After the let down of Call of Duty 6 (and if you haven’t read about that, just Google) it was nice to see Valve supporting their new games with dedicated servers. Giving the PC gamer that pay for the games what they want. But enough of my Valve love fest.
If the demo is a taste of things to come, then I’m not overly excited. I know developers always make the point a demo is by far not the released product, but still…it didn’t wow me.
For all the new features, improved AI and promise of advanced ranking systems….something is missing. Something different.
New weapons, such as the saucepan to whallop Zombies are cute. But nothing beyond the Molotovs and pipe bombs?
The demo map seemed hard to navigate and didn’t seem to have the imagination of previous campaigns.
So far it looks nothing more than Left 4 Dead, with the updates it perhaps should have received?
Still, its new content, and Left 4 Dead 2 game servers seem popular so far. If you are interested in renting one, we’re doing them for £9.31 a month, and you’ll be able to switch to the original Left 4 Dead if you get bored.
An update for TF2 servers was released late last night.
A required update for Team Fortress 2 is now available. Please run hldsupdatetool to receive the update. The specific changes include:
Team Fortress 2:
- Added “+quickswitch” command, which brings up a small panel allowing you to rapidly change the loadout of your current class & active weapon slot
- Added server ConVar “tf_teamtalk” to allow alive/dead teammates to talk with each other during a match (default is 0)
- Added 1/2 Bonus Point for healing a teammate with a dropped sandvich
- Updated the class menu to show the local player’s current class
- Updated server ConVar “tf_playergib” to have 3 settings for player gibs: 0: never, 1: normal, 2: always (default is 1)
- Updated “player_hurt” game event to include “damageamount” and “crit” values
- Fixed a rare crash in particle system
- Fixed being able to eat your sandvich (via taunt) and drop it in the same frame
- Fixed not correctly remembering the last weapon if you’re using “remember active weapon” and the last weapon was the weapon in slot 0
- Fixed Medic not being able to release his ÃœberCharge if his team won the previous round and the Medigun was his last active weapon (while using “remember last active weapon”)
- Fixed not remembering the last active weapon correctly if the player didn’t die before the next round restart
- Prevented servers from using steam:// commands in their MOTD text
- Fixed using the regen cabinets to get more health than you should when you switch between weapons with/without max health reduction attributes
- Fixed friendly-fire/spectator exploit using projectiles
- Fixed disguised spies not getting ammo from enemy dispensers
- Fixed thrown sandvich traveling through players before being activated
- Fixed sandviches sometimes spawning inside walls, or being thrown through thin walls
- Fixed fire overlay drawing on hats in DX80
- Fixed an exploit that allowed servers to corrupt client’s item database
- Fixed full packet updates showing cloaked Spies for an instant
- Fixed a prediction error resulting in mis-predictions of crits
Community requests:
- Added new “func_flag_alert” entity that fires an alert when a player carrying a flag starts touching the entity
- Added server ConVar “bot_crouch” to make bots crouch
- Added model override for item_teamflag entity
- Added ability to turn off particle trail for players carrying the item_teamflag entity
- Updated team_train_watcher to support 8 cp/track links (was previously 4)
Back in August, I made a confident hypothesis that Left 4 Dead 2 dissidents, despite their claims they will boycott the game, will still be playing on Left 4 Dead 2 servers when the game is released.
I base my standpoint on those that blow hot air and huff and puff, are exactly the same as myself. If Modernware 2 bombs, and as some fear, it’ll be a bad console port, I’ll delete this post and pretend I never made the claim. And I assure you, if you follow my tactics, you’ll get very far in life.
Diclaimer- I am joking. Tongue in cheek time! I would never make a very good life coach.
Call of Duty 6- a poor console port?
The grapevine is an interesting medium. Sometimes drunk with chinese whispers. Other times with grains of truth. One of the rumours is that Modernware 2 has been made for the consoles first, PC last. Fuelled further by a delayed release date, it’s thought that Call of Duty 6 will be ‘ported’ over to the PC to suit a small demand.
I can feel you spitting that energy drink at the screen right now, my gamer friend. I feel you. For those that aren’t familiar with the phrase ‘porting’. Essentially, the game is made for the console. It’s then adapted to work on the PC. But primarily its based round the consoles. Why? Demand. For every one of us PC gamers, there are hundreds of controller noobs, who have a morbid fear of mice. Because they suck at gaming.
While for a COD veteran, there are all the familiar signs there of a franchise. But is it just me, or is that rather ‘consoley’? ‘Arcadey’? The dictionary is no use to me here. It’s not a traditional PC online FPS game. You’ve been forgiven for imaging old skool CS and Quake players vommiting at the site of this vid, the poor mites. It’ll be ported.
So why will it still be a huge success?
Before continuing, I think it’s time to add in my exit strategy, should I need to change my mind after the last release.
This depends on a masses of factors.
Firstly the support for Linux binaries, a real hot topic of debate. Well, call me Derron Brown, but no hope here. Last year we were waiting weeks and weeks for the release of Call of Duty 5 linux server binaries. Now given the recent revelations, can you see them being rushed out? Sadly, this is a sign of changing times.
If you’ve ever read the book Who Moved My Cheese? (don’t ever claim this blog isn’t educational!), you’ll understand why we’ve adapted, moved on, and we’re now going to have Windows support for Call of Duty 6 servers with the hope we can host from day one. We just couldn’t afford to be waiting round like idiots for the linux binaries again. Third time bitten, er, third time shy?
So on the basis of the Windows dedicated server, we are then looking at how well IW support the dedicated servers. Will the servers be customisable? With the patches be frequent and fixing?
Learning from COD5, while I cannot see the same level of support Valve provide for their FPS games, I think it’ll be enough to appease the community. Because let’s face it, there’s only one COD game a year, and when all counts, the gamers don’t have much choice these days.
It should be an interesting run up to Christmas regardless. And the game makers and everyone involved (bar the poor game server providers) will make a fortune, no doubt
