Left4Dead 2

[e-freak]

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009 ... to-ars.ars

seems like gabe wasn't a big fan of sequeling either... but well, seeing some more footage and plans for this, i can understand why this is a sequel. Don't forget steam can help with dynamic pricing so maybe there's a huge discount for L4D1 owners, which would make it basically price technically an addon if you change in the first two weeks(?)

[the0rthopaedicsurgeon]

"My dream is to have 16 characters"

So that's L4D3 and 4 confirmed.

Also, everything Valve have said over this game just seems like they're making excuses as they go along. In that link Chet says TF2 content is in simple, small increments, which isn't possible with L4D - so why promise that content in the first place when it's apparently impossible?

[kleinluka]

i dont really understand why you people are getting pissed off about this... you'll still be able to play L4D online anyway...

[Deathy]

i dont really understand why you people are getting pissed off about this... you'll still be able to play L4D online anyway...

Yes, you really do not understand. Because thats not the point, why we (or rather me) get pissed off.

You could compare it to this:

Instead of releasing a new soccer game every year, EA would release a free DLC every year for their first or second soccer game.

L4D2 does mean that you get new content for Left 4 Dead. content that is rather easy to develop on a base of an existing game. They don't have to reinvent the A.I. Director or gameplay or whatever. They just made a 'mod' and want the full-price for it.

And L4D is seriously lacking content at least in form of new campaigns/maps.

The community is trying to fill this gap (like in every previous valve game) but Valve did not even fully implement the integration into the matchmaking system and that after over half a year after release.

[D3ads]

http://www.moddb.com/groups/left-4-dead ... n-the-rise

[Jetsetlemming]

i dont really understand why you people are getting pissed off about this... you'll still be able to play L4D online anyway...

Even better, you'll be able to play L4D in L4D2, they're porting the levels forward, or at least planning to right now. That right there solves all my issues with L4D2 and will happily buy it when it comes out.

[Section_Ei8ht]

I initially had a problem with the L4D sequel so soon for all of the reasons stated above, but who am I kidding, I'll probably have it on pre-order as soon as it's on steam. Given Valve's track record, I'm still giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Now that I think about it, I didn't like steam when it first came out, and now I prefer buying games on steam; I was disappointed when they canceled Black Box and did Orange Box only, but now I don't care anymore because Portal and EP2 made the price well worth it several times over; and now I'm upset about L4D2 so soon after L4D, and valve will probably find some way to make me happy with the situation (like allowing L4D content to be played in L4D2 with the L4D2 enhancements)

[robert.briscoe]

I dont want to play l4d levels in l4d2, I want to play l4d2 levels in the barren l4d that I invested $50 expecting to be able to do so at some point.

[arhurt]

I think the only way out of this for them would be to offer a huge discount for the game for previous L4D owners. I mean Huge as in we only pay U$ 4.99 for it and still the damage would have been done since they promised and didn't delivered. I know making games costs a lot of money, but they promised to release a lot of cotent and set a mark with the TF2 content. I still give them the benefit of the doubt. I would expect this from some other publishers but not Valve, not the valve from Orange box (retail price for 5 games and mod support for each and every one of them).

[Gloglebag]

They should release it for free to l4d owners. TF2 was 30,- and even less if you bought it as a package with the orange box, and it offered more then l4d and l4d2 combined.

[Grinwhrl]

The game would serve better as a lower priced expansion.

[Jetsetlemming]

The game would serve better as a lower priced expansion.

We don't know how much they plan on charging for L4D2 (probably depends on how long this furor lasts). For all we know it'll end up being exactly that in all but name (and way more content than just an expansion).

[Taylor]

I wonder if people would think differently about Battle Garegga if it called rank the Bullet Director.

If any company other than Valve were doing this I'm not sure there would be such an outcry. Unfortunately what's really biting them in the ass here is their otherwise excellent post-launch support.

[Skjalg]

Maybe valve is doing this because they are hurting (because of the economy etc) as everyone else is, and they are just trying to survive?

[Jetsetlemming]

Maybe valve is doing this because they are hurting (because of the economy etc) as everyone else is, and they are just trying to survive?

I seriously doubt it, they're a private company and bow down to no publisher, and their games are all selling fantastic, and they sell other people's games. If Valve is hurting from the economy than this is officially Great Depression 2 and I expect to see stock traders jumping out windows any day now.

According to the RPS interview with L4D2's project lead, it's because L4D was mostly made by Turtle Rock, external to Valve, but the internal Valve guys really loved the concept and wanted to expand on it, make it their own work, but there wasn't much time for them to do it. They had so many ideas and so many different directions they wanted to go in that the total of the ideas was far past what L4D entails, so they approached Gaben and asked him to OK a full sequel, and he reluctantly said OK.