Left 4 Dead DLC Will Include More Levels, Enemies; Xbox 360 Version Uses Dedicated Servers

August 29, 2008 10:07 AM

Left 4 Dead writer Chet Faliszek has let loose with some intriguing details on the downloadable content for Valve's upcoming fast-paced zombie-tastic shooter for PC and Xbox 360. And yes, a flamethrower might be involved.

The company plans to add new scenarios to the game's initial 4, as well as new bosses and weapons. "There were strong hints at a flamethrower coming not long after launch," 1UP reported after talking to Faliszek.

The Valve writer also promised that the studio aims to make that DLC available more quickly than they have done with Team Fortress 2. It is unknown whether that content will be free on Xbox 360, as Valve's penchant for free content on its PC games has met with resistance from Microsoft when releasing new content on Xbox Live Marketplace.

For the Xbox 360 version, Valve plans to offer dedicated servers for Xbox Live players. Most Xbox Live games use peer-to-peer connections, which can impact performance depending on players' internet connections. While numbers for the servers were not given, Valve "did imply that they'd have everyone covered."

The console port of the game is being handled by Certain Affinity, the new studio headed by Bungie alum and Halo 2 multiplayer lead Max Hoberman. The Xbox 360 version will get a number of concessions to handle playing the breakneck game on a controller, such as zombies that attack from behind less frequently and a "180 button" to turn around quickly.

Both Xbox 360 and PC versions of Left 4 Dead will arrive on November 18.

Blake Ellison

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prowlinger

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August 29, 2008 10:40 AM

Hell yeah! One thing I wish they would allow, as crazy as it sounds.. .would be the ability to design your own character. Sure the 4 look amazing but I would love to join games with friends or strangers and everyone look unique (not outlandish) but something short of a simpler version of the Soul Calibur character creator would rock.

Tie the 4 voices to certain body types... allow us to make unqiue looking characters from a greater set of body parts outside of the set 4...

L4D=FTW!
- pyide
  
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  August 29, 2008 11:56 AM
  
  Well if you get the PC version, it probably won't be hard to stick a custom model / skin in there. Well not hard because it's a source game. Really hard if you have no 3D modeling experience!
- Wisp!
  
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  August 29, 2008 3:58 PM
  
  The reason they aren't doing that and there are only 4 to choose from, not 8 or 10 is because they want to create an experience like Half-Life in terms of narrative and characters. You wouldn't have a customized character for Barney or Alyx. Nor would you have a customized character for the Heavy Weapons Guy.
  
  The same principle applies to Left 4 Dead, at least in Valve's mind.