Unused Maps

This is a sub-page of Portal 2.

Portal 2 had most unused maps stripped before release, but a few have slipped into specific versions of the game here and there. In particular, the Nintendo Switch port of the game contains a number of unused maps that were previously only known to exist in internal development builds.

The below sections will note which specific versions of the game each map can be found in. Note that PC and Switch maps are interchangeable between the two versions, while PS3 (and Xbox, though no unused maps can be found there) use different map formats which must be converted using a decompiler if you wish to run those maps on PC.

mp_coop_community_hub#

Included in PC and Switch versions

A strange co-op map which was seemingly intended as an alternate hub for starting co-op community chambers based on the name. The map itself is pretty unremarkable, consisting of nothing more than a square non-portalable room with a pair of co-op spawn droppers and a pedestal button. The button attempts to run the command cm_show_friend_invite_screen, which doesn't exist, so nothing happens when it is pressed.

What's most interesting about this map is that it has special handling within the game's code, allowing it to be loaded without a partner connected, something that is normally disallowed unless the hidden cvar mp_dev_wait_for_other_player is disabled. This implies that the map's implementation did get far enough to necessitate map-specific hacks like this, before the decision was ultimately made to do co-op community map selection directly through the UI without a hub map.

The cubemap files packed into the map are located under the name coop_hub_stub, implying that this was the original name of the map.

demo_underground#

Included in Switch version

An early version of sp_a3_03 used in a PAX demo. This version lacks Caroline's voice lines, has a different display case of awards and the unused vertical Aperture Science Innovators logo on the window in the lobby, and has an extra incorrectly textured sign in the exit elevator. It also starts the player off with PotatOS on their portal gun, but this is not the case in the original PAX demo, and likely occurred by accident as a result of the transition script being updated to add PotatOS handling logic later in development.

Completing the map attempts to send the player to "demo_paint", but this map isn't included in any version of the game.

Watch on YouTube

devtest#

Included in Switch and PS3 versions

Portal's devtest map is back, baby! The first few sections of the map are mostly the same as the original version but with a few changes: textures have been swapped to Portal 2's versions (the autoportal frames continue using their Portal pre-release design though), the bucket prop has been changed to a computer, the doors between rooms have been removed and are now always open, a test for portal placement helpers has been added to the room testing shooting portals through different materials, and the room testing cubes and buttons now uses Portal 2's new entities for those.

Beyond this, the rest of the map has been replaced with new areas testing Portal 2's mechanics, which are connected via the otherwise unused prop_linked_portal_door entity that was used to link chambers during Portal 2's development. The map also no longer attempts to transition to devtest_01 (which is not known to have ever been updated for Portal 2), instead ending in an empty room with the text "End of Devtest".

Notably, the logic_auto entity that sets up the preplaced bounce/speed gel in the respective rooms also attempts to set up a stick gel room which appears to have been removed from the map.

Holding the computer near the first portal and walking through any portal door will cause the game to automatically save and reload. This was presumably done to regression test the save/load system, but it makes the map somewhat annoying to play through. It can be disabled by running the command ent_fire relay_saveload kill while in the map.

Watch on YouTube

fizzler_test#

Included in Switch version

A simple level made to test fizzlers. Includes fizzlers using both the final and pre-release designs, every type of prop_weighted_cube, as well as the frame for an Old Aperture fizzler (but with no actual fizzler in it).

Watch on YouTube

fizzler_effect_test#

Included in PS3 version

A map used to test the fizzler effect. It has triggers for toggling the fizzlers and launching cubes.

Watch on YouTube

ghostanim_wheatley#

Included in Switch version

This page or section needs more videos. There's a whole lotta words or pictures here, but not enough videos. Please fix this. Specifically: Replace the video with one with a less sensationalized thumbnail because it's not actually that clear if wheatley was meant to be a part of this cutscene or not.

This map appears to contain an animation test for the final sequence of the game. The sequence does not begin automatically; it must be triggered using these the console command ent_fire wakeup_relay trigger.

The dialogue here appears to be largely placeholder, but notably features GLaDOS telling Chell she can "stop by for a visit any time" - the complete opposite of the final game where she sings a song about specifically not wanting Chell to come back. The co-op bots attempt to play the animation "taunt_teamlaugh_idle", but it doesn't exist in the final game, so they appear in default poses.

Directly in front of where the player spawns is a copy of Wheatley parented to a "ghost animating" model used to produce specific scripted movements (hence the map name). It's not clear if this means Wheatley was originally present during the outro or if this was just placed here for testing, as he doesn't speak or even get mentioned in the placeholder dialogue that's present. Running the command ent_fire relay_ghostanim trigger will cause this model to play a rotating animation. This is intended to be combined with an animation on the core model called "wheatley_tutorial", but this animation doesn't exist in the final game.

The map contains some additional logic which isn't part of the ending sequence, but can similarly be triggered through the console:

• end_glados_lookat_player_relay will make GLaDOS play an idle animation and attempt to face towards the player, but instead she faces 90 degrees to the right.
• end_bot_sounds_relay will play various robot arm sounds.

Watch on YouTube

outro_map#

Included in Switch version

The map used to create the SFM outro for the co-op campaign. It's a modified version of the final map with the Human Vault actually present behind the vault door, making the Switch port the first time this map became publicly available. Most of the rest of the original map has been cleaned out, with the final chambers having large chunks missing and the earlier rooms removed entirely.

Watch on YouTube

outro_map_tint2#

Included in Switch version

A slightly newer version of the outro cutscene level. Oddly, this doesn't seem to be the version used for the actual SFM video, as the video shows some details which are present in outro_map but not this one. It includes more details near the starting area, such as a fizzler and lasers.

Watch on YouTube

styleguide_office_1980#

Included in Switch version

A styleguide level for the 1980s-styled offices. This map appears to contain a leak and is missing several of the models it is supposed to be showcasing, as well as a reference to a missing "aperture_tilefloor001a" texture.

Watch on YouTube

wakeup_anim_test#

Included in Switch version

A test map for GLaDOS' wakeup animation, as well as her subsequent capturing of Chell and Wheatley. By default, the map is searching for scenes and sounds that no longer exist in Portal 2, and the breaker room sequence does not start.

Watch on YouTube

mp_coop_fling_train#

Included in Switch version

A full coop chamber, complete with multiple tests, as well as dialogue from GLaDOS. Some textures, sounds, and models are missing or are using leftover Portal 1 assets.

There is intended to be a complex panel animation after GLaDOS speaks her intro lines, and the radar is intended to change what it displays as GLaDOS speaks, however the logic for these doesn't work due to being designed for an older version of the choreo scripting system. This can be fixed by adding the following code between lines 345 and 346 in update/scripts/vscripts/choreo/glados_coop.nut:

if ("fireentity" in SceneTable[inst.waitVcdCurrent]) {
    local scene = SceneTable[inst.waitVcdCurrent]
    if ("parm" in scene)
        EntFire(scene.fireentity,scene.fireinput,scene.fireparm,scene.firedelay)
    else
        EntFire(scene.fireentity,scene.fireinput,"",scene.firedelay)
}

There is also intended to be dialogue of GlaDOS talking about the radar, which is missing. In the Spanish localization files there are leftover placeholder lines which correspond to the lines that where supposed to play in the radar room.

Watch on YouTube

Cut Maps#

To do: The vast majority of these maps have now appeared in the leaked prototype builds, so this section will need massive updates.

Portal 2 keeps a list of resources used in each map under the Portal 2\portal2\reslists folder. Resource lists and sound lists exist for every single-player and co-op map in the game, as well as many, many extras that do not correspond to any map in the final game. Unfortunately, these files don't contain any actual map data and can't be played, but it is possible to determine roughly what each map originally contained by analyzing the assets loaded by each one.

The fact that these are here to begin with is strange, as resource lists like this were only ever used to allow running partially installed games back in the days of GCF files - something which Portal 2 never used to begin with. Maybe they were used internally to help with cleaning out unused assets? Whatever the reason, Valve seems to have realized the pointlessness of these by the time of Portal 2's DLCs being released, as none of them include any additional resource lists.

Interestingly, there are way more cut co-op maps than cut single-player maps. The used single-player maps all stick to a "sp_a#_MAP_NAME" convention, with # being the "act number" somewhere between 1 and 5. This must have been a late addition, as the old prototype maps don't follow this convention.

Mentioned in choreo scripts#

Additional maps that don't have resource lists built, but are mentioned in scripts/vscripts/choreo/glados.nut or related include files