Changes: Aperture Science Weighted Pivot Cube

Revision as of 00:35, 22 August 2014

This article is within the scope of the Portal Project, a collaborative effort to improve articles related to Portal and Portal 2. See the project page for more details about the article status.

This article has yet to be cleaned up to a higher standard of quality.

You can help by correcting spelling and grammar, removing factual errors, rewriting sections to ensure they are clear and concise, and moving some elements when appropriate. Visit our Cleanup Project for more details and, please, notify the administrators before removing this template.

This article contains spoilers. Read at your own risk!

"I just finished building them before you had your, well, episode."

―GLaDOS

The Aperture Science Weighted Pivot Cube, referred to as Discouragement Redirection Cube by GLaDOS, is a testing element used in the Aperture Science Enrichment Center.

Introduced in Portal 2, the Redirection Cube is a Weighted Storage Cube variant for redirecting Thermal Discouragement Beams.

Overview

The purpose of the Redirection Cube is solely to redirect a Thermal Discouragement Beam to achieve a set task.^[1]
It can also be placed upon a Super Button, like a Weighted Storage Cube, and can be propelled by Excursion Funnels.
Redirection Cubes can be placed on Cube Buttons, but this never occurs in the game.
One side of the Redirection Cube has a second, smaller lens (presumably to help focus the beam) in front of the normal lens, with the other five sides featuring only one lens.
When a Thermal Discouragement Beam makes contact with the cube, it is redirected through the marked side. When the cube is picked up, this "output" side is turned forward if possible, to better assist aiming redirected beams.
According to GLaDOS, the Redirection Cubes were to be tested for the first time shortly before Chell made her first escape.
In the Cooperative Testing Initiative, guiding a Thermal Discouragement Beam into a receptacle will automatically "snap" to the center of it if it's close enough, making the process slightly easier. This feature doesn't exist in Singleplayer.
Redirection Cubes do not have a alternative texture for when they are on a button. This is because the cube has no blue light-up areas in the first place.

Behind the scenes

The Redirection Cube was first introduced during the Portal ARG, in one of the ASCII art images given by the BBS, that later appeared to be a diagram depicting its use with a Thermal Discouragement Beam, as revealed by the April, 2010 issue of Game Informer.^[1] During then, it was named as a Weighted Pivot Cube.

An updated and moving diagram was revealed during E3 2010.^[2]

Gallery

List of appearances

Portal ARG (First appearance)
ApertureScience.com (Non-canonical appearance)
PotatoFoolsDay ARG
Portal 2
The Final Hours of Portal 2

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Game Informer, April 2010 issue
↑ Thermal Discouragement Beam demonstration on Combine OverWiki's YouTube channel

External links

Thermal Discouragement Beam demonstration video on YouTube

Technology
Aperture Science	1500 Megawatt Heavy Duty Super-Colliding Super Button • Advanced Knee Replacement • Aerial Faith Plate • Announcement System • ATLAS and P-body • Borealis • Core Input Receptacle • Crusher • Edgeless Safety Cube Receptacle • Edgeless Safety Cube • Emergency Intelligence Incinerator • Excursion Funnel • Frankenturret • Futbol (cut) • GLaDOS • Hard Light Bridge • High Energy Pellet • Jerry • Laser Field • Long Fall Boot • Material Emancipation Grill • Military Android • Mobility Gels: Conversion Gel / Propulsion Gel / Repulsion Gel • Multitasking Arm • Nanobot • Panel • Party Escort Bot • Personality Construct • Pipe Network • Pneumatic Diversity Vent • Cube Button • Radio • Reassembly Machine • Relaxation Vault • Robot Enrichment • Robot Worker • Scaling Cube • Security Camera • Shredder • Speaker System • Stasis Chamber • Sticking Gel (cut) • Switch • Teleportation • Thermal Discouragement Beam • Unstationary Scaffold • Victory Lift • Vital Apparatus Vent • Weighted Pivot Cube • Weighted Storage Cube • Wheatley
Black Mesa	Anti-Mass Spectrometer • Battery • Black Mesa Announcement System • Charger • Cleansuit • Delivery cart • Emergency flare (cut) • HEV Suit • Holographic Assistant • Long Jump Module • Medkit • The Mesa Times • MTM 8 • Oxygen Bottles (cut) • Powerup Bottles (cut) • Retinal scanner • Satellite Delivery Rocket • Security Card (cut) • Armor Vest and Helmet • Teleportation • Vehicles • Weapon Box • Weapons
Black Ops	Cloaking device • Weapons
Combine	Battery • Breencast • Charger • Citadel Core • Citadel • Barricade • Binoculars • Binoculars (cut) • Bunker • Camera • Cell • Combine Assassin tank (cut) • Combine Big Momma Pod (cut) • Confiscation Field • Dark Energy • Depot • Dispenser • Door lock • Door Tower (cut) • Dr. Breen's Private Reserve • Elevator • Emergency flare • Emitter • Energy Ball • Field Bridge • Force Field • Heavy Door • Heel Springs (cut) • Interface • Light • Medkit • Memory Replacement • Monitor • Overwatch Voice • Power Generator • Restrictor • Security Door • Smart Barrier • Supply Crate • Suppression Field • Teleportation • Television • The Terminal • Vehicles • Watchtower • Weapons • Vorti-Cell (cut)
Resistance	Borealis (cut) • Car battery • Communication • Antlion Detector • Dog • EMP Tool • Fire Extinguisher (cut) • Generator trailer • Drawbridge • Retinal scanner • Supply Crate • Teleportation • Television • Transponder • Vehicles • Weapons • White Forest rocket
Xen	Healing Shower • Thumper
HECU	Powered Combat Vest • Radio • Tactical Map • Welding Torch
Other	Garden Gnome

Aperture Science
Personnel	Caroline • Chell • Desk Employee • Henry • Cave Johnson • Doug Rattmann • Greg • Mel (cut) • Test Subject • Test Subject 042 • Test Subject 234 • Minor Aperture Science employees
Technology	1500 Megawatt Heavy Duty Super-Colliding Super Button • Advanced Knee Replacement • Aerial Faith Plate • Announcement System • Borealis • Core Input Receptacle • Crusher • Edgeless Safety Cube • Edgeless Safety Cube Receptacle • Emergency Intelligence Incinerator • Excursion Funnel • Futbol (cut) • Handheld Portal Device • Hard Light Bridge • High Energy Pellet • Laser Field • Long Fall Boot • Material Emancipation Grill • Mobility Gels: Conversion Gel / Propulsion Gel / Repulsion Gel / Sticking Gel (cut) • Multitasking Arm • Pipe Network • Pneumatic Diversity Vent • Panel • Cube Button • Radio • Reassembly Machine • Relaxation Vault • Security Camera • Scaling Cube • Shredder • Speaker System • Stasis Chamber • Switch • Teleportation • Thermal Discouragement Beam • Unstationary Scaffold • Victory Lift • Vital Apparatus Vent • Weighted Pivot Cube • Weighted Storage Cube
Robots	Robot Worker • ATLAS and P-body • GLaDOS • Grady • Jerry • Military Android • Nanobot • Party Escort Bot • Personality Construct • Robot Enrichment • Wheatley
Weapons	Bomb • Hover Turret (cut)
Sentry Turrets	Animal King • Frankenturret • Defective Turret • Oracle Turret • Rocket Sentry • Sentry Turret • Turret Opera
Locations	Borealis • Employee Daycare Center • Enrichment Center • Enrichment Shafts: Co-op Test Shaft / Test Shaft 09 • Extended Relaxation Annex • Extended Relaxation Center • Central AI Chamber • Hub • Incinerator Room • Neurotoxin Generator • Testing Tracks: GLaDOS' Testing Track (Portal) / GLaDOS' Testing Track (Portal 2) / Wheatley's Testing Track / Cooperative Testing Courses • Turret Manufacturing
Other	Aperture Science Collaborative Disposition Test • ApertureScience.com • Cake • Enrichment Center Test Subject Application Process • GLaDOS' screen images • Hoopie • Karla the Complainer • Mantis Man

[GI-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Game Informer, April 2010 issue

[Thermal_E3-2] Thermal Discouragement Beam demonstration on Combine OverWiki's YouTube channel

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 34: / Line 34: @@
 * According to [[GLaDOS]], the Redirection Cubes were to be tested for the first time shortly before [[Chell]] made her first escape.
 * In the Cooperative Testing Initiative, guiding a Thermal Discouragement Beam into a receptacle will automatically "snap" to the center of it if it's close enough, making the process slightly easier. This feature doesn't exist in Singleplayer.
+* Redirection Cubes do not have a alternative texture for when they are on a button. This is because the cube has no blue light-up areas in the first place.
 == Behind the scenes ==
-* The Redirection Cube was first introduced during the [[Portal ARG|''Portal'' ARG]], in one of the ASCII art images given by the BBS, that later appeared to be a diagram depicting its use with a Thermal Discouragement Beam, as revealed by the April, 2010 issue of Game Informer.<ref name="GI"/> During then, it was named as a Weighted Pivot Cube.
+* The Redirection Cube was first introduced during the [[Portal ARG|''Portal'' ARG]], in one of the ASCII art images given by the BBS, that later appeared to be a diagram depicting its use with a Thermal Discouragement Beam, as revealed by the April, 2010 issue of Game Informer.<ref name="GI" /> During then, it was named as a Weighted Pivot Cube.
 * An updated and moving diagram was revealed during E3 2010.<ref name="Thermal E3">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl-RN-gGr2o&hd=1 Thermal Discouragement Beam demonstration] on Combine OverWiki's YouTube channel</ref>
 == Gallery ==
-<gallery widths=140 position=center captionalign=center hideaddbutton=true><!--- DO NOT ALTER THESE CODES --->
+<gallery widths="140" position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true"><!--- DO NOT ALTER THESE CODES --->
 File:Thermal discouragement beam poster.jpg|The original Thermal Discouragement Beam diagram, showing a burning Sentry Gun.
 File:06928073.711.png|ASCII art version.