Portal 2 Message Board older than one year ago

Though mod tools for Portal 2 will only arrive on PC ("there's a bunch of dependencies that require the Windows platform"), Valve's Chet Faliszek confirmed during a recent interview that the fruits of those tools will make their way to "all platforms." Faliszek specifically noted that "the content that comes out is agnostic, and so we will be seeing that on all platforms." That said, the content may not be distributed the same way across all platforms. "Depending on the platform you're on, I should say, will depend on how we're delivering it," Faliszek said, also confirming that the PS3 version would get user-created content via Steam for PS3.

In other Portal 2 news, speaking with VideoGamer, Faliszek revealed that each of the game's two campaign modes (single-player and co-op) will have their own individual surprise rewards for completion. "Both sets of credits [will feature something special], because we've got two credits," he explained. "So we had to do something twice as amazing." Presumably, Mr. Coulton has been hard at work on a hot new mix (mixes?) for GLaDOS. This time, we're holding out hope for a big dance number.

Cross-platform chat, cloud-based save games and more.

Valve's announced that the PS3 version of Portal 2 will be quite chummy with its PC and Mac cousins come February 9, revealing full cross-platform compatibility: PS3 users can chat with Steam users, play multiplayer with them and even partake in cloud-based storage for their PS3 save files. The disparity between the PS3 and PC/Mac versions appears to be about non-existent now.

Additionally, those who pick up the PS3 game are ensured a free voucher for the Steam Play version of the game, should they link their PSN and Steam accounts. "We hope to expand upon the foundation being laid in Portal 2 with more Steam features and functionality in DLC and future content releases," said Valve's Gabe Newell.

Head past the break for the full press release.

#portal If you play Portal 2 on PS3, you can play with people on a PC. Neat! And to make sure as many people as possible are doing just that, the PS3 version of the game will include the PC version. More »

Valve details PS3 Steamworks.

The first 30 minutes.

Owners of the Hydra motion controller will receive extra stages.

Sixense was back at CES this year, showing off its TrueMotion-powered gaming wands. While a partnership with computer gaming peripheral maker Razer was announced at last year's CES, the fruit of that partnership was on display this year, with a brand name (meet the Razer Hydra), some industrial design, and some new Valve-created content for the hardware in the form of custom Portal 2 tech.

During our hands-off tour of the still-prototype hardware, we were consistently impressed with the controller's accuracy. Imagine dual-wielding two PlayStation Move controllers except - in place of the relatively cumbersome process of requiring a PlayStation Eye to track a glowing sphere to position the controllers in 3D space - the Hydra uses a small base station that creates an electromagnetic field with a radius of about six feet. That's it. That base station serves double duty as a stand to rest the presently wired controllers on. Worry not, wire-haters, a wireless model is in the works but, much like Razer's other hardware, it's going to perfect the technology with a wired release first before chasing the wireless solution.

#clips Keyboard and mouse controls got you down? Yeah, didn't think so. But if millimeter precise motion control sounds like an interesting way to play Valve's first-person puzzler Portal 2, you might want to buy yourself a Razer Sixense. More »

#coverstory The first Portal's marketing and art design was all about minimalism. Cold, stark science. Portal 2's box art, on the other hand, says "we spent a lot more time and money on this game". More »

#ces Intel showed off today a new processor called "Sandy Bridge". Awful name, but it's a promising piece of technology. So promising, in fact, that the boss of Valve was on-hand to pat it on the proverbial back. More »

Sure, you come to Joystiq to see some Portal 2 -- we get it. But we've got something extra to spice things up: Portal 2 being played on the big screen live at CES 2011 with the new Razer Sixense controllers, a pair of motion-sensing sticks for PC, set to launch this year.

No more delays.

Portal 2 will be in stores on April 21, according to a press release from EA today. We've known the game is coming out the week of April 18. Not we've got a date. More »

Here's a good sign that co-op puzzler Portal 2 might really arrive after "the shortest delay in Valve history." EA Partners announced today that it will distribute the game for the brick and mortar set. Portal 2 will be available in late April via Valve's Steam service, with EA putting PC, Mac, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 copies in stores.

Now, remember, Valve reserves the right to change its mind about Portal 2's launch at any time and there's nothing that even the great and powerful Electronic Arts can do about it. Gordon Freeman has been sipping piña coladas down in Cabo for years waiting for those Half-Life 2: Episode 3 marching orders.

Aperture Science is alive and booming! See what's new with GLaD0S and friends in this trailer from the Spike Video Game Awards 2010!

Delayed disorientation dissertation news now, with Valve announcing a new Portal 2 release date. Dubbed "the shortest delay in Valve history," the schedule shift sees the story-driven spatial puzzler launching on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC and Mac on "the week of April 18th, 2011." Update: April 20th in North America, and April 22 in Europe, to be precise.

Portal 2 was initially planned for holiday 2010, and then delayed until February 9th, 2011. Just think of it as a compassionate gesture -- rather than dropping a horrific, six-month delay on you all at once, it's being delivered episodically. Stay tuned!

Delayed disorientation dissertation news now, with Valve announcing a new Portal 2 release date. Dubbed "the shortest delay in Valve history," the schedule shift sees the story-driven spatial puzzler launching on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on April 18, 2011.

Portal 2 was initially planned for holiday 2010, and then delayed until February 9th, 2011. Just think of it as a compassionate gesture -- rather than drop a six-month delay on you all at once, it's being delivered episodically.

#valvesoftware February 2011's Portal 2 is now April 2011's Portal 2, according to publisher Valve. The PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 sequel will now be out on April 18. More »

Valve moves sequel back a couple more months.

Let's be honest -- you're buying Portal 2 (who isn't, right?) and, since it's a Valve game, you probably want to just pick it up on Steam, right? Not so fast -- GameStop is going to do its best to convince you otherwise. The retail chain is offering both a $5 discount on the Aperture Science training program emulator as well as the chance to get two exclusive "custom bots" for the multiplayer co-op portion of the game if you preorder with them.

What do said bots look like? We don't yet know -- what you see above is what we've got so far. They could be black instead of white, or even branded with official GameStop employee t-shirts (actually, that might be pretty rad). But the thought of extra content, GameStop hopes, might be enough to entice you away from a digital download, and back to buying an actual disc at a retail store. Interested?

PC Gamer has posted the latest round of its Valve interview series, and today it's all about Portal 2. The interview covers a range of topics, including how GLaDOS tries to pit players against each other in co-op mode -- something we heard about during E3 -- and designing puzzles that require four portals to solve.

One of the most interesting bits revealed is that Valve originally toyed with the idea of not using portals at all. "What if [the Portal franchise] was always about introducing a new puzzle element that you're going through?" asked Valve's Erik Wolpaw. "It's about Aperture Science, and now you're going through this new testing track with this new element." The team tried using both paint (which is in Portal 2 as gel) and a gravity gun as central mechanics, but every tester wound up wanting the portal gun back (and who can blame them?).

Speaking of paint, Wolpaw revealed that there is another kind of gel in addition to the propulsion and repulsion gels. This third gel is apparently "sticky" and PC Gamer postulates that it may enable players to walk on walls, though Wolpaw noted Valve is still "working on it." Check out the full interview for more Portal goodness.

Just because you aren't at PAX Prime this weekend doesn't mean you can't experience at least some of the joys and wonders that the show floor has to offer. For instance, the 10 straight minutes of Portal 2 co-op gameplay that we've dropped after the break, courtesy of GameTrailers -- hearing the "oohs" and "aahs" of the crowd on all sides, you'll feel just like you're there! And sure, you might not get a free Portal 2 shirt like this session's attendees did, but you can experience a heartwarming robot hug. And isn't that more than enough?

#clips At the Penny Arcade Expo out here in Seattle, Valve Software is showing some Portal 2 co-op in action. I got to see four basic levels from what appeared to be the start of the co-op campaign. Introducing: the ping. More »

#pax Valve is at PAX this weekend, showing Portal 2's new multiplayer cooperative mode to the press and public. That means all-new Portal 2 media, fresh from the Penny Arcade Expo. More »

We still haven't been told the names of the two robots cooperatively making their way through an Aperture Science facility in Portal 2, but that doesn't matter -- we'll name them Red and Blue. In the screenshots below, released today by Valve, you can see our dashing nonhuman heroes hitting switches, diving into portals and just plain oozing personality.

In fact, even without seeing them move, we can already tell all sorts of things about how they act together. Red seems a little more timid and reserved, while Blue appears to be a go-getter who gets things done. Then again, look at that swan dive Red's pulling off. That's a thing of beauty right there. Curse you, Valve! You've already made us care about them so much!

#screengrab Custom-made Portal shelf art, spied by reader martinf1 via Bob's House of Video Games. More »

Arguably the biggest addition to Portal 2 is the new two-player co-op campaign. But, did you know that Valve was also working on competitive multiplayer as well? Valve's Erik Wolpaw told 1UP that they "had something up and running -- the best way to describe it is sort of speedball meets Portal. You know, a sports analog." Essentially, the goal was to get a ball from one end to another, using portals.

But don't expect to find this mode in the game when it ships next year. Why? "It quickly became apparent that while it's fun for about two seconds to drop portals under people and things like that, it quickly just devolves into pure chaos," Wolpaw explained. "It lost a lot of the stuff that was really entertaining about Portal."

While Valve have given up on competitive Portal-ing, that hasn't stopped the fan community from creating their own games. Team Portress, for example, mixes a Portal Gun into Team Fortress 2, with some hilarious results.

#portal Portal was a singleplayer game. Portal 2 adds co-op, but did you know it was at one stage also going to add competitive multiplayer? More »

#clips Two new all-gameplay videos from Valve show a couple of tools you'll be using in Portal 2, both of which launch you through the air. Some creative use, in conjunction with the portal gun, is required. Isn't it always? More »