Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device

"Thanks to the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, the impossible is easy."

- GLaDOS[src]

The Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, often simply referred to as the Portal Gun, or its acronym, "ASHPD", is an experimental tool used to create two portals through which objects can pass. The central piece of the "Portal project", Tier 3 of the three-tier program created by Aperture Science's CEO Cave Johnson on his deathbed in 1976, it is used within the Enrichment Center's Test Chambers, as the Test Subjects' primary tool to complete each chamber.

Overview



 * The ASHPD has the ability to "manufacture two linked portals at once". The blue portal is fired by hitting the primary fire key, while the orange one is fired by hitting the secondary fire key. When entering a blue portal, one will always come out an orange portal and vice versa.


 * During Portal, Chell first acquires the ASHPD in Test Chamber 02; it fires only blue portals. It is later upgraded in Test Chamber 11 to fire the orange portals as well (while another model is found there, it actually consists of an upgrade of the current model, as said by GLaDOS). When each of the two versions of the gun are found, they are seen placed on a pedestal in the middle of a Test Chamber. The pedestal is constantly turning on itself, and the ASHPD shoots a portal each time it faces one of the four walls of the room it is in. Chell has to use the non-player controlled gun to complete the Test Chambers and once done acquires the initial ASHPD and later its upgrade. Currently it is not known how the two single ASHPDs are combined into one to result in a "modified" single gun.


 * In Test Chamber 02, GLaDOS states that while portals have proven to be completely safe, the ASHPD has not. She then asks not to touch the operational end of the device, not to look directly at its operational end, and not to submerge it in liquid, even partially. She also insists on the fact that under no circumstances the device should be removed from the testing area. After the ASHPD is upgraded in Test Chamber 11, GLaDOS states, as an "amusing fact", that the device is "now more valuable than the organs and combined incomes of everyone in [subject hometown here]". The terms appearing in brackets at the end of the sentence suggest it is said each time a Test Subject picks up the upgraded ASHPD, emphasizing on its great value.


 * Like the Gravity Gun, the ASHPD appears to featured a zero-point energy field, allowing Chell to pick up objects. However one has to stand close to the object to do so, and it cannot be thrown, suggesting the ASHPD has a weaker field. They can be carried through a portal, a process often required during tests. Unlike the Gravity gun however, High Energy Pellets, the Aperture Science equivalent of the Combine Energy Ball, cannot be picked up, either due to their instability or a weaker energy field.


 * The ASHPD is held with a hand behind the weapon, holding the handle / trigger. The other hand is placed under the cannon.


 * A sprite in the small hole on the top of the ASHPD and a sprite in its glass tube have the color of the last shot portal.


 * As with most of the features of the Enrichment Center, the ASHPD is slightly worn-out.


 * The ASHPD is slated to appear in Portal 2. Three models will apparently be featured; one used by Chell, the two others by the two yet unnamed robots. It also appears that the ASHPD will have new firing sounds, as well as new sounds when something goes through a portal. The portals are also expected to give off light in their surroundings.

Tactics



 * The ASHPD cannot create portals on every surface. While it can on any concrete surface, it will not work on certain tiled floors, metal, any kind of prop, doors or windows. However it works on security cameras, detaching them and making them fall on the ground. When shooting a portal on an unauthorized surface, the weapon's ray will bounce off and be turned into blue or orange particles that shortly disappear. This constraint was added to make puzzles deeper than merely teleporting to the exit.


 * The oval-shaped crosshair/reticle of the ASHPD indicates useful information pertaining the portals. It first starts with a completely blue crosshair, as the first acquired ASHPD can only shoot blue portals. Later, when the ASHPD is upgraded to shoot orange portals, the crosshair is cut in two parts, blue and orange. Furthermore, a smaller oval appears next to the side that has been most recently fired. Finally, when the ASHPD is held in front of a surface where portals cannot be shot, only the outlines of the two oval elements are seen. They must always be filled in to allow shooting portals.


 * Shooting an orange portal on an existing blue portal (vice versa) will create the portal right next to it, if the room available allows it.


 * An Aperture Science Material Emancipation Grid will "reboot" any portal created by the ASHPD. In that way each Test Subject starts each new Test Chamber with a "clean" portal network, and must use their assets properly when having to come across one several times during tests. When this happens, the gun slightly shakes as the portals disappear.


 * Several portal creating techniques involving the ASHPD exist to complete several Test Chambers. They are covered in great detail in the Portal Prima Guide.

Behind the scenes



 * The concept of shooting blue and orange portals to solve puzzles was directly imported from Narbacular Drop, whose team was hired by Valve to develop that technology into what became Portal.


 * The earliest known ASHPD model appeared like a modified Gravity Gun. The prongs directly based on that of the latter are still in the final model.


 * The ASHPD model seen in the Portal trailer features "F-22" written in black on its top, while concept art shows "A-12". It was replaced in the final model by the word "APERTURE" with under it a barcode and "04/". The end is faded, suggesting more alphanumerics used to come after "04/". This number suggests that the gun used by Chell is model 4 among the gun reserve, or that this model is the fourth version of the gun.


 * As seen in a very early Portal screenshot, the hands and forearms of the ASHPD user were to be featured in the viewmodel. Chell's right hand and forearm are still present in the final viewmodel, although the texture is broken. However the texture file can still be found in the game files, revealing what may be an early Aperture Science logo, followed by the number "122-7605", possibly an early Test Subject ID. These are not featured in Chell's model, which probably did not (at least fully) exist at that time of the game's development.




 * As seen in several early Portal screenshots, a modified Half-Life 2 HUD was first reused.


 * As seen in the earliest known Portal screenshot, the orange portal was originally purple. The final colors, blue and orange, are actually the same as the ones featured in Narbacular Drop, Portal’s predecessor technically speaking. Before being orange, the orange portal also was more halfway between yellow and orange.


 * The portals seen in the Portal trailer are slightly different than the retail ones, and have purple waves swirling in the middle.


 * The firing sound of the ASHPD when it is still attached to its pedestal originally was the charging sound of the Combine Guard Gun, a weapon cut from Half-Life 2.


 * The "ASHPD" acronym bears a striking resemblance to Adrian Shephard's name (Adrian SHePharD), which led many players to speculate it is a hidden Easter egg, suggesting Shephard's involvement in Portal or its sequel. In addition, completing Portal unlocks a new menu background which contains a keyboard that has all the letters in Adrian Shephard's name highlighted, and these keyboards can also be seen throughout the game. Kim Swift said in an interview that the ASHPD acronym was actually a complete coincidence and that they added the keyboard highlights after people mentioned the acronym. Valve's Doug Lombardi subsequently confirmed the Portal reference as a complete coincidence.

Trivia

 * Only one of the Portal Achievements is directly related to the ASHPD. Named "Lab Rat", it simply requires to acquire the fully powered ASHPD in Test Chamber 11.


 * Typing "impulse 101" in Portal gives all the Half-Life 2 weapons and shows the HUD, where a standing man glyph is used for the ASHPD.


 * The ASHPD does not work be default in Garry's Mod. Although its prop can be imported with the Portal content, it cannot be spawned as as working portal device, as Garry's Mod does not have the necessary code to make it work. However fan-made working versions are available but some of them were meant for the Half Life 2: Episode One engine


 * The ASHPD can be used in Half-Life 2 and its episodes and Half-Life: Source by simply copying all the game data of the related game into the Portal data folder, then using the console to load the required map. The Half-Life 2 maps will work seamlessly with the ASHPD and vice versa, partly because of development and system similarity.


 * When Chell is killed by an Energy Pellet, the ASHPD disintegrates with her.

List of appearances

 * Portal
 * Portal: First Slice
 * Portal: Still Alive
 * Portal ARG
 * Portal 2