Portal 2 Toolset Allows Users to Become Crueler Than GLaDOS

[Buizel91]

You can add your own music?

Hell if i had this for PC i would definitely have the Pokemon battle music in mine xD

I do hope a dampened down version comes to consoles though =\

 

[SFR]

It looks just like Worldcraft. After all this time.

I assume you mean World of Warcraft. If you're referring to the graphical quality, that's because it's an in hammer screen. This means that it isn't compiled, meaning no real time or pre rendered lighting, shaders, and plenty of other effects aren't drawn. I hope to god you're just a troll, though, as saying Portal 2 looks like World of Warcraft is obviously not true.

You can add your own music?

Hell if i had this for PC i would definitely have the Pokemon battle music in mine xD

I do hope a dampened down version comes to consoles though =\

It won't. Not because I'm trying to sound like an asshole, but because the consoles aren't capable of it. Compiling can be a *****.

 

[Dense_Electric]

Any chance of seeing the tools on a console?

Not Hammer. Besides the fact it has all sorts of specialized programs associated with it that are required to compile the maps (vrad, vvis, bsp, etc.), the interface is designed for a mouse and keyboard. I can't imagine trying to fiddle with a brush entity's properties with a joystick, everything would take ten times longer.

This article really did a piss-poor job of explaining what exactly Valve released. The way it's worded it makes it sound like it's some sort of in-game map editor, when in reality it's the complete set of development tools used by the guys at Valve to make actual game maps.

 

[restoshammyman]

one question. if there is an option to also make co op maps (and im not sure that there is)
how will you test them?
you cant just have a friend log in every time you make a map

 

[subject_87]

So, how long do you think before someone combines some of the features from Portal 2 and Left 4 Dead and makes the "Fighting an army of mantis men" into a real mod?

I DEMAND THAT SOMEONE MAKE THAT RIGHT THE HELL NOW.

Anyway, this is pretty sweet; perhaps my friend and I will try to make some tests...

 

[Ghengis John]

It looks just like Worldcraft. After all this time.

I assume you mean World of Warcraft. If you're referring to the graphical quality, that's because it's an in hammer screen. This means that it isn't compiled, meaning no real time or pre rendered lighting, shaders, and plenty of other effects aren't drawn. I hope to god you're just a troll, though, as saying Portal 2 looks like World of Warcraft is obviously not true.

Uh, no. I am neither a troll nor am I referring to "World of Warcraft." You know what happens when you make assumptions right? And you've made a real leap here. Just plugging "Worldcraft" into the search engine of your choice would have settled the matter without a tirade. But no, you'd rather rail against someone based on nothing but your own ignorance. How typical. I can understand the propensity to assume everyone you meet on the internet is an idiot but what colossal level of Bozo would I have to be to not understand that's a shot from an editor in a story about the editor AND screw up the name of "Warcraft" that badly? Next time before you judge somebody take the time to consider that you, yourself, might be wrong. If more people did that the world would be a better place. There's no reason not to give somebody the benefit of the doubt long enough to check google. Whatever.

So what was Worldcraft? It was a quake engine level editor from the year 1999-2001 or so. I used to make maps for quake 2 and half-life on it as a hobby. I know all about map compilation and what an editor looks like. After a few years worldcraft became "Hammer". I didn't like "hammer" as much because of it's half-life centric focus, it's revised hud and controls didn't appeal to me as much and you had to relearn some of the entity tags, but I kept right on happily using it until the first version of Steam came out and somehow broke my map editor in the middle of a project. Subsequent versions of steam did nothing to fix the map editor and even when I switched computers the map editor would still crash the minute steam would start up, even when I got new versions of the editor. It was a hobby I didn't want to give up, I tried for months to get that editor working again but gave up. I was forced out of it. So anyhow, the shot made me a little nostalgic. While I don't really want to edit for portal I do realize that by now "steam" is no longer synonymous with "sucks" and this editor would probably work without a hitch.

 

[Danceofmasks]

Ima gonna make revenge of the cubes.

Where the player presses a button, only to be squashed by 100 falling weighted storage cubes.

 

[Retardinator]

Ah, the Blizzard method of letting fans add longevity/fix perceived issues with your game.

I thought that was Obsidian's model....

It's the PC GAMER MODEL!
On a more serious note, I'd like to see console games to have this sort of functionality. It would kind of bring the communities a bit closer. Still wouldn't end the goddamn platform wars...

 

[Retardinator]

I hope the tool isn't so complicated that I can't put a chamber together in an afternoon. I always wanted to torture my fellow gamers.
One problem, you know there are going to be a hell of a lot of "grief" chambers with no solution made to induce rage-quitting.

Source's map editor is actually the simplest 3D map editor I've ever come across. (Barring Warcraft III's WorldEdit, of course) I love working in it, since the levels are easy to build, physics objects are easy to set up and triggers are pretty straightforward. It also has some of the most comprehensive documentation I've seen.

The tutorial vids to get you started on the editing are here [http://www.youtube.com/user/3kliksphilip?feature=chclk#play/uploads], and any questions you might have can be answered here [http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/SDK_Docs]. Just put Portal 2 in the search and you can find all the features that are specific to the game itself.

(The tutorial videos are done for Counter-Strike: Source, but the editor is pretty much the same in all Valve games)

 

[Calderon0311]

Ah, the Blizzard method of letting fans add longevity/fix perceived issues with your game.

ID Software and Doom would like it's title back now.

 

[ryo02]

consoles rarely get anything like this ... T_T

 

[Ed.]

Ahh but those editors cant run on the Xbox or PS3. If expanded to the Consoles you would have much more user content. Developer tools also are beyond the more common player simply due to PC limitations. Not everyone can shellout several thousand for a true Gamer PC.

Forge modes limitations are mostly that you cant alter the base terrain without flatout making your own. Puting something in that allows you to acually go beyond placing floating Blocks and manages to acually create rooms etc like a true editor is typically not easy with controller controls alone.

Finally the problems that lie in Beta style Development tools make public use simply not feasable for many people.

The reason i pointed out Forge is that it did manage to give Console players an effective level editor that was relativly problem free. Hammer is PC exclusive, which really doenst impress me as a result, considering the Mod comminunity that exists. An Amusing fact is that there often are level editors released for PC games by Mod comminunitys long before anything offical. Forge However was something that came with the game and worked on the Consoles and was also relativly easy to use, and ease of use means more user content.

The biggest problem would be making a way to get custom content downloadable to the Console players.

there is one thing that could make a truly sucessful editor. allow a low spec PC version to use the editor using min graphics but allow that edited level to be ported to Consoles. If a Console gamer is given the same ability as the limited PC gamers, then you have tapped into what otherwise would be a APX 66% loss in terms of the existing player base. Btw that number is extremely Generious and figures the high end gaming as between PC/XBOX/PS3 equally, which it really isnt more often than not.

Hammer is already like that it can have its graphics turned down to simple polygons the only downside is compiling takes longer but even with a feeble PC you could just let it run overnight.

And hammer makes forge look like child's play it really does.

 

[Hypertion]

Still would like to see something like this ported to the Consoles. At least Bungie TRYED with forge. Little Big Planet did something too and basically relys on it.

It just seems to be that if Valve managed to Do something to allow Consoles to edit their own levels too they could triple sales of the game.

As it is, it has no replay value. This is a core problem with ALL puzzle games. Unless your Short/Long term memory is really bad in which case you probably wouldnt understand anything im saying anyways for long.

Even if the PC made edited levels can be downloaded on the Consoles the fact will remain only the PC users will be able to make them.

So here is my final idea. DLC Editor system for Portal 2. At least give us people who prefer the Console systems a choice and you will see proferr i mean more fun.... ok im just saying profit since its at least a good arguement for the sale of anything.

Add a DLC Editor/Downloader and make its ability cross platform between PC/XBOX/PS3 and you will see a massive spike in the purchase of Portal and a quite impressive spike in its use.

Portal could be MUCH GREATER than LBP. hell i could see players creating their own mechanics and completly reinventing Portal using just the PC editor.

Im hoping to see some really impressive Rube Goldberg Machines. Come on you lifeless youtube video obsessed Portal 2 users. LETS SEE THEM!

 

[GonzoGamer]

I hope the tool isn't so complicated that I can't put a chamber together in an afternoon. I always wanted to torture my fellow gamers.
One problem, you know there are going to be a hell of a lot of "grief" chambers with no solution made to induce rage-quitting.

Source's map editor is actually the simplest 3D map editor I've ever come across. (Barring Warcraft III's WorldEdit, of course) I love working in it, since the levels are easy to build, physics objects are easy to set up and triggers are pretty straightforward. It also has some of the most comprehensive documentation I've seen.

The tutorial vids to get you started on the editing are here [http://www.youtube.com/user/3kliksphilip?feature=chclk#play/uploads], and any questions you might have can be answered here [http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/SDK_Docs]. Just put Portal 2 in the search and you can find all the features that are specific to the game itself.

(The tutorial videos are done for Counter-Strike: Source, but the editor is pretty much the same in all Valve games)

It does seem very simple but I?ve never used it: I love playing with mods but I never make them myself.
So do you think it?s something that they might start taking to the consoles now?

 

[Retardinator]

It does seem very simple but I?ve never used it: I love playing with mods but I never make them myself.
So do you think it?s something that they might start taking to the consoles now?

If you mean the content, they really should. With the same engine as on the PC AND Steamworks in place it would be a missed opportunity if they didn't.

If you're talking about the SDK, though, I doubt it. It's been mentioned several times that the compiler uses a variety of different tools for different parts of putting a map together, the interface isn't really console friendly and there's also much more than just the map editor in the SDK. All of those other components rely on specific, PC-made content.

Maybe if they did a simplified, more console-friendly editor that's integrated into the game, but that seems to be out of the question for now, at least to me.

 

[GonzoGamer]

It does seem very simple but I?ve never used it: I love playing with mods but I never make them myself.
So do you think it?s something that they might start taking to the consoles now?

If you mean the content, they really should. With the same engine as on the PC AND Steamworks in place it would be a missed opportunity if they didn't.

If you're talking about the SDK, though, I doubt it. It's been mentioned several times that the compiler uses a variety of different tools for different parts of putting a map together, the interface isn't really console friendly and there's also much more than just the map editor in the SDK. All of those other components rely on specific, PC-made content.

Maybe if they did a simplified, more console-friendly editor that's integrated into the game, but that seems to be out of the question for now, at least to me.

Too bad, this is the kind of game that needs it. Just to keep things interesting.
It would be one way to get more replay out of the game without inflicting amnesia on myself.