Portal Carousel
- File name sp_a1_intro2
- Appearance Courtesy Call
- Native to Challenge Mode No
- World Record 24.50 by Rex and Zypeh
- Least Portals 0 Portals
Contents
Overview
Portal Carousel is the second map of Courtesy Call. The map acts as a callback to one of the first chambers of Portal, with the main functional difference being the player can control the blue portal by pressing the button corresponding to the section of the map you want to access.
General Route
Hopping under the first door, and sloping off the lip of the door is the fastest way to exit the elevator chamber. If you hop under the door correctly, two hops should hopefully have you end up near the button. You want to be close enough to press it, but not so close that you can't quickly 180° into a circle jump through the opening orange portal.
Orange Portal Trigger
It's very possible to go too far when jumping off the ledge, especially with a good door hop, and miss the floor trigger that opens the orange portal. You want to hit this trigger so that you don't have to wait for the orange portal to open after pressing the button. So if you're consistently going too far our, purposefully nerfing your speed, or not strafing as hard might help make this more consistent for you.
Once you pass through the orange portal, you want to grab the cube and circle jump back towards the blue portal, and try to ensure you don't get too much speed and hit the top of the portal, as going through it is obviously faster. The route differs from here, depending on if you're playing full game, or challenge mode, see those sections bellow for more information.
View of the orange portal trigger from above
A look from the button
The trigger to start the ending dialogue
The trigger to bring down the elevator
Challenge Mode Specific
Stair hops are advantageous on this map, although you should stop near the end of the stairs, and prepare to circle jump under the door as it opens. Landing in the right place is even more important, land so that you hit the floor trigger, but can still press the button quickly. Try to emulate world record's movement, and don't add extra hops.
Cube Throw
A small optimization at the end is jumping into the elevator so that you start it's movement down slightly faster. You cannot enter this elevator as fast as some other elevators in the game, so runners typically wait 5-6 steps from ground, and circlejump around the time that the bottom of the elevator door is halfway up. Watch the world record for comparison, and practice this before your runs if you want to use it in a run.
Full Game Specific
Full Game Dialogue
The optimal dialogue for the Elevator Fade is entering the elevator after the announcer finishes saying "reintegration associate"
"Before re-entering a relaxation vault at the conclusion of testing, please take a moment to write down the results of your test. An Aperture Science Reintegration Associate [Enter Elevator] will revive you for an interview when society has been rebuilt."