This news disappoints me tremendously...

Valve has always touted themselves as the leaders of PC gaming and one of that includes constant free updates for its games, which ensures that the playerbase doesn't move on and it keeps growing as time goes by (As evidenced by the huge runway success of TF2)

This goes against that idea COMPLETELY.

This reeks of consolitis (As much as I hate using derogative fanboy-esque terms, this one seems apt). A sequel for a multiplayer game a year after release? Only one free update so far? With practically only one new map?

Compared to TF2, its first major update brought in a totally new gametype and unlockable system. To add insult to injury, TF2 wasn't even a full priced game compared to L4D.

One of the best things about TF2 was its free weekends with each update. It always ended up bringing in newer players afterwards which resulted in the playerbase always remaining balanced between the regular and hardcore players. Plus, ppl felt confident that their purchases would be worth it despite coming in late.

Why Valve? Why?

Even if owners of L4D can get it at a discount, technically, this is akin to paid DLC for L4D... Which is NOT what Valve stands for (The most annoying thing about paid DLC in a multiplayer game is that it fragments the playerbase)

A part of me just died today...

God, are you ppl STILL raging over this? I'm as angry as the next guy (As evidenced by my post yesterday), but c'mon...

After my initial outburst and rage, I took the time to ponder and put it all into perspective. This isn't that big of a deal.

To those of you that are raging, "It should be DLC!!!" Why? Its got way more content than ALL the TF2 updates COMBINED. I'm not going to be so arrogant as to assume that all of this could be just appended to the current game engine (The new Director sounds spiffy)

To those of you raging, "I thought it would be like TF2!", Ok fair enough... Valve has spoiled us with the TF2 updates, but c'mon... its the exception rather than the rule. Its not like they DIDN'T provide any updates (However meager you believe the Survival pack is, its still a free update).

To those of you raging, "They're charging for a mod!" Why would you think this is a mod? Because it uses the same engine? Because it has only slight gameplay tweaks? Gears of Wars 2 says "Hello!". Yes, it does appear that Valve are being all money minded, but its not like they're the ONLY ones doing so.

To those of you raging, "But Valve lied to me!". Its not the first time... Remember Half-Life 2...

To those of you raging, "Meh, but L4D wasn't that fun". Way to justify your dismay by ragging on their game. Real classy there. If it really wasn't that fun, this frankly shouldn't be an issue at to you.

Ppl seemed to have suddenly forgotten that Valve make great games (Those of you that say L4D sucks, please go away, because you're obviously not the target audience) but often take forever to release them. At first, I was also all like "OMGWTFBBQ iz dis SHIT?!?!?!?!", but then I realized that "Hey, L4D was FUN and this new content sounds like FUN as well... and I won't have to wait another umpteen years for it"

I know I sound like a complete Valve apologist here, but now that I've thought about it, if priced right or offered properly, I probably will get this as L4D was buckets of fun and I look forward to this.

I've gotten over my entitlement complex, I hope you guys can do the same.

This post has been edited by H@H@: Jun 3 2009, 08:46 AM

So, since they have all this content ready, they should sit on it for a few years just so that they can maintain their record of "valvetime"? What kind of silly logic is that?

Again, they have all this content READY... they don't really have an obligation to stagger its release (Though it would be nice if they did).

The new Director ALONE tells me this couldn't possibly be DLC (It actually alters the map and weather... That's a pretty big jump over the current one). Please find me another example of DLC that has altered the original that much.

Also, to those of you saying "OMG, its daytime, t3h lame!", remember this is Valve we're talking about. They're probably not going to do a simple "Let's just turn the lights on" but will probably think it through (Like how they did with nightfall in the original).

Yes, Burnout Paradise is one of the shining examples of DLC done right, but c'mon... Its not much different. The weather and day/night cycles are pretty shallow changes (Rain doesn't actually affect your handling or visibility THAT much) and the bikes are very tacked on (Just solo races and nothing more).

Valve breaks promise... Sorry to disappoint you dude, but that's happened before, so no need to act all outraged anymore. At the end of the day they're a business and they need to make money. If you don't approve of this sequel, don't buy it. Trying to make a corporation feel guilty is like trying to make a bear feel guilty for mauling you.

As for DLC, its actually in line with the DLC release schedule for TF2 when it came out.


So you're assuming that since its this soon, it MUST be buggy and unfinished.

Yes, because renaming it makes it all better... So if this was called "Right 2 Live: Not L4D 2", you'd be first in line to get it?

How is this a win-win situation actually? That just means the COMMUNITY wins.

Their reasoning behind TF2's free updates is that the free weekends often result in a sales surge and the continued life of the community promotes sales over a long period of time. This does NOT mean the same will apply for other games. Who's to say L4D managed to do the same with the Survival pack patch? Maybe it was so lackluster and Valve are forced to do this? Nobody knows really. It is incredibly daft to assume that since TF2 did it and succeeded, therefore EVERYTHING else should succeed as well.

Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, and ALL the sports franchises say hello!

Choosing to ignore a yearly sequel, doesn't make it any less of a yearly sequel. The company is still doing it.

That's just semantics.
4 maps (Campaigns != maps)
Limited gameplay (Yes, because everything else is UNLIMITED)
No proper SP mode (Arguably, this is on the same level as SP games that integrate coop, because that's what its supposed to be)

I'm not trying to say you're wrong or anything, just saying its moot since what you want and what everyone else wants are different.
Demigod came with even less content than L4D and nobody's making a fuss about it. The original Battlefield games are also on the same level.

Gamers shouldn't treat Valve any different than other business entities. It would be foolish to do so. Yes, they are more often than not generous. But at the end of the day, they're still a business out to make money.

Technically, they haven't renege on that promise as L4D has gotten a free updates (Albeit its only one major one at the moment)

Just because a company says it'll provide free updates, doesn't mean they'll provide it FOREVER (Which is what everyone is assuming)

And Valve HAVE lied to us before. They promised Half-Life 2 a full year earlier than when it was released.

Rubbish. Think about what you just said. The source code (For a non-multiplayer game I might add) was leaked and required the game to be delayed for a YEAR, not months.... a year. If it were any other developer, their publisher's would probably yell "GTFO" at them for it.

The game was far from complete when they showed it at E3 2006. Hell, even the stuff they promised in that E3 never actually made it into the game (I still remember this humourous video showing how you can't block a soldier from opening a door).

Valve aren't the gods of gaming. They're not perfect. There's no point in taking everything they said as gospel.

Erm, as Deimos has said, this wasn't made by Valve... They merely outsourced the engine. So, yes misdirected hatred much here.

I think you mean racism in this context.

Yes, I know... I meant that in this case, SyncV9 was complaining that the chick is now black instead of white and hence making the game not worth caring for, followed by tehWateva's retort, which lead to.................


Ah screw it... BOOBIES!

I think they're freckles.

Women aside, I'm curious as to whether the different characters will have varying gameplay mechanics, considering the massive differences in physique for all of them compared to the first game.

Yes, that's the biggest concern (And in my opinion the only one worth listening to) with the release of L4D2.

Also, I'm guessing they'll replace the pistols with the melee weapon. You'll still have the shove of course, but no unlimited ammo backup weapon.

Wow, that's even better actually. Cue the whiners!

Well if they make the melee weapons as deadly as they are in Dead Rising (Sans the decay) it'll be a pretty good tradeoff actually.

I'm hoping they make it have an alternate attack or something. For instance if using the chainsaw, "shoving" would cause you to spin 360 for moar damage.

Also, I'm hoping the new melee weapons have FF on for good measure

I'm not really sure what the hell you just typed, but are you insinuating that Valve is ripping of Killing Floor?

Well there are electric chainsaws now apparently. Also, the game takes place in the space of an hour... Most chainsaws can last a little longer than that.

Trust us a little bit

Hmmm, I'm extremely curious as to how they're going to "keep the community" together. That's my only concern really.