LFD2

[Lou Cypher]

My son scored a copy of LFD2, DL it now, from the posts in the past it should be alot of fun.


Lou :globe:

[shizakapayou]

We should organize a game among forum members sometime - I know a while back two or three guys bought it, but most of us (me) were too cheap. Steam's sale giving it to me for $7 fixed that ;) Of course, I haven't played it yet.

[Rob]

I think we can get a game going sometime, anyone up for a game tomorrow night?

[shizakapayou]

Should be okay for me.

[Lou Cypher]

How about around 6pm PST

Lou :globe:

[Rob]

That works, that is 9 for me.

[Lou Cypher]

I figiured picking an early west coast time would be good for those back east.


Lou :globe:

[Rob]

Good game guys, we will have to do it again.

[Mitch]

Yeah that was pretty fun, I'll be up for it again any time. I'm usually playing Bad Company 2, but it's nice to change it up once in a while. I'm pretty sure I shot you guys a lot, so for that I'm sorry :p:

Pretty epic fight with the tank and the horde when you all died, though :D

[mandrake]

:eek:
Crap, I just got back in the door.
Ah, well, I'll get in on it next time. :thumbup:

[shizakapayou]

Damn, I forgot too. Probably for the best, had a lot of trouble with the modem tonight.

[Lou Cypher]

Ya, it was alot of fun, and to my surprise the Tanks can board the Helocopters and kill me in this game, unlike the first one.


Lou :Globe:

[Rob]

Yeah, that was a big surprise. If everyone else was not dead already, another hit or two on me would have sent us back to the way point to try again.

[Mitch]

When does everyone want to play again? We still needed one more person (thanks a lot, Shiz!) and it would probably be better playing without the AI on the team. For most of the game my ping was terrible because I've gone to the dark side and was downloading WoW in the background.

Anyway, it's nice to get away from the game I play all the time and play some L4D2, so send I'll keep an eye on this thread.

[Rob]

I go back to school at the end of August, so now would be a great time to play. I would prefer if it were after 9pm EST so my daughter will be in bed, but it isn't mandatory. I am up for a game tonight if others will join.

I agree with the bot/AI issue, they seem to do more harm than good, plus, they do not have the human touch or instinct.

[Mitch]

I think I'll be able to come on for a round tonight, as long as my friends don't bug me to play WoW with them. I really don't understand that game very much, and it never really was my cup of tea, but I told them I'd give it a chance. Regardless, I will at least be able to play for an hour or so tonight. Just give me a time and I should be able to make it work.

Shiz, Lou, and Mandrake, you should join us, too. I know it's only a four player co-operative, but what about the other game modes? I haven't even given those a try, actually.

[shizakapayou]

I should be able to during the week, around 7-8 CST is good for me. Hoping to change modems soon so I don't have to reboot it constantly.

[OldsterHolster]

How about taking some screenshots, or even videos, to show us the action. Edward.

[Mitch]

It's a pretty fast-paced game, and I think pressing the F8 key might be a little difficult in some of the more intense situations, but I'll give it a try tonight if we end up playing. Have you considered giving it a try? I know you're not all that into multiplayer, but when would there be a better time to start?

[Lou Cypher]

I wont be able to play for a few days, today I start the move to a new place.


Lou :globe:

[Rob]

If anyone logged on today, I am sorry I wasn't there. Long day at work in blistering heat and humidity wiped me out and I ended up taking a six hour nap. I do hope we can play soon though.

[Mitch]

I've been checking to see if anyone was on, but I've been playing WoW anyway. I'll be up for again soon, though. I'll be up for a bit if anyone is still around and wants to play tonight.

[Mitch]

Changed my mind, I'm going to bed :)

[shizakapayou]

I ordered my new modem last night, maybe the end of this week would be good for me. My wife also has to work Saturday morning, so that's a fantastic time for me to play games and crank the volume up to 11 ;)

[Rob]

Ok, should we say 9PM EST, Saturday?

[Mitch]

I don't think I can do the end of the week or the weekend, it's our island's big event called Haweater Weekend, so I'll be busy (drinking) the whole time. If anyone wants to come to Manitoulin now's the time! :p:

But back to L4D2, if anyone is playing tonight or Thursday night I'm down for that.

[tonofclay]

Ah nuts I was at the beach and missed the game. Pretty sure I can do 9 on Sat though. I'll try to log in to steam tonight if I'm around to see if anyone is up for a game.

[Mitch]

I'll be around tonight. Do I have you on Steam?

What about you, Rob? Are you up for a game or two? You should hook up your headset this time so you're not stuck typing.

[Rob]

I should, but that means moving my computer, and if I am going to work out like that, I might as well just go to the gym.

I will try to be on tonight, and most likely will.

[shizakapayou]

I'm out for the weekend after Saturday afternoon. I'll try to be around in evenings after maybe tomorrow.

[Mitch]

Rob and I had a pretty good game tonight, so I thought I'd post some screenshots. I set Fraps to take a shot every 5 seconds (bad idea), and ended having almost 400 screens taken, but at least I had a nice selection. Surprisingly, they weren't all that exciting, and some happened to be taken while I was turning and ended up being nothing but a fuzzy picture because of the motion blur. I didn't look through them all, but here are a few that caught my eye:


http://a.imageshack.us/img195/9453/l4dscreens.jpg (http://img195.imageshack.us/i/l4dscreens.jpg/)



They might be a little hard to see for some, but maybe it will encourage some of you to play more :D

We definitely could've used some help on that last level.

[mandrake]

I tried to catch you guys. I must've got on too late. I just played for a couple hours. Absolute blast. I forgot how much fun playing online is. :thumbup:

[Mitch]

Yup, hopefully you can play again soon. I've honestly barely played L4D2, but it's actually really fun. It's not so great without other human players, but even with just one more it's pretty awesome.

Tonight I'll be busy trying to get the DICE dog tags in Bad Company 2. They're playing in a few servers for four hours and they're making a little event out of it. It would be pretty need to have proof of beating the developers in the game they made.

[Rob]

I might be on tonight, but I would say better chances of me not showing up than showing up.

I think next time we play Mitch, we are going to have to skip any campaign which requires intelligence and help, unless their are four of us. The last stage trying to find the gas cans was brutal, essentially it was us two vs. the horde of zombies because the bots never helped carry the cans. Plenty of maps left though.

[Mitch]

That plan sounds alright to me, but it'll have to be up to you to pick out the dumbed down maps, because I think I've only played two or three. That was pretty fun though, I usually stay logged in to Steam, but I'll keep an eye out for you Thursday. The girlfriend is coming over tonight, and I'm already taking an hour or so to play Bad Company :p:

[tonofclay]

Ugh fell asleep early yesterday, woke up and saw the game invites but everyone wasn't in game anymore so they probably had come from several hours earlier :P I'll be around at 10pm est or so tonight.

[Mitch]

I need some screen shot feedback.. too big? it's hard to imagine how people will see them on different sizes of monitors.

tonofclay, tonight I won't be able to play but if you're around tomorrow night around the same time that'd be sweet.

[mandrake]

I'm going to try and be on around 9:30-10:00 EDT.

[mandrake]

Nice to get to play with someone I actually knew before the game started. Sorry I didn't do better, tonofclay.

[tonofclay]

Hehe I didn't do too hot myself I think I died twice. Sorry I couldn't stay longer, playing that DLC campaign with just the computers wore me out, I had to carry every gas can myself, can't believe I made it through alive.

[Mitch]

Will you guys be around tonight? I wouldn't mind playing a few games.

[mandrake]

Good playing with you Mitch. I have to admit, during the game, I couldn't remember for the life of me who 'Oot' was from here!:rolleyes:
Had fun.
We did manage to finish Parish by the way.

[Mitch]

Good playing with you too, I was a lot of fun. You could've just asked you know :p:

Do you play with JohannasGarden all the time, or is she your wife or something?

Glad you made it through, I wanted to keep playing but it was 2 am and I had to work at 9. I'll be gone all weekend for Haweater, so we'll have to play again some time next week.

[Rob]

Anyone up for a game tonight?

[shizakapayou]

If I get the crib assembled and laptop repaired after work, I might be up for some. I got on for a bit last night but no one was around.

[mandrake]

Mitch - Yeah, I guess I could've asked. Jo isn't my wife, but I have played with her a few times. She's pretty good.

As for tonight, I might be up for a few rounds, but I won't be on until 10:00 EDT or later.
I'll see if I catch anyone on.

[tonofclay]

Ill be around tonight as well...should be on around 9.

[mandrake]

Wow, I've got to stop staying up so late to play this game.

[Rob]

Did you guys end up finishing Parish? Sorry I had to bail, but after one full game before we started Parish, and having to restart, I ran out of time. Maybe we can get in some gaming tonight?

[tonofclay]

We beat it right after you left :P

Pretty sure I'll be around at the same time tonight, 9ish est. Ill throw up a couple screens I got of last nights game as well.

[Rob]

I guess that doesn't say much for my skills then. I almost made it to the end on one of our runs, 20 ft away before a tank got me. I had a lot of fun though, definitely a lot better with four humans than a few AI bots. They suck.

[tonofclay]

Agreed, playing with bots blows. The only plus side is that they heal you before themselves ;)

If we could gather everyone who plays all at one time we have enough to get some versus matches in.

[mandrake]

Oh, I like the sound of that!

[Rob]

I am not a fan of vs, but if we get enough, I will definitely play.

[tonofclay]

I think vs would be more fun if we could get a forum game going. We were pretty close to having six people on last night, once Mitch comes back around we might be able to get it done some night.

[Mitch]

I'm back home now, so I'll be down for a few games whenever you guys are. I've never tried vs, but I bet it would be pretty fun with a bunch of us from the forums.

[mandrake]

Any of you guys ever get this "Your map doesn't match the server" bs?
What gives?

[OldsterHolster]

I keep toying with the idea joining you guys because it sounds like you are having a lot of fun. As you know, I don't play anything online, so you would have to lead me by the hand until I learned what to do. I suppose the first thing I would have to do is buy the game, and then should I play the single-player first to learn what it's all about?

No promises, and right now I'm not in the mood to play anything until my real-life problems with my job are resolved one way or another. Is this a game that is likely to remain a favorite for a while? I do like the idea of playing with you guys that I know, and I did enjoy the one experience I had a while back, so I'm thinking about trying it again. Edward.

[Mitch]

We'd love to have you play with us Edward, and I think you would have a lot of fun with it too. It will take a little time to get used to, but it's really not all that complicated of a game. Basically it's just staying in a group, making your way to rescue at the end of the level, using the items you find carefully, and holding off the horde after the "trigger" events. It's the Source engine, so I'm sure you'll be familiar with everything if you've played the Half Life series.. and who hasn't?

For me, L4D2 is one of those games I'll just hop into when other people are playing, and I always have a good time, so I think we'll be playing it for a while (at least I will). Just worry about getting things figured out and we'll be happy to play some games with you when you're ready.

[shizakapayou]

You'd like it, Edward. It's pretty simple - kill the zombies, help your buddies stay alive. It's fast-paced, but not too hard to keep up with.

Do you have Steam? One thing you could do is go ahead and register (and join the Gamers.org group ;) ) and keep an eye out for sales. Steam's pretty good about having sales once in a while, so you could just hold out for that.

[Rob]

Edward, from the viewpoint of JC2, you will definitely not get the same amount of hours return on investment. LFD2 is fun on its own, but as we have said a few times, the bots/AI are more of a hindrance than helpful. The game really jumps up on the fun meter when you are playing with friends. Even one extra person makes the game much more enjoyable.

For me, and I am assuming based on trend, for most people on here, the game goes between nearly every night gaming to a few week/month break, before ramping back up. As far as handholding, it will take all of one mission to understand the mechanics. A few missions to get an idea on what weapons you like to use and a few more to learn the maps. There have been a few times recently where we still got lost, but in general the maps are very linear, it is just a matter of when and where the swarms of zombies and special infected spawn.

A good portion is run and gun, but you must work together as a team, or at least watch each others back. The zombies can swarm and go after you, but some pushes and shotgun blasts will take care of them. More deadly are the special infected, which will latch on, immobilize you, throw up on you (seriously) and other debilitating actions where you need someone to help to break the hold.

[mandrake]

Sorry about last night guys.
Just when the game loaded, I got a "Map doesn't match the server" error and by the time Steam validated and redownloaded the 35 files that needed fixed, you guys were well on your way.

[Rob]

Did you guys try a custom map, or are you just behind the times Mandrake?

[Mitch]

Yeah, I let everyone know about the message you sent me about your error, and we waited in the safe room for you to come back. Only problem was L4D2 doesn't seem to like you staying in one place for too long and the horde showed up. Shortly after someone else took your spot that Jo knew. I'll be up for some tonight if you guys are. I've been getting into WoW, so I'll just play that until you want to play. I'm not sure if you're in a different time zone, but I've been playing till about 2 am here, so I'll probably only have time for one round tonight.

[tonofclay]

Been on vacation for awhile. Anybody still playing L4D? :P I'll be around tonight for some gaming if anyone is interested.

[Rob]

I can play at 9:30 or so tonight.

[Mitch]

I'll be around tonight, just message me on Steam and I'll hop out of WoW and onto L4D2.

[JohannasGarden]

Sorry about last night--I was having strange internet problems where it seemed to be working and said I had a connection, but practically didn't. Then that messed up Steam somehow when it tried to update. I had to do a bunch of stuff to even get my desktop up properly this am. Anyway, sorry about that, and I hope you had a good game.

Jo/Sherri

[mandrake]

No problem. As you remember, I was having similar difficulties recently.
We played through Dead Center (through finale on first try), then me and Big Mac played through Passing but ate it in finale and I had to go to bed (Sorry again, Big Mac!).

[Rob]

I have had so many problems with the Passing, both along and with full human teams. I might try it again on easy, I have always had problems with that level.

I know Jo has already seen it, but Valve is going to start releasing some select community campaigns on their server, so we should soon have some new campaigns to play through.

We waited around for you Jo, but realized you were not coming back. I hope everything is working for you again, and if not, you can always post in our hardware/software forum for help, we are quite the handy bunch.

I am going to start leaving at 10:30 - 11:00 each night. Some of you may know I have sleeping problems, and the doctor prescribe some heavy knockout pills that I am going to start taking. Hopefully they and a set bedtime will help.

[JohannasGarden]

We don't have to wait for Valve, I don't think. You go here

http://www.l4dmaps.com/

pick the campaign you want to run, arrange a time, everyone downloads it in advance, and then I think you can select it. You need to download L4D2 add-on support, too.I'd also love to play I hate Mountains with some people who have L4D--I don't know if the gameplay is as appealing as the trailer, but it looked great. It would be especially cool to have Mitch about for extra chuckles when Francis says stuff like, "Ahh, Fffff----! We're in Canada. The only think I hate more than zombies is Canada."

Dead City 2, Diescraper Redux, and Death Aboard 2 are the other L4D2 ones that gets high ratings from most people.

I tried playing a custom one when I didn't have everything downloaded right, which was crazy, but community made mods are something I've often wanted to try.

[mandrake]

You know what I want for this game?
A Sledge Hammer.
That would be a fantastic Melee Weapon.

[Mitch]

I wouldn't mind playing "I Hate Mountains" some time. I will start downloading it when I get home if you want to try it out tonight. Actually, I haven't reinstalled L4D 1 since my new hard drive, so hopefully that doesn't take all night with my slow connection. Either way, I think I'm ready for some new L4D2 maps now.

Yeah yeah, lay down the Canada jokes everyone :p:
But it is pretty neat that they decided to make the map in Canada. Where did they get all the voices from for the things they wanted to say?

Anyway, let me know which ones you want to try out and I'll start downloading them.

[Lou Cypher]

You need to download L4D2 add-on support, too
I cant seem to find that.


Lou :globe:

[tonofclay]

Lou - Go to the view menu, then tools, and you can install left 4 dead 2 add on support from the list there.

[Lou Cypher]

Hell, I cant even find view menus, do you have to be logged on?


Lou :globe:

[tonofclay]

The view menu is at the top of the main steam window where you see the store page and stuff.

[Lou Cypher]

Well thats the problem, I was using the link that JG linked to.


Lou :globe:

[tonofclay]

Anybody gonna be around for a game tonight? I haven't played in a few days been out of town.

[JohannasGarden]

Well thats the problem, I was using the link that JG linked to.


Lou :globe:

Sorry! That's the link for downloading custom maps, but Valve Add-on Support you get from the tools tab in the Steam menu--also, if you try to start a non-official campaign, then it will usually cue the loading of Valve Add-on Support unless you stop it.

Basically, try starting a 2 evil eyes campaign and you'll get a feel for whether you're still lacking something.

And I left my cell phone in a restaurant far away and need to get it, but I expect to be on later. I don't know exactly what I'll be playing, though. Probably a campaign if Edward and/or some others want to start one, maybe a Friends-only Versus or Scavenge game if I it looks like I can match up some teams. Most likely one following the other.

So...I'll check in with everyone when I get back. Lou, I don't think I have your user name on Steam--I'm JohannasGarden there, too, if you want to add me.

And I am going to voice act a crazy lady who thinks Gnome Chomski is her baby for someone making a custom map, so if that ever gets completed *fingers crossed*, then I'm going to try and talk everyone I know into playing it! That's a long way off, though.

[Lou Cypher]

I don't think I have your user name on Steam--I'm JohannasGarden there, too, if you want to add me.

I'm Big Mac on steam, and my son also plays the same account.

Lou :globe:

[JohannasGarden]

Thanks, Lou! I knew there was a Big Mac that was part of this group.

On the past couple of nights, we've played Versus after running an earlier normal campaign, which is something I'd like to do more of.

I suggest that when we do this, we start a "friends-only" lobby even if we don't think we can get 8 people. That way everyone can get in, we can try inviting other friends, and we can either all be on the same team or make sure there are at least 2 on each--that way we all have someone to stop us from getting votekicked.

If you want to learn more about playing as infected, I've bookmarked some threads.


http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1391406
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1391180

We could also use console commands to play against bots, and there's a hunter practice tutorial on l4d2maps that I have been meaning to try.

Here are some of the console commands--look at "Versus mode for people with no friends" or something like that.

http://left4dead.wikia.com/wiki/Console_commands

I think we could try the single player things in Versus with a couple people and talk, but I'm not really sure about that.

And I'm very sorry for killing you last night, Edward--as I do think that's what happened. I was meleeing the tank to death, and I think someone got you up as or right after the tank died and you got that slicing katana blow meant for it. I'm hazardous in tight quartered "Kill it! Kill it!" situations.

[Mitch]

Nice Jo, I think I'll give those threads a read some time today. I think we should clarify how versus works though, because even I was a little confused at first, too.

There are eight people in the game, four of which are survivors and four are the infected. The survivors play as they normally would in campaign until they reach the first safe room, and receive a score based on how far each of them made it through the level (I'm not sure if there are any other factors for the score?). While they play through as survivors, the other four people play as the special infected. They will randomly spawn as a jockey, boomer, spitter, hunter, or smoker, and their only purpose is to stop the survivors from making it to their goal. As an SI, you can't spawn when you're seen by or are too close to the survivors, so you have to hide behind something, spawn, and then attack. You will keep respawning as different SI every time, and your team needs to work together to stop the survivors from getting to safety. At certain points in during the level a tank will spawn and one of the four SI will randomly be selected to control it. If you don't attack within a certain amount of time, the tank loses control and the AI takes over.

Once the survivors either die or reach the safe room, the teams switch roles as survivors and infected and redo the same level. It's the same process for every level until you reach the end, and the scores are added up to give a total score that ultimately decides which team wins.

Anyway, it's a lot of fun and it's nice to get out of the normal campaign sometimes. Anyone up for trying it out tonight?

[OldsterHolster]

OK, folks, you were right, as usual, and I'm really enjoying playing with you almost every night, but I still feel like a doofus most of the time and would like to get better. I think it was Rob who posted some details about different aspects and enemies in the game, but I can't find it in this thread, now. Maybe it's in the Show&Tell thread, and I will look for it some more, but I'd like any advice you can give me, both about the tactics and strategies in the game in general, and also about the mistakes I'm making, personally.

I've never played online or co-op, and I know I'm not doing what's best for the team a lot of the time. So far, I can't even seem to learn the maps, so I'm mostly just following you guys around and trying not to shoot you in the back. (and even failing that a lot of the time) Jo is really helpful with her running commentary and directions, but I'd sure welcome advice and tips from anybody outside the game when I've got more time to think about it.

First of all, is everybody using "push to talk" with their mikes? An open mike would seem a lot better, I think, but I guess it causes static when I choose that option. Any ideas how I could stop that problem? I've got a Logitech USB headset, and the sounds I hear still come through the speakers as well as the headset, so do you think turning off my speakers might help? I've changed the activation button to L shift, which my little finger rests on, anyway, but along with my general confusion, I guess it's a case of not being able to 'walk and chew gum at the same time,' so I don't talk much.

How about weapons? I tend to choose an assault rifle or sub-machine gun, but I notice the shotgun seems to be popular with some. Is there any advantage to having a particular team weapons loadout, and, if there is, don't ever hesitate to tell me what I should be using for the good of the team. All the melee weapons are pretty cool, but I worry about just getting in the way when I run around like a madman swinging at the horde. My single-player experiences and tendencies probably don't do the team much good.

Why do we worry about disturbing the witch so much? Again, my Rambo mentality is to just kill every damned thing that gets in my way, but I guess I need to wise up.

Is there any way to escape from being jumped on, lassoed by a tongue, or mauled by a Charger? In my chronic state of confusion, it's always a surprise when I get zapped, not to mention embarrassing, and are there specific tactics to deal with these enemies? I suspect it's just a matter of being aware and being quick, so maybe I should just spit out that aforementioned gum. Heh, heh.

What does it mean when the outlines of both the team, and sometimes the mutants, turn different colors? Also, what good are the "bile bombs," or whatever they are called? It looks like they both spawn and draw a horde, is that right? How about the other two kinds of bombs? Are there certain times when they are most effective?

Tell me again why we are not supposed to heal ourselves, and what are the basic parameters for dealing with health. When is the best time to use the shots and pills?

I'll listen to anything you can think of that might help me reach a comfort zone with this game and maybe even make me useful instead of a liability. Heh, heh. Hell, I'm so confused most of the time that I can't even shoot straight, and that's the one thing I should be able to do.

It's a fact that, as you age, you think about death and dying a little more. It's just the way it is. Last night, though, the thought hit me that I can't die, I'm having too much fun. Heh, heh, heh. Thank you all for everything: For buying me the game, talking me into playing, and for welcoming me as a team mate. Life is good, and it's your fault. lol. (And, no, I'm not sick or dying, and I sure hope to last a good while longer, but I am getting on down the road, so these things are important to me.)

See you boys and girls again, tonight. I'll be the one in the green puke puddle with the Jockey on my back, a Charger on the way, and no ammo. Heh, heh, heh. Edward.

[Rob]

Here it is.
Edward, a quick and dirty brief overview of the game. There are usually four to five stages per campaign and it is basically get from one end of the map to the next while running through zombies. There will always be groups and stragglers of zombies, but occasionally the computer will send a horde, which is a crap load of zombies running at you in all different directions. It can get intense. That, and there are special infected, which are basically mini-bosses thrown at you from time to time.

Spitter: Shoots acid on the ground which can quickly take down your health if you are in the middle of the pool
Hunters: Pounce on you, knocking and pinning you to the ground while other zombies join in to deal damage
Boomer: Throws up on you, blinding you and draws the attention of the horde to attack you. Always draws a horde.
Smoker: Uses his tongue to tie you down and dangle you from the roof while other zombies deal damage
Charger: Hits and grabs you and keeps on running until you hit a wall, then repeatedly slams you into the ground while other zombies deal damage
Jockey: Jumps on your head and takes control of your movement, usually pulling you away from your team into a horde of zombies
Tank: Punches and throws cars and large rocks at you, takes a ton of damage to bring him down
Witch: You hear them first (they are crying) and you can try to sneak past them, but if you startle her she will one shot you

Working as a team though, you can take down special infected before they do much damage. Great fun.

You really need a good headset to use open mic. I am not saying yours is good or bad as I do not know, I just know in general, you need a good head set. I heard you clearly the last time you used the open mic, but every word that was said, you or anyone else, came through twice. I think turning off your speakers and just listening through the headset could fix that problem. I didn't hear any static, so I cannot help you there. I have a cheap $10 headset from Wal-mart and open mic just kills the clarity when I speak. I may invest in a better headset soon, but I have to admit money wise, it is not a priority. I have my mic set to the L-Shift as well, and I do fairly well with it, though there are times I am shouting at the computer and nobody is responding because I forgot to hold down the key, though that doesn't happen as much anymore.

Disturbing the witch is an instant kill for at least one party member. Their are two courses of action, either going around her and "crowning" her. Crowning takes a lot of practice, but it boils down to one person sneaking up right next to her, and as soon as she stands up to attack, the players shoots her in the head with a shotgun blast. It is really the only way to take her down without killing a team member. Flashlights can set her off quickly, which is why when we hear a witch, the best thing to do is turn off the flashlight (default to F key) until we pass her, either through going around or killing her.

Is there any way to escape from being jumped on, lassoed by a tongue, or mauled by a Charger?
When you are lassoed by the tongue, you have about 1 second to keep shooting and maybe take down the smoker before he can real you in, other than that, no, you are stuck. This is why you have to work as a team, because once a special infected gets a hold of you, you are incapacitated.

There are two problems when working as a team though compared to solo play, if you go too slow, the computer will start sending more and more special infected and waves of zombies, go too fast and you start getting separated. Once we become better, and I mean all of us, we can go faster through the map and hopefully slow down the special infected and horde appearances.

When the outlines of teammates switch colors it means they are in trouble. If they turn red, a special infected has control of them. If they turn I think purple (maybe yellow) it means a boomer has thrown up on a teammate. If a teammate is thrown up on, it immediately summons a horde on the puked on. That person can't see and the zombies target them, so it is important the rest of the team provide complete defense for that person.

Sometimes you have to heal yourself, and it is not the end of the world. The big advantage to healing others is doing so gives a much better chance to spawn a health kit in a building or laying around further down the map. Most of the health kits we find when we are not in the safe house is due to healing others. This is something I only learned last week after Jo told us. In fact, whenever I tell anyone else their response is almost always "really?"

I will be honest with you Edward, I think most of your problem is your lack of confidence. You take down plenty of zombies, and I know you have saved my neck plenty of times, that is most of what you can ask for. And sometimes we do hit another teammate, it happens, just ask oot, but we laugh and move on. It can be complete chaos down there, it is too be expected. As you mention, your gaming mentality is to kill EVERYTHING, but sometimes, like last night at the finale, you have to run. That is the only area when I think you could improve on, and it is also one area where it all boils down to experience and playing the maps multiple times. Nobody expects you to know all this, even now, it takes a long time.

I have been playing L4D 1 almost since it first came out, and I have been playing L4D2 since day one, and I still find Jo to be an absolute asset to the group because she is a leader and helps direct the action. It is beneficial to everyone, and I have learned a lot more about the game, especially in healing and tactics than I have on my own.

Hope this helps, and definitely ask questions, we all benefit from them.

[Mitch]

I actually think a lot of the tips people posted are in the "Edward" thread, but I'm not sure. But give yourself some credit! I don't know where you got the idea in your head that you suck, but you've saved all of us from dying plenty of times.

Edward, as I've told Jo and Rob, there is no need to worry about shooting me in the back. I've already done more of that to all of you than you guys could ever do to me. Sorry, but for some reason I can't help but shoot all of you. :p:

I have been using push to talk a in L4D2 since I started playing (not that that was long ago), but in Ventrilo I use an open microphone. I haven't tested it in L4D2, but I usually have a fan going in the background and I don't want to be vote kicked :)
I think having the sound coming through only your headset would make a big difference, at least from my experience. We can take some time in the safe room before we start if you want to get that sorted out.

Weapon-wise, the automatic shotgun is my favourite. It's just a really satisfying weapon, and at close range/in narrow passages it's fun to take out hordes. I like the assault rifles over the sub machine guns because of their accuracy, but it's really your preference. With any weapon though, you'll notice that when you crouch down your crosshairs will come closer together and your accuracy will increase significantly. I use that technique especially with rifles and pistols, but with shotguns it really doesn't help all that much. As for melee weapons, I can't really give you advice. I'm not very good with them, and I don't really enjoy using them all that much. Rob has some pretty mean frying pan skills, though :):

The witch has a lot more damage than the average infected (1000), and when she hits you you are knocked down instantly. To give you an idea of how much health she has, a tank has 4000. This is only in normal mode, but you get the idea. She can be killed with an automatic shotgun or a chainsaw, but even then you have to be careful. Shining your flashlight on her or even just looking at her scares here, and I believe touching her will cause her to attack instantly. If you can't avoid the witch, it's really not so bad if you are all ready for her and have a good distance.

When you are attacked by a special infected, you have to rely on your teammates in most cases. When a smoker attacks you, you can kill it if you are quick about it, but you only have a very short time to do so. In some cases it is also better to melee the zombie off of your teammate first and then kill it. That way you can save them from getting damaged while you're shooting at the attacker.

Bile bombs attract the horde and can get them away from you if you are swarmed. They are easy to shoot when they are clustered together as well. Pipe bombs do the same, but explode after a few seconds and kill everything that is close to it, which makes it very convenient that the infected are attracted to it. molotovs are generally saved for the tank, but are useful against the horde as well. Just don't throw it in the direction you need to go if there is no way around it. Oh, it should also be mentioned that staying in the same spot for too long without advancing will attract a horde, so although it is good to have a plan, it is usually best to keep moving.

Healing each other rather than ourselves will cause more health packs to spawn throughout the level. The pain pills are best when you know you will need health, but don't want to waste a health pack, or you simply don't have any health packs. Adrenaline is best if you need to get somewhere quickly like onto the boat or chopper, or to a safe room.

I'm really glad you're enjoying the game so much, Edward. You ARE doing fine, so just quit worrying about it and have fun :):

Edit: Damn you Rob, you beat me to it.

[Rob]

Melee is excellent, especially if you get surrounded. I love the frying pan for the very satisfying thunk when I take out a zombie, and despite the frying pan being one of the worst melee weapons, I seem to have it down so I can be effective with it. The best melee are the slashing weapons, in particular the fire axe and the katana, which is the best. Fast, wide arching and high damage.

I am not fond of the shotgun unless I am duel wielding pistols. Shotguns are good at close range, but I don't like to get the zombies that close, and with a slow reload and low ammo count, I try to shy away. I prefer automatic weapons, with the AK-47 and M16 as my top choice. I have told Jo this a few times, but I generally spray and pray during large hordes, and when we are just shooting stragglers, the high power, range and accuracy make them my preferred weapons. This is one area you can't go wrong, find what works best for you. In fact, quite a few people go around with duel pistols, and I have done it many times myself. All comes down to preference.

[mandrake]

Personally, I'm a fan of the Sniper Rifles and a Melee weapon, although dual pistols is ok.
I dislike the shotguns for precisely the same reason Rob stated: The reload time sucks.

On a side note, I had my first experience playing with a total d-bag online last night. Some idiot named #adolf was more than happy to let me heal him, save his sorry butt from a jockey and a smoker, and then get the alarm shut off in lvl 2 of Parish Advanced, but as soon as the alarm was off, he turned, hit me with a molotov and started lighting me up with a shotgun while I was fighting the horde. I didn't even realize he was doing it on purpose until I was incapacitated and he started yelling in the mic "see ya fag" over and over, which he and his buddy then proceeded to do to the other guy unfortunate enough to land in their game. I'd forgotten that idiots like that exist on games. Glad it wasn't my first experience playing online. I probably would've dropped Steam like a bad habit.

[Rob]

That is why I only play with friends, and then those friends introduce me to their friends and so on, I usually have a much better experience, but sometimes idiots like that do pop up.

[JohannasGarden]

Edward, I'll echo others and say that you aren't as bad as you think you are. Your stats are consistently better than mine, by the way. I *still* get lost on many parts and I have over 200 hours in the game (which is really sad--a younger friend once said, "I think you just lack the digital proprioception of today's youth"). You are *far* better than I was when I started out. Well, you're better than I am now in many respects, I just exude that bossy confidence that sometimes convinces people that I know what I'm doing.

Also, good supporting, team-oriented players like you are great.

But I think the main things that would help you are to stick closer to at least one teammate during panic events and practice just knocking zombies down and running towards the goal when we need to get to the final destination. For much of a finale, you want to be *really* close to at least one team mate, because when one of you gets knocked down, there will likely be a horde of zombies in between the two of you. In the finale, when we say "Time to run" it's really important to just get to the end as fast as possible. That means take adrenaline if you have it, right click rather than left click and run as much as possible. Generally, if you melee shove in front, melee shove behind, and start forward while shooting or melee right-clicking, you'll make it. If you try and kill the surrounding zombies like you do during other parts of the campaign, they just keep coming. There are a number of areas where you will never kill all the zombies and will die if you try. I have never seen a new player not make the same mistake for a long time, so

I've rarely, if ever, seen a mic option other than push to talk work well. I would experiment with different rarely used Mouse buttons, if possible. And it works worse than it should--when people like me keep the mouse button pressed down when they aren't talking, I don't get the same kind of static or echo, generally. I find that the one on the left side of my mouse works well since my thumb can sit on it. I also keep it pushed too much, though.

Hopefully we'll get to play tonight :)

[OldsterHolster]

Thanks, Jo and Rob. My damned cable connection is dropping out on me, tonight. It has taken ten minutes for the forum to open up for me, so I don't know. I'm going to try again in a few minutes, and I hope to be able to play a round, tonight. If not, you'll know it's because I can't connect. This has happened, before, and it usually doesn't last long, so I'm hopeful. Edward.

[Rob]

That is interesting Edward because I have been having issues with my internet connection today as well.

[OldsterHolster]

And Mandrake, and Mitch. Heh, heh. I just realized there were other responses, and a whole lot more information. Thanks, folks. I'll just forget about open mike and learn to use my finger. (No! Not that finger. Heh, heh.) I'll try to stay closer to team mates, and I'll see if I can be a little smarter about running near the end.

I'll quit moaning about my skills, too. I know I'm not making a total ass of myself, and I'm really not looking for sympathy; it's just that I feel I could do a lot better. I'll just relax and enjoy it, because it really is a lot of fun, and I'm sure I'll slowly improve over time. Hope to see you guys in a few minutes. Edward.

[mandrake]

For the voice communictaion, if you can, assign a mouse button.
I assigned one of the thumb buttons on my mouse (Logitech G5) and that means I can keep running and shooting and talk at the same time. I just can't reload, cuz that's my other thumb button.

[OldsterHolster]

I still just use a three button mouse, and I use right-click for move forward. When I tried using middle mouse button to talk, I usually ended up either rolling the wheel and changing weapons or hitting the fire button, too. L shift works about as well as anything for me, since my little finger is already resting there, and there is no "sprint" or other default use for it.

I'm afraid I didn't enjoy the 'versus' mode we played, last night. It's going to take me some time to just learn the maps, and I'm still trying to learn the strategies and tactics for the team effort against the Zombies, so switching back and forth is really confusing to me. I don't know where I'm going or what to do when I get there, and just finding a place to respawn is a problem. I also don't understand the different strengths of the infected and how to use them, properly.

I know most of you folks have played the regular campaigns so many times that you want something a little different, and I understand it's a way for more players to participate, but I think I'll pass on the versus games until I learn more and get comfortable with the basic game. I think I probably need to at least go through all the maps on single player, also, so I can at least know how to get around and where to go.

The regular campaigns are a nice mix of crazy, frenzied, action, and slow spots to recover and rest, but the versus games seem like a constant push, and I don't have any time to think about the last few seconds before I have to move forward into even more confusion. I don't like dying so much, either.

Confusion can be a good thing, and it's always a factor when learning something new, but versus might be a little too much of a good thing for me at this point. Heh, heh. Edward.

[Rob]

Edward, do you have a button set up to shove zombies back? It is normally keyed to the right mouse button and is an invaluable tool in the game.

Last night, the wife and I played some Borderlands together, and we will probably play again tonight so I don't believe I will be on.

[JohannasGarden]

Hey, everyone. Lou, we got to play with your son last night, which was pretty cool. We also experienced some pretty unbalanced games, although the middle scavenge one was all right. Mitch isn't around over the weekend, so let's do campaigns for those who are interested. I both really want to learn how to play as infected but also like the more relaxing fun of running a campaign with friends. One night I may do some of the things I've been putting off for far too long instead of playing L4D2, though.

The chances of me actually following through on that last sentence are pretty slim, though. :joker:

[OldsterHolster]

Edward, do you have a button set up to shove zombies back?

Yes, Rob. I just trade the right mouse button for W in most games, and use that for alt-fire, melee, or, in this case, pushing the Zombies back. It works well, and I have been using it in LFD-2. Edward.

[JohannasGarden]

yeah, mouse-wheel would never work, unless you disabled it as the changer for the 4 slots and only used hotkeys and Q. Assuming you don't normally make much use of your left thumb, I'd go with a key you can easily hit with that.

Interesting, though, if W is those things, what do you use for W/move forward? I also found changing my crouch key to shift instead of ctrl really helpful.

[Rob]

Sorry Edward, I wasn't trying to imply you were not playing properly.

[OldsterHolster]

No, Rob, I didn't think you were implying that, at all. Jo, I was using the mouse wheel as a button, mouse 3, for the mike. When I pushed it, though, I sometimes rolled it by mistake and changed weapons. L shift works fine for the mike, since my little finger rests there, anyway, and it's not used for anything else. I always use "C" for crouch.

I've always mapped "move forward" to mouse right click, Jo. That way, I don't ever have to move my left middle finger for the four basic movement controls. I remember Oblivion wouldn't let me map it that way, so I played all the way through that thing, over a hundred hours, using "W" for move forward, and I hated it. For me, anyway, right mouse click for move forward is definitely better. I later found a program to map "W" to right mouse button for any future games that may not offer that particular mapping option.

The left hand controls almost everything, of course, and I always found it awkward to hold the "W" key to keep moving forward and still try to hit other keys, like reload, crouch, use, sprint, etc., and with mouse right click for move forward, it's a lot easier. It's just personal preference, of course, but there is no doubt in my mind that it works better for me. Edward.

[tonofclay]

Ed - there is a new mutation called "Last Man on Earth" or something, this week. (a mutation is just a game mode that changes every week maybe, not entirely sure how often it changes) You play by yourself, no bots on your team. There are also no regular zombies, just the special ones hunting you down. Thought it might be a good way to learn the levels and get a feel for how to deal with the special zombies. While writing this I realized it might get kind of frustrating though if you get pounced on by a hunter or caught by a smoker or charger or something. Like I said though might be a good way to learn how to handle them.

Just a thought.

EDIT: Just tried it out, its really hard! Haha, a jockey got on me almost immediately after starting and incapacitated me, then another one got on me later and walked me out of a window, ending my game after roughly 3 minutes. I'm horrible at avoiding the jockey. Apparently the tank still comes around as well. On second thought this might not be the best way to learn the levels :P

[JohannasGarden]

Yes, I've been meaning to try this one. I tried it when I was playing on a computer with a truly inadequate graphics card. It is really hard, but Edward, it may actually play to some of your strengths (I see shooting distant SI as a strength of yours--right-click punching hunters or jockeys before they land on you would be a good skill to practice on here). I always like to try the current mutation since they are only around for 1 week.

[Mitch]

Alright I tried out the Parish in mutation and didn't even get hit once. Then I made it to the bridge and died from the tank. It's not overly difficult if you listen really closely to where the infected are coming from, but I really didn't find it all that enjoyable. It's kind of funny though because playing as Ellis, he made crow sounds when it got too quiet.

[JohannasGarden]

Yes, but this mutation *really* plays to your strengths, so that doesn't surprise me a bit. But I hope I can keep it quiet long enough to hear those crow sounds if I play Ellis.

[Mitch]

Well thank you :):

But I have to add that it also kind of played on my weakness too.. and that's video game water! Going down in that tunnel in the water scared the crap out of me, even though there wasn't anything down there (thank god).

Anyway, I won't be able to play tonight because the girlfriend will be over (but maybe I'll sneak a round in :p:), or tomorrow because I'm going to her place, but I'll be around for sure on wednesday.

I've been playing A LOT of versus though, and I think we should start thinking about trying out some modded campaigns so we don't get sick of it.

[mandrake]

Yeah, I tried the mutation last night, briefly. Jockey got me early on, but I was taking it really slow not realizing that there were only SI and no regular infected. I might try it again tonight and just move a little faster.

[tonofclay]

In a group Jo invited me to people have talked up this custom map so far, I'm downloading it now.

Detour Ahead
http://www.mediafire.com/?yigj1zznzgy

[JohannasGarden]

I think I have a much higher tolerance for repetition than you do, Rob ;D I still don't really *know* the campaigns well enough, and I have like 270 hours in L4D2.

But, user made mods is the kind of thing I love supporting, and doing 2evileyes together was quite fun. A forum user started a group for promoting custom maps, and I sent most of you invites to it. Basically, you check the group page to see what campaigns they will be hosting on their server, download what you need, and then look for a game. They may be doing more Versus than campaign. I also would like to play 2evileyes again sometime.

I don't have the guts to brave public versus games alone. I can sort of handle scavenge though. I don't mind losing or being insulted by the other team, and I don't mind my bad moves being laughed at by people I know, but being yelled at or kicked angrily by strangers that I'm teamed with upsets me enough that I don't usually like doing it. Perhaps after I've spent some time on Hunter training, though things like curving jumps will be exactly the sort of thing I'm worst at.

[Rob]

I think I have a much higher tolerance for repetition than you do, Rob ;D Repetition is actually one of my bigger downfalls in life. I am the person that if I do it once, I have a hard time doing it again. The nice thing about L4D and other online games is that for the most part, despite similar level design, each play through can be different.

The only time I have really not enjoyed myself playing L4D is when we teamed up with Twinky or whatever his name was. Having to go through that same section over and over was driving me nuts.

I know this is way off topic for a L4D thread, but recently my mom gave me all of my school records from elementary school, report cards, drawings, awards, etc. It seemed on every report card I would get high praise as a student, with the exception for patience. Once I completed something, that was it, move on, next thing. Guess I never grew out of that little problem. :lol:

[OldsterHolster]

I find I really like playing co-op with you folks I know, and I'm sure it would be a long time before I got bored with the standard maps, so I think I'll just keep it simple, for now. As you might have guessed from my JC-2 experience, I like to stick with fun things as they are until the fun starts to subside. Mods and different modes, and Jo's description of crap from strangers, all fall into the category of "fixin' things that ain't broke" for me at this point.

So, I'm almost always up for a standard game when any of you feel like it, but I'm going to be cautious about expanding the experience too soon. I would like to know what a curving jump is, though? Edward.

[JohannasGarden]

Well, I couldn't get through a single chapter of Last Man on Earth! I'm definitely lacking in keeping SI off of me skills.

I'm leaving town on Thursday and will be away from my good computer for about a week (you don't want to play L4d2 with me on my laptop, trust me ;D). Today, I definitely want to find the forum members who are online to run a normal campaign. I think most people liked The Parish, right? Maybe we could do that one again. This week I've been having some challenges with migraines and my son, so it's also uncertain when or if I'll make it online, but I'll probably be there by 9 p.m. Let me know if you will want to join but might be on later than that. Then message me when you get on if the game is full. If another friend joins, I'll tell them they have to leave when you arrive. Otherwise, I will try and fill the spot with someone who will get along with the group and also add to the skill mix.

Wednesday, I'm going to try Versus with the Community4Fame group--they organize matches where they group people by experience level and have mentors to advise them on ways to organize and improve.

Edward, I don't mean to scare you away from public games. Especially in campaign mode, the majority of people are nice and it's not a big deal to just leave if they aren't. Versus and scavenge are competitive modes, though, and you'll meet nice people if you communicate well, but many people get very frustrated if they are losing by a long shot and you don't make the good move a more competent player would have made.

Anyway, I look forward to playing tonight!

[tonofclay]

I should be around tonight, possibly around 10 or so, but it could also be a bit later. I'll shoot you a message when I'm on.

[JohannasGarden]

I'll be on more like 9:30 or 10 p.m.

[Mitch]

I'll be on tonight after 6 ish. At 9 though, I'm going to join Jo in the Community 4 Fame games. Jo, if you need any help setting up Mumble just send me a message. I've used Ventrilo a lot and I'm sure it's pretty similar. If they really are similar, the hardest part will be setting up your mic to open only when you talk.

When is this meeting time supposed to be? 8 oclock?

[tonofclay]

My steam cut out last night after I got in a game or two with Mitch...I wanted to continue playing but I couldn't see my friends list or anything. I'll be around tonight for some games.

[Mitch]

The same thing has been happening to everyone, it's an issue with Steam, not with your computer. I might be around tonight but I have some packing to do because I'm moving on Saturday.

[JohannasGarden]

For the next week I will be on my laptop that really isn't adequate or L4D2 or most other games. I would fall behind because of my inability to move and get swamped by zombies. I wish I could find a server where I could spectate one of your games.

Community 4 Fame was more intense than I thought it would be, and I'm an emotional wimp, so I ended up leaving in tears part way through. I'm completely relaxed about losing, being insulted by the other team, etc. but having people on my team get annoyed at me I can only deal with a few times before I start to get upset. Finishing The Passing cheered me up, though, especially since it was Mitch's first time finishing, I think.

[mandrake]

Decided to play some original L4D tonight.
Man, did I miss my good Sniper Rifle.

[OldsterHolster]

Community 4 Fame was more intense than I thought it would be, and I'm an emotional wimp, so I ended up leaving in tears part way through.

That's too bad. Who is Zombieslayer? Is he a forum member? One night, he invited me to play, and I did. I didn't know the other players, and he explained that I was new and he wanted to show me the game, but they were playing "survival" mode, or something like that, and I had never seen the map and was totally lost. One of the other players said, "The old guy sucks," and that was all it took for me to leave the game.

I'm not an emotional wimp, (or maybe I am) but I just don't need to waste time in an unfriendly atmosphere, you know? I've always tried to be helpful and tolerant when around anyone who knew less than I did about anything in life, and I play all these games to have fun, not to feel bad. It's one of the reasons I've stayed away from online games with other real people. It only takes one to spoil the whole experience.

Jo, you have been absolutely wonderful. Your comments, directions, tips, and just generally helpful input has helped make my experiences with LFD-2 positive and fun. It's too bad everyone isn't as friendly and helpful as you are, and I just want you to know how much I appreciate it. "Don't let the bastards wear you down," and I'll look forward to playing more anytime you want to include me, whether I suck, or not. You are a good person. Edward.

[Mitch]

Yeah, even though I only had a chance to spectate the Community 4 Fame game you were playing, I didn't like the way they were treating you. Everyone has their own way of playing, and I don't like that they try to shove their method down your throat and get frustrated with you if you don't do what they would.

Anyway, don't let those immature people get you down. I don't know what it is, but it seems like these types of games have an entirely different type of people playing them. Playing Bad Company 2 or World at War I've found that everyone is very mature on the Pc, then you go to the console version and everyone is a**holes. L4D2 just seems different somehow, and I find that you really get the annoying ones when you play it. Some people will team kill randomly, play music over their microphone, etc, but just think about how few friends they must be making in doing so.

Anyway, my rant is over and I'm just going to let everyone know that I'll be moved in tomorrow, internet will be set up Sunday, and after that I'll be able to play. Talk to you guys in a couple of days :):

[Rob]

I wouldn't mind playing a game of Survivor with you guys sometime, you might like it Edward, well, when you have good teammates anyway. Good as in not ********. Survivor is a small section of a map, and it is the four of you vs. an unlimited amount of zombies and infected, with the whole idea just seeing how long you last. It is intense and fun.

Maybe this will be a good weekend for a break. Jo and Mitch are gone, and quite frankly I need some time to brush up on my Spanish before class on Monday.

[mandrake]

Yeah, I'm taking my family camping for the weekend, so I agree with break time.
Edward - we might have to start a Just Cause 2 thread for me to gain some pointers from you!

[JohannasGarden]

Thanks for the kind words, Edward and Mitch. And I don't mean to trash the
Community 4 Fame group at all, I think they are good people trying to do a service, but by "beginner" they mean "beginning to train to be on a competitive team", so they expect people to know every map really well, have lots of versus experience, have played on confogl servers with other competitive people. The frustrating thing was that I explained the level I was at numerous times and asked whether I should really still come and they kept telling me "yes". I also may be having some of that hearing loss people get as they get older where you only lose it in a specific range. When people get distracted, they often speak a bit less clearly and it all gets muddy for me. Also, it was a lot of "Jo! Get up here with us now!" and I'd be like "oh, here is over there, um, where's the ladder to get there? um" "Oh, nevermind, Jo, it's too late now. Wait and spawn at the intersection" "um? Intersection?"--I immediately think of 5 possible intersections. "Didn't you turn your mic up and your sounds down?" "yeah, and I understand your words but don't know what you mean."

But, I'm going to try to set up some matches when I get back from vacation. Probably more Scavenge, or Survival Versus if that comes back as a mutation, because the games are shorter, and that could help in finding good teaching players willing to help out newcomers. Also, there are some places that the frequent Scavenge players like but don't usually get to play public games in. I think I need to make sure I have 4 people willing to play on the no-mic and no-mic tolerant squad, which draws from a pool of good players, and hopefully 2 people who are a bit better than Vince and Jules with 2 of us mic-using, newer to Versus folks :D It's actually quite challenging to figure out good team set ups with who I have available and what they like to play.

zombieslayer is probably my friend who changes his name a lot and I think came with us and Rob once--he's never been impolite with me, but at times plays in ways that make us all die :P, and his friends are more of a mix in terms of politeness--it's mostly young teens in his bunch, I believe. He tends to like to explore/exploit glitches a lot when he plays Survival, so I find it interesting for awhile, but not for long.

Oh, Wyse really enjoyed playing with some very nice, mature people when he went with us. He, bunny, and Macatack, are good people to invite along if you don't have 4 people, I think...also Synchronicity.

I may try some custom maps or some hunter training during the coming week. Well, I have rambled on enough.

[mandrake]

Hooray for the Return of InstaGib.
Easy way to get the Til It Goes Click achievement.
Also managed a 1:30 Bridge run on Parish Advanced. Pretty Fun.

[mandrake]

Anyone up for a game?
I've got a lobby started.

[JohannasGarden]

Hi! I wasn't actually at the computer when you sent me an invite. I'm still away from my good computer. I will probably either be back on Thursday or Friday, assuming I'm not too tired from driving all day to play games (which is highly unlikely :)).

Sherri/Jo

[Lou Cypher]

What Maps does everyone have?


Lou :globe:

[mandrake]

The only extra one I've added so far is Detour Ahead, and I've only played bits of it.

[JohannasGarden]

I'll probably be on tonight, if I don't fall asleep early. Anyone want to try Detour Ahead soon? I'd be up for that or for whatever Edward wants to do, because it seems like I haven't played with him or Rob in quite some time. My friend Wyse also wants to try it, and I think he fits in well with our group.

Anyways--when I'm on, I'll look for you guys :)

[tonofclay]

I'll probably be on. I have Detour Ahead ready to go, I haven't tried it yet other than to see that I got it loaded properly.

[Rob]

I will download Detour Ahead

[Rob]

Sorry I had to bail last night, but it was getting late and I could not afford another attempt.

Despite the difficulty though, or maybe because of the difficulty, I really enjoyed the map. It was quite intense the entire way through. I don't know if I was lacking last night, or it was just the difficulty, but I have never seen others, or been puked on myself, so many times in one campaign. The lack of supplies also made it more difficult. I really do think there should be a few more health kits, but the lack of ammo and weapons was fun, you really had to conserve and strategize when to use it.

Edward, downloaded my file at http://www.l4dmaps.com/mirrors.php?file=4094 using their second listed server. That server is free and you do not need to register with the site. Once downloaded, when you open it up the icon should like like the Steam icon. Double click and it should install. I did not even pull it out of the .zip folder. I do use WinRar instead of a zip file, so that may make a difference as to if it can launch from inside the folder, but give it a shot. The file should be detourahead_6.vpk. I have no idea if this made any difference, but once I downloaded the LFD2 addon tools, I rebooted Steam, might want to give that a shot.

[mandrake]

Yeah, that is a fun map. I think we all bailed shortly thereafter.
I ended up switching to Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY and playing 'til 3:00AM (only meant to play 'til around 12:30)!
....Slow...Start....This Morning........

[Rob]

Maybe we should try again on easy. Too few medkits and quality guns makes it much more difficult than standard campaign maps on normal. The game is too long (average of 1h 40m with no deaths) to keep replaying. Either that, or we could just skip to the last safehouse we were in. That way we would all be at full health with extra medkits before going into the sewer, which would be a big help.

Did you have problems with Batman last night? I kept getting popups that you were now playing Batman.

[Mitch]

There are a few that I'm going to try, like City 17 from Half Life 2, and Resident Evil from.. Resident Evil. And now that I've moved in and have a new internet connection it won't take me 100 years to download!

Edit: Oh, and We Don't Go to Ravenholm! I don't know if many of you are fans of the Half Life series but I'm pretty excited to play those maps.

Edit again: I'm going on a download spree and getting No Mercy 2 as well.

[tonofclay]

Ugh missed out on last nights game, fell asleep after a long weekend celebrating labor to the excess. I will once again say I'll be around tonight and hopefully I will not fall asleep.

[JohannasGarden]

I also want to play I hate Mountains, although I've heard it's not actually as fun as many others. I wouldn't mind 2 Evil Eyes again, either.

Edward, I often find that the best way to download everything is to try and load it, by clicking extras > add-ons within the game.

Anyway, I would enjoy this one again. Although, you might survive better with more of the better players in the group or with Wyse (who always likes people he plays with in this group), lol. Mitch would be particularly helpful for those witches ;D

I haven't played half-life (yet) but I have heard that City 17 is one of the best. I haven't dl'd it yet, though. I also wouldn't mind a more relaxing normal campaign.

[mandrake]

Rob - I was having control issues with Batman:AA the other night. No crouch makes it hard to play, and my 360 controller wouldn't connect. Anyway, I've found an acceptable Keyboard/Mouse setup now, so it's good.

As for last night's Detour Ahead campaign, it was quite fun. :):

[Rob]

Yes it was. I hope nobody minded me setting the difficulty down to easy, and we still had quite a few problems. I think what made it easier is we knew the map better. I was able to use an adrenalin shot and run to turn off the alarm in the first stage. We didn't know where it was the first time through and took heavy damage before figuring it out.

The train was a lot of fun. I think we had three jockeys pounce on us, which was quite intense, but fortunately no one was run off the bridge. Last level was Hard Rain without the rain, which I quite appreciated. Sadly, MassInsomnia didn't make it by just a few feet.

I am not sure if I will be on tonight or not. I am falling behind in Spanish, and that has very little to do with L4D2, but I might try getting some extra studying in. Then again, I might just say screw it and play anyway.

[JohannasGarden]

I'm downloading a beta campaign that the developer posted about called "Haunted Forest"

http://www.l4dmaps.com/file-download.php?file=6923&entry=14276

I hope that link is good. I haven't run a campaign with Edward in weeks, though, so Edward, if I get on early enough and the add-ons aren't working for you or aren't what you want to do, let's do a campaign you'd like.

Another goal of mine is to do the melee weapon achievement--I think Wyse volunteered to help me, maybe another friend did as well.

And Rob, I could speak Spanish to you all the time (oh, maybe we can change the game language, too?) so it would feel like you were studying :P Except that I just throw in English when I don't know the Spanish, so unless I pick up the L4D terms, weapons, etc. soon, I'll be throwing out English terms or making stuff up ("Roberto, tome tu, uh, equipo de sana, por favor") left and right, lol. What sorts of things are you behind on, though?

[tonofclay]

I'm grabbing that Haunted Forest one now, should be on later tonight.

[Rob]

What sorts of things are you behind on, though? Everything past yo quiro Taco Bell. :p:

I am not going to be on tonight. Not sure how much work I am going to do, but I just going to take a day off.

[JohannasGarden]

Everything past yo quiro Taco Bell. :p:

I am not going to be on tonight. Not sure how much work I am going to do, but I just going to take a day off.

"quiero" first person singular of the verb "querer" :p:

But seriously, if something confuses you or you want tips on memorizing stuff, feel free to send me a message and I'll look it up somewhere and act like I just know it off the top of my head :wink:

[mandrake]

Somewhat related to L4D2.

Do.Want. (http://store.valvesoftware.com/product.php?i=D0200)

OK, not really, but it's a freaking cool shirt.

[Mitch]

That's awesome, and it'd be interesting to see how many people get the point of it. I wonder if you could wear it on a regular day and talk about Aperture to a stranger as if you work there :p:

[mandrake]

I would have to brag on the cake.

[Lou Cypher]

Played a little Haunted Forest tonight, nice map.


Lou :globe:

[tonofclay]

I only played through the first level of Haunted Forest, seemd pretty cool, I thought the ghosts were kinda lame though

[Mitch]

Here's something I thought was cool. Remember on Dead Center when the gun shop owner plows up the barrier so you can get through? Well when I died in versus I decided to turn on free look, so I could cruise around the map, and I was curious to see if there actually was a guy "barricaded on the roof". It's weird, because he's not there until the moment he is blowing up the barrier, and he is gone again shortly after. I guess it was just a lucky coincidence that I checked it out at that time. It's not a finished model or anything, but does anyone know why they needed to include that in there?

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/3786/weirdl4d2thing.jpg

[mandrake]

Just played through Haunted Forest. Fun map. Boomer Bile is REALLY helpful at the end.

[Mitch]

So where has everyone been lately, anyway?

[tonofclay]

Was playing Mafia II for awhile but I beat that the other day. Started on some Civ 5 and now Dead Rising. I usually forget to log onto Steam cuz L4D is the only game I have that needs it, if you leave a post on here about gettin a game goin I'll probably be up for it, my temporary job has come to an end so I'm around most nights hehe.

[Rob]

I have been struggling in school this semester and have needed to spend my nights studying and writing papers rather than playing games. I have also started playing Civ 5, but with a recent crash and loss of a few hours of game play, I am back to just studying.

Maybe we can get a game going this weekend? I would like to play a few campaigns and get my mind off of things.

[OldsterHolster]

I've been spending most of my evenings working on my kitchen project, since it's a lot cooler at night, but I wouldn't mind a little L4D-2 this weekend, also. I'll start logging on to Steam to see if anybody is playing over the weekend. Edward.

[JohannasGarden]

I will try to be around for some weekend games as well. I redownloaded L4D yesterday and will probably play that for a few days--I've never played through the whole thing. I bought an Orange Box set after I already had L4D2, so I made another account to buy the other Orange Box games on. So if you get an add request from Johanna's Garden/johannas_garden that's me, too. And that's the account I need to be on for L4D.

After I play through L4D I really want to play I Hate Mountains. But I will definitely be up for an L4D2 campaign this weekend. I would really like to get Edward all the way to the end of the Bridge if he hasn't done so already :) It seems like a pretty long download for a custom campaign--though I have other things downloading at the moment, too.

Oh, and I don't seem to have the ping spikes when I have a wired connection, and I'm bringing my computer upstairs at night.

[mandrake]

I'm usually around, and Jo, shoot me an invite. I played some L4D last night and remembered how much fun it is.

[tonofclay]

I think there is some new DLC due to come out soon? That should be refreshing.

[mandrake]

Yeah, The Sacrifice comes out next Tuesday.

[JohannasGarden]

I also plan to play I Hate Mountains a time or two this weekend, but I have a friend or three I've already discussed playing it with.

It's not the same account that I play L4D on, but you'll see something like the same name. It's harder to send invites unless you either add me back on that account.

[tonofclay]

Anybody gonna be on tonight? I'll probably be around later in the evening (11 est maybe)

[Mitch]

It's nice to have updates from everyone, although generally i dont have time to play on weekends. Weeknights around 9 are usually the best time for me to play. Did anyone play last night?

[mandrake]

I played some Expert Realism on Swamp Fever with a few people. Then caught up with Jo for some I Hate Mountains on original L4D. Bad results all around. :(:

[tonofclay]

I had some other obligations Friday night so I couldn't play. Just spent a night out camping last night so I'm definitely just going to be unwinding tonight playin games...I'll log into steam to see if anyones around tonight.

[tonofclay]

Does the DLC automatically download or do I have to go somewhere special to get it? I saw my L4D2 updating last night but I don't know if it was the new thing or not.

[Mitch]

For me it downloaded automatically. Actually, I didn't even know it had until I opened Steam and the update popup window said "your game has been updated with new DLC".

[Rob]

Mine downloaded, but I was only getting 8k a second so it downloaded while I was in bed and I haven't played it yet. I assume their servers were getting hammered. I read The Sacrifice comic in the meantime since the final chapter came out. I thought it was a pretty good comic.

[tonofclay]

Ugh knew I would forget about that comic, reading the rest now, the first one was pretty cool.

[tonofclay]

Has anybody played through the new DLC? I only got a chance to run through the first part of it, seemed pretty cool though.

[Mitch]

Yup, today I played through the Sacrifice, and I played No Mercy last week. Both were pretty good, it's refreshing to have some new maps out. Jo and I were planning on playing tonight, is anyone else going to be around? I'm planning on going to bed a little earlier than usual tonight, but I'll be up for a game if it's in the next few hours.

[mandrake]

Yeah, it's pretty good. Short, but good.
If you haven't read it yet, go to http://www.l4d.com/comic and read at least the first three parts before you play it.

[tonofclay]

I read the comic the other day so I'm good to go, just have to find a night to play through with some forum members, I always get booted from public games for some reason :P

[Mitch]

So I was playing the two new maps and noticed that if you fly below the city when you're spectating, there's a mini city that isn't fully textured. I'll post a couple screens later, but does anyone know why they would have that in the map?

[Rob]

I played through The Sacrifice with Edward and Jo a few days ago and I enjoyed the level, much better than The Passing. Wouldn't mind playing Sacrifice again sometime. The comic was great.

[JohannasGarden]

I'm usually up for more campaigns with any of you :) I also had a very fun time playing Versus with Mitch last night. I believe you were in some of the same games on the other team, clay. Mandrake joined later, too. I am trying to overcome my fear of being hated by my team mates on Versus.

Oh, and I do recommend that anyone who likes Versus at all play Taaaaank! at least once. It's totally different, rather funny, and you usually do better running as fast as you can and leaving team mates behind when they fall. I've been in a few of those games and almost always find people laughing and not getting overly upset about things. It certainly wouldn't hold long-term interest for me, but I do like it. I also got inordinate pleasure at randomly ending up on a team where three of us were women, and the only guy was Zoey.

[tonofclay]

Was fun playing through Dark Carnival last night, I don't think I've ever played on advanced before. I wish it wouldn't announce it every time theres a friendly fire incident, I hate seeing my name up there for that all the time! :P

[Mitch]

Clay, you have nothing to worry about. I'm sure Jo and Rob can tell you of the billion times I've had two or three times the number of friendly fire incidents as everyone else.

I'm not sure if I'll be playing that game much for a while, I just bought Medal of Honor last night and it's getting pretty addicting. I stayed up till 6 am playing!

[JohannasGarden]

As much as we love teasing the high friendly fire people :) the truth is that a higher friendly fire stat combined with a higher CI and SI killed stat is to be expected. We just focus on friendly fire stats to make me feel better about how little zombie killing I do when I go out killing zombies. :joker:

That said, it will make more of a difference as the difficulty or weapon damage increases. Like the mutation where everyone had the big guns so most people tried to do some expert campaigns. We'd be saying "NOOOOO! Don't pick up those frag rounds!" in that situation ;D

Also: Customs I want to do in the near future--Hunter Training, Night Terror and I Hate Mountains (L4D, not 2) Haunted Forest (again) and the Alamo Drafthouse survival map by zapwizard. I'm also sort of interested in Silent Hill, but I don't know the PS2 game at all, and I've read that it might confuse those who don't. I'll also get the Half-Life based ones when I get a chance.

[shizakapayou]

I've been playing LFD2 on the 360 with my brother. I'd forgotten how fun it was - I played plenty of the first on PC with folks here, but haven't played 2 at all on PC. Only got it on 360 because he just got a 360 and had it.

Also, I managed to friendly fire him with a chainsaw repeatedly last night ;) We've been playing on easy (I'm still not great with FPS on controllers) so I'm a bit carefree with the trigger.

[mandrake]

Shiz - Now's a good time to pickup LFD2 on Steam since it's on sale ($20 USD).
As for playing, playing with you guys is a blast, although I have to admit I much prefer campaign to vs., but that's just because I massively suck at vs.

[shizakapayou]

I've actually got it on Steam - got it during the last $7 sale. That was about the time I pretty much quit using the desktop in favor of staying downstairs more, so I haven't played more than a level or two on there.

[JohannasGarden]

Shiz - Now's a good time to pickup LFD2 on Steam since it's on sale ($20 USD).
As for playing, playing with you guys is a blast, although I have to admit I much prefer campaign to vs., but that's just because I massively suck at vs.

Me tooooo! Although I'm getting more into Versus as long as the people are nice or I can have some friends on my team. For me, the game has very much been about playing with people I like and making friends.

[JohannasGarden]

Hey, everyone! A campaign many of us have played, Haunted Forest, is the current custom campaign featured by Valve, so more people are playing it. I would love to run it in campaign again with friends, and I'd also really like trying Versus in it. There's a new beta, so if you downloaded it weeks or more ago, you should redownload it so we all have the same version.

A really new custom that is quite popular is One 4 Nine--really seems interesting so far and HARD, lol. I'd also like to play that with friends.

City 17 and Crash Bandicoot Electric Wumpaloo (one of the weirdest customs I've seen, and sooo many ways to die, lol). And Edward, we haven't run a campaign together in ages. I'll try and look you up soon if you're interested.

[OldsterHolster]

Yeah, that might be fun. I haven't been doing any gaming, lately, because of health issues, but I think I'm back in the mood. I haven't played any except when you invite me, so I'm sure as hell no better, but I'm up for it. If I need to download something before hand, let me know. Edward.

[tonofclay]

I haven't played any L4D in ages...I'd be up for a game on any map soon, wont be around tomorrow or saturday though 'cuz I'm going camping.

BTW, Ed - Last time I logged in I noticed a message from Jo (a pretty old message hehe) that you weren't in the Gamers.org steam group thing so I sent you an invite, did you get that? Theres a good number of the forum in the group in case you didn't have their names on your list and wanted to check out what they were playing :)

By the way again to Jo - I think when I made the group I made it so any member could invite people to the group, I'll double check to make sure this is the case though. If you ever want some friendly people to the group please feel free!

[JohannasGarden]

I did not know that, tonofclay--I thought it was only for people on gamers.org

Wyse at one point even asked me about joining since he seemed to particularly like my friends from this group, but he didn't think he had time for the forums. I think you invited him to the Steam group before we finished the conversation. There are a few users who are on lots of our friends' lists, I think--Mechanical Cake, Macatack, Bunny (I have a number of friends, including Mandrake, I'm sure, who survived their first Parish Bridge crossings with Bunny taking point).

Mitch and I met Alpha Striker one night in Scavenge, and he's great for newer Scavenge/Versus players--well, he's great for me, anyway. He's a good player and gives you lots of suggestions on what to do but is *completely* laid back and unphased when you try, but don't spawn in time, or have a perfect opportunity for a death charge but miss the survivor.

Anyway--maps :)

Haunted Forest--redownload if you haven't recently, there's an updated beta
http://www.l4dmaps.com/details.php?file=6923

One 4 Nine

http://www.l4dmaps.com/details.php?file=7387

The beginning, at least, was much harder than most beginnings--although you start in a low grav environment, which is also really funny.

And you get a lot less health stuff early on and need to conserve it.