Container Ride
- Previous Map N/A
- File Name sp_a1_intro1
- Appearance Courtesy Call
- Native to Challenge Mode Not by default
- World Record loading...
- Least Portals loading...
- Next Map Portal Carousel
Contents
Overview
Container Ride is the first map of the single player game, and the first map of the chapter Courtesy Call. The player does not have access to a portal gun, and there are over 5 minutes of unskippable cutscenes paired with less than 30 seconds of meaningful gameplay. These factors make this map simple but time-consuming to speedrun, and it is based completely on movement.
General Route
When playing outside of challenge mode, speedrunners generally load a community save file that skips the first 5 minutes of cutscenes on this map. This is called Vault Save.
Once the portal opens, circle jump through it and proceed to the next room as normal.
Dialogue Skip
Once you're through the door, you need to work fast to get the right dialogue sequence.
This method saves around 7 seconds over not getting any dialogue skips.
Jump on the button at the center of the room. It's good practice to linger for a moment, as a tick-perfect jump onto the button will not trigger the room changing. Not hitting this button will result in the door to the elevator room being closed for a moment after placing the Cube on the button, which prevents you from walking through it and thus getting the fast dialogue.
Place the cube onto the button quickly, then hop through the door, and get in-front of the Emancipation Grill. Then walk forward when the announcer says:
"Cube- and button-based testing remains an important tool for science, even in a dire e-*MER*-gen-cy".
You will know this has worked correctly if the announcer says this line:
"You have just passed through an Aperture Science Material Emancipation Grill, which vaporizes most Aperture Science equipment that touches it."
Easier Dialogue Skip (Recommended for new players)
Tutorial for dialogue skips by Msushi
If you struggle with faster dialogue option, there's an alternative way explained in a long-form tutorial suited for beginners.
This method is slower, but saves about 2 seconds over not getting any dialogue skips.
After you have placed the cube on the button, move over to the door, and wait until the announcer finishes saying emergency before walking through.
RIGHT:
Please note the incandescent particle field across the exit. This Aperture Science Material Emancipation Grill will vaporize any unauthorized equipment that passes through it.
WRONG:
If cube and button-based testing caused this emergency, don't worry. The odds of this happening twice are very slim.
Cheat Sheet Version
Important tool for science, even in a dire e[mer]gency[].
Fast Normal
Challenge Mode Specific
World Record Challenge Mode run by Zypeh
Because the map is basic and short gameplay-wise, every small optimization matters.
Be familiar with the announcer's instructions, look up or down before the buzzer, stand in-front of, and look at the painting before you're asked, and spam +use (E) on your bed after the music is done playing.
When you go back to bed, hold +moveleft (A) and +back (S) until Wheatley yells, so that you activate his cutscene as soon as possible. After saying apple, the map is just waiting until the third slam into the wall.
Container Pre-Hop
Recording of the Pre-hop slowed down
You can also save a decent chunk of time by pre-hopping before the game lets you leave the container, to land in the vault as quickly as possible.
Due to the design of the starting cutscene, the player isn't actually standing in the container that is being moved. Instead the player is physically standing in a stationary second container that is fully sealed while your camera is placed in the moving open container. This is important to understanding how the pre-hop works.
Assuming you don't miss any inputs in the relaxation chamber sequence, the container will end its ride at roughly 4:52.96, at which point the players physical model is teleported from the sealed container to the open container. This teleport can be seen when slowing down demos to 2-4% normal speed.
The goal here is to speedwallstrafe/bunnyhop across the left side of the container such that you are joined with your camera as soon before the moment that you would have otherwise hit the wall as possible. i.e. Speedwallstrafing/bunnyhopping so that you reach the end of the container shortly after 4:52.96.
Note: Doing this too quickly can soft-lock the game, Wheatley's dialogue will stop the announcer's and you will soft-lock.
You should know if your pre-hop was successful if Wheatley and the announcer talk at the same time, and Wheatley is eventually cut off.
Elevator Trigger
The location of the elevator trigger
This trigger will activate the elevator. It's located right before the fizzler that you need to stop in-front of for the fast dialogue skip, so hitting this trigger, but not the fizzler quickly will save time by bringing down the elevator quicker.
Elevator Pre-Hop
Jumping into the elevator at the end of the level is a common trick used in non-official challenge mode maps so that the elevator starts its movement down slightly faster. When the hitbox of the elevator disappears and you are able to hop through changes map by map, so making a save to test the timing is recommended.
Full Game Specific
Example in a Single Segment run by Can't Even
Not so much here differs from the general route. Consider doing faster version of fast dialogue only if you're confident with doing it.
Trivia
- Wheatley asks twice to jump, but you only need to do it the first time. After listening to some extra dialogue, the cutscene continues. This is the main reason the One Hop Run is possible.
- If you stand in front of and look at the painting before the Announcer mentions it, then after you stand in front of it, you do not need to stare at the painting.
- When Wheatley waits for your answer, the game expects a
+jumpinput, but not an actual jump, meaning that spamming jump in midair can save time. - The reason for fast dialogue being a thing is an oversight in the game's script. There are two dialogues about fizzlers, both of which activates early Elevator Fade. If the player happens to leave the test chamber while a dialogue about cube and button-based testing is playing, the game tries to play one of the fizzler dialogues right after it. However, it does that by separate script function and not by Dialogue Queue. Because of that, a ding sound, which counts as separate dialogue, is forcibly played a short while (0.1 seconds) later, interrupting the fizzler dialogue and preventing the early Elevator Fade from happening. It is possible to avoid it by waiting for both cube and button-based testing dialogues to end and then leaving the chamber, or interrupting the Dialogue Queue in a short break between these dialogues (0.5 seconds) with one of the fizzler dialogues.