Left4Dead 2

[Defrag]

Well, I'll keep an eye on it. Though, I will explain the rank comment so I don't look like a lunatic. Rank is the name given to a mechanic that's been in games for several decades, particularly arcade games*, that changes the difficulty based on how good you are, or are not. The difference being it was hidden away from the player instead of given a marketing term...

I don't mind this when it's campaign mode, as it makes it possible for friends with different skill levels to play with one another. However, I was pretty irked by the balance choices made for L4D's versus mode, though. The whole point in versus is that it's team v team, and the scoring should reflect the abilities of each team.

For a long time, players thought the health distribution was the same for both teams, but just spread out differently. However, it's not even pseudo-random or indeed remotely fair. The director gives different items to each team depending on how badly hurt they are; this totally ruins the balance on many of the maps. You can be absolutely pounding a survivor team to the point where they're on their last legs. The survivors reach a checkpoint (e.g. panic event health box) and receive 3 medkits, resulting in them carrying on like nothing happened. This is amplified by 'humps' in various maps where some earlier areas are brutal -- one team may get wiped, whereas the other may crawl over the hump but soon get healed up to respectable health levels.

You can verify that this happens by going into spectator mode when dead as infected, then clipping your free roaming camera through the boxes where items are dished out. At the start of the round, each box contains 4 pills max. As the survivors take more damaged, pills turn into medkits. If you need the health kits, they are magicked up. If you don't need the health kits, you don't get them. As a result, it is possible for a team to take a pounding but to score respectably, whereas your team coasts, gets no extras and maybe wins by 100 to 400 points tops depending on the difficulty multiplier. It's possible to dominate on 4 maps, but still lose the finale if they make to the chopper and you get wiped. E.g. you score 400 more per round in rounds 1 to 4 -- their team limps home each time after using about 9000 health kits. Then, on the finale, you get someone punched off a roof by a tank and get wiped... the other team can now have one lucky-ish round and win despite getting dominated in rounds 1 to 4.

I hope they haven't carried this system over to L4D2 because it was really crap.

There was a simple server mod that altered this behaviour for the better. You were given 4 health kits in the safe room, and beyond that you could only find pills. I.e. you'd better save that medkit until you're black and white each time or you're going to lose. It made the game a lot more tough if you took a beating as survivors To me, this was the best way forward. It meant if you were playing a bad round, you got punished for it. You didn't magically get over a 'hump' and coast home with loads of health that you were only entitled to because of how badly you were playing.

[Pampers]

For a long time, players thought the health distribution was the same for both teams, but just spread out differently. However, it's not even pseudo-random or indeed remotely fair. The director gives different items to each team depending on how badly hurt they are; this totally ruins the balance on many of the maps.

They changed this to be the same for both teams in a patch not long ago.

[Defrag]

Unless it was a very recent patch, it's not fixed. I only stopped playing a few months back. I remember when they changed the tank + witch spawns to be in very similar areas for both teams, but that's about it.

[cincinnati]

it was part of the crash course update.

i personally don't like the mechanic as a solution. while i agree that items should be equal, putting them in the exact same spot exacerbates another area of the game that seems difficult to reconcile for competitive play...knowing where things are (first team searches...second team just remembers).

[Chrono]

Has anyone else found that the melee weapons are too good? Someone was telling me he felt like an idiot walking around with a gun when someone running around holding down the 'fire' button with the machete was far more effective and got several times the amount of kills.

In my four or five plays of the demo, I've always seen it as a trade off. It can be more effective, but removes the safe distance away from zombies when gunning them down with a pistol. This combined with the time in between swings leads to you taking more damage, which is a pretty reasonable trade off for strategic use.

[Scinbed]

You're also at risk of being shot by team members being so close to the zombies.

[Seldoon182]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSS3AMvmpMo

[Minos]

Just pre-ordered it =)

[Lord Ned]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSS3AMvmpMo

Nah that's the wrong censored version. Here's the real one:

[Defrag]

it was part of the crash course update.

Consider me corrected . I've played about one game since that update, so that'll be why.

[Buddy]

Not sure if noone noticed but it was released today.

It's fun, the opening campaign is really good.

[Mazy]

Aye played it a bit earlier with some guys at work. It's feels more or less the same, so its still good fun. Played the first campaign a bit, didn't finish it tho (Think we died by the safe house of the 2nd last level). Can't wait to try out some of the other chapters, altho the first one is nice and all then it does seem awfully close to the same feel that the airport in L4D1 had, at least the mall does. Most of the new special infected were really cool, altho the Spitter does seem kinda dry in imagination compared to the others. Also the chainsaw is sweet, even if the melee weapons felt kinda gimmicky in most situations.

Anyway good so far, but then again I'm not really whining about Valve churning out this in one year, soooo

[sarge mat]

Steam is still "scanning for game updates" which I think a few people are having issues with. Looking forward to playing and seeing what the story with the SDK is.

[Corwin]

Steam is still "scanning for game updates" which I think a few people are having issues with. Looking forward to playing and seeing what the story with the SDK is.

Same here

[Section_Ei8ht]

stayed up all night playing it (doped up on Red Bull to get me through the work day). Great fun. It definitely feels more complete than the first game. I can now see and completely understand why the made it a sequel. Everything also just moves more seamlessly. The character interacts are increased, the campaigns are genuine fun. All around excellent game.

Also, congrats to Valve for there only being a 1.5 hour delay