L4D 2 E3 Trailer
Posted Jun 1, 2009, 6:58 PM UTC
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82
After watching Dock Start I'm now excited for a game where I can finally play as Gob.
"You'd shoot the guy in the $3000 dollar suit? COME ON!"
20
Yeah, like the guy in the $7500 suit is going to bother infecting you, who doesn't make that in a month! COME ON!
14
He reminds me of Tim Roth a little.
1
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How is that not the top rated comment?
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Axe Ownage has one of the survivors get a L4D1 achievement (Drag and Drop). This is just factual, I'm not passing judgment yet.
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I have a theory that Newell is a Redditor and can't stand it when the first submission in the gaming subreddit is not related to Valve. Currently he is doing a good job at it.
9
I dunno, I think every company wants people to be excited about them. :-)
2
Looks like a really bad mod of L4D...
9
Wasn't L4D just a HL2 mod in the first place?
3
Apparently, they screwed around in Counter-Strike: Source by placing 30-something knife-wielding bots and then fending them off. They then decided that this was fun. Well, it was.
So it's a "mod" of a mod (using that term loosely) of HL2.
7
which was inspired by the zombie survival mod of garrys mod which was a mod of HL2,
So, A mod of a mod inspired by a mod of a mod of a mod. My head hurts.
1
Oh man, that new clarinet and fiddle horde music is AWESOME.
4
lol.
Great features such as:
Clarinet Music! New Sunny Graphics! New weapons! New characters!
OMG PLEASE TAKE MY $40 dollars!!!!
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"Are you really going to shoot a guy in a $3,000 dollar suit? C'mon!"
3
Looking at that third video, the new special zombie is called a Charger. Don't know what that will entail as far as gameplay goes.
EDIT: Further down the thread, there's a preview that mentions it. It seems to pretty much just try and run you down.
2
Wow, looks just like the first one. . . The New Orleans setting is cool, but I'm not sure I'm interested in the same gameplay all over again.
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[deleted]
32
But you know what? I think this "brighter" zombie apocalypse will be even cooler, and much more realistic. I mean, who would honestly be traveling at night. Besides, the insides of buildings will still be dark and creepy.
I applaud valve for bringing a zombie game into a new creative and original direction.
Although, I too think it's a bit early to be releasing a sequel, unless of course they reduce the cost to previous L4D owners.
edit: I just watched some gameplay videos, and it looks really awesome. The daylight is a definite plus. I am going to love this game.
28
It's not really all that original, the lighting reminds me a lot of Dead Rising. That and the chainsaw...
5
Yeah, they definitely thought for more than 2 seconds about Dead Rising when they designed this game.
And that 2 seconds was dedicated to something other than them crafting an achievement called "Dead Rising don't have shit", which is obtained by loading up the game. Definitely.
2
I agree with all that you said. I especially want to support your point that fighting in the light isn't a shame or not hardcore.
2
It's like Night of the Living Dead vs. Dawn of the Dead.
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[deleted]
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I think there are multiple good examples of zombie based games and movies that use sunlight (Resident Evil 5, Dead Rising, and Dawn of the Dead). I think it just seems odd when comparing it to L4D's color palate.
3
One hands-on preview describes some interesting-sounding features:
- Ability to pick up a magazine of incendiary ammo.
- Zombies in hazmat suits can walk through molotovs.
- Certain regions of the map will be randomized.
- There will be alternate routes that may be longer/harder, but will have more goodies.
- Some "crescendo" events will require the team to reach a certain point before it ends, preventing the hit-the-switch-and-defend-from-a-corner strategy. I guess they're calling these "gauntlets."
- Witches can now be wandering, so they're harder to avoid.
So it's a bit more than an add-on pack, but it sure would be nice to get one or two new campaigns for the original L4D before the sequel comes out.
30
"Zombies in hazmat suits"
L4D has jumped the shark.
10
I think the idea is that these are supposed to be the CDC guys who showed up to deal with the infection, and became infected themselves.
7
It does seem kind of silly at first, but if you were faced with some kind of infection that was turning everyone around you into mindless killing machines, it would make a little bit of sense to put on a hazmat suit.
Obviously it doesn't help at all.
4
I'm wondering how so many people got a hold of them. I don't think they sell them at corner groceries.
3
You mean you don't have one safely packed in your Zombie Preparedness Kit?
2
I'd expect nearly every hazmat suit in existence to be shipped to an area full of dangerous diseases by the CDC....
1
Dear gods I hope with all my might that this isn't true...
0
I wonder with the chainsaw if you will no longer have unlimited pistol ammo.
3
My guess is that the chainsaw holds the primary weapon slot... you can have it instead of a shotgun/rifle.
5
I'm hoping it will go in the usual new-inventory style: Melee, Light weapon\pistol, Heavy weapon, grenades.
also, am I the only one hoping that they will add different kinds of pistols, with different specs? desert eagle has more firepower, but smaller clip, while a Colt 1911 has a large clip, but less stopping power.
2
Actually at about 0:32 in this gameplay video you can see a tooltip that says, "Pistols have unlimited ammo".
2
Chainsaw > pistol
1
Incendiary ammo: griefer heaven.
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[deleted]
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0:54
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I noticed that too! Don't know why you're getting [EDIT: downmodded]; it is the exact same sound effect.
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Protip: Say downmodded. Buried is a term used at Digg.com .
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[deleted]
1
Something about this doesn't seem right. The long chain of content updates from the tf2 team, and a rapid fire game release from the l4d team before they have even released the full SDK or the new lobby/match making system seems odd. I am all down for new content in l4d this seems a bit soon to charge for another full game IMO. If they do release this thing soon they need to release all the verses campaigns at the same time they release the game, the release pace of the original versus maps (and lack of sdk for user created content) left the pvp content anemic.
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Wow, I made the same joke in a similar context a few days ago and thought I was being delightfully original. Now it looks like I'm a plagiarist. FUCK!
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downvoted for being a plagiarizing FUCK!
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downvoted for being a plagiarizing FUCK
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upvoted for spelling plagiarising wrong
[note: I am being an idiot]
0
Half Life 2 Episode 3, got to get the priorities straight.
24
Left 4 Dead 2 in New Orleans??? Heck yes.
Do we get to clear out a Superdome full of zombies?
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L4D2 AKA Zombie Katrina : "The way it REALLY was."
Trailer finishes up with zombie Mike Meyers biting into Kayne west.
27
George Bush doesn't care about dead people.
16
Hahahahahahaha.
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[deleted]
1
Too soon.
-1
Dude, I live here. If the zombie virus attacks during a Saints game, I will be one of the zombies getting cleared out of the Superdome. :-P
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People attend those games? Oh... wait, the opposing teams have fans.
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Oh man, that's so funny, I almost forgot that the Saints have sold-out the Superdome (capacity 72,000) since 2006 and have a waiting list of over 10,000 people!
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Hell no. Not nearly soon enough. ;]
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[deleted]
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I think we can all agree on the fact that although great fun to play, Left for Dead was rushed. Evident by the missing multiplayer campaigns, and more subtley by some of the broken gameplay mechanics, like corner camping and witches.
So now Valve has had all this time to look at how people play, to understand the flaws. I imagine their developers sitting around a table, listing all the problems in the game and there possible solutions. Eventually they come to the conclusion that rebuilding the fundamentals is the best way to go.
It's like engineering. If your design is broken, it's broken. You can try to apply all the little patches and fixes you want, but sometimes it's just better to start over.
7
So to 'fix' the game they rush out and build a whole new one with an entire new engine. They'll also probably charge a full price tag for it. So basically everybody who bought the original Left 4 Dead signed up for a years beta test. Brilliant.
2
Do you regret the purchase? Did you not get your moneys worth of entertainment from Left for Dead?
I might be reading too much into this but it seems alot of people are evaluating the worth of the game based on industry standards instead of the quality of the actual product.
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Do you regret the purchase?
Well yes.
In a year what will happen to the L4D online scene? (dead) Will there be more content patches like TF2? (no)
The release of L4D2 kills L4D.
5
Left for Dead
That's not the name of the game :)
Evident by the missing multiplayer campaigns,
You mean not being able to play versus on Dead Air and Death Toll. This has been explained about a thousand times but I guess once more won't hurt. The versus mode for those campaigns was completed and even playable (although a custom server was needed) from the initial release. However during beta testing they realized that those two maps were too difficult as survivors and needed to be reworked. Instead of holding up the entire game they temporarily disabled those two maps in versus mode. Would you have preferred the entire game be delayed for months, or the maps to have been released in an unbalanced state?
So now Valve has had all this time to look at how people play, to understand the flaws.
I completely agree with you here. Keep in mind that L4D pretty much invented a new kind of multiplayer FPS and expecting the first game to have flawless mechanics is naive at best. I think the reason they're going for a sequel is that some of the fundamental mechanics will be changing, such that the experience of the game will be substantially different from the original. I'm kinda glad they're taking this route, because for all its flaws, L4D has a particular charm about its quirks that I would be disappointed to see patched away forever.
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I'm not criticizing valve for their decision to release the game without the multiplayer maps, just using it to illustrate that the game was released prior to being done.
2
I'm inclined to agree, although I know I'll end up buying it anyway when there's a pricecut.
I was just starting to get some RL friends into L4D as well... >_<
1
My guess is it's really just free DLC for Left4dead, but they're calling it Left4dead 2 because it's a new campaign. I hope I'm not wrong, or Valve will have totally gone back on both their word and history. Either that, or it's a joke from Valve making fun of players requesting things like chainsaws.
1
It's a pretty well made joke. There's been interviews released and it's been confirmed on the official forum and has it's own website. If it was DLC I suspect they would of said so immediatly. My gut feeling as it stands is that they are releasing the second half of a whole game.
I hope that they do the right thing and release it for a fair price otherwise they'd have sold out and ripped us all of as undoubtedly the original L4D will receive no support now even though it has a multitude of bugs and still has a distinct lack of content.
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Well, it just doesn't seem like Valve to do something like that, so I'm holding out hope. I hope they continue their outstanding tradition.
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Yeah, it's so lame that Valve wants to make money giving people awesome games. Bastards.
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Making money by overcharging and screwing their fans is not what valve is known for.
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I got close to 100 hours of play out of L4D. For $50 I wouldn't consider that getting screwed or being overcharged. $9 to see Star Trek (2hrs) = $4.50/hr. $50 for L4D (100hrs) = $0.5/hr.
Just because Valve has been incredibly generous with TF2 doesn't mean they're shafting everyone with L4D. I spent $50 on HL2 and didn't get any extra content. I've played it a total of maybe 20 hours. From what I'm seeing in this thread, that means I should be pissed off.
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I consider the amount of time taken to develope when thinking about how much a game should cost. It has nothing to do with pleasure.
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Hear hear!
It occurs to me that what people are getting with L4D2 is the quick yearly episodic gaming they expected the HL2 episodes to be... yet now it comes with an implication that Valve is either a) stealing peoples money or b) rushing to release an inferior product. Don't look gift horses in the mouth people
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I'm going to be one of the nice guys and reserve judgment for this. I can't help but feel like this could just be some silly reskin with chainsaws.
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I'm sure there'll be some sort of plot this time around, I wouldn't mind some sort of connection with other bands of survivors or the original l4d cast.
At this point in time the whole thing looks as though it could fit into an expansion... Still reserving judgment though.
1
I read the RockPaperShotgun preview that someone linked to (here) and from what they explain it seems like a worthy reboot of the original. I'd check it out, it definitely swung my opinion to the positive.
It looks like they took the basic L4D mechanics and then used it as the foundation for a mansion of great ideas.
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L4D probably wasn't a finished game seeing as this one is coming out so soon.
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Really, I don't recall anyone calling it buggy. It certainly has provided hours and hours of fun for hundreds of thousands of users. How can you call that unfinished?
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I meant unfinished in a demonstration sort. Like look what our new AI can do. I enjoy the game and still play it, but this new version just seems so more polished, almost like a mix of TF2 in it.
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Loading screen poster and box art
http://img3.imagebanana.com/view/4ob2fr2h/L4D2_TheParish.jpg
http://img3.imagebanana.com/view/8nnh0wdt/L4D2_EAx360PFTfront02.jpg
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I hope that box art isn't real, haha. That's pretty pathetic if it is.
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Why? I think it's a clever play off their last cover.
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Eh, I like it, but here in the UK giving 2 fingers like that is like giving the middle finger.
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I was visiting paris one time and some guy did that to my face. I thought he was giving me an angry backwards peace sign haha. I didn't realize till afterwards I just got flicked off.
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Even better.
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I wonder if they've considered that.
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It's real. I'm indifferent to it, personally.
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"Newell said that Valve's support of the game post-launch will be essential for growing the community.
He said: "One of the things that we're doing is we seem to be in a transition between games as a package product and games more of a service. So if you look at Team Fortress 2, one of things that's really helped grow the community is the continuous updates, where we release new maps, new character classes, new unlockables, new weapons. And we tell the stories about the characters, like the meet the sniper, or meet the sandwich. And that ongoing delivery of content really seems to grow the community.
"So each time we've released one of those for Team Fortress 2 we've seen about a 20% increase in the number of people who are playing online. And that number is really important because it determines how many community created maps there are, how many servers are running, and so on. So we'll do the same thing with Left 4 Dead where we'll have the initial release and then we'll release more movies, more characters, more weapons, unlockables, achievements, because that's the way you continue to grow a community over time." "
Yeah. Thanks for that awesome support and content Valve. We only just got the completed game piped through to us a couple of months back.
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They should update both stories parallel to each other and not have it be so much a sequel.
I always thought L4D was an incomplete game anyway ,more like beta test for this one.
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I think you accidentally that last sentence.
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Thanks for that.
0
The WHOLE sentence?
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I always L4D was an incomplete game anyway
That phrase no verb.
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[deleted]
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Huh, new characters. I guess that makes sense. I liked the old gang though, perhaps they'll still be playable somehow.
Better quality version over at GameTrailers.
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They've got the suave guy, the chick, the big fat dude, and the action guy.
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[deleted]
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heh, although the "action guy" looks like he delivers pizzas as his "action"
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Nice southern drawl on the action guy.
"Man, I wish we had a horse. I love horses."
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"Have you ever eaten horse before?"
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Anyone hoping that the minimal delay between the games is a sign that its bundled with something?
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Could be that Valve is going EA on us.
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TF2 seems to prove differently though :/ .
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Portal 2 or Half-Life 2: Episode 3, maybe?
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Portal 2 and Half-Life 2: Episode 3
Fixed.
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I hope so, ’cause there’s no way I’m going to spend $50 on content that should have been in (or added to) the original Left 4 Dead.
Either that or a discounted price ($30 seems fair, but I would still be hesitant).
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OK so we have axes, chainsaws, base ball bats, a frying pan, and some new characters. Couldn't this all have been done with L4D 1? I feel shafted... I bought the game a couple of months ago and now they are going to release a new one that is going to kill of the L4D 1 community. =/.
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Yep. It looks like they're releasing the game everybody thought they were going to release.
Also; is the l4d SDK out yet? I think we know why now. There would be outdoor daylight maps already if that were the case.
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is the l4d SDK out yet?
Yes.
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Yea but it is hard to actually implement those maps. The only way to join modded servers as far as i know, is if someone gives you the connect IP or server name. I've only played on one modded server (16v16) before so don't take by word for it.
1
Looks like a sad, unoriginal catch-up version to compete with the L4D killer, Killing Floor.
KF already has chainsaws. KF has perks (experience). KF has more originality. Oh, and heads will explode when hit. Not to mention the flamethrower.
How bout releasing more Valve content for L4D1 for all your paying customers; rather than both rely on fan content (cop-out) and release another game (cash-grab).
Shame Valve, shame.
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Sorta my feeling about it as well. Been playing Killing Floor and I like the mechanics of it so much better than L4D. Experience, more interesting and fun weapons, and no mobs that instantly incapacitate teammates. God did that get so old so fast.
KF, like a nice zombie movie, gives one person at least a small hope of surviving. And the voice chat at that point is often like being at a theater, complete with helpful advice yelled at the screen.
"No don't go that way! Get the gun! Get the gun!"
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Oh, so this is why Valve hasn't released any of those promised content updates for L4D. They decided to turn them into a whole new full-priced game.
Valve sold me half a game at full price and now they're going to sell me the other half at full price again?
Full me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
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That reminds me of an old saying in Tennessee, I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee that says, fool me once, shame on.... shame on you. Fool me, you can't get fooled again.
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Looks pretty awesome.. But isn't it a little too soon for another L4D? Wish they could have just squeezed it into another huge patch.
Not to mention, this is fucking Valve we're talking about. It took them 6 years to make a sequel to Half-Life. There's something a little unsettling about cranking out a L4D 2 so fast.
it took them six years because they were creating an entire new engine.
Since then valve has released 6 games using the engine in 5 years:
HL 2 CS:S DoD:S TF2 Portal L4D
l4d2 appears to be, yet again, a slightly upgraded source engine to keep up with the times.
Additionally they already had probably the majority of the AI and 'director' code from the first game.
I wish they would let the older source games use the new engines.
They sometimes do. DoD:S was upgraded to TF2 version not too long ago.
Valve rules. I don't have L4D, so I think I won't be able to resist 2, but it does feel too soon.
EDIT: I stand corrected.
Maybe it was outsourced like Condition Zero? shudders
The company CS:CZ was outsourced to is the company that was initially making Left4Dead before it became a Valve game.
what was so bad about cscz?
I suppose the fact that I dished out $50 for CS 1.7.
Or Battlefield Vietnam. (Outsourced to DICE canada..argh)
Uh... The guys who made CS:CZ also made L4D. Valve basically bought them for their AI.
Left4Dead is one of the few Valve games where I've thought the AI was severely lacking.
Wasn't the team that made L4D absorbed by Valve during the game's development? So maybe they're just better at churning (quality) games out than the HL team?
Me thinks they didnt want to release this update, which it basically is, as an update. Because fans would get mad if they charge for an update, its unlike valve, but they need money so they are branding it as L4D 2, which is totally fair.
How do we know that it's basically an update? All new characters, all new setting, probably all new zombies, etc. Seems like more than a patch to me. Guess we're all just waiting on information at this point though.
Because it's the same exact game. A few new models. Three or four new weapons, and a few new levels? That's it?
I guess we're just spoiled by TF2, as we've gotten what, ten new levels, fifteen or more new weapons, addition of achievements, etc etc?
Maybe we have different opinions on an "update", A valve update is big, game changing, whereas a halo 3 or burnout update is 'adding 3 cars/maps and charging as much as possible'
No, they're already releasing another update for L4D.
I hope this is just an expansion. Up until now I sort of enjoyed the long wait between Valve games. It ensured quality, new ideas and fresh gameplay. A new L4D game so soon makes me think "cash in" which conflicts with what I thought were Valves beliefs.
With only a year between the original and this, I am honestly (cannot believe I am saying this) unlikely to buy this. :(
It's scheduled to come out exactly 364* days after the release of the original.
That's even more cynical than most sequel grabs.
The new content thusfar seems to include new characters, maps, weapons and a new enemy. Which is great, don't get me wrong, but that's an expansion pack at best. A year's development time guarentees it won't be any more than a reskin of the existing game. Nothing new, nothing revolutionary and nothing worthy of the price of a full retail game.
Unless something major is announced between now and then, my respect for Valve is likely to plummet.
(*and that's if you consider it "finished" at release. I understand that's a point of contention with some people.)
If it costs anything more than $19.99, I won't be buying it. Even that seems a little excessive, $9.99 would be more like it.
Even though I was hoping for more free content, 10-15 dollar DLC would be perfectly fine for what it sounds like they're releasing.
crosses fingers
the half off weekend sale, which is how i got L4D, is money.
If you read valve's presentation that was linked to a few days ago on reddit, you'll see that each was added to address a specific gameplay issue. Can't remember the link, but it was something like
Hunter - keep the players together, as people straggling or going ahead will get pinned Smoker - break up tightly packed players Boomer - provide variety from 'shoot everything that moves' (you have to shove him back first or you get slimed) Witch - add tension, sneaking Tank - halt forward momentum, get players to reverse and alter gameplay style
The weak link is the witch IMHO, many people online don't seem to bother sneaking past her, rarely switch off their flashlights, and deal with her as she comes. Hopefully the new character will deal with this and add an element of proper sneaking.
"Many people online don't seem to bother sneaking past her" because she FREQUENTLY BLOCKS THE ONLY WAY OUT.
Plus, because it takes a few seconds for the witch to freak out, she's a sitting (literally) duck to anyone with a shotgun who runs up to her and shoots her in the general head area.
It's much easier to just dispose of the witch in this manner every time than worry about any sort of sneaking around.
Really? I still think people that crown the witch are pretty tough, especially on expert.
People don't sneak past her for two reasons.
its ridiculously easy just to crown her. one shot kills with the shot gun
its much more dangerous to deal with an accidental startling of the witch then a prepared and purposeful one. I start car alarms early, and hold back for the same reason.
I don't know why you are downmodded. Only noobs rely on chance. You only sneak when it makes tactical sense and I certainly disagree with mattxblack that sneaking should be forced on four survivors with guns.
The new Witch wanders around. Satisfied?
Doesn't take much for you, does it?
Well, when a respected company that has released thought-out games that take years in development suddenly starts releasing cannon fodder for the market I'd say its the beginning of the end.
How about you wait 'till it comes out before you start slating it?
You say it like if it's a bad thing.
If I want a full simulation, I'll play the myriad of other war/zombie FPS.
If I want fun, the original L4D mechanics suits me fine.
But yes, we will get "This is what the original retail release should have been" idiots when the 2nd comes out.
What other good zombie FPSes are there? I've tried some HL mods, but didn't care much for them.
Dead Rising was pretty fun.
Edit: have a list of every zombie game ever made: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_undead-themed_video_games
There's a Source mod called Zombie Master that's insanely fun.
three words: zombie chainsaw massacre
[deleted]
I suspect mirco$oft has something to with this sequel, I imagine Valve would have been happy with doing free DLC but MS wanted a whole new game and none-free DLC when it ships.
For the love of God, I'm seeing this shit EVERYWHERE.
It's an E3 TEASER trailer! It's not finished, you haven't seen even half of the content available, so stop acting like you know more about game design than Valve!
Real gameplay, in eight one-minute videos
I'd say it's very near finished and we've seen more than half the content available.
They could have released new weapons for L4D.
They could have released new campaigns for L4D.
They could have released new characters for L4D.
All of which they promised to do.
Instead of releasing those updates, they've packaged them together and are going to release them as another full-priced game.
They are also releasing new types of weapons. They are also releasing new Special infected. They are also releasing new Normal infected types. They are also releasing new types of maps. They are also releasing new types of triggered events. They are also releasing more campaigns and weapons than the entire first game AFTER the Survival mode patch. There are also more announcements to come.
They are ALSO a business, renowned for their generosity no doubt but still a company that has employees to pay, and needs to turn a profit. There is a big difference between that and milking a franchise. [EDIT: grammar]
[Citation Needed]
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/l/left4dead2/
I'm hoping Valve does more than just keep the price $50 on Steam. Something like a sale to those who have the first game.
I'd pay $30 for an "expansion".
I agree. It seems too soon for another L4D. I'd rather they make it a paid DLC.
$39.99 for L4D + DLC
$19.99 or $9.99 for the DLC for current L4D owners
or something along those lines. Releasing a L4D 2 so fast would basically mean they're scrapping the original L4D too soon. I can't help but feel the original L4D still lacks content. I'm sure vanilla L4D can be stretched a little further and be milked for what its worth.
And hell, I just bought this game just a couple of months ago, and now I find out that players are possibly gonna dump this game in favour of L4D2?
Or if they don't, it'll end up being a split community. Like what's happening with CS and CS:S. Why make a sequel so soon when the game is still going strong? After all, it's still running on the same engine. DLC FTW
Paid DLC wouldn't be a horrible idea, but if that's what valve does it will be the first of their DLC that you have to pay for.
Even though I find the idea of paying more for L4D DLC ridiculous when comparing it to the content I get for TF2(for free), I would still pay $20 for more L4D.
I love the armchair quaterbacks in here that saw a teaser trailer for a game and they think they know better than Valve how to handle this. Listen, there are only 2 game companies I have come to trust as far as fun/quality goes and its Blizzard and Valve. When was the last time Valve made a stinker? Let's all settle down, let some info come out, before we start telling them how much to charge for this when we have no idea how much content it is.
it's only inevitable. money talks
ok the last time i was looking at games i noticed that there are 2 versions of L4D. one 39.99 l4d and one Goty l4d which includes survival pack dlc for 49.99. and this was for both xbox and pc. also to this note i work at best buy so i was able to check and see if this was a priceing error. no sure enugh they are differnt versions but you buy the cheep one go online (which steam requires you to do to play) and get the same content. WTF valve.
Patch aside, I don't think that it's too soon.
L4D is a simple game, with simple gameplay. Asking for any more time is asking for things like buying weapons, an inventory, complex enemies behavior and other unfunny crap.
That they launch it that fast makes me hope that it will be a simple and fun game like the original.
[deleted]
Of course, this presumes that L4D was a completed game, and not just an early release...
I've always felt that L4D was really missing something without axes and chainsaws...
L4D still has some issues that I really wish they would address. Among the most irritating:
Boomer Mechanics (vomit and explosion)
Invisible walls...everywhere I want to be.
Glitchy spawn locations (tanks especially)
Horrible AI (excusable only due to the multiplayer nature)
I have other contentions but they exist for gameplay reasons (characters can't do a pullup, zombies can be stunned but humans can't, etc.)
The invisible walls are there due to the limitations imposed by the source Engine. Compared to more modern engines like Cryengine, Unreal, and the Doom3 engine, the source engine doesn't support background culling (except for on brushes) and instead you have to deal with Vis areas generated by brushes and wrestle with Vis-groups
It's... just a huge hastle to keep the frame-rates low when mapping for source. It would create a massive impact on the majority of player's lag and framerates to build more of the map then is absolutely needed. The invisible walls are simply work-arounds so that hunters don't have 5 miles of empty city to jump around where the action will never happen.
As a general rule of thumb though for map makers is that if you have to resort to invisible walls to keep the player from getting somewhere, you need to rethink your design (Unless it's something simple like using a block player textured brush to make it so they can't jump on a molecule thin corner and exploit-jump out of the map)
It would take me hours and tons of paragraphs I really don't feel like typing to explain how Vis-groups, brushes, Func_details, all the tool brushes, and smart map optimization are needed to make a Source engine map playable and decent looking. Just take that it's way more fucking complicated then it needs to be compared to all the other engines out there competing with Valve's.
^---- Valve employee!
Quick, lets spam him with questions before he gets away!
So what you're saying is to not blame the game for having an inferior engine?
I'd love to see a L4D type of zombie game done on the CryEngine or Unreal engine. Here's to hoping that ones gets made!
I completely agree- especially invisible walls. As a hunter, I should be able to go anywhere within the confines of "wrong way!" The fact that I can't jump over the buildings after the church level in death toll really pissed me off. I think that's because the game was a bit rushed, - here's to hoping that L4D2 fixes some of these annoying issues. Valve has yet to disappoint, so I'll look forward to November and hope the game is as good as we all hope!
Valve creates great games, but they love invisible walls, in games where they actually matter.
I can't count the number of roofs you should be able to rocket jump on top of in TF2, but can't. The fact that this happens when there's a class specifically designed to be able to do that is especially irritating. Still love TF2 though.
Edit: Because I think some people might be misunderstanding, I'm specifically talking about invisible walls. I'm not advocating that every roof be rocket-jumpable, I'm just saying that if it's short enough for you to jump over the roof you shouldn't mysteriously stop in mid-air.
Didn't you two just name several disappointments with the game?
That is the exact level I was thinking of in my post. The fence to the right of the church discontinues at the street but you can't walk along behind it as an infected.
my main problem with boomers is that they don't die easily. normally, I'd accept the difficulty of killing, but if I fill a gas-bloated stomach with hot lead, I expect it to burst.
I agree with you on spawn locations... can be a drag. I had a tank actually spawn on top of me on top of Mercy Hospital, since we split into groups, one on each side. asshole punted me right off the edge.
and characters not being able to pull themselves up really blows. really, really.
The boomer has 50 health because you need to be able to bash it multiple times before killing it. If you accidentally knock the boomer into a wall instead of it staggering down the hallway, away from your team, you need to be able to try again. As it is the boomer still explodes on the 5th smack.
but less than walking off an edge you weren't expecting and just falling to your death with no recourse
(at least according to the in-game commentary)
I concur. I'd rather they spent longer on it and made it more epic, rather than release essentially the same game we have now with a few gimmicks. Also, in valve tradition you'd think there'd be a lot more life left in the original l4d. I was expecting them to continue to update and support that game for at least another couple of years.
I think there is enough new content to justify a new game.And looking at the trailer, I think the system requirements will have increased, it seems like there are more environmental physics as well as flesh destruction physics.
The only problem people seem to be having with this, is that it's launching too soon. I for one would like a fully fleshed out game from valve as soon as possible.
Still can't see my teammates flashlight beams :(
I hope they enable that for the PC version for people with graphical horsepower to spare. I think it will be impossible for the console version.
I thought network code was a major reason for leaving that out, I could be wrong though.
Couldn't it provide an unfair advantage to those who have the cash for a machine that's capable of rendering it?
EDIT: Apparently a lot of people have forgotten that the game also has a versus mode.
You are judging an games graphics based on a theatrical trailer, what does not make sense?
The game looks like it has been rendered in engine with a few detail tweaks, and enabling of real motion blur, which is the only thing not capable of running in real time.
What I was trying to say is that you cannot judge a games quality by its trailer.
Agreed. It is just going to become another Battlefield game, they will milk it until it dies.
I think you are mistaken. I do not think valve will milk this till it dies. I think they will do a good job with this series.
Since I already pointed out my opinions about l4d2, I'll go totally off topic and ask if your user name is somehow inspired by the Penny Arcade Games?
Pretty sure that L4D is the most fleshed out game out there ;)
It does feel like it's too soon, but if they release this one at a much lower cost than the original (say, $35) I'd still buy it.
However, if it turns out to be full price I think I'd rather wait.
I paid $20 for L4D... how much was retail?
It's been awhile since I bought it, but I think it was $50.
I paid €25 when it was 50% off on one of their weekend deals. Unless L4D2 is completley packed with awesome new stuff I'm not paying €50 for some new weapons and maps.
I paid $39 for mine, buying it on a weekend discount, along with my friend's Gamestop discount card.
Because God forbid that you should actually have to pay for Valve's hard work. Seems like Valve spoiled us with all that free content- now people are expecting it, like spoiled children.
No, it just feels odd to be abandoning L4D after a single year.
They could have done :
It'd be real fun to add what they're showing to the current L4D. There's no reason they couldn't, it looks like it's basically the same game.
Disregarding the Survival pack update, I think Valve is gonna leave it up to us- full custom content support is coming any week now.
Patches do not money make.
This is Valve we're talking about. They release free patches and even massive free expansion packs to their games, and get an insane increase in their sales.
I agree but then why L4D2 so soon?
My money is on Microsoft pushing them into it.
L$D
hold shift and type L4D
Different development team.
Why not? The game engine exists, only need to create a few more maps and textures. Strike while the iron's hot
actually they do, and the source we have for that is gabe newell, who runs valve.
http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/693342/Live-Blog-DICE-2009-Keynote---Gabe-Newell-Valve-Software.html#ixzz0HD8WC0Jh&B
After having just about every sci-fi show that I like be canceled because they don't make them enough money, I've learnt my leason . When something good comes along I have no problem paying some money for it.
I could be wrong, but I don't think it actually matters if you watch a tv show. The only people that matter are people who have the nelson monitoring devices installed in their TV's. They then take the shows that people with the box watch and extrapolate how many people are watching a particular show from there.
Well I'm sure they take DVD sales into account. Anything that they can make money from, I sure they take into account.
think its "neilson"
There's surveillance equipment in my TV? How do I get it out?