Update: Faliszek has confirmed to Shacknews that the update is on target for this week.

Original story: A major patch for the PC version of Left 4 Dead should arrive later this week, according to information from Valve that comes by way of forum fans.

Developer Chet Faliszek apparently detailed the patch in email responses to two fans, saying that the patch "got larger than [the team] would have liked."

"The problem on the PC side was a few large bugs affected other systems that we were going to rewrite on the PC so we ended up waiting to fix a whole class of bugs instead of just individual bugs," said Faliszek to a Steam forum member, before confirming that "the patch should be out this week."

"Also for the patching, the real key is to patch more often and not wait for everything to accumulate," added Faliszek. "Because of a perfect storm of events, this patch got larger than we would have liked and that really snowballed the time it is taking."

Valve is known for directly communicating with its fans, as previously evidenced. Shacknews has contacted Faliszek for confirmation on the quotations.

In a Left 4 Dead blog post that rekindles memories of the great 2008 Diablo 3 darkness debate, developer Randy Lundeen has explained why Valve made the decision to lighten up the look of its tense zombie shooter.

Lundeen noted that in an early, much darker version of the game's lighting system, "Playtesters weren't able to see zombie silhouettes in the midground and background. Because of this, they were repeatedly getting mobbed."

"While sudden zombie attacks were inarguably scary, they were also frustrating--players weren't being given the information they needed to react," said Lundeen. "They wanted that 'Here they come!' moment, and we weren't giving it to them. The solution? Light-colored fog."

"While not as realistic-looking as actual fog in some settings, it meant playtesters could see attackers in the distance. Once they were able to anticipate attacks, playtesters started to have a much better time."

Solid details on the first batch of Left 4 Dead downloadable content should be out "shortly," according to Valve writer Chet Faliszek. But, in true Valve tradition, it appears the announcement has already been postponed, as it was expected "before Christmas." Though details are light, Faliszek confirmed that the upcoming download will bring new scenarios, as "what we want to do is just deliver more content you can play at this point." These new scenarios will be released on the "[Xbox] 360 at the same time as the PC," instead of receiving a later Xbox 360 release a la Valve's Team Fortress 2.

Along with the "new stuff," the download will bring Versus support to the Dead Air and Death Toll campaigns, a move that will finally allow players to experience all four of the game's campaigns in the competitive mode.

Owners of the PC version can also expect the long-promised SDK at some point, which should allow for the creation of custom maps, scenarios and other mods... Read more

Want to play Left 4 Dead, but can't spare a megabyte? Left 4K Dead might be more your size.

A simple, free web game inspired by Valve's co-op shooter, Left 4K Dead was developed by Markus Persson for the 2009 Java 4k Competition--a straightforward contest that challenges programmers to program a game under 4KB in size.

While modest in appearance, the game is actually entertaining at a basic level, certainly winning on a kilobyte-to-fun ratio.

Valve has released a server-side patch to thwart the "cheating behavior" allowed in the Xbox 360 version of Left 4 Dead, which saw safe rooms overrun with Witches by way of silly hackery. "The fix is designed to halt the cheating behavior on the dedicated servers, which accounts for the majority of the co-op and Versus modes of play," writes Valve.

"A title update for those playing on user-hosted servers and/or via system link will be released in the coming days."

I've been called a cold-hearted individual, but even I felt a tinge of warmth creeping through my veins after watching this video of amateur game developer Foszor and his son Aidan "playing" Left 4 Dead.

With a few appropriate post-processing effects, a simple home movie became a charming, hilarious parody of Valve's shooter.

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

A new post on the official Left 4 Dead blog details the creation of the game's intro movie, and reveals the significant stages of iteration that went on behind the scenes to create the lengthy cinematic.

It's a great read, but the work-in-progress videos are even more interesting. Below is the first half of the "very first" animatic created by Valve's team.

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

Valve went back to the drawing board, updated the models to the versions we've seen today, and came up with a new draft a few weeks later.... Read more

Valve has just released a minor patch to Left 4 Dead, which addresses frustrations some users have reported with both the Versus mode and co-op difficulty settings. In response to the nearly-impossible task of completing a stage on Expert difficulty in Versus mode, the difficulty has now been locked to Normal altogether. In co-op mode, the server will now switch to whatever difficulty the party has selected.

The full changes are copied below:

• Finding a dedicated server when starting the game from a lobby is now faster and more reliable
• Versus mode is now locked to Normal difficulty
• Difficulty on a server is now locked to the one set by the lobby reservation
• Fixed lagouts/spikes after level transition
• Fixed directory issue with spray logs in some cases
• Fixed video settings not saving after closing video options dialog
• Corrected a boomer suicide exploit
• Several minor localization fixes
• Fixed disabling cheats incorrectly resetting data

It's an undeadly sort of week for NPD's PC gaming sales chart, with Blizzard's World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King and Valve's Left 4 Dead taking the top spots on the US list for the week of November 16-22.

Sadly, PC juggernaut Nancy Drew: The Haunting of Castle Malloy has finally fallen from the chart, replaced by the Spore and Fallout 3-beating EverQuest II expansion The Shadow Odyssey.

1. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King / Blizzard / $40 (average)
2. Left 4 Dead / Valve / $46 (average)
3. Call Of Duty: World At War / Treyarch / $50 (average)
4. The Sims 2 Mansion & Garden Stuff / EA Maxis / $18 (average)
5. EverQuest II: The Shadow Odyssey / Sony Online Ent. / $50 (average)
6. Spore / EA Maxis / $49 (average)
7. Fallout 3 / Bethesda / $50 (average)
8. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $20 (average)
9. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Collectors Ed / Blizzard / $69 (average)
10. The Sims 2 Apartment Life / EA Maxis / $20 (average)

Just in time for the happy holidays, Valve has rolled out the Left 4 Dead section of its online store, offering movie posters and T-shirts based on the horror game.

The shirts all run at an even $19.99, while each poster--all four being reproductions of the slick in-game one-sheets--cost $6.99. Those looking to grab all four of the posters can pick up some savings with the $14.99 four-pack.

Valve also sends word that the THQ Collector's Pack--a package that contains every Dawn of War, Company of Heroes and Titan Quest game, as well as the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R.--is being discounted this weekend from $219.99 to a flat $99. For anyone unaccustomed to those particular series, this is a fantastic excuse to discover some excellent PC gaming.

With Left 4 Dead having been out for little over a week, developer Valve has released some in-game PC stats. In short, let's hope the zombie apocalypse never arrives.

As of this writing, less than 30% of those that play the co-op zombie shooter have been able to beat any of its four campaigns during one session, and only 36% have finished a campaign with all four players alive at the end. Oh, and 48% have caught a "rare strain of infection," and then passed it on to someone else. Not good folks, not good at all.

Then again, 0% have earned the Lamb 2 Slaughter achievement, which is awarded to to an Infected player that can "incap a Survivor who has entered and left a safe room." So hey, there might be some hope. Maybe. Okay, probably not.

The day is here: Valve has shipped another game.

At this point, you've heard us go on and on about this one. Yes, Left 4 Dead is a great game. It's a fresh co-op experience, presented in unique movie-sized campaigns. If it sounds like you'd enjoy that kind of thing--or you liked the demo--it's an easy purchase.

But there is that pesky question of value, along with the possibility of hidden flaws. And so we trudged down to Valve HQ to review the full package ahead of time, playing countless hours of the game to answer a few necessary questions.

Namely: What exactly are we getting with Left 4 Dead? Sure, the demo levels may be indicative of the rest, but how much game is there? Is this something that will get old after the first day? And what about this Versus Mode? Is it an after-thought, or a full-fledged component? Read on for our collective criticism. ... Read more

In less than two hours, Valve will unleash the zombie apocalypse. After numerous delays and setbacks, Left 4 Dead will finally be available for PC and Xbox 360, bringing the joy (and horror) of cooperative zombie-killing to an eager public.

Come 12:00 AM EST, Valve will flip the switch and open the floodgates, allowing everyone who's purchased and pre-loaded via Steam to start playing on PC.

Not only will your loyal Shacknews staff be out there, fighting the horde along with everyone else, we'll be posting our in-depth review at the stroke of midnight, detailing our extensive experiences with the game, along with some nuggets of wisdom.

Valve has unleashed another TV commercial on the eve of the release of Left 4 Dead, its high-intensity, zombie-fleeing shooter for PC and Xbox 360.

Fans of TV commercials can watch the new commercial below, and even the first TV spot from the day before Halloween.

Left 4 Dead ships to retailers tomorrow and unlocks tonight at midnight EST for customers using the Steam digital distribution service.

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

Shackvideo users can use the HD Stream.

As those who played the recent demo will be aware of, each of Left 4 Dead's four movie-sized acts is introduced by loading screen art done up in the style of a film one-sheet poster, complete with campy quips and a full credit list.

Valve today released the posters as downloadable images, any of which will surely serve as stylish desktop backgrounds in anticipation of the co-op zombie shooter's November 18 release.

You can grab all four in the gallery below.

Valve has issued a press release proclaiming that its zombie-fleeing shooter Left 4 Dead is finished, off to the presses, and is now pre-loading for customers who have bought the game in advance over the company's Steam digital distribution service.

The developer announced that the game will unlock at 12:01 am EST on November 18. Customers who buy the game before then will receive a 10% discount and will be able to download the game in advance, though it will not be playable until the unlock time.

Those who wish to buy the game via traditional means will still receive the 10% discount on pre-purchased copies for PC or Xbox 360, though they won't have any advance downloading to do.

Those who need some form of zombie gratification before the wee hours of November 18 can grab the demo, which is available now.

Following through on its previous promise, Valve has publicly released the downloadable PC and Xbox 360 demos for its cooperative zombie shooter Left 4 Dead.

Featuring two levels from the first of the game's four acts, the Xbox 360 demo is now available to download from the Xbox Live Marketplace and supports online play for up to four players. It was released last week to GameStop pre-order customers.

The PC demo, meanwhile, is available via Valve's digital distribution client Steam, and arrived roughly 150 minutes late, according to a now-removed countdown on the L4D Steam community group page. Much like the Xbox 360 demo, the PC version hit last week for those that had pre-ordered the game from GameStop or Steam.

The full version of Left 4 Dead hits PC and Xbox 360 on November 18.

Gamers were pleasantly surprised to find that support for PC splitscreen play was available in the demo of Valve's Left 4 Dead by way of a simple console command.

However, after the most recent patch to the demo quietly removed splitscreen support, those same gamers were left wondering whether the "feature" would make it into the final release of the game.

Valve designer Yahn Bernier has answered the question in a post on the Steam forums:

Splitscreen was always something we only wanted to officially support on the x360 due to the controller issues. However, we are planning on making some of the functionality work on the PC as an "unsupported" bonus feature. We turned it off for the demo because we didn't want to have to... Read more

Fans have had a field day with exploring what's possible in Valve's Left 4 Dead since the demo for the PC version was unlocked for pre-order customers yesterday. After less than 48 hours, a bit of trickery has yielded split-screen play, playable zombies from the versus mode, and even an old friend of Counter-Strike fans, the classic map de_dust.

User TheBusGuy on the Steam forums has written a "guide" to playing with two players on one PC. It requires the use of an Xbox 360 controller connected to the PC, but assuming the player has a controller it's a relatively easy process.

Meanwhile, fans anxious to test drive the zombies from the versus mode can get their fix--in the single-player game, anyway. Another Steam forum thread by user Scuzball explains how to switch over to the undead side and start a game against 4 AI survivors using just a few console commands.

Some players, like Steam user TIHan, are anxious to get started on custom mapmaking for the game. He discovered that Left 4 Dead already has rudimentary support for custom maps when he loaded up Dust, the timeless Counter-Strike map. The result was the video seen below:

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

Update: Right on time, the Left 4 Dead PC demo has been released via Steam and is now accessible to those that have pre-ordered the game. The demo will be provided to the non-pre-ordering public come November 11, with the game itself due November 18.

Original Story: Valve has announced that the early access demo for its co-op zombie shooter Left 4 Dead will begin tomorrow morning.

The company expects the demo to go live at 2 AM PST on Xbox 360, with the PC version hitting five hours later at 7 AM PST. The trial includes the first two levels of the hospital-themed No Mercy campaign, playable in both online and offline co-op mode.

Early access to the demo can only be gained by pre-ordering the title, either from Steam or GameStop/EB Games. The same pre-order promotion also offers a 10% discount on the game.