double post, I think this one deserves its own so put the bill on my tab :p
A sinister fizzler:
[img]http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/530/redfizzlermq4.jpg[/img]
Thats something you can do in about 2 minutes work (including taking the screenshot) so you can see this will open a lot more variety for our new fizzlers, whilst we have to do the more complex functions with brush entities still now we can clearly mark them out as different to the player.
Oh yeah, still can't save so its still useless
those red fizzlers would be perfect in TFV mappack