Quote from Nyskrte on December 1, 2011, 11:56 am

PCdoc wrote:

First off . . you mentioned a mentor - I searched but found no Portal 2 maps by him. Can you add a link ?

I have no mentor, perhaps you are referring to my aspiration figure Richard Gray? I made map 3 as homage to him, as he was the first person to ever make a Platforms in Space map. He was also responsible for many of the maps of Duke Nukem 3D, a game I used to play relentlessly as a child.

PCdoc wrote:

Your environments are so incredible looking that I find myself walking around aimlessly.

When I'm done with my second co-op map, I intend to go back and revisit these maps. I feel like I can improve on the environments considerably.

Quote from PCdoc on December 1, 2011, 10:56 pm

I was stuck in the first room of Map 4.
After 2 hours I finally watched the walkthroughs. But in all Map 4 videos the Franken-Turret cube [spoiler]walks forward along the light bridge. Mine made sounds and twitches ever so slightly but does not walk forward. I can only throw him about 2/3 of the way across - so I was stuck. FINALLY I killed him and got another one - and that one walked just fine.[/spoiler] I was upset since I wasted so much time on that. Is it possible that some of them are set to "BecomeMonster" (i.e. walk) and some set to "BecomeShortcircuit" (i.e. do not walk) ?

PCdoc

Quote from Nyskrte on December 2, 2011, 5:32 am

PCdoc wrote:

Is it possible that some of them are set to "BecomeMonster" (i.e. walk) and some set to "BecomeShortcircuit" (i.e. do not walk) ?

It's a problem that's been hardcoded into the AI of the frankenturrets. If they are unable to move for more than 5 minutes they turn off permanently. I've thought of a way of reducing the possibility of this happening, and will implement the change when I come back to this mappack.

Quote from FourthReaper on February 17, 2012, 10:53 am

I know I'm a little late to this party, but
Wow. Loved it!

Excellent puzzles and unique concepts wrapped in extreme difficulty sauce. I actually had to selectively watch some of Djinndraches footage to see some platforms I missed myself. However, figuring these tests out by (mainly) myself gives a great sense of satisfaction.

This is undoubtably the longest player-created portal content I have ever played.

I couldn't quite find my way in the third test, with the floating islands in space, though. Could just be me...
Also, awesome to see the little frankencube waddle off into the right direction over the light bridge in the fourth (I think) chamber. And the central hub guarded by shredders, that was evil!

I wish I could top the 5/5 cap. Ah well...

Quote from Nyskrte on February 17, 2012, 12:28 pm

FourthReaper wrote:

However, figuring these tests out by (mainly) myself gives a great sense of satisfaction.

This is the very reason why all my maps are difficult by design if anyone was wondering. If a puzzle doesn't challenge or make you pause to think, then you don't get that particular satisfaction and the whole experience is rendered unmemorable. The problem with my mapping is that I typically set the bar too high for someone who isn't intimate with the game and its mechanics, at which point they become frustrated at their lack of progress then bail out.

The first room in the first level is a good example of this. [spoiler]If the player does not discover that they can lift the cube over the emancipation grid[/spoiler], then they might deem the map broken or impossible and quit right there.

Quote from TaiMai on March 7, 2012, 5:29 am

Just finished Map 1. Seriously Awesome!! Great design, length, and pacing. Just the right amount of challenge. Hard but never overwhelming. And the creativity of making an entire map based around [spoiler]killing turrets[/spoiler]... brilliant! I wish it wasn't so late so I could play the other 4. I know what I'm going to be thinking about all day tomorrow.

Quote from andyb on March 7, 2012, 11:14 am

The overwhelming comes in map 5 lol.I still havent completed it yet.Only been like 6 months or so trying.Think its just a bit over my skill level once you get to "her" Still 5/5 thou

Quote from zivi7 on March 8, 2012, 12:23 pm

Wow, what a fun challenge! The best thing about it is that it doesn't need special tricks like portal glitches or strafe jumps to be solved. Once finished completely, this will be a must-play after the Angry Tests!

I was stuck on Map 2 for a while: [spoiler]In one of the side rooms - the one with the rotating crusher on the ground and the single tractor beam to the left to move the cube - I'd never have thought of putting the beam at that wall below me to lift up the cube untill I saw it in Djinndrache's walkthrough. In fact, after searching for a way to get the cube up for ages unsucessfully, I thought something would be broken there or that I would have had to do something else in another room first. I don't know what would have helped me there. Maybe an arrow pointing upwards somewhere near the position the beam has to be placed - but then again the puzzle might be far too easy then.[/spoiler]

On Map 3 I lost the orientation some times, wondering if I already had been at the portable spots I was seeing in the distance - but it wasn't a big problem in the end.

On Map 4 my frankencube walked without a problem, but I had a very hard time to catch it. [spoiler]It constantly bounced off the bridge which became a little frustrating.[/spoiler]

On Map 5 I had some trouble with the three-symbols-puzzle, too. [spoiler]Often the cube bounced out of the needed position. Maybe the first laser gate could be removed completely here? It's obviously there to prevent me from realigning the laser cube. But since there's the autosave feature and I can start over by hitting F7 anyways I found the gate to be obsolete.[/spoiler]

In the next room (blue/red gel, tractor beam) I experienced a graphic glitch: When moving towards the walls, the ceiling became plain white. Moving back in the middle made it reappear.

Again, this was great fun because it was challenging without needing those "pro-moves" like some other maps do. I'm looking forward to play the final release!

Quote from TaiMai on March 9, 2012, 4:25 am

This is hands down the best Portal experience that I have ever had! That includes all Valve and user-created content from both games. I just cannot express how much fun this was. The level of challenge was absolutely perfect. I only got stumped twice, but only for half an hour or so each time, and it never reached frustration levels. The design was truly genius, especially map 3, as many others have noted. That boss fight rivals that best I have ever played in any game at any time. Honestly, Valve are idiots if they don't hire you. I'm really upset to hear you won't make any more SP maps. I've got one friend that plays, but he's not nearly as obsessed as me, so I can't really play any co-op maps. Please, please, please make some more SP content. 11,376/5