Portal 2

Portal 2

138 ratings
The Magic Tower
   
Award
Favorite
Favorited
Unfavorite
File Size
Posted
Updated
95.355 MB
19 Jul, 2019 @ 4:11pm
22 Feb, 2020 @ 5:15pm
15 Change Notes ( view )

Subscribe to download
The Magic Tower

Description
Strange things happen in the Magic Tower...
It is well worth getting up there! But will you find your way to the top ?


Disclaimer:
This adventure has little to do with the Portal story (but a lot to do with a long work in Hammer)

Style :
A long adventure with exploration and custom mechanisms to solve (about 2 hours playing).
See this as a mini-mod, all in 1 map, half Myst, half Portal ;)

Difficulty :
Quite difficult; not for beginners! Some moves are to be precise, but it is more about Observation, Logic and Creativity, and a good Memory... So take your time...

Some tips for a good start:
- Have fun moving your mouse during the bouncing at the beginning
- Crouching can prevent you from bouncing again
- Following the Big Yellow Numbers in the right order is easier to progress in this adventure
- The water inside the tower will not kill you (but don't forget to breathe!)
- The pink fizzlers are dissolving spheres only
- The "security fizzlers" are not dissolving anything, they just prevent you from falling
- There are sometimes several solutions to get things done, intended are the easy ones :p)
- It is possible to replay the end sequence, with a right mouse click, (after been notified)
- There IS a big secret area, so don't quit too soon (easy to find out)
- Using noclip will break the mechanisms of the map (loads of triggers)
- If you are really stuck, have a look at the smooth spoilers below, or/and...
... ask me for clues in the comments, I'm answering everyone :)

Here is the dramatic story of the Magic Tower :p
In the ancient times, there was a very small island, lost in the middle of nowhere, with a small village, a harbour and 2 light houses.
No one ever made his way to this island and, as time goes by, the inhabitants ran out of food. They became weaker and ceased to care about the lighthouses.
But one night, a ship came. Caught in the storm and with no light from the lighthouses, the ship hit the old docks and partially sunk, causing damages in the harbour. The crew, furious with the villagers, killed them all, with the exception of an old man with an umbrella, who was hiding in one of the lighthouse.
Decades later, a rich magnate and his crew came along and found a deserted island. He decided to build a giant tower upon the ruins of the old harbour, and set up some maritime business. Later on, he created a secure leisure residence for himself, on the roof of the high tower.
One day, The tycoon fell from his tower and died; while the rest of his people died from a strange illness.

According to legend, from that day, strange phenomenons appeared in the tower. It is said that the Spirit of the Tower is actually the ghost of the old survivor from the ancient village. Some people tell stories about the Spirit walking in balance on a light ray, from one lighthouse to the other...

The Spirit will probably help you reaching the top of the Tower.
He has his reasons for it: He knows that you will end up jumping off the Magic Tower!

!Spoilers! Here is the best sequence of actions:
At the bottom levels
- Starting : You reach the bottom room via the outside walkway and the wooden platforms
- Big Yellow 1 : Find a way to fill the gap in the wooden stairs to get to the breaker (be creative)
Then find the right sequence to reach the portal gun via the moving cage (could be tricky)
- Big Yellow 2 : Open the red door; release the ball and the access to the blue door
- Big Yellow 3 : You need to catch the ball via the 2 synchronized platforms
- Big Yellow 4 : Reaching the underwater chest will enable you to open the gate Nr 4 (sharp observation needed in this process)
- Big Yellow 5 : Placing the ball on the lift will reveal you the next steps : observe the mechanisms happening up there
- Big Yellow 6 : Go outside to get the blue wheel and finally open your way to the top at door 6;

At the top levels
- Big Yellow 7 : When you reach the upper deck, find the right timing to go one step higher, and then even more higher! (could be tricky)
- Big Yellow 8 : After relaxing for a while, use the lift to go back down and locate the ball (wich is now stuck inside the cabin). Reach the below area, prepare for a high bouncing and release that ball
- Big Yellow 9 : To bring the cube on the roof, there is a usefull "skimmer" in the swimming pool
- Big Yellow 11 : End of the adventures (or not?), relax and have a nice flight...

A video of the intended solution for steps 1 to 4 is in the Image section above.
A Full intended solution, including the Secret area : https://youtu.be/OmlGnWdG4g0

A little challenge :
Someone brought the Borealis life preserver to the swimming pool.
Could you please bring it back in place in the secret area?
(Warn me in the comments if you succeed) :D
This challenge was successfully completed by: LuigiBowser, ThatAlienBoi, TBSHEB, Pstrywb, ...

Credits :
The skybox is from Komaokc.
Almost all models from Valve.
The music on the roof radio is part of a custom piece by myself.
Exhaustive beta testing by : Mit3368, Kwinten (thank you guys!)

Thank you for reading.
Any feedback welcome :)
51 Comments
jp  [author] 10 Sep, 2024 @ 5:21am 
Thank you @Herobs,
Glad you appreciate the aesthetic :steamhappy:
I can't tell why the piece for the "star puzzle" did not work ? Normally that give access to a whole secret area! Maybe try again from there... (see the video)
The last jump is quite tricky to achieve, if you miss it you may find yourself stuck on the roof forever! (in that case enjoy the pool but quit before winter...) :D
Thank you a lot for your feedback! :steamthumbsup::steamthumbsup:
Herobs 10 Sep, 2024 @ 3:32am 
Very nice ! Everything worked fine until the very last sequence where I couldn't move the piece and then I couldn't replay the final jump, not sure why but very aesthetic experience !
jp  [author] 20 Feb, 2024 @ 12:09pm 
Thank you Mr Fab! It's always very nice to have fresh news from the Magic Tower! :steamthumbsup:
Mr Fab 20 Feb, 2024 @ 6:01am 
That was a lot of fun ! Step 4 took me a bit to figure out and I forgot to bring the life preserver with me :steamfacepalm: Favorited !
pc2005cz 29 Dec, 2023 @ 4:22pm 
I did visit it by now :D
jp  [author] 29 Dec, 2023 @ 8:04am 
Thanks a lot for commenting on this one and reporting the bug.
I'm not sure if 'Il be able to fix it but it is well noted for a next update, thank you!
Did you visit the "secret" area as well?
pc2005cz 28 Dec, 2023 @ 2:42pm 
I like it so many puzzles packed in one tower :-)

bugreport: had to noclip for the ball which got stuck on the railing before the hatchdoor with elevator to the roof (also the dual elevator got confused if goes up or down).
jp  [author] 18 Jul, 2022 @ 6:42am 
Thank you a lot Sgt. Forever !
Well done solving this difficult one!
I'm glad that you appreciate :)) and thanks for your feedback :steamthumbsup:
Melody 3 Jul, 2022 @ 8:09am 
I got the life preserver to the secret area :D That was a super awesome map
jp  [author] 11 Dec, 2021 @ 11:46am 
Ok I will check it again but as I never had the problem, it's hard to fix. (Add me for more details.)
Thank you for playing my other maps! :steamthumbsup: Feel free to leave comments on those as well :)