IMPORTANT NOTICE!

|MG| Superbunny is starting to test out Community maps again, as you all may have seen already from the announcement on our steam page. Many of you will be frowning at this, as MANY players flee at the thought of downloading maps just to play on a server, and go elsewere, but let's face it, the L4D2 maps are getting pretty boring (can't say for L4D1 'cause I personally still find them fun as I'm a noob at them still) and a new campaign / maps would be a nice change if we can get this done and somehow manage to get players to join in. It's gonna be hard but I think the servers would be cool if we got it to work with sufficient players. Bunny intends to really have a go at it, and it's gonna go on for some time, it would be cool if we got a small team together to help with this, maybe test out different maps, which ones people would like the most which give a good balance between survivors and infected, and also testing for any exploits in the map. Even if you're against the idea, it couldn't hurt to try and help with this as if it doesn't work, we can just forget community maps altogether and carry on improving the default maps and modes, but if this did work, it would be awesome! So overall, it would be great to hear ideas from you guys ANYTHING at all that would help, maps, ideas ANYTHING!! GO WILD! RAWR! :o :shock: :x :oops: :evil: :twisted: oll: :!: : :idea: :arrow: :| :mrgreen: :geek: :ugeek:

-WHY MAKE THIS THREAD AND NOT USE THE ONE BUNNY MADE WOLF? YOU STUPID ANIMAL!

This thread is for any info regarding anything on this project, Bunny's is solely for map ideas, so if you have anything else to say not involving maps, post here!

 

Re: IMPORTANT NOTICE!

Mayby on small map, but when map's weight is +100mb?? Not every1 got time to wait 10-30 minuts (even more) for having some fun from playing l4d, better way is to go to other server :twisted:

 

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Man, I don't think this will work but I'm all up for the idea for testing maps.

When the campaign "I Hate Mountains" was introduced to L4D1, no one downloaded, apart from one or two odd people. I asked them if they downloaded the campaign to play on this server, or if they had it before. They said "I already had this campaign before". It just looks like the people who have already got the campaign downloaded are willing to join the server. People who don't have the campaign tend to not download the campaign at all. Why bother to download a 168MB campaign when there is no one on the server? Why not just go onto another server? Most people don't even know how to download and install a campaign anyway - do we have to teach them?

Maybe L4D2 might work. It does have a massive user flow, but so did L4D1 when the custom campaign's "Suicide Blitz" and "City 17" were introduced. People tend to download COOP map's anyway. Versus with custom campaign's just confuses them. I don't want to seem that I am degrading the idea, infact, I'm all up for it, but one question... If you were a regular player - with no admin status - and were just looking for a server to play L4D on, would you want to download a campaign to play on one?

On the other hand, Suicide Blitz is the best campaign I have played, plus it runs on L4D1 AND 2, it has also been Valve approved making it awesome. I want that one xD.

 

Re: IMPORTANT NOTICE!

Hello,
I used to play Day of Defeat Source alot and there are a ton of maps for that. The only time I saw it work when people did not leave is when the server automatically downloaded and installed it for them. I don't know if the this server is capable to do that but if someone has to disconnect, then go find the map, then download it, place it in the correct folder, then I agree that you will lose people. It won't work. However, you could add very popular custom maps to the rotation like Detour Ahead. I think alot of people have that one. Just my 2 cents.

 

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we are able to so automactic downloading, but the screen is blank, the downloading screen has no GUI, unless you have dev console on permaly fix to the screen '-dev' but all the players i bet only use the console with

 

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Agreed. Good point with taking it slow. Adding 10 custom maps all at once might turn some off but one per week would probably work.

 

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Personally, If I was fully informed of the fact I needed a particular campaign, I enjoyed the campaign, and I was bored of the default maps then I think I would download a campaign. Say I was someone who had no idea how to download a custom campaign, I'm up for the auto-download campaign and placement, but this may mean you'd need add-on support downloaded too. If we could get some way to tell them it was downloading and installing instead of a blank screen, it would be even better.

If all else fails, we could also just do custom campaigns as an event, only doing it on 1 server at a certain time, maybe play it 2 or 3 times and go back to normal. This is if we get a substantial amount of players, but not enough to keep it regularly.

and if UBER fails, we could just make drastic changes to current maps, and load them into the server every now and again, y'know, like drastic path changes, ridiculously placed objects making survivors take a complete different route

Also welcome back Marvel ^^

 

Re: IMPORTANT NOTICE!

Key thing in making this work is getting active with telling people to download the map. The people that you play with every single day. For example, all of the regulars that you play with on the servers open a chat with them and have a conversation with them about downloading that map. I find that if you just put an announcement up and then add the map then no one is willing to take the time to do all the work to get the map running. On the other hand if you actively tell people individually, single them out so to speak, there is a good chance that they would download the map.

 

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I think if you want to make this work you should dedicate a server to it, so people wont be suprised playing a normal campaign, and then suddenly have to download a map.

If you do this people who go on the server know they have to download stuff but they go on the server with the intention to play a new campaign.

 

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first of all, welcome back Marvel

my main suggestions are that, should be created that official site with guidelines how to install custom maps and other features that could bring MG on the light for other people. Nobody wants to go search in forum for some download links, nobody will. After that we can link :arrow: them from steam chat, annoucements, in-game chats, or Message of the Day from game.

That site doesnt have to be complex, just nice and simple.
This forum is too messy for normal user and sometimes I cant find something

 

Re: IMPORTANT NOTICE!

OK. I think almost everyone knows how to google "How to install a l4d custom map". If its a Custom Campaigns server and it says the name "Marvelous Gaming Custom Campaigns", then surely people will know that it is a Custom Campaigns server. But we will lose people if we tell them to download the map instead of staying and playing

D; Then how will people know if the server is doing anything. They will probably "Alt+F4" spam out of there.

I didn't even know that existed. I guess that makes me a noob.

That turned me off my ham sandwich.

Me too. But let's pretend that I am a regular player. "Woah, MG are doing custom maps! Lemme download the maps now! Wait. I don't want to download a 300MB map! I'm off to play Portal."

A little story while playing L4D.
EndofTime: Hey, Legend! Download this map!
Legend: OK I WILL SIR!
EndofTime: You better, or I'll...
Legend plays for a while longer then quits the game. He goes off to get a milkshake. In that brief story you learnt that people forget things very easily and if a player is enjoying a server experience, then why would you want to make them disconnect the game and download the map?

Yes. That. Is. Key. Players just don't wanna download anything since there is a 5GB "Left 4 Dead" folder in steammaps.

A simple site would be good. Something that tells them of what's going on and what mods are on the servers. But, who's going to maintaiiiiiinnnn it?!

Holy shit.

And wow, I just hijacked this thread, sorry

 

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i can do that, i can even make it super easy to find like Marvelous gameing on google. hey we even can just make a blog for them on google hehe, altho it will look un-prefeshion with the link.

and for paying, iv just lost my job. got layed off lol so i can not buy any thing atm , i can easly maintain it tho.

 

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well its the 3nd time iv tryed it hehehe, but this time il deadicate myself to it.