Creating a portal elevator

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Introduction

It is a common misconception that making a elevator in portal is very hard. It is, however a very simple process. If it is created properly, it can be turned into a prefab and easily duplicated.

The Base

The first thing to do is to build the base for the elevator. This consists of brushes and func details. It is the fastest part of the process.

The Landing

Step 1

A landing is really easy to make. It consists of 7 walls and a floor and ceiling with a similar hole. It can be easily recreated form the image on the right. When you have finished your first landing, texture it and group it. It can be easily duplicated for the bottom landing.

The Shaft

Step 2

The shaft is also very easy. It consists of 3 parts. A top cap, a middle piece, and a bottom cap. Walls are 192*16, and textured with plasticwall002a. The caps are 64 units tall, and the center piece is 384 units.

The Shaft Details

Step 3

Create 4 16*16 sized brushes and place them in each corner. They should be turned into a func_detail. Next, create a block that is 8*8*160. Texture it with plasticwall002a as well. Then slice it into 3 pieces vertically, that are 2, 4, and 2 respectively. Take the center piece and resize it to be 2 units wide, instead of 8. Texture it with white008. Duplicate this piece to from a square. Make it a func_detail and place one every 64 units in the center shaft.

The Landing Details

Step 4

Place the elevator landing prop in the center of the landing. You may choose to add the 16 light beams, however for such a time consuming process, it is easier to copy it from the example map. Note: All original portal maps have a misplaced light beam. If copying it, you may wish to move it into place. Place the platform rings in place. The top of these rings align to the top of the platform room. Copy the landing details to the second landing.

The Elevator

The Props

Step 5

Place a prop_dynamic with these settings in the lower landing.

Property Name	Value
Name	elevator1_model
Parent	elevator1_train
World Model	models/props/round_elevator_body.mdl

The TrackTrain

Step 6

Hide world details and make a func_tracktrain out of invisible brushes as shown.

Property Name	Value
Change Angles	None
First Stop Target	elevator1_path1
Height Above Track	0
Max Speed	65
Name	elevator1_train
Stop Sound	eli_lab.elevator_stop
Volume	1

Check every flag except Fixed Orient, and Use Max Speed. Set these settings:

The CrazyBlock

Step 7

Create an invisible brush and place it as shown. This will stop a player from getting stuck in the door when collisions are enabled.

Property Name	Value
Name	elevator1_block
Parent	elevator1_train
Start Disabled	Yes