Portals

CubePortal.png Portals are special objects in Geometry Dash, Geometry Dash Lite, Geometry Dash Meltdown, Geometry Dash World and Geometry Dash SubZero. They modify how the level is interacted with as well as change the icon into different forms, each with unique gameplay.

Description

Form portals

Type	Portal		Form	Description		Technical details		Introduced
	Normal	Labelled		Regular size	Mini size	Vertical grid	Safe contact	Geometry Dash	GD Lite	GD Meltdown	GD World	GD SubZero
Cube				Performs small jumps [2.1333 units] (can be sustained [2.233 units]) given that there is contact with a surface and falls steeply	Performs smaller jumps [1.3583 units] so can jump faster in succession [1.435 units]	80+ units, no ceiling	In the direction of gravity; H-blocks above and below	Initial release: Stereo Madness	Initial release: Stereo Madness	Initial release: The Seven Seas	Initial release: Payload	Initial release: Press Start
Ship				Propels rapidly upwards (can be sustained) and naturally descends gradually	Ascends and descends faster	10 units	Above and below	Initial release: Stereo Madness	Initial release: Stereo Madness	Initial release: The Seven Seas	Initial release: Machina	Initial release: Press Start
Jetpack 1								Update 2.2	-	-	-	-
Ball				Moves steeply by inverting gravity given that there is contact with a surface	Ascends and descends faster	8 units	Above and below	Update 1.2: Cycles	Update 2.0: Cycles	Initial release: Airborne Robots	Initial release: Embers	Initial release: Press Start
UFO				Performs small hops [1.5666 units] and naturally descends gradually	Performs smaller hops [1.2 units] and descends faster	10 units	Above and below	Update 1.5: Theory of Everything	Update 2.12: Theory of Everything	-	Initial release: Space Pirates 2	-
Wave 3				Propels at an upward diagonal (can be sustained) and naturally descends at a downward diagonal, each at a constant speed; vertical speed always matches horizontal speed	Ascends and descends faster and at steeper angles; vertical speed is always double the horizontal speed	10 units	Ground and ceiling; D-blocks above and below	Update 1.9: Blast Processing	Update 2.21.4: Blast Processing	-	Initial release: Monster Dance Off	Initial release: Nock Em
Robot				Performs scaled jumps [up to 3.5111 units sustained] given that there is contact with a surface and falls steeply	Performs smaller jumps [up to 2.7666 units sustained] and descends faster	80+ units, no ceiling	In the direction of gravity; H-blocks above and below	Update 2.0: Geometrical Dominator	Update 2.21.4: The Cellar	-	Initial release 4	Initial release: Press Start
Spider				Teleports given that there is contact with a surface to the nearest overhead surface and inverts gravity	Performs identically	9 units	In the direction of gravity; H-blocks above and below	Update 2.1: Fingerdash	Update 2.21.7: Fingerdash	-	Initial release: The Challenge	Initial release: Nock Em
Swing 3				Moves gradually by inverting gravity	Ascends and descends faster	10 units	Above and below	Update 2.2: Dash	-	-	Update 2.2.14 4	-

Manipulation portals

Type	Portal		Effect		Introduced
	Activation	Deactivation			Geometry Dash	GD Lite	GD Meltdown	GD World	GD SubZero
Gravity			Inverts the icon's gravity		Initial release: Dry Out	Update 1.4: Dry Out	-	Initial release: Frontlines	Initial release: Press Start
					Update 2.2 5	-	-	-	-
Mirror			Reverses the screen direction		Update 1.1: Time Machine	Update 1.921: Time Machine	-	Initial release: Striker	Initial release: Nock Em
Size			Changes the icon's size		Update 1.4: Clutterfunk	Update 2.11: Clutterfunk	-	Initial release 4	Initial release: Nock Em
Speed			Changes the horizontal movement speed	Slow (~0.807×, 8.372 grid units per second)	Update 1.7 5, Update 1.8: Hexagon Force	Update 2.21.3: Hexagon Force	-	Initial release 4	Initial release: Press Start
				Normal (1.0×, 10.386 grid units per second)	Update 1.7 5, Update 1.8: Hexagon Force	Update 2.21.3: Hexagon Force	-	Initial release 4	Initial release: Press Start
				Fast (~1.243×, 12.914 grid units per second)	Update 1.7: Electrodynamix	Update 2.21: Electrodynamix	-	Initial release 4	Initial release: Press Start
				Very fast (~1.502×, 15.6 grid units per second)	Update 1.7: Electrodynamix	Update 2.21: Electrodynamix	-	Initial release 4	Initial release: Press Start
				Extremely fast (~1.849×, 19.2 grid units per second)	Update 2.1 5	-	-	Initial release 4	-
Dual			Creates a second icon with inverted colours and gravity		Update 1.8: Hexagon Force	Update 2.21.3: Hexagon Force	-	Initial release 4	-
Teleportation			Teleports the icon between portals along the y-axis (advanced: and x-axis)		Update 2.0: Deadlocked	-	-	Initial release 4	Initial release: Press Start

Notes

• ¹ Substitutes the ship in platformer levels
• ² Form introduced at the start of the level, portal not shown
• ³ Not yet available in platformer levels
• ⁴ Available from user levels
• ⁵ Available from user levels and usable in the level editor

Trivia

• If entering a form portal corresponding to the icon's current form and the portal is of a higher or lower position to the previous portal, the grid will vertically shift to realign with the new portal, with the exception of the cube and robot portals which do not lock the grid. This is demonstrated only once in a main level, Stereo Madness, with the alternate route for the third secret coin.
• Until Fingerdash was released, main levels always featured all previously released forms.
• The cube's mechanics were inspired by the 2009 game The Impossible Game.
• Years, Space Pirates and Embers are the only main levels to omit the cube form and neither start with it.
• Until Update 1.4, the ship only used the selected primary colour with slight shading. This can still be observed from the images in the How to play section of the Settings menu.
• The ship, jetpack and UFO each carry a slightly shrunken version of the selected cube design.
• Under the Options section of the Settings menu, the cube and ball can be configured to each use an alternate mini icon design that substitutes the Icon Kit selection, and are not displayed in the Icon Kit. While the ship and UFO are under the effects of the size portal, they also display the cube's alternative mini design. Prior to Update 2.0, this was the default and only configuration.
• The wave's name, design and mechanics were inspired by the 2014 game Wave Wave by Thomas Janson.
• Mathematically, the wave's movement can be mapped as:
  • Regular: slope = ±1 / ±45°
  • Mini: slope = ±2 / ~±63.435°
• Due to unchanging momentum, the wave does not respond to jump pads or rings, while gravity pads and rings flip gravity on contact without further effect on momentum.
• Similar to other decorative level elements that pulsate to the music, the wave's trail will also pulsate to the music in Normal mode.
• The robot portal is the only form portal that does not share its colours with a manipulation portal.
• The swing's name and mechanics were inspired by the game 2014 game Swing Copters.
• Entering form portals triggers a brief coloured inward pulse to occur as the icon passes through:
  • The cube portal lacks this effect.
  • The ship portal has a purple flash.
  • The ball portal has a red flash.
  • The UFO portal has a yellow flash.
  • The wave portal has a yellow flash and thin icon-primary-coloured outward pulse.
  • The robot portal has a red flash.
  • The spider portal has a red flash.
  • The swing portal has a yellow flash.
• Prior to its formal introduction, the deactivation gravity portal is encountered in Back On Track and Polargeist as part of collecting secret coins, being implemented in Update 1.6.
• The size portal is the only manipulation portal that neither its activation nor deactivation variant uses the colour blue.
• While under the effects of the dual portal, a crash with either icon will terminate the other, although they cannot collide with each other.
• While under the effects of the dual portal, the grid is locked to 9 vertical units, unless at least one of the forms is a ship, a UFO, a swing, or a wave, where the grid is then locked to 10 vertical units.
• While under the effects of the dual portal, it is apparent that the intended gameplay will be counteracted if both icons of identical form acquire the same direction of gravity, causing an overlap and rendering only one icon for interaction. For this reason, in any case of dual icons of the same form, should one trigger a flip of gravity, both icons will have their gravity flipped to remain at inverted vertical positions. However, both balls and both spiders under the effects of the dual portal have independent gravity states so are not bound to inverted vertical positions. Moreover, the overlap issue is mitigated with an additional mechanic that if both balls are brought into the same direction of gravity, as the oncoming ball makes direct contact with the initial ball, the latter will emit an outward pulse and will reinvert the gravity of the oncoming ball automatically. Although the spider is also subject to the overlap issue, this mechanic as implemented for the ball is absent, allowing both spiders to overlap, nullifying the dual mechanic.
• The colours of the teleportation portals are a reference to the game series Portal, with blue being the entry portal colour and orange being the exit portal colour.
• Using teleportation portals that exit outside of the grid will result in the icon being returned beside the nearest boundary with no realignment of the grid. This does not occur for the cube or robot since they are not limited by a ceiling.
• Entering manipulation portals triggers additional visual cues with colours matching the active portal:
  • The gravity portal triggers brief coloured lines moving in the direction of the gravity.
  • The mirror portal triggers every object to move horizontally towards the opposite side of the screen.
  • The size portal triggers a bolt of coloured lightning striking the icon along with the screen flashing twice, referencing the lightning bolt in the Super Mario Kart series.
  • The speed portal triggers coloured particles moving against the direction of the icon for a short time.
  • The teleportation portal triggers a bolt of lightning between the two portals along with the screen flashing briefly.

Animated gallery

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Icon animations

• 
  Robot movement
• 
  Robot jump
• 
  Robot airborne
• 
  Spider movement
• 
  Spider airborne

Form portals

• 
  Cube
• 
  Ship
• 
  Jetpack
• 
  Ball
• 
  UFO
• 
  Wave
• 
  Robot
• 
  Spider
• 
  Swing

Manipulation portals

• 
  Gravity, activation
• 
  Gravity, deactivation
• 
  Gravity, toggle
• 
  Mirror, activation
• 
  Mirror, deactivation
• 
  Size, activation
• 
  Size, deactivation
• 
  Speed, slow
• 
  Speed, normal
• 
  Speed, fast
• 
  Speed, very fast
• 
  Speed, extremely fast
• 
  Dual, activation
• 
  Dual, deactivation
• 
  Teleportation (along y-axis)
• 
  Teleportation (along x-axis)