Releasing A Portal 2 Map

Bug:The addons system does not work as expected as of Oct. 4, 2011 with the "Peer Review" update. No information was given as to why this has gone offline/changed.  [todo tested in ?]

Tip: To fix this, get GCFScape and extract the contents of the VPK to the portal2 folder, or rename the VPK to pak01.vpk and place it in portal2_dlc3

Now that you have made your brilliant map you need a way to get this out to the public. If your map happens to have custom content such as sounds, scripts and materials the best way to release it is putting it inside a VPK. This collects all of your content into a single file and makes it easy to distribute.

Creating the VPK

1. Create a folder and label it with your addon name.
2. This folder should now mimic the structure of the 'Portal 2\portal2\' folder.
3. Start with adding a folder called maps and add in your compiled .BSP.
4. If you have any scripts be sure it lies in the same relative folder inside scripts\vscripts.
5. The same applies for sounds and materials.
6. Inside 'Portal 2\bin\' there is an executable called 'vpk.exe'. Drag your folder you created in step 1 onto this executable.
7. You will now have a .VPK file in the same folder with the same name.

Tip:As an added convenience, a folder can also be dragged onto a shortcut of 'vpk.exe' (provided in Portal 2) in any location.

Tip:Because of the bug you can also rename the vmf file pak0#_dir.vpk (make sure you don't use the number 1 for valve is already using it) and put it in the common\portal2\portal2 folder or any of the portal2_dlc folders.

Installing the VPK

Note:If you have the Sixense MotionPack DLC, you will most likely have to create the folder in 'Portal 2\portal2_sixense.'

1. Create a folder in 'Portal 2\portal2\' called addons.
2. Place your .VPK file inside the addons folder.
3. If Portal 2 was running during step 2, type the following in the console: update_addon_paths. Otherwise, skip to the next step.
4. To load a single player map, type in the console: map mymap and replace mymap with the name of your map.
5. To load a Co-op map, start a Co-op game with your friend, once you enter the hub type in console: changelevel mymap replace mymap with the name of your map.

Useful Websites

You can upload your map in many websites. Here are some of them:

• http://www.thinkingwithportals.com (this site is now down)
• http://www.map-factory.org/
• http://www.portal2maps.net
• http://steamcommunity.com/workshop/

Note:The last Website is for PeTI maps

You can also Upload them to file-sharing websites like Rapidshare or Mediafire.

See also

• L4D2 Campaign Add-on Tutorial

External links

• How to make custom VPK
• Installing and playing custom maps / campaigns