January 22, 2010 - L4D Team

LINK

With our last update having come out a few weeks ago and the next one a few weeks out, we wanted to let people know what we are working on. In addition to "The Passing" DLC, we are working on some other updates coming for both PC and 360. While not a complete list by any means, we wanted to give a heads up on a few Versus changes coming.

Bots
We are adding bots for the Infected team to help out the Infected when they are down a man or two. This will also make 1v1 Versus a bit more fun.

Auto-spawning
We've also been experimenting with a solution for auto-spawning in Versus finales. Even though it's pretty obvious from the L4D forums that EVERYONE LOVES auto-spawning in finales, we figured, what the hell-we'd just go ahead and remove auto-spawning anyway. But before we make any change to Versus we always need to see how the game is currently being played.

So how do finales currently play out? Across all finales in Left 4 Dead 2 currently, a single survivor has a 34.56% chance of escaping. That includes the Concert Finale in "Dark Carnival", which boasts close to a 50% escape rate (and yes, a fix for everyone's favorite cheese spot is coming). Remove the Concert Finale, and we see the average drop to 29.61%. With these figures in mind, when we make changes, we can measure the difference and see how much the change impacted the balance.

Another stat we often see discussed: What gets played more, Versus or Campaign? It really depends on the day, as they are almost always statistically tied. They are unquestionably the two favorite modes of Left 4 Dead.

Also: With work on "The Passing" in full swing, we will soon be recording the actors. First up in our recording sessions is everybody's favorite suit-wearing zombie killer Nick, played by Hugh Dillon. If you haven't already caught it, Hugh's show Durham County has been picked up by ION and is on Sunday nights at 10pm.

Lastly, in case you missed it, the CG Society has an interview up with Valve's own Randy Lundeen and Jeremy Bennett.

Turning Silver into Gold

January 12, 2010 - L4D Team

For this weekend only, Microsoft is hosting a free multiplayer weekend for Left 4 Dead 2. What does this mean? You don't need to have an Xbox Live Gold account to access Left 4 Dead 2's multiplayer features. That's right: You will be upgraded from Silver to Gold for free. You can go online alone or with a split-screen friend. This event starts at 5pm GMT Friday, January 15th and ends at 5pm on Sunday the 18th.

In other news: We've just rolled out a new PC update that you can read more about here. Xbox 360 users should be seeing a console version of this same patch very soon.

Also, over the next few weeks, keep an eye on your favorite gaming web sites and magazines for new info on our upcoming DLC "The Passing".

If you are playing in the event, check out the bracket (click it to enlarge):

Try to get your first round matches (on atrium) finished by Sunday, January 24th. You can go to the sign-up thread to find contact information.

Greetings everyone, eXtine here from CommL4D and CommFT and I have with me Greg Dale, a good friend of a good friend who just so happens to be the voice of the Midnight Riders!   
 

eXtine: Let's start with a little bit about yourself, are you a professional musician and how long have you been involved with music? 

Greg: yes I am and have been for a long while now but I do have to do other stuff to make ends meet. I have been known to spray paint myself gold and do the robot for spare change or rent scuba gear and go diving in wishing wells. 

eXtine: What was the audition process like for this gig? 

Greg: Basically I got contacted by the good people at Valve to go audition at some secret location. When the chloroform wore off we ran through some stuff and I got the good word a day or two later. 

eXtine: And once you got the job, how long were you recording? 

Greg: The first two songs that are featured in the game were done at once. My parts took a day or so. We had a blast. 

Its finally here guys.  The first actual game play changing config by CEVO has been released.  This config is powered by SRS.  This mod will be used in the upcoming Alienware Tournament and all other CEVO events as well.  All teams are advised to install this on their servers now and begin getting used to it.  Any bugs that are found should be immediattly reported in the corrosponding thread as CEVO wants a bug free config for the upcoming tournament.

DOWNLOAD LINK:  http://code.google.com/p/l4d2-cevo-configs/downloads/list

Here are the list of gameplay changes in RC1:

Tanks will spawn on every map (even maps that don't allow it)
Common zombies will despawn if they fall behind survivors (and respawn in front)
Tank temporary immunity after spawn
AI tank will be frozen, will not throw rocks, and will have godmode
Player tank will have fire immunity and godmode for 2 seconds
No more prelights or getting rushed by melee cause tank was rock throwing!
Medkit/pill adjustments
Director pills are completely removed
All medkits (except the saferoom ones) are converted to pills

The following items removed
Defibs
Grenade launcher
Chainsaw
Explosive/Incendiary Ammo
Laser upgrade

Built-in ConVar

Reduce medkit/pill density
Increase witch rage barrier (more aggro)
Change jockey to recharge in 15 seconds after an incap
Tank chance to spawn 100% on every map in the same spot
Witch chance to spawn 100% on 2,3,4 if possible

The Comic is back after a long and relaxing Vacation.  CEVO Finals are starting up this week and everyone is excited.  For those people that havnt seen the brackets yet, Here they are...

Versus:    http://www.cevo.com/playoffs/bracket.php?id=876

Scavenge:  http://www.cevo.com/playoffs/bracket.php?id=878

Gonna keep the comic back on its normal schedule, after today, you'll be able to view it in the comic page.  Happy Gaming.