GLaDOS' Testing Track (Portal)

GLaDOS' testing track is the testing course featured in ''Portal'', and partially revisited during the course of Portal 2's intro in the single-player campaign. Consisting of 19 test chambers, it was first used by Chell as part of her mandatory testing.

The first chamber of this course is located nearby the Extended Relaxation Center from which Test Subjects are deployed from and put into temporary stasis in the Relaxation Vault. The last chamber of this course however, is connected to the Incinerator Room.

Chapter 1 - Test Chambers 00-03

Test Chamber 00

Being the first test chamber of this Testing Track, Test Chamber 00 contains both the actual test and the Relaxation Vault. Upon the Test Subject's awakening, the timer above the portal starts counting backwards from one minute. At the 40-second mark, GLaDOS makes an announcement that the test is about to start. After a brief warning (which is cut out by a strange malfunction), GLaDOS counts down the last three seconds on the timer. Upon the timer reaching zero, a portal opens leading to Test Chamber 00. Once the test subject exits the relaxation chamber, they will enter the test room, which contains an Aperture Science Heavy Duty Super-Colliding Super Button and Storage Cube dispenser. This test is meant to teach the test subjects the relationship between Super Buttons and Weighted Storage cubes. It is also the only test chamber to not involve portals.

In Portal 2, the same chamber is revisited when Wheatley gets Chell back to the testing area. Chell returns to her relaxation vault, which is in an extremely dilapidated shape from years (possibly decades) of neglect, and the Announcer says very similar things to what GLaDOS said in Portal.

Test Chamber 01

The next test chamber is another test meant to teach test subjects how Super Buttons and Storage Cubes work, but this time the test is much more advanced. Instead of the Storage cube and Button being right next to each other like in Test Chamber 00, the two are separated by glass walls. This time, the test subject has to wait for automated portals to shoot into the 3 walled off areas, eventually getting the Storage Cube onto the button and moving on to the next Test Chamber.

When Chell returns to this testing track in a ruined state in Portal 2, there seems to have been some changes made while she was in stasis. Instead of the portals being made automatically, the test subject now decides when and where the portals are created through use of buttons. This was to prevent the sudden slowdown in gameplay while also creating a more instructive environment, avoiding a "Portal Carousel" effect, as stated by Alex Vlachos.

Test Chamber 02

Test Chamber 02 is the first real test, in that it is the first test in this testing track that the test subject solves by using the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device. However, the ASHPD the test subject receives is incomplete, as it is only able to shoot blue portals. The test involves the test subject first navigating through automated portals to obtain the ASHPD. Once it is obtained, the test subject must use it to get out of the pit that contained it.

In Portal 2, Chell encounters Wheatley here. One of the walls within the chamber has collapsed, allowing her to walk to the pedestal that formerly held the portal device, which Wheatley claimed had fallen off. Upon approaching the pedestal, the floor collapses and drops Chell into a heavily decayed and partially flooded test chamber, where the portal device can be found, surrounded by murals drawn by Doug Rattmann.

Test Chamber 03

This Test Chamber involves the Test Subject creating portals to get across two large gaps. This was meant to assure the player does not become adverted to using either color portal freely simply due to an early preference. It is also meant to introduce test subjects to the concept of hopping through portals, and how they connect like a two-way tunnel.

In Portal 2, this chamber is accessed from an observation room near the entrance instead of the elevator. The room itself has also changed somewhat, being smaller and having fewer turns to pass.

Chapter 2 - Test Chambers 04-07

Test Chamber 04

Test Chamber 04 is another Cube and Button test. Curiously, this test chamber is almost exactly the same as Test Chamber 00, the only difference between the two being the fact that this test chamber involves the use of portals to get the Weighted Storage Cube onto the button, as it is in a pit. As Chell leaves for the next chamber, GLaDOS says she will not monitor the next test.

In Portal 2 this test chamber was merged with Test Chamber 05, with the exit of one connecting to the entrance of the other.

Test Chamber 05

Portal

Yet another Cube and Button test, this time the test subject must retrieve two Weighted Storage Cubes, one on a high platform and one in a pit, and put them on two separate buttons. Upon leaving the chamber, the test subject shoots a portal and goes through, landing on a glass panel and going down a hallway to the elevator. During this time, GLaDOS admits to having lied about not monitoring the chamber, and that she will no longer "enhance the truth."

In Portal 2, the original Test Chamber 05 has been merged with Test Chamber 04. The chamber itself is mostly unchanged. However, the glass panel Chell lands before exiting the elevator collapses under her weight, and the ceiling of the hall to the elevator has collapsed, forcing Chell to pass through a maintenance area, where a new Ratman den can be accessed.

It is possible to shoot a portal through the door and put a cube into the area either by "throwing" it through the door or the orange portal. If Chell succeeds in doing so, one of two things will happen: In Portal, GLaDOS scolds Chell for her misbehavior before opening the door for her. In Portal 2, the cubes will disintegrate as if passing through an Emancipation Grill. The Announcer then congratulates Chell for trapping herself, and then opens the door.

Portal 2

As the original chamber was merged with chamber 04, a new test chamber has taken it's place in Portal 2. This chamber is also a Cube and Button test, and also introduces the player to hazardous goo. The player must first use a portal to get a Cube, which is put on a button to create stairs to an elevated platform. From here, the player must use a switch to get another cube, while also using a separate switch to deploy a panel, which prevents to second cube from being flung into the goo. This cube must then be put on a second button to open the door to the exit.

Curiously, in the Perpetual Testing Initiative trailer, one of the designed chambers was a remake of this test chamber.

Test Chamber 06

This test is the first in this Testing Track to involve Aperture Science High Energy Pellets. The test subject must get the High Energy Pellet into a receptacle in order to solve this test. In Portal 2, the original Test Chamber 06 is found here as Test Chamber 01 of the new Testing Track. But this time, the Aperture Science High Energy Pellet has been replaced by a more efficient Thermal Discouragement Beam.

In Portal 2, another Test Chamber 06 is found between 05 and 07. The new Test Chamber is comparable to Portal's Test Chamber 10, consisting of two separate rooms, both requiring cubes and flinging to complete.

Test Chamber 07

Like Test Chamber 06, this test chamber also involves the Aperture Science High Energy Pellet. It is solved exactly like the previous test, but this time the test subject has to find a way to get onto a lift which will take them to the chamberlock.

In Portal 2, Chell is again reunited with Wheatley here. All the testing elements in the chamber itself are damaged and a wall has collapsed, creating an opening into another room. Wheatley instructs Chell to place a portal in the room behind him so that there is room for her to catch him when he disengages from his management rail.

Chapter 3 - Test Chambers 08 & 09

Test Chamber 08

Test Chamber 08 is another High Energy Pellet test. This test is solved the same as the previous two, with an added twist of bouncing the High Energy Pellet off of the wall. This test chamber is the first to have the consequence of death upon failure, as the floor is filled with acid. However, it is later stated by GlaDOS that "any appearance of danger is merely a device to enhance your experience."

In Portal 2, a different chamber labeled as Test Chamber 08 is briefly visited by Chell, after Wheatley instructs her to portal into the room from Chamber 07. it is from this chamber that Wheatley opens a "secret panel" into the maintenance areas. As they travel on a catwalk, an Oracle Turret is seen trapped in a pipe. The turret calls out for help, but Wheatley tells Chell to keep walking. They then find a hallway which eventually leads to GLaDOS' ruined chamber.

Test Chamber 09

Through the Test Shaft

Test Chamber 09 is a Cube and Button test, but is also used to observe a test subject's performance in an environment of "extreme pessimism." Upon entering the chamber, the test subject will be falsely informed that the test is impossible. Other pessimistic comments are also given to the test subject throughout the test. To solve it, the subject must first get the Storage Cube onto the high platform, pass through the Material Emancipation Grill, and fire a portal on the wall to get the cube from the other side onto the button.

Through the Maintenence Areas

This Test Chamber can be viewed from an observation room, and is revisited later in Portal during Chell's escape. This time, Chell falls in through the Vital Apparatus Vent, breaking off the cover. Because of this, the chamber lacks the Storage Cube, but because the player now has the Dual Portal device, the chamber is easily solved: Chell simply has to stand on the button, shoot a portal through the door, and walk through. The elevator to the next chamber is gone, allowing Chell to return to the maintenance areas.

Because Wheatley and Chell have escaped through the previous chamber, this Test Chamber, along with all the chambers appearing after it (save for Test Chamber 19), does not appear in Portal 2.

Chapter 4 - Test Chambers 10-12

Test Chamber 10

This test is meant to introduce the test subject the concept of using portals to manipulate forward momentum. This test is separated into multiple sections. The first section is a small room in which the test subject must use momentum to get onto the staircase. The second part is solved exactly the same way. The third, and final, section has the subject creating portals on a high surface and jumping into a pit with another portal to get onto a platform. this is done multiple times, with the wall getting closer each time, allowing the test subject to fly father.

Test Chamber 11

Test Chamber 11 is the final test to use automatically created portals, as this is the test where the test subject receives the fully-operational ASHPD. Upon entering, the subject will be in a small room which they have to portal out of, allowing them to complete the test. Just as in Test Chamber 02, there is a rotating pedestal in the middle of the chamber carrying a portal device; the pedestal rotates counter-clockwise, shooting an orange portal every 90 degrees (except for one wall which has an Energy Pellet catcher). Towards the end of the chamber, the test subject will be able to access the second half of the ASHPD, combining the two separate weapons into one, and exit the test chamber.

Test Chamber 12

Like Test Chamber 10, this chamber's puzzles revolve around the theme of forward momentum. Unlike Test Chamber 10, there are no preset portals at the beginning. However, with the new ASHPD, the subject can apply a pair of portals to locations similar to the locations they applied them to in Test Chamber 10. This test chamber also contains a Storage Cube on a high platform that must be placed on a button on a lower platform.

Chapter 5 - Test Chamber 13

Test Chamber 13

The first real challenge. Combines buttons, boxes, energy balls, and moving platforms.

This chamber was where, as noted in the Dev. commentary, the first chamber Valve tried to integrate the Challenge Mode.

The Challenge Mode version of this test chamber has only one Storage Cube instead of two, and the room with two buttons is now flooded with acid.

Chapter 6 - Test Chamber 14

Test Chamber 14

Another challenge. First, the test subject must reach a cube on a high ledge. The cube is placed on a button in the main chamber, which opens a door to another room. Here, there are three platforms in a flooded pit, two of which move in and out of the acid. The subject must get across the pit to reach a High Energy Pellet launcher. The pellet is then sent to a Pellet catcher near the ledge where the cube was retrieved. The catcher then activates a Victory Lift to the chamberlock.

In the advanced version, the floor of the main chamber is portal-proof, and the rising platforms are gone.

During Chell's escape, it is possible to enter the observation room overlooking the chamber's moving platforms.

Chapter 7 - Test Chamber 15

Test Chamber 15

A quick but also very difficult test. It involves the use of flinging, Energy Pellets, and Emancipation Grids that are used outside of just leaving test chambers and being used in tests. Often frustrates players because they are unaware of the grid's ability to close portals. This is the first place where GLaDOS mentions the test subject's reward upon completion of the test: cake.

Chapter 8 - Test Chamber 16

Test Chamber 16

This test chamber is the first to introduce Aperture Science Sentry Turrets, said by GLaDOS to be a replacement for a normal Test Chamber.

The player finds the first Ratman den, hinting at the reality of the tests, as well as the fact there there are other people still trapped in the building.

In the advanced version, all of the turrets are locked in cages, making it impossible to pick them up or push them over.

Chapter 9 - Test Chamber 17

Test Chamber 17

Notable because of the appearance of another character: the companion cube. The subject must use it as a stepstool to climb a steep staircase, and to deflect High Energy Pellets. Throughout the test, GLaDOS makes several statements that the cube is an inanimate, non-sentient object (in order to incorporate emotional attachment through reverse psychology).

At the end of the chamber, Chell is forced to "euthanize," or more bluntly, incinerate the Companion Cube.

In the advanced version, the companion cube is replaced with a sphere. There are also glass walls that make it more difficult to direct energy pellets. There is also an entirely new area in the test chamber which involves flinging.

Chapter 10 - Test Chamber 18

Test Chamber 18

This is often considered the hardest chamber. The biggest element is flinging. Turrets reappear here, which must be eliminated with energy pellets. At the end, GLaDOS says that "the next test requires exposure to uninsulated electrical parts, that may be dangerous under certain conditions," which comes into importance later.

This is the last test with an advanced version. In it, the entire ceiling is portal-proof, and the energy pellet launcher is gone.

Chapter 11a - Test Chamber 19

Test Chamber 19

This is the final test in the testing track. The test is made of an Aperture Science High Energy Pellet puzzle, and then an Unstationary Scaffold ride over a large pit of goo. This ride is full of fast paced puzzles such as button pressing, energy pellet dodging, and portals to bypass walls. The end is then met with the Incinerator Room which was meant to be where they were supposed to receive their promised cake.

In Portal 2, Chell revisits this chamber after GLaDOS drops her into the incinerator room. The dual Portal Device is found in what was formerly the chamber's fire pit, which connects directly to the incinerator room. Chell uses the Portal Device to get out of the pit and into the, now empty, river of goo. She eventaully makes it back to the chamber's entrance and takes the elevator to Test Chamber 01 of GLaDOS' new testing track.

Chapter 11b - Escape

Escape

After Test Chamber 19, Chell is "sent to receive her cake," but is plunged into a furnace (to "be baked," as GLaDOS had accidentally admitted numerous previous times, with glitches that resemble Freudian slips). She manages to escape into a maintenance area and GLaDOS begins to show her agitation, claiming first that it was the real final test, and then that it was just a joke. She tells Chell that there will be a party held in her honor and urges her to "assume the party escort submission position" on the floor. Chell flees into the facility's numerous maintenance areas as GLaDOS becomes increasingly agitated. Roughly the second half of the game continues behind the walls of previous stages and within the offices of Aperture Labs as Chell follows eerie notes written on the walls and uses the ASHPD to work her way through the facility.

At first, GLaDOS attempts to calmly dissuade Chell from straying from the test area. But as Chell reaches a series of engine rooms, she falsely claims that the party has started without her. She continues negotiating with Chell, who continues despite the pleading. GLaDOS finally begins deploying Turrets and a Rocket Sentry to hinder Chell's progress.

Chapter 11c - Boss Fight

Boss Fight

Finally, Chell confronts GLaDOS, a large machine hanging in a cylindrical shaft. (Near the entrance to the room is a desk with a red phone. The developers have stated that there was someone stationed at the red phone in case GLaDOS showed signs of independent thought; apparently, they weren't able to make the call, as the wires were cut.)[1] As Chell begins to destroy critical components of the GLaDOS also known as Personality Cores, GLaDOS' personality degenerates. During this confrontation, GLaDOS makes several comments that something has gone wrong in the outside world and that she is the only thing keeping the facility from "them," possibly the Combine, or something else entirely. After Chell destroys the last Core, some form of large portal opens above them, tearing apart GLaDOS and sucking in Chell. This occurs because GLaDOS cannot function without her cores.

Chapter 12 - Ending

Credits

Chell wakes up at the Enrichment Center's gate, among the wreckage of GLaDOS, as debris rains down from the sky. An update designed to build hype for Portal 2 retconned the ending, adding the Party Escort Bot thanking Chell for assuming the party escort submission position as it drags her back inside the facility.

The final cutscene twists and turns the camera through various areas of the Enrichment Center eventually stopping in a dark room in which sits the promised cake surrounded by various metallic glowing orange spheres similar to those that were installed in GLaDOS. Some of the eyes activate and a robotic arm puts the candle out. The credits roll as GLaDOS gives a concluding report about Chell in the form of the song "Still Alive." It reveals that GLaDOS enjoys the companionship of the test subjects and that she felt a particular fondness for Chell. The song seems to hint that GLaDOS is, indeed, still alive.

When the credits and song end, the player is greeted with a new background: a cake with a lit candle on a desk next to a radio on a table as well as the same red phone (which has its buttons shaped like the Aperture logo). If the background is left alone for long enough, it eventually pans to show the Companion Cube on the floor to the right side of the desk.

Trivia

• Test Chambers 00, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 19 and the Relaxation Vault make an appearance in Portal 2, however, Test Chamber 06 is modified, Test Chambers 02 and 07 aren't technically "solved" and Test Chamber 19 is navigated backward.