Forum | Thinking With Portals

#21 · September 7, 2011, 2:34 am

Quote from ChickenMobile on September 7, 2011, 2:34 am
Testing, who doesn't like testing? TELL ME SO I CAN MAKE THEM TEST TILL THEY LOVE IT TO DEATH

CrazyGuy wrote:

yeah I don't get a whole lot of water textures to use. The other ones just looked brown and equally toxic.

The water inside the hub and the water in the one with the lift that goes up to the cube, I was like damn didn't save... but I'm alive! :O. There has to be a cleaner-type of water around. Try looking in Valve's maps where you first get the Portal Gun, before GLaDOS awakes.

CrazyGuy wrote:

I don't think I can turn down the volume on any individual part of the ambiance without editing the soundscape script, since I used an env_soundscape and they dont have any volume control properties at all that I can see. Also, that soundscape i will only use in the hub area, I will setup soundscapes for each individual chamber. I had planned that from the beginning, but thats one of those finishign touch things you do towards the end.

Creating different ambience for each chamber is a must, seeing as each chamber is different. (some has water, some are bigger than others etc.) As for the soundscapes, they aren't that hard to make at all. You can just copy the code from the soundscape which you are using and just put the volume of the birds down and/or delete ambience that you don't want to include. Remember you can also change how 'echoey' each room is by setting the 'dsp'.

CrazyGuy wrote:

not sure what you mean by this, I cant really make them all one big chamber cause you'd be able to cheat by using companion cubes from other areas.

What I mean by the large master chamber: instead of opening it to the lift at the end, you open it to another chamber, and when you are done that, then you can finish the map. So in fact the reason why you have done all the smaller chambers is because it was practice for a bigger chamber with more puzzle elements in it. I know this probably throws off the point of a hub-style puzzle map, however this way might make more sense? Argue with me if you disagree.

Testing, who doesn't like testing? TELL ME SO I CAN MAKE THEM TEST TILL THEY LOVE IT TO DEATH

CrazyGuy wrote:

yeah I don't get a whole lot of water textures to use. The other ones just looked brown and equally toxic.

The water inside the hub and the water in the one with the lift that goes up to the cube, I was like damn didn't save... but I'm alive! :O. There has to be a cleaner-type of water around. Try looking in Valve's maps where you first get the Portal Gun, before GLaDOS awakes.

CrazyGuy wrote:

I don't think I can turn down the volume on any individual part of the ambiance without editing the soundscape script, since I used an env_soundscape and they dont have any volume control properties at all that I can see. Also, that soundscape i will only use in the hub area, I will setup soundscapes for each individual chamber. I had planned that from the beginning, but thats one of those finishign touch things you do towards the end.

Creating different ambience for each chamber is a must, seeing as each chamber is different. (some has water, some are bigger than others etc.) As for the soundscapes, they aren't that hard to make at all. You can just copy the code from the soundscape which you are using and just put the volume of the birds down and/or delete ambience that you don't want to include. Remember you can also change how 'echoey' each room is by setting the 'dsp'.

CrazyGuy wrote:

not sure what you mean by this, I cant really make them all one big chamber cause you'd be able to cheat by using companion cubes from other areas.

What I mean by the large master chamber: instead of opening it to the lift at the end, you open it to another chamber, and when you are done that, then you can finish the map. So in fact the reason why you have done all the smaller chambers is because it was practice for a bigger chamber with more puzzle elements in it. I know this probably throws off the point of a hub-style puzzle map, however this way might make more sense? Argue with me if you disagree.

?????????????????????????????TWP Releases | My Workshop

#22 · September 7, 2011, 9:24 am

There is a clear water. In your texture browser, if you filter for 'toxic' (counter-intuitive, I know) it should be the second one. However, clear water may or may not look out of place in a destroyed environment.

Winner of the Nobel Prize for Being Immune to Neurotoxin

Thanks for over 1,000 downloads: The Cold Shoulder

#23 · September 11, 2011, 10:16 pm

Brilliant... While I thought the puzzles were fairly easy.. at least for me.. I completely enjoyed playing all of the rooms. Textures?? I dunno.. It looked pretty good to me and was playable.. A LOT better than some of the maps I see released as finals..

Room 1: Pretty straight-forward solution

Spoiler

"hidden" den was nice with disassembled turret

Room 2: Fun With Faith plates.. nice.

Room 3: Probably the easiest of the lot.. nothing too fancy but very fun.
Room 4: Probably the hardest for me.. getting the mechanics of the fling at just the right moment took a few tries.
Room 5: By far the most clever room.. I wandered around for a bit, and then went.. oh yeah.. that makes sense..

Spoiler

after dropping the turret down the chute to initially dispose of it, and it didn't get destroyed

Room 6: Could be difficult if you go that route..

Spoiler

I got the first redirect cube, stood on it and juped up to grab companion cube

All in all, great effort. 5/5 :thumbup:

P.S. I always quick save..

#24 · September 13, 2011, 12:11 am

Quote from CrazyGuy on September 13, 2011, 12:11 am
thanks for testing, Marise

Marise wrote:

There is a clear water. In your texture browser, if you filter for 'toxic' (counter-intuitive, I know) it should be the second one. However, clear water may or may not look out of place in a destroyed environment.

thanks. Im trying that, but it looks like that texture doesn't have a specular effect or apparent cubemap or quick reflections so it looks a little strage... also I Get this yellow errow saying it has no bottom texture. I'm gonna give it a try tho, either on the hub or in area 4 but maybe not both, not sure yet.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

thanks for testing, Szieve!

Szieve wrote:

Room 4: Probably the hardest for me.. getting the mechanics of the fling at just the right moment took a few tries.

yeah the physics with the box is kind of wierd. Dropping a box from the same height goes shorter than if you just drop down as a player (tip: don't jump here) so even though falling through that portal will get you to the plate, dropping a cube might not. You kind of have to throw the cube down just a bit before releasing it. I know its a bit iffy but I really wanted to keep this mechanic and puzzle in. If timing was the issue, instead of using trial and error, there is a moment marked by something happening, and that is when you fall through the portal [spoiler]wait till after the cube falls down through the portal... once it starts comming out the other side, then you fall.[/spoiler]

Szieve wrote:

Room 5: By far the most clever room.. I wandered around for a bit, and then went.. oh yeah.. that makes sense.. [spoiler]after dropping the turret down the chute to initially dispose of it, and it didn't get destroyed[/spoiler]

so you thought that the red lasers down there would burn the turret? well I need something to prevent the player from falling down there and [spoiler]knocking the cube off themselves[/spoiler]I was thinking I could make a faithplate knock you back out if you fall down there but then the player might htink that would effect the turret as well =(

Szieve wrote:

Room 6: Could be difficult if you go that route.. [spoiler]I got the first redirect cube, stood on it and juped up to grab companion cube[/spoiler]

well I have fixed that cheat so now even standing on boxes you cant get the companion cube without doing it right. I also made use of the laser relay that was in an earlier version, now there is an extra layer of complexity to area 6.

Thanks for the input!

thanks for testing, Marise

Marise wrote:

There is a clear water. In your texture browser, if you filter for 'toxic' (counter-intuitive, I know) it should be the second one. However, clear water may or may not look out of place in a destroyed environment.

thanks. Im trying that, but it looks like that texture doesn't have a specular effect or apparent cubemap or quick reflections so it looks a little strage... also I Get this yellow errow saying it has no bottom texture. I'm gonna give it a try tho, either on the hub or in area 4 but maybe not both, not sure yet.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

thanks for testing, Szieve!

Szieve wrote:

Room 4: Probably the hardest for me.. getting the mechanics of the fling at just the right moment took a few tries.

yeah the physics with the box is kind of wierd. Dropping a box from the same height goes shorter than if you just drop down as a player (tip: don't jump here) so even though falling through that portal will get you to the plate, dropping a cube might not. You kind of have to throw the cube down just a bit before releasing it. I know its a bit iffy but I really wanted to keep this mechanic and puzzle in. If timing was the issue, instead of using trial and error, there is a moment marked by something happening, and that is when you fall through the portal

Spoiler

wait till after the cube falls down through the portal... once it starts comming out the other side, then you fall.

Szieve wrote:

Room 5: By far the most clever room.. I wandered around for a bit, and then went.. oh yeah.. that makes sense..

Spoiler

after dropping the turret down the chute to initially dispose of it, and it didn't get destroyed

so you thought that the red lasers down there would burn the turret? well I need something to prevent the player from falling down there and

Spoiler

knocking the cube off themselves

I was thinking I could make a faithplate knock you back out if you fall down there but then the player might htink that would effect the turret as well =(

Szieve wrote:

Room 6: Could be difficult if you go that route..

Spoiler

I got the first redirect cube, stood on it and juped up to grab companion cube

well I have fixed that cheat so now even standing on boxes you cant get the companion cube without doing it right. I also made use of the laser relay that was in an earlier version, now there is an extra layer of complexity to area 6.

Thanks for the input!

My maps:

Additional Chapter 8 Tests:
http://forums.thinking.withportals.com/downloads.php?view=detail&df_id=1118

Oversized Test Chamber Storage Area
http://forums.thinking.withportals.com/downloads.php?view=detail&df_id=923

#25 · September 20, 2011, 1:27 am

Just a note,

I'm on a Mac, and when I die, the entire game freezes. Maybe you can fix? I'd be happy to test if you don't have one you can use.

[WIP] CG's Companion Cube Rescue Mission