[This worklog is written in the persona of an Aperture Labs employee, I have no connection to Valve Software or any subsidiaries, this is just a mod! Apologies for any time/info inconsistancies with the 'real' Portal timelines]

[08:45-1997-10-05]
All has been quiet recently since the [CLASSIFIED] events. Our team leader has designated a new project to our team. The project is a replacement for the aging Aperture Labs Personal Access Computer - Alpha (ALPACA). Recent and future upgrades to the GlaDOS systems have necessitated a replacement terminal.

We have been provided with the following CAD image to work from:


Planning and design work will commence based on given dimensions.

[16:54-2010-08-01]
After years of delays, due to [CLASSIFIED] the hardware configuration has finally been agreed upon.

For some reason the components were sourced from outside Aperture but I digress.
2x AMD Dual-Core Opteron 275 @ 2.2ghz 'Italy' Core
1x ASUS K8N-DRE mainboard
4x 512MB DDR400 RAM
1x Gigabyte nVidia GT240 512MB
1x T-Win 1U 400w Power Supply Unit
The sound card has yet to be finalised.

[15:27-2010-08-05]
Chassis manufacturing has begun! Due to this product still being a prototype all chassis components will be hand made from 3mm acrylic.



The lines may look shoddy but I assure you (and my superiors!) that this is the masking tape making it appear this way.

I attach my to do list:


The to do list may not be complete but it has satisfied my superiors so is listed as such.

..To be continued..

This is so epic.

I've tried to think of things more clever to say, but I failed.

[11:58-2010-08-06]
Progress has been made. Testing the new hardware to ensure correct fitment has commenced. Please see below:






As you can see we may have to machine a groove in the side Aperture Viewing Window to ensure Graphics Processing Unit stability. The hardware fits like a [CLASSIFIED] in a [CLASSIFIED]

On a side note - How are we going to get these retail units out to Aperture Customers when the Labs are locked down due to [CLASSIFIED]? Seems a pointless exercise but if it's what GlaDOS wishes I suppose.

...To be continued...

OOC: Thanks for your comments guys - updates will be sporadic from here on as finances are difficult at times and I finish my weeks holiday on Saturday ><

dude seriously this is one of the best logs ive ever read. i love these story logs.

Alright then a mod, a story, and SFF! What's not to like? I must admit I've never played this game before but you may push me to it . Mod on confusis!

This is awesome. The only thing you need now is an internal speaker and a couple of recorded one-liners from the game.

[12:18-2010-08-07]
More progress has been made! We're pushing through this quite nicely.

The base panel has been completed. Just need to design a PSU mount. Unfortunately the PSU is a different form factor to the original ALPACA unit. Everything has to be custom! More work for me..


Side viewing 'aperture' has been mostly completed, just need to devise a mounting mechanism to hold the piece in place. This window needs to be removable to access the hardware, however.


That's my shift over - afternoon lockdown has commenced, the party escort robots are standing at the door advising me to leave. NOW.

...to be continued...

OOC: Thanks again for your comments - this is moving along faster than expected!

Well done, [CLASSIFIED]! I'll be sure to notify your superiors of the wonderful progress that is being made. It's people like you that seem to live by the Aperture motto.

Also, don't forget the upcoming Bring Your Daughter to Work day!

Yes, we must get her tested!

Bro, this is looking fantastic! What are your plans for the back of the case? Are you going to make your own I/O panel and pci slots, or scavenge from another case?

Might scavenge - my experiments with cutting my own have failed (not accurate enough considering EVERY cut on this mod is done with a handheld rotary tool and a reinforced cutting disc!)
Now to find an ATX case in poor condition that I don't mind stripping - I have an eatx case and an atx case but they house servers ><

Yeah, I've not seen many people cut their own back plates, because they are so hard to get right. Good luck finding a donor!

[14:17-2010-08-12]
Been a hectic week with other projects taking up the team's time. Issues with recently obtained test subjects, the works! Although from one test subject we did obtain this normal size "M-ATX" cabinet with which to do 'X86/X64' testing for optimising o².

The size difference is amazing considering the circuit board dimensions!



Here's a board size comparison. The Blue is the size board we are using for o². The orange is the comparison unit.

very intresting indeed!

[Initialise]
>Initialisation complete, begin GlaDOS client terminal boot test
>CPU1 OK
>CPU2 OK
>MEMORY OK
>HARD DISK OK
>GPU OK

>GCTBT RESULT OK
...
...
+Begin GlaDOS installation

>Installation complete

-Welcome back test subject, shall we begin testing?

(OOC: Hardware is running fine, bought a 2.5" SATA 320gb HDD and will be installing WIN7 tommorow )

Wow, such a cool idea and you've done it really well so far, love the worklog style!

[2010-08-15-21:16]
>Continue stress testing
>RUN "hyperpi /32M /4 cores"
>Testing...
>Testing...
>20 Minute update, all cores ≤ 65 degrees
>Test complete
>SHUTDOWN

The team seems to be happy with the hardware so far, less than teething issues than the ALPACA unit. My team leader seems to be happy.
We have been warned by GlaDOS that one of our team may be selected for testing soon, so this project must be completed with haste!

...to be continued...

Lol, I'm really loving the story man.