Shacknews had a chance to steal Doug Lombardi and Chet Faliszek away from the E3 festivities for a few minutes to ask them about Left 4 Dead 2. Some details of the sequel are explained as well as a bit about how Left 4 Dead 2 is a full sequel and will carry a full price with it.
Perhaps the biggest question that's on everybody's mind is whether or not there's going to be a Left 4 Dead coming out every year now.
So, just what is going on with Gordon Freeman and his wacky adventures?
There is a lot more juicy information to share, so be sure and hit the jump here for more. We'll relay information on the AI Director 2, the possibility of there being a mall in one of the campaigns, how the three new boss Infected will factor into the game's Versus mode, and more.
We will not share everything from the interview. To read the full, two-page interview head on over to Shacknews.<!--more-->
Will updates for the original Left 4 Dead continue?
Chet Faliszek: Looking at Left 4 Dead 1, we have updates still coming out for it. Next week we'll be talking about the community map update, so that's coming. There's some other stuff we're not talking about yet, that's coming for that, that will explain why the Left 4 Dead SDK tools are different from previous ones. And then we still have four vs. four matchmaking coming. So we're not putting that to bed yet.
How will Left 4 Dead 2 interface with Left 4 Dead 1, if at all?
Doug Lombardi: We haven't really worked it all out yet. It's likely that it will be different on the different platforms. We really haven't made any final decisions, but it is something that we're looking at, and we understand that it's something that is on people's minds, and that there are more elegant ways to do it than others.
Some of the things that we're doing that we can talk about already is that, if you're using the SDK and making maps, it will work for either game. So we've got one or two elegant points that we can talk about now. [laughs]
What price-point should we expect?
Doug Lombardi: This is a full sequel.
So full price?
Doug Lombardi: Yeah. At the end of the day, this is going to be a bigger game than Left 4 Dead. It's five campaigns versus four, all five are playable in Versus mode, Survival mode out of the box, the new multiplayer game mode. Plus over 20 new weapons and items. It's a full sequel.
Chet Faliszek: Looking at Left 4 Dead 1, we have updates still coming out for it. Next week we'll be talking about the community map update, so that's coming. There's some other stuff we're not talking about yet, that's coming for that, that will explain why the Left 4 Dead SDK tools are different from previous ones. And then we still have four vs. four matchmaking coming. So we're not putting that to bed yet.
How will Left 4 Dead 2 interface with Left 4 Dead 1, if at all?
Doug Lombardi: We haven't really worked it all out yet. It's likely that it will be different on the different platforms. We really haven't made any final decisions, but it is something that we're looking at, and we understand that it's something that is on people's minds, and that there are more elegant ways to do it than others.
Some of the things that we're doing that we can talk about already is that, if you're using the SDK and making maps, it will work for either game. So we've got one or two elegant points that we can talk about now. [laughs]
What price-point should we expect?
Doug Lombardi: This is a full sequel.
So full price?
Doug Lombardi: Yeah. At the end of the day, this is going to be a bigger game than Left 4 Dead. It's five campaigns versus four, all five are playable in Versus mode, Survival mode out of the box, the new multiplayer game mode. Plus over 20 new weapons and items. It's a full sequel.
Perhaps the biggest question that's on everybody's mind is whether or not there's going to be a Left 4 Dead coming out every year now.
Chet Faliszek: I think all this, oh, Valve's going to make Maddens every year--that's not true. There's this whole group of us at Valve who had all these ideas. When we get done with this, we're going to sit back and we have no future plans or anything like that. This could be the platform for zombie apocalypse games for a while. One of the cool things that Doug was saying, current maps, they're being made to drop in, they work. Obviously if you want to take advantage of the new director stuff you'll have to go back in and touch some stuff up, but they'll just work.
So, just what is going on with Gordon Freeman and his wacky adventures?
Doug Lombardi: [laughs] Don't have a new date. Since we missed the last time, I'm not gonna put out another one. I've said this before, but Freeman's not done with his adventure. Stay tuned for more.
There is a lot more juicy information to share, so be sure and hit the jump here for more. We'll relay information on the AI Director 2, the possibility of there being a mall in one of the campaigns, how the three new boss Infected will factor into the game's Versus mode, and more.
We will not share everything from the interview. To read the full, two-page interview head on over to Shacknews.<!--more-->
Can you talk more about the changes to the dynamic systems in Left 4 Dead 2?
Chet Faliszek: So, the AI director, there are some really noticeable ones. We're giving it control over the weather now. Now you go from [a sunny day] to holy crap man, I can't see anyone around me. It's like the Blood Harvest cornfield, right.
Dynamic pathing changes--so in the next map in this campaign, they go through an above-ground cemetery, a haunted old cemetery with crypts above ground, and it actually changes the path every time you play. And also how spawning the creatures, and the pacing of the game.
One of the things we look at with people playing online, are people playing the game--the stacking in the corner.. that sucks.
Absolutely.
Chet Faliszek: It sucks that there are people that don't play it that way, and they get yelled at.
Oh, I know. I'm always the guy--there are the three guys in the corner, and then I'm the guy standing over there, and they say, "Come onnn!"
Chet Faliszek: The way you want to play it, the fun way, is the best way to play it, too. So to do that, there are just a lot of subtle changes to make, in how the director handles what it's going to spawn, and how it thinks about attacking the survivors.
How are you accounting for the additional boss Infected in Versus mode?
Chet Faliszek: So that's probably what we're spending the most iteration time on. We just have outside players coming in all the time. We had a lot of ideas early on that we wanted to try. Some of them just failed. Some of them sucked. The Charger is a winner. We've got another one that we're almost done with that's good as well. There's a third coming out.
So, there are five campaigns. What's the chance of a mall level?
Chet Faliszek: A mall?
Shack: A mall.
Chet Faliszek: Maybe it could start in a mall or something. We'll see.
How about a ferris wheel?
Chet Faliszek: Are you guys taking pictures from our office or something? Um.. [laughs] There's some stuff we'll be talking about later.
Flamethrower? Not saying?
Chet Faliszek: No. We like fire though.
Did I notice an improved fire effect?
Chet Faliszek: Yeah.
Chet Faliszek: So, the AI director, there are some really noticeable ones. We're giving it control over the weather now. Now you go from [a sunny day] to holy crap man, I can't see anyone around me. It's like the Blood Harvest cornfield, right.
Dynamic pathing changes--so in the next map in this campaign, they go through an above-ground cemetery, a haunted old cemetery with crypts above ground, and it actually changes the path every time you play. And also how spawning the creatures, and the pacing of the game.
One of the things we look at with people playing online, are people playing the game--the stacking in the corner.. that sucks.
Absolutely.
Chet Faliszek: It sucks that there are people that don't play it that way, and they get yelled at.
Oh, I know. I'm always the guy--there are the three guys in the corner, and then I'm the guy standing over there, and they say, "Come onnn!"
Chet Faliszek: The way you want to play it, the fun way, is the best way to play it, too. So to do that, there are just a lot of subtle changes to make, in how the director handles what it's going to spawn, and how it thinks about attacking the survivors.
How are you accounting for the additional boss Infected in Versus mode?
Chet Faliszek: So that's probably what we're spending the most iteration time on. We just have outside players coming in all the time. We had a lot of ideas early on that we wanted to try. Some of them just failed. Some of them sucked. The Charger is a winner. We've got another one that we're almost done with that's good as well. There's a third coming out.
So, there are five campaigns. What's the chance of a mall level?
Chet Faliszek: A mall?
Shack: A mall.
Chet Faliszek: Maybe it could start in a mall or something. We'll see.
How about a ferris wheel?
Chet Faliszek: Are you guys taking pictures from our office or something? Um.. [laughs] There's some stuff we'll be talking about later.
Flamethrower? Not saying?
Chet Faliszek: No. We like fire though.
Did I notice an improved fire effect?
Chet Faliszek: Yeah.
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