These are simply some questions that I think everyone who's interested in AH should have answered:
Is it a mod? A map pack? How will it be released? - First, the game will be released on the workshop in 2 halves called Episodes. These make up the full campaign. The first Episode will release on August 15th 2018, and the second Episode will be released sometime this Winter. After that, the plan is to combine both Episodes, and remaster the campaign and add custom viewmodels, achievements, and easter eggs. This version will be a full mod, and will be released as simply "Portal: After Hours" sometime in 2019. ﾠ
Why release it that way? - Though the main reason was convenience, the scope of the project grew into something that couldn't be contained purely on the workshop. Certain elements rely on the game being in it's own package, though none of those elements were substantial enough to delay the release of the main bulk of the game. Releasing through the workshop first also gives the game a chance to be scrutinized and changed with no lasting consequence. This way, things that were poorly received by players can be corrected in the remastered product. The players can influence the remastered release in other ways too, such as suggesting easter eggs or gameplay tweaks.
How long will it be? - My guess is as long, if not longer than Portal 2. There are ~30 segments planned out right now, and each segment is an average of about 10 minutes of gameplay, so the rough estimate is about 5 hours per playthrough (not to mention the possible addition of advanced versions of existing chambers). ﾠ
Is it canon or fanfiction? - Efforts have been made to have AH fit snugly into the official canon of the Portal universe, with the ending being particularly impactful :)
How hard will it be? - Difficulty is subjective, but from what I've seen during beta testing... pretty hard. I've always felt that not everyone should be able to beat puzzle games, that's what makes beating them special. After Hours will be fairly more difficult than Portal 2, but if you're a long time Portal fan, you should be able to beat AH. If you're worried about not being able to progress through the story because you got stumped on a puzzle halfway through, don't worry. The difficulty doesn't take long to ramp up, so you'll know very early on whether you should attempt a no-walkthrough run or not. That being said, I encourage players to try their hardest and to take breaks instead of giving up right away. Puzzle games are my favorite genre, and I can tell you that walking away from a puzzle and coming back to it is a lot more satisfying than looking up a solution to progress quickly.
If you have any further questions or concerns, please @me in the official Discord server! I'm very active there
Server: Discord.gg
