Left 4 Dead Update Next Week

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Through the Left 4 Dead Blog, Valve has announced it will release a new update for its zombie shooter some time next week.

Focusing on custom campaigns, the update will provide mod authors with non-beta mod tools, which will now include source files for all of Valve's campaign maps, along with an example campaign add-on tutorial map.

The update will also allow content creators to use a new framework that will package their campaign content into a single .VPK file. These can then be installed by double clicking on them, or dropping them into Left 4 Dead's new 'addons' folder.

Lastly the update will rework the game's matchmaking system, providing support for these custom campaigns, while also making it easier to create a lobby.

Chris Faylor was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    June 20, 2009 5:45 AM

    I hope mod makers do not abandon this game in anger about the sequel's announcement. There were some campaigns I was looking forward to which looked pretty advanced already.

    This game lives from the mod community IMO, there is no way people will continue playing the same 4 1-2 hour campaigns forever.

    • reply
      June 20, 2009 6:13 AM

      [deleted]

      • reply
        June 20, 2009 6:44 AM

        [deleted]

        • reply
          June 20, 2009 9:03 AM

          Yeah but his point is that L4D2 is reverse compatible with L4D1. So if you're working on a L4D1 mod keep working on it - L4D2 users can also play it.

          But yeah this could be a "Commodore 64" problem where no one mods for L4D2 because of the limited audience

          • Zek legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
            reply
            June 22, 2009 7:14 AM

            There's absolutely no way L4D2 will have a "limited audience." Less people than L4D, maybe, maybe not, but either way that hardly makes it a catastrophe.

      • reply
        June 20, 2009 8:16 AM

        Reminds me when Epic said that UT2003 mods would work under UT2004...

        • reply
          June 20, 2009 9:13 AM

          I don't remember them saying that - I think the deal was that UT2003 mods could be ported to work on UT2004 with minimal effort.

          No, I think the deal was that UT2003 and UT2004 players could play against each other for the maps in UT2004 which were carried over from UT2003. But then they had some technical need to change the network protocol for UT2004 and so it broke the compatibility.

          Of course that might have been bullshit and the need to break compatibility was a business decision.

      • reply
        June 20, 2009 11:20 PM

        yeah because its THE SAME DAMN GAME...oh wait no its L4D II...

    • reply
      June 20, 2009 6:39 AM

      Indeed, there will eventually be great campaigns but that stuff just takes time, keeping in mind people do it in their spare time, and the official SDK isn't out that long. So you will have to be patient :)

      The one thing that bothers me is the file size of the campaigns, they tend to get big, and that's without custom content!

      Anyway, I'll get back to hammer, got lots of stuff to do :p

    • reply
      June 20, 2009 9:43 AM

      300 hours of L4D in, 55% of that on No Mercy... and it seems like there are plenty of people still willing to lay down in front of my guns...

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        June 20, 2009 10:03 AM

        and that of that 170ish hours, i bet 90% of that is the first 2 maps :(
        too bad they can't patch peoples personalities to fix ragequitting.

      • reply
        June 20, 2009 10:07 AM

        some people play donkey kong over and over for years... there's always fans with too much time

        • reply
          June 21, 2009 4:29 AM

          i play for the hilarity and general awesomeness of my friends' company and the coop thrills and various shenanigans involved. <3 L4D with good people.

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        June 20, 2009 11:13 AM

        I still think no mercy is the best.

        • reply
          June 20, 2009 11:17 AM

          Dead Air for me. But No Mercy is great.

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      June 20, 2009 5:09 PM

      Why SHOULDN'T they? It's nearly fucking July and the sequel is out in November? Seriously....

    • reply
      June 20, 2009 11:09 PM

      Try the 'Unrest' mod, it's 8 vs 8 player on versus mode! There are also some additional tweaks like longer tongue for smokers, 2 tanks spawn at the same time for 5 players and more I think, 50 damage cap for pounce, etc.

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      June 21, 2009 12:17 AM

      whats great about Left 4 Dead 2 is the ability for the AI director to change up the maps themselves, no longer shall each chapter be played twice the same way!

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      June 21, 2009 6:14 AM

      Haven't played L4D but games in general people don't seem to like variety unfortunately. q3dm6, de_dust, Tribes 2 katabatic. Can get very dull after the first few weeks from release for me.

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        June 21, 2009 11:35 AM

        this is the most intelligent post i've seen on this. people play tf2/cs/whatever on 24/7 <insert map here> servers, but complain because L4D only gives you 4 sets of 5 maps... and you have to play 5 different maps over the course of one game. is this the pure definition of insanity?

        • Zek legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
          reply
          June 22, 2009 7:16 AM

          People like the illusion of choice but in the end they always fall back on the familiar. Even the four campaigns don't get played evenly, No Mercy is most popular literally only because it was in the demo so people think of it as the iconic L4D map.

          • reply
            June 22, 2009 8:07 AM

            people won't play BH/DT because survival rate is low on those maps(read: hard).
            people love DA because of all the hanging pull and insta cap spots(read: easy).
            people love NM because it is very confined, and easily rushed(read: way easy).

            i make a lobby, set it to death toll, and it fills up maybe 1 out of every 5 times i try, but if you make a DA or NM lobby, it fills instantly

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      June 21, 2009 6:19 AM

      Valve will give us maps after release...oh wait.

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      June 22, 2009 7:05 AM

      [deleted]

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