The Left 4 Dead guys out at Valve have been holding off on a desire to release new DLC because of a few constraints, one major one being a gaping hole in what they already had on the table - there just wasn't enough.

That is until modder Matthew "2 Evil Eyes" Lourdelet showed them Cold Stream, his new community campaign mod that still isn't quite finished.

We loved 2 Evil Eyes and Cold Stream looks even more promising with innovative game play arenas and effects. Matthew has really shown that there are still plenty of new ideas in L4D2 modding.

We want you the community to be part of the process of taking his unfinished campaign and releasing it as DLC on the Xbox 360, PC and Mac.

You can read the full run-down of plans right here on the official forums, but this shows just how important community and the mod-community still are to Valve products. For those who can't be bothered hitting the link, you won't be seeing this DLC release still until at least after Portal 2 drops, and as always, even after that it'll be a case of "when it's done".

An in-development community campaign (by Matthew Lourdelet) is set to be released as DLC for L4D2 (PC, Mac, X360). Unlike the previous two DLC packs for L4D2, Cold Stream will not be story-heavy. The three campaigns from L4D1 will also be included in the pack.

No solid release date, aside from "sometime after Portal 2". The community is also invited to help test the community campaign.

"He recently shared it with us and we love it so far but it isn’t done. We were tempted to have him quietly finish it with our help and release it as part of an upcoming DLC.

Tempted… but we decided against that. Instead, we think we have a better idea. We want you the community to be part of the process of taking his unfinished campaign and releasing it as DLC on the Xbox 360, PC and Mac."

"In the next few weeks we will add Cold Stream to the UI (user interface) and we will all begin testing it. As we receive feedback and test data we will also share some data we collect on player experience and show how we put that data to use. We will include you with regular posts, polls, and updates.

We have created a special forum just for feedback on the campaign and this project (Cold Stream Forum). While the beta will only be available for PC and Mac users, we appreciate feedback and ideas from the entire community. This is an experiment for us, so please let us know what you think and what you would like to see in the DLC – just remember the constraints."

From the official L4D blog. promoted forum item

The Left 4 Dead blog has revealed a new game mode for Left 4 Dead 2 in the form of Versus Survival.

The basic run-down is pretty simple - one team of four works a survival map, fending off the undead to set a benchmark time, then a second team comes in and tries to beat that time. This goes on until one team can't one-up the other allowing for full declaration of a winner.

It's a pretty neat idea that sits well within the Left 4 Dead framework Valve have created. Let us know how it plays once you've checked it out.

Valve have revealed their much loved zombie infested co-op romp, Left 4 Dead, will be earning itself a new campaign which will bridge the narrative gap between L4D and L4D2. What's even more impressive is that this new DLC called "The Sacrifice" will be made available for both games (so you only need to have one of them to play it).

L4D2 owners will also get "No Mercy" from the original game, while the whole thing will be prefaced with a 190 page comic that will lead up to the events that transpire in The Sacrifice. The content will be made available from October 5th which coincides with Left 4 Dead 2 releasing for Mac, and will be free for Mac and PC users, but will cost Xbox 360 owners a handful of MS Points.

Stay tuned for more once we have it.

As promised, The Passing DLC for Left 4 Dead 2 is now out and available for download - simply bounce your Steam to get the latest updated. For those that missed the earlier coverage, you can see it all on our Left 4 Dead 2 news page.

To promote the release, Left 4 Dead 2 is now 30% off on the Steam store (US$20.09 total or $60.29 for a four pack), so if you've been waiting for a price drop, now's a good time to buy.

A trailer showing off The Passing DLC that is about to land for Left 4 Dead 2 has been released by Valve; you can watch the trailer right now, streamin' live from AusGamers. The trailer - which is a bit of a snore, just showing a tiny segment of cinematic with a couple characters having a chat - ends with the phrase 'Get it now!', but the DLC is still apparently on track for a .au Friday release.

A promotional poster for the game has also been released - a 26mb JPG measuring 7200x10800 pixels. We made it a bit more palatable. You might also be interested in checking out this forum post where TiT has revealed some more information about the new Mutations mode that will be on offer.

Valve have officially confirmed that the first major update for Left 4 Dead 2 - titled, as in the way of this new-fangled DLC, "The Passing" - will be landing on on Thursday, April 22, US time, so Aussies should see it Friday. The release also contains word of the new features, hinted at yesterday:

The Passing also introduces a series of weekly game mode events dubbed "Mutations." These week-long runs of new gameplay modes range from "Realism Versus" mode to "Chainsaw Massacre," which gives all players chainsaws with an unlimited supply of gasoline. There are over 20 Mutations planned, each playable on all L4D2 Campaigns. Mutations are exclusively available to owners of "The Passing" DLC.

In addition, "The Passing" offers a new co-operative challenge mode of play, support for infected bot play in Versus, a new "uncommon common" zombie class (the fallen survivor), melee weapon (golf club), and firearm (M-60).

This'll cost you 560 Microsoft points if you're picking it up on Xbox 360 or AUD$0.00 if you're getting it on PC. Don't forget to check out our buy page for our pricing list if you still haven't got it!@#

The official Left 4 Dead 2 blog is carrying word of the new achievements that are soon to land when "The Passing" DLC lands later this week. There's also an intriguing hint about some cool new stuff, but more details are still forthcoming:

And of course, we saved the best for last: the "Mutant Overlord" achievement, which you can only get by playing six Mutations.

Right about now you might be asking yourself, "What in the hell is a Mutation?" "Why do I have to play six of them?" "Are there more than six?" "Where's that smell coming from?" All good questions. Look for most of the answers in our Wednesday blog post.

As always, more information about this title is on our Left 4 Dead 2 game page.

From a news update on Steam:

Coming out this Spring for Left 4 Dead 2 is the brand new DLC "The Passing", which contains:

A Wicked Witch Bride!
A Gargantuan M60!
A Slashing Golf Club!
And Introducing The Fallen Survivor!
Meet 3 Left 4 Dead 1 Survivors!
New Game Modes!


Was that a typo? Game Modes? Didn't we mean Game MODE? Did we mean to include that "S"?!?!?

YES WE DID!

Also of note: Left 4 Dead 2 is 50% off (down to $24.99 USD) on Steam until Thursday! promoted/edited forum item

I got all excited about an update to my favourite game right now... Until I read the (lack of) changes.

Gameplay

* Fixed where last round of upgraded ammo didn't have upgrade effect
* Jockeyed survivor now glows for infected team in all cases
* Fixed exploit that allowed Jockey players to get instant recharge of their ability
* Fixed Charger ability timer not resetting when killing a survivor with low health on their third strike
* Charger now applies a small amount of damage when charging through physic props

Match Making

* Changed how requests are made to master server for group servers
* Fixed sorting on group servers UI
* Reduced update work on group servers UI

Source. It is obvious to me that Valve are actually yet to play L4D2. There are some fairly massive bugs in Versus and Scavenge mode yet to be fixed. Hurry up. Some bugs I swear they fixed in the original have reappeared in the sequel like the slow loading team swap issue that some people get.

promoted forum item