Frequently Asked Questions

When will the game be released?

For the moment, we don't have any definitive release date.
When the choice will be made, it will be relayed on our website and in this FAQ.
When we published our first news, we said "somewhere around the end of september or the beginning of october". Now it's rather official, we plan to release the whole thing on the first birthday of the Orange Box. October 10th.

The game is now released and is in it's final version.
Head up to the download page.

What do i need to be able to play Portal: Prelude?

In order to play Portal: Prelude you need to have Steam installed on your system, of course. You also need to be the owner of Portal and probably nothing else. Half-Life 2, Counter-Strike Source, Day of Defeat Source or the Source SDK Base (which can be downloaded for free in the tools tab of Steam) may be of some use, but we don't think so. In fact, I'm not really sure you need anything else than Portal, so I advise you to try and see, because there's no way I'm going to uninstall every Source game of my computer until it doesn't work anymore. Steam will notify you if something goes wrong... and if something goes wrong, start by installing the Source SDK Base.

How do I install this game?

Before you install, please make sure you have the Steam Client installed along with Portal and probably either Half-Life 2, Counter-Strike Source, Day of Defeat Source or the Source SDK Base (see above). Also make sure they have been launched at least once through Steam. All you need to do is to install Portal: Prelude to your "SourceMods" directory, inside of the "SteamApps" directory of Steam. Be sure to restart Steam after the installation. This will allow Steam to update your game list and include Portal: Prelude in it.

How do I uninstall this game?

All the game files are located in the "...\Steam\SteamApps\SourceMods\portal prelude" folder. To uninstall the 1.0.0 version of the game (pre-november version), simply delete the "portal prelude" folder. There is also an icon installed on your desktop (if you asked for it) and the ico file is located in ...\Steam\steam\games. If you installed the 1.1.0 version, there's an uninstaller located in the same SourceMods folder and probably in the list of installed programs in the configuration panel.

Portal: Prelude doesn't appear in my Steam games list.

There's several reasons why Portal: Prelude could decide not to show up in your Steam games list. First, you MUST own Portal to be able to play this mod, this is not a stand-alone game. Second, you must own a legit Portal copy. Third, you must link your Portal game to your Steam account. I believe there's some sort of non-Steam retail versions of Portal running around. The mod won't work with these versions until you activate your Portal on a Steam account. Fourth, the mod must be installed in the "...\Steam\SteamApps\SourceMods\portal prelude" folder. And fifth, you must completely restart Steam in order to have the mod show up.

What are the languages of the game?

There's a lot of people asking us if the voices will be in english or french, and if the subtitles will be too. So here's a clear answer :
— Voices (Story) : English only
— Voices (Developer commentaries) : French only
— Subtitles (Story) : Chinese, Czech, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish
— Subtitles (Developer commentaries) : Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Russian, Spanish

We can't guarantee the quality of subtitles other than English and French (because we don't speak their languages), but at least they provided their help, and we're confident.

I made some additionnal content for the game, can you do something with it?

First, before you make any additionnal content for the game and would like us to release it, tell us. We can't garantee we'll release your work along with the game if you simply ask for it. We have strict quality standards and we are very strict with what we do with the game too. If you made something that has a great quality and a great interest, however, tell us, and we'll see how we can help.

Will the game be released on XBox 360 or PlayStation 3?

We don't know. We'd love to be released on XBox 360 and/or PlayStation 3, but we can't do anything to port it to console, because it's up to Valve and Microsoft/Sony to take that kind of decision. If they ever decide to do it, it will mostly be because a lot of people asked them to do so.

Is there something to pay to play Portal: Prelude?

No, of course. Portal: Prelude is a totally free modification for the game Portal.
In order to play the game, you only need to meet the requirements here and here...

What type of computer do I need to run the game?

Any PC that can run Portal should be able to run Portal: Prelude. However, to play the game with all visual effects on, the computer would have to be equipped with a high standard graphics card as Portal: Prelude is a bit more greedy than the original Portal (mostly in the last levels).

Recommended configuration :
— Processor: Intel Pentium 4 3000 MHz
— Display Card: DirectX 9 compatible graphics card
— Memory: 1024MB
— Free Disk Space: 1.5 GB
— Operating System: Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/Vista

Does Portal: Prelude feature HDR lightning, Bloom or other effects?

Yes, both Bloom and HDR comes with the installer of the game.
However, you are free to disable it if you dislike it or if your computer can't take it.

Am I able to make user maps for Portal: Prelude?

Yes of course you can make user maps.
but I'd rather advise you to make user maps for the original Portal as this is exactly the same underlying system.

What is the music playing in the Portal: Prelude trailer?

The music is called Session, and is performed by Linkin Park.
You can find and buy it on their website : www.linkinpark.com.