[SP] Patent Pending
Great map dude and gratz 
btw all the cameras didn't looking on the player
http://steamcommunity.com/id/Demonz312/ ... 7395037088
Congrats!
Gratz! Celebratory image:
First, thank you everyone for your support. I am happy that you chose my map in the superb showing of maps.
In the final chamber I acted very stupid: That is actually a rather common initial reaction of players. I think this is acceptable though, since it is so easy to reverse the state (reshoot the portals). I tried to make sure as many of my puzzle states are reversible, making it hard for the player to have to do rework.
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I'm interested in how long it takes you to destroy/overgrow the chamber...I imagine you get pretty good as you go along, but it seems a daunting task to make the growth and destruction actually look good.
How much work did you put into "growing"/"destroying" this map?
--On another note:
I imagine, as it has been mentioned, that the intended solution is
Now I need to grow two more thumbs so I can give you four thumbs up.
First, it took around 2 days (about 30 hours) to apply the final aesthetics polish. When the gameplay was finalized, all the textures were still using the clean set as it was easiest set to judge gameplay with. There was also no lighting. I went pass by pass to change it from retexturing, to cutting bsp, to meshing, to lighting, post-processing, and so on. Overall, I'd say it took about 10 hours to concept the design, 20 hours to block out, 10 hours to add gameplay elements, 50 hours to iterate gameplay, 30 hours to complete aesthetics, 5 hours to light. So around 125-135 hours total. I also use a list of design features I wanted to hit, and checked it every few builds. For example, I wanted the player to have a vista/view for each chamber where he can sit back and examine the whole puzzle. These views should be on the critical path and visually enticing. You should see nearly all of the elements from that spot and usually in the middle of the room. I can post more of the design processes I went through if people want, but that's it for now.
On your second comment, I usually don't take out alternate solutions if they do not detract from the fun of the level overall. I find that alternate solutions greatly enhances a level, especially if you think you can get the player to believe he's outsmarted the designer.
btw all the cameras didn't looking on the player
http://steamcommunity.com/id/Demonz312/ ... 7395037088
I believe that security cameras don't follow the player until the cold boot. I wanted to follow Valve's visual themes, so I left them offline. Maybe it was a bit jarring?
I will go back and fix the issues you guys pointed out. It seems that players need a little more guidance on the final step of the last chamber. I don't mind the player detracting from the intended solution, but I do think that it is way too easy to die when players attempt to use the
When I played the campaign, I didn't notice that until a few chambers in. I found it more spooky than being watched, because it made me feel like I was stuck there, completely alone.
Anyway, here are my thoughts:
I think most of the praise I could give has already been covered. Everything is of such high quality from start to finish. Any bugs are insignificant in the context of the whole level. You seem to be eager to fix all the little cosmetic problems people have found, and I think after a few passes you could call this map close to perfection.
If I have one complaint, it is that the level gets a bit tiring as it goes on. It's a problem that Valve faced as well. In the commentary, they explain how playtesters experienced "puzzle exhaustion" (I think that's the term they used) during Wheatley's series of chambers. To address the issue, they included the scene where he gives you a "tour" of the facility as you ride in a funnel, so that the player could have a break.
Because the broken chamber setting is run by pre-recorded messages, you wouldn't be able to implement a break in the same way, but I think it's something worth considering. I know it would take some work, but when you've crafted something this good, I'm sure you'd be capable of doing something impressive.
EDIT: I played it again, and I realized that I might have been under the impression that it was longer than it really was. I played all the contest winners in a row, then came here to leave some comments on them. So in reality, the "puzzle exhaustion" was due to me playing your test immediately after Edifice, which is also a bit lengthy. Still, I think a short break might add a cherry of immersion on top of the ice cream sundae that is this map, if you'll excuse such a ridiculous analogy.
I haven't actually played this map before today -- I was alerted to its existence by the fact that it won the contest (congrats!).
I did feel it was too easy though. Although it required backtracking as you discovered each section of the map, I didn't really have any "aha!" moments or points where I had to sit down and think; the solutions all seemed obvious. :-/
That said, the quality of the map was well-done visually, and did comprise a good diversion. Thanks!
I'm a bit stuck on the
Loved it. Good detail, and REALLY LONG! Which I appreciate, because I hate when, on a really good, but short map, you finally figure things out, then BAM it's over. This one was the opposite of that, everytime I thought "Ok this has GOT to be the last puzzle..." There'd be atleast one more!
Did find a spot where you could get stuck with no chance of proceeding, or going back, and would have to either load an earlier save, or no clip.
"Just a minor glitch..."
The map crashed in the middle: It showed an arrow pointing down with a purple tint on the top and a green tint on the bottom. I have no idea what happened.