Forum Overview :: Left 4 Dead
 
ElKoba is in by fabio 10/24/2015, 12:24am PDT
We ran some co-op. Random people kept joining to replace bots so at least the multiplayer isn't dead on launch!

It was pretty fun, although it feels like it could have spent another month in beta. Remember the feel of the L4D demo vs the final release? Right now this feels like the L4D demo did.

Melee feels juuuuuuust complex enough for a horde game. You get a limited number of blocks/shoves that have to be used more sparingly than L4D, a general hack attack, and a charged up attack with different effects. It became apparent there was skill involved when I was doing way better than Koba and scrubs.



Although Koba claims the game told HIM he had the high score! Trickery to make everyone feel good?

Some blatant L4D stealing with the special skaven. The assassin, packmaster, globinator, and rat ogre all play exactly like the hunter, jockey, spitter, and tank (though the globinator is deadlier since the poison cloud also disorientates like a mini-flashbang). The one exception is the skaven gunner, who focuses on one target and pins them down with a gatling gun while other players are supposed to flank. Feels like the spider demon from Doom.

Okay, another neat exception: they replaced the witch with stormvermin patrols. Squads of elite armored skaven will be nosily marching down the street and you'll want to hide and not draw their attention until they pass. Every non-finale wipeout we suffered was due to them.

Rather than a linear campaign, you choose missions from a hub. Each mission is the length of an average L4D chapter. Gain loot if you win with the quality matching the difficulty. Reminded me of that Korean MMO Vindictus. There's a bit of risk/reward for the loot where you get bonuses to the loot roll if you carry tomes to the end. Not only does this make you "go shopping" for tomes during maps, but tomes take up your healing item slot and are otherwise useless. It adds a lot of tension to matches knowing you get no loot unless you win.


Some minor complaints:

If they were going to include different classes, they could have put more work into making them...different. They seem 95% the same. Their ranged weapons are slightly different and that's really the only difference I could notice.

The tutorial tips are lacking. They tell you to use the push command, but don't tell you how. It doesn't even show up in the hotkey settings! It's "hold Block + Attack". It doesn't explain how the bright wizard's heat meter and overcharging works. Tips pop up as message logs in the corner that are easy to miss in the middle of a fight (as opposed to popping up right on the relevant zombie in L4D). This is most noticeable with the game not really telling you that you've supposed to avoid stormvermin patrols

It's impossible to spot packmasters (jockeys) and assassins (hunters) out of a mob. You were able to be on guard in L4D when you heard them and had a chance of avoiding them. In Vermintide you just randomly end up being pounced/dragged in the middle of fights. It's a shame because there is a strategy to dealing with all the other special skaven (the rat ogre is more than "shoot while running backwards" that the tank was). All our wipes that weren't from stormvermin patrols were finales when multiple assassins/packmasters spawned at once.

Some weird bit where they overcomplicate healing items. There's healing potions which can only be used by the person who picked it up, and healing supplies (medkits) which can be used on yourselves or others. In pub games this makes everyone race to be the first to rooms looking for potions and grab them for themselves, which leads to getting fucked by assassins/packmasters when you're alone.

Weapon balance needs some work. Rapiers are by far the best and I never see any reason to take the slow 2 handed weapons. Common enemies take two hits to kill from both rapiers and 2 handed swords but the rapier is twice as fast. You would think that the rapier wouldn't be capable of slashing through multiple enemies per swipe and that ability would be exclusive to heavy 2 handed weapons, but nope. Maybe they'll start balancing out once I get loot with special traits?



But yeah it's definitely worth $30. Come wipe with us.
PREVIOUS NEXT REPLY QUOTE
 
Anyone checking out Vermintide? by fabio 09/23/2015, 2:40pm PDT NEW
    I was supposed to be in the Beta but I kept missing the weekends. NT by Worm 09/23/2015, 3:41pm PDT NEW
    30 minute preview video by fabio 10/18/2015, 2:34am PDT NEW
        fuck it, I ordered it NT by fabio 10/20/2015, 8:05pm PDT NEW
            Its out. Let's go fuckers. NT by fabio 10/23/2015, 1:07pm PDT NEW
    ElKoba is in by fabio 10/24/2015, 12:24am PDT NEW
        Re: ElKoba is in by fabio 10/24/2015, 12:25am PDT NEW
    Still holds up a month later by fabio 12/01/2015, 2:28am PST NEW
 
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