Left 4 Dead 2: Why the Boycott Is a Good Thing

[nomad240]

I support buying the game.
from what one of my more hardcore Valve friends explained how you were getting more than just 5 new maps it has a more story oriented line. Don't ask me how. thats what he told me.

he also told me about how their adding 4 more boss infected, ontop of the Tank, Hunter, Smoker, and Wytch ( which will now wander and stop crying during daylight hours. ( ) but they'll create a charger, which is meant to screw people over in versus mode when they just hunker down in one spot and just kill for how ever long the enemy teams gets bored and leaves. I have been a victim of the hunker down and just massacare it's no fun.

and I understand why they were working on it almost immediatly sicne they play their games too you know so they saw how long it took peopel to hack the game like jumping off the side fo the roof and landing on the air vent in the medical one or the hunker down and screw everyone over in versus. so they foudn their problems and some of them were patch able adn they fixed it, but something required more work than a patch could offer.

the AI director changes sound awsome and I previously did not know about them and I can understand why it's comming out as a sequel.

what those boycotters don't notice is that every one else does it? what was the time gap inbetween Call of Duty Modern warfare, and Call of Duty World at war?

 

[AceDiamond]

Though if you do look up at the groups STEAM page you would see that they're a bit more knowledgeable than that and at least want something good to come out of it instead of "DON'T RELEASE L4D2" or whatever.

Except they aren't. I'm going to try to not repeat myself here but the manifesto was based on assumptions, almost all of which have been proven wrong less than a week after the announcement of the game. If they had waited a bit, gotten more info, and then acted on it, maybe i'd be more inclined to believe this wasn't a knee-jerk reaction like what invariably happens after every E3.

Now of course, it's on VALVe to follow up on their plans to make L4D1 and L4D2 custom content work with each other as much as possible, but it's not like they aren't trying at all, which is what the protesters alleged...without any actual information. Granted ok, some of them played L4D1 (I refuse to believe everyone in that group has played the game or even owns it at this point), which makes them slightly more knowledgeable than someone who's never played it yet has decided that they apparently know what's what. And yet despite this, they decided to immediately go ahead with a boycott before any facts have become apparent. As if an E3 presentation tells you everything (hint: it doesn't).

 

[Jumplion]

Except they aren't. I'm going to try to not repeat myself here but the manifesto was based on assumptions, almost all of which have been proven wrong less than a week after the announcement of the game. If they had waited a bit, gotten more info, and then acted on it, maybe i'd be more inclined to believe this wasn't a knee-jerk reaction like what invariably happens after every E3.

Their manifesto has been revisioned plenty of times;

Spoiler: L4D2 Boycott Manifesto

WE RECOGNIZE:

-Valve is a company with financial needs and cannot be expected to survive without the release of new games. sounds reasonable

-Judgment cannot be passed on the quality of Left 4 Dead 2 until its release. well, there goes your presumtion of their presumtion

-Left 4 Dead was, and is, a quality game which deserves the praise of the entire gaming community. at least they're being nice...

WE ARE COMMITTED:

-To holding Valve to its promise of free, continual updates to Left 4 Dead in order to build and sustain the community. as should everyone else expect VALVe to keep their promise

-To keeping the Left 4 Dead community together in order to improve the quality of online gaming. aww, isn't that nice?

-To supporting the model of continual updates Valve has set forth with its staple products like Team Fortress 2. this one seems a bit overzealous of them, I admit

WE BELIEVE:

-The release of Left 4 Dead 2 as a stand-alone sequel will split the communities and decrease the quality of multiplayer gaming. I suppose it depends on how you look at it

-The announced content of Left 4 Dead 2 does not warrant a stand-alone, full-priced sequel and should instead become updates (free or otherwise) for Left 4 Dead. at least they said "free or otherwise"

-Left 4 Dead has not yet received the support and content which Valve has repeatedly stated will be delivered. which it has not, as all VALVe has really said is "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, we're doing stuff" and nothing else.

-The release of Left 4 Dead 2 will make Left 4 Dead an obsolete purchase and inferior piece of software after only one year since release. this one is jumping to conclusions, I'll admit, but I can see why they think that

WE REQUEST:

-That Valve honor its commitment to release ongoing periodic content for Left 4 Dead. which VALVe should do and hopefully they will

-That Left 4 Dead 2 not be released as a stand-alone, full-priced sequel but as either a free update to Left 4 Dead or an expansion with full compatibility with basic Left 4 Dead owners. probably won't happen, and a bit extreme of them to ask, though it would be nice don'tchyathink?

-That Left 4 Dead owners be given discounts for Left 4 Dead 2, should it be released as premium content. this one I think is more than reasonable, but probably won't happen

I don't find most of their stance on this issue all that irrational and find it quite civil.

 

[toasterslayer]

this seems to big for an update. most of this stuff is for people that have friends and play multiplayer right? 10-15 new weapons, 5 more campaigns, cooler director, 3 more infected. thats like, doubling the game...

 

[AncientYoungSon]

So when are the Madden, FIFA, NFL, NHL, Tiger Woods and Pokemon boycotts happening?

 

[Smokescreen]

I've been playing L4D since it came out, and I like it a lot. It's the only game I play on XBL, and the criticisms that it was shipped incomplete are justified I think. (I should note that my experience here is console only. I realize the PC experience is different w/mod add ons and soforth)

4 maps, only 2 of which you could play vs on; this is short. The updates that I got really just made the game feel like; ok this is /the least/ I should've gotten when I bought this. Still a lot of fun, but I think that the problem is that there is a strong feeling-and I've yet to see this refuted by anything but words-that 1) the original is being abandoned and 2) the community there is going to be split.

No new maps/expansions/whatever were even hinted at for L4D, just "Yeah, we aren't going to bail on you, promise" but in the meantime a whole new game was made?

Don't get me wrong; they make games, I don't object to it, but from any reasonable standpoint Valve doesn't seem to be providing the people who went out and supported L4D with much hope that the game they like will be fully realized.

Of course, there's the question of what's fair? What should a game like this come with? 6 maps? 10? I don't know. I think if there had been 6, I'd feel like I gotten my money's worth. There might still BE those maps coming, but there's no evidence of such. Why should I believe them?

There's also the fact that buying this on console is more expensive. So I've gotten much less game than a PC user from the start.

It's my choice to buy the game, yes, but there was a lot of suggestion that L4D would be supported and expanded for awhile, so I thought; hey, it's OK to give these people my money, they're going to improve on this product!

That seems to be going away, and until I see screenshots or dates or something that definitively says: yup, we haven't abandoned this, then I'm siding with the complaints.

Now, the new game does seem like a fully realized effort. More than just DLC-although I'll confess my knowledge of what could or couldn't be DLC is limited. And I don't object to a new, cool game!

But the new cool game is going to leave the old one in the lurch. People are going to play L4D2, and not L4D, and so all these people (and they've been surprisingly well mannered, which I attribute to the style of game it is) aren't going to be around to play. Or they're going to have to 'put up' with going back to the old game to play with me-and I'm not special enough for people to go backwards for.

So I don't know how this can't be anything but a split in the community (especially with the economy being the way it is) into the haves and have nots. This is really unfortunate, to me, and I don't believe it's been handled well.

Will I get L4D2? Well, it's likely that eventually yes; depending on reviews.
Will I get it new?
No. I don't have the cash for it. Even if I'm only saving $5, that's five I didn't spend-and $50 that Valve isn't getting at all.

 

[Jackel86]

I think it's pretty ridiculous that this is what we've come to. So now, instead of complaining that sequels take too long to make, we're complaining that they're coming out too soon. Now what? Is there never supposed to be a sequel again unless it uses a new graphics engine? Every game should just have a billion updates? The next complaint will be that you have to pay for the updates. Good god. Leave Valve alone. They're one of the good guys. The fact that they release FREE updates for most, if not all, of their games sets them head and shoulders above most other companies.

Oh, and if you don't want L4D2, fine. We'll have just as much fun without you. Probably more, since we won't have to hear you ***** the whole time about how it's not a "complete game."

 

[JayDig]

I'm not a member of the Steam group, but I do partially agree.

I think people felt that in a few years they would still be playing Left 4 Dead (one) but with dozens of campaigns and additions that would keep them guessing every time they connected to a random server. Lots of people expected more expansion.

And you can't expect ValVe to quadruple the content for free, thats ridiculous. I'd pay 30 or 40 bucks for a yearly expansion pack that had a new cast, campaigns and monsters, without batting an eyelash.

But for some reason expansion packs are a dying breed, that can't stand the harsh console climates. Instead we have 'DLC' or 'micro-transactions' or something and it seems L4D2 is too big for that.

I play L4D on Steam so I hope they make some way to combine both games if you have the original. Really, they should include an updated version of the original campaigns with L4D2, that would be awesome,...but it might actually make the boycotters more angry.

 

[Kstreitenfeld]

While I am not 100% happy with the hasty release of L4D2 instead of updating the original.... I think many of you are underestimating exactly how much content they are adding.

Its not just a few new zombie types, or a few new weapons, or even a few new maps. They are changing the very way you will play the game. Melee weapons alone will add a brand new element to gameplay. Not only that but I hear they are making the zombies more realistic, as in if you shoot their legs off they will crawl at you. They are also changing the director so that he can change the level more dynamically then ever before. It won't just randomly spawn hordes at you anymore.

 

[ezeroast]

I just wish Valve would direct it's attention to the series that brought it so much fame in the first place. Give me either Half-life 2 episode 3 or Half-Life 3 before Left 4 Dead 2.

Well i was kinda hoping they would pull another orange box deal. Including Episode 3 with a l4d2 purchase. Maybe I'm dreaming but either way I'll be buying l4d2. I mean from the original i have had and am still having many hours of fun for the price of a normal game. I'm sure l4d2 will bring more of the same and more.

 

[yutt]

I really don't understand game journalists who feel that, instead of serving as a voice for consumer concerns, feel they need to function as unpaid damage control for game developers. Valve and EA can hire their own marketing teams and lawyers. How about you advocate on the behalf of gamers?

 

[Andy Chalk]

Your article is self-contradictory. You offer more reasons why the boycott is a bad thing than a good thing. You point out that the boycotters are full of hyperbole and that hurts their case. And in your closer, you point out you didn't even buy the first Left 4 Dead so you're not even in the customer base that's supposedly offended.

This is the first op-ed I've seen that criticized a game company for re-using the same engine over and over, which is a fair criticism. Back in the 1990s, companies such as Sierra and SSI would use the same code to make "new" games, which they cranked out on a regular basis. Strangely, though, back then people actually enjoyed having new games to play ... and if they didn't want to play them, they simply didn't buy them.

I'm not sure where you get the idea it's "self-contradictory," nor where I said it was a bad thing. I said it wasn't going to have any impact on the development of L4D2, that most of the support for the boycott will drift away long before the game is released and that I personally think it's kind of a silly idea. But a bad thing? Communities are being formed around people who are willing to demand more and better things from gaming. That's a good thing.

I'm even more confused about your statement regarding the re-use of game engines. The first part I can see as an honest misunderstanding (I'll cop to a little game-playing there) but this is pretty much completely random.

 

[NJ]

To be fair, the boycotters have a valid point. It's got more to justify a expansion pack, but too little to back up a 60 dollar purchase. Sure it's near impossible to dish out all the updates in say a expansion pack, but what about this...

Drop the new animations, physics, difficult-to-make-weapons, dismemberment and such and give us more maps, characters, rifles, and add simplistic melee weapons somwhere along the lines. Then, select a campaign or some of the new weapons, a new character and release it as DLC for e.g. 1200 MS points/15$.

I wouldn't mind paying 15 bucks, not even 20$ for a single pack with a little of all.

Ah who am I kiddin', I'm buying the game anyway when it comes out. I figured it's worth mentioning that it's not impossible, but that's all on Valve's part. I guess when your project passed the expansion pack size, the logic solution would be to add even more and cash in on that.

I'm still slightly afraid that it'll tear the community right in half, though.

 

[ThisNewGuy]

I was about to buy L4D, until I saw L4D2 announcement. Even I knew that fans of L4D would get pissed.

I'd be pissed too if I just spent full price on a multiplayer only game only to find out a month later that the game I just bought is basically obsolete and everyone's going to move on to its sequel.

Yeah, I'd be pretty pissed about that too.

They whole "but it's totally new" argument would've worked for a game that's more focused on single player because multiplayer only games lives and dies by its community. If the community moves on to the sequel, the original game is pretty much dead. This would be like Sony announcing Soccom 2 right after people just bought the first Soccom.

 

[AceDiamond]

While I am not 100% happy with the hasty release of L4D2 instead of updating the original.... I think many of you are underestimating exactly how much content they are adding.

Its not just a few new zombie types, or a few new weapons, or even a few new maps. They are changing the very way you will play the game. Melee weapons alone will add a brand new element to gameplay. Not only that but I hear they are making the zombies more realistic, as in if you shoot their legs off they will crawl at you. They are also changing the director so that he can change the level more dynamically then ever before. It won't just randomly spawn hordes at you anymore.

Nobody quite understands that you can't just wedge these changes in easily, it takes time and effort and really, all they had in terms of dismemberment in Source was the zombies from HL2, and they could only be cut in half, instead of what they're planning to do.

Hell I still think lack of dev-savvy knowledge is the core of this problem. One of my friends thinks they're just reskinning things because, oh gods, the auto shotgun in L4D2 looks different than the auto shotgun in L4D1.

Well they aren't. And everyone claiming this should be easy like TF2 clearly doesn't get that you can't make radical AI changes with the snap of a finger, and that it's far different to just include new weapons and levels over new weapons and levels in addition to enemy creatures, damage modeling, and AI revamp. But whatever. I do accept that some people are going to just be butthurt over this, acting like they never gave money to Valve before for a game experience building off a pre-established game with graphical updates thrown in.

Oh wait.

(and for the record, yes I did buy Blue Shift, and yes I did love it.)

I think the ultimate irony here is that I don't even know if I'm going to get the game. I might not have the money after all. But I do plan to get it at some point, even if a good portion of my friends have expressed feelings ranging from doubt to outright vitriol.

 

[Fortesque]

I was happy with Valve, they made a fairly original and fairly successful game. I loved it, still play it for hours.

Im just really unhappy to see that Valve have fallen into the cliché and added melee weapons. The game doesnt need them, anyone who is using a melee weapon is trying to be a hero. As far as i can tell thats not what the game is about. A Chainsaw is a very impractical weapon. All Valve have done is the same thing every other zombie game has.

Simple Equation
Chainsaw + Auto-Shotgun + Expert = a fuck load of incaps

EDIT - The incendiary is one of the most ridiculous i have ever seen. ammo that makes enemies instantly burst into flames.... Why?

 

[The Dark Umbra]

I didn't hear about this boycott. They do have a right to be mad I know I am. It's not right for game developers to keep charging 60$ for games.

 

[Aegwadar]

Two things:

1. Going to buy L4D2

2. Praise the Boycott group for organizing a well thought-out plan and sticking to it.