I feel like I'm in the minority for loving Portal 2. It isn't as small and crisp as the original Portal, but Portal 2 far exceeds its predecessor in richness and diversity.

As I played through I couldn't help but think of all the non-Portal games I've played, and I really couldn't think of one that was better. This one doesn't have the consistent pace from the previous game but it is always interesting, and that is a rare feat.

Honestly, I think Portal 2 > Portal. They both have their strong points, but I just never felt challenged by Portal... it was 75% tutorial, then it was over. It isn't that Portal 2 is "difficult", but it very creatively forces non-standard problem solving skills. When I look at both games, that is where I see the true quality coming from.

Portal 2 is probably the most enjoyable game I've ever played, and I really don't care if it makes me uncool to say that. =P

Allo mate, wot say we pop on down to Winchestah for a quick pint of fish and chips at the ole loo. Take the lift, first, to bum a quick faggot off me mate, wot say

>> ^berticus:

here in NZ we call what that kid is eating a hot dog. and we call what you call hot dogs american hot dogs. and crisps are chips - but fries are chips too. and a chicken sandwich is a burger. and candy is lollies. and cookies are cookies but also biscuits -- and i don't think we have what you call biscuits. i tried biscuits and gravy in st louis and almost died it was so disgusting. but then i eat and love vegemite, so y'know.. can't judge.
wait. where the fuck am i?

here in NZ we call what that kid is eating a hot dog. and we call what you call hot dogs american hot dogs. and crisps are chips - but fries are chips too. and a chicken sandwich is a burger. and candy is lollies. and cookies are cookies but also biscuits -- and i don't think we have what you call biscuits. i tried biscuits and gravy in st louis and almost died it was so disgusting. but then i eat and love vegemite, so y'know.. can't judge.

wait. where the fuck am i?

>> ^Drachen_Jager:

If any of that were true, his shadow would not interact with the machine the way it does. Pause around :04 to :05 the shadow on the floor is crisp but the one on the edge of the machine nearest the guy is fuzzy.
JestJokin, you have no clue.
Other problems. There is no spray when the water falls. It does not hit the floor all around as it would hitting a fast spinning water wheel. The liquid does not flow naturally. Should I go on? It's CGI, end of story.
>> ^Payback:
-Water trails away from camera on a trough that gets bigger to fool perspective.
-Vertical poles everywhere lining up from camera's perspective.
-Water gets to "the top" which is actually 6 ft behind waterwheel, on floor.
-Water at "the top" gets sucked into pump inlet.
-Hidden pump and hoses move water, within the structure, to "the spout".
-"The spout" is directly over the waterwheel, and is perspectively in line with "the top" and camera, giving the illusion they are attached.
A really poor sketch:



1> The floor is already soaked, the "dry spots" are paint stains or something. You can see reflections on the floor to the right side.
2> He has quite a few spot lights set up to get shadows the way he wants.

3> I'm not saying it ISN'T CGI, just that it's possible (and far more impressive) to do it live.

If any of that were true, his shadow would not interact with the machine the way it does. Pause around :04 to :05 the shadow on the floor is crisp but the one on the edge of the machine nearest the guy is fuzzy.

JestJokin, you have no clue.

Other problems. There is no spray when the water falls. It does not hit the floor all around as it would hitting a fast spinning water wheel. The liquid does not flow naturally. Should I go on? It's CGI, end of story.

>> ^Payback:

-Water trails away from camera on a trough that gets bigger to fool perspective.
-Vertical poles everywhere lining up from camera's perspective.
-Water gets to "the top" which is actually 6 ft behind waterwheel, on floor.
-Water at "the top" gets sucked into pump inlet.
-Hidden pump and hoses move water, within the structure, to "the spout".
-"The spout" is directly over the waterwheel, and is perspectively in line with "the top" and camera, giving the illusion they are attached.
A really poor sketch: http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/256336/20110216/174500.jpg

I think Payback pretty much has it. Except, IMHO, I think some of the columns (vertical) were cropped/created using AFX/Maya type programs.
I work in Maya , Max , CAD , AFX etc... Drach's comments about shadows and 'his eye' were as vague as him saying "I work in CGI". Sorry, but 'bollocks mate'. The only shadow (raytraced) inconsistencies are on 'some' of the columns, and their corresponding shadows. Dystopian, I'll bet money that the water is real, as well as the channels it runs in. However some of the columns do not receive or create shadows as they should. If he did create the water in a 3D program, he should be working for one of the major animation houses as a fluid dynamics animator, but I don't think he did. I could be wrong though, because this was NOT a simple trick.

I love the sift, mostly because of the level of intelligence often displayed in the comments. But "CGI" is a vague term that could be used by anyone who's seen Lord of the Rings. If you know what you're talking about, be more specific please. You don't need to 'dumb it down', this isn't YouTube. >> ^Drachen_Jager:

Yeah, you can see it in the shadow-interaction if you look closely. The whole structure also stands out as a bit 'off' to me, but I work with CGI so I guess I have a trained eye.
The giveaway is the shadows though. Freeze frame it when his shadow is half on the structure. The edge of the shadow is blurred on the waterfall, but it's crisp on the floor.
>> ^dystopianfuturetoday:
CGI water? I think you could pull something like this off with a hidden pump. I'd be disappointed if it were just CGI. >> ^Drachen_Jager:
It's just CGI guys. Pretty simple trick.
Very well done though.

Yeah, you can see it in the shadow-interaction if you look closely. The whole structure also stands out as a bit 'off' to me, but I work with CGI so I guess I have a trained eye.

The giveaway is the shadows though. Freeze frame it when his shadow is half on the structure. The edge of the shadow is blurred on the waterfall, but it's crisp on the floor.

>> ^dystopianfuturetoday:

CGI water? I think you could pull something like this off with a hidden pump. I'd be disappointed if it were just CGI. >> ^Drachen_Jager:
It's just CGI guys. Pretty simple trick.
Very well done though.

And training kids that it's ok if they don't know what is good for them, the government is there to do their thinking for them. That's going to be a valuable lesson in the future.>> ^Sagemind:
I applaud the move - Training the kids to eat that crap by rewarding them with a toy for doing so contributes to obesity in older kids and adults as we are conditioned to choose fat and salt as the right choice in our eating habits.
I would also like to see "Super Size Me" become a mandatory viewing in schools anywhere from around grades 4 - 6 (or at least something equivalent, though I know government would screw it up if they tried to create their own version)
Sure McD's and other fast food outlets would rally and complain, but then maybe they shouldn't be poisoning our kids in the first place!
FACT - Kids will almost always choose fruit first over chips!
Try it at any kids B-Day Party, 2 Big Bowls of Chips (Crisps for you British folk) vs. Fruit Platter - the platter always wins!

That's easy, the government! I mean, think of the children! Liberty is for loosers.

>> ^campionidelmondo:

>> ^Sagemind:
I applaud the move - Training the kids to eat that crap by rewarding them with a toy for doing so contributes to obesity in older kids and adults as we are conditioned to choose fat and salt as the right choice in our eating habits.
I would also like to see "Super Size Me" become a mandatory viewing in schools anywhere from around grades 4 - 6 (or at least something equivalent, though I know government would screw it up if they tried to create their own version)
Sure McD's and other fast food outlets would rally and complain, but then maybe they shouldn't be poisoning our kids in the first place!
FACT - Kids will almost always choose fruit first over chips!
Try it at any kids B-Day Party, 2 Big Bowls of Chips (Crisps for you British folk) vs. Fruit Platter - the platter always wins!

So basically everyone should be responsible for raising the kids...except their parents? Who's driving the kids to McD? Who's paying for the food? Who ultimately decides to celebrate a kid's birthday at McD? And who fails to provide a healthy diet at home that would lessen the negative impact of an occasional McD meal?

>> ^Sagemind:

I applaud the move - Training the kids to eat that crap by rewarding them with a toy for doing so contributes to obesity in older kids and adults as we are conditioned to choose fat and salt as the right choice in our eating habits.
I would also like to see "Super Size Me" become a mandatory viewing in schools anywhere from around grades 4 - 6 (or at least something equivalent, though I know government would screw it up if they tried to create their own version)
Sure McD's and other fast food outlets would rally and complain, but then maybe they shouldn't be poisoning our kids in the first place!
FACT - Kids will almost always choose fruit first over chips!
Try it at any kids B-Day Party, 2 Big Bowls of Chips (Crisps for you British folk) vs. Fruit Platter - the platter always wins!


So basically everyone should be responsible for raising the kids...except their parents? Who's driving the kids to McD? Who's paying for the food? Who ultimately decides to celebrate a kid's birthday at McD? And who fails to provide a healthy diet at home that would lessen the negative impact of an occasional McD meal?

I applaud the move - Training the kids to eat that crap by rewarding them with a toy for doing so contributes to obesity in older kids and adults as we are conditioned to choose fat and salt as the right choice in our eating habits.

I would also like to see "Super Size Me" become a mandatory viewing in schools anywhere from around grades 4 - 6 (or at least something equivalent, though I know government would screw it up if they tried to create their own version)

Sure McD's and other fast food outlets would rally and complain, but then maybe they shouldn't be poisoning our kids in the first place!

FACT - Kids will almost always choose fruit first over chips!
Try it at any kids B-Day Party, 2 Big Bowls of Chips (Crisps for you British folk) vs. Fruit Platter - the platter always wins!

Nah. Thank YOU! Glad you liked. They're great, right? Wanna see them live.
In reply to this comment by geo321:
Thanks griefer_queafer. *quality

Excellent.

I got goose bumps when the foreboding book closed.

I do want to bring something up here though. You don't lock and load an M1 Garand except once. When you load a magazine into the weapon the top round will chamber. So when the other soldier ratchets the bolt, he would be wasting the top round. I know that filmmakers do this for the effect, but to stay true to period this is a useless gesture.

Also the sound effects for the lock and load are to clean and crisp. Just listen to the video below.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

Where my feelings are now is that death is a bad thing. A waste. It's like burning down a library of books that don't exist anywhere else.

With consciousness we're cursed with the knowledge that death is coming for all of us. If we're able to, we delude ourselves with religion or denial- but eventually all the books in the library get burnt to a crisp.

I'm with Aubrey.

I've been to the states many times, and we actually generally bring back boxes of Cereal, because we don't get them here

4. Lucky Charms
3. Oatmeal Crisp
2. Kix
1. Rice crispies treats

We used to love Rice Crispies treats so much, we'd actually buy them in bulk to bring back to Canada, it's basically like it sounds, crumbled up rice crispy squares, dried out to be made crunchy, and boxed up. Never sure how they pulled it off, because actual rice crispy squares are generally somewhat hard to bite into, and the cereal itself had the softness of biting into a regular spoonful of the original Cereal.

I miss that cereal.