Portal News

Valve's finalised Steam Deck packaging comes complete with Portal Easter eggs

Despite the Steam Deck release date being pushed back by two months, excitement for the handheld gaming PC remains high. In a move that should help soften the blow of the device's delay, Valve has shared the final Steam Deck retail packaging, and it includes a couple of Easter eggs that are sure to make Portal fans smile.

The company has finished the DV (Design Validation) manufacturing build of the Steam Deck, which Valve describes as "the final prototype build before production. After this build, there will be additional minor changes in the final product".

This DV build had to be completed before the final retail packaging (pictured below) couldn't be tested, but Valve didn't let procedure get in the way of having a little fun, as is evidenced by the Portal inspired safety labels along the side of the Steam Deck's cardboard box.

Read the rest of the story...

J.J. Abrams confirms a Portal movie is in development after eight years

Since 2013 there has been talk about a film adaptation of Valve's hit IP Portal being in the works, and now finally, after eight years, it's been confirmed by J.J. Abrams that a script is currently in development at Warner Brothers Studios.

The big announcement came during a press day for the Blu-ray 4K release of Super 8, at which Abrams commented to IGN about his excitement regarding the film's progress. The enthused Star Wars director let Portal fans know that the movie (which many thought could have been scrapped) is now in full swing, stating, "We're really excited about the take and the pitch, so it feels like that thing's finally on the rails."

It's no secret that J.J. Abrams has been interested in adapting videogames for the big screen, with he and Valve founder Gabe Newell announcing their potential collaboration back at DICE 2013. However, news regarding any potential films based on the beloved Portal or Half-Life series has been scarce over the years.

Read the rest of the story...

Portal 2 - Update

An update has been released for Portal 2.

Improvements:
  - Implemented a Vulkan render backend (currently accessible through the -vulkan command line parameter).
  - Improved compile time for Perpetual Training Initiative puzzles.
  - Improved advanced video settings descriptions.
  - Made the game Hi-DPI aware.
  - Smarter default video settings.
  - Improved resolution of player avatars throughout the game.
  - Players can now be invited to play co-op on controller.
  - Button text contrast and padding has been improved when using a controller.
  - Implemented a 360° Spin action.
  - The portalgun is now correctly affected by dynamic lights (projected textures) in the scene.
  - Improved client-side prediction for coop play.
  - Added the ability for workshop levels to pack particles into their map with a particles/map_manifest.txt
  - Misc. rendering optimizations.
  - Added an icon to the game on Linux.
  - Removed the "Trading Coming Soon" button.
Bug Fixes:
  - Fixed a crash on startup that could happen on Linux.
  - Fixed a crash that could occur in some community test chambers using BEEMod on Linux.
  - Fixed the credits being corrupted on Linux.
  - Fixed the intro videos for acts 2 and 3 not playing on Linux.
  - Fixed the game starting in the top left corner of the screen on Linux.
  - Fixed a crash in the PeTI if you placed a light strip above a laser catcher on the floor and linked it to a fizzler.
  - Fixed the fizzler not playing the retract animation when turned off in new PeTI maps.
  - Fixed being able to copy 'uncopyable' items in the PeTI leading to invalid/broken levels.
  - Fixed some items in PeTI not maintaining their portalability state when expanding the chamber boundaries.
  - Fixed a crash if PeTI avatars could not be retrieved.
  - Fixed Cave Johnson's lines not progressing when playing queued workshop levels.
  - Fixed a memory leak that could occur when changing levels.
  - Fixed a bug where you could no longer ping/taunt via mouse/keyboard if you have ever used a controller.
  - Fixed the ping menu being visible when quick pinging on controller.
  - Fixed the game instructor not respecting input types for respective players in split-screen mode.
  - Fixed rumble not being respected for respective players in split-screen mode.
  - Fixed the wrong avatar being used if playing coop after playing a workshop level.
  - Fixed the OnFiredPortal2 output not firing.
  - Fixed some text being duplicated on the screen multiple times.

Design your own Portal test chambers with this amazing Lego concept set

Lego has been doing some impressive work with crossovers in the past several years, notably with its lines of Star Wars and Minecraft themed sets. Now, a pair of amateur Lego designers is seeking support for their Lego Portal concept that features working modular test chamber walls that you can use to create countless devious configurations.

A team called DosBrosComiX has a detailed plan for a kit called the Modular Portal Testing Chamber on the Lego Ideas site, which is running a competition for aspiring Lego designers to get their concepts reviewed by real Lego experts and potentially turned into official sets. The Portal concept DosBrosComiX has created is impressive, and it's all based on a modular system of interlocking wall panels that can be posed and altered on the fly.

Each square of wall and flooring in the concept set is mounted on a set of pistons, which in turn are attached to a base unit that can lock laterally into an identical base unit. The pistons allow the floor or wall surface to move around in seven rotational axes to form ramps, obstacles, or ledges.

Read the rest of the story...

Portal 2 Authoring Tools - Update

An update has been released for Portal 2 Authoring Tools.

- Fixed the Publishing Tool failing to display any workshop item with an ID too large to fit into 32 bits.