Exciting, New L4D Mod in Production

[Deadlockmod]

Hello fellow Steam subscribers!

My name's O'Malley and I'm a member of the development team for DEADLOCK, a Left4Dead Multiplayer modification. In DEADLOCK, two teams of survivors are pitted against one another and endless waves of zombies. The mod stresses team play, resource management, and massive amounts of zombie kills. On top of this, our mod boasts over 30 weapons, a large array of usable items (and drugs!), new characters complete with player models, dynamic environments, and a new and more realistic health system.

Right now we are in our fourth week of production (after two months of pre-production) and are looking for a few more team members. Our current staff is composed of motivated individuals with industry experience who are working day and night to move the project forward.

Mods get a bad rap because a high percentage of them die young and abruptly (we've got a high infant mortality rate I guess), but Deadlock is different. We're not here for money, but it's not amateur hour either. Our team is established and things have been running smoothly for three months. Now we're trying to build a community to get feedback from as we develop. If you're interested in the mod, please track us on ModDB, Facebook, Twitter, Steam, or our Forums.

As stated above, we are currently looking for similarly motivated individuals to join our team and help make our mod a success, while also furthering their career in the gaming industry. Our most immediate need is for a Character Concept Artist. If you are interested in joining the team, check out the Application Section of our forums.

Thank you very much for your time, if you have any questions, please post them in this thread and I will be happy to answer them!

-O'Malley

 

[Yorick]

I kind of like the idea of survivors competing.

And your post wasn't idiotic. In fact, I want to frame it.

Give me a shout if there's anything I can do to help.

 

[Deadlockmod]

Give me a shout if there's anything I can do to help.

Know a good 2D artist? We could really use a couple, for concept and development.

Thanks for the thumbs up!

 

[Ennui]

Dear god, thank you for not presenting yourself as a moron. Sounds promising, I've thrown you on my ModDB watch list.

 

[Deadlockmod]

Dear god, thank you for not presenting yourself as a moron.

Thanks, I'm glad it shows through! We're trying to distance ourselves from the mods you see start everyday on ModDB and die two weeks later. I can't say the same about some of the other forums I've posted on today.

I thank you guys for the support, and will keep this post updated with progress as it occurs!

 

[Reflex]

This sound really good.

 

[kineaesth]

other forums I've posted on today

That's embarrassing, to be honest. Sure, we rip apart the odd mod idea (most of them), but it's clear that you know what you're doing, and have some clear goals in mind. That thread was just obnoxious. I wish you the best of luck.

 

[Ennui]

That's embarrassing, to be honest. Sure, we rip apart the odd mod idea (most of them), but it's clear that you know what you're doing, and have some clear goals in mind. That thread was just obnoxious. I wish you the best of luck.

The difference between HLFallout and us when it comes to trashing shitty mods / info or recruitment threads is that here the people who trash them are actually decent modders and there they're just random noob ****tards doing it to be cool. At least that's what I can surmise from that thread.

Try posting over on Interlopers.net, it's the best Source modding community around and there will certainly be people there willing to give you constructive feedback.

 

[Naudian]

Sounds fun, I hope this turns out well!

P.S. I like the website - nice and simple.

 

[Deadlockmod]

That thread was just obnoxious. I wish you the best of luck.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks so. Thank you for the wishes!

Try posting over on Interlopers.net, it's the best Source modding community around and there will certainly be people there willing to give you constructive feedback.

I actually already have, but it's not going as well as I would hope. I'm sure in time (and given more progress updates) it will get better.

I know it's not a big thing, but I also plan to have a "Trusted Links" section of our site to other mods and sites like this that helped us out when we started.

 

[Barnz]

30 new weapons? How the hell are you going to add them in? They won't give you the source code.

 

[Deadlockmod]

30 new weapons? How the hell are you going to add them in? They won't give you the source code.

The SDK for Left4Dead is being released next month.

Also, the weapon count seems way too high (or realistic) for a mod like this. Our plan is to have some of the environments have a more rural weapon set (machetes, shotguns and .22s), some with a more urban set (pipes, pistols and SMGs), while some are going to be what used to be a combat zone (combat knives, Assault Rifles and grenades).

Also, the amount of ammo you're given isn't like a standard game, where you just walk over boxes and pick up guns you keep forever. You're going to be looting for weapons and ammo as a team between waves of zombies, and upon meeting up with your team mates, divvying up the meager amounts of what you found to the various team members. Once a weapon is expended, you'll probably toss it to make room for something you might have ammo for.

 

[Barnz]

Yeah, they will release a SDK, but they won't be giving you the source code.

 

[Deadlockmod]

Yeah, they will release a SDK, but they won't be giving you the source code.

I'm pretty sure that won't apply to us as the only two things we're using from the L4D engine are the textures and models, and the AI Director engine. I can't comment specifically on Source code, but I do know that Steam plans to support the L4D modding community as they have for all their other releases.

 

[MultiVaC]

Yeah, they will release a SDK, but they won't be giving you the source code.

I don't understand what you're getting at. Everything that he's mentioned about the mod can be done with the SDK. And lots and lots of hard work, of course. I like the sound of the mod, and you guys seem to have the right attitude about it. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

 

[Yorick]

30 new weapons? How the hell are you going to add them in? They won't give you the source code.

wut? You don't need the source code to add in new weapons.

 

[Barnz]

Does L4D support custom weapon scripts and such? I guess they're planning to use server side plugins or something like that.

 

[Yorick]

Does L4D support custom weapon scripts and such?

Why wouldn't it? I'm pretty sure that every other Valve game with an SDK does. It would be pretty shitty if they didn't.

 

[Deadlockmod]

I talked to the coders, and at this point, it's unsure whether Valve will release the source code for L4D like they did HL2 and OB. Rest assured, that if we have to we will recreate whatever valve doesn't release to the developer community.

We will make this mod happen.

 

[Ennui]

I've been waiting patiently to see what kind of modding support is given for L4D ever since it came out. Not like you need to worry about coding anything yet anyway, 30 weapons is a whole lot of models, textures and animations to do.

 

[Deadlockmod]

I've been waiting patiently to see what kind of modding support is given for L4D ever since it came out. Not like you need to worry about coding anything yet anyway, 30 weapons is a whole lot of models, textures and animations to do.

That and devising a system for massively dynamic maps is no small feat either lol. We're taking our time, but as you said, we're keeping a keen ear on news about the SDK release.

 

[Escaep]

Looks interesting. Best of luck to you and your team. :thumbs:

 

[MultiVaC]

I talked to the coders, and at this point, it's unsure whether Valve will release the source code for L4D like they did HL2 and OB. Rest assured, that if we have to we will recreate whatever valve doesn't release to the developer community.

We will make this mod happen.

They haven't released the source code for anything. Only licensed developers get access to that, no other mod team has ever needed it. They're releasing the SDK, which is exactly what they've done for all their games. There's nothing to worry about

 

[Lucid]

Thanks, I'm glad it shows through! We're trying to distance ourselves from the mods you see start everyday on ModDB and die two weeks later. I can't say the same about some of the other forums I've posted on today.

I thank you guys for the support, and will keep this post updated with progress as it occurs!

God, now I know why I left HLFallout all those years ago.

 

[Deadlockmod]

They haven't released the source code for anything. Only licensed developers get access to that, no other mod team has ever needed it. They're releasing the SDK, which is exactly what they've done for all their games. There's nothing to worry about

I don't know, I'm not a coder. My specialty is mapping, texturing, and promoting. I'm getting a much different vibe from the guys over at Interlopers, who claim the source code is needed for major changes like adding teams, team members, etc.

To be honest, our team (as skilled as they are in their respective disciplines) has never encountered a project this large and time consuming. We are willing to make this a HL2 mod, if it's required of us, but we'd like to do it based off of what Valve has already provided for us with L4D, if possible.

I realize this is essentially "talking to the experts", so I pose this question to you:

What are the limits of modifying source engine games like CS:S or DoD:S? From what I understand with SDK, you can change sounds, models, textures, and maps no problem. Beyond that though, you have to use the base HL2 engine and build from there (correct me if I'm wrong of course). So is L4D going to be like CS:S, where only topical changes are allowed, or like HL2, where you can edit the inner workings of the game.

Either way, this mod will happen, it's just a question of how much time it will take.

(I've been looking at this afro thing for a while, had to post it :afro

Thanks for your time,

-O'Malley

 

[Deadlockmod]

Hey all, you guys have been a big help for us so far. Thank you for the time and energy you've put into answering our questions. We will be returning it to the community ten-fold!

News time!

The mod is undergoing steady production. We've added three artists to our ranks: Stefan our Character Concept artist, Matt our 2D General Artist, and Hannah our Zombie Artist. They're all working diligently and we should have media to display shortly. Stefan has already drawn several of our characters in black and white and fleshed one out entirely in color (see below).

Also, we're now hosting biweekly Left4Dead parties for our community. Our last party was a full Versus game that ended up being VERY close! To play with us all you have to do is be a member of our Steam Group. The games are Tuesdays and Fridays at 3PM PST.

My jobs, which are concept mapping and promotions are moving along well. I'm planning a concept map test late this week that basically introduces testers to myself and one another, as well as test some lighting styles we're planning on using. I've also created a working model for a dynamic level, that I'm working on expanding and running a test on soon.

Finally, the volume of media we've had has easily doubled, and our forums have jumped massively in postings per day. We've released more images of models (made by our 3D Artists, Michael and Benoit), some modder tutorials, and a full color character concept. Most of the content can be found on our ModDB Page. I've also posted some images below (click image for a high res version).

Keep the questions and comments coming,

-O'Malley

 

[Shinobi]

And your post wasn't idiotic. In fact, I want to frame it.

ahahahahahahahahahahha

I really did laugh out loud on that one

 

[Deadlockmod]

BIG NEWS!

Major content RELEASE on our forums!

 

[Deadlockmod]

Hey peeps,

We greatly appreciate those of you who have supported our mod! Thanks to helpful people like you all, our fan-base grows larger every day. Last weekend our Steam Group hit 50 members. On top of that, we are consistently ranked among the top tenth percentile on ModDB.

Our team has gotten larger once again, with the addition of our new animator, Gregory. His voluminous amount of industry experience is a great asset for our mod. We're currently looking for another coder - particularly one with Source experience. Several of us have coding chops but we need a dedicated member to take the reins here. If anyone is interested, fill out an application.

We've released more media as well. Hannah's "Female Zombie" concept art and Benoit's "Road Flare" model (see below) top the list. To get the latest materials we release, when we release them, consider tracking us on ModDB. I am also now working on a few mapping tutorials and survival-style maps that will be hosted on L4Dmods.

Finally, do you use Twitter? If so, follow us! We try to update it 3-4 times a week, and with our expanding team size that number should grow.

-O'Malley

(click for hi-res image)

 

[<RJMC>]

I would like to join

I can do artwork and modeling and maybe some animation
but mostly artwork not in color

I am newbie on this and I have stuff to do so probably wouldnt be 100% avaible,do I have to show stuff firsts to be elected?

 

[Deadlockmod]

I am newbie on this and I have stuff to do so probably wouldnt be 100% avaible,do I have to show stuff firsts to be elected?

If you're interested in joining, check out THIS LINK.

 

[Deadlockmod]

It's been a while since my last release, so this has a double dose of updates.

To start off, our team has gotten much larger! We've added three more 3D Artists: Bojin, Paul, and Alex. They are diligently working on the models and characters that will bring the DEADLOCK world to life.

Our new Audio Director Tony, with the help of Andy (our audio technician) is tackling the gargantuan task of recording and perfecting every sound we plan on using in the mod.

Though it was a slow week for 3D Non-Character development, we have had some major strides in Zombie Art development, thanks to the lovely/grotesque work of Hannah. We've posted the bulk of her work on our ModDB Page. Here's a snippet for you:



From this, Alex and Bojin have begun working on models for the zombies, and some early stills of these will be released soon on our website. Starting this week, all 3D promo materials will be released a week early on our forums before they are released on forums like this one. So, if you want to get the most up-to-date info on the mod, please join us at DEADLOCKmod.com!

We're working hard to keep our community entertained between updates. We've added a Zombie Apocalypse Role-Play section to our forums and our L4D Parties have also been growing. We're currently looking into getting a couple dedicated servers up to make hosting the games easier for our staff, as well as a means for trying out some custom gameplay.

Thank you all for the continuing questions and support.

-O'Malley

 

[Deadlockmod]

Hey Everybody,

I know, I know; we've missed you too. As some of you may know it was recently finals for most college students, Deadlock developers included. Good news is, (at least for the northern hemisphere) it's summer!

Though sporadically, work has continued through this dry spell. Some of you may have noticed our ModDB exclusive releases of our 12 characters in black and white. If not, I recommend checking them out now. Stefan did a wonderful job on them!

Stef is now busy on coloring them as well as working on a 3d version of his suburban male for animation purposes. On that subject, our animation department has started gearing up for the large number of models they will be animating soon. Keep an eye out for some videos we plan to release concerning this.

Speaking of movies, we're very excited to release our first official video, our Repathing Demo! This video explains our plans to make all of our levels dynamic and more replayable. If you have any questions about the video, please forward them to the modDB page, where you will get the quickest response.

Finally, we're announcing our opening of auditions for Voice Acting for the Deadlock cast! Not only are you able to easily submit audio for review by our team, but you can come up with your own lines of dialogue too. If you're interested in becoming a voice actor (or possibly a writer) for Deadlock, check out the new site.

As always, thank you for giving us your love, hate, questions, comments, and criticism.

-O'Malley