Left4Dead 2 announced

[illvm]

Yay! Yet another game from Valve that's not Episode 3.

 

[KeithP]

Ars has an interview with Chet Faliszek, one of the project leads on Left 4 Dead.

The way it appears to me is that Valve is not sufficiently fulfilling their promise to develop additional content for Left 4 Dead. Unless/until they do so, in my eyes they drop to "EA status" in reputation.

-KeithP

 

[Inspector Jihad]

After reading the article I kinda see where they are going with this. But it needs to have a lot more shit than new characters and infected with multiple hit boxes to justify a sequel. But they're really going to be splitting the community becuase I know not everyone is going to run out and buy L4D2, so they need to take that into consideration.

 

[Alex C]

I saw a post on the L4D forums a while back by some kid describing his idea for a new Charger infected, and it's exactly what they just described in the article. I hope they give the kid some credit.

 

[TheMeanestGuest]

Personally, this is unexpected and unwelcome.

I really don't want Valve to turn into a sequel factory, Left 4 Dead with a roster update every year is not my idea of fun.

I'm mostly upset because Valve told us there would be significant amounts of new content added for free ala TF2. I bought the game even though I had heard from friends that it was somewhat lacking in content because of Valve's reputation and their promise of future support.

Here's a quote from Gabe Newell in regards to L4D support: "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." - http://www.videogamer.com/pc/l...dead_launch_plans.html

This will also split the community and that is not a good thing.

Since I didn't see it posted yet here's a link to the boycott group on the steam community. There are over 5500 members already.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Originally posted by: zerocool84
Yea the "dynamic" balance is 2 smg and 2 shotgun.

Except if you know there is going to be a tank before T2s then it is often best to stack up on SMGs to keep a constant bead of fire on it so he cannot catch up to any of the survivors.

If its a close quarters map and you know there won't be a tank then you might as well go all shot gun...

My whole point is that more weapons with different attributes could be added and/or they could change the distinction between T1 and T2 weapons so that it might not be best to "upgrade"

Originally posted by: skace

Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles
making a game that complex but keeping it balanced for Vs. play is easier said than done, which is exactly why Killing Floor doesn't have a Vs. mode

I'm not saying it can't be done, just don't expect any quantum leaps. It sounds like you're more in it for the co-op experience than the Vs. and this game is naturally going to be more catered to the Vs. crowd as they're the ones that will be investing more of their time into it.

I understand that the "versus crowd" (I play some vs but certainly not a ton) probably invest more time. However, VS was an afterthought, this was a coop game from the get go and everything they do should center around making it a better coop game. If that means that some of the features they add have to be disabled to keep VS mode balanced, then so be it, I don't see why that's a big deal. Make it RPGish for coop and Arcadey for VS.

I just think they have a few shortcomings they need to address to strengthen the coop and if they don't look at them properly I don't know how many people are going to continue coming back to the game. Right now the coop difficulty bar is set by spawning multiple special zombies at a time with scripted sequences. Tongue 1 guy, pounce another, and boom the last 2, that'll kill them. That's cool and all, but I'd like to see other scenarios. If you play a lot of Killing Floor, you'll notice that at times you can run off on your own, no fear of any scripted sequence, however the game has a way of closing in on you, like a zombie movie. To the point where, sure, you may be faster than most of these zombies, however they've surrounded you and left you wishing you never strayed from the pack. This is different from L4D where the game just kind of says "hey you're alone, how about a smoker drags you off from 9000 feet and you can't do a damn thing about it". In other words, KF gives me the illusion that I might survive and forces me to go down struggling/shooting. L4D makes you want to just let go of the mouse and keyboard and watch.

Even if Vs. was an "afterthought" for L4D, its the heart and soul of the game as it is.

Also, wanting a coop game where you do not have to cooperate doesn't sound like the right direction for a coop game, at least not IMO...

 

[KeithTalent]

Versus is all I play. The most enjoyable part of the game for me is playing the infected.

KT

 

[HumblePie]

picked up the original a couple weeks back on a deal for $20 and I am happy with the purchase. So, I am actually looking forward to the sequel... once it also hits $20

 

[dguy6789]

Originally posted by: illvm
Yay! Yet another game from Valve that's not Episode 3.

Episode 3 better be as long as all of HL2 by this point or a lot of people will be pissed.

 

[shortylickens]

Originally posted by: Udgnim
seems way too early for a sequel

surprised that Valve is taking the route of milking the franchise instead of supporting it with updates

I guess they learned their lesson with Half-Life 2.
A whole new game probably sells better than an expansion pack.

 

[Zenoth]

Originally posted by: dguy6789

Originally posted by: illvm
Yay! Yet another game from Valve that's not Episode 3.

Episode 3 better be as long as all of HL2 by this point or a lot of people will be pissed.

The problem is that Valve doesn't care when people get pissed. In fact you could well explode from the result of one of their game being sucky if such a thing could ever happen, and they still wouldn't care. All they care about is their own ideas and money.

 

[firefold001]

I'm assuming they have different teams for different games, and I'm equally sure the half-life team is, in fact, concentrating on wrapping up the half life 2 series.

Plus, in my opinion, TF2 outshines HL2 and the episodes, even though they were amazing themselves.

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Anandtech PC Gaming Moderator
KeithTalent

 

[Dumac]

Just wanted to point out the differences in thought between this thread and this Console gaming thread.

 

[PepePeru]

sucks.
we paid to be a beta tester.

I've always thought Valve was better than this shit.

 

[Praxis1452]

I bought L4d for $50 just because I thought I generally like zombie games. Played all the campaigns, played a bit with some friends. Tried Versus, was shit, still is shit, worthless. Ran through the campaigns 2-3 times and that was it. What bullshit.

 

[Molondo]

I enjoy the first one. I never played versus, but i really enjoy playing the campaigns on expert. I try to get in a game everynight. I'm both excited and dissapointed about the the coming of L4D2. I wished they released some more content.

 

[OCGuy]

Why are the people surprised? Look at all the idiots who support the shitty MMA model.


Millions buy the game, then pay monthly, and then still pay for expansions.

FPS games want a piece of the pie as well.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

Originally posted by: G Wizard
sucks.
we paid to be a beta tester.

I've always thought Valve was better than this shit.

i wouldn't go that far, but yes it was a letdown.

 

[Gothgar]

at first I thought this was cool, a new game with Valve made awesomeness

but now I am pissed this sucks

 

[Sureshot324]

They should make at least one more campaign for L4D1. They didn't explicitly promise they would, but they sure did lead us on, and a lot of people bought it with that expectation.

 

[Alex C]

I'd be a little happier with them abandoning the first one if they made it easier for us to use user created maps and campaigns online.

 

[Superrock]

If you haven't seen it, it's hilarious.

Hitler's response to L4D2

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: OCguy
Why are the people surprised? Look at all the idiots who support the shitty MMA model.

Dana White???

 

[Oakenfold]

Originally posted by: TridenTBoy3555

Originally posted by: Oakenfold
This is great news!!! Apparently I'm in the minority here, sorry that the tons of posters above me have not shared my experience with this incredible game.

According to my stats I'm at 190 hours play time, my original investment of $50 has far exceeded my expectations for cost of entertainment per hour.

Jeez... For 190 hours you should be godly at it...

I know right! :laugh:

It doesn't sound like there are many of you on these forums that will be playing the game when it comes out, I will feel terribly for you all when I'm mutilating zombies with a chainsaw..


I'm really surprised at the number of people pissed at Valve in this thread, maybe you guys should do a letter or something?

 

[spaceman]

Originally posted by: Oakenfold

Originally posted by: TridenTBoy3555

Originally posted by: Oakenfold
This is great news!!! Apparently I'm in the minority here, sorry that the tons of posters above me have not shared my experience with this incredible game.

According to my stats I'm at 190 hours play time, my original investment of $50 has far exceeded my expectations for cost of entertainment per hour.

Jeez... For 190 hours you should be godly at it...

I know right! :laugh:

It doesn't sound like there are many of you on these forums that will be playing the game when it comes out, I will feel terribly for you all when I'm mutilating zombies with a chainsaw..


I'm really surprised at the number of people pissed at Valve in this thread, maybe you guys should do a letter or something?

sweet i have almost 100 hours in and im a $23.99er.
i cant wait for the 2nd one, i have little doubt it will be well worth it.