>>1144
Is there a chance anyone has good sources on interviews? I've tried a couple of blogs, but I'm having trouble finding any real informative press.

This may be really paranoid of me, but anyone else think that the 'surface' Chell is on might be another strange extension of Aperture? Like they made a big-ass biodome somewhere for recreational purposes or in case of nuclear armageddon. Just saying.

dear god that would be depressing as fuck.

I do believe GlaDOS would be vindictive enough To just watch chell still be trapped. though it would render her end song as unfitting.

I just thought up a funny and perverted theory for why GLaDOS always seems to be grumpy. Whenever you solved tests for Wheatley in the game, he had the robot equivalent of an orgasm, and GLaDOS use to have the same whenever tests were solved for her. She said she became desensitized to it over time, but that it didn't bother her, because she was only in it for the science. I doubt that it was only for science, and that she really is bothered by her lack of "Solution Euphoria." I know I'd be grumpy all the time if I went without an orgasm for as long as she probably has. I personally hope things got started back up, now that she's freshly in her own body again ;)

>>1155
That's probably not the only reason why she's grumpy, but it could be A reason.

>>1156
I always thought it was because, Chell, you know, murdered her.
I've never thought of her as grumpy, really. Sharp/blunt, sarcastic, somewhat sadistic. But, always driven by the underlaying reason for the testing, which is science. I do believe her when she says she was able to push past the desensitization. Especially since for her, unlike for Wheatley, it you could infer that it took much longer, so she was able to adjust to the lack of orgasmic goodness. I'll admit, she's a little tense. But that seems to be in her nature, too.

>>1160
Never picked up on a grumpy vibe then, either. It's been a long while since I've played Portal, though, so I should probably run through it again.

Sage for short and somewhat derpy.

>>1164
I'm just saying there's a huge, noticeable difference between the way Caroline and GLaDOS act. I didn't even make the connection that Caroline was possibly human GLaDOS, until GLaDOS herself mentioned it in the game. If GLaDOS wasn't a sarcastic, bitter science fiend as a human like she is in both games as her AI self, then something happened to piss her off.

Another thing I was thinking was that one of the reasons GLaDOS tried to kill the staff when she was first awakened was because Caroline didn't want to be brought back. If Cave Johnson was her husband, the last thing she probably wanted was to be brought back to an eternal existence without him. Maybe the Solution Euphoria was a way for the staff to pacify her. It was probably also the closest thing she'd experience to love in her new body. After a while, she probably became addicted to it, and that's probably where her constant need to test came from. She was trying to fill some sort of void. What doesn't make sense, though, is why she killed everyone when she needed them to fill that void. The reason I doubt that GLaDOS was always and only in it for the science is that Caroline kind of comes off as just a bubbly, air-headed assistant, nothing like the GLaDOS we know and love. She doesn't seem that interested in science, either. The Half Life Wiki also says that the GLaDOS personality formed while Caroline was in her new body, due to constant testing. Eventually that personality took over, and Caroline was shoved aside. It kind of makes me think that GLaDOS was some sort of coping mechanism that just went out of control. Maybe GLaDOS formed shortly after Caroline had built up a resistance to the Solution Euphoria in order to cope with not feeling that "love" anymore, and helped her direct her attention to a new love: science. That's kind of my head canon. Don't know if any of it's true, but that's the impression I got.

>>1165
Okay, I've looked everywhere in the wiki, and the part about the GLaDOS personality forming, because of constant testing isn't there anymore. It also says she was dedicated to science when she was Caroline, even though Caroline doesn't express this through anything she says in the few lines she has. The killing everyone bit was also due to the fact that the staff were rebelling, because they were locked in the facility by her. She might not have thought about the fact that they were fueling her addiction, though, and later regretted it. Caroline's desire to kill might have also been fueled by the fact she was forced to become GLaDOS against her will, not just because of Cave's death, or not because of Cave's death at all. Caroline's being forced to become GLaDOS possibly involved her having to die, too, because GLaDOS explains in Portal 1 that she knows what it's like to die. I do know that GLaDOS is known for effectively being able to lie about her emotional state. The wiki says I'm not the only one who thinks that she really is bothered by her inability to experience the Euphoria, and that it had an effect on her and is partly responsible for who she is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiRS0h4nSE0

I just realised why Wheatley seemed instantly familiar to me. Holly. I am approximately ten kinds of okay with the idea of Holly being Wheatley; or at least them being related. Perhaps Wheatley is the AI Holly plays chess with. Yeah. That'd be awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8r0xbou9Ho

Okay, so I have completely forgotten where I'm supposed to put the code for the youtube thing (I've forgotten just about everything lately, it sucks) but I will never unhear this.

>>1171
Well, never unhear as Wheatley.

>>1171
That was freaking adorable. The voice over even had dialog like Wheatley might, haha.

However, I was pretty surprised when I clicked your first link. That's not Stephen Merchant. He's a bloke by the name of Norman Lovett. Doesn't look like Stephen actually started his acting career til about 1999, and Holly's role predates it a good 12 years.

It's too bad, really. I would have liked to have been able to dig something else up with him in it.

>>1165
Ooooh, I see what you mean. Yeah, I was trying to explain the transformation as well. Caroline really does seem bubbly and air-headed, so I'm not sure where her personality crossed over. It might have been something simply with the way her binary confine was constructed. GLaDOS is, afterall, a pretty corrupted AI. But your theories about Cave and all them do hold weight, it's definitely something interesting to consider.

>>1171
Those two top-rated comments on the video just made my day.

Because I'm American and wasn't familiar with him beforehand, I did do some research about what shows Stephen Merchant's on. He's on the UK Office and Garth Merenghi's Darkplace, both of which I think Adult Swim plays, and The Science Channel shows An Idiot Abroad. And he's in that movie Hall Pass, I think.

Somehow "tall guy plays tiny robot" is funny to me.

>>1174
I don't think Caroline was necessarily air-headed. That 'Goodbye, Caroline' line from her was just Caroline cracking a joke. Also, wow, funny that that repeats itself.

>>1173
we know its not stephen merchant, they were just pointing out the similarities

>>1177
"Say Goodnight, Gracie" is a tag-line from the radio and later television show starring George Burns and Gracie Allen. Gracie, playing the role of the dumb blonde, would respond, "Goodnight, Gracie." I understand that this sentiment is inscribed on her gravestone.

Maybe Caroline was referencing it, since the show started in the 40's?

>>1178
Derp. I'm good at misinterpreting text lately, my apologies.

Has anyone else managed to catch any of the fun elevator bits in the game? I've seen the opera turret go up in one. I've heard that you can actually see a headcrab getting sucked up at one point, but I haven't caught that yet. Just wondering about confirmation.

Also - new DLC this summer! Free DLC, even. They're should be releasing new test chambers and challenge modes. Here's to hoping they include more of those mashy spike-plates they took out after playtesting.

Does anyone have a confirmation on when the game takes place? I don't think it ever explicitly says, but I vaguely remember promotional materials saying 300 years.

>>1183
Promotional stuff before the game was released said 200-300 years.

An interview with Valve right before the game came out stated it might be 5000 or 50,000, I forget which.

The Earth looks pretty good for having the Combine attacking so long, though. It looks too peaceful to be a few hundred years, but I could be wrong.

>>1184
I put my bet on 200-300 years because I think that much of Aperture could have collapsed by 5000 years of decay.

>>1184
I'm just worried that if it's that long since Half-Life supposedly takes place, then Gordon failed.

Or (headcanon time) he wasn't supposed to beat the Combine, just start the resistance. Chell is his and Alyx's daughter.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1941339502474
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150160923371615&set=o.161834027209912&type=1&theater

I'm betting this is a fake, due to just how horrible P-Body is at typing, but god, I hope this is real.

I just found this. Wheatley has his own song, now.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/miracle-of-sound/3146-Wheatleys-Song-Portal-2

>>1196
I can't stop listening to it, thank you.

>>1188

Alyx is a baby/very young when Freeman is 27 in 200-. He gets sent into the future, thus is still 27 in 202- when Alyx is about 25.
But Chell also is awakening from stasis in 202- at about the same age as Alyx.

So as far as I can figure it out, she was born about the same time as Alyx.

Just sayin'.
(Sorry for destroying headcanon. I may have read into this just a tad too much...)

Between L4D and Portal 2, I think Valve hates birds.

Or it's a running gag, like every scientist in their games is crazy and every company is hilariously corrupt.

>>1240
Remember the oracle turret and what it said about Prometheus? I think it was onto something.

Also, the idea that Wheatley is a sex addict and was trying to get off in more creative ways will not leave my perverted little head. Goddammit.

>>1241
I beat Portal 2 co-op with my little brother today. GLaDOS seemed a little too excited when the test subjects were freed from the vault. It was kind of in an "Oh God, I'm gonna have soooo much sex!" kind of way. I also agree with you about the Wheatley thing. I'm never gonna be able to unsee him as a desperate sex addict.

>>1240
Man, what if GLaDOS is still afraid of birds when she's in her giant, robot body? What if there was a bird loose in her room, and it scared her and drove her to escape it at all costs, even if it meant accidentally pulling herself from the ceiling? lol

there is actually a portalkink meme for those interested on livejournal.

>>1244
I find myself interested. Please, do share.

>>1246
portalkink.livejournal.com

>>1248
thank you for the link to delicious robot porn.

captcha: vibotw
The vibrator robot for women!

http://k002.kiwi6.com/hotlink/agi4462s40/updateangry.mp3

well thats kinda disturbing

>>1251
wut.

>>1252
Yep, I'm never gonna be able to unthink this.

I really wanna play this but....yeah....

>>1255
Bad things aside, I never knew this website existed. Thank you.

>>1256
Yeah it's handy. Though a few games I own and play don't meet minimum (tf2 and Portal), I can still play them with the right tweaks. My FPS in tf2 is like between 4 and 15 in a battle usually, but it's still playable. My CPU is the only problem (all this time I thought it was my graphic card) in tf2 though, compared to three things in portal 2. Someday I'm building a gaming desktop computer...

http://www.thinkwithportals.com/music.php
enjoy your free soundtrack.
includes songs that the boffins at youtube couldn't put back together properly, like the aerial faith plate music

Well this seems to have become portal 2 general so...

I finished the game last week. I absolutely loved it. I expected to be annoyed by Wheatley but I just loved him throughout the entire game. ... his betrayal actually broke my heart a little. ;_; Also, the ending was great. I was so expecting Chell's chain to get yanked again, true to valve form. Hell even when she made it to the wheat field I was expecting her to turn around and see the G-Man smiling at her before it cuts to black. I'm glad we could get a satisfying conclusion.

I did think it was a bit easier than the first Portal. I only found myself stumped a few times and most of the time that was because I was being really dense and making it harder than it needed to be. Like at that part after Glados insults your weight, I kept trying to accelerate my speed through jumping off the platforms to get up there instead of using the catapult thingie. Or another after the first propulsion/repulsion gel test where you have to portal some of the gel outside to bounce up. I thought you had to incraese your bounce momentum to get to a higher area somewhere else. I failed to notice a portal surface up where I was really upposed to go.

But yeah. Excellent game. Comic was great too, read it after I beat it though.

just a freindly bump to let you know that the entire soundtrack has been released.

including an extended cara mia

If you click on the turret's beam, it teaches you why the turrets sing:
http://www.thinkwithportals.com/turret_comic/

Not really about the portal comic, but I am too lazy to make a portal 2 thread.

Cave Johnson talking portrait? yes please
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/collectibles/ea60/

Question.

I just got Portal, and Portal 2, as a Xmas gift from a friend. Now, I love the games- just finished Portal 1 all on my own.

Now, the gameplay itself is not the problem. I can figure things out just fine. What IS a problem is that I find myself getting wicked bad vertigo from playing it. It's weird, because I've never gotten this from anything before- in real life, even.

It's annoying, because I can only play for twenty minutes or so, at a time, before I absolutely have to stop or risk puking all over my screen and passing out.

Anyone have any tips on things I can do to fix this? Aside from 'stop playing the game', I mean.

>>1658
You could try increasing the field of view, IIRC that helped when HL2 was making people upchuck. Enable the console and type in the following:
sv_cheats 1
fov 90

Then set sv_cheats to 0 so it lets you unlock achievements.

>>1184
>>1188
200-300 years in the future is actually a good time frame, what I believe is that it is a future where Gordon Freeman succeeded in defeating the Combine and humanity has recovered. The pastoral state of the field can be explained in that when the Combine invaded, they only destroyed established population centers, and since the Aperture Science facility was located in an old salt mine in the middle of the upper Michigan countryside, it escaped their notice.

>>1237
That does not work at all. The original Portal and Half Life both take place in 1998; as shown in the "Lab Rat" comic, Chell was already a test subject in cryo sleep. Rat Man altering the testing roster to put her first means the first Portal starts weeks after the neurotoxin incident. Coincidentally, this time frame also explains why no outside help was sent to examine the loss of communications with the facility and disappearance of hundreds of Enrichment Center personnel.

>>1671
The first Portal starts at least a decade after the neurotoxin incedent, which happened on 'Bring Your Daughter to Work Day.'

In Portal 2, in the level where you see the abandoned science fair experiments the scientists' daughters made, there is one with a giant, overgrown potato.
Zooming in on a note on the right side of that potato's poster board will show that it was Chell's science fair experiment for Bring Your Daughter to Work Day.

So, GLaDOS killed all the scientists on Bring Your Daughter to Work Day and, assuming that since the room the experiments is in is closed off in glass it blocks any neurotoxin, she kept all the children in cryo-sleep as test subjects and made files for all of them.

So, Chell has been in the facility since she was probably somewhere around age 7 - 14.

....really makes you think what her mental capabilities really are.