Forum | Thinking With Portals

#11 · November 13, 2011, 2:45 pm

Quote from bruzag on November 13, 2011, 2:45 pm
Quote:

Map 4: [spoiler]Standing on an edge was the solution.[/spoiler] I didn't post it here, but my YouTube video description for this map said something along the lines of "The player has an iron grip in addition to perfect balance." I didn't want the map to look like it would accommodate its...situation completely.

I didnt think of it that way - i guess for this map it really does make a lot more sense then i had initially though

Quote:

Map 7: I'm aware of the player being unable to disengage. It popped up when I changed the control system. The solution was to complete the section and fire i/o to kill the system, thus returning control to the player. It seems like I need to make the solution more apparent. That makes sense as I didn't give too much direction there. Aside from that, was the second step easy to locate?

I'm unaware of what second step you might mean here - i must admit i didnt actually finished it, i noclipped first, to see if the part where you control something else was the last - and since it was i just quit after i figured that one out (but was unable to disengage) maybe i skipped something there - might go back to look at it

@ map 5 - its a visibility issue for sure, i can hear the door open/close, and actually cant go back, as for the tube (or whats it called, the blue thing) that shows up as soon as you use a portal for it, or use it in another way - so everything is there, it just looks weird.

The skewed button was enough of a hint - just given the fact so much other stuff was going wrong i didnt really bother to look for the solution, when i reloaded and it looked less broken i figured it out without much issue. Dropping it as you enter might be even more clear though, not sure if its nesceserry.

Quote:

I hadn't thought of a solution to the map that didn't involve the angled panel. Now I'm trying to find a way to force it to be necessary. Then again...ugh.

I'm guessing you figured it out since then? i can post mine if you need it . As for making it nescerry - its a decent puzzle as is, making it needed is a possible solution, but getting rid of it and adding another element to the puzzle might also work...

Once again: thanks for a great map - really enjoyed my playtrough

Quote:

Map 4:

Spoiler

Standing on an edge was the solution.

I didn't post it here, but my YouTube video description for this map said something along the lines of "The player has an iron grip in addition to perfect balance." I didn't want the map to look like it would accommodate its...situation completely.

I didnt think of it that way - i guess for this map it really does make a lot more sense then i had initially though

Quote:

Map 7: I'm aware of the player being unable to disengage. It popped up when I changed the control system. The solution was to complete the section and fire i/o to kill the system, thus returning control to the player. It seems like I need to make the solution more apparent. That makes sense as I didn't give too much direction there. Aside from that, was the second step easy to locate?

I'm unaware of what second step you might mean here - i must admit i didnt actually finished it, i noclipped first, to see if the part where you control something else was the last - and since it was i just quit after i figured that one out (but was unable to disengage) maybe i skipped something there - might go back to look at it

@ map 5 - its a visibility issue for sure, i can hear the door open/close, and actually cant go back, as for the tube (or whats it called, the blue thing) that shows up as soon as you use a portal for it, or use it in another way - so everything is there, it just looks weird.

The skewed button was enough of a hint - just given the fact so much other stuff was going wrong i didnt really bother to look for the solution, when i reloaded and it looked less broken i figured it out without much issue. Dropping it as you enter might be even more clear though, not sure if its nesceserry.

Quote:

I hadn't thought of a solution to the map that didn't involve the angled panel. Now I'm trying to find a way to force it to be necessary. Then again...ugh.

I'm guessing you figured it out since then? i can post mine if you need it . As for making it nescerry - its a decent puzzle as is, making it needed is a possible solution, but getting rid of it and adding another element to the puzzle might also work...

Once again: thanks for a great map - really enjoyed my playtrough

#12 · November 13, 2011, 3:05 pm

Quote from Rand0mNumbers on November 13, 2011, 3:05 pm
benvent wrote:

[spoiler]Nice surprise with the turrets also.[/spoiler]

I was trying to decide between them and somehow respawning the button.

andyb wrote:

Couple of auto saves I've seen so far in the moving button map seem to save just as the turrets come up

I'll modify those to trigger when the button gets further onto the platforms.

bruzag wrote:

I'm unaware of what second step you might mean here - i must admit i didnt actually finished it, i noclipped first, to see if the part where you control something else was the last - and since it was i just quit after i figured that one out (but was unable to disengage) maybe i skipped something there - might go back to look at it

[spoiler]You have to shoot stuff up. Down, slightly left.[/spoiler]

bruzag wrote:

@ map 5 - its a visibility issue for sure, i can hear the door open/close, and actually cant go back, as for the tube (or whats it called, the blue thing) that shows up as soon as you use a portal for it, or use it in another way - so everything is there, it just looks weird.

I've thrown a func_viscluster at it. Because of how I positioned the map, there are 12-14 visleafs from the elevator to the button. I just happened to hit the magical visleaf cut on the hammer grid (every 1024 units I think) and that, coupled with the world brushes for the hallway, turned visleafs into confetti.

bruzag wrote:

The skewed button was enough of a hint - just given the fact so much other stuff was going wrong i didnt really bother to look for the solution, when i reloaded and it looked less broken i figured it out without much issue. Dropping it as you enter might be even more clear though, not sure if its nesceserry.

*slowly puts button down and backs away*

bruzag wrote:

I'm guessing you figured it out since then? i can post mine if you need it . As for making it nescerry - its a decent puzzle as is, making it needed is a possible solution, but getting rid of it and adding another element to the puzzle might also work...

Once again: thanks for a great map - really enjoyed my playtrough

Aye, I figured it out. I looked at the map, dropped my jaw, compiled with the viscluster in place, and solved it without using the first station or dropping the button. I'll leave the station there just in case someone finds it easier.

benvent wrote:

Spoiler

Nice surprise with the turrets also.

I was trying to decide between them and somehow respawning the button.

andyb wrote:

Couple of auto saves I've seen so far in the moving button map seem to save just as the turrets come up

I'll modify those to trigger when the button gets further onto the platforms.

bruzag wrote:

I'm unaware of what second step you might mean here - i must admit i didnt actually finished it, i noclipped first, to see if the part where you control something else was the last - and since it was i just quit after i figured that one out (but was unable to disengage) maybe i skipped something there - might go back to look at it

Spoiler

You have to shoot stuff up. Down, slightly left.

bruzag wrote:

@ map 5 - its a visibility issue for sure, i can hear the door open/close, and actually cant go back, as for the tube (or whats it called, the blue thing) that shows up as soon as you use a portal for it, or use it in another way - so everything is there, it just looks weird.

I've thrown a func_viscluster at it. Because of how I positioned the map, there are 12-14 visleafs from the elevator to the button. I just happened to hit the magical visleaf cut on the hammer grid (every 1024 units I think) and that, coupled with the world brushes for the hallway, turned visleafs into confetti.

bruzag wrote:

The skewed button was enough of a hint - just given the fact so much other stuff was going wrong i didnt really bother to look for the solution, when i reloaded and it looked less broken i figured it out without much issue. Dropping it as you enter might be even more clear though, not sure if its nesceserry.

*slowly puts button down and backs away* :-P

bruzag wrote:

I'm guessing you figured it out since then? i can post mine if you need it

. As for making it nescerry - its a decent puzzle as is, making it needed is a possible solution, but getting rid of it and adding another element to the puzzle might also work...

Once again: thanks for a great map - really enjoyed my playtrough

Aye, I figured it out. I looked at the map, dropped my jaw, compiled with the viscluster in place, and solved it without using the first station or dropping the button. I'll leave the station there just in case someone finds it easier.

Test Map Pack 1 2 3 4
Other files: Test Map Pack Instances
Trying my hand at blogging

#13 · November 13, 2011, 4:03 pm

Quick update for the visibility issues in map 5. It turns out the transition from map 4 always triggers the visibility issues, regardless of visleaf arrangement. I think it has to do with the viewproxy I use. However, despite adding i/o to fadeout and then kill the proxy before the transition takes place, the issue still arises. Using 'map testmap_27' vs 'changelevel testmap_27' appears to remedy this.

I've added some clips to the end of 4 to help with movement.

Test Map Pack 1 2 3 4
Other files: Test Map Pack Instances
Trying my hand at blogging

#14 · November 13, 2011, 6:45 pm

Just played it again.Sideways elevator part much smoother.map 5 worked good.Still cant quicksave/save thou in some maps unless you reload the map.Still gets a 5 thou

#15 · November 13, 2011, 8:37 pm

Thanks.

I'm forcing autosaves, not quicksaves. Is there a priority between the two? Perhaps I should use the clientCommand to quicksave instead of sending an input to a logic_autosave.

Test Map Pack 1 2 3 4
Other files: Test Map Pack Instances
Trying my hand at blogging

#16 · November 13, 2011, 9:28 pm

You can put your auto saves anywhere but I like to be able to save whenever I want also.According to the console it says
*** REJECTING: quick, due to map_wants_save_disable.

If I just type reload in the console I can save then

#17 · November 14, 2011, 3:49 am

andyb wrote:

You can put your auto saves anywhere but I like to be able to save whenever I want also.According to the console it says
*** REJECTING: quick, due to map_wants_save_disable.

If I just type reload in the console I can save then

I found out the cause of this. Exit elevators call script files that toggle map_wants_save_disable to 1 to prevent players from saving in the elevators. I used modified elevator logic that removed the i/o that triggers the teleport to the "End of Playtest" message room so I could change levels manually. Apparently, this also removed the function call that toggles map_wants_save_disable back to 0.

I've made every map's logic_auto fire an output to set map_wants_save_disable to 0 on spawn. I'll be testing this to make sure it actually fixes the issue as map_wants_save_disable is a cheat but can be set without cheats enabled.

I rather dislike all this scripting and whatnot that's littered throughout the instances. I appreciate the flexibility it allows, but man, it is annoying to modify.

Test Map Pack 1 2 3 4
Other files: Test Map Pack Instances
Trying my hand at blogging

#18 · November 17, 2011, 8:09 pm

Speedran first 5 maps. Will upload a video soon.
EDIT:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKJnyR5hi5I
131 seconds

#19 · November 18, 2011, 5:36 pm

Haha! Awesome!

I now have more things to consider for future maps.

Test Map Pack 1 2 3 4
Other files: Test Map Pack Instances
Trying my hand at blogging

#20 · December 1, 2011, 7:30 pm

Some very original ideas, but a few issues

- in map 7, when you find yourself

Spoiler

inside a turret

, I am guessing you have to

Spoiler

fire to emprison the other turrests, however no for me no key seemed to fire

. Which key is supposed to do that normally? Tried all of them. After a while I found myself

Spoiler

'teleported' above the turrets

unable to do anything

- In map 5, what is the point of the first cube and the moving panel? I did not need it, it is possible to

Spoiler

speedrun from the second cube to the entry then to the exit

. What is more if you shoot a portal when the panel is moved out, then it moves back in, the portal stays hanging in the air. And it seems to last for so little time to be of any use...

- In map 2 I would never have found out without your hint in the forum. I think people can only find that out out of desperation or sheer luck, because there is no logic to it. I think you should make the hint much stronger, the arrows are not enough (they normally suggest ways to go), for instance

Spoiler

by having some kind of mechanism and/or handles fixed on the panel that suggest it can be moved. Even in that case people would probably expect to have to do so by switches or press plates if they are the usual articulated arms

[WIP] [WIP] [SP] Test Map Pack 3