Portal 2 ... YAY YAY

[Surlyboi]

"Look at that poor little octopus"

And Eff D3.

[luckton]

Pause it at 0:57 and check out the stats of the Octopus Earth

 

[Kageru]

They could have just done a press release, but no... bless them.

I liked the guy in the office watching porn :)

[K9]

A preview of how the level editor works

First impression is that they have probably made the most user friendly level editor I have ever seen. I guess for advanced people you can still make more complex stuff in hammer, but this seems like a great mass-market approach.

[TheWalrus]

Wow that video came down quick.

[K9]

Ah too bad, well I guess everyone will see it properly soon enough. Looks really great though.

[Quinton]

Yeah, I saw a bunch of "what another editor? for people too dumb to use hammer?" reaction to the original announcement... when my thought was "if the couple seconds in the video depicting level creation has any relationship to the new tool they've totally raised the bar in creating content like this!"

[K9]

Definitely; it reminded me somewhat of the level editors in the Tony Hawk series, which were dead easy to use and fun to play around with, but bitterly limited in what you could actually produce. This on the other hand seems to offer you the resources to make close to the same stuff that Valve offered in the actual game, while not being ball-bustingly complex.

[Malakili]

Yeah, I saw a bunch of "what another editor? for people too dumb to use hammer?" reaction to the original announcement... when my thought was "if the couple seconds in the video depicting level creation has any relationship to the new tool they've totally raised the bar in creating content like this!"

While Hammer is where it is at, Valve has been all about thinking up ways their users can add value to their games.  Making it accessible to people who don't have the patience to learn a tool like Hammer (which is definitely not trivial) is a really huge step in my opinion.  There are a lot of creative people out there who are portal fans, unleashing all that potential with an easy to use tool is a great idea.  Not to mention if people get really into it but feel a little limited, maybe that will prompt them to learn something about Hammer, and that opens up map making for all the source engine games.

Definitely a cool move by Valve.

[koro]

Yeah, I saw a bunch of "what another editor? for people too dumb to use hammer?" reaction to the original announcement... when my thought was "if the couple seconds in the video depicting level creation has any relationship to the new tool they've totally raised the bar in creating content like this!"

I'm willing to bet most of the "too dumb to use Hammer?" commenters haven't actually ever used Hammer. It's very powerful but it's also a complete pain in the ass and I don't even think Valve likes using Hammer all that much.

[tgr]

I'm willing to bet most of the "too dumb to use Hammer?" commenters haven't actually ever used Hammer. It's very powerful but it's also a complete pain in the ass and I don't even think Valve likes using Hammer all that much.

Has it changed much since the era when it was called Worldcraft? Because if it hasn't, then I don't get it, it wasn't that hard to use back then.

[Malakili]

I'm willing to bet most of the "too dumb to use Hammer?" commenters haven't actually ever used Hammer. It's very powerful but it's also a complete pain in the ass and I don't even think Valve likes using Hammer all that much.

Has it changed much since the era when it was called Worldcraft? Because if it hasn't, then I don't get it, it wasn't that hard to use back then.

It is definitely up a notch in complexity with the source engine stuff, but it is similar.   I didn't find that transition too difficult.  That being said, there are a lot of concepts that you have to understand that definitely aren't trivial and understanding errors in the compiler and such aren't things some average fan of Portal are probably going to be willing to wade through even if they get that far.  My guess is that you take a lot of that knowledge for granted. How many people know what a leak is?  How many people understand using a noclip brush to smooth out movement issues.  How many people understand using a novis brush to help keep frame rates reasonable.  Definitely not trivial stuff.

[Quinton]

I totally missed this blog post:
http://www.thinkwithportals.com/blog.php?id=6632&p=1

Portal 2 Puzzle Creator Sneak Peek
October 27, 2011 - The Portal 2 Team

After we released the Portal 2 Authoring Tools earlier this year, we were thrilled by how quickly over 700 player-created puzzles were released into the wild. As successful as that was, the feedback we got was that many aspiring puzzle designers were finding that because of the complexity of the tool set, becoming the next GLaDOS was much harder than they expected. On top of that, it was too tedious and time consuming to actually find and play the puzzles that players were creating.

We're going to fix all of that. The next major update to Portal 2 will make it far simpler (and more fun) to create and distribute your own Portal 2 puzzles.

The simplified puzzle creator will let players easily carve out their creations in a straightforward but powerful way. They'll then be able to immediately upload those levels to their Steam Cloud and share them with other players online. We're also building a community site to host all of these player-created puzzles. The site will allow players to quickly find new puzzles and add them to their game, ready to play, with a single click. Players will then be able to rate the puzzles they've played, leave comments for puzzle creators, and follow creators they like.

We're positive there are a ton of great puzzle designers just waiting for the right tools, and we're working hard to tap into all that creativity. We'll keep you posted as we continue to make progress with the update. For now, here are some screenshots of the puzzle creator to get the ideas flowing.

[cironian]

I can't wait. The "built from prefab components" look of the Portal test chambers really works in favor of this approach.

[K9]

Something's coming from Valve shortly, according to the internet.

[NiX]

I'm not sure if it's the map editor or some other implication. The fact that there's natural light is throwing me.

[Malakili]

It looks like a TF2 level being made in an Aperture Science facility. 

[K9]

Maybe the Pyro will get a portal gun? 

[Ironwood]

That's the house you drive by when you get the car in Half Life 2.  I'd bet my fucking life on it.

The G-Man was in there.

[HaemishM]

It's definitely from Half Life. Though it also reminds me of 2Fort in TF2, so who the fuck knows?

[Mrbloodworth]

Half life was all just a portal room.

[cironian]

"They're waiting for you, Gordon. In the test chamber."

[Malakili]

If the big reveal is that Half Life was all a series of testing chambers I'm not sure if I would be pleased or annoyed.

[luckton]

If the big reveal is that Half Life was all a series of testing chambers I'm not sure if I would be pleased or annoyed.

Well we saw how that whole 'bad ending that makes no fucking sense' thing worked out SO well for Mass Effect...  

[HaemishM]

Except that in Half Life, the presence of the G-Man kind of hints heavily at that sort of thing, only on a grander scale than the Portal test chambers.

[Simond]

G-Man.
Glados.


We're through the looking glass here, people. 

[NiX]

G-Man.
Glados.
Gordon.

We're through the looking glass here, people. 

Added to your theory. We're onto something!

[K9]

Hats for DOTA

[cironian]

Made a nice little test chamber. Fun, but still a lot of work to get all the problem spots, dead ends and shortcuts worked out.

Good testing takes much more time than building the chamber. Example: I wanted the player have to drop a cube into the path of a laser and block it, but one out of four times the cube bounced away on landing, so I put a button there instead.

Published here, if you want to take a look: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=68505760

[Segoris]

Will give that a try soon

IMO, the tools given are great, I just wish you could subscribe to a map (while in game) and have it download without having to reload the game

[luckton]

Made a nice little test chamber. Fun, but still a lot of work to get all the problem spots, dead ends and shortcuts worked out.

Good testing takes much more time than building the chamber. Example: I wanted the player have to drop a cube into the path of a laser and block it, but one out of four times the cube bounced away on landing, so I put a button there instead.

Published here, if you want to take a look: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=68505760

Did it.  Had me stumped for a good 10 minutes or so, until...


Of course, if that was not the intended solution, I suppose I get bonus points for "breaking the glass"   

[Segoris]

That's how I did it as well. I think that is the right way and it just seems like it's cheating because the level feels like you need to use all panels and the stairs that rise out of the ground. Of course I may be off on that

Also - look up the level called "Ridge to Bridge," it's the most fun level I've found so far (only completed about 5-6 or so I think at this point). Most of these levels just have one trick that make you feel like an idiot after you figure it out

[cironian]

Yeah, that's how it's supposed to work. The stairs were a leftover from another pass, but I left them in because they allow the player to get a better view of the upper part of the level. That they double as a red herring is just a bonus.

[luckton]

Yeah, that's how it's supposed to work. The stairs were a leftover from another pass, but I left them in because they allow the player to get a better view of the upper part of the level. That they double as a red herring is just a bonus.

Aye, was kinda fooling me at first.  I tried experimenting with using the stairs at a catapult for the cube to shoot it up into the ceiling for a portal that would drop it down onto the laser platform.  More often than not though I'd miss and the cube would bounce over to the fizzler wall.

[Simond]

http://www.blappeture.com/