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Left 4 Dead DLC, SDK Announced

Posted by Soulskill on from the we-supply-the-tools-you-supply-the-braaaaains dept.

Today Valve announced plans for Left 4 Dead's first DLC, called The L4D Survival Pack. It will include a new game mode and two campaigns for Versus mode. The new content is coming to both the PC and Xbox 360 versions of the game (a PS3 port to the base game still seems unlikely). The press release goes on to say, "In addition, for PC gamers and aspiring developers, the first Left 4 Dead release for the Source Software Development Kit (Source SDK) will allow the creation of custom Left 4 Dead campaigns that will be discoverable via L4D's matchmaking system. The SDK update is also due for release this spring, and is free of charge to all owners of L4D on the PC." The Opposable Thumbs blog also reports on a way to play Left 4 Dead in 3D.

66 comments

  1. bah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I was hoping for a new campaign. :(

    1. Re:bah by Masami+Eiri · · Score: 1

      You could try reading the summary again.

    2. Re:bah by MBraynard · · Score: 0, Troll

      Don't be such a pendantist. You know what he meant.

  2. Wahoo! by Zeussy · · Score: 1

    Wondered how long it was going to take them to release the new content.
    Although you can just copy and paste and rename the 2 coop campaigns that are not in VS from their coop campaign equivalents, all the config files for the mission cycles and listings are there. The copied maps are missing stuff, they don't have all the zombie ladders they should and the AI doesn't have the best paths but it gives some more variety than the current 2 VS campaign sets.
    Looking forwards to the new survival mode, more choices the better!

    --
    Automation - The Car Company Tycoon Game
  3. Cost?? by spire3661 · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I was under the impression that L4D was going to get the same treatment as TF2, free updates. If I have to PAY for updates to a very short game, my loyalty to Valve will fade. L4D was VERY short, and to expect to pay for DLC on top of that is an insult.

    --
    Good-bye
    1. Re:Cost?? by PhrostyMcByte · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Indeed. L4D is a great game but it has far too little content. It clearly didn't cost them nearly as much to make, but they sold it at the same price of HL2. They shouldn't be charging for new levels.

    2. Re:Cost?? by Grym · · Score: 3, Informative

      It's even worse than that. The two "new" versus campaigns they're selling are not new at all. They're two of the co-op only campaigns that they very slightly changed to run versus. There are seriously modified servers running right now that allow almost the exact same thing--for free. And let's not forget that the SDK they're mentioning as an upgrade was supposed to be released months ago...

      Can you imagine the tone of this article and subsequent discussion if EA had done this?

      -Grym

    3. Re:Cost?? by Fallingcow · · Score: 2, Insightful

      They better damn well not try to charge for this stuff, or they're going to have some very pissed-off users.

      Hell, quite a few people are already pissed off that it's taking them so long to get enough content out to make this full-price game actually be worth more than $20, and they're all assuming it'll be free. The funny thing is, by the time it's worth $50, it'll probably be selling for $20.

    4. Re:Cost?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      heh, we used to call such a thing "a patch" when I was young...

    5. Re:Cost?? by Workaphobia · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Left 4 Dead is an amazingly fun game to play but Valve really screwed us over on the details. It's clear from their history of handling this game in the beta and afterwards that they focused on sales with a perpetual we'll-fix-it-later attitude. We were already supposed to have DLC and the SDK.

      More importantly, the network system for the game is lousy and they don't seem to want to improve it. Instead of the tried and true simplicity of seeing a list of available game servers and choosing one to play on, they tried to get all fancy and game console-y and remove even this basic feature (unless you go through the command console, but even then it's clunky). We're slaves to their matchmaking system, unable to choose who we play with unless we do so through their social networking system. Often times there are not enough servers available (how can they possibly fail to provide enough resources for their customers? Is it really that expensive, incrementally, to run a few more servers?), and poorly configured servers pollute everyone's game experience by adding a lot to the overhead of finding a playable match.

      Sometimes you'll have to go back and forth between game lobby and gameplay because you keep getting assigned to a crap server. Sometimes you'll be having the match of your life, then everyone gets disconnected and scattered to different corners of the system because the server shut down.

      I'll say it again, L4D is fun as hell, but that's only when you're actually playing. In-between campaigns it's just thousands of collective manhours of overhead.

      --
      Evidently, the key to understanding recursion is to begin by understanding recursion. The rest is easy.
    6. Re:Cost?? by PhoenixAtlantios · · Score: 1

      They're two of the co-op only campaigns that they very slightly changed to run versus.

      Heh, they'll require major overhauls to be properly playable on versus (hence their original exclusion). Those maps have far too many open / barren corridors and the finales for both offer little protection for the infected in many of the easily defendable locations (on a rock in the water in Blood Toll or one of the corners in Dead Air being the prime examples).

      It'll be interesting to see how they change them, but I doubt it'll be "very slightly".

    7. Re:Cost?? by Canazza · · Score: 2, Informative

      Apart from the fact that valve run very few of the actual servers out there (they're mainly hosted by other companies, like jolt)
      Yes, using the console is clunkier, but frankly it's worth it just to get a lag free game (you can use the browser to sort from local games)
      granted, you can't START games this way, but you can always join a game in progress.
      for anyone wondering how to do it, you have to activate the developer console from options->keyboard->advanced then pressing '`' (to the left of the number 1 key) then type 'openserverbrowser'

      --
      It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for being subtle.
    8. Re:Cost?? by colonslashslash · · Score: 5, Informative

      I love L4D, I agree that it's light on content and there are quite a few problems, but I've gotten about 300 hours out of a game that cost me $40ish. That's a bargain in my book, regardless of the issues.

      A bunch of my friends and I set up a Steam group and got the dedicated server package installed on one of our Linux servers over Christmas.

      If you play L4D a lot, this really is worth doing IMO (you can rent an 8 slot L4D game server for $10-15 a month, between a few people this is nothing) - we have a server geographically close to the majority of us on a decent tube, and we generally get around 30-40ms pings with 60ms spikes. It's very smooth, and is not difficult to setup (took me about 10-15 minutes one Sunday).

      The best way we have found to connect to this server via the lobby system consistently is to set steam_group_exclusive in the cfg to our group only. This stops people not in your group from starting a lobby on it. Then when we want to play, we bring up the developer console after starting a lobby and use "sv_cheats 1; ms_force_dedicated_server IP:port". This then connects the lobby to our server every time when we click the Search menu item.

      I agree Valve need to do something with this mess and it's a bit annoying to have to work around it like this, but this works nicely. You can of course alias the sv_cheats / ms_force_dedicated_server command to make this even easier.

      You can apparently achieve similar results with setting an sv_search_key in the cfg and your group's clients, but this has given us problems so we use the above workaround instead. There is also the openserverbrowser command that gives you a browser window of available / recent / favourite L4D servers to connect to, similar to TF2, CS etc.

      Given that a) you post on slashdot so I assume you're technically competent enough to install hlds and edit a config file, b) you obviously enjoy the game and c) your enjoyment is only being ruined by bad servers, I highly recommend you look into picking up your own server, sharing the cost with a few people if necessary. I can gaurentee you it will make the game a lot more enjoyable.

      --
      She's built like a steak house, but she handles like a bistro....
    9. Re:Cost?? by Sobrique · · Score: 1

      Correct me if I'm wrong though, but doesn't that mean everyone joining your game can use cheats, and do massively irritating things?

    10. Re:Cost?? by iho · · Score: 1

      No, sv_cheats 1 enables cheats on the client only allowing the modification of cheat protection variables locally. When you connect to a server with sv_cheats 0 every variable protected with the cheat flag will be reset.

    11. Re:Cost?? by DurendalMac · · Score: 1

      I just want more vs maps. The two they have are wearing pretty damned thin and I've had the game for less than a month.

    12. Re:Cost?? by Fallingcow · · Score: 1

      Aside from the finale, Death Toll seems like a much more natural choice for the versus mode than Blood Harvest. I suspect that once it's out and the dust settles, it'll be the most popular official versus campaign.

      I'm not sure about Dead Air; it'll probably be damn tough on the survivors. Then again, in the commentary they said that they wanted it to be rare for the survivors to make it to the safe room in versus, though they've clearly changed their minds on that based on some of the things they've modified since release. Personally, I prefer it to be a big struggle to get even one survivor to the safe room, and find matches where we get 3-4 there on every map to be extremely dull. Greater difficulty for survivors would also keep the scores closer, so you'd have fewer games with 3800 to 250 scores by the third map.

    13. Re:Cost?? by colonslashslash · · Score: 1

      Yes exactly, I should have clarified that it's just a local client setting in my post. Quite why ms_force_dedicated_server is classed as an sv_cheat cvar is beyond me... but hey, it works fine, so roll with it.

      --
      She's built like a steak house, but she handles like a bistro....
    14. Re:Cost?? by Chabo · · Score: 1

      Can't you just connect to your server by searching for Steam Group servers? I was pretty sure this was possible without console commands.

      --
      Convert FLACs to a portable format with FlacSquisher
    15. Re:Cost?? by enderjsv · · Score: 1

      Wow. So, give you free stuff, or you'll be pissed, eh? It amazes me how much entitlement some pc gamers have. As a pc gamer myself, I FULLY recognize that pc gaming revenue has been dropping steadily over the last decade. The appeal of PC game development has been waning. Most pc gamers choose not to recognize this fact. Valve is one of the few companies that is still focused on PC development firt, but even they have been forced by the rough PC market to cater somewhat to the console crowd. If Valve decided to charge for the additional content, I wouldn't whine about it. After all, they're still giving out the SDK for free. That's worth much more than the DLC in my opinion. Why don't you be grateful to the company for providing years of entertainment at a more than reasonable price, rather than instantly bitching the moment they decide to supplement their revenue. You act like they owe you something. But their success was of their own making. They don't owe you anything.

    16. Re:Cost?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      sv_search_key somekey

      does essentially the same thing, but you can use a pool of servers (if you have them) and no need for cheats or other commands, you basically tell your client to limit its search to servers that have the key. I've experimented with both configs and the search key works better, for me anyway...

      so make up some "key", put that in the *.cfg file on the server and in you autoexec.cfg, and in theory when you (or anyone you give the key to) goes searching for a server from the lobby you will find one of your servers. I say in theory because it seams from time to time the steam cloud or my local l4d/steam client craps out and I need to restart/reboot to get things working again.

      although not perfect, valve has been patching l4d at a fairly nice clip, and I would like to think they are aware of the matchmaking/searching for server issues and are working to fix them. Even though I may feel like I spend more time setting up a lobby than in a match sometimes, it is still worth it as the game is just brillant

      brillant I tell you

      brillant

    17. Re:Cost?? by Fallingcow · · Score: 1

      You act like they owe you something. But their success was of their own making. They don't owe you anything.

      Uh, well I do give them money for these games, so certainly they owe me something.

      That success you mention comes from a history of good relations with gamers and giving them a great value for their money. I'm saying that if they fail to live up to the expectations created by their past actions--expectations that almost certainly drove a large chunk of the sales for this game--then I'll be disappointed and feel kind of cheated, as I will have gotten something different than I expected for the money I gave them. I believe I'm entirely entitled to change my opinion of the company if they change their behavior.

      I'm not among the ones upset at the lack of new free content so far, though I definitely would have liked to see the SDK come out closer to the release date. Many are, though, and you can go to the steampowered forums or just listen to the mic chatter in game to get a sense of this dissatisfaction. The fact is, the game came out a bit unpolished and with some content clearly cut so that it could get out the door faster--namely, the two versus campaigns that they're releasing in this DLC pack. Valve gets a pass on that kind of sloppiness because they have a track record of setting things right if they fuck up; however, were they to charge for this upcoming patch, that would represent a large black mark on their record for many of their customers.

    18. Re:Cost?? by enderjsv · · Score: 1

      "Uh, well I do give them money for these games, so certainly they owe me something."

      See, that's where you fail. You paid them money for a game. They supplied you the game. There should be no expectations beyond that. But you've turned their generous nature into an obligation. That's unreasonable. If you want to be disappointed, I suppose that's a natural response. But to chastise them so quickly and so vehemently simply because they may have chosen, in this instance, to act in a way that is not unlike most other gaming companies today, it makes you come across as a spoiled, ungrateful consumer. Here's a hint. Stop expecting free stuff. That way, you'll be happy when you get it, and content when you don't. Save your fervor for things you should really be upset about, like EA's DRM.

    19. Re:Cost?? by Workaphobia · · Score: 1

      I do that sometimes when I repeatedly get stuck on laggy servers, but I almost exclusively play versus mode and there are only a dozen or so servers configured for it.

      --
      Evidently, the key to understanding recursion is to begin by understanding recursion. The rest is easy.
    20. Re:Cost?? by Workaphobia · · Score: 1

      Thanks for the guide and info. I'm not likely to go to that extreme at the moment, especially because my current residence has an atrocious network (my university believes 300ms ping between the dorms and academic departments is perfectly reasonable). But it's good to know that I can get a server for just a few bucks a month to play with friends.

      --
      Evidently, the key to understanding recursion is to begin by understanding recursion. The rest is easy.
    21. Re:Cost?? by Fallingcow · · Score: 1

      Their generous nature is the main reason people buy a lot of their games. It most certainly is an obligation if they want to keep loyal customers.

  4. Pay for update? by Soulfader · · Score: 0

    FTFSummary: "The SDK update is also due for release this spring, and is free of charge to all owners of L4D on the PC." That does seem imply that it won't be free for 360 players. I wonder what they think an appropriate cost would be.

    1. Re:Pay for update? by spire3661 · · Score: 3, Informative

      What that line you quoted means is that 360 owners wont receive the SDK, as the Xbox 360 is not a platform you can develop levels on.

      --
      Good-bye
    2. Re:Pay for update? by Soulfader · · Score: 1

      Ah, mea culpa, I read too fast.

    3. Re:Pay for update? by Fallingcow · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I am very disturbed that it doesn't mention whether the "new" levels (really existing levels with slight modifications to improve play in Versus mode) and new play mode will be free for PC users. The way they specifically say that the SDK will be has me worried.

      I'm pretty sure everyone who bought the game at release was counting on major FREE updates, like those that Team Fortress 2 has received. It certainly isn't worth $45 ($50 if you didn't pre-order) in its present state, but people paid that much so they could play the existing content now and enjoy new free content later. That's definitely what I did.

      Valve is one of a handful of gaming companies that (many) players respect, and that respect drove early sales of this game. I'd hate to see them abuse it.

    4. Re:Pay for update? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm pretty sure everyone who bought the game at release was counting on major FREE updates

      Well, it seems that the PC gamers who bought it expected that. I'm not sure why though, most publishers are cashing in on DLC right now, it doesn't make sense to expect differently from Valve.

      Also, the Orange Box was a ridiculously good deal for gamers, emphasis on ridiculous. Valve isn't going to keep giving away stuff for free.

      As a 360 player, I'm actually pleasantly surprised that we'll get the DLC at all. In that sense they're improving.

      It certainly isn't worth $45 ($50 if you didn't pre-order) in its present state

      Yes it is. Personally I have really been enjoying L4D.

    5. Re:Pay for update? by FTWinston · · Score: 2, Informative

      The Value way has consistantly been free DLC, for PC at least. HL2DM, all the (significant) TF2 content updates ... all free. I suspect the article may be just being cautious, as I'd be very suprised if Valve were going to charge for this expansion. If they do, I guess they would perhaps do so so that console owners don't feel put out at being charged?

    6. Re:Pay for update? by Swordsmanus · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Now why would PC gamers pay for levels when they can get free, player made levels using the free SDK? What would stop players from making slight modifications to the soon-to-be released Versus campaign levels and releasing them for free? Would stopping players from doing so be worth the cost to Valve?

    7. Re:Pay for update? by Swordsmanus · · Score: 1
      There's a huge gulf of difference between making an open source game and using tools provided by a top-end company to make a map or a game modification for an existing, updated, and powerful game engine.

      Take a look at the player-made content for TF2 some time. You'll find that a significant chunk of it stands up to the maps made by Valve. So I'm sorry, but your reasoning does not readily apply here.

    8. Re:Pay for update? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What that line you quoted means is that 360 owners wont receive the SDK, as the Xbox 360 is not a platform you can develop levels on.

      They could still make an XNA compatible SDK for L4D... but since it has taken them this long for a PC SDK, chances aren't very high.

    9. Re:Pay for update? by spire3661 · · Score: 1

      Acronym overload! Yes they could, but as you said extremely unlikely

      --
      Good-bye
  5. Awesome. by AbRASiON · · Score: 2, Informative

    Great game.
    I purchased it on steam in a 4 pack for about 35$ US - I felt 50$ US was too pricey but at 35$ this is excellent value and incredible fun in co-op.
    I really hope it breathes new life in to the game with the SDK

    1. Re:Awesome. by borizz · · Score: 1

      44,99 euros. That's what it costs in Europe. I'm sorry, I'm not going to pay 45 euros for 5 hours of content.

      It used to be cheaper, but Valve have recently denied european customers to pay in dollars. I bought my Orange Box of Steam in Dollars and it was very good value for money. This isn't. I can get the retail thing in the box with the manual for less delivered on my doorstep. Why should I pay more for less?

    2. Re:Awesome. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you consider Left 4 Dead to contain 5 hours of content, do you consider any Street Fighter to have only 15 minutes of content as well?

    3. Re:Awesome. by AbRASiON · · Score: 1

      In 1 month I got over 100 hours of play and I don't normally even like online multiplayer games.
      This is co-op as it was meant to be, just how we envisioned it as kids before we even knew Doom could hook up via a serial cable.

    4. Re:Awesome. by colonslashslash · · Score: 1

      I also mentioned this in a post earlier in the thread, but I have had over 300 hours out of L4D so far.

      More content is needed, I don't disagree there (and indeed, it is on the way as promised)... but what is there currently is extremely fun and replayable, especially if you have a few friends / people on your Steam list to play with.

      It's been 3 months since I bought the game and I'm still playing it almost every night. The last game I bought before this was Fallout 3, which was a very solid title with a relatively staggering amount of game content, yet I only got around 60 hours out of that. Go figure.

      Forget the Survival Pack, the SDK is the release that will really extend this game's lifespan. There are already several fully fledged campaigns in the pipeline from the community, all they need is the tools to put in the finishing touches.

      --
      She's built like a steak house, but she handles like a bistro....
    5. Re:Awesome. by Sobrique · · Score: 1

      Well, actually finishing 'Death Toll' and 'Dead Air' for multiplayer (it's _almost_ there) would be nice. I mean, you can play them already, but don't tend to because they're not on the 'standard list' and you have to arse about to get them to work - which is far too much like effort when firing off random games.

    6. Re:Awesome. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are already plenty of custom maps, and a few campaigns. So don't think that this will only start when the SDK will be released.

      Have a look at, for example, www.l4dmaps.net

    7. Re:Awesome. by borizz · · Score: 1

      I got more than that out of TF2 which was in the Orange Box. Maybe I'm just pissed at Valve for ripping EU people off, because the game is a lot cheaper in the USA and in the UK. In the UK it costs 30 euros. At that price I'd buy it but 45 is too much. Would you have paid US$60 for it? It's 50% more expensive for no reason. Fuck that.

  6. As a 360 owner by Killer+Orca · · Score: 1

    I expect to be heinously raped in price by Microsoft for each and every piece of "DLC" that comes out for this game. Someone page me when it's $20.

  7. L4D by malkir · · Score: 0

    The game wasn't worth $50-60, and they are charging AGAIN for new game modes and two maps... is it me or does this game not seem overly complex as is? You have a couple weapons, 4 kinds of enemies and every zombie is just a clone of the last. This really constitues a PAID upgrade? Since when did game developers become novices and it take them that long to make basic modifications to a game? Shit I bet well have new game modes and maps within the first month of the SDK being released - FOR FREE. I'm not spending another dime on this game, I was under the impression it was going to be updated like TF2.

  8. $0.00 by DingerX · · Score: 4, Informative
    From one source that did followup:

    Update: Due to a miscommunication, we had updated the original piece, stating that PC and Xbox 360 Survival Packs would be paid. However, Valve again contacted Edge to say that it hasn't ruled out the possibility of the price being "$0.00." Sorry for any confusion.

    From what I understand, Microsoft requires DLC to be for-pay; Valve's stance, reiterated on January 14th, has been that free DLC is a more effective sales catalyst. And then you get the guy on RPS claiming that Gabe emailed saying PC DLC is "free".

    1. Re:$0.00 by Anzya · · Score: 1

      If I could I would mod you up :)
      Great news and though I thought that would be the case it was still nice to see it confirmed.

      --
      "This message was brought to you by Sarcasm and Troll Feeders United (or STFU, for you un-hip people)."
    2. Re:$0.00 by Sobrique · · Score: 1

      Token cost for DLC is acceptable - 'expansion pack' pricing isn't.

    3. Re:$0.00 by Sobrique · · Score: 1
      Especially if their 'new' versus levels are them finishing the job on Dead Air and Death Toll.

      If they finish those off 'for free' and choose to charge a bit for two entirely new versus campaigns, then I'd be a little more tempted, but I'd much rather see a free update (of course)

    4. Re:$0.00 by The+Moof · · Score: 2, Interesting

      From what I understand, Microsoft requires DLC to be for-pay

      Not true. I believe that Microsoft can require DLC to be for-pay if the game servers are hosted by Microsoft (from the TF2 and Gears of War controversies about content pricing). Burnout Paradise, hosted at EA's servers, has had a sizable amount of free DLC. I seem to recall when Left 4 Dead was released, Valve made a big deal about how they're hosting the servers because of the whole TF2 fiasco with Microsoft.

    5. Re:$0.00 by flitty · · Score: 1

      I thought it odd that price wasn't mentioned in the Press Release on steam. I'd imagine that the Versus maps will be $5 on XBL. $5 for two maps (regardless of the "work" needed to make them Versus maps) is a good value on XBL. Versus is where the meat of the game is (for most people, i'd think) and If i'd have been DUMB enough to buy it on 360, I'd pay it. Being a valve release, PC is where its at.

      --
      Whether or not there is some sort of god, I'm not supposed to say/god is a word and the argument ends there-Smog
    6. Re:$0.00 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Microsoft very definitely has a policy of requiring DLC to be payed for on significant updates such as this. The exception to this is when the same DLC is available for free on a competing platform (i.e. the PS3).

      This is the reason that the DLC was free for Burnout Paradise. The same DLC was actually available for free on the PS3, and as such had to be made free on the 360. It's MS's policy to make sure they're not upstaged by the competition.

      The problem is that Microsoft don't view the PC as a competing platform. So even if the DLC is free on the PC, MS still require that it be charged on the 360.

      The only way this can be excepted is if Valve release the DLC on the PS3 as well, and Sony deign that that can be released free of charge. Of course, since EA weren't interested in doing one of their crappy port jobs THIS time (Oh no! New untested IP! *SHUN* ), that's a moot point.

      Ultimately it's the platform owner that holds the final say.

      http://www.kotaku.com.au/games/2008/03/team_fortress_dlc_price_is_up_to_microsoft_and_sony-2.html

  9. DLC by Saija · · Score: 1

    wtf is a 'DLC' ?, tfa or the summary(yeah yeah who reads tfa or even the summary) but still...

    --
    Slashdot ya no es que lo era! ;)
    1. Re:DLC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It means DownLoadable Content.

    2. Re:DLC by Saija · · Score: 1

      thank you.

      --
      Slashdot ya no es que lo era! ;)
    3. Re:DLC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, is it too much to ask that people define their damn TLA's before using them?

  10. Long gone are the days of FREE extra content. by 88NoSoup4U88 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I think it's quite a shame that Valve also starts doing micro-content.
    Don't get me wrong: I own all the games by Valve (because I -know- they will be/are quality), but I guess that they also can't resist of milking their customers a bit more.

    With all their previous (multiplayer) games we've seen them release loads of maps/content for free to the community: See it as a reward for their loyal fanbase.
    But now that they see that each and every developer can get away with charging money for extra content, they shamefully also go that way.

    Some might say: "They released patches for free!" , but that's their obligation, ifnot in their own interest because otherwise bad publicity about an unbalanced/unplayable game would get out, thus tarnishing Valve's reputation.

    So yes, I'm quite pissed off that they immedeately go for extra content which you have to buy...

    P.S. As a sidenote, the release of the SDK is very cool, but people should realise that even without it, there is already a thriving custom-map community at the moment. [shameless plug]Have a look at my own (beta) version of a shopping mall map: Download it from here. Keep in mind it's very much a beta, and that for now only one small part of the mall is actually done (pathway-wise). Comments are welcome though.[/shameless plug]

    1. Re:Long gone are the days of FREE extra content. by Joseph+T · · Score: 3, Informative

      For the PC everything is/will be free, just like the TF2 updates. The 360 is different because Microsoft wants them to charge for their DLC, which is why they've waited a bloody long time to release it.

      Gabe interview: http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3170080

      PS If you haven't already, go to interlopers.net with your map. Hell of a community that will give you all grades of feedback.

    2. Re:Long gone are the days of FREE extra content. by 88NoSoup4U88 · · Score: 1

      I surely hope you're right.

      Totally forgot about the excellent constructive criticism community on Interlopers.net, so thanks for the heads-up.

  11. What is a DLC? [nt] by krilli · · Score: 1

    What is a DLC?

    --
    Jag pratar lite svenska.
    1. Re:What is a DLC? [nt] by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Downloadable Content

    2. Re:What is a DLC? [nt] by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Down-Loadable-Content.

  12. orangebox sdk? by Floppy-A · · Score: 1

    It would be nice if they'd update the orangebox SDK, hopefully L4D SDK includes this.

  13. Funny on the 3d thing by JimboFBX · · Score: 1

    Whats really funny to me is that I actually grabbed a pair of those super bowl glasses just to compare them to my e-dimensional set-up. Overall, I find them to be a very good experience. That article's technique is almost exactly what I'm using, although he fails to mention that you need to change the RGB values for the glasses to (255,255,0) for the left eye and (0,0,255) for the right eye. The color is much much better than Red/Blue glasses. If you have an nvidia card you have to try that out. Note that a lot of games (such as call of duty 4) render a texture in front of the camera. You have to change the distance between the eyes such that that texture is no longer obstructing your 3d view. You'll lose your HUD though and online that is often cheating since screen fades wont affect you.