Quote from taco on May 10, 2012, 6:31 pm

I didn't have a lot of fun with this map, though that could be because I prefer to have conversations with turrets more than I enjoy being shot at by them.

There were a couple issues with being able to see through parts of the map and into the skybox (the life by the first cube, the exit elevator), there is big error text where I'm asuming a model is supposed to be (where a piece of metal is sticking out of a hole in the wall to the left of the exit area) and there is a partially opened panel to the left of that with a visible nodraw texture (I have no idea what that panel is for or what controls it).

I also beat the map in a method that you almost certainly did not intend: [spoiler]You can block the laser with a turret (some of them are killed by the laser but some are not)[/spoiler].

Also, if you are going to fixup a map from the level editor, you should make fixing the indicator strips a priority.

Quote from Senf on May 10, 2012, 6:47 pm

As taco already mentioned, there are a couple of issues/exploits. Furthermore I think you should have named it "turretmania" or something like that. So many of them. And I couldn't kill em all. But the ones I got..., yeehaw.
Oh, and I [spoiler]didn't use the little elevator-platform and I also didn't press the button where it should lead you (in the upper corner). Oh, and what were the four cubes for? I used on of them to knock a turret over, but I think, I could have done that with another turret so that no cube would be needed in that room.[/spoiler]
It is a good map and I really enjoyed playing it, but I think it needs a little bit more work.
Thanks for creating.

Quote from quatrus on May 10, 2012, 9:35 pm

Yeah it was a little rough on technical mapping esthetics (big ERROR etc.), but fun taking out all the turrets. A medium puzzle to solve as well. Thanks for creating.

Quote from The Irate Pirate on May 11, 2012, 6:12 am

Thanks for the feedback guys (although a video of your playthrough would have been fantastically useful).

The ERROR model seems to not exist for me, it is supposed to be a beam sticking out through the hole in the wall near the observation room, although I definitely need to sort that and the nodraw brush out for the next version. And I will test which turrets seem to block the laser (since that pokes a rather huge hole in my puzzles). And the indicator lights being messed up was initially accidental, but then I sort of liked the look of them being broken (but if it messes with the puzzle, then I shall try to change them back at some point)

And the button up there was supposed to turn on the Laser Emitter.. although now I think about it I may have messed up some of the puzzle mechanics in that section. The four cubes and the radio were supposed to be a throwback to the Portal 1 turret level where there is something similar.
[spoiler]They were supposed to be used to throw in case you somehow managed to fizzle the turrets[/spoiler] (and to use as a shield)

Cheers.

Quote from Shakky on May 11, 2012, 8:54 am

Nice map. It's been a while since I've killed that many turrets in so little time. I enjoyed it alot.

I think you could have use little bit more signs and some of the indicator lights got really confusing. There are quite a lot of graphical glitches and atleast some of the fizzlers don't destroy cubes.

My blindrun:
[spoiler]eEuFvaOtWLQ[/spoiler]

Nice and solid map. 4/5

Quote from The Irate Pirate on May 11, 2012, 12:18 pm

I think the graphics glitches could be because of cubemaps... they don't show up for me so that video definitely helped in showing what the problem is. Were you running in HDR?

And yes, the indicator lights are definitely confusing/slightly broken, and the triangle sign [spoiler]to show where to go to turn off the Hard Light Wall (in order to get to the button)[/spoiler] disappeared so that would explain some of the confusion. It was fairly badly laid out, and you managed to do the section which I thought would need Repulsion Gel without it, even inadvertently [spoiler](it was supposed to be used in the drop although I think i'll add a section near the exit where you definitely need it in the next version).[/spoiler]

And that fizzler did not destroy cubes deliberately because I did not want the player to foolishly destroy everything in there [spoiler]that they could use to throw at the turret.[/spoiler]

I am glad you enjoyed it, I wanted to invoke the sort of Portal 1 turret level feeling of actually having to use portals to get rid of some of them and then trying to evade/outwit others. [spoiler](The section where you went on the first piston lift and died made me chuckle since that was exactly why I put it there, it was rather cruel of me to be honest).[/spoiler]

Thanks a lot for the playthrough. Watching people play it is probably the biggest satisfaction I get (especially when they seem to notice something they haven't seen like when you saw the rotating panel)

Quote from Hari on May 11, 2012, 4:40 pm

I think alot of the errors in the technical aspects have already been mentioned though the fizzler in the room with the four cubes wont let turrets through it. I dont know if this is intentional or not but there is a physics clip about one foot out from the fizzler so you cant even get a held turret close to it. Also, I never used the gel nor the light bridge. You could definitely use a bit of tightening in terms of puzzle elements i.e. removing the ones that arent necessary including some of those extra cubes. The switches and buttons can oftentimes be confusing because they each do a number of things with no clear indication of exactly what. Also, the debris on the structure with the turrets on it at the very beginning right above where the light bridge projects to is floating a bit.

EDIT: Also, i never had any need at all for the button with the two timers on it.

Quote from BEARD! on June 13, 2012, 6:21 pm

Bugs and Mapping Details
[spoiler]* Cubemaps were missing for me; I was running in HDR.
* I also saw error models.
* There was a 'seam' in the gel on the floor tiles.
* Might be worth putting in a water stream: what if I couldn't block the laser with the cube, because the floor was covered in blue gel?
* I missed the fact that I could use this panel to redirect the light bridge. Rather than use the lift, I used the big drop to fling myself up to the pedestal button, which killed the turrets.
* Missing indicators?[/spoiler]

I think I played (or at least started to play!) a pure-PTI version of this map on the workshop, so I appreciate what you've done to the map in hammer. In particular, the warm, orangey lighting you first see was nice, and it made a nice contrast with the harsh, cool lighting in the second chamber. Visually, the chamber was a feast for the eyes [aside from the cubemaps and error models], a mashup of the clean and destroyed styles which worked quite well - I got the feeling that this was a chamber in mid-repair.

In terms of the puzzle, I was reminded of chamber 17 (the live fire, military android course from Portal) - "Here's a bunch of turrets - deal with them." I enjoyed having to sneak round corners and plonk a portal under a turret, only to retreat behind glass and consider my next move. There's more puzzle here than just turret-dispatching, however. It's not the most mind-bending of puzzles, but that's not a bad thing - indeed, it's part of the map's charm. I think everyone will be able to enjoy the map; thanks for mapping!

Quote from The Irate Pirate on June 21, 2012, 3:24 pm

Sorry for the late reply, i've been doing my A-level exams over the last few weeks so I haven't had time to create a new version of this map but rest assured I will try to sort out these silly issues with the cubemaps and error models etc. I will also get rid of the rotating panel since it seems a bit pointless and needlessly complicates matters.

I like how you saw what I did with the lighting, I tried to go for a warm orangey glow in the destroyed part of the map and then go back to a Portal 1-esque cold blue atmospheric effect in the side chamber. That part especially was supposed to evoke the Portal 1 turret chamber map which I believed sacrificed much of the puzzle element of Portal but still managed to be extremely fun on a more mindless FPS level. The PETI version has much tighter puzzle mechanics than this version (with the exclusion of the blue area due to size restraints) but I think the detailing I did makes this version more fun to play.

Anyway, thanks for pointing out some of the flaws in the map with pictures, it'll help me bug fix.