Total Half-Life

A new update has been released for Left 4 Dead today which adds the ability to easily download and play custom campaigns. Here are the update notes:

Client
• Removed an infinite ammo exploit for molotovs
• The team swapping issue in Versus has been fixed

Add-on Campaign Support
• Players download third party campaigns as single .VPK file
• Players can manage and select add-on maps and campaigns via game UI
• Added matchmaking support and download/update prompt for add-on campaigns
• Custom campaign support in Leader boards
• If not already registered, left4dead.exe registers .VPK extension to allow automatic install of add-ons
• Servers and the steam API have been extended to allow servers to send up a list of keys for matchmaking up to 1200 bytes in size

Left 4 Dead Authoring Tools
• Fixed missing fgd error
• Added vpk.exe command line tool for extracting, creating, and appending .VPK files
• Removed info_versus (not used)
• Added info_gamemode which fires outputs for Coop, Versus or Survival depending on what game mode the map is loaded in
• Updated tutorial_standards example map, repackaged as 'Dead Line' campaign example add-on
• Sample content now includes source files for official maps

The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted.

Valve has released updates today for a number of its games, including support for the Novint Falcon. Take a look:

Team Fortress 2, Episode 1 & 2, and Portal
• Added support for the Novint Falcon

General
• Added an option to the advanced multiplayer menu to select left or right handed view models
• Fixed a bug where a spectator's wearable items could be seen floating around the player they were spectating
• Fixed a bug where a fake Spy hand would appear on the screen of other players
• Custom death animations now only play 25% of the time
• Fixed teleporters not being build-able in some places where they should be (such as within the pit at the end of Badwater Basin)
• Fixed rare client crash on connection and level change
• Removed refract from water ripples caused by bullet impacts for performance reasons
• Added log entries for player extinguished events using the medigun, jarate, flamethrower and dispenser
• Started tracking localization settings to help make decisions regarding localization in the future
• Fixed the blank progress bar in the upper-left of the screen when the client scheme is reloaded

Mapmaker requests
• Added spawn flag to func_respawnroomvisualizer that allows it be non-solid to players
• Added SetSolid input to func_respawnroomvisualizer to change solidity to players dynamically
• Added OnWonByTeam1 and OnWonByTeam2 outputs to the TFGamerulesProxy

Valve has announced today that they have added support to a number of their games for the Novint Falcon. Here's some further information on this announcement:

Valve Corporation, one of the video game industry's leading entertainment software and technology companies, announced today that they have released support for the Novint Falcon for several of their best selling games. The Novint Falcon is an entirely new type of interface for PC gaming. Essentially a small robot, the Falcon lets players feel high-fidelity three-dimensional touch in enabled games.

Today, an update was distributed through Steam adding Novint Falcon compatibility for customers of The Orange Box which includes Half-Life 2: Episodes 1 and 2 (the original Half-Life 2 is playable with the Falcon through a download available from Novint), Portal, and Team Fortress 2. Additionally Valve will soon release support for other leading titles including Left 4 Dead, Day of Defeat Source, and Counter-Strike: Source®. Using the Falcon, players feel realistic weapon recoil, enemy attacks, vehicle movements, and interactions with the environment. Novint has also released its must have Pistol Grip accessory, which replaces the standard Falcon grip to create an even more immersive FPS gaming experience.

Why it can't be I hear you cry! Alas though, the evidence to support it is rather compelling:

A number of threads on the Official Steam Forums have been popping up with users becoming aware of "strange" item levels. Since the beginning of these regular Team Fortress 2 updates, many of us have thought that these random digits meant nothing. However with these latest revelations you have to wonder if Valve did have a wonderous purpose for them.



A post on the Steam Forums has gathered the threads together in one complete with screenshots. Is it some Jokey Joke Maker cobbling together bits of load out screen on Photoshop or could one of lifes unanswered mysteries soon to become answered?

One thing is for sure, and that's to keep an eye on the Team Fortress 2 Blog.

The Fistful of Frags Beta 2.6 update is set to arrive in the next 5 days or so. With it comes new maps, new gamemodes, stats, ladder rankings and a player collision system similar to Teamfortress 2. What more could you want?

Our latest beta could be defined as the culmination of a large process looking for improvements which take FoF into cleaner, more tactical and balanced games. We've been improving over each new beta and this should be the definitive step. Here follows the major changes and additions, also take in mind there are many bugfixes and smaller features not mentioned below.

Version 2.6 brings some fresh air to the map rotation. New or highly renovated maps using objective based modes like: push/territory control, prisoner escort (3:10 to Yuma like!), double push the cart or train robbery. All have in common the same principles: multiple stages, a team defends and the other attacks, respawns are limited but additional lives are granted each new stage so waiting time never will be too long.

There's also a new cooperative level and a map created specifically for duel tournaments, up to 16 players are matched against in short and simultaneous 1vs1 revolver shootouts. This video shows some tidbits of action in the new or reworked maps.

Second, there were some petitions for a ranking system where notoriety and objectives are taken in consideration. It was a worth addition and here is. Named as "Most Wanted" because the quickest and most deadly guns will be on the top, it uses a self contained per-server database, so each server will have its own ladder rank. A global solution looks better on paper, but this system fits with a small mod like ours.

"Most Wanted" comprises several features: it records your performance, there's also ladder-like rankings and it helps with team balancing in several ways. Players receive a ladder score at the end of each map, it's based on their performance, however teammates' skill also influences individual scores. That means the higher skilled teams get lower ladder score because their advantage. It's a natural mechanism to balance games, benefices those fair player who don't join the winning team.

And last but not least... soft push player collisions "TF2 like". Not everyone likes them I know, but this feature should help a lot in the usual public games our mod tends to host. BTW, thanks to Valve for including this feature in their latest SDK update.

You can discover more about this Western themed mod here on the Fistful of Frags website.

A post on the Left 4 Dead blog has detailed information on the next L4D update. This one will focus on the modders and the third party campaigns created for the game.

We've long believed that Left 4 Dead should fully support community content, and we've been hard at work enhancing the UI and matchmaking systems to provide full support for your creations. The latest update, which will be available via Steam next week, is focused on custom campaigns. It introduces several key features:

Add-Ons
Third party campaigns are designed to be installed using a new Add-On framework. Content authors will be able to package up their new maps, along with new posters, models, and textures, into a single .VPK file. To install and activate this content in-game, players need simply download the .VPK and double click on it. Alternatively, they will be able to drop it into a new "addons" folder. The list of installed add-ons will be viewable from a new item on the 'Extras' main menu flyout.

The update will also make it easier to find other players playing the same third party campaign.

Matchmaking
Because Left 4 Dead is all about sharing, we've re-tooled Left 4 Dead's matchmaking system to provide extensive support for custom add-on campaigns. When creating or searching for a lobby, a new option named "Add-on campaign" will let you select from among the add-on campaigns that you have installed. You can then find games or lobbies as well as create a lobby for that campaign. You can invite your friends, too. If they do not have the campaign installed, they will automatically be offered and an option to download it.

You can read the full blog entry over on the Left 4 Dead blog.