Pre-E3 hype.

[hool10]

A member from L4D411 got some Q's answered from the B! Some Q's are not answered but I'll put them in anyways. I would like to add some new "Meet The" videos which will probably 28 Days Later themed might come out next week along with the remaining 2 maps and Infected footage. Check this forum section often next week.

1) Will Valve be at Quakecon again this year showing off L4D?

2) Do the pistols have infinite ammunition?

Yes.

3) Will the new matchmaking system allow us to make free servers, or will it be like games in the past, like Counter Strike: Source where you rent servers?

I'm a bit confused by this? You certainly aren't forced to rent Counter-Strike: Source servers, you can always start your own dedicated or listen server in CS:S. As for Left 4 Dead, there are some interesting discussions going on about how best to serve the community with the matchmaking system. Stay tuned.

4) The release date in UK was the 7th. Does the UK release date also include any other countries or just the UK?

We're targeting the first week of Nov for availability everywhere. Retail debut dates vary by country, and L4D will become available on the standard "new release day" of that week.

5) Do you plan on having trailers exploring the four survivors similar to Team Fortress 2's "Meet the Team" advertisements?

L4D media is in production. We hope to have the first of it online for folks to check out in the coming weeks.

6) Why does Louis always get brutally murdered every time he so much as blinks? Admit it, you've hardcoded a collective zombie hatred for Louis, haven't you?

We love Louis! If he is getting more zombie attention than his other teammates in the videos you've seen, it's not intentional.

7) What kind of control will map makers have over the AI Director?

Some. By its nature, it is a procedural system, so there is less direct control than in an explicitly scripted game. On the flip side, you get a lot more content with far less input.

8) Will the final version have art assets from previous Source games?

9) Will the AI Director be available for mod developers to utilize in their mods?

Yes, in some form.

10) What is the difference between the different levels of difficulty? For example, does that hardest level simply throw a higher quantity of infected at the survivors more reguraly? Will there be any gameplay changes involved? Like reducing ammo amounts or removing things like pain pills.

Difficulty levels generally affect the amount of damage the various infected attacks dish out. For instance, on the easiest difficulty setting you can take a handful of slugs from a Tank, but on the hardest it's one hit and you're a goner.

11) Will L4D allow replays, similar to the ones from Halo 3?

12) Will there be a lobby type system in addition to the match-making feature being added to Steam?

The new matchmaking system includes a form of lobby.

13) In the future; do you see L4D incorporating an 'unlockables' type system similar to that in TF2, or rather than an unlocks system, just new weapons and infected added right away?

We are very interested in the possibility of using of the cool tech the TF2 team is building with their unlockables.

14) Due to play-testing, it's been stated that the Boomer no-longer causes splash damage and instead, now sprays vomit/causes a shock. Have there been any other major changes to the game-play that you can mention?

We've added a few "crescendo events" throughout the game. They play much like smaller versions of the big finale battle at the end of each campaign, and occur at interesting places along the way. Playtesting feedback has been very clear that the finales are a high point, so we're sprinkling a bit of that fun throughout the game.

15) Does the AI director have a name? (If not, I name it 'Beans' ?)

If it does have a name, I'm confident that it is not "Beans". Sorry.

16) Can you choose which survivor you'd like to play as? I don't want to have to break skulls to get to play as Bill. (And competition will be fierce.)

Yes, unless that Survivor is taken by someone else.

17) When people find out how to put more than four survivors into a game, via scripting, do you think this will ruin the original concept of the game? (This is a more personal question asked by one of the members)

Through testing we've found four to be a good team size. Communication and coordination becomes exponentially harder as you add more teammates.

18) Does the Smoker's tongue still poison survivors, turning their health into temporary health?

No. In all cases, the Smoker wraps his tongue around the victim's chest and squeezes boa-constrictor-style until that player is saved by a friend, or dies. Pain Pills are the only source of temporary health now, which is much more understandable and discoverable for the player.

19) Does Valve consider blogs to be a new way of communicating with their community or is the TF2 blog experimental?

Is it possible we'll see a Left 4 Dead blog at some point?

20) Are there any other characters besides the 4 survivors? Like for example, can you see the pilot who is flying the helicopter? Which also reminds me, why aren't there any armed soldiers on board the helicopter?
(Gameplay wise, I can see why, but you know, I hope you have a good reason.)

The 4 Survivors are the featured characters in Left 4 Dead. You will hear from several other characters in various ways, but the Survivors are always in the spotlight.

21) Will there be things like the taunts from TF2 in L4D? I don't think taunts would really fit the games's style, what about things like "Whoop! Nice work people!" type expressions through animation?

The auto-vocalizations in TF2 were added after the dev team played L4D and saw how effective they were. We really do collaborate at Valve, and this is yet another example of the benefits of such cross-pollination.

22) Will there be a demo or beta for the Xbox 360?

23) What type of unique achievements can we expect?

The achievements in Left 4 Dead are more focused on teamwide performance and successful cooperation, but we'll have our share of...interesting achievements as well.

 

[Lucid]

Can't wait for the "Meet the" videos.

 

[V-Man339]

I definitley hope there's some form of server list, and not just matchmaking, ala Halo 2 (maybe 3).

 

[Hectic Glenn]

:Shh: HL2.net has an invite to E3 from Valve this year so we may have some of the team there playing L4D in the coming days

 

[Sheepo]

:Shh: HL2.net has an invite to E3 from Valve this year so we may have some of the team there playing L4D in the coming days

That be some cool beans there. The "meet the" vids will be interesting to say the least.

 

[hool10]

:Shh: HL2.net has an invite to E3 from Valve this year so we may have some of the team there playing L4D in the coming days

Your ****ing kidding me! DigiQ8 I usually talk to for the L4D news and he is crazy for the game. Be sure to head over to Kuwait and pick him up.

 

[Omnomnick]

That be some cool beans there. The "meet the" vids will be interesting to say the least.

I doubt it will be 'Meet the Someone' Cause that is just stupid...

It will be similar themed, using the same technology built into SDK, makes it look like its ingame. But it won't be named 'Meet The Zoe' Or 'Meet Zoe' that is just stupid.

 

[Sheepo]

I doubt it will be 'Meet the Someone' Cause that is just stupid...

It will be similar themed, using the same technology built into SDK, makes it look like its ingame. But it won't be named 'Meet The Zoe' Or 'Meet Zoe' that is just stupid.

It might not be named that way, but I believe they said there would be "Meet the" style intros for each character.

Edit: Meh, I should read more. I wasn't saying they would be called that.