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MultiPortals is a collection of instances for Portal 2 Workshop maps, providing customizable colored portals, custom sounds, and dynamic lighting effects.

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LaVashikk/MultiPortals

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Your portals. Your colors. Your rules!

Description

MultiPortals is a powerful VScript-driven instance for Portal 2 that allows map makers to implement fully customizable, multi-colored portal pairs. Break free from the standard blue and orange! Define unique colors, effects, and behaviors for up to 127 different portal pairs, all controlled directly within the Hammer editor.

See It in Action!

Check out the official demonstration video to see what MultiPortals V2 can do:

Why MultiPortals?

MultiPortals is the most flexible and easy-to-use solution for customizing portals in Workshop maps:

  • Fully VScript-Driven: No complex entity logic. The instance is stable, efficient, and easy to configure.

  • Custom Portal Colors: Define any color you want for each portal using simple RGB values.

    🎥 Video: Custom Colors Demo
    frame3.mp4-compressed.mp4
  • Dynamic Lighting: Portals cast beautiful, smooth, colored light on world geometry and models. (This is optional and can be disabled for performance).

    🎥 Video: Dynamic Lighting Demo
    frame5.mp4-compressed.mp4
  • Support for up to 127 different portal pairs with individualized settings!

    🎥 Video: Multiple Portal Pairs Demo
    frame4.mp4-compressed.mp4
  • Customizable Effects:

    • A stylish, smooth portal closing animation.
    • Use the auto-colored default portal particles or specify your own custom particle effects.
    • Per-portal colored ghosting effect.
    🎥 Video: Ghosting Demo
    frame6.mp4-compressed.mp4
  • Advanced Control:

    • Activate/deactivate static portals using I/O commands. Perfect for button-activated puzzles.
    • A simple VScript API to interact with portals from your own scripts.
  • Highly Configurable: Control everything from portal ID and colors to brightness and optional features right from the func_instance properties.

Installation

  1. Download the latest release from the Releases Page.
  2. Extract the contents of the CustomContent folder into your .../Portal 2/portal2/ directory. This will add the necessary scripts and materials files.
  3. Copy the multiportals.vmf file from the downloaded archive into your Hammer instances folder (e.g., .../sdk_content/maps/instances/).
  4. When your map is ready, pack the content from CustomContent into your BSP map.
  5. Don't forget to give me a credit in the description :D

If you want, you can customize assets files to get more unique portal pairs!

Usage in Hammer

  1. Create a func_instance entity in your map.
  2. In the VMF Filename property, browse to and select the multiportals.vmf instance file.
  3. (CRITICAL) Give the func_instance a unique Name (e.g., multiportals_pair_1). This name is used as a prefix for all its child entities.
  4. Go to the Replace tab in the entity's properties to configure your portal pair.

Multiportal Instance

Instance Parameters (Replace Keyvalues)

Use the Replace tab to set these parameters.

Key Description Example Value
$portal-id (Required) A unique ID for this portal pair (0-127). This sets the portalgun_linkage_id. Do not repeat this ID across other instances. 1
$portal1-color The color of the first portal in R G B format. 255 128 0 (Orange)
$portal2-color The color of the second portal in R G B format. 128 0 255 (Purple)
$portals-color-scale A brightness multiplier for the portal color. Useful for HDR. 1.5
$withGhosting Enable (1) or disable (0) the portal ghosting effect. 1
$withDynamicLight Enable (1) or disable (0) dynamic lighting. Disable for better performance. 1
$custom-edge-particle The name of a custom particle system for the portal's edge. Leave empty to use the default, auto-colored particle. my_custom_portal_fx

Advanced Usage

Controlling Static Portals with I/O

You can open and close the portals from this instance using inputs. This is perfect for puzzles that don't use the player's portal gun. The target names for the portals are generated automatically based on the instance name:

  • First Portal: [Instance Name]-portal1
  • Second Portal: [Instance Name]-portal2

Available Inputs:

  • FireUser1: Opens the portal with the standard animation.
  • FireUser4: Closes the portal instantly.

Example: To have a button open a static red portal, send the button's OnPressed output to my_red_portals-portal1 with the input FireUser1.

VScript API

For advanced scripting, you can get a handle to any portal instance from another VScript file using a global function.

GetCustomPortal(pairId, portalIdx)

  • pairId (integer): The ID you set in $portal-id.
  • portalIdx (integer): The portal index (0 for the first, 1 for the second).

Example VScript Code:

// Get the instance of the first portal from the pair with ID 1
local myPortal = GetCustomPortal(1, 0); 

if (myPortal) {
    // Dynamically change its color to green
    myPortal.SetColor("0 255 0");
}

Important Notes

Note: Do not place your map at the origin coordinates (0, 0, 0), as there will be an unnecessary portal particle.

Warning: When you are ready to publish your map, you MUST pack all the custom content (/scripts/, /materials/) into your final .bsp file. Use a tool like Pakrat or other to do this, otherwise other players will not see the portals correctly.

Examples TODO

The MultiPortals package includes example maps to demonstrate its capabilities. Feel free to explore them to gain a better understanding of how to use the features and unleash your creativity! Check the Examples folder!

Credits

The MultiPortals was created by LaVashik. Please give credit to LaVashik when using this in your projects :>

Protected by the MIT license.

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MultiPortals is a collection of instances for Portal 2 Workshop maps, providing customizable colored portals, custom sounds, and dynamic lighting effects.

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