The most underrated testing element in all of Portal 2

Turrets are one of the silliest testing elements to use in Portal 2 workshop puzzles, but if used right, they can make for some truly incredible puzzles. In this video, we explore how turrets can be implemented to construct challenging puzzles and how they allow for some really amazing moves.
Discord server: / discord
Portal 2 video essay playlist: • Portal 2 video essays
Check out my second channel for music and gameplay videos: / @mikeastro2
Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
Links to the collections and maps that I show or discuss in the video in order:
- "Block Logic" by me: steamcommunity.com/sharedfile...
- "Dollhouse" by HankyMueller: steamcommunity.com/sharedfile...
- "Not so fast" by Libbybapa: steamcommunity.com/sharedfile...
- "Evade" by G4lvatron: steamcommunity.com/sharedfile...
- "Turrets of Time" by NerdlingNation: steamcommunity.com/sharedfile...
- "Thought Insertion" by Mausgeburt: steamcommunity.com/sharedfile...
Download BEEMod to expand your Portal 2 pallet:
github.com/BEEmod/BEE2.4/rele...
Are you a new player looking to start playing and making some good maps? Consider checking out the following links.
RedSilencer's ''Introduction to the Workshop'' collection:
steamcommunity.com/sharedfile...
My ''Reliquiae'' collection:
steamcommunity.com/sharedfile...
''No elements'' connection to learn about momentum and portal preservation:
steamcommunity.com/sharedfile...
Thumbnail made by theCCguy. Huge thanks to them!
Their workshop: steamcommunity.com/id/theccguy
Music: made by me.
I often upload my music on my second channel, linked above.
There's also / mike-daas-1 and mikeastro.bandcamp.com/.
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
02:10 - Turrets at the exit
04:00 - Permanent progress
08:00 - Turrets stay alive
09:10 - Turret dropper
12:35 - Insane tricks
14:12 - Outro

[@yol_n]

The lack of use of turrets in the portal 2 community (at least from the good mappakers) shows a kind of maturity when it comes to these things. They don't know how to use it effectively so they just don't use it. I like that mindset.

[@slyceth]

This proves you didnt watch the video, roization. Mike talks half the video about how turrets CAN be used effectively by good map makers. Talk about underused testing elements, talk about gels!

[@Cruxin]

@@slyceth they didn't say it can't

[@TheLoveTrain]

@@slyceth This provesyou didn't read the comment

[@filval387]

Yeah, they know that they shouldn't force themselves to use them if they can't find a way to make it work instead of just using them anyway... It kinda feels like when games put a bunch of mechanics which sound great on paper but end up being more annoying than anything...

[@LeventK]

In "The itch" part, you use bounce gel to send turrets in the void and press a button afterwards, which is my favorite turret puzzle so far.

[@shibainu2528]

And then, right when you *do* solve the puzzle, that blue gel that was left where the turrets once stood is now a bounce platform for the fling you do to complete the level, making it serve a purpose even after the turrets were dealt with. Edit : And I just realized that, even though you technically never *needed* the turrets there, it was a good incentive to have the player indirectly coat that area in blue gel, and it also teaches them the solution to a puzzle in the final escape sequence.

[@_cfmca]

Honestly that’s probably my least favorite puzzle in the game

[@user-zh7gy3yq2c]

@@_cfmca Why? There’s really nothing bad about it, it’s just a bit hard to figure out.

[@_cfmca]

@@user-zh7gy3yq2cIt’s just so fukin tedious since the gel flow is so slow that it completely kills the pace of the game for me, and not in a good way.

[@LeventButSpeedrunning]

​@@_cfmca Considering it takes you about eight hours to finish the game, a twenty-minute cooldown should be welcome

[@theneoreformationist]

The biggest problem with turrets is that they easily fail at their primary function. By that I mean, usually they have no dropper, can be destroyed by unintended means, or can simply be bypassed by timing your movements or with luck holding an object as a shield. It's hard to use them to force a solution, and when you do, you probably weren't using them as intended. They really work more for the story or action sequences of Portal rather than for the puzzles.

[@Frille512]

that's just a lack of skill in placing the turrets

[@3UGL3N4]

Turrets were always my least favourite Portal test element because I thought they can only ever be a hindrance unlike most other Portal test elements which can both help or hinder the player in solving the puzzle. That is, until I discovered Mausgeburt's map Thought Insertion as well as DiDo Killer!'s map Overkill which use turrets in a constructive way and make them integral to the solution instead of as just something that you destroy the first chance you get or avoid altogether. They made me like turrets as test elements a bit more and also made me wonder what else could be done with these cute white goobers.

[@mika_tastrophe]

i still have yet to make a good puzzle with turrets in it, but i'll make sure to remember to go back to this video if i ever feel like giving it another shot! i especially liked how you managed to reference almost all your previous essays in this one super fluently, pretty funny to see them all pop up through the whole thing. a banger, but this surprises nobody at this point.

[@hate_love1250]

not me excitedly whispering "that's brilliant!!" at some of the map solutions. i hadn't even considered the movement caused by a turret exploding or shooting you as a testing element and seeing that was just so amazing to me. Considering Portal 2 is one of my childhood games, it's amazing just how much I've missed out on in terms of puzzles. ... though, to be fair, when i was younger i was more one for playground maps and my sister often dragged me into those co-op race maps, sooo... Anything outside of the singleplayer campaign I've never really gotten to.

[@elytron6758]

I definitely borrowed the damage boost idea from the first time I saw it in Overkill for my map “Ephemeros”. Fun video Mike!

[@aydinmakesthings]

I usually don't use Turrets in my maps due to the fact I always feel as if a another option is easier, but this video not only changed my view on that, but showed the true potential of Turrets! Thank you so much for this video! People like you keep the workshop going even over a decade later!

[@hankymueller7613]

One use for turrets that isn't covered in the video is as a sort of "guide" element. Placing an obstacle (such as a turret) is a good way to encourage the formation of productive intermediate goals and nudge playes toward the solution. It's uncommon, and its easy to see why. A lot of workshop mappers might prefer keeping their intermediate goals as obscure as possible. Nonethless, changing the way players think about a puzzle using such techniques can lead them to a more satisfying solve.

[@TreuloseTomate]

These last few maps are the coolest puzzles I've ever seen in Portal 2.

[@trojaner8027]

I love how at this point you've made so many videos about all the puzzle elements / mechanics in the workshop that this video basically references one of your older videos after the other

[@klaus.sfc01official30]

Mike is back to save the day and give me the mapping inspiration i need thank you :)

[@samuelcastillo5246]

I'll say only one thing; I've never tried Portal neither Portal 2, but I love your content

[@user-hh7we9sw6q]

Great video, I never thought the turret could be used so much,

[@lincolnpepper816]

me going to my sister's wedding: *comically casual attire* me when Mike Daas uploads: *comically formal attire*

[@ShuckleShellAnemia]

This makes me feel good about the fact that two of my trickier puzzles involve turrets as a key element :)

[@Hunbun999]

So glad you’re back to uploading after 7 months mike!

[@determination982]

I'm so glad I found your channel, I came back to portal 2 recently to create some more maps for my friends to play, but I was running out of ideas, and I was completely oblivious to the whole community of map creators, and even though I knew all the mechanic's you mention in your videos (i watched all of them), I couldn't use them in the same level of depth, mine are just primitive compared to some of your showcases! So I started exploring and learning more with beemod, although "my" most recent map's are rip offs of showcased no element's with certain "twists" to make them more fun in co-op mode, i still think soon I will be able to make a really good map! Also most if not all of the videos you made are created with intentions for single player, do you think co-operation is a bit too chaotic and hard to control to create such good maps? Because I started creating only co-op maps and they are way harder for me to design.

[@Mikeastro]

Thank you for the kind words! It makes me happy to learn that I was able to inspire some of your maps! Coop maps definitely allow for very deep and interesting logic; perhaps even more so than singleplayer. It's just that I am personally less experienced with creating coop maps, so I am a bit hesitant to talk about them, but perhaps I shouldn't be :]

[@leroymilo]

That was genuinly a great puzzle design course.

[@dgbeck]

random fun fact: G4lvatron, who made Evade, is a pretty well renowned Geometry Dash creator, being considered one of the all time greats by many in the creating community. was cool and unexpected to see his name pop up in a portal 2 video lol

[@storm3316]

Stuff like this is why I love Portal 2. I need to play more community maps

[@callumstar1062]

Completely forgot they were in the test maker but then again I have not made a map in like 6 months but that’s probably because I just can’t get ideas (also is just me but when I see a turret I try to aim to at a wall or try to save then)

[@Sinchu9]

One thing with Evade: Unless it's been changed, if you crouch in a funnel, a held cube is able to block the vast majority of your hitbox and iirc this works with a light bridge too at certain angles, meaning you could likely just float across the gap using the cube to block the bullets

[@G4lvatron]

The turrets in the map have buffed damage and knock back to make cheesing the puzzle in that way as difficult as possible. I'm sure it is possible to use the cube as a shield but it would require difficult movement that my puzzles are not designed around. The funnel crouching thing I was not aware about though, I never tested that

[@Sinchu9]

@@G4lvatron Fair, also due to there being multiple turrets it might not be possible to block all the bullets

[@dialog_box]

8:13 damn that's surreal seeing a name i recognize from one community popping up in a completely different community. dude used to be an amazing geometry dash map maker iirc

[@iMorands]

Did not see many of these coming, nice.

[@hearteyedgirl]

fun fact: button for turret dropper can be used for doing ghost collision

[@EtherBotGames]

the portal 2 chamber which introduces the mechanic of blocking turretfire w/ lightbridges actually has a really clever use of turrets. In theory, the player doesn't even need the cube to beat the chamber, as they can stand on the button and place a portal next to the exit when its unobstructed. But they can only block the turret fire from one side or the other (in front of or behind them). So as the exit is opened up, they're exposed to turret fire on both sides, and so have to approach the solution in a different way. As soon as you've destroyed the four turrets guarding the cube, you've actually solved the puzzle, because now the only direction turret fire will come from is the front. But the cube acts as a carrot to move the players towards the solution.

[@RocketRidge]

This is some 4d chess stuff, I would have never thought about ANYTHING thought insertion uses. Thank you for sharing!

[@dolphiner7003]

Great vid as always :) I really enjoyed the little permanent progress tangent and how it circled back to turrets.

[@a_lexine]

ah, yes, turret damageboosting my beloved

[@solutionchanneliguess2899]

Finally got around to watching this. Nice video! I appreciated that you took a section to speak about fixed points. I'm afraid the only map I have with a turret falls into the first, plain category. I hope to see more authors tackle turret usage in the future.

[@limpfall13]

I remember saving some of the defective turrets that requested to be saved simply out of compassion it’s amazing how much emotion a torrent can bring (Screw auto correct I meant to type some not none!!

[@NOCKSCITNEY]

Wow - That is some truly creative use of Turrets in Thought Insertion. Another fantastic video Mike, covering the topic fantastically. It is inspiring to see these topics covered in such depth, and gives me inspiration to want to start making maps again . . . . 😉

[@nerdlington7655]

Cool video. I hope we don't run out of topics for more of them :). It's cool to see the progression of your essay presentation style; I know what to expect somewhat from a Mikeastro video now. Thank you once again for featuring one of my maps also; I'm honored.

[@ViciousVinnyD]

Waitwaitwait.. YOU CAN GEL LIGHTBRIDGES? I've never seen this done before, that's absolutely crazy!

[@rafaelhines1178]

I could swear it's done in the main campaign

[@lennoxdks9670]

​@@rafaelhines1178It's done in the main co-op campaign but not the main campaign so I see why you're confused.

[@ldidok]

I love turrets! *Proceeds to explode turrets for puzzle moves*

[@TChapman500Gaming]

I think I've only seen a few maps ever that make good use of turrets. How about covering conversion gel next?

[@Mikeastro]

Good suggestion! :]

[@EdwardChan.999]

Permanant progress is also achievable by hooking a laser receiver to a cube spawner that activates a button underneath it, as I've done it in my maps, tho admittedly it uses more entity than the turret approach...

[@NIMPAK1]

Glad to see you back. I think it'd be cool to see you do a video on some Portal-inspired games and show how they succeed or where they need to improve.

[@MrGermandeutsch]

This is amazing!

[@rhyanvalk7897]

The last two puzzles were insane wow

[@lukeseaman2994]

I remember making two puzzles as a kid; one where you had to cross a veritable shopping malls worth of turrets with some glass cover and blue gel because it turned them into fireworks The other was short, mildly involved and maybe even decently designed, but the last step was only possible by stacking props because it was funny I’m not sure how many (could have only been two) but I know for sure two of the props were a mirror cube and a wall camera

[@Wecoc1]

Man, I love these videos!

[@CatSurfer]

You're back with another banger!

[@optimer44]

I think of them as a way to block the player without solid materials

[@coolgamer-ny3ho]

I thought this channel was dead, so glad it is not! This content is peak, and we need more portal enthusiasts like you Mike!

[@Mikeastro]

Life just gets busy sometimes :] I'm already working on the next video!

[@beanslinger2]

this is one hell of a way to find out that you can put gel on light bridges

[@ultmateragnarok8376]

I believe the coop campaign makes use of it several times, with the bridges serving as both floors and walls throughout the many puzzles. Some of those maps are quite challenging.

[@Joaquin-xn6oz]

Wake up babe, new Mike video just dropped

[@masaltzero]

this is quality content. the best element ever

[@akazeppymusic]

yet another banger vid mike

[@nebulus9999]

Keep up the good work!

[@Mikeastro]

Thank you :D I'll do my best!

[@maxdon2001]

Great video!

[@Mikeastro]

Thank you :D

[@miniwhiffy3465]

turrets, the emotional pain robots

[@bobafettjr85]

4:10 *cough* Sector 5 *cough*

[@leovitiello7424]

Nice and comprehensive showcase of all the interesting things you can do with turrets, including with the turret dropper! Both Turrets of Time and Thought Insertion seem to have been made after Live and Let Live, I wonder if there was some inspiration taken :P anyway would be cool to see more of those maps in the future, maybe this video will help make that happen!

[@Mikeastro]

For a brief moment I considered including Live and Let Live in the video, because I know that you worked personally on the turret dropper instance, but the logic was just much too complicated to make it for a good showcase in this video haha. Still huge thanks for your efforts, and thanks for watching too :D

[@leovitiello7424]

@@Mikeastro Don't worry that's no problem! I thought the same thing. Easier maps are just well, easier to showcase and explain :)

[@MRFAB1]

Good video ! Turrets in good puzzle are so rare to see and so tough to make ( I made one and it's not that great )ea

[@Azure_Gust931]

11:17 So tricky😮😮😮

[@OlieB]

Oooooh a new video!

[@Mikeastro]

Yep :D

[@chilldogs1881]

yes

[@Azure_Gust931]

If the player doesn't know the aspects of the turret, the puzzle can never be solved🥲 thanks for introducing these

[@alex.g7317]

4:26 I don’t know if I’m remembering this right, but this looks very similar to my test chamber… do you think? No! Yes? I hope so…

[@FenceAKAGlasnost]

could you make a video of how mappers use beemod special blocks/geometry to achieve great puzzles?

[@Mikeastro]

Not a bad idea!

[@NoNameAtAll2]

Portal has been described by many as "fps without fighting" From this perspective, turret is totally out of place - thus it doesn't get used

[@NoNameAtAll2]

I personally remember absolutely dropping the game when turrets appeared (granted, I was a kid, and got terrfied of "the enemy" I saw while walking through the first portal in portal 1)

[@insta8510]

Ur vids are so goood

[@ultrio325]

13:55 bro is playing tf2 while we're playing portal 2

[@rhyanvalk7897]

I love ur vids. It always takes a long time but thats why the quality is so good. I now realize this looks like a bot comment lol but no fr keep it up

[@InsaneInVR]

douse anyone know how he got those bee2 props im still new to bee mod and cant find what packages he has

[@Uraqt_1337]

Great addition to your videos :) I have one question though: in the mapmaker (at 14:20), If we look at the testelements you can use, there are some that I’ve never seen in BEEmod. These are number:18, 30 and 31. Where do you get them from?

[@Mikeastro]

Thanks for wachting :D If I understand the way you counted these correctly, that should be the angled blocks, jailbars and cutout tiles respectively. The first and third should be in BEE, the jailbars are a custom package that has been circulated by its creator who I am acquainted with

[@Uraqt_1337]

@@Mikeastro ah, ok thanks. Though I haven’t seen the cutouts yet but I guess I missed them. Thanks for your answer

[@Minty_Warior]

Bro they added targets to BeeMod that are given input by turrets shoting them

[@Mikeastro]

Indeed they did! That opens up amazing new opportunities

[@slyceth]

Summarizing the video: turret blasts turret temporary laser blocking turret stepladder turret damage boost I'd like to suggest someone makes turret dominoes

[@halucinujte]

good video

[@Mikeastro]

Thank you :D

[@ALEX2014_]

What mods do you use? Specificly the one with line coming from laser cubes?

[@Mikeastro]

That is a setting in BEEMod, it is linked in the description

[@brendensmith3083]

Since turret droppers are a mod, it is an inconvenience to use turrets in most of the ways described, where destroying turrets without a dropper can leave you softlocked. However, I like the reminder that indestructable turrets provide an elegant obstacle for certain logical sequences.

[@ultmateragnarok8376]

Makes the design of the first game's rocket turret make more sense. As a puzzle element, there cannot be a way to destroy it, and indeed there never was - even directing its own rockets at it would simply destroy the projectile as it hit. Of course, being an infinite source of explosives, its uses were often more violent and brute-force than other puzzles could be, but it still did well as an element nonetheless.

[@PhantomWowfull]

What great maps, I'm a noob, how do u play custom maps ? On steam?

[@Mikeastro]

Yep! I left some links to collections full of great maps in the description :]

[@infinitelogicmachine8587]

3:03 but explosions

[@klaus.sfc01official30]

4:58 permabuttons i never use them since i do not know how to implement them properly my mindset is: "if i activate something permanently anyways why have it not activated already from the get go?"

[@leovitiello7424]

Well your reasoning is only valid if the permabutton is easily accessible from the beginning. It could be that a specific sequence of moves is required to reach the permabutton, in which case it does add some logic and isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's just not subtle and is only used once by design as Mike states, which is why it's usually avoided.

[@FluxLemniskat]

Portal Stories Mel already used turrets

[@davedog0984]

Hey, I was wondering if you'd want to make a video showing the process of how you make a level? I really like your levels and want to get better at map making, so I'd love to see you explain how you make such great puzzles

[@Mikeastro]

A great idea! I have kinda bad and old video in that style up on my channel called "I make a simple Portal 2 puzzle in 1 hour" but I've been thinking of ways to make one that is both more enlightening and more up to my current standards!

[@Drapperbat]

Hi Mike, love your videos, I often look to them for inspiration in making my own maps. I want to know if you would ever consider taking map requests? I’ve spent the last several months trying to get better and better at making puzzles and I would really like some more feedback in order to further improve. Alternatively I would also love it if you knew of any communities I could join for acquiring puzzle feedback

[@Mikeastro]

Of course! There is a link to my discord server in the descriprion :] It exists for precisely that purpose

[@Pnezyx2056]

first im sad you didnt include my map Hoplophobia :( it also has damage boosts

[@Mikeastro]

Sorry, I wrote the script for this video months ago! :[

[@Pnezyx2056]

did you play it?

[@Mikeastro]

@@Pnezyx2056 Not yet but it is in my queue!

[@Pnezyx2056]

make sure you play the fixed version :)

[@basil_gamin]

I noticed the Dutch menu text and your Dutch sounding name🤭🤭🤭

[@jan.akisa.]

the problem with turrets is that theyre just really cheesable. ive played a handful of maps that use turrets as the main obstacle and everytime you can just scoot past them by using a cube for cover. thats not even a good way to solve the puzzle most of the time but if i have the option to solve a puzzle or spend half an hour slowly crawling past a wall of turrets im choosing the latter every time

[@jan.akisa.]

in block logic i vividly remember figuring out the solution, fucking it up, and then crawling past the the turrets with the cubes as makeshift walls instead

[@FluxLemniskat]

What exactly is the problem with that? If you knowingly solve the map unintentionally, then it's your own fault and you're missing out on the good solution that the author came up with. It is more or less impossible to make maps ENITRELY robust against silly exploits like that.

[@doglover449]

Here within an hour

[@Bhaabje_compadre]

Turret lovers rise up!

[@kaishedan37]

I feel like turrets in puzzles are often too easily cheesable

[@misternobody6539]

Dang, you didn't Include "Blockade", unfortunate

[@Saxshoe]

Portal: Prelude has the most liberal use of turrets out of ANY serious puzzle I've played. Combined with Portal's highly disorienting re-righting algorithm, and Prelude's developers' tendency to use them in pairs, double protected, and in shadow, makes them feel especially punishing. The solution to the turrets in these puzzles are almost always ambushing, rarely cerebral. In fact there's only one instance where knocking over turrets with an energy ball is a possible solution. I think the fact that it was released so soon into Portal's modding infancy results in the poor level design in this regard.

[@joahstolk7600]

yooooooo your dutch

[@Mikeastro]

My Dutch indeed :]

[@stacksmasherninja7266]

the damage boost at the end and the turret explosion to slide a cube in my opinion are too finicky. these were never introduced in the main game and the tutorial didn't point to it either. you had to be fairly technical to even know such thing existed. it's less about creativity and more about knowing ins and outs of the source engine. the rest of the usecases are pretty nice though.

[@skeletonwarlock5741]

I adore murdering turrets

[@safestate8750]

In "Block logic" you can just bhop past the turrets.

[@safestate8750]

in Dollhouse as well

[@FluxLemniskat]

and why is that important to know? @@safestate8750

[@wObBlE73]

Turret

[@dementiagaming726]

am i the only one who really disliked turrets? Not as gameplay elements, but their mannerisms and the way they spoke somewhat annoyed me, destroying them was really satisfying.

[@user-khan005]

Noo where is overkill?

[@Mikeastro]

Its spiritual twin is discussed near the end of the video :]

[@user-khan005]

​@@Mikeastroi saw it but still i expected it as a second example or something because the turret is used for blocking the laser, climbing, pushing the player and pushing the cube.

[@ldidok]

true and real, unsubbing (?

[@r3ked272]

Comment 150

[@konf99]

:0

[@ldcent8482]

2:20 why do youtubers keep using this heavy handed AI denoising software without (at least) scrubbing through to mask out the worst bits??? loved the video though, that turret explosion trick was thrilling

[@Mikeastro]

I am not sure I understand what you are talking about, could you elaborate? It sounds like some possibly useful feedback!

[@ldcent8482]

@@Mikeastro it might just be youtube, or the recording program you use, or the microphone or it's DAC? But I've heard it on dozens of channels with otherwise pristine audio, and only lately, so maybe it's some new KZbin setting? At that timestamp it's really noticeable, your voice just decomposes into two or three formants and it sounds like Microsoft SAM. Almost like a time stretching effect.

[@Mikeastro]

@@ldcent8482 Ah thanks for explaining! I'm not sure, my mic is not the best haha, maybe I just spoke a bit too loudly :]

[@slyceth]

10/10 video, 0/10 dutch

[@swn32]

Some of these are just lame quirky moves that don't make for a good puzzle. The trick about temporarily delaying the laser, or using the blast force of the turret, or boosting via turret fire are all lame moves that do not belong in a logical puzzle. There's a reason this is a low rated test element. It's shit.