User talk:Mr.p.kiwi

Tables

Watch out!
Constructing tables here!

Trying to create good looking tables! ...You know, for the articles; but they need to reach perfection somewhere. If YOU feel like it, you can create a table here too, so that everyone can learn, including yourself. You can experiment on this page all day long - just leave your name as the title of the table, so that it'll be more organized.

To do such a thing, you would need to do something like this:

{| class="standard-table"
|+ your name goes here
!Header
|-
|Table
|}

For example:

Mr.p.kiwi 23:43, 31 July 2011 (PDT)

This will be a header	This will be a header2	This will be a header3
Column1; Row1	Column2; Row1
Column 1; Row 2&3		Column3; Row2
	Column2; Row3	Column3; Row3

External Links

• How to create tables

Behind the Scenes (Portal 2)

This Portal 2 aesthetic theme is featured prominently during the manufacturing section of the singleplayer campaign, and is also used between test chambers and during escape sequences in Aperture Laboratories. It is characterized by unfinished construction and machinery. Catwalks, panel undersides, uncovered light fixtures, exposed wiring, and vents are common. Vast skyboxes are used in Aperture Laboratories to give the player a sense of the massive scale of the facility.

Level transitions are usually placed between heavy security doors.

In-Depth

You can see a lot of tubes transporting various test elements to uknown part of the facility.

This theme serves really only for plot advancement, so the scope for puzzles is somewhat limited here. Sure, there's the old 'portal over to that wall behind me' to traverse long distances and stretch out dialogue, but making actual puzzles out of this theme without making it feel contrived is kind of difficult. You'll see it done more successfully in co-op maps usually, due to the fact that the plot isn't quite as important and Valve tried to make the theme a puzzle rather than to leave an impact on the player.
The exception to this is if you're making a full-blown mod, maybe even with a story; as aforementioned, these can make nice interludes, and the sheer multitude of destruction sequences available for the catwalks are brilliant for action scenes.

Due to the vast proportions of Aperture Laboratories there's a lot of free space between test chambers and other rooms used for various purposes. In these in-between areas a lot of 'behind the scenes' work is done; building and testing of test elements. Because of this the theme is more to immerse the player than to be a good puzzle environment, however, using the various 'test elements in-testing-state' as functioning test elements could make it a more interactive puzzle. Most puzzles seen in this theme tend to revolve around momentum, and they do tend to work best in co-op. However, if you have an idea for a puzzle that involves moving test elements, conveyor tracks or exceptionally big momentum puzzles, try going with this theme.

Noticeable Elements

Aperture Laboratories is known to solve their problems in the most ridiculous way possible, take the Pneumatic Diversity Vents for example, seen transporting numerous test elements, and garbage, from one place to another.

Humans, on the other hand, use catwalks as their form of transportation, and these should arrive everywhere, like the vents. All other robotic personnel use management rails, which they cannot be detached from.

GLaDOS

Yep, she's back, and if you're using this theme you want her in it. Seriously; a map without dialogue is twice as boring as one that has it. That said, however, go for the unique quotes; we've heard the 'here come the test results' line millions of times, but how often do you hear 'like an eagle, piloting a blimp'? Even better, go for some of the cut lines that can still be found in the game's files! For a list of GLaDOS lines, see here^[1].

Panels

Panels are present all around this theme, doing miscellaneous work other than forming the test chamber itself. There are literally hundreds of animations to pick and use from; and if that ain't enough, there are plenty of other panel models to use.

Note:Search for animations with 'wake' or 'powerup' in their name in the model browser.

These wake animation are animations specifically tailored for this point in the game, and really give the sense that the facility is coming back to its senses. A good thing to do is scrolling through all the animations, with time you'll know exactly what you are looking for.

A thing that is important to point out is that on a large-ish grid size, the panels will be recessed two units into the wall; This is normal. A common mistake is moving them so they are flush with the Walls, and then adding the brush. All this means is that the panel will actually stick out from the wall. On that note, the brush attached to the robotic arm should be 2 units thick.

Now about those miscellaneous dynamic elements to cover; let's begin with the elements relevant to this theme. One clever little trick is using a trigger_look to trigger a relay, either when the player looks at it or when a certain amount of time has passed. This relay should start the animation of a panel or a group of panels. You should use it for the player might not look where you intended him to look and he'll miss all your hard work making those panels.

But panels aren't always attached to robotic arms; some panels are just a brush. This is brilliant for making panels fall of the ceiling into toxic slime pools, which is good for two things. First, it looks awesome, and adds a dynamic element to your map. Second, however, it can be used in a large chamber to draw the players gaze and attention to a certain area, one that they might not have otherwise noticed straight away, perhaps giving them some guidance on where to go, so they can begin with a goal. To do this follow these instructions:

Step 1

Create a func_physbox, and texture it as you would to any other rusted panel, useful textures for that are:

• black_wall_metal_005@
• white_wall_tile_004@
• squarebeams_rusty_01

_{@ - a variable, a set of letters and numbers.}

Attach this func_physbox to a phys_hinge for maximum effect.

Step 2

Add a relay with the following outputs:

	My Output >	Target Entity	Target Input	Parameter	Delay	Only Once
	OnTrigger	func_physbox	EnableMotion		0.00	No
	OnTrigger	phys_hinge	Break		2.50	No

Don't constraint your self only to the ceiling, one can also perform this trick with wall panels; just don't use a hinge, but use a small phys_explosion behind the panel to knock it off the wall about a tenth of a second after its motion is enabled. There are instances you can use if you find them appealing:

• 128x128_ceiling_panel_fall_01.vmf
• 128x128_ceiling_panel_fall_02.vmf
• 128x128_wall_panel_fall_01.vmf

Miscellaneous tips

These are the main elements that should be used through out this theme:

• Huge pillars allowing angular flinging
• Long Catwalk rails
• Management rails
• Pneumatic Diversity Vents
• Conveyor Belts
• Huge environments
• Door
• Shredders

The geometry should be a lot clearer than in the previous theme; everything should be a bit blockier, and a lot more of the panels are black, also; though there are roughly the same amount of white tiles, the solution shouldn't be obvious. This is really what, visually, distinguishes the previous theme from this one. Don't hesitate to make whole walls white, just so long as black and white are in about equal proportion. If you want, add subtle visual indicator to where portals should be placed.

See also

• Panels - For more information on creating panels
• Making GLaDOS speak - A tutorial on making GLaDOS talk in a test
• http://theportalwiki.com/wiki/GLaDOS_voice_lines - GLaDOS voice lines, a great page with all her speech files