Left 4 Dead 2 - now $6.80 on Steam! [Archive] - Page 3

JCvgluvr

11-10-2009, 07:23 PM

The awesomesness of mouse + keyboard,No thank you. I've gone 10 years playing FPSs strictly on consoles, so it's way too late for me to adapt to mouse + keyboard. Besides, I probably wouln't even want to. I'd probably just connect my 360 controller to my computer instead.better graphics/resolution, True, but I barely care. I find PS3/360 graphics to be quite satisfactory.and free online play/actual good online play should be enough to tempt you. If that doesn't, there's no point in even arguing it. Well, guess what? It isn't enough to tempt me, because it costs $800. So, you're right, probably isn't worth arguing it.If you're already spending $500 on a new computer, and looking for a new gaming platform, the extra $300 to get there with a PC is a lot more justifiable than just saying, "I think I'm going to drop $800 on a gaming PC today." Who's plopping $500 on a new computer? I know I'm not! I'll stick with the cheap $250 laptops, thank you. Besides, I just got the one I'm using right now this past June. I won't be grabbing another computer for quite some time.I also refuse to accept the argument that there are no interesting PC exclusives when no FPS made for the PC should ever be played without a mouse and keyboard and gamesWell, very few FPSs are made exlusively for PC nowadays. As for the ones that are exclusive, like I said, they (as well any other PC exclusive games in general) don't interest me. I really do believe that mouse + keyboard is overrated. I see nothing wrong with console controllers. I've been playing L4D and L4D2 just fine.

Bleck

11-10-2009, 07:28 PM

yeah guys I don't want to buy a 500$ computer to play games on I'd much rather just buy a 300$ console and 50$ controllers and a 30$ headset and a 100$ adapter so I can connect to the internet and a suscription to the online service for 80$ and than games for 60$ apiece and 10$ for DLC that PC gamers get for free and

EdgeCrusher

11-10-2009, 07:28 PM

Well, when you buy shit, you get shit. Stick with consoles.

edit: HIGH FIVE BLECK!

Wait, I shouldn't be agreeing with bleck. Wtf!

JadeAuto

11-10-2009, 07:38 PM

No thank you. I've gone 10 years playing FPSs strictly on consoles, so it's way too late for me to adapt to mouse + keyboard. Besides, I probably wouln't even want to. I'd probably just connect my 360 controller to my computer instead. True, but I barely care. I find PS3/360 graphics to be quite satisfactory. Well, guess what? It isn't enough to tempt me, because it costs $800. So, you're right, probably isn't worth arguing it. Who's plopping $500 on a new computer? I know I'm not! I'll stick with the cheap $250 laptops, thank you. Besides, I just got the one I'm using right now this past June. I won't be grabbing another computer for quite some time.Well, very few FPSs are made exlusively for PC nowadays. As for the ones that are exclusive, like I said, they (as well any other PC exclusive games in general) don't interest me. I really do believe that mouse + keyboard is overrated. I see nothing wrong with console controllers. I've been playing L4D and L4D2 just fine.

No offense JC, but If we had known some of the facts you just posted when you made your comment in the first place, some of the points we've been making would have been lessened or not made due to knowing your situation.

I prefer spending money on a computer once every 4-5 years, and being able to cart along all my media, my games, my important things, and to not have to worry about hardware/etc for another 4-5 years.

I haven't bought a console since I picked up my PS2Slim several years back. There's been no draw to the current gen for me.

Sidepoint: If you have a computer (say for work) and it's a powerful beast of a machine, there's no reason at all not to have a video card installed on it for gaming in the off-hours (unless it's a server of some sort, or purpose critical).

EdgeCrusher

11-10-2009, 08:21 PM

Yeah, people seem to think that for gaming you need an alienware computer. I got a quad core that I bought over a year and a half ago, and even then it was 900 bucks at walmart for a dell, with a 19 inch monitor, etc. All I have done to it was replace the ram, which cost 30 bucks, and got a 9800 GT card for 90 bucks with a free copy of CoD4. You can easily get that computer now for well less than 800 bucks, and the card for cheaper than I paid for it, and you can upgrade it for years. Where as the the lifeline of a console is what, 5 years now, except the ps2. And I have had a lot less and cheaper problems with my computer than I have with my 360, that's for damn sure.

Bleck

11-10-2009, 08:28 PM

I've had an xbox360 for almost a year now and I have a grand total of two games for it

Vivi22

11-10-2009, 08:56 PM

edit: HIGH FIVE BLECK!

Wait, I shouldn't be agreeing with bleck. Wtf!

I know. Did it leave you feeling like you need a shower too?

EDIT: The Magnum does indeed exist and it is fucking awesome!

BardicKnowledge

11-11-2009, 12:32 AM

I bought my current processor from zircon for ~$100 or so, and my graphics card is available for less than $50 (though I'd advise you spend $100 on a Radeon 4850 currently).

That's the majority of the parts for a nice PC for $200. Add one HD, power supply, case, and you're looking at $400-$500 for a decent gaming rig.

JCvgluvr

11-11-2009, 08:41 AM

No offense JC, but If we had known some of the facts you just posted when you made your comment in the first place, some of the points we've been making would have been lessened or not made due to knowing your situation.
Granted. Sorry if I put anybody off due to lack of knowledge of my situation. :oops:

Bleck, I could easily make a "nickel and diming" counter-argument for PCs. Every gaming company does it. It's called "business."

Bleck

11-11-2009, 11:24 AM

Bleck, I could easily make a "nickel and diming" counter-argument for PCs.

actually if you could you probably already would have

JadeAuto

11-11-2009, 01:26 PM

actually if you could you probably already would have

i smell bleck drama

Bahamut

11-11-2009, 02:20 PM

No thank you. I've gone 10 years playing FPSs strictly on consoles, so it's way too late for me to adapt to mouse + keyboard. Besides, I probably wouln't even want to. I'd probably just connect my 360 controller to my computer instead. True, but I barely care. I find PS3/360 graphics to be quite satisfactory. Well, guess what? It isn't enough to tempt me, because it costs $800. So, you're right, probably isn't worth arguing it. Who's plopping $500 on a new computer? I know I'm not! I'll stick with the cheap $250 laptops, thank you. Besides, I just got the one I'm using right now this past June. I won't be grabbing another computer for quite some time.Well, very few FPSs are made exlusively for PC nowadays. As for the ones that are exclusive, like I said, they (as well any other PC exclusive games in general) don't interest me. I really do believe that mouse + keyboard is overrated. I see nothing wrong with console controllers. I've been playing L4D and L4D2 just fine.

I'll give you the 360 controller bit - I think most people overblow the difference in experience.

But one thing I do have to question is that why go the bargain laptop route? They're cheap, and far more prone to break and have a myriad of issues than lets say a desktop you build or buy for $800 or so, or even a nice deal laptop like this: http://bfads.net/HP-dv8t-Laptop-w-Quad-Core-i7-Processor-999-HP . There's far less frustration across the board, better specs, more hard drive space, etc., and lasts longer - one can argue you are spending less this way.

big giant circles

11-11-2009, 05:01 PM

Dang, when did this thread become a PC vs. XBox debate?

I see nothing wrong with consoles, though they're not all that practical to me because:

1)I don't even own an HDTV at this point.
2)I already require a fairly up-to-date computer for making music, so I'm not going out of my way to spend extra money on one just to play games.
3)The fact that even though the console itself is $200-300, By the time I've bought my XBL subscription, extra controllers and other accessories, not to mention paying a little more (in most cases) for the game I want to play, I probably will have spent close to $500 already. Well over, if I were to go buy a TV just so I could enjoy my XBox at higher res.

That being said, I wouldn't mind owning an XBox at some point. I think there are some really cool games on XBL, and Halo kind of sucks on PC. Etc. Etc. Etc.

Can we go back to arguing why L4D2 is/isn't any better than L4D1 now? :<

JCvgluvr

11-11-2009, 07:22 PM

actually if you could you probably already would have
Sigh.

You have to buy games, purchase upgrades and additions for things like RAM, graphics cards and such, buy PC headsets, pay for any repairs should something happen to the PC, and etc. and etc.:sleepzzz:

I suggest you remove the stick that is firmly crammed up your buttocks, I'm going back to the L4D2 discussion.

EdgeCrusher

11-11-2009, 07:33 PM

Haha, buying pc games. Like anyone does that. *rolls eyes*

Anyway, everyone is fanboying this up. PC repair is the same as 360 repair money wise about half the time, so you can't pull the repair card on this one. Plus ps3 issues too cost you out the ass when they do happen. Accessories for a pc are way cheaper than console things as well, unless you want some madcatz "break in a month" shit. Ram is 20 to 30 bucks now for great ram, etc. I can continue on if you'd like though. But lets talk L4D2 :D

Malaki-LEGEND.sys

11-11-2009, 07:44 PM

I don't think there's much left to talk about until we actually get our hands on the final version next week.

Is it Nov. 17th yet?

EdgeCrusher

11-11-2009, 07:56 PM

I'll be torn on the 17th, between this and GoW collection pack. Damn release days.

Bleck

11-11-2009, 08:03 PM

purchase upgrades and additions for things like RAM, graphics cards and such

I believe the entire point of having the stipulation that we were talking about a 'gaming computer' was that you don't really have to upgrade anything at all

but yeah anyways enough 'I have an xbox and I'm butthurt that everyone buys it for the PC' nonsense

Let's instead talk about how retarded the people who are claiming that the Spitter is overpowered are (HOW ABOUT NOT STEPPING ON THE GOO, JACKASS).

big giant circles

11-11-2009, 08:06 PM

Let's instead talk about how retarded the people who are claiming that the Spitter is overpowered are (HOW ABOUT NOT STEPPING ON THE GOO, JACKASS)

I haven't heard anyone say that, are you talking about people in game?

(I have heard someone say the spitter is basically the same as the boomer, but that's something else altogether.)

Bleck

11-11-2009, 08:25 PM

The Damned

11-11-2009, 09:52 PM

Bleck

11-11-2009, 10:04 PM

I've been playing on Expert and I very rarely take more than ten damage from goo

JadeAuto

11-11-2009, 10:16 PM

I've heard a lot of people whine about the Spitter being overpowered. I attribute it generally to not being able to comprehend the idea of not standing on the goo or barricading in corners/small rooms.

amazingly, quoted for truth. If people would think spatially instead of campalistically, this wouldn't be an issue.

The spitter's pretty well balanced, I think - except in expert, there she just freaking owns.

The Damned

11-12-2009, 12:56 AM

The spitter's pretty well balanced, I think - except in expert, there she just freaking owns.

If there was less damage from jumping up and down while you're running out of it, that would make sense. Like, if you walk thought it, it's burning your feet, but if you jump, your feet are only in it for a fraction of the time.

It would also make for some laughs, something about making them dance right before you spit at them.

BOING BOING BOING

ParanoidDrone

11-12-2009, 03:02 AM

Mind you, you can hear the damn thing from miles away, and most of the guns will take her down long before she gets into range, so...
Maybe it's just me, but I can never hear the Spitter coming until after she's spat all over the floor. I'm thinking it's just me not being used to her sounds, but I've gotten to hear Jockeys and Chargers with consistency already, so...idk.

big giant circles

11-12-2009, 03:12 AM

If there was less damage from jumping up and down while you're running out of it, that would make sense. Like, if you walk thought it, it's burning your feet, but if you jump, your feet are only in it for a fraction of the time.

It would also make for some laughs, something about making them dance right before you spit at them.

BOING BOING BOING

If that were the case, I would expect they would increase the actual damage of the goo to keep people from just hopping to avoid damage. Besides, I initially had that same thought, but then decided that the whole point of the spitter was to basically cause a temporary "DO NOT OCCUPY THIS SPACE OR YOU WILL TAKE DAMAGE" area specifically to break up corner/closet campers and scatter tight packs.

Another general thing I've noticed, and I'm curious to hear you guys speculate on this, but most of the people who are not hyped about L4D2 or prefer L4D1 are usually the people who prefer campaign/single player to versus. I really don't think I know of anyone who's really into versus mode who is NOT excited about L4D2. I of course speculate that many of these new additions were implemented specifically after getting feedback about certain issues in versus. Stuff like the corner camping, or lack of range damage infected, or not being able to revive dead survivors. Or the whole concept of separating a survivor (or more) from the group in general.

Powerlord

11-12-2009, 03:14 AM

If that were the case, I would expect they would increase the actual damage of the goo to keep people from just hopping to avoid damage. Besides, I initially had that same thought, but then decided that the whole point of the spitter was to basically cause a temporary "DO NOT OCCUPY THIS SPACE OR YOU WILL TAKE DAMAGE" area specifically to break up corner/closet campers and scatter tight packs.

Another general thing I've noticed, and I'm curious to hear you guys speculate on this, but most of the people who are not hyped about L4D2 or prefer L4D1 are usually the people who prefer campaign/single player to versus. I really don't think I know of anyone who's really into versus mode who is NOT excited about L4D2. I of course speculate that many of these new additions were implemented specifically after getting feedback about certain issues in versus. Stuff like the corner camping, or lack of range damage infected, or not being able to revive dead survivors. Or the whole concept of separating a survivor (or more) from the group in general.

Versus mode is what I usually play when playing L4D1. It seems like I haven't been playing L4D that much recently.

Then again, Valve has actually been doing stuff with TF2, plus L4D2 is only a week away...

The Damned

11-12-2009, 03:56 AM

Well, I can see both sides. Single player means no jackass teammates or grievers, but you're missing out on a lot of the team work mechanics that make the game fun (not to mention that in single player, when your character dies, that's it; restart the map regardless of who else was still alive).

Campaign is fun the same paragraph, but reverse it a bit so it's about teamwork, but has assholes.

Versus is like... Versus is difficult, sometimes. I don't mean, "It's hard", I mean that it's a rather different mindset to get into. You can play the campaigns or single player and get a really good idea of when, where and how the zombies will attack. Versus, however, removes that knowledge because suddenly, you have Special Infected that will not only hold back and plan, but do so with all kinds of different tricks. I've never seen a Hunter claw swipe someone and incap them in campaign, but you damn well bet it happens a lot in Versus.

And then you have the tactics used for playing as Infected. Very different. Coordinated strikes, waiting for the Survivors to come out of their hiding spot... it's a different mindset.

So, yeah, tl;dr version: Versus and Campaign are very different kinds of games.

Powerlord

11-12-2009, 03:58 AM

Versus is like... Versus is difficult, sometimes. I don't mean, "It's hard", I mean that it's a rather different mindset to get into. You can play the campaigns or single player and get a really good idea of when, where and how the zombies will attack. Versus, however, removes that knowledge because suddenly, you have Special Infected that will not only hold back and plan, but do so with all kinds of different tricks. I've never seen a Hunter claw swipe someone and incap them in campaign, but you damn well bet it happens a lot in Versus.

And then you have the tactics used for playing as Infected. Very different. Coordinated strikes, waiting for the Survivors to come out of their hiding spot... it's a different mindset.

So, yeah, tl;dr version: Versus and Campaign are very different kinds of games.

What I'm looking forward to the most in L4D2 is Versus-mode in which I don't spawn as Hunter 10 times in a row*.

I'm terrible at jumping on people as Hunter, thus it's my worst infected.

* This is not an exaggeration. I actually spawned as Hunter 10 times in a row in Death Toll map 1. I started keeping count once it happened four times in a row. The map ending is the only thing that stopped this.

Triad Orion

11-12-2009, 04:26 AM

Versus and Campaign are very different kinds of games.

This. Just this. I like Left 4 Dead a lot, but I typically only play Campaign Mode co-op with friends. To me, this is where I have the most fun. My biggest complaint about the original was that unless you were playing on Expert, the game was fairly easy and pretty predictable. That said, I'm psyched about L4D2's new Special Infected and Realism Mode to make the game a greater challenge for even seasoned Campaign players.

And even though I didn't much care for Versus in the original, I'll probably be willing to give it another go in L4D2. I think I just found playing Infected too frustrating in the first game. Unless you played it enough to know every in-and-out of every map, your strategies in many cases were limited. I think L4D2 will do a lot for opening up the Infected game and allow some more cunning plans and devious traps.

big giant circles

11-12-2009, 04:56 AM

So, yeah, tl;dr version: Versus and Campaign are very different kinds of games.

Right, although what I was getting at specifically is that the people who aren't all that in favor of L4D2 seem to favor campaign mode in L4D1 as opposed to versus.

I mean, that's fine. Personally, I guess the campaigns got old after a while once you started being able to predict where the AI would spawn, and what tactics they use. And it got pretty easy to beat. For instance, crouching behind a doorway waiting for a hunter to peak through so you can melee it/shoot it in the face. Because the AI isn't smart enough to tell that hunter he has a pathetic chance of doing any real damage to you or the team by attacking that way. In versus, it's all about predicting the ambush, and successfully defending/thwarting it. Or, if you're playing infected, working as a team or picking that critical place in the map where the survivors are going to be most vulnerable to you.

That's why the new infected and items are so exciting to me. Just being able to play through the new maps and make mental notes like "hmm, that's a good place for a charger to eff up the survivors..." etc etc etc.

Native Jovian

11-13-2009, 12:33 AM

Right, although what I was getting at specifically is that the people who aren't all that in favor of L4D2 seem to favor campaign mode in L4D1 as opposed to versus.
Yes. This is the point I was trying to make however many pages ago about you (the plural you, not just BGC) and I playing different games.

Garian

11-13-2009, 01:34 AM

big giant circles

11-13-2009, 01:44 AM

i prefer campaign mode over versus, but i'm stoked for l4d2???? am i just the odd egg? (or maybe the community and valve BOTH completely failed when it came to custom content. 96% of community maps are survival mode, which is a ballsack on the eyes, and valve hasn't made a real full-figure campaign in ever.)

Well, no, I wasn't saying that if you like Campaign mode more than vs that you're not really in favor of L4D2. I'm simply saying that the people who AREN'T in favor of L4D2 seem to be folks that prefer campaign mode.

Powerlord

11-13-2009, 01:58 AM

i prefer campaign mode over versus, but i'm stoked for l4d2???? am i just the odd egg? (or maybe the community and valve BOTH completely failed when it came to custom content. 96% of community maps are survival mode, which is a ballsack on the eyes, and valve hasn't made a real full-figure campaign in ever.)

There are a few community maps over on l4dmaps that my friends and I have played.

Seems like the one one we liked was Death Abroad, though.

I also mirrored some campaigns (http://www.rbemrose.com/l4d/) on my website because L4dmaps mirrors suck.

Garian

11-13-2009, 02:31 AM

Well, no, I wasn't saying that if you like Campaign mode more than vs that you're not really in favor of L4D2. I'm simply saying that the people who AREN'T in favor of L4D2 seem to be folks that prefer campaign mode.

ahhh ok, i just misinterpreted what you were saying. i def like the idea of vs mode, but after playing a couple of l4d1 games competetively i really hated it because it really lacked any sense of balance. rushing and autoshots typically prevailed against halfway decent infected teams, and a really good infected team could take out the survivors by setting up a smoker and three hunters spawn :?

also yeah death aboard or abroad or whatever was pretty good when i had a beta of it on my server. i'm just kinda griping because everyone seems to make survival mode maps or gimmicky maps, and there aren't many well developed campaigns... or at least there weren't 5 months ago when i still cared to play l4d1 :V

big giant circles

11-13-2009, 03:22 AM

rushing and autoshots typically prevailed against halfway decent infected teams

Yeah, definitely a valid gripe. Which is why I'm so happy about the tweaks to the AI director, how a pipebomb or boomer attack or panic event won't completely clear out a level of all horde.

In general, rushing seems MUCH harder for anyone to pull off, let alone an entire team.

The Damned

11-13-2009, 03:27 AM

It's because they're playing the demo on Advance or Expert. Yeah, it's more fun, but the Spitter acid does a lot more damage per second. Even the few seconds it takes to get out of the pool can take off a lot of health.

Mind you, you can hear the damn thing from miles away, and most of the guns will take her down long before she gets into range, so...

Significant addendum: You know the top of the scaffolding at the end of teh second level on the demo? The framework on the outside, specifically. On a game just a while ago, I was standing on the framework, not the deck, and a Spitter shot at me. The goo hit the deck, and I was surrounded by the acid. But I took no damage from it, because that slight height increase was enough to keep me out of it.

So there may be some instances where a very slight ledge or other height difference will negate any Spitter attack. Watch for corners and walls with small ledges in future games.

JadeAuto

11-17-2009, 02:00 AM

Two hours until release. Who else is staying up to play a campaign tonight?

Powerlord

11-17-2009, 02:01 AM

Two hours until release. Who else is staying up to play a campaign tonight?

Can't, sorry. If I'm up past midnight, it'll be to finish a paper and nothing more.

Scufo

11-17-2009, 02:11 AM

Two hours? I figured it was being released at 3AM EST. What with valve being on the west coast and all.

Powerlord

11-17-2009, 02:12 AM

Two hours? I figured it was being released at 3AM EST. What with valve being on the west coast and all.

A Slight Clarification... (http://steamcommunity.com/games/L4D2/announcements/detail/55329616023893874)
posted by Shawn @ 08:41PM on November 13, 2009
Due to an ongoing debate in the office and online as to whether "12 AM" means noon or midnight (we're still sticking with midnight), it's been more challenging than we realized to tell people when exactly our game will be available. Factor in the Earth rotating around the sun, daylight savings time, some of our fans insisting on using the Mayan calendar, and we're just going to try and make this as specific as possible:

When L4D2 will go live:

Monday, November 16th, 9:00 PM Pacific Standard Time
Monday, November 16th, 10:00 PM Mountain Standard Time
Monday, November 16th, 11:00 PM Central Standard Time
Tuesday, November 17th, 12:00 AM (midnight) Eastern Standard Time
Tuesday, November 17th, 5:00 AM Greenwich Mean Time
Tuesday, November 17th, 8:00 AM Moscow Time
Tuesday, November 17th, 2:00 PM Japan Standard Time

Scufo

11-17-2009, 02:17 AM

Oh, cool.

also people who think 12AM is noon are dumb.

Arcana

11-17-2009, 02:17 AM

I just tried the demo with my girlfriend, we had fun just playing some coop. It was forever since I've played an FPS, I think the last time I played one was Doom III in what, like 2005 or so.

edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12-hour_clock#Confusion_at_noon_and_midnight

Brushfire

11-17-2009, 03:13 AM

Early dismissal from work to go play L4D2. Yeah.

Life is good for me.

I will see ya'll @0330 EDT.

Dr. Tran!

11-17-2009, 03:53 AM

Wish I could afford it. :( Stupid bills and lack of 'extra' money.

Ah well.

Played the demo, it seemed a lot better than the first, especially with the additional SI and SI changes. Hopefully I'll be able to afford it some day. Until then, have fun playin' it guys. :o

The Damned

11-17-2009, 04:03 AM

Heeeey... it didn't unlock.

I knew it. I said it was going to be late for some reason, and here we are.

Now for someone to post the usual "Valve Time" thing and off we go.

ParanoidDrone

11-17-2009, 04:06 AM

Early dismissal from work to go play L4D2. Yeah.

Life is good for me.

I will see ya'll @0330 EDT.
You mean...

Brushfire: "Can I leave early?"
Brushfire's Boss: "Why?"
Brushfire: "There's this new game that's coming out tonight, and..."
Brushfire's Boss: "Sure, go ahead."

...

Best boss ever.

Bleck

11-17-2009, 04:13 AM

Now for someone to post the usual "Valve Time" thing and off we go.

no seriously what part of valve time do people not understand

big giant circles

11-17-2009, 04:15 AM

HEY GUYS LETS BOCOTT THE RELEASE. amirite?

linkspast

11-17-2009, 04:18 AM

no seriously what part of valve time do people not understand

When L4D2 will go live:
[list]
Monday, November 16th, 9:00 PM Pacific Standard Time
Monday, November 16th, 10:00 PM Mountain Standard Time
Monday, November 16th, 11:00 PM Central Standard Time
Tuesday, November 17th, 12:00 AM (midnight) Eastern Standard Time
Tuesday, November 17th, 5:00 AM Greenwich Mean Time
Tuesday, November 17th, 8:00 AM Moscow Time
Tuesday, November 17th, 2:00 PM Japan Standard Time

well they really should not put this kind of thing up if they have no means of sticking to it..

I know what you mean but its just going to piss people off.. .. people who will soon forget the second its available.. ha.

Brushfire

11-17-2009, 04:25 AM

You mean...

Brushfire: "Can I leave early?"
Brushfire's Boss: "Why?"
Brushfire: "There's this new game that's coming out tonight, and..."
Brushfire's Boss: "Sure, go ahead."

...

Best boss ever.

That isn't far off as to what the actual conversation was.

*Left4Dead2 TV Spot comes on during the Ravens Game.*

Brushfire: "Oh shit, I forgot that that game comes out tonight."
Brushfire's Boss: "Oh yeah?"
Brushfire: "Yeah, mind if we split tonights shift tonight?"
Brushfire's Boss: "What for?"
Brushfire: "..."
Brushfire: "..."
Brushfire: "...So I can go play L4D2"
Brushfire's Boss: "Enh, what the hell, nothing is happening tonight."
Brushfire: "Bitchin'!!"
Brushfire's Boss: "Yeah just take off at 0330. I'll cover for you when the dayshift comes in."
Brushfire: "Wanna watch some Penn and Teller?"

Inimitable

11-17-2009, 05:31 AM

Well it's out now. Best of luck getting Steam to cooperate for the next few hours!

Strike911

11-17-2009, 05:58 AM

*cries*

I've got it installed and ready to go, but I promised my buddies that I wouldn't play the game until we were all together playing in the same place, Tuesday evening. -_-.

QQ

atmuh

11-17-2009, 09:45 AM

Ok so as I said, I ended up getting this game despite how much I absolutely HATED L4D and I've gotta say, I'm really like this a lot. It's really just a lot of little things, such as a lot of the dialog between the characters, that has really pulled me into it. For the past 5 hours or so, I've been playing through each of the single player campaigns on normal (because I'm terrible), and I expected to be bored by the beginning of the second one like with L4D, but instead I've played all the way through the first 3, and am starting the fourth one now. I really like how there's finally continuity between all the campaigns, as it really gives me a reason to keep on playing. I'm not gonna go ahead right now and talk about the various things I liked in each of the campaigns since a lot of the little surprises are what's making this first playthrough a lot of fun. The second campaign was definitely my favorite of the first 3, and playing it in VS will be a ton of fun. It took valve a year but they finally got this game right.

Oh and I said this in IRC but yeah any shotgun+chainsaw is pretty much exactly like playing pyro in TF2 which I thought was rather comical.

Level 99

11-17-2009, 12:25 PM

That isn't far off as to what the actual conversation was.

*Left4Dead2 TV Spot comes on during the Ravens Game.*

Brushfire: "Oh shit, I forgot that that game comes out tonight."
Brushfire's Boss: "Oh yeah?"
Brushfire: "Yeah, mind if we split tonights shift tonight?"
Brushfire's Boss: "What for?"
Brushfire: "..."
Brushfire: "..."
Brushfire: "...So I can go play L4D2"
Brushfire's Boss: "Enh, what the hell, nothing is happening tonight."
Brushfire: "Bitchin'!!"
Brushfire's Boss: "Yeah just take off at 0330. I'll cover for you when the dayshift comes in."
Brushfire: "Wanna watch some Penn and Teller?"

Okay, Brushfire. Seriously, get me a job where you work. Right now. I don't care if I'm going to be working nights, your boss just sounds too cool.

I'll hopefully have some time to play tonight, but only as a reward to myself for finishing editing the goddamn OCAD podcast. Time-management only works when you have enough TIME!

Edit: It took valve a year but they finally got this game right. You know, this is probably the fastest Valve had this kind of turnaround and progress on any game, considering how long it takes them to do any of the HL games, or things like TF2. That's what had a lot of people in a tizzy over it: they were getting worried Valve would sacrifice quality for sake of "cashing in" on a hot new property by only pushing out a minor update and charging full-price. Glad to see this is far from the case. They fixed a lot of things naturally missing from the first, apparently, even though I loved the first. I know it was kinda off-relevance from your post, but it just made me think.

Tensei

11-17-2009, 12:29 PM

Brushfire

11-17-2009, 01:15 PM

That is why you cheat the game, grab all gas cans, and then throw them down to the car.

Tensei

11-17-2009, 01:50 PM

SirChadlyOC

11-17-2009, 02:51 PM

It's really hard to get time off to play a video game when you work at a video game store.

Me: Yeah I need the 17th off. All day.
Boss: Nope, I need you for Assassin's Creed 2, L4D2, Tony Hawk Ride, NCAA Basketball 2010, LEGO Indiana Jones 2, God of War collection, Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles, the Sims 3 expansion, another Naruto game, The Princess and the Frog, some other new crap, oh and we're still selling Modern Warfare 2 and New Super Mario Bros out of our nose, so no.
Me: Dammit.
Boss: Actually, I need you to come in an hour early or so. Also, you'll probably have to stay late, too.
Me: FFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

Level 99

11-17-2009, 03:23 PM

BardicKnowledge

11-17-2009, 04:25 PM

Okay so I played through Dead Center and thought it was pretty damn well designed (section with the burning building was sweet), definitely better than all the L4D campaigns. Of course, then I played Dark Carnival...holy shit, Valve, you've done it again.

Yeah, that burning hotel (first level of first campaign) was amazing. That charger made me laugh a ton.

Also, the finale with the gas cans does indeed suck some serious balls -- I wasn't able to finish it on Advanced. Hopefully tonight (when all of you lame employed people get home).

Sporknight

11-17-2009, 04:46 PM

So, uh...who wants to play tonight? I'm home by 6:00 EST, and I would be fine with doing nothing else after.

Vivi22

11-17-2009, 05:34 PM

Attempted a solo runthrough of the first campaign on Advanced. It's HARD AS BALLS, especially the (what I assume is the final) crescendo event where you need to collect the eight gas cans. The first tank was doable, the second tank spawned along with his buddies Boomer, Jockey and Hunter, and that's where I said screw it. Can't wait to get some multiplayer going.

I've played through the first four campaigns today on Normal and I feel pretty confident saying that the AI is actually dumber than in the first game. It's not just that they don't know how to handle the new special infected characters or the gauntlet crescendo events (they suck balls at either), but they even do stupid things like two characters ignoring the Hunter that just pounced on me because Ellis has gone down five feet away, or not grabbing health packs in the safe house at the start of the level because apparently not grabbing them is more useful (who knew?). Now, I've seen the AI do stupid things plenty of times in L4D, but never this often or consistently.

That said, I shot a zombie in the balls with the magnum an hour ago, making a hole the size of my head that his intestines promptly escaped from. I fucking love this game.

EdgeCrusher

11-17-2009, 05:43 PM

I got to play about 25 minutes of it before I went to work today. I went through The Parish on advanced, and got to the cemetary level, where I was finally gang raped at the car alarm setion. The AI in advanced is definitely harder than the first game. But if anyone is on tonight, I'll be on to play some.

atmuh

11-17-2009, 08:51 PM

why would you start with the parish
the game follows a storyline

anyways i finished all of them and the carnival and storm ones are the best by far

SporkNinjaDraken

11-17-2009, 09:16 PM

Looking at my friends list at various times during today (oh look someone else just started playing it... Edgecrusher to be precise)

Am I like the only (Okay now Baha is playing it) person here who probably isn't going to be getting L4D2? lol

I had some interest in it at first and then I realised how lacklustre my enthusiasm is for the first one and decided against it.

big giant circles

11-17-2009, 09:37 PM

You don't see this very often.

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p238/biggiantcircles/allinl4d2censored.png

*edit*

Dammit, by the time I took the screenshot, people switched games and I just now noticed. Oh well.

Scufo

11-17-2009, 10:12 PM

chivesontheweb

11-17-2009, 10:16 PM

Am I like the only (Okay now Baha is playing it) person here who probably isn't going to be getting L4D2? lol
Well, I won't be getting it any time soon but I probably will in the pretty distant future. I just bought L4D1, so I'm still having fun with that at the time being.

Powerlord

11-17-2009, 10:16 PM

Yeah, the game fucking rocks.

I'm having tons more fun in versus than in L4D, though I am thinking the spitter is a little crazy. It should be harder to aim the spit or something, because right now she's far and away the best infected excepting the tank.

In other words, she's the exact opposite of the Boomer?

(Actually, I'm better at Boomer than Hunter, so I can't say anything.)

Scufo

11-17-2009, 10:18 PM

Actually I'd say the Boomer is second best. But whatev.

Also, holy crap the Smoker has a buttload of health now.

Powerlord

11-17-2009, 10:19 PM

Actually I'd say the Boomer is second best. But whatev.

Also, holy crap the Smoker has a buttload of health now.

That's a good thing, Smoker in L4D1 is just about a one shot kill for everything but the kick.

EdgeCrusher

11-17-2009, 10:51 PM

Its definitely fun, and you should pick it up on a sale if you are holding out price wise.

Pander

11-17-2009, 10:51 PM

L4D2 is a fantastic upgrade over the first. Good level design from what I've seen so far. Good characters. And adding 3 more infected completely changes versus. Before you had to follow a very strict protocol: Boomer causes chaos, and in the chaos 2 hunters pounce, a smoker pulls, and hopefully zombies overwhelm the third. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Here? You can spread their forces with the spitter, bring em together with a boomer, break em apart with the charger, take one down with a hunter, peel one off with a smoker, and move one to danger with the jockey. It's a wholllle new game on versus. Lots and lots of fun.

EdgeCrusher

11-17-2009, 10:51 PM

So, how did that boycott turn out? :D

Global-Trance

11-17-2009, 11:03 PM

So, how did that boycott turn out? :D
http://imgur.com/yLucX.jpg

EdgeCrusher

11-17-2009, 11:35 PM

I love the internet. I also love L4D2.

linkspast

11-18-2009, 12:03 AM

I think I kind of suck at this game.. But ill just blame it on my computer.. .
Also. This was easily worth the $35 Price tag. fools who thought its too expensive.

Bleck

11-18-2009, 12:07 AM

nine out of ten people suck at this game because they lack problem solving skills

if somebody is down and you can't revive them because there are zombies everywhere, do you

a) try to revive them anyways, putting yourself in danger for no discernible reason and likely costing your team the game

b) clear out the zombies

if you chose a, congratulations you're an idiot

EdgeCrusher

11-18-2009, 12:13 AM

Unforunately the computer AI is smarter than half the players online.

Rambo

11-18-2009, 12:16 AM

Am I like the only person here who probably isn't going to be getting L4D2? lol

I'm not getting it :3

Dhsu

11-18-2009, 12:35 AM

But that's just because you can barely even play TF2 at acceptable framerates. :<

Powerlord

11-18-2009, 12:37 AM

Bahamut

11-18-2009, 12:39 AM

Smoker seems like he got neutered some - the range seems pathetic, either that or I kept getting screwed.

Charger's charge seems somewhat tough to aim properly - I've had a bunch of near misses.

Spitter is sexy - very nice in terms of infected advantage in setting stuff up, or getting free hits from long corridors (like in Dead Center level 5.

Dead Carnival seems tough :-( .

And...that's all I got so far - very fun to play, but frustratingly tough in some ways.

Bleck

11-18-2009, 12:52 AM

That's assuming you've only got two players. You could just as easily have two people clearing out the zombies while the third revives the fourth.

the other two are dead do to other acts of incompetence

What I don't like about Charger is how little bits of debris will stop the charge.

"Oh, there's the Survivors! I'll just ram them down and - aw shit, a table got in my way."

Rambo

11-18-2009, 01:10 AM

But that's just because you can barely even play TF2 at acceptable framerates. :<

:cry: why you gotta be like that.

EdgeCrusher

11-18-2009, 01:11 AM

But that's just because you can barely even play TF2 at acceptable framerates. :<

I'd love to see his computer on dead center with the building on fire. 1 fps!

Rambo

11-18-2009, 01:20 AM

I'd love to see his computer on dead center with the building on fire. 1 fps!

I tried running the demo on lowest settings, and my computer couldn't buffer quick enough. I got progressive 2 second sound and video loops.

ParanoidDrone

11-18-2009, 01:22 AM

That's when you start saving for a new computer. :|

A Random Tiger

11-18-2009, 01:30 AM

Computers are expensive maaannnn

I'm not getting L4D2 either.
I also run TF2 at a barely acceptable level rofl

Rambo for TF2 do you use a config to have better settings, or do you just have everything on low?

Dr. Tran!

11-18-2009, 01:54 AM

If I had money, I'd be getting l4d2, but I'm poor as balls and that situation won't be changing until after the new year. :(

atmuh

11-18-2009, 02:01 AM

Computers are expensive maaannnn
not really

Global-Trance

11-18-2009, 02:51 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqyNS7ZdY1A

Vivi22

11-18-2009, 02:59 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqyNS7ZdY1A

That perfectly sums up my thoughts on the team AI. I can't be alone in thinking that's actually worse than the last game am I?

big giant circles

11-18-2009, 04:27 AM

haven't played vs yet. played through the first 2 campaigns.

this game is everything I hoped it would be and more. I may cry a little.

SporkNinjaDraken

11-18-2009, 05:23 AM

It's not really price that's making me you know... not want to get it.
It's mainly due to the fact I've only played the first one a grand total of 2... wait no 3 times and I don't see the point in purchasing another game of the same thing with a few changes which I probably won't play either.

Brushfire

11-18-2009, 05:49 AM

not really

Yeah really...

Ok if you wanna buy an E-Machine, yeah they aren't expensive. But for those guys who barely make ends meet everymonth, even that can be expensive.

I could be going out on a limb here but I am having way too much fun with Left 4 Dead 2. Granted the price tag is still pretty steep if you didn't do the 4 Pack deal, but I feel the game is fun enough to justify the 60 Dollar price tag if you are a friendless wonder.

Also atmuh, that patch was a gift from the bottom of my heart, and you would give it up so easily. Heartless man, heartless.

Dr. Tran!

11-18-2009, 05:54 AM

Bleh, /shakefist @ all you playing l4d2. I'm stuck with my current games until at least the end of january. D: Stupid being poor. Stupid bills. /shakefistagain.

atmuh

11-18-2009, 06:02 AM

Yeah really...

Ok if you wanna buy an E-Machine, yeah they aren't expensive. But for those guys who barely make ends meet everymonth, even that can be expensive.

I could be going out on a limb here but I am having way too much fun with Left 4 Dead 2. Granted the price tag is still pretty steep if you didn't do the 4 Pack deal, but I feel the game is fun enough to justify the 60 Dollar price tag if you are a friendless wonder.

Also atmuh, that patch was a gift from the bottom of my heart, and you would give it up so easily. Heartless man, heartless.
i built someone a pretty decent pc for the price of a 360
when you think about it that isnt that expensive

Sensai

11-18-2009, 06:09 AM

atmuh, I'mma call your bluff. Go 'head and tell me a 'decent' PC that you built someone for 300 dollars. I really wanna know what it is.

@L$D2: Bleh. I don't wanna rain on people's parades, but...it seems pretty much exactly like the old one which, while fun, got really old really quickly.

JCvgluvr

11-18-2009, 06:10 AM

So, is this an "A" type of sequel, or "B" type of sequel? By that, I mean:

A) Very little is different. The game feels and plays mostly the same. It feels like L4D with new skins. It gets old much quicker than L4D1. The new characters, story and music feel different, and much worse in comparison.

b) Substantial differences. The game feels and plays the same in some ways, and different in many ways. It feels like a true sequel, and Valve really did try their best in just one year of development time. The new characters, story and music feel different, but not worse than L4D1.

If it's B, I'll be ecstatic!

atmuh

11-18-2009, 06:17 AM

its pretty much exactly the same as the first one except i hated that and am enjoying this so take that however way you want

Bahamut

11-18-2009, 06:20 AM

Try the demo - that should give you enough info.

atmuh

11-18-2009, 06:26 AM

Try the demo - that should give you enough info.
imo not really
i didnt really enjoy the demo at all

Abu

11-18-2009, 06:35 AM

Brushfire

11-18-2009, 06:57 AM

Honestly, I felt it to be closer to an "A" type sequel than "B". Tons of things from L4D1 are there (such as recycled items, sound effects, textures, models) making the game feel more like an expansion pack than a new game. Some of the new weapons are damn near literal re-skins of the old ones (assault shotgun and sniper rifle come to mind) and they handle exactly like their L4D1 parents who also happen to be in the game as well. Subjectively, I didn't find the new characters to be nearly as entertaining as the first 4.

The new infected are great and really help to fill out the (previously) lacking enemy roster. They've definitely improved their map making skills both in terms of design and objective complexity. The director AI is reportedly better, but I admit I didn't have enough playing time to really see any differences. Being able to swap your secondary pistol out for a different sidearm or melee weapon is a nice touch too.

I didn't get a chance at versus mode, but I get the impression that if vs. is really your thing, this game is far superior to the first, if only for the extra special infected.

If you liked L4D1 and are just finding it to be a bit stale now, you'll probably like L4D2. I didn't find it to be worthy of a $50 price tag, though.

(I played the xbox360 version at a friend's house. Get the PC version if at all possible)

I disagree with you Abu, and not in the way atmuh does.

I support my disagreement, and here is how:

The AI has been improved for the Special infected by quite a bit, almost to the point of being cheap. I also felt the AI for the regular infected seemed a bit "smarter" too.

The maps are much less generic than the previous game too. With the exception of the swamp campaign, every one felt like a very unique.

Characters even have more personality than the previous game, and while not fully fleshed out, I felt that they were more a team than L4D1's d00d.

I feel that the biggest shining moments are the finales. Absolutley amazing. There hasn't been a single one thus far that I didn't like.

Now the whole mad dash panic events are a bit too often in my opinion (since I have time to spell out the acronym). They dont have very many tradeoffs with the whole holding down the fort panic event. Also the mad dash ones seem to have never ending rushes. Even after alarms are disabled and what not (I am looking at you Dark Carnival).

I haven't tried Versus yet, but I have high hopes that it wont be so heavily balenced towards the Infected side.

Brushfire

11-18-2009, 07:01 AM

i built someone a pretty decent pc for the price of a 360
when you think about it that isnt that expensive

And by someone, you mean no one right?

Kiyobi

11-18-2009, 08:49 AM

I'm not grabbing L4D2.
Mainly because L4D1 scared the crap out of me. Almost literally.

atmuh

11-18-2009, 09:10 AM

I disagree with you Abu, and not in the way atmuh does.

I support my disagreement, and here is how:

The AI has been improved for the Special infected by quite a bit, almost to the point of being cheap. I also felt the AI for the regular infected seemed a bit "smarter" too.

The maps are much less generic than the previous game too. With the exception of the swamp campaign, every one felt like a very unique.

Characters even have more personality than the previous game, and while not fully fleshed out, I felt that they were more a team than L4D1's d00d.

I feel that the biggest shining moments are the finales. Absolutley amazing. There hasn't been a single one thus far that I didn't like.

Now the whole mad dash panic events are a bit too often in my opinion (since I have time to spell out the acronym). They dont have very many tradeoffs with the whole holding down the fort panic event. Also the mad dash ones seem to have never ending rushes. Even after alarms are disabled and what not (I am looking at you Dark Carnival).

I haven't tried Versus yet, but I have high hopes that it wont be so heavily balenced towards the Infected side.
the things you listed arent really huge gameplay changes
basically what you said is that it looks a little nicer and plays a little better, which it does
its still incredibly similar to l4d, its just that all the little changes that were made make the l4d concept actually fun this time

and man i just played through the finale of dark carnival 8 times on advanced to get that dumb gnome achievement that was difficult
speaking of the gnome i cant believe they gave him that stupid "awesome face"
http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/2524/c2m4barns0000.th.jpg (http://img29.imageshack.us/i/c2m4barns0000.jpg/)

atmuh

11-18-2009, 09:12 AM

uh really guys im not saying i built them some crazy pc its halfway decent but nothing super special
i forget the specs but it plays tf2 and l4d just fine (not on super high settings obviously)
I'm not grabbing L4D2.
Mainly because L4D1 scared the crap out of me. Almost literally.
really?
i scare rather easy and as a result dont play many horror games or watch horror movies but l4d i find more funny than scary

Dr. Tran!

11-18-2009, 09:50 AM

That's uh. Not the awesome face.

atmuh

11-18-2009, 10:22 AM

the eyes are going the wrong way but come on it is

Brushfire

11-18-2009, 11:39 AM

Yeah but you keep saying that 350 bux is not much.

Most people don't have 350 bux lying around.

Therefore, computers are expensive.

So nyah!!

Doulifée

11-18-2009, 12:05 PM

it's Gordon's gnome, he is back from space, show some respect.

Level 99

11-18-2009, 01:45 PM

After all the issues I had trying to get this thing to work (and it ended up being a compound issue of Windows 7 64-bit, AVG, AND Steam, I must say I was very impressed with the final. It's hard to describe every difference but, for the most-part, everything is improved and built-upon. The difficulty feels a LOT harder on-average though, and as Brush pointed out, those panic events and Special Infected rushes come a bit too often. On normal difficulty, there were some moments where we'd killed two Special infected and a Horde just to have another three Special infected come around followed by another Horde. It's still do-able, but it seems like they're assuming much more previous-play of the game. Also, voice chat is a near-necessity now, as frantic typing has never worked and sticking together and working as a group is the least-likely approach to failure. Maybe I was just pissed off with all my getting-the-game-to-work issues, but regardless, still very fun.

Malaki-LEGEND.sys

11-18-2009, 04:38 PM

So Gamestop has a trade in deal that if you trade in two eligible games(PS3, 360, Wii), you can grab a new game like Dragon Age, Halo:ODST, Brutal Legend, or Left 4 Dead 2 for 20 bucks.

I shall be joining in on the zombie killing post haste.

atmuh

11-18-2009, 06:48 PM

Yeah but you keep saying that 350 bux is not much.

Most people don't have 350 bux lying around.

Therefore, computers are expensive.

So nyah!!
they are inexpensive in that its the same price as a console so you dont have an excuse to "buy a console because it is cheaper"

Bahamut

11-18-2009, 08:30 PM

So some people have noticed these social groups - come join in here L4D/L4D2 people: http://ocremix.org/forums/group.php?groupid=2

Native Jovian

11-18-2009, 10:05 PM

(I played the xbox360 version at a friend's house. Get the PC version if at all possible)
Explain this.

Doulifée

11-18-2009, 10:53 PM

we sucked hard in scavenger mode. need more training and team play.

big giant circles

11-19-2009, 05:30 AM

Dude, that is a freaking AWESOME sig. :nicework:

Bahamut

11-19-2009, 12:16 PM

The dialogue in the game is a lot more fresh in this game...for example, when we were doing the swamp campaign last night, we heard Coach say "Shh, I hear a bitch" when a witch was near - I did a double take because I did not expect that, but surely enough I wasn't the only one to hear it.

Just something for people to note while they're playing.

Doulifée

11-19-2009, 12:48 PM

atmuh

11-19-2009, 07:18 PM

Vivi22

11-19-2009, 09:59 PM

Thanks to the new infected I'm liking versus a lot more in this game than I did in L4D. I always used to get stuck as a Hunter or a Boomer and I sucked at both. Not that I was much better as a Smoker mind you, but I'm enjoying the other three enough that I don't want to quit everytime I spawn as the original three. I suppose that means I'll probably stop sucking with them after a while.

Tensei

11-19-2009, 10:48 PM

" Maybe she's crying because the mall is closed" - Nick, after seeing a Witch in front of the Mall. Classy.

Powerlord

11-19-2009, 10:54 PM

" Maybe she's crying because the mall is closed" - Nick, after seeing a Witch in front of the Mall. Classy.

"That would be... your mother!"

Doulifée

11-19-2009, 10:55 PM

" Maybe she's crying because the mall is closed" - Nick, after seeing a Witch in front of the Mall. Classy.

yeah i got that one a few minute ago :D

The Damned

11-20-2009, 01:40 AM

You guys have stood in front of the microphones at the end of Dark Carnival, right?

Coach got soul.

Dr. Tran!

11-20-2009, 02:09 AM

A friend of mine might be buying this for me tomorrow. Excitement. :]

The Damned

11-20-2009, 03:11 AM

BAH! My various achievements are gone! I have to redo all the campaigns and some of the item specific ones over again.

Fuck you, whatever does that!

Bleck

11-20-2009, 04:00 AM

dude: everyone follow me the chopper comes this way

bleck: uh okay if you say so

---

dude: what the fuck

bleck: oh look the chopper is ON THE OTHER FUCKING SIDE

and then we all died the end

Brushfire

11-20-2009, 04:16 AM

Bleck

11-20-2009, 04:20 AM

yeah see I didn't laugh I just screamed and screamed

atmuh

11-20-2009, 04:27 AM

dude: everyone follow me the chopper comes this way

bleck: uh okay if you say so

---

dude: what the fuck

bleck: oh look the chopper is ON THE OTHER FUCKING SIDE

and then we all died the end
yeah on my second runthrough of dark carnival we were on advanced and doing the gnome thing and on like our 7th try of the finale we finally got to the rescue and we put the gnome where we all thought it was gonna show up and it was on the other side and we died
trolled by helicopter

speaking of trolls not only was that achievement incredibly difficult to get on advanced MY ACHIEVEMENTS RESET WHAT ABOUT YOU YES I AM MAD

Malaki-LEGEND.sys

11-20-2009, 10:47 AM

So did the game get harder this time around, or do I just suck?

Garian

11-20-2009, 11:49 AM

I think that this is an indication that the AI Director is doing its job.

Doulifée

11-20-2009, 12:48 PM

nice job indeed.

Jokey who drive me in the witch, smoker who pull me in the spitter acid...

Malaki-LEGEND.sys

11-20-2009, 01:26 PM

nice job indeed.

Jokey who drive me in the witch

AHHH!! This happened to me twice in the middle of a horde!

I'm in total control of the situation, completely avoiding the witch, then BAM a jockey grabs hold of me, my team doesn't react fast enough, and then I'm pulled right into the witch.

ARGH!! :-P

Bahamut

11-20-2009, 02:03 PM

So for those who didn't get the game yet - L4D2 PC is going to be $30 at Gamestop this Black Friday.

EdgeCrusher

11-20-2009, 02:47 PM

I BOUGHT L4D2 WHEN IT WAS 33.75 ON STEAM AND NOW ITS 30 BUCKS ON BLACK FRIDAY FROM GAMESTOP! SCREW YOU VALVE!!!!

*boycotts*

:D

Bleck

11-20-2009, 02:53 PM

I'm boycotting L4D2 until they fix the AI

if anyone needs me I'll be playing L4D2

DarkeSword

11-20-2009, 03:26 PM

rofl

Yeah I'm pretty sure people most gamers don't even know what boycott means.

Doulifée

11-20-2009, 04:16 PM

rofl

Yeah I'm pretty sure people most gamers don't even know what boycott means.

BOYCOTT:a Catholic priest's favorite place to sleep.

Father Cahill had a boycott in the rectory and slept like a baby. Meow!

you're right

big giant circles

11-20-2009, 06:49 PM

I'm boycotting L4D2 until they fix the AI

if anyone needs me I'll be playing L4D2

looool. I literally laughed out loud.

Also, I like getting achievements. I wish there was an option to reset your achievements once in a while just so I could get 'em again.

Malaki-LEGEND.sys

11-20-2009, 06:55 PM

On a further note, Hard Rain is awesome. We just had to deal with more than 10 witches... Crazy.

Vivi22

11-20-2009, 07:22 PM

looool. I literally laughed out loud.

Also, I like getting achievements. I wish there was an option to reset your achievements once in a while just so I could get 'em again.

If you're like me and some of the other people around here then the game will magically reset them all on it's own soon enough.

EdgeCrusher

11-20-2009, 09:26 PM

Haha, just beat hard rain today on single player. Best strategy? Run! Just keep running :D

big giant circles

11-20-2009, 09:45 PM

On a further note, Hard Rain is awesome. We just had to deal with more than 10 witches... Crazy.

Oh man, I know. In the commentary they said they decided to keep the weather changing bit to just this campaign, which disappoints me a little, considering how awesome it is. I think it's such a great addition to make it to where you can't even hear your buddies on their mics over the storm. And geez, the ATMOSPHERE, is just so amazing! This just may be my favorite campaign, but I'm not sure. They're honestly so awesome.

And you know what else, no joke, the night before I played that campaign, I was just thinking to myself "You know what would be awesome? What if they had an area that was like witch central, like some cave or something that just had 30 witches sitting around or something?" Granted, this isn't quite as awesome, since there's only like 10 or so, but it's still pretty groovy that they essentially had the same idea.

Bleck

11-20-2009, 09:46 PM

Run! Just keep running :D

this has been the best strategy in every campaign since l4d1

big giant circles

11-20-2009, 09:59 PM

You can really only pull it off in Hard Rain though, since there's not that many zombies once the storm hits. The director kind of put a damper in the rushing technique in L4D2. At least, it's not nearly as easy (IMO) as it was in the first one.

Malaki-LEGEND.sys

11-20-2009, 11:05 PM

Everything about this game just feels bigger, better, and much more badass than Left 4 Dead. I can't find anything other than the still retarded survivor A.I. to bitch about. From the weapon to the level design, this game is probably the best of this year hands down.

I must say one thing though. From what it feels like, L4D2 is to L4D like Super Street Fighter IV is to SFIV, that is, this is the game for those serious about a good, challenging time. I can't even think about playing this game with anyone who I don't have a total sense of synergy with. Casual L4D fans need not apply here.

Worth every goddamn penny spent.

Bahamut

11-20-2009, 11:23 PM

http://midnight-riders.com/

linkspast

11-20-2009, 11:40 PM

http://midnight-riders.com/

Nice.. I always forget to see if that was a real website when I logout.

atmuh

11-21-2009, 02:26 AM

http://midnight-riders.com/
http://fightingamphibians.com/va/res/3914.html thread made me laugh

linkspast

11-21-2009, 02:38 AM

I kind of want that shirt.. or this one.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/zoom/c61d_med_kit.jpg

Garian

11-21-2009, 10:36 AM

I'm mostly disappointed by the fact that the survivorbots are still absolutely retarded, and that valve is still too afraid to let their characters drop the F-bomb (the lack of which kinda takes off a layer of immersion for me).

atmuh

11-21-2009, 10:38 AM

and that valve is still too afraid to let their characters drop the F-bomb (the lack of which kinda takes off a layer of immersion for me).
funny because on the other side i like the game a lot more without that

oh and from gabe himself
http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/8194/125876439433.th.png (http://img42.imageshack.us/i/125876439433.png/)

Garian

11-21-2009, 11:10 AM

ewwwww those giiiiirl zombies have koooooooooooooties

ParanoidDrone

11-21-2009, 06:12 PM

I lol'd heartily.

The Damned

11-23-2009, 02:03 AM

Grrrr, my achievements have been reset AGAIN. Four times now! Four times!

I'm not bothering with this game until they fucking fix it. They add these little extra challenges, and they're fun trying to get. But where's the fun when you have to do them over and over again, only to see your accomplishments disappear every two days?

Fuck this. Playing the game is fun, but getting those little extra bits is also fun. When a significant part of the fun disappears all the time, it's not a game, it's a fucking chore.

Bahamut

11-23-2009, 02:37 AM

Jeez, the achievements keep resetting...great work there Valve.

I'm just going to ignore the achievements and enjoy the game for what it is until they fix them. No biggie, but it is annoying.

Bleck

11-23-2009, 03:06 AM

I'm just going to ignore the achievements and enjoy the game for what it is

people have been saying this as if it's some sort of crime

atmuh

11-23-2009, 03:20 AM

The Damned

11-23-2009, 03:42 AM

No, it's like having a three layer cake. Now take one of the layers away. That's what it's like. You're missing part of the whole thing, and it's lesser than what you would like.

And I swear, if one of you even begins to say anything about cakes and lies, I'm going to firebomb your house(s).

Dr. Tran!

11-23-2009, 04:07 AM

Achievements are going to kill gaming. : /

Playing the game is fun, but getting those little extra bits is also fun

So once you have them...what then? Is the game no longer fun?

Most of these so-called 'achievements' you should do every time you play anyway, so. I don't know what the big effin' deal is about this.

atmuh

11-23-2009, 04:15 AM

its because some of them are incredibly difficult and the first time getting its fun but after that its just annoying (i know some people who got the real deal and then it got wiped)

Powerlord

11-23-2009, 04:18 AM

And I swear, if one of you even begins to say anything about cakes and lies, I'm going to firebomb your house(s).

http://www.gamesprays.com/images/icons/Thumbnail_icon264.jpg

I'm sorry, I had to.

*sets that to his TF2 spray*

Dr. Tran!

11-23-2009, 04:40 AM

its because some of them are incredibly difficult and the first time getting its fun but after that its just annoying (i know some people who got the real deal and then it got wiped)

Why do you 'need' those achievements?

atmuh

11-23-2009, 05:19 AM

because it makes you feel good that you accomplished something challenging, especially if your friends are also trying to accomplish them too
no recognition for something that is supposed to get recognition (an achievement) is frustrating

Dr. Tran!

11-23-2009, 05:32 AM

So why do you need the achievement? Shouldn't just accomplishing the hard thing be enough?

Did you ever do something 'hard' in a game before this whole achievement bullshit came out and be proud of yourself for doing it? Hopefully the answer is yes, because you should be doing the same thing here. Be proud you did it, and don't make a big deal over the 'achievement' still being locked or reset or whatever.

Brycepops

11-23-2009, 05:36 AM

Bahamut

11-23-2009, 05:55 AM

You don't "need" an achievement - they're nice as a more tangible form of accomplishment, but the only negative thing about achievements is if you have a negative attitude with them. I'll go for them up to a point, but I don't necessarily have to complete them (I still have 2 TF2 achievements left for example, but I don't really think about them).

Dr. Tran!

11-23-2009, 05:59 AM

Ok.

So if they're not needed, why do people make such a big deal over them? I mean, quite a few people are here in this thread raging because they're being reset.

If you do not need them, why are you getting mad? That's what I don't understand. you're making a big deal over things you admittedly do NOT need.

Brycepops

11-23-2009, 06:02 AM

Ok.

So if they're not needed, why do people make such a big deal over them? I mean, quite a few people are here in this thread raging because they're being reset.

Because that's just how some people are. Can't you just accept that and move on? :/

atmuh

11-23-2009, 06:14 AM

stop trolling youre really bad at it

Dr. Tran!

11-23-2009, 06:15 AM

Because that's just how some people are. Can't you just accept that and move on? :/

In order to accept it, I need to understand it. So I ask questions. I find out why people act this way instead of just nodding and smiling.

EDIT:

stop trolling youre really bad at i

Except I'm honestly not trolling. I do actually want to know why people make a big deal about things like this, in hopes of understanding why they do it.

EdgeCrusher

11-23-2009, 06:16 AM

People feel the need to have some kind of record of accomplishment I guess. Like people sending in high scores to Nintendo Power years ago. Achievements should never be a deal breaker for playing a game though. If that's the only reason you'd play it, go play an MMO so you can brag to your guild.

atmuh

11-23-2009, 06:17 AM

youre asking the same question over and over again even though we answer it every time

Dr. Tran!

11-23-2009, 06:26 AM

I repeated my question once because nobody had really answered it. Then people said "We don't need them."

I then said "If you don't need them, why make such a big deal over something like this that you know you don't need?"

Someone who didn't post here said something about a sense of entitlement, which I kind of understand. Before achievements came along, when you did something cool or hard in a game, you just had yourself and your close friends to show off to. Which goes along with what Edge just said.

With the addition of achievements, having a low amount lowers your epeen, so you have to have them all.

Is this fairly spot on, or is there something else I'm not understanding?

Bahamut

11-23-2009, 06:27 AM

Some people just like a sense of completion of doing everything in a game. I have a friend who has almost all his games to 100% achievements/trophies, but doesn't make that big of a deal over it.

The Damned

11-23-2009, 06:45 AM

Wow, some minor rage over a personal opinion about a game feature...

because it makes you feel good that you accomplished something challenging, especially if your friends are also trying to accomplish them too
no recognition for something that is supposed to get recognition (an achievement) is frustrating
Damn right. I earned those achievements by playing, be it with random people or trying to guide the idiot bots around. You try to get Gnome Chompski to the helicopter with three bots fucking everything up along the way. Oh, and once you die in single player, even if the other bots are still perfectly fine, you have to restart the level. It's easier to get it online, but you have to find some people that are willing to do it first, and then hope they remember you're trying to get it. I've had guys leave it behind on the last level because they simply forgot I as trying to get it.

So why do you need the achievement? Shouldn't just accomplishing the hard thing be enough?

Did you ever do something 'hard' in a game before this whole achievement bullshit came out and be proud of yourself for doing it? Hopefully the answer is yes, because you should be doing the same thing here. Be proud you did it, and don't make a big deal over the 'achievement' still being locked or reset or whatever.

It's the fact that I did do it, and I have to do it again and again, only to see the very accomplishment denied over and over.

It's like when you finish your job, only to come back the next morning and be told that they can't find all the paperwork you did, so better get at it again. But it happens four times in the last two weeks. Skipping the whole firing thing for a moment, wouldn't you feel kind of annoyed about that?

So if they're not needed, why do people make such a big deal over them? I mean, quite a few people are here in this thread raging because they're being reset.

If you do not need them, why are you getting mad? That's what I don't understand. you're making a big deal over things you admittedly do NOT need.
With the addition of achievements, having a low amount lowers your epeen, so you have to have them all.

Is this fairly spot on, or is there something else I'm not understanding?

Again, it's because I earned them by effort, time devoted, skill applied (and luck used up :<), only to have it arbitrarily negated.

Because that's just how some people are. Can't you just accept that and move on? :/

I don't know what you mean by "that's how some people are"... I'm not sitting at home all day stressing out over every last little thing about the game. I really hope you're not trying to lump me into some sort of group of some kind. See above comments for why I'm not happy with this issue.

People feel the need to have some kind of record of accomplishment I guess. Like people sending in high scores to Nintendo Power years ago. Achievements should never be a deal breaker for playing a game though. If that's the only reason you'd play it, go play an MMO so you can brag to your guild.

Again, for the last time (I swear), it's not bragging rights, it's that I've had my effort nulled and voided randomly by a faulty system. That's my problem with the game.

Some people just like a sense of completion of doing everything in a game. I have a friend who has almost all his games to 100% achievements/trophies, but doesn't make that big of a deal over it.

I'm not really one ofr 100% completion, but I do like to see what I can do on my own (or with group cooperation). I have a number of ones on L4D1 that I know I'm never going to get, and I'm not bothered by that at all. They're outside my ability or my patience to get, so whatever.

Brycepops

11-23-2009, 06:55 AM

I don't know what you mean by "that's how some people are"... I'm not sitting at home all day stressing out over every last little thing about the game. I really hope you're not trying to lump me into some sort of group of some kind. See above comments for why I'm not happy with this issue.

Haha nah, I'm just saying that there are people that want something to show for their efforts and have every right to get mad when they get taken away for bullshit reasons.

Dr. Tran!

11-23-2009, 07:06 AM

Thanks for the actual answers folks. Just one more thing.

It's the fact that I did do it, and I have to do it again and again, only to see the very accomplishment denied over and over.

You aren't really denied it though. You did it. You know you did, and the people who you might have played with know you did. So at this point the 'achievement' being unlocked should be a moot point. Shouldn't knowing you did it overwrite whatever you feel about it getting reset?

(Also I think this is the first time people have actually discussed stuff with me instead of getting pissed off and angry because I ask questions. So a big thank you for that.)

The Damned

11-23-2009, 06:51 PM

I did it. It was taken away. How is that not being denied?

JCvgluvr

11-23-2009, 07:13 PM

"Hey, you graduated! Have this diploma to commemorate all the hard work you did and sacrifices you made."

*Random hobo comes with a lighter and instantly lights your diploma. Fwoosh*

Tensei

11-23-2009, 07:27 PM

It doesn't matter, YOU still know that you've graduated, and that's what counts!

big giant circles

11-23-2009, 07:44 PM

Can we leave all this case-study nonsense out of it? If people want to debate over the psychology involved in playing video games or getting achievements, just make another thread for it.

Bahamut

11-23-2009, 08:25 PM

The achievements are back anyhow - it must be steam being wonky.

The Damned

11-23-2009, 09:27 PM

http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198002523609/stats/L4D2?tab=achievements

THEY'RE ALL GONE AGAIN! Five times now! What the fuck?

Garian

11-23-2009, 09:50 PM

sm_cvar god 1
sm_slay @bots

need anything else? :V

also, when i click that link, it says you have 24 of 50 achievements, which ones did you have unlocked that it locked back up?

Malaki-LEGEND.sys

11-23-2009, 10:19 PM

Now there's something that doesn't happen on the 360 version.

The Damned

11-23-2009, 10:20 PM

What the fuck? Now they're back? Make up your mind, Steam.

Here's your stuff. NAH-UH! OK, here's it is. NOPE! OK, seriously, here you go. GOTCHA!

atmuh

11-23-2009, 10:39 PM

i still only have 8 when i used to have 22

also check out that playtime and those stats
http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/6910/lolfm.png

EdgeCrusher

11-23-2009, 11:04 PM

All of mine are back. HA HA HA!

linkspast

11-23-2009, 11:21 PM

I still have all of my 8 achievements. Ive not lost them once

Brycepops

11-24-2009, 12:04 AM

How the hell can you play negative games O_o;

The Damned

11-24-2009, 12:10 AM

Atmuh is just that bad. He shot his teammates so much, it started counting negative health, and it went from there.

No, it's just Steam being stupid.

Dhsu

11-24-2009, 12:17 AM

So for those who didn't get the game yet - L4D2 PC is going to be $30 at Gamestop this Black Friday.
I finally caved and got the game using this deal ($29.99 + tax, free shipping):

http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/26719

linkspast

11-24-2009, 12:56 AM

This game is fun.

The Damned

11-24-2009, 05:06 AM

Well, my achievements seem to be staying, so I guess I'm back in the game.

By the way, you just lost the game.

Inimitable

11-24-2009, 05:30 AM

New update says they fixed achievements disappearing. Everyone should be back in the game.

Doulifée

11-24-2009, 08:35 AM

How the hell can you play negative games O_o;

atmuh is so bad, it count as a negative game.

i also award myself with this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v646/doulifee/fake%20achievement/sugarmill.png

trying to unlock AGAIN the Sob story achievement , with dumb IA (despise that one of the game was fucked by myself, shooting a horde and trying to get cover near a wall, where a witch was sobing of course)

The Damned

12-04-2009, 06:06 AM

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/left-4-hawp/59505

Go to 1:15 and watch "How to play Left 4 Friends". Go ahead.

Watched it? Good.

I DEMAND WE PLAY THIS.

We have to. It's so perfect for how most of us play anyways. It will only turn into perfectly hilarious games.

Doulifée

12-04-2009, 11:01 AM

wtf are they doing? driving the boomer through the level?

Garian

12-04-2009, 12:21 PM

rofl, someone should make an actual hunted l4d2 mod for doing this.

SirChadlyOC

12-04-2009, 04:59 PM

Sign me up, OMG.

Dr. Tran!

12-04-2009, 05:29 PM

I'd totally be up for that.

Doulifée

12-04-2009, 11:06 PM

why not. any way to have fun is...fun.

big giant circles

12-05-2009, 02:50 AM

I gotta say, I got so pissed tonight that I just had to uninstall the game. I played the most frustrating vs match I've ever played. Everyone's pings were good, but the game was just ridiculous. I repeatedly clipped through survivors as a hunter AND jockey, what would have been a perfect charge was completely disrupted by literally some invisible texture (was an open street, but I just randomly stopped charging and did that staggering thing that he does when he hits a wall, and no, they weren't using explosive ammo), I boomed on 3 survivors in a corner and it didn't register a single one, I later exploded 2 feet away from an incapped survivor, but it didn't register, and as a tank, I punched at a survivor that was backed into a corner and it somehow missed. I mean, I'm not the greatest player, but I'm pretty darn decent at the game, and this was not just "oops, hunter/tank/boomer/etc fail" moments.

Definitely brought out the rage-quit in BGC tonight, that's for dang sure. [/rant]

JCvgluvr

12-05-2009, 08:03 PM

So, I've finally gotten through all campaigns. The only ones I don't like that much are Dead Center and Swamp Fever! As for the other 3:

Dark Carnival has a very enjoyable atmosphere. I always loved going to those kinds of carnivals as a kid, and it's great to be able to run through a zombie-infested version now! And you can't forget those adorable clowns, or that kick-awesome show with the Midnight Riders!

Hard Rain's storms actually creeped me out IRL. Any video game that gets me to feel another emotion besides "violence=fun" gets major props from me. Other reasons include the tortuously-fun amount of witches, and the battles at the elevator.

Then there's the Parish. It's just plain exciting! I like being smack-dab in the middle of New Orleans. And that finale on the bridge, it's just so intense!

If I absolutely HAD to chose one a favorite campaign, it'd be the Parish. But remember, it's really, really close between those 3!

Malaki-LEGEND.sys

12-10-2009, 04:33 PM

Man o man, versus is so damned satisfying this time around. I've actually formed a pretty fun versus group over the weekend on live, and we just go at it all the time. It's so funny to see at least 2 of the opposing team drop out after totally decimating them literally seconds after the leave the safe area of chapter 1 on Dead Center.

The spitter blocks their path, a jockey grabs an unsuspecting one and takes him over the edge, then when the others go to help, a hunter pounces on one and the charger knocks another one right out the window... Such versatility. It's great.

Playing as survivors is a lot of fun as well with the addition of so many new weapons.

Seriously satisfied with this game.

The Damned

12-10-2009, 05:40 PM

I don't know... my own experiences with Versus this time is quite the opposite.

I find the new scoring system to be kind of broken. In L4D1, the idea was that the Survivor team wasn't really supposed to make it to the safe room, so it became a matter of how much better you could do than the other team. In actuality, it wasn't exactly like that, but you still got to have massive gaps and very close games.

In L4D2, it seems like scores are arbitrary, because both teams will make it to the safe room, but one will get a massive bonus, even though the total amount of Infected damage done is the same for each side. Maybe it's just a bug in the score system, but I've seen some outright bullshit in points.

Also, most of the time, both teams will make it to the safe room perfectly fine, negating all the effort you put into attacking them. It feels like there's no reason to really even bother attacking now.

It feels very unpolished and I can't seem to get into it.

big giant circles

12-10-2009, 05:54 PM

Well, I actually like the fact that losing one round won't completely screw you out of winning the game now, but I agree that if both teams reach the safe room one gets a wimpy 25 point bonus. Instead, what I think they should do is tally up the difference in damage and give those points to the winning team. So that way if you as infected got all 4 survivors black and white when they reached the safe room but your team reached it with half health left, then it should give you like the extra 400 points of damage that you did to their team instead of just 25.

The Damned

12-15-2009, 01:43 AM

AWESOME GET! (http://www.joystiq.com/2009/12/14/left-4-dead-2-dlc-the-passing-to-feature-l4d1-cast/)http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/117505/img/space.gif

The Damned

12-15-2009, 05:03 AM

OK, new stuff includes a new melee weapon, a new uncommon infected, a new gun, and new maps for Co-op, Survival, Scavenge, and Versus.

Oh, and did I mention that you'll be playing with all eight survivors! That's Bill, Zoey, Louis and Francis, along side Coach, Rochelle, Nick and Ellis! All at the same time! TOGETHER!

ParanoidDrone

12-15-2009, 05:33 AM

linkspast

12-15-2009, 05:45 AM

Sweet. I wonder if they will just be NPC`s?

Free DLC is so sweet.

Powerlord

12-15-2009, 05:51 AM

Free DLC is so sweet.

Nothing can beat the PC version of Team Fortress 2 for free DLC... particularly when you consider it goes on sale fairly frequently (it was $2.49 during the Halloween weekend) and is normally sold along with Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, and Portal as The Orange Box (http://store.steampowered.com/sub/469/) for $30.

TF2 has its 8th free DLC pack coming out late this week or next week. It'll probably have a free weekend this weekend as well. (P.S. OCR runs two 24-player TF2 servers as blu.ocrtf2.com and red.ocrtf2.com )

(Side note: TF2 currently has 250 achievements, and will gain at least an additional 74 with this update.)

The Damned

12-15-2009, 06:13 AM

Sweet. I am breathlessly anticipating this.

In unrelated news, does anyone happen to know if avoiding Witches causes the Director to spawn more than usual? Because I did a single player campaign in Dark Carnival where I made a point of avoiding Witches and encountered at least 6 or 7, two of which were IN A SAFE ROOM DOORWAY. (That is, twice there was one Witch, not once there were two Witches next to each other.) And one of those was at the end of that Crescendo where you need to open the gates and the horde doesn't stop coming until you're all inside.
According to the L4D wiki, there's nothing about the AI Director setting up witches if you avoid them.

My own personal experience from hundreds of hours of playing is that witches can and will appear just about anywhere, and the number of times they appear, whether you kill them or not, is random as well. I've had games where we only had one witch in the entire campaign, and others just like yours, where they appeared in every level, and sometimes two in one map.

Doulifée

12-15-2009, 09:02 AM

According to the L4D wiki, there's nothing about the AI Director setting up witches if you avoid them.

My own personal experience from hundreds of hours of playing is that witches can and will appear just about anywhere, and the number of times they appear, whether you kill them or not, is random as well. I've had games where we only had one witch in the entire campaign, and others just like yours, where they appeared in every level, and sometimes two in one map.

same here, also sometime the Director can be a little bitch with special infected, my last play i was managing them 3 at once.

The Damned

01-02-2010, 05:22 PM

http://hellforge.gameriot.com/blogs/Hellforge/Left-4-Dead-2-Weapon-Effectiveness-vs-Tank

Enjoy your hard evidence of what weapons will kill a tank quickly.

Oddly enough, the most effective firearm is my old L4D1 stand-by, the assault rifle, at 24 seconds. Next up is the combat shotgun (which is weird, because on L4D1, they nerfed shotgun damage against the tank) at 26 seconds.

The best melee weapon is the tonfa (aka nightstick, aka police baton) at 6 seconds. Damn, that's better than the more obvious ones like the machete or the katana, or even the fireaxe.

Might be useful in future games, like in versus.

Triad Orion

01-05-2010, 04:52 PM

The Damned

01-05-2010, 05:43 PM

I've found that melee weapons are best for Advanced and Expert, and in Versus. In Easy and Normal, everything dies really quickly, such that going just pistols or even just a Magnum is perfectly doable. But once you get up to Advanced, the damage you can take from random zombies starts to add up, and you can find yourself overwhelmed quite easily. One good swing of the bat or guitar or whatever takes care of that far quicker than pistols can.

Versus, it's good for dealing with successful boomer attacks, tanks, and getting Hunters off of teammates. Shooting them off only works if you have a clear line of fire, good aim, and aren't close enough to push them off. Meleeing a Hunter not only gets if off your teammate, but also kills it, weakening the attack of the Infected significantly.

Also, it's fun to smash things. SMASH SMASH SMASH!

Sporknight

01-05-2010, 06:20 PM

Very late to the party, but I finally have the game. And I love it to pieces. Love the new weapon choices a lot.

And I'm surprised the Nightstick is that effective. ...Mostly because I have a love/hate relationship with the Melee weapons. I generally prefer using dual pistols, but most of my friends like to go with melee, and then they're stupid and run right in the goddamn line of fire.

The thing about the nightstick is that while it swings quick, it only has one point of impact. Compare this to the guitar/katana, which have slow swings but hit a ton of zombies. If you're just killing tanks, by all means go with the nightstick, but if you're wading through hordes you'd be better served with a different melee weapon (or the grenade launcher, heh).

Speaking of the grenade launcher, does anyone actually use it? It seems like a fun toy to play with on low difficulty stuff, but with friendly fire on higher difficulties it becomes highly situational.

Bleck

01-05-2010, 07:36 PM

Speaking of the grenade launcher, does anyone actually use it? It seems like a fun toy to play with on low difficulty stuff, but with friendly fire on higher difficulties it becomes highly situational.

It's really useful if you're playing with people who understand what you mean when you say 'MOVE AWAY FROM THE ZORMBOES SO I CAN BLOW THEM UP'.

The Damned

01-05-2010, 10:42 PM

Luckily, even on Expert, the friendly fire damage from the grenade launcher is minimal. I've hit all three teammates as they ran ahead, right in the middle, and they only took a tiny bit of damage.

Even the self-inflicted FF damage is pretty low on Expert.

Nothing beats a well-aimed clip from the AK or Sniper rifle, though. Those new guns are beautiful.

Triad Orion

01-07-2010, 04:35 AM

Ah, the point of impact thing makes sense. I've been a scrub and been playing on Normal with my friends, and I've been generally sticking with Pistols because everyone else I play with goes melee. We're working our way up to Advanced, but it's slow going. The game's really kicked up in difficulty compared to the original. I consider this a good thing.

But god yes, I love the new guns. My favorite's the AK. Lose accuracy, but the thing has so much stopping power against most regular enemies. It's fantastic.

The Damned

01-07-2010, 06:11 AM

AK with a laser sight is... it's like a shotgun with accuracy. A clip from an AK blasts chucks of off just about anything. Add in the laser, and it's almost a sniper cannon.

But you can really only get it in Dead Center at the gun shop. Kind of sad, I wish the laser spawned more in the other maps.

Triad Orion

01-08-2010, 06:17 AM

It does, just not reliably. I saw one in... The Parish, actually. They're usually off the beaten path in addition to being just plain rare.

Sporknight

01-08-2010, 01:31 PM

I may have to try the AK again sometime, especially with a laser sight. I bounce around on weapons a lot, I've noticed. Usually I stray away from the machine guns since I tend burn through ammo fairly quick, unless I'm using the 3 round burst combat rifle. I'm a big fan of blowing big meaty holes into zombies with the magnum, though.

Triad Orion

01-08-2010, 04:05 PM

The key to longevity with the M-16 or the AK-47 is to burst fire manually. The Combat Rifle does it for you in a very nice, accurate package, but it seriously lacks stopping power. 3-round bursting with the M-16 is generally sufficient on most targets, and you can get the job done with 2 rounds usually from the AK. Specials are when you want to lay into them with full-auto.

Crouching helps your accuracy considerably with the assault rifle weapons and in my opinion makes it easier to control your bursts for that reason. And provided you're not playing on Realism, follow military protocol and aim for the center of mass.

The Magnum's a lot of fun, but it's really not that useful, in my opinion. At least on the difficulties I've been playing on, it's generally better to go with dual pistols because of the rate of fire and longevity you have. Maybe it's better on Realism?

Speaking of, has anyone really sunk their teeth into Realism? Sounds like a fascinating mode. How much does it really alter how you play the game?

Doulifée

01-08-2010, 04:24 PM

Speaking of, has anyone really sunk their teeth into Realism? Sounds like a fascinating mode. How much does it really alter how you play the game?

no aura around fellow survivor/item, if you die it's permanent for the round. you'll be revived if you have a defib or need to wait the next round to start.

headshot are the only way to perform a oneshot kill, witch will kill you straight.

Sporknight

01-08-2010, 05:54 PM

...follow military protocol and aim for the center of mass.

You know, my Army friend does that when sniping in TF2. Doesn't work out too well.

You're right though about the stopping power on the combat rifle. It's good for picking off the far-off ones in a crowd when you don't want to sacrifice your mobility to the sniper rifle, and you can switch to melee for hordes. AK + sight sounds worth trying next time I play though, for sure.

Realism mode is fun to play when you're looking for something just a little different, and are up for some extra punishment. It's also a great way to convince your friends to communicate over voice more, hehe.

Triad Orion

01-08-2010, 07:24 PM

You know, my Army friend does that when sniping in TF2. Doesn't work out too well.

Yeah, really because of game and balance mechanics, in that case. XD

In Left 4 Dead, though, it's a viable tactic that ensures higher accuracy and better ammo efficiency. (Generally. XD)

I heard somewhere that there are more Witches on Realism too. Is that true?

The Damned

01-09-2010, 12:14 AM

The number of witches is dependent upon the AI Director, regardless of game mode, difficulty or map. Even the Sugar Mill in Hard Rain changes depending upon what the AI Director does.

Doulifée

01-09-2010, 09:47 AM

but 3 infected in the safe room at the end is always a surprise...

Triad Orion

01-09-2010, 03:07 PM

I see. What I had heard was that by just playing on Realism the chance the AI director would spawn a Witch was considerably higher. Didn't know if there was actually any truth to that.

Also what's always quite a surprise is when the Director spawns the third finale Tank right on top of the rescue vehicle. ...And it's not a lot of fun. XD

The Damned

01-19-2010, 06:48 PM

Nooo! My achievements are gone again... all of my campaign completions, Realism and Expert ones have vanished, and all my tallied kills are reset.

http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198002523609/stats/L4D2?tab=achievements

What the fuck, Valve?

JCvgluvr

01-19-2010, 07:44 PM

And you people laugh at 360 owners paying for their online service. Well, how's free online working out for you now?

Gollgagh

01-19-2010, 07:52 PM

still laughing

The Damned

01-19-2010, 07:56 PM

(Not sure if serious pic here*)

If it was a problem for multiple people all at once, which it's not, then your comment might have some validity. But seeing how this is only happening to me, and no one else here (nor on any other board I've been too, searching for other people with the same or similar issues), it would seem to be an error on database management, not the service.

The odd thing is, that in-game, it only lists two of them being unlocked, while on my steam account, it lists 18. I don't know why this has happened several times to me, and not to anyone else.

Maybe they have my account mixed up with someone elses?

*What? It's an overused image meme, and if there were any better, more original ones out there, I'd be happy to use them.