[RELEASE] Logic Portals [04].beta

[Hurricaaane]

Hiya!
I've just released Logic Portals [04].beta.

This map introduces a new kind of fling: I called it the Angular Fling. Sorry about the name, I'm sure you'll find a better name for it.

Here is the link and a screenshot:
http://forums.thinkingwithportals.com/dload.php?action=file&file_id=103



Note: THERE IS NO CHANGELEVEL BETWEEN 03 and 04. Load the level manually.

Please tell me what you think about it.

[taco]

Hurricaaane, you've done it again - a high quality map that is long enough to really exploit a technique without being too long and out staying it's welcome.

Th puzzles were well thought out and built just as well (though I would have liked at least one puzzle where the map wasn't holding my hand).

The progression was good and I'd place the over difficulty at around medium or medium/hard.

The only other "complaint" I have is the lighting fixtures. The lighting itself is very well done but your new extra-large lighting fixtures are something of an eyesore.

As always, I continue to look forward to your future releases.

[E1025]

Awesome map Hurricaaane!

I thought this was a great map, here are my views

Pros

The fact you’re teaching new game play elements in your maps makes your maps stand out from the crowd.

The clean and great designs in your maps ranging from the new textures, puzzle set-ups to lighting techniques are eye candy.

The large amounts of polish is great, it's a nice effect how in this map you can hear other tests being carried out in the background and the moving floor that removes excess time walking about and letting you have more time solving the puzzle is simple but effective .

I liked how you used the rocket turret as a pointer device to help indicate what you're supposed to do.

Cons

The Angular Fling can be really frustrating at times and some times you don't know how you've just done a fling or don't know how to re-create it.

I didn't enjoy the final test, it took 15 minutes to learn how to fling my self into the upper room and I never learned how to get to the other section with the switch, the glass seams like it's just a tiny bit too high, you can even land on the glass frame. The fact that the button is timed just takes away from the experience, I hated being on a time limit, being made to re-create some thing that just happened by accident. Once I got the cube onto the button I now had to wait to be able to begin trail and error in the metal half of the room.

The ladder at the back of the third test added comedic value to the map, so did GlaDOS but you were kind of detracting from the fact you are teaching Angular Flings. You don't need to change this but I thought I might bring this up.

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I like the map, but it has problems (not major ones) but I guess that is what a beta is for. Great job so far!

[Cyclone]

Well, it looks and sounds great, as usual. The new textures are cool, THA's music sets a great mood, and the mapping is all but flawless. The problem is, it's too hard. Angle flinging is unreliable as far as I can see - without a great deal of practice, you can't pull it off consistently. The first fling was pretty easy. The second took me 10 minutes just to figure out it wasn't an angle fling at all. Then I got stuck for 15 minutes on the third one. I noclipped past, got through the next room (although it was kind of a give-away, for the above posted reason), then got stuck again for 20 minutes and gave up.

I finally did manage to get to the puzzle with the arrow-thing, at which I got completely and utterly stuck. Unfortunately, it was mostly trial and error up to that point - put a portal here, try, fail, put the portal somewhere else, repeat until you get it. Angle flings are 90% luck - you need to give us more help. The ridges around the orange portal really threw me off as well - I kept bumping into them and losing my momentum.

The problem with angle flings is the camera. The rapid change in perspectives is difficult to deal with, that's the whole point, but for me, it's next to impossible. I saw the rocket-turret's laser, knew where the fling ought to send me, but wound up back at square one. Again and again and again. The fact is, you need to train players more - just giving us a sign telling us to go in at an angle isn't enough.

So anyway, if someone could put up a video of how to do this sans-trial-and-error, that would be great. The map itself is awesome, but thinking with angles is much harder than thinking with portals.

[Ricotez]

Well, it is a beta after all, but...

I just don't manage to understand them angled flings! I've been stuck at the first room for 20 minutes after which I gave up, and at that moment I didn't yet understand what you want me to do! Can someone put up a video showing how to make them angular flings?

Besides of that, the other maps are great! Great custom textures, great mood, in the angular fling section the background noises were great (gives you the idea you're not alone, and that the Enrichment Center expands to more than just your tests)... you're a true portal master! But try to make it more clearly what to do in the first chamber!

[Cyclone]

Okay, quick update - I did beat the map, after an hour or so of trial-and-error. I can't replicate any of my results consistently, because the overly precise nature of angle flinging makes it hard to do anything but keep trying until I get it right, only to then not know what exactly it was that made it work.

Again, it looks and sounds great, but seriously, you need to make it easier on us. If these are just the training maps, the real maps are going to be insane.

Also - why is the treadmill in that one room? It serves no purpose but to confuse the player - I kept trying to work it into my solution by gaining speed for a fling. If you don't need it, don't put it there, period.

Second, the timing on the last puzzle needs to be easier. How do I know when to drop into the blue portal? You must add a timer showing us how many seconds remain until the floater turns on or off.

Finally, dropping in to the last room is kind of tricky - I kept getting caught on the edges, and has to dance around a bit before it would let me drop.

In simple terms, I like the map, but hate the concept - all the more reason to look foreword to your future work, I guess.

[iamafractal]

Here's a walkthrough of the last two flings in the map.

I think with this, you can pretty consistently do these flings most of the time.

let me know if anybody wants a more comprehensive walkthrough.

the captions are there in case you want to pause and read what i have to say. they aren't really necessary to see what I did.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2010661265827051249&hl=en

[iamafractal]

note: msleeper the spoiler tag isn't working :-/ what did i do wrong?

spoilers below!

Cyclone wrote:

Okay, quick update - I did beat the map, after an hour or so of trial-and-error. I can't replicate any of my results consistently, because the overly precise nature of angle flinging makes it hard to do anything but keep trying until I get it right, only to then not know what exactly it was that made it work.

figuring that out for me was one of my favorite parts of this puzzle. now when these types of flings are in new maps, we'll be ready.

Cyclone wrote:

Again, it looks and sounds great, but seriously, you need to make it easier on us. If these are just the training maps, the real maps are going to be insane.

oh come on. you finished it didn't you? why make it easier? just take your time and finish it

Cyclone wrote:

Also - why is the treadmill in that one room? It serves no purpose but to confuse the player - I kept trying to work it into my solution by gaining speed for a fling. If you don't need it, don't put it there, period.

because if you don't shoot the second portal near the exit, you land all the way across the room. the conveyor belt just makes it faster to reset.

Cyclone wrote:

Second, the timing on the last puzzle needs to be easier. How do I know when to drop into the blue portal? You must add a timer showing us how many seconds remain until the floater turns on or off.

its very consistent. gamers have had to time things since mario days. just count in your head how long it goes for... (about 3.5 seconds) and then figure out the right moment to go in. its not that bad at all.

[Adair]

Aside from that last fling I found the map to be intuitive to the point where I knew where to place my portals to get to the next area/challenge, but I was still surprised a couple of times when I ended up in an unexpected place that was exactly where I needed to be. For example, in the room with the conveyor belt I thought I needed to fling myself inside of the glass box. Then when I finally set the fling up correctly I find myself on top of it. That was great! Also in the last room I ended up accidentally flinging up to the place where the cube is before I even knew that place existed and I was trying to get to the pedestal button. So when I did get to the button and found what it did I knew exactly how to get the cube. Really well done. Then I got stuck on the final fling

Thanks for the walkthru, iamfractal. I was starting to think I needed to do something like that to fling downwards, but I couldn't figure out how to set it up.

Also I kept getting very close to a successful fling just by placing the portal on the floor and taking a crouching leap into it, I even got close enough to have hurricaaane's hint pop up telling me to crouch.

So I don't know if there was a hint that I missed or what, but the only thing I'd change in this map is add a better hinting at how to do that last fling.

[Beer-Me]

Thought it was fun, not a massively new area of gameplay, this is how I solved a few of the advanced maps, although that was more accidental than this, where the turret helps to guide you etc. Does involve a bit of luck, but mostly timing.

[Cyclone]

After reading iamafractal's walkthrough, I think I've figured out what I was doing wrong - I was crouching at the wrong time. I would crouch as soon as I jumped off the ledge, and wind up hitting the wall every time - it was only when I crouched after entering the blue portal that it worked.

It's a fair tactic, I guess, but you could have given us a bit more help. Then again, figuring it out was kind of fun, and, of course, extremely logical - do what you need to do, when you need to do it.

EDIT: Also, I just noticed some aesthetic changes made to the first three chambers (four if you count chamber 0). Awesome - I really love the way these maps look and feel.

[iamafractal]

[Adair]

Hurricaaane, there was a missing texture in the new(feb 2nd?) version of logic portals #1. I'll have to go take another look to tell you just where it is though.

[iamafractal]

actually that reminds me to tell hurricaaa...

you should have at least one of the little rooms where you control the floor portal instead of the wall one so that you can see how drastically you can change the outgoing laser angle from the other portal. that close up and personal view will help in the final room.

[youme]

That is mental I can't do it.
Needs more explanation of how to do it (I haven't read spoilers due to spoileryness)

The floor texture looks like something from a kitchen... really horrible. Your lighting is getting pretty silly with this one. and I am re-itterating how crap I think your custom indicator strip texture is.

Your cube floatery things activated when I stood on the button, shouldnt they only do that if there is a cube there (Time for a nother trigger)
I absolutely love the cube floater idea and implementation but every other aspect of your mapping is getting sloppy and feankly, ameturish