Portal 2 next update detailed

[trcc]

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2011/10/21/portal-2-update-will-allow-users-to-create-test-chambers.aspx

Not sure what all of this means.

But it does sound like good news!

[Ark11]

It sounds like terrible news to me. Imagine the amount of shit maps that will be made. This is sooo stupid, it's going to just as bad as http://www.moddb.com/mods/portal-map-editor but will have an endorsement from Valve.

[shadowmancer471]

...But on the other hand might actually be alright.
Admittedly I can imagine there's going to be a flood of maps churned out by the dozen, but whilst most of the maps may be kinda shitty, there may be a few nuggets of gold hidden. A competent filter system would be beneficial

I imagine many people have ingenious ideas for puzzles, but don't have the expertise or patience to use the SDK.
Perhaps with this we may see some new ideas, as well as providing a starting step for future map developers. Heck I know that jumping straight into a fully fledged level design program like the Authoring Tools can be pretty daunting.

So yeah, although I can see a lot of crap being pumped out of the program, I can see it being beneficial.
It will provide a starting learning ground, as well as letting amateur designers develop their ideas.

However, I admit that maybe perhaps the editor shouldn't output .bsp's, and instead a different file format in order to keep sites like moddb/planetphillip/gamebanana etc relatively clear of these maps. I think the best system would be to make a filterable hub for all levels designed like this.
Ever played super meat boy's "Super Meat World"? I imagine maps made by this could work in a similar vein


God I phrase my thoughts crap when tired.

[Ark11]

I actually don't mind that making maps has been simplified for ameteurs, but I hope that there will be something that distinguises the real maps from the in game made maps; like a different file type, or a water mark or a something at the end of the map that says 'Made using the Portal 2 In-game Level Editor'. Just so that maps made with the real tools get the respect they deserve.

[Dives]

That's a rather holier-than-thou attitude Ark. Maps should stand on their merits, not what editor they're made in.

[Ark11]

I'm not saying that maps made with these tools are inheritatly bad, i'm just saying that the chances of one being made that is good is very unlikely. Mainly because an editor like that would be fairly restricting in that it would use prefabs and instances, also I doubt there will be any ways to manipulate lighting in the tool other than placing floor light prefabs and observation rooms. So the user won't really have much control over how the map will be, visually. But at this point, my words are meering assumptions and opinions so don't take them too seriously.

[source-maps]

update hammer already, we don't need watered down shit catered to consoles

[Jordash]

If they don't have much control over the map visually then hammer made maps will stand out on their own, no need to tell people it was made with the portal editor, it will be obvious and maps will stand on their own merits

[ScarT]

This is basically Valve's way of saying Hammer isn't being updated to the public anymore.

[Chrille]

This is basically Valve's way of saying Hammer isn't being updated to the public anymore.

How so?

[MrTwoVideoCards]

Yeah look at how the Alien Swarm in game editor turned out.

[ScarT]

This is basically Valve's way of saying Hammer isn't being updated to the public anymore.

How so?

Well, my previous statement might have been a bit over the top. I'm just saying you'll see a lot more of the tools move into the engine.

[MrTwoVideoCards]

Honestly I think the tools should move into the engine, I mean really that's what UDK is. The more you streamline workflow the better. Moving everything into a single hub saves a lot of dev time. But realtime brush building doesn't make a whole lot of sense and whatnot right now. Based on the newest dota2 shaders though, such as GlobalLitSimple, I think that's possible. We'll probably have an easier time seeing real-time editing in future source versions thanks to how those shaders work now.

[source-maps]

Honestly I think the tools should move into the engine, I mean really that's what UDK is. The more you streamline workflow the better. Moving everything into a single hub saves a lot of dev time. But realtime brush building doesn't make a whole lot of sense and whatnot right now. Based on the newest dota2 shaders though, such as GlobalLitSimple, I think that's possible. We'll probably have an easier time seeing real-time editing in future source versions thanks to how those shaders work now.

jippie, finally then it won't be 10 years behind, but only 5

[Mr. Happy]

In some ways it'd be better, but having tools seperate from the game is also nice because when they update/break one the other is fine.

At any rate this is definitely very cool news it'll be interesting to see how it works, and if you can upload handcrafted bsp's using their system.