Forum | Thinking With Portals

#31 · September 23, 2011, 9:04 pm

Very complex, I probably couldn't have completed in a reasonable time without your video, which made the solution clear, but still difficult timing. Not sure what guidance you could provide in the map, but it would probably help make it less frustrating to solve. Thanks for creating, everything worked great and it was a challenge to execute.

#32 · September 25, 2011, 10:32 pm

Wow, that take alot of time for me, before i figured out and solve it

#33 · September 26, 2011, 9:34 pm

I just registered in this forum to congratulate you for this map! I finally beat it, it took me like 2 hours!

#34 · September 27, 2011, 9:05 am

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed the challenge.

My maps: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11

#35 · September 29, 2011, 4:55 pm

I think I found another solution, without using luck:

WVRgWKIAi_M

I can only record 30 secs, so I just recorded the important part.

Very nice map!

Spoiler

However I think it would be better without the buttons. At first I assumed that the cubes wouldn't respawn automatically because of the buttons, so I wondered how to use the buttons in the right way, which is impossible of course.

offtopic: May I ask how you guys are recording your videos? Is there a good free program? Also how can I make the avi files small enough for uploading on youtube? My 27 sec video was 290 MB, then I used SUPER to make it small (about 4 MB), but now the quality is way beyond acceptable.

#36 · September 30, 2011, 10:13 am

Valthiel wrote:

Spoiler

However I think it would be better without the buttons. At first I assumed that the cubes wouldn't respawn automatically because of the buttons, so I wondered how to use the buttons in the right way, which is impossible of course.

That threw me off, too.

Winner of the Nobel Prize for Being Immune to Neurotoxin

Thanks for over 1,000 downloads: The Cold Shoulder

#37 · October 3, 2011, 2:33 pm

Valthiel deserves a prize, his is the only solution worthy of being the official one from what I've seen - I would honestly force it. As Djinndrache I resorted to throws, no knowing what kind of play Jonathan's maps ask now.

Can't say I like this gimmickness (basically a kind of extreme play) which imho kinda wastes the undeniable polish of these maps and just serves to artificially lenghten the game. I.e. all the throws and luck based flings of items, could be replaced by normal funnels or gel slides.

the hills are alive... with the sound of music

#38 · October 9, 2011, 5:35 pm

Quote from ColSarge on October 9, 2011, 5:35 pm
Alright, difficult puzzle, and definitely not as accessible as it can be. My solution:

[spoiler]I brought BOTH cubes up to the first part of the ledge, but made sure I kept the orange portal under the cube dropper, using the blue portal to get up on the ledge. Once I was on the ledge with both cubes, I shot the blue portal through the opening in the glass, positioned under the laser beam, so now I am on the ledge, with both cubes, a orange portal under the cube dropper, and a blue portal under the laser.

I take a cube and I put it in the fizzler. It respawns, falling into the orange, and going through the blue- it reaches high enough to block the laser for only a second before falling down- just enough time for me to take the other cube through.

Now, I bring the cube I have with me to the room with the deadly lasers. My portals are still in place. I shoot a orange portal at the bottom of the laser pit- my blue portal is still under the laser. I throw this cube down the pit, it jumps through the blue portal, and blocks the laser just as the other one did. The fall is high enough that it blocks the laser, and unblocks it multiple times before losing momentum, allowing me to dodge my way through the fizzlers. So now I am back, and I still have a portal near the laser, under the ledge, my blue portal is still where the lasers are. I use the cube to jump up to the ledge, and am able to throw it back through the blue portal. Now I have both cubes where I want them, and the rest is easy.[/spoiler]

My reccomendation: too many unneccsary elements to the puzzle, and both cubes look exactly the same. Make one cube a companion cube, so they are distinguishable. They cubes play fundamentally different roles in solving the puzzle- it is too confusing to the player to have to deal with this while having two cubes look alike.

Not sure what the intended solution was, but it was still fun figuring out, 5/5.

*** To spare you the trouble of reading all the above, I found that it is exactly the same as djin's after watching his video***

Alright, difficult puzzle, and definitely not as accessible as it can be. My solution:

Spoiler

I brought BOTH cubes up to the first part of the ledge, but made sure I kept the orange portal under the cube dropper, using the blue portal to get up on the ledge. Once I was on the ledge with both cubes, I shot the blue portal through the opening in the glass, positioned under the laser beam, so now I am on the ledge, with both cubes, a orange portal under the cube dropper, and a blue portal under the laser.

I take a cube and I put it in the fizzler. It respawns, falling into the orange, and going through the blue- it reaches high enough to block the laser for only a second before falling down- just enough time for me to take the other cube through.

Now, I bring the cube I have with me to the room with the deadly lasers. My portals are still in place. I shoot a orange portal at the bottom of the laser pit- my blue portal is still under the laser. I throw this cube down the pit, it jumps through the blue portal, and blocks the laser just as the other one did. The fall is high enough that it blocks the laser, and unblocks it multiple times before losing momentum, allowing me to dodge my way through the fizzlers. So now I am back, and I still have a portal near the laser, under the ledge, my blue portal is still where the lasers are. I use the cube to jump up to the ledge, and am able to throw it back through the blue portal. Now I have both cubes where I want them, and the rest is easy.

My reccomendation: too many unneccsary elements to the puzzle, and both cubes look exactly the same. Make one cube a companion cube, so they are distinguishable. They cubes play fundamentally different roles in solving the puzzle- it is too confusing to the player to have to deal with this while having two cubes look alike.

Not sure what the intended solution was, but it was still fun figuring out, 5/5.

*** To spare you the trouble of reading all the above, I found that it is exactly the same as djin's after watching his video***

#39 · October 18, 2011, 9:52 am

Great challenging puzzle. No distractions just you and the riddle. Without idea you can stuck for good. Definitely gives you big smile when solved.

You and Chander became my favorite designers for difficult maps

Thank you very much. Eagerly awaiting your new tests

#40 · November 1, 2011, 4:59 pm

I enjoyed figuring out this puzzle, and was surprised at how simple it could be. It only took me four portals. I never saw any use for the deathtrap. My solution involved blind timing, but it wasn't hard to count to 5.
My solution (v1.5)

Spoiler

Place blue under dropper. Place orange on high button platform, get cube 1. Use cube 1 to get to cube 2. Place orange on fizzler platform. Carry both cubes to fizzler. Place orange under laser path. Fizzle cube 1, pick up cube 2. When fizzler drops, carry cube 2 through and start counting. Run to the far end, and on count 5, place orange on the wall. Cube 1 will pop out, and you're done.

I still like the puzzle well enough to give this a 4/5.

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