Portal 2 - Perpetual Testing Initiative (May 8'th)

PMAvers

L6: Sharp Member
Jan 29, 2008
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Cave returns, with the news that the puzzle creator for Portal 2 is on it's way. It'll have Steam Workshop integration for sharing levels created in it.
 

Trotim

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Jul 14, 2009
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Of course it'll have restricted assets, simplifying the process seems to have been the point of this. I highly doubt it'll be useful for people who already know Hammer. (speculation but I'd be super surprised if this isn't true)
 

Kiddnils

L3: Member
Sep 2, 2011
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I love the idea of the multiverse. Maybe everyone will get his own planet like in the trailer and you can see every single map of him if you click on it.
 

YM

LVL100 YM
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Dec 5, 2007
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Of course it'll have restricted assets, simplifying the process seems to have been the point of this. I highly doubt it'll be useful for people who already know Hammer. (speculation but I'd be super surprised if this isn't true)

I'm gunna go right ahead and say that won't be true at all.

From what I've gleaned it's a very decent tool and not at all like the piss-poor alien swarm tile editor.

If I had to guess I'd say the whole thing is built off instances, so the initial instance set might be limited but I can't believe they wouldn't allow users to expand it with their own (or soon to be) public libraries online.

I also believe they've said it has ways for you to jump back and forth between hammer and it.

It looks great for throwing down test chamber ideas and getting it all set up. Then for anyone who knows hammer already you can then take the result and make it prettier or beat it up or add unique set pieces in hammer.
 
Mar 20, 2012
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As someone who maps extensively for Portal 2, my concern is that we won't get that much variation of theme in this in-game editor. There's no way to get that decaying Aperture look from this tool, nor the wheatley-controlled bottomless pit maps, nor the Cave Johnson-style underground maps. It's all essentially clean Glados maps.

It would be as if TF2 had an in-game editor that only allowed you to design with badlands aesthetics.

However, if it has hammer to editor and vice versa capabilities, it should be interesting. Perhaps I won't need to plan everything out in Sketchup anymore.
 

YM

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Dec 5, 2007
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UsDur6syUFM#t=64s

Works off instances as suspected but has no import/export from hammer. You can open the file in hammer manually though and it's unknown if you can open a map after editing it in hammer.

Doesn't look like you can add extra instances either since they all look quite hard coded into that items system.

Still, you can see it takes him about 5 minutes to create a chamber so this will be an incredibly powerful timesaving tool.

Looks awesome.

Sidenote: The lack of different visual styles doesn't bother me one iota. It makes sense that as the story of Aperture continues, GLaDOS would rebuild the facility and she'd have everything "looking pretty good" in no time and have no need to venture into the depths of pre-GLaDOS Aperture again.

Footnote: Also woo suddenly Portal 2 has massive replay value! :D
 
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Kiddnils

L3: Member
Sep 2, 2011
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Damn I wanted to post this video. But it looks really decent. Maybe some chambers will be a bit dark but it's seems like a great and easy tool.
 
Last edited:
Mar 20, 2012
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I still prefer the visual styles. Some of my favorite maps have been done in the underground or wheatley-style. It's not just about the puzzles for me, I suppose.

I'm glad it makes it easier to get into Portal 2 mapping, but I'm still going to use Hammer.
 

YM

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Dec 5, 2007
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The video has been removed apparently :(

Suffice to say, the tool is awesome.

  • Click-drag room scaling and deforming on a 64x64 grid.
  • Select any element and rightclick to bring a menu up of things to do (like buttons have a connect to, then you just click a door or fizzler etc)
  • Select tiles with a right click to change them from black to white.
  • Item menu always at the left hand side, mouse over to bring it up.
  • Nice compile buttons at the top for no fuss. Admittedly it will always compile lighting by the looks of it, but test chambers are small on the preview he made it only took a matter of seconds (probably reduced compile settings until you publish the map)
  • Simple rotation of the chamber in any direction, forward walls always occluded.
  • Good looking steam workshop integration. Download and add maps to a queue ingame, then play any one of them and after it asks you to rate it.
  • Uploading comes in two flavours, friends only and public.
 

Micnax

Back from the dead (again)
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Apr 25, 2009
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Of course, Valve have to add a goddamn Meet The Pyro teaser in the trailer... now I'm even more excited.

This tool is going to introduce so many people into developing cool and awesome maps, and hopefully give them the urge to download the SDK and have a go at much more complex maps and see what happens behind the scenes. It reminds me of the old level editors in Tony Hawk Pro Skater games I loved so dearly :D
 
Mar 20, 2012
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Of course, Valve have to add a goddamn Meet The Pyro teaser in the trailer... now I'm even more excited.

I was wondering if anyone else caught that. I tried to slow the video down, but all I could see what a lot of red and a constant-flame in the air.

Valve, Y U NO RELEASE MEET THE PYRO YET?
 

Pocket

Half a Lambert is better than one.
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Nov 14, 2009
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Of course, Valve have to add a goddamn Meet The Pyro teaser in the trailer... now I'm even more excited.

I just realized... what if the special surprise thing they're adding to TF2 this summer... is a version of this tool for TF2?
 

YM

LVL100 YM
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Dec 5, 2007
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I just realized... what if the special surprise thing they're adding to TF2 this summer... is a version of this tool for TF2?

Don't be dumb. This would never work for TF2. You could try but it would be about 3000x as complex.