Boycott Left 4 Dead 2!

[80's Bad Guy]

Ok, I'm not seriously advocating the boycott of this just announced game. I just think it's funny...make that hilarious that gamers have already started a boycott group on the steam community that has almost 4,000 people right now.

http://steamcommunity.com/groups/L4D2boycott

Or do they have a point?

• Significant content for L4D1 was promised, and never delivered
  
• Valve put little faith in L4D1 since they almost certainly started working on L4D2 right after release
  
• The fact that L4D2 is nearly identical to L4D1 will decimate the community for both games
  
• The announced date is not nearly enough time to polish content or make significant gameplay changes
  
• The new character designs seem bland and unappealing so far
  
• L4D2 is too bright to fit in with L4D1's visual aesthetic
  
• The fiddle-based horde music is extremely disliked, though the differently orchestrated music is otherwise welcome
  
• L4D2's release will result in a drop in quality and frequency for L4D1 content, even compared to before
  
• The community has lost faith in Valve's former reputation for commitment to their games post-release
  

There are a few reasonable gripes in there, but personally I think this is a direct result of Valve spoiling their customers for years and then, for once, acting like a normal publisher and choosing to iterate on their content in a normal way rather than give everyone everything they want for free.

Still funny though.

[Thyroid]

Let's also boycott public transit. Fucking disease-ridden vessels of death. And why is a black man driving? Who said a black man can drive? Didn't you know that at night you can't see a black driver? How the fuck are we supposed to know if there's a fucking driver if we can't see him? And what about during the day? Black in the day is so bland.

This is going to decimate our community. Death to public transit. Death to black drivers!

Reaper - Angel of Death.... posted on June 04, 2009 @ 12:25am

they are stupid for releasing this game.... this is only for money, because they don't know wath to do.... i can tell this realy sucks....

[SignorSuperdouche]

All of those points are either baseless conjecture or nitpicking by people who decided that they hate everything about the game before they even saw it.

This is nothing but a toddler's tantrum.

[toblix]

• The new character designs seem bland and unappealing so far
  
• L4D2 is too bright to fit in with L4D1's visual aesthetic
  
• The fiddle-based horde music is extremely disliked, though the differently orchestrated music is otherwise welcome
  

So is boycotting the new bad game review? Or even preview?

[Nachimir]

What a bunch of fucking whiners.

[OssK]

I liked that it was suppose to be called left 2 die (unrelated)

[vimes]

I won't say I'll boycott the game because there's a pretty good chance I won't, but it surely makes Valve look like idiots and hyprocite.

They've spent the last year or so saying to whoever wanted to listen that they considered games to be services that you expanded to gather new audience and they were also boasting about how successful TF2 was thanks to this strategy.

By announcing L4D2 after such campaign, I think they're doing themselves a great disservice.

The most disappointing thing is that L4D2 appears to be really slim on innovations and looks more like a skin of its prequel than something providing a richer or different game experience : the character's design is dull, the weapons are more or less new skin for the old one and the aesthetic is completely broken.

Edited June 4, 2009 by vimes

[Thrik]

While I've never really played L4D beyond a couple of quick sessions, the sequel seems to look superficially identical to me. Combined with Valve's traditional dedication to updating their games for years to come, it does seem a bit strange that they're risking dividing the community like this — can literally be fatal for an online game.

I think most people would be happier if they kept things going with paid DLC. That'd be a satisfactory balance between continuing the franchise's commercial push and not screwing up the community, I think.

[miffy495]

Well, I know that I won't be playing it for quite some time, if at all. Left 4 Dead has been great fun the few times I've taken it for a spin, but I still don't feel like I've had my $50 worth from it. Once I've got that, maybe I'll think about the sequel. Maybe.

ps: James, thanks for the invite this afternoon. Unfortunately for gaming, it was a beautiful day and I happened to be out. One of these days I'll join in, I swear.

[castorp]

Mh, Valve said they still want to update L4D. And they already provided updates. And nobody knows (I guess), how they plan to price L4D2. And they said they have enough ideas for a proper sequel.

I kind of trust them, even if it seems a little odd at first. When Valve says 'Hey, we want to make a new game out of our brilliant ideas', I'm okay with that. I like them. They made great games so far, and provided the multiplayer games I bought with new contend for free. Other companies don't do that.

In conclusion I think the whiny internets are a bunch of ungrateful and spoiled bastards.

[gdf]

All of those points are either baseless conjecture or nitpicking by people who decided that they hate everything about the game before they even saw it.

Exactly, it's another case of the internet deriving everything about a game from a short - almost teaser-like - trailer. Although there are some decent points in there, I'm pretty chuffed about a new Left 4 Dead; the first one didn't thrill me as much as I'd hoped and an increased emphasis on getting up close and personal with the zombies and brighter visuals would almost certainly resonate with me in a much more meaningful way.

Also, the delicious irony.

[vimes]

Exactly, it's another case of the internet deriving everything about a game from a short - almost teaser-like - trailer.

Except you're wrong : there's a 10 minutes dev walkthrough (Part 1 and Part2) and three clips between 2 and 3 minutes of gameplay.

So, no, most people don't just rant with no info to rant with.

[gdf]

Oh dear, I do look like an awful idiot now, don't I?

[Then again, the clips only went up yesterday and the Steam group was started the day it was announced]

[DanJW]

It does seem like a very quick turnaround, and I would have liked a bit more time with the first L4D. But Doug Lambardi explains the Valve position well in this interview with RPS.

[toblix]

left 2 die

Zombies 8 My Family

[vimes]

Sorry if I came out as strong, but if there's something I hate more than backslash it is backslash's backslash.... and circular stuff like that concept, also.

[James]

Well I'm pretty excited, even if that excitement is tempered by concern for the future of the original game. I suspect two of the guys I play the game with most won't get the sequel, at least not for a while, as they were somewhat hesitant about buying it in the first place, and have PCs that are kind of borderline in terms of performance (although I doubt the minimum spec will rise much), whereas the other is quite likely to, as it seems to be the main thing he plays (he asks me to join him several times a week). I don't know about dividing the community at large, but it could certainly cause a mini-schism in my already fragile little group (we hardly ever manage a four-man game, which is unfortunate).

As for the changed aesthetic, I'm a big fan of the moody lighting (the flashlight is a pretty terrific if not-particularly-innovative inclusion; the shifting shadows it casts frequently get the better of my jumpy trigger finger (this sentence is a mess)), but the inclusion of other conditions is understandable, and as I understand it some of the game will take place at night, anyway.

One theory I've heard to justify it being a new release rather than an expansion is that one of the main improvements they've made is to the AI Director, and that this is significant enough that it would be impractical to patch it in. I don't know if there's any truth or feasibility to this, my extremely limited experience of programming having nothing to do with AI or game engines, but if it is the case, it's a satisfactory reason as far as I'm concerned.

I don't want to completely absolve Valve of blame, however, or at least suspicion. This may turn out to be a bad move, and detrimental to both games. That would disappoint me. I'd prefer to be optimistic about it, though, for now at least.

Perhaps, if the improvements are as unworthy as some are making out, they will offer the game at a reduced price, or as part of a bundle. I'm not saying that this is likely, but Valve have put out some stuff for ridiculously good value for money, so it's at least a possibility.

ps: James, thanks for the invite this afternoon. Unfortunately for gaming, it was a beautiful day and I happened to be out. One of these days I'll join in, I swear.

Oh, that's fine. That's why I generally don't bother people who are marked as "snooze", or even if they're online: I don't know if they're busy or if they're even there or what. I'll keep keeping you posted, though, if you want.

[SignorSuperdouche]

Zombies 8 My Family

Are LucasArts reviving another old franchise?

[Cigol]

Sorry if I came out as strong, but if there's something I hate more than backslash it is backslash's backslash.... and circular stuff like that concept, also.

Quoted for truth

I ain't jumping on either bandwagon. I'm flitting between the two camps, excitement and annoyance. I just wonder why they aren't being more ambitious with the gameplay features, everything they've announced sounds great - but pretty 'boring' for a sequel no?

[DanJW]

I'd be surprised if they told us everything about it a year in advance. they are probably keeping one or two big reveals back. Vehicle sections maybe, or AI civilians (there to be eaten).

It does sound as though the panic events will be more varied, so the actual level design may well be turned up a couple of notches too.

[James]

I'd be surprised if they told us everything about it a year in advance.

November is less than half of that away.

(Not to dispute your point -- they could well be holding things back, and even if they aren't, things could just develop in the interim -- I'm just saying that it's not as far off as it could have been.)

[SiN]

Here's my response to the boycott: Guys,Valve gave us five amazing games for the price of one. Cut them some fucking slack.

[vimes]

Here's my response to the boycott: Guys,Valve gave us five amazing games for the price of one.

Mmm, when was that ?

[Thrik]

Orange Box, which came with HL2 and Episode One.

[elmuerte]

One of the game was 3 years old, and all other 4 parts were not "full" games (and 1 part of that was a year old). Not saying it's not a nice deal, but it's not 5 games for the price of one.