Disc Room

"Sometimes testing has to occur outside the confines of the lab."
- GLaDOS

The disc room is the final challenge Atlas and P-body must face when completing a course. It is placed in parts beyond GLaDOS's influence and serves as a last stand of the humans against GLaDOS's growing control over the facility.

Disc Emitter

The disc emitter is the device that creates the discs. It can re-create the disc in case the disc is lost or dissolved. It is usually placed near the Disc Receiver at the end of the last chamber of the course. However it doesn't have to be like that; placing the emitter at the start of the chamber can lead to some interesting puzzles, in which the main priority is to make sure the disc wouldn't get lost.

Step 1 - Setting Things Up

Snap on the grid: 2

Create a prop_static and set its model to models/props_gameplay/laser_disc_player.mdl, place it anywhere in your disc room. This is where the disc would be picked up from.

We will create the disc now; a prop_dynamic_override. Set its properties as follows:

Property Name	Value
Parent	spawner_door
Disable Shadows	Yes
World Model	laser_disc.mdl
Name	start_disc

Place the disc model in the device as detailed in the picture to the right.

Now create a 8x20x1 brush and texture it with tools/toolsinvisible. Place it on top of the disc model, again, as shown on the picture to the right. Tie the brush to an entity (by pressing Ctrl+T) and make it a func_door. Now set its properties as follows:

Property Name	Value
Name	spawner_door
Speed	26
Start Sound	World.LaserDiskLoad
Delay Before Reset (-1 stay)	-1
Loop Moving Sound	Yes
Move Direction	0 0 0

Note:The Move Direction should be set to whatever Pitch Yaw Roll you have for your laser_disc_player.mdl.

Another entity must be made now a prop_physics_override, this will be the disc the players would carry around. Hold ⇧ Shift and drag the start_disc to the point it is no longer in the device and only its 'tip' touches the entrance. Change its "Class" to prop_physics_override and name it disc.

Step 2 - Disc Reproduction

Here we would make some templates to respawn the disc in case it gets lost.

Note:This step is not crucial for the emitter to operate, skip to step 3 if there is no way to lose the disc in your map.

Create a point_template with the following properties:

Property Name	Value
Name	template_disc_spawn
Template 1	start_disc
Template 2	spawner_door

Create one more point_template with these properties:

Property Name	Value
Name	template_disc
Template 1	disc

Step 3 - Output System

This time, everything's included.
Snap on the grid: 8

After making all the entities needed to get the emitter to work, all that is left is to connect their actions to form a disc; let's make some I/O connections!
Start by creating a logic_auto with the following output:

	My Output >	Target Entity	Target Input	Parameter	Delay	Only Once
	OnMapSpawn	template_disk_spawn	ForceSpawn		0.00	No

Tip:We would use this entity again further in the tutorial, don't forget it's here.

Open your spawner_door 'Output' tab and add the following properties:

	My Output >	Target Entity	Target Input	Parameter	Delay	Only Once
	OnFullyOpen	start_disc	ClearParent		0.00	No
	OnFullyOpen	start_disc	TurnOff		0.00	No
	OnFullyOpen	template_disc	ForceSpawn		0.00	No
	OnFullyOpen	start_disc	Kill		0.10	No
	OnFullyOpen	spawner_door	Kill		0.10	No

Now add the following output to your template_disc_spawn:

	My Output >	Target Entity	Target Input	Parameter	Delay	Only Once
	OnEntitySpawned	spawner_door	Open		0.00	No

Make sure that the entity that detects when the disc has been lost or killed has the following output:

	My Output >	Target Entity	Target Input	Parameter	Delay	Only Once
	OnTrigger	template_disk_spawn	ForceSpawn		0.00	No

Tip:It is usually advised to let the entity which destroyed said disc to fire the output. For example, when the fizzler dissolves the disc, it will fire the output OnDissolve. Check that there are no other physic objects that can get dissolved by that fizzler.

Now the emitter should be working, and dispensing new discs when the last one is gone. However, this is only a third of the process of getting the disc room to be functioning.

Disc Receiver

The disc receiver (also disc player) is where the disc is placed to fulfill its purpose; placing the disc in the receiver turns on the video showing the information GLaDOS was looking for.

Step 1 - Initializing

Snap on the grid: 2

Place a prop_static in your disc room, and set its model to models/props_gameplay/laser_disc_player.mdl. This is where the player will place the disc to end the level.

When the player places the disc near the receiver the disc that was carried would be removed and a hidden disc would load. We will do this to have better control over the way the disc will enter the receiver and to simply overcome a lot of problems. Another prop_dynamic_override would be required, the one that would load in the device by being attached to a func_door.

Property Name	Value
Parent	loader_door
Disable Shadows	Yes
World Model	laser_disc.mdl
Name	hidden_disc

The disc needs to be placed as detailed in the picture to the right.

Now create a func_door brush with the tools/toolsinvisible. Place it on top of the disc model, again, as shown on the picture to the right. Add the following properties:

Property Name	Value
Name	loader_door
Speed	8
Start Sound	World.LaserDiskLoad
Delay Before Reset (-1 stay)	-1
Loop Moving Sound	Yes
Move Direction	0 180 0

Note:The Move Direction should be set to the opposite Pitch Yaw Roll you have for your laser_disc_player.mdl.

Note:The func_door brush length depends on how far you want the disc to go; the disc has a 25 unit radius, so you can judge by that. In the picture above the brush is 26 units long, making the entire disc go in.

Step 2 - Loading

Step 1 lists the visible entities used for the disc receiver, this step will list the invisible entities.
The first is a trigger_once brush, and the second is a filter_activator_name. Add now the following properties:

1. The trigger_once:

Property Name	Value
Name
Filter Name	disc_filter

Ensure the Physics Objects flag is checked.

2. The filter_activator_name:

Property Name	Value
Name	disc_filter
Filter Name	disc

Step 3 - Input System

To get everything interacting, we will use the I/O system. Remember that logic_auto we used? Open its Outputs tab and add the following properties:

	My Output >	Target Entity	Target Input	Parameter	Delay	Only Once
	OnMapSpawn	hidden_disc	TurnOff		0.00	No

Add the following output to the trigger_once:

	My Output >	Target Entity	Target Input	Parameter	Delay	Only Once
	OnStartTouch	hidden_disc	TurnOn		0.00	No
	OnStartTouch	!activator	Kill		0.00	No
	OnStartTouch	loader_door	Open		0.00	No

Note:Hammer might show the !activator command in red. Just ignore it, in-game it'll work fine.

To the loader_door entity add one output:

	My Output >	Target Entity	Target Input	Parameter	Delay	Only Once
	OnFullyOpen	disc_loaded_relay	Trigger		0.00	No

Note:At this point we haven't yet made the disc_loaded_relay entity, so it might show that output as broken, at the moment.

Now the disc receiver should be operating and accepting the disc when it's placed in it. This is, however, only one more step in the process of completing the disc room.

Projected Movie

This is the part where the magic happens.

The projected movie is the sequence that happens after loading the disc. Including the bot explosion at the end.

Step 1 - Setting the Film

We will start by placing a prop_static and set its model to projector_screen.mdl (Easily found by typing "projector" in the model filter bar). Now on its lower left corner place a vgui_movie_display with the following properties:

Property Name	Value
Name	insert_disc_movie
Movie Filename	media/insert_disk.bik
Loop Movie	Yes
Stretch to Fill	Yes
Force precache	Yes
Panel width	156
Panel height	112

Again open the properties of our logic_auto and add these outputs:

	My Output >	Target Entity	Target Input	Parameter	Delay	Only Once
	OnMapSpawn	insert_disc_movie	Enable		0.00	No

Now make another vgui_movie_display entity at the exact same spot as the last one (simply shift drag the one you have just created one unit, and move it back). The only difference will be the name and the video it will display:

Property Name	Value
Name	aperture_movie
Movie Filename	media/coop_bts_blueprints.bik
Loop Movie	Yes
Stretch to Fill	Yes
Force precache	Yes
Panel width	156
Panel height	112

Step 2 - Raise the Curtains

This is how it should probably look like.

Remember that disc_loaded_relay entity we used but didn't make? Well, we're using it now. First create a logic_relay and name it disc_loaded_relay. Open the Outputs flag and add the following properties:

	My Output >	Target Entity	Target Input	Parameter	Delay	Only Once
	OnTrigger	insert_disc_movie	Disable		2.00	No
	OnTrigger	aperture_movie	Enable		2.00	No

Create an ambient_generic with these properties:

Property Name	Value
Name	disc_windup_sound
Sound Name	World.LaserDiskPowerUp

And add to the disc_loaded_relay one more output:

	My Output >	Target Entity	Target Input	Parameter	Delay	Only Once
	OnTrigger	disc_windup_sound	PlaySound		0.00	No

And at last everything should be working!

Finishing up

• Add an instance and set its VMF Filename to coop_lighting_ents.vmf. You can choose from here what fog options your map will have (fog density, color, etc). More importantly, however, it has four env_globals in it, each can enable, disable the bots pinging and taunting ability. You should have a logic_relay that is triggered when the disc is loaded with four outputs:

	My Output >	Target Entity	Target Input	Parameter	Delay	Only Once
	OnTrigger	@global_no_taunting_blue	TurnOn		0.00	No
	OnTrigger	@global_no_pinging_blue	TurnOn		0.00	No
	OnTrigger	@global_no_taunting_orange	TurnOn		0.00	No
	OnTrigger	@global_no_pinging_orange	TurnOn		0.00	No

• Place a trigger_hurt with the Damage keyvalue set to 10000. Make sure it covers the whole disc room and don't forget to disable it. At the appropriate moment, probably when GLaDOS is making her final statement, enable the trigger_hurt brush to make the bots explode.
• Place a static model facing your screen and set its model to models/props_underground/projector.mdl. On the projector place three point_spotlight, you'll know where.
• Somewhere in the disc room there is usually a whiteboard (models/props_office/whiteboard_coop.mdl) claiming not to upload the disc. For consistency with Valve maps, I suggest placing one too. It comes with 6 different skins.

Todo: Need to find out how to end the level, and send the bots to the next chamber or to the "hub".