Lobster's Limbo @psychodelia - Tumblr Blog

After a two year hiatus, I've returned. With a new lobster, even. Bigger. Biblically accurate (somewhat). Kind of fat... but that's fine.

I'm probably not going to be super, super active, but I will post every once in a while. Might be art, might be something else. I do level design using Source in my free time, so I may post some of those. Might even upload one or two.

Most of it is in Portal 2. I've done a bit in Left 4 Dead and Half-Life 2, though.

Anyway, my interests have changed a bit, so I'll be posting different stuff now. Probably lots of Chainsaw Man, maybe some other stuff. Possibly even a 3d model or two (if I can ever get the blasted things to work correctly.)

That's all for now. I'll see you soon.

#small update

#tf2 #team fortress 2 #tf2 demo #tf2 heavy #tf2 medic #tf2 scout #tf2 spy

A non-raytraced RTX cube.... A Portal 2 (P2) Mod in the Weighted Storage Cube category, submitted by PsychoDelia

Version 0.5 of my RTX Cube mod for Portal 2 is live! It took me quite a while to get around to this again, and I ended up completely rebuilding the mod from the ground up. Additions include adding back the glass from the original asset, as well as implementing emissive and reflectivity to the model. It's not quite finished just yet, but I'd call it at a halfway point at the moment

#portal 2 #portal #my mods #portal mods

A high-res version of the workshop thumbnail used for my most recent Portal 2 map Crossroads, rendered using Blender. The lighting isn't quite the same as the ingame version, but I think it turned out well.

#portal #portal 2

New shrimpleton level. Took a while to put together (because I was lazy), but I think it holds up well enough. Dev cycle down below.

First, the draft. This one went through a few iterations in the beginning, although I can't recall much (which I'd argue is understandable, these screenshots were dated Sept. 30th, 2025).

I remember it going through some concepts including a long monorail segment, and another version where a lot of light bridge climbing was involved. It got pretty confusing, so I cut down a lot, which was probably for the best.

I used some console commands to take my screenshots this time around. It's not exactly puzzle related, but I think it helps for the direct comparison aspect.

Something I like about the Reconstructing theme is the mixmash between old and new. It's fun to stick some broken stuff in an otherwise tidy chamber, as it breaks up the pristine uniformity of the chambers. (These screenshots didn't line up for some reason...)

This theme also poses a bit of difficulty, as some clutter can get in the way of the puzzle or cause unexpected solutions. Sometimes these are fine, but other times they're just plain shortsighted on my part. Something very obvious can be missed when you're just one person playing the level the way you planned it every time. I should probably grab some actual playtesters at some point...

#portal #portal 2 #level design #my maps

As part of practicing 3D work and some dissatisfaction with what I found available, I recreated Half-Life's Black Mesa screensaver by hand. Everything was made by me, from the model to the animating to lighting and so forth. If any of you like it and want to use it, I've uploaded it to Wallpaper Engine's Steam Workshop.

#half life #half life 2 #3d art

New puzzle is finally up! I know it's been a while, but I haven't throw this hobby in the trash just yet. Development stuff underneath.

As per usual, development began in the PTI Editor within Portal 2. I was a bit bankrupt in the idea department at the time, so the puzzles I came up were fairly simple. One thing I knew going into this particular project is that I wanted a multi-chamber level. (These screenshots are two months old... I worked on this very slowly...)

During development of levels, I tend to take the development screenshots from slightly different perspectives. This isn't on purpose, I just can't seem to hit the same angle twice. In the future, I'm going to try to make use of Source's console to use pos position for better development screenshots.

In the middle of making this level, I moved to Hammer++. It was a major upgrade, and its features such as the physics tool made designing a slightly more enjoyable experience. You should consider making use of it if Hammer feels like one against your forehead.

This level's special video is a wall-building sequence from the map's inter-chamber transition area. In the Reconstructing theme, the facility is in a state of repair as tiles pull themselves into place from the walls, floors and ceilings. It's fun to script these and watch the rooms come to life a little. I ended up slightly tweaking this in the final version with a couple different animations.

In the initial draft, this level was meant to have 3 rooms. Unfortunately, this third one never quite came together in a way I liked. Perhaps in the future, I'll come back to it with a pair of fresh eyes and some better ideas.

#portal #portal 2 #level design #my maps

A render of a new puzzle I'll be uploading soon. I'm experimenting with a new method of creating thumbnails by porting them over to 3D software. This was also my first attempt at colour correction as part of compositing

#portal #portal 2

pocoakora

Lol I forgot I made this

#tf2

psychodelia

Finally finished and ready to play! I spent a lot of time (like, a lot a lot, at least 30 hours) on this one, so I really hope you'll give it a try. The puzzles themselves are quite simple, so this level's strongest link is definitely in environment.

I didn't take many screenshots in the early stages of the design. I can however present you with a couple images of the original puzzle design that I made several years ago (with a couple recent edits).

Initially, the second puzzle had laser elements, but I decided I wanted to keep it close to the Old Aperture theme. Thus, I swapped the laser for an angled panel targeting an elevated platform, which makes more use of the propulsion gel. It worked in my favour on a practical level as well, because a puzzle can get very confusing the more elements are integrated into it.

Some screenshots of the unaltered version. (Kind of confusing, huh? Honestly, I'm not 100% sure how it was meant to be solved now...)

I'm thinking for my next map, I'll try an original theme that I don't believe has been done before

psychodelia

This level's a year old now. I'm surprised time went by that quickly. I'm really happy by how well received it was! I'm still working on some stuff, hopefully I can get something new pushed out soon (it's only been half a year...)