Updates to Left 4 Dead

[Chrismet5]

This is where we will put information about the Updates to Left 4 Dead. This Thread is closed; please post comments about the Updates in a new Thread.

Updates on 14/11/2008:

Added the ability to tie game servers to Steam Community groups. Group administrators can now see the GroupID on the group's administrative page, which can be used as the value for sv_steamgroup. Users that are in that group will then be able to browse directly to them from the main menu

Fixed setinfo exploit

Fixed a crash when exiting the game

Fixed a few cases where the game would crash when using ALT-TAB

Fixed a problem that could cause texture corruption on some ATI video cards

Fixed a bug that could cause infected horde to disappear

In regards to the first point:
Ok, we're getting ready to ship the first round of the group features we've been working on this week.

There is a new cvar called sv_steamgroup, which takes the Steam group number (which is now visible on the group's administrative page). The server will still be part of matchmaking, but users that are in that group will be able to browse directly to it from the main menu. Also, if this value is set, there will be a button near the message of the day that allows users to go directly to that group's page. This allows them to join that group if they like, and then be able to browse back to it in the future.

There is another convar in there called sv_steamgroup_exclusive, which isn't completely implemented yet. The goal if it will be to make a server only joinable by users within that group, but there are some edge cases where matchmaking could still potentially put users on there. People are welcome to play around with it for now, and we should have it fully implemented in the next few days or so.

Hopefully this addresses some of the concerns server admins have brought up.

[ssmmdd]

Another Update for L4D:

November 15, 2008 - Left 4 Dead Demo Update Released


Fixed problem with users not being able to connect to dedicated servers
Fix a bug with the group browser not always showing the list of group servers
Fixed a bug with the rcon command

[ssmmdd]

Another set of Updates!


Fixed a bug where the connection to a server would get stuck in a looping state
Made sv_steamgroup_exclusive not connect to matchmaking. Removed sv_unreserve, private servers should sv_steamgroup_exclusive now
Improved the speed in finding a game lobby
Fixed a bug that could cause you to search for a game lobby indefinitely

[ssmmdd]

Even more Updates!


Fixed problem where the group browser was showing servers for groups you were not a member of
Fixed problem with split packet/reassembly on level transition. This would cause the game to feel laggy for some period after a level transition
Fixed a crash when connecting to a dedicated server

[JamesBPK]

More Updates; some controversy about this one.

Updates to Left 4 Dead have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:






Finding a dedicated server when starting the game from a lobby is now faster and more reliable
Versus mode is now locked to Normal difficulty
Difficulty on a server is now locked to the one set by the lobby reservation
Fixed lagouts/spikes after level transition
Fixed directory issue with spray logs in some cases
Fixed video settings not saving after closing video options dialog
Corrected a boomer suicide exploit
Several minor localization fixes
Fixed disabling cheats incorrectly resetting data

[SteveP]

General


Fixed Survivors being able to climb surfaces marked for versus infected only
Fixed a class of SurvivorBot bugs dealing with rescuing downed players
Players can no longer grab ladders while flying through the air after a Tank punch
Shooting near a car with an alarm that has already fired the alarm will no longer make chirping noises
Improved loading time
Fixed mini-gun physics exploit
Fixed propane tanks (and other physics objects) causing players to fall through elevators
Fixed rare achievement bug issues
Fixed several map exploits
Fixed various match making issues
Fixed NAT traversal issues

Versus Changes


Added HUD elements to show status of other infected players
Changed color of infected player name in chat to red
Fixed exploit where players could spawn infected bots
Fixed instance where a Survivor changing to the infected team would be attacked by infected bots
Normalized special infected melee damage
Made the following client commands cheat protected: "Kill" and "explode"
Fixed exploit where infected players could run away and teleport back to gain health
Players can only change teams once per map
Players can't change teams while other players are still loading
Tank spawns at the same % through the map for both teams in versus mode
Made the Tank and Witch spawn directly on the escape route
Increased chance of getting the Tank or Witch
Fixed team swap issue

Hunter


Easier to pounce a Survivor who is meleeing
Increased Minimum damage a Hunter pounce does

Smoker


Fixed Smoker tongue tolerance
Smoker now has to be killed or the tongue destroyed for the tongue to break
Survivors cannot bash someone off the tongue until the Survivor being pulled is paralyzed or hanging
Tongue attacks that fail to paralyze or hang a Survivor will use the shorter ability delay timer
Fixed cases where the ability timer was not using the correct time
Fixed case where you could point at a Survivor but not register a tongue hit
Fixed Smoker tongue not targeting and landing properly through PZ ghosts
Smoker tongue does damage every second while dragging paralyzed Survivors

Tank


Bashable objects now appear with a red glow
Tanks hitting a car with an alarm disables the alarm permanently
Tank frustration timer is only reset by hitting Survivors with rocks or fists
Reduced autoshotgun damage against Tanks

Witch


Witch spawns at the same % through the map for both teams
Avoids spawning within a certain % of the tank
Fixed an exploit where the Witch could be woken up and tricked into attacking Survivors

[JamesBPK]

Excellent, some glaring issues fixed there.

[ssmmdd]

Indeed.

[JamesBPK]

Updates to Left 4 Dead have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:

Versus Mode Changes


Tank melee attack can now hit multiple Survivors in one swing

Fixed Tank punch being able to hit targets behind walls

Fixes to 'Tank parking'. The Tank will now run back and attack the Survivors if he becomes AI due to two players expiring the frustration meter

Fixed a case where a Tank frustration meter could run out right as he was in his death animation and he would come back to life

Fixed a case where the Tank was moving too slowly while crouching and being shot

Tanks now have the possibility of spawning in a slightly different position for the first and second teams

The order that the teams play as Survivors is now determined by which team has the higher overall score. The winning team will play as Survivors first

The Smoker tongue can now target and grab victims through common infected

Increased the cone in which a Smoker can grab a target

The Witch no longer cuts Smoker tongues in a radius around her

Boomers that explode in mid-air will now hit Survivors directly below them with Bile

Reduced the damage that burning Hunters do to pounced victims

Adjusted the time at which players take over from bots to avoid 5 seconds of the bot standing idle while the player finishes connecting.

Fixed some cases where versus score was not being recalculated properly. It is no longer beneficial to pass pills between players at the end of the round or heal other players and then shoot them

Fixed a case where it was possible to spectate an AI infected and hit +use to take them over


Server Changes


Added convar sv_gametype that allows server operators to limit the types of games that will start on their server. Default value is 'coop,versus'. Can be changed to just 'coop' or just 'versus' to limit to those game types


General changes



Fixed a case where players would join as a dead Survivor when a living Survivor was still available

Fixed a case where restarting a level due to the team dying would give more than the max primary ammo on restart

Fixed the speaking icon showing up on the local player during level transition if voice_vox was set to 1

The scoreboard now shows the numeric value of a player's ping



GameUI



Quick match will now try to match to any campaign. Removed the preference to match to games according to the player progressing through all campaigns

Games in a finale are now joinable via the Friends and Steam Group games list

[JamesBPK]

Updates to Left 4 Dead have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:

Left 4 Dead



Fixed sv_search_key appearing in server browser

Fixed issue where changing the sv_search_key did not update the master correctly

Fixed master server issue with Linux fork mode that affected availablity of Valve dedicated servers

Tank melee attack can now hit multiple Survivors in one swing

Missed from the previous list changes: Fixed acheivements to match stats. Past achievements not previously awarded will be shown in the game UI

[JamesBPK]

Updates to Left 4 Dead have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:

Game and client changes


Introduced fatigue to the melee attack in versus mode. You will see a HUD display when your melee swing is cooling down
Boomer vomit will now pass through common infected
Addressed some surround sound detection issues
Fixed a rare crash when exiting Left4Dead on Windows Vista
Fixed a case where the complete all expert campaigns achievement was not being rewarded


Dedicated server changes

Corrected an issue where Windows based dedicated were sending spurious shutdown notifications to the master causing them to delist temporarily
Fixed dedicated servers not resetting the versus team swap correctly--you could join a dedicated server that had a previous game that was swapped and arrive on the other team than what was selected in the lobby
Renamed the tags for sv_search_key to use "key:" in the server tags instead of "sv_search_key." This should help with issues of the 63 character limit of server tags
Fixed an occasional server crash related to voting

[JamesBPK]

Update April 21, 2009 - L4D PC DLC Out Now

The Left 4 Dead Survival Pack is now available for the PC and Xbox 360, free of charge to all owners of the game. The full change list for the PC release is below. In addition, both the retail and Steam versions of the game (PC and 360) are now available for a special price. Check Steam and local retailers for pricing details. For more information about L4D, please visit www.l4d.com


Survival Mode

New gameplay Mode

16 maps including Last Stand

Leaderboards

7 new achievements


Versus Changes


2 new versus campaigns

Fixed a case where versus team score would continue to be recalculated after the score panel was displayed

Fixed an issue with recalculating the versus score health bonus for a player when they are rescued from being incapacitated

Fixed being able to start a swing as an infected, then teleport to the survivors and have the claw swing hit a survivor

Fixed a case where teleporting to the survivors would not reset the ability timer

Fixed an exploit where you could load the chamber of a weapon with bullets by holding down the melee key

Fixed a case where it was not possible to join a game while it was in a finale

Fixed a rare case where listen servers would speed up the game over time

Removed convars related to melee fatigue

Fixed a case where infected players would get a respawn time on their initial spawn into a map


Server Changes


Made ms_force_dedicated_server not require cheats

Add a message when queuing a heartbeat

Simplified setting of game mode

Removed convars director_no_human_zombies and director_holdout_mode

Added mp_gamemode [coop,versus,survival]


General

Added lobby join and leave messages

[JamesBPK]

June 25, 2009 - Left 4 Dead Update Released

Updates to Left 4 Dead have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:

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

[JamesBPK]

November 9, 2009 - Left 4 Dead Update Released


Updates to Left 4 Dead have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:

Left 4 Dead



Fixed a crash related to a Crash Course achievement
Fixed an issue were bots and computer controlled special infected were being reported via "View Game Info"
Added Team Versus 4 on 4 competitive matchmaking