[Release] The Watcher Chambers

[Syon]

rellikpd wrote:

that file server sucks. i get about 20% and then it stops. can you please upload to the TWP-DB?

EDIT: N/M i got it worked but i had to stop/restart the file a bunch of times. luckily IE caches the file as long as you restart it right away, i still suggest you upload it to the TWP-DB

TWP-DB only allows files up to 40 megs. I had tried to upload it here and wasn't able to cause of the size.

[rellikpd]

hum i didn't think that was the case. i just got done playing (for now; haven't finished) but either these puzzles are EXTREMELY hard, or i'm not doing something right, cuz i have had to do some "tricky" things to complete them

for example:
in map2 (all boxed in) i simply stood on the platform with the box and held it over my head, and the platform lifted, i tried multi-flinging the box, but to no avail. i could see it was "possible" but not repeatable enough. so i just held the box over my head, and it worked

and in map3 (i think) with all the "sharp" things i could find no way through except bunny hopping (or whatever its called) where you jump backwards and keep picking up speed

and now i'm stuck in the water area that says its obviously a broke test chamber i haven't necessarily got stuck here. but decided to stop for now to play with my son.
aside from these things being incredibly hard. they do look nice. i'm now gunna go back and read others comments, and see what they have to say

[Syon]

Quote:

in map2 (all boxed in) i simply stood on the platform with the box and held it over my head, and the platform lifted, i tried multi-flinging the box, but to no avail. i could see it was "possible" but not repeatable enough. so i just held the box over my head, and it worked

and in map3 (i think) with all the "sharp" things i could find no way through except bunny hopping (or whatever its called) where you jump backwards and keep picking up speed

Hmm, I had thought I'd tested doing that in map2, guess that's something to fix. The idea for making it reproducible is to use the emancipation grid to reset your portals then use the grid on the ground to place the box and portal always in the same location to reproduce it. Perhaps an X decal in the proper location would help. For map3 you're able to inch up to the spikes and have them shoot out without touching them. I'll go back and revisit these during the week and probably put out another release.

[Hen7]

Beautiful but HARD!
I'm not ashamed to say I nocliped about 5 times.
You really need to explain the player what to do and how, I'm an experienced portal player and knows almost all of the portaling techniques, but still, on a lot of chambers I totally didn't knew what to do, even with using of glitches.
Anyway, you just HAVE to make it easier because except of it's difficultly this map is awesome.
Btw, your custom particles disappear after loading a saved game. (I noticed it when I heard the waterfall but didn't saw anything.)
Restarting the map fixes that.

[Syon]

I'll investigate the particles as well, it may be that they're being disabled on map load or something.

What locations did you have to noclip Hen? I doubt I'll rework the puzzles as this point (aside from 'safety first'), but I'll likely go back and add hints to make the solutions more clear.

[infernet89]

here it is my run on that map pack
http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=yfUtwrCOYtI

It's segmented, so after each level there is a cut.

[Bulska]

very nice map, I really enjoyed playing it.

It was challanging but not annoying at all. Only the part with the cube and the ball was tricky, but still fun to do, and more fun to complete

The thing with the spikes first made me think, what a stupid thing. But I went fiddling around with it by slowly moving towards the spikes to trigger it without dying. Then I found out that I should climb over and jump trough the spikes, the hint: 'leap' painted with blood did help me out a little.

All around, good graphics and certainly good puzzles.

[jon1467]

It was nice and really well made, but it was way way too hard, I had to noclip loads of parts. I liked the story and the cliffhanger though, and the talking g-man was great! I look foward to a sequel

[Nameless]

the part with the sharp metal was interesting, after i figured out that you could inch up to the spikes it was much easyer but still hard, i don't think it was that bad as long as you quicksaved after every spike set in the room with the box fling i was ably to get the box very close several times, but i think the platform with the button needed to be extended some, or maybe just have that pillar removed

wow now that i read your hints on that spike area i understand why i had so much trouble with the last part I managed to jump through the middle of the spikes that you were spposed to climb, and the next set i could crouch and crawl under the right side (the half with the swinging blade was no problem, I tought it was obvious that it would come down on me)

[uXs]

How do the hell do you do the room with the large pool, the one where the g-man appears ? If you fall from the roof into the angled wall, and out another portal right next to it, you seem to have the correct angle, but not enough speed by far.

Theoretically, you could gain speed with some other trickery and come falling towards the angled wall with greater speed, but then you have to put at least one portal on it in a fraction of a second with practically no orientation, and it seems rather impossible.

Also, the spike thing kinda sucked.

[Mek]

uXs wrote:

How do the hell do you do the room with the large pool, the one where the g-man appears ? If you fall from the roof into the angled wall, and out another portal right next to it, you seem to have the correct angle, but not enough speed by far.

I tried it by putting the two portals above each other, so I was falling infinitely, and then trying to put a portal on the angled surface, but never succeeded.
And this is what I dislike on all maps - if I actually know the solution, but am unable to manage it.
The puzzles were way too hard, and I have come to an idea of binding the "noclip" command to some F-key
The only thing I liked in this map was its atmosphere (portal feeling), the design was done in a very fashionable way. The end was great, except that the lights behind the G-man were too bright so I couldn't see where is he standing.
So, if there will be a sequel, then try to adjust the difficulty so that the puzzles aren't near impossible.

[Syon]

You complete the puzzle at the start of chamber 3 like this:

Put a portal on the very end of the lower platform. Put a portal on the ceiling above the angled platform. Drop through the portal on the ceiling and place a portal on the angled platform that you're falling towards. Crouch as you go through the portal on the angled platform.

You'll shoot across the gap with more than enough speed to make it across.

At no point anywhere in these maps is terminal velocity required to solve a puzzle.

Also, the lights behind g-man had to be bright to hide his face. Custom scene files (that are needed to make g-mans mouth move) cannot be easily included in maps. So I had to come up with a way for g-man to talk without people being able to see his face.

And the sequel will definitely be easier.

[Mek]

Syon wrote:

Also, the lights behind g-man had to be bright to hide his face. Custom scene files (that are needed to make g-mans mouth move) cannot be easily included in maps. So I had to come up with a way for g-man to talk without people being able to see his face.

And the sequel will definitely be easier.

heh, thanx, never realised that...

[uXs]

After using Syon's hint in solving the one puzzle I was stuck at (and which I really should've been able to solve myself, dammit), I must say that this map was awesome. It made me realize that I don't really like easy maps, but that I like maps that are hard in all the right ways, like this one was.

Don't make the sequel any easier, just make it as hard as this one, in the same way.

Also the last puzzle was awesome, really nice idea.

Really a truly excellent map, congrats.

(Except for the part with the spikes, that sucked.)

[Syon]

Yeah, I'm working on redoing some of the spike area. The puzzle will largely stay the same, but it'll be esier to get past the spikes ane there will be more hints.

I think the map did end up being harder than I intended though. I tried to shoot for something that would be tough, but not to the point of being frustraighting, which I think some people have found it.

The next map is going to be more of a theme map than anything else. reasonable puzzles, but with a focus on atmosphere and such. I don't want to give away too much though as plans may still change some depending on technical difficulties I encounter.