Portal BTS - Tutorial - Piston Crushers

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Introduction

This guide will show you how to create various piston types.

Vertical Pistons

Piston Type 1

Piston Base

Create a prop_static and enter the following properties.

Piston Base

Property Name	Value
World Model	models/props_bts/vertical_small_piston_base.mdl
Disable Shadows	Yes

Piston Model

Piston Body

Create a prop_dynamic and enter the following properties.

Property Name	Value
Parent	crusher_1
World Model	models/props_bts/vertical_small_piston_body.mdl
Disable Shadows	Yes
Collisions	Not Solid
Lighting Origin	crusher_lighting_1

Piston Movement

Create a 32*32*288 brush with the nodraw texture and create a 146*146*4 Cylinder with 16 sides with the nodraw texture. Position the brushes as seen in the screenshot.

The func_door positioned

After positioning the brushes, select both brushes and tie them to a func_door and enter the following properties

Property Name	Value
Name	crusher_1
Delay Before Reset	-1
Lip	128
Blocking Damage	25
Force Closed	Yes
Move Direction	90 0 0

	My Output	Target Entity	Target Input	Parameter	Delay	Only Once
	OnFullyClosed	relay_stop_sound_room_1_1	Trigger	<none>	0.00	No
	OnFullyClosed	!self	Open	<none>	2.00	No
	OnFullyOpen	relay_stop_sound_room_1_1	Trigger	<none>	0.00	No
	OnFullyOpen	!self	Close	<none>	2.00	No

Do not miss the Delay.

Under flags, uncheck Touch Opens and check Door Silent

Piston Collision

The func_brush on the piston body

Create a 146*146*322 cylinder with 16 sides with the playerclip texture and set tie it to a func_brush. Set its parent to crusher_1.

Piston Sounds

Create a logic_relay entity and enter the following properties

Property Name	Value
Name	relay_stop_sound_room_1_1
Start Disabled	Yes

Enter this output

	My Output	Target Entity	Target Input	Parameter	Delay	Only Once
	OnTrigger	stop_sound_room_1_1	Playsound	<none>	0.00	No

Create an ambient_generic and enter the following properties.

Property Name	Value
Name	stop_sound_room_1_1
Sound Name	Portal.giant_piston
Pitch	200
Start Pitch	200
SourceEntityName	crusher_1

Crusher Lighting

Create an info_target and set its name to crusher_lighting_1. This is the light source of the piston body model. Place this in a logical spot like near the piston base model.

Implementation

Completed Piston

To start the piston, enable the relay_stop_sound_room_1_1 entity and open crusher_1. When the player gets considerably far away from the piston, disable the relay_stop_sound_room_1_1 entity

Piston Type 2

Piston Base

These pistons were specifically used to block off an entry in escape_00.

Piston Base

Create a prop_static and enter the following properties

Property Name	Value
World Model	models/props_bts/vertical_med_piston_base.mdl
Disable Shadows	Yes

Piston Body

Piston Body

Create a prop_dynamic and enter the following properties

Property Name	Value
Parent	crusher_blocker_1
World Model	models/props_bts/vertical_med_piston_body.mdl
Disable Shadows	Yes
Lighting Origin	crusher_blocker_lighting_1

Piston Movement

Piston Door

Create a 32*32*384 brush with the invisible texture, tie it to a func_door and enter the following properties

Property Name	Value
Name	crusher_blocker_1
Speed	80
Delay Before Reset	-1
Lip	288
Blocking Damage	25
Force Closed	Yes
Move Direction	90 0 0

	My Output	Target Entity	Target Input	Parameter	Delay	Only Once
	OnFullyClosed	relay_stop_sound_room_1_1	Trigger	<none>	0.00	No
	OnFullyClosed	!self	Open	<none>	2.00	No
	OnFullyOpen	relay_stop_sound_room_1_1	Trigger	<none>	0.00	No
	OnFullyOpen	!self	Close	<none>	2.00	No

Do not miss the Delay.

Under flags, uncheck Touch Opens, check Passable and Door Silent

Piston Sounds

Create a logic_relay entity and enter the following properties

Property Name	Value
Name	relay_stop_sound_room_1_1
Start Disabled	Yes

Enter this output

	My Output	Target Entity	Target Input	Parameter	Delay	Only Once
	OnTrigger	stop_sound_room_1_1	Playsound	<none>	0.00	No

Completed Piston

Create an ambient_generic and enter the following properties.

Property Name	Value
Name	stop_sound_room_1_1
Sound Name	Portal.giant_piston
Pitch	200
Start Pitch	200
SourceEntityName	crusher_blocker_1

Crusher Lighting

Create an info_target and set its name to crusher_blocker_lighting_1. This is the light source of the piston body model. Place this in a logical spot like near the piston base model.

Implementation

To start the piston, enable the relay_stop_sound_room_1_1 entity and open crusher_blocker_1. When the player gets considerably far away from the piston, disable the relay_stop_sound_room_1_1 entity.

Piston Type 3

This is the most common vertical piston

Piston Base

Create a prop_static and enter the following properties.

Piston Base

Property Name	Value
World Model	models/props_bts/vertical_large_piston_base.mdl
Disable Shadows	Yes

Piston Body

Create a prop_dynamic and enter the following properties.

Piston Body

Property Name	Value
Parent	crusher_1
World Model	models/props_bts/vertical_large_piston_body.mdl
Disable Shadows	Yes
Name	crusher_brush_1
Lighting Origin	crusher_lighting_1

Piston Movement

Piston Door

Create a 32*32*640 brush with the invisible texture and tie it to a func_door.

Property Name	Value
Name	crusher_1
Speed	90
Delay Before Reset	-1
Lip	16
Blocking Damage	25
Force Closed	Yes
Move Direction	90 0 0

Enter these outputs:

	My Output	Target Entity	Target Input	Parameter	Delay	Only Once
	OnFullyClosed	relay_stop_sound_room_1_1	Trigger	<none>	0.00	No
	OnFullyClosed	!self	Open	<none>	2.00	No
	OnFullyOpen	relay_stop_sound_room_1_1	Trigger	<none>	0.00	No
	OnFullyOpen	!self	Close	<none>	2.00	No

Do not miss the delays

Under flags, uncheck Touch Opens and check Door Silent

Piston Collision

Piston Brush

Create a 152*152*960 cylinder with 16 sides with the invisible texture and tie it to a func_brush.

Set its parent to crusher_1

Piston Sounds

Create a logic_relay entity and enter the following properties

Property Name	Value
Name	relay_stop_sound_room_1_1
Start Disabled	Yes

Enter this output

	My Output	Target Entity	Target Input	Parameter	Delay	Only Once
	OnTrigger	stop_sound_room_1_1	Playsound	<none>	0.00	No

Completed Piston

Create an ambient_generic and enter the following properties.

Property Name	Value
Name	stop_sound_room_1_1
Sound Name	Portal.giant_piston
Pitch	200
Start Pitch	200
SourceEntityName	crusher_1

Crusher Lighting

Create an info_target and set its name to crusher_lighting_1. This is the light source of the piston body model. Place this in a logical spot like near the piston base model.

Implementation

To start the piston, enable the relay_stop_sound_room_1_1 entity and open crusher_1. When the player gets considerably far away from the piston, disable the relay_stop_sound_room_1_1 entity.

Horizontal Pistons

Fast Piston

Piston Base

Piston Base

Create a prop_static and enter the following properties

Property Name	Value
Pitch Yaw Roll	90 0 0
World Model	models/props_bts/horizontal_piston_base.mdl
Disable Shadows	Yes

Piston Body

Piston Body

Create a prop_dynamic and enter the following properties

Property Name	Value
Pitch Yaw Roll	90 0 0
World Model	models/props_bts/horizontal_piston_body.mdl
Disable Shadows	Yes
Lighting Origin	crusher_lighting01

Piston Movement

• 

  Create a 384*64*80 brush with the playerclip texture.

• 

  Create a 384*64*8 brush with the playerclip texture. Position this brush on the top of the middle brush. Use the clipping tool to clip the brush as seen in the image.

• 

  Create a 384*24*80 brush with the playerclip texture. Position this brush on the right of the middle brush. Use the clipping tool to clip the brush as seen in the image.

• 

  Create a 384*8*16 brush with the playerclip texture. Position this brush as seen in the image.

• 

  Create a 384*24*80 brush with the playerclip texture. Position this brush on the left of the middle brush. Use the clipping tool to clip the brush as seen in the image.

• 

  Create a 384*8*16 brush with the playerclip texture. Position this brush as seen in the image.

While all brushes are selected, tie the selection to a func_door and enter the following properties

Property Name	Value
Name	crusher01
Speed	200
Start Sound	Doors.Move10
Stop Sound	Doors.FullClose10
Delay Before Reset	-1
Lip	64
Blocking Damage	100
Force Closed	Yes
Move Direction	0 180 0

Enter these outputs:

	My Output	Target Entity	Target Input	Parameter	Delay	Only Once
	OnFullyClosed	shake_crusher01	StartShake	<none>	0.00	No
	OnFullyClosed	!self	Open	<none>	2.00	No
	OnFullyOpen	!self	Close	<none>	2.00	No

Under flags, uncheck Touch Opens and check Door Silent

Piston Lighting

Create an info_target and set its name to crusher_lighting01. This is going to be the lighting origin of the piston body prop. Place it in a reasonable spot.

Piston Pressure Pad

Create a 112*144*4 brush with the nodraw texture. Tie the brush to a func_detail and cut the brush as seen in the image.

• 

Open the Transformation window and type 270under the Y Axis and press OK

Open the Face Edit Sheet select all faces except for the back side. Set the texture to metal/metalwall_bts_004a and set the rotation to 90.

Add an overlay with the overlays/stain_oil_03 texture. Center the overlay with the front face.

Fast Piston

• 

Piston Shake

Create an env_shake and enter the following properties

Property Name	Value
Name	shake_crusher01
Effect Radius	496
Frequency	100

Note: For the fast piston seen in escape_00, the shake was removed because it likely made it a bit harder to jump on the platform, curiously the entity still exists but it has no inputs.

Implementation

To start the piston, open crusher_blocker_1. Only start the piston when the player gets considerably close.

Normal Speed Piston

Piston Base

Piston Base

Create a prop_static and enter the following properties

Property Name	Value
Pitch Yaw Roll	90 0 0
World Model	models/props_bts/vertical_med_piston_base.mdl
Disable Shadows	Yes

Piston Body

Piston Base

Create a prop_static and enter the following properties

Property Name	Value
Parent	crusher1
Pitch Yaw Roll	90 0 0
World Model	models/props_bts/vertical_med_piston_base.mdl
Disable Shadows	Yes
Collisions	Not Solid

Piston Movement

• 

  Create a 380*32*16 brush with the nodraw texture.

• 

  Create a 376*112*104 brush with the invisible texture. Position this brush as seen in the image.

Piston Door

While both brushes are selected, tie the entity to a func_door. Position the entity as seen in the image and enter the following properties

Property Name	Value
Name	crusher1
Delay Before Reset	-1
Lip	64
Blocking Damage	25
Force Closed	Yes
Move Direction	0 180 0

Enter the following outputs

	My Output	Target Entity	Target Input	Parameter	Delay	Only Once
	OnFullyClosed	relay_stop_sound_room_1_1	Trigger	<none>	0.00	No
	OnFullyClosed	!self	Open	<none>	2.00	No
	OnFullyOpen	relay_stop_sound_room_1_1	Trigger	<none>	0.00	No
	OnFullyOpen	!self	Close	<none>	2.00	No

Under flags, uncheck Touch Opens and check Door Silent

Piston Sounds

Create a logic_relay and enter the following properties

Property Name	Value
Name	relay_stop_sound_room_1_1
Start Disabled	Yes

Enter this output

	My Output	Target Entity	Target Input	Parameter	Delay	Only Once
	OnTrigger	stop_sound_room_1_1	PlaySound	<none>	0.00	No

Create an ambient_generic and enter the following properties

Property Name	Value
Name	stop_sound_room_1_1
Sound Name	Portal.giant_piston
Pitch	125
Start Pitch	125
SourceEntityName	crusher1

Piston Pressure Pad

Piston

Create a 112*144*4 brush with the nodraw texture. Tie the brush to a func_detail and cut the brush as seen in the image.

• 

Open the Transformation window and type 270under the Y Axis and press OK

Open the Face Edit Sheet select all faces except for the back side. Set the texture to metal/metalwall_bts_004a and set the rotation to 90.

Add an overlay with the overlays/stain_oil_03 texture. Center the overlay with the front face.

Other Pistons

Mini Pistons

These pistons are only seen in testchmb_a_15 after exiting and falling down the elevator shaft.

Piston Base

• 

  Create 2 4*48*8 brushes and 2 48*4*8 brushes with the nodraw texture. Position them like you see in the image.

• 

  Clip each brush as seen in the image.

• 

  Create a 7*7*8 brush with the nodraw texture then clip the brush precisely as seen in the image.

• 

  Select the brush and use the vertex tool to move the back vertices downward by 2 units.

• 

  Copy and paste the brush and position the 2 brushes like this.

• 

  Do the same thing for all sides, texture them with metal/metalwall_bts_004a then tie them to a func_detail.

Piston Body

• 

  Create a 62*62*84 brush with the nodraw texture. Position the brush and clip the brush seen in the image.

• 

  Create a 62*62*16 brush with the nodraw texture. Position the brush and clip the brush seen in the image.

• 

  Create a 48*48*32 brush with the nodraw texture. Position the brush and clip the brush seen in the image.

• 

  Create a 62*62*16 brush with the nodraw texture. Position the brush and clip the brush seen in the image.

• 

  Create a 62*62*32 brush with the nodraw texture. Position the brush and clip the brush seen in the image.

• 

  Use the Vertex Tool to match each vertex as seen in the image.

• 

  Set each visible face to the metal/metal_lift001 texture except for the top face. Set the texture shift Y Value on the top brush sides to 48.

While all brushes are selected, tie the brushes to a func_door and enter the following properties

Property Name	Value
Name	mini_crusher_1
Disable Shadows	Yes
Speed	50
Start Sound	Doors.Move14
Stop Sound	Doors.FullClose9
Delay Before Reset	-1
Blocking Damage	1
Move Direction	90 0 0

Enter the following outputs

	My Output	Target Entity	Target Input	Parameter	Delay	Only Once
	OnClose	steam_pressure_release1	TurnOn	<none>	0.00	No
	OnClose	sound_steam	PlaySound	<none>	0.00	No
	OnOpen	steam_pressure_release1	TurnOff	<none>	0.00	No
	OnOpen	sound_steam	StopSound	<none>	0.00	No

Under Flags, uncheck Touch Opens and Check Starts Open

Piston Brush

• 

Create a 64*64*180 brush with the playerclip texture. Clip and position the brush as seen in the image.

• 

Create a 64*64*4 brush on top of that brush, clip the brush as seen in the image and texture all faces with metal/metalwall_bts_001b. Set both texture shift values to -256.

Select both the playerclip brush and the top brush and tie them to a func_brush then enter the following properties

Property Name	Value
Parent	mini_crusher_1
Disable Shadows	Yes
Minimum Light Level	.2

Piston Steam

Create an env_steam and enter the following properties.

Property Name	Value
Name	steam_pressure_release1
Pitch Yaw Roll	-30 0 0
Length of steam jet	60

Create an env_steam and enter the following properties.

Property Name	Value
Name	steam_pressure_release1
Pitch Yaw Roll	-30 90 0
Length of steam jet	60

Create an env_steam and enter the following properties.

Property Name	Value
Name	steam_pressure_release1
Pitch Yaw Roll	-30 180 0
Length of steam jet	60

Piston Steam

Create an env_steam and enter the following properties.

Property Name	Value
Name	steam_pressure_release1
Pitch Yaw Roll	-30 270 0
Length of steam jet	60

Mini Piston

Place each env_steam as seen in the image.

Create an ambient_generic and enter the following properties

Property Name	Value
Name	sound_steam
Sound Name	ambient.steam01

Under flags, uncheck Is NOT Looped. Place the ambient_generic inside the mini-piston body

Mini-Piston Logic

Note: This part is not officially in Portal and is done to make things easier. However the speed of which the piston opens and closes is officially part of Portal.

Create a logic_relay and set its name to close_mini_crusher_1 and enter the following outputs.

	My Output	Target Entity	Target Input	Parameter	Delay	Only Once
	OnTrigger	mini_crusher_1	SetSpeed	40	0.00	No
	OnTrigger	mini_crusher_1	Open	<none>	0.01	No

Create a logic_relay and set its name to open_mini_crusher_1 and enter the following outputs.

	My Output	Target Entity	Target Input	Parameter	Delay	Only Once
	OnTrigger	mini_crusher_1	SetSpeed	80	0.00	No
	OnTrigger	mini_crusher_1	Close	<none>	0.01	No

Do not miss the delays.

Note:The piston will move up if we tell the func_door to close and the piston will move down if we tell func_door to open.

Separator Pistons

These pistons are seen in escape_00 after flinging up high. Only use these pistons in a group. 3-4 at the minimum.

Base Model

Create a prop_dynamic and enter the following properties.

Piston Base

Property Name	Value
Pitch Yaw Roll	90 0 0
World Model	models/props_bts/mini_piston_body.mdl
Disable Shadows	Yes
Lighting Origin	lighting_crusher_blocker_1

Body Model

Create a prop_dynamic and enter the following properties.

Piston Body

Property Name	Value
Parent	crusher_blocker_1
Pitch Yaw Roll	90 0 0
World Model	models/props_bts/mini_piston_inside.mdl
Disable Shadows	Yes

Piston Movement

Piston door

Create a 160*32*32 with the invisible texture and tie it to a func_door. Enter the following properties.

Property Name	Value
Name	crusher_blocker_1
Speed	400
Delay Before Reset	-1
Blocking Damage	25
Force Closed	Yes
Move Direction	0 180 0

Enter the following outputs

	My Output	Target Entity	Target Input	Parameter	Delay	Only Once
	OnFullyClosed	!self	Open	<none>	0.00	No
	OnFullyOpen	!self	Close	<none>	0.00	No

Under flags, uncheck Touch Opens and check Non-solid to Player, Passable and Door Silent.

Piston Lighting

Create an info_target and set its name to lighting_crusher_blocker_1. This is the lighting for the piston base. Place it in a reasonable spot.

Piston Sounds

Separator Piston

Create an ambient_generic and enter the following properties. Remember to only place one of these in a group.

Property Name	Value
Name	enginesound_room_1
Sound Name	Portal.moving_pistons
Pitch	50
Start Pitch	50

Under flags uncheck Is NOT Looped.

Implementation

Open crusher_blocker_1 and play the enginesound_room_1 sound. When the player gets considerably far away, stop the enginesound_room_1 sound.

Extra

• If a vertical piston's end point is a concrete texture, add an overlay textured with overlays/stain_oil_03 or overlays/stain_oil_04.

• If a normal speed horizontal piston's end point is a metal texture, you can remove the pressure pad.

• The Mini Pistons are just scaled down portal beta pistons.

See also

• Portal Level Creation