Left 4 Dead

[soLoredd]

Anyone playing the demo for Left 4 Dead on a MacBook Pro (early 08)? Just curious as to how it plays as I'm deciding between the MBP or 360.

[chrmjenkins]

If you have a live gold account, I'd say 360 so you can co-op online.

[Dagless]

If you have a live gold account, I'd say 360 so you can co-op online.

...

Don't know how to break it to you but the PC has online too, and co-op :D With no charge to play online.

I don't know the performance of the MBP but I've played a demo on a machine that runs TF2 at 1680x1050, max settings at 30fps. It runs L4D at the same but everything set to medium at 30fps. A MBP should have no problems running it. Get it for PC without any doubt to get free maps and extras.

[hankolerd]

The MBP should be fine. I am downloading it now, I will try to remember to let you know how it runs on my iMac, the MBP should run it much better. :apple:

[chrmjenkins]

...

Don't know how to break it to you but the PC has online too, and co-op :D With no charge to play online.

I don't know the performance of the MBP but I've played a demo on a machine that runs TF2 at 1680x1050, max settings at 30fps. It runs L4D at the same but everything set to medium at 30fps. A MBP should have no problems running it. Get it for PC without any doubt to get free maps and extras.

Quite right :D Which is why I'm assuming most people prefer the online experience of the xbox to the PC. If not, they can go with the PC version :D

[Chone]

Quite right :D Which is why I'm assuming most people prefer the online experience of the xbox to the PC. If not, they can go with the PC version :D

What about controls and performance?

[Dagless]

Quite right :D Which is why I'm assuming most people prefer the online experience of the xbox to the PC. If not, they can go with the PC version :D

The PC version offers the comprehensive Steam lobby system with (likely) thousands of busy servers with unofficial maps, mods and server tweaks too.
I've never heard of people preferring Xbox Live to something as comprehensive as Steam.

[chrmjenkins]

The PC version offers the comprehensive Steam lobby system with (likely) thousands of busy servers with unofficial maps, mods and server tweaks too.
I've never heard of people preferring Xbox Live to something as comprehensive as Steam.

I've heard of someone preferring a couch to a desk chair. ;)

[Chone]

I've heard of someone preferring a couch to a desk chair. ;)

I've also heard of the logical possibility of playing PC games on a couch ;)

[chrmjenkins]

I've also heard of the logical possibility of playing PC games on a couch ;)

He has both. Why would he have his PC hooked up to his TV if he's got a 360?

[Dagless]

I've heard of someone preferring a couch to a desk chair. ;)

I'm sorry what does that have to do with Xbox Live?

[JackAxe]

Casual gamers and their couch. Go figure. :)

Anyways, I'm downloading the demo for my PC, I hope this game is good -- which chances are it will be.

[Dagless]

Casual gamers and their couch. Go figure. :)

Anyways, I'm downloading the demo for my PC, I hope this game is good -- which chances are it will be.

Aw, you should have mentioned earlier. I had a US demo pass from last week I could have sent your way.

[JackAxe]

That's OK, but thanks for the offer. :) I've been busy with work, so I haven't been able to play many games at home for the past week.

This demo is GREAT. I'm getting my arse handed to me on expert. This is worth BUYING!!!

[soLoredd]

My biggest reason for wanting it on the PC is the Steam lobby system (as someone alluded to already) instead of the confusing matchmaking that is Live. Have to be honest, my last few games over Live (CoD4 and BF Bad Company) weren't exactly fantastic experiences.

[chrmjenkins]

My biggest reason for wanting it on the PC is the Steam lobby system (as someone alluded to already) instead of the confusing matchmaking that is Live. Have to be honest, my last few games over Live (CoD4 and BF Bad Company) weren't exactly fantastic experiences.

In that case, sounds like you should go PC. I've never experienced steam so I wrongly assumed live would be better. Enjoy!

[Redneck1089]

The game is going to be amazing. I've beat the demo on expert five times now with my buddies. The demo keeps getting better everytime!

The game is so well optimized too - I'm running it on max settings at 2560 x 1600 with my Mac Pro with an 8800GT. No lag. Such amazing game!

[k3lit0]

Hey I was wondering, how did you get L4D to run on your mac? I'm using the 24" imac (lesser of the two) and I can't get it to run.

I tried it in crossover, it opens but all the text and options are blurry and unreadable, and when I try to join a game(any type) it locks up on the loading screen. I tried it in Boot Camp and when I watch the opening video it bugs out at the same point every time, and if I skip that and get to entering a game(text isn't blurry, btw) it enters for about 5 seconds and then freezes and closes.

Is there anything I should be doing differently? I never use boot camp but I did install it and the drivers, and Crossover usually works pretty well for running other Valve games(source ones, portal and hl2...)

Thanks in advance, and sorry for mucking up your thread with a lame question :X

[xparaparafreakx]

Im running it at 20ish with 1680x1050 on the Core Duo Macbook Pro. Med on all settings.

The whole house is playing left 4 dead. Good times to be a college student.

[Dagless]

Hey I was wondering, how did you get L4D to run on your mac? I'm using the 24" imac (lesser of the two) and I can't get it to run.

I tried it in crossover, it opens but all the text and options are blurry and unreadable, and when I try to join a game(any type) it locks up on the loading screen. I tried it in Boot Camp and when I watch the opening video it bugs out at the same point every time, and if I skip that and get to entering a game(text isn't blurry, btw) it enters for about 5 seconds and then freezes and closes.

Is there anything I should be doing differently? I never use boot camp but I did install it and the drivers, and Crossover usually works pretty well for running other Valve games(source ones, portal and hl2...)

Thanks in advance, and sorry for mucking up your thread with a lame question :X

Yea, skip out on Crossover and go to Bootcamp. The performance increase over the games you have working in Crossover will be great and it will run newer games like L4D. L4D should run quite well on your system in Bootcamp.

[k3lit0]

Yea I tried it in bootcamp and it still gives me problems, can't watch the opening cinematic and when I enter a game it crashes without any errors. I'm really not sure what I could be doing to correct that, is this sort of thing normal at all? Is there some driver I might need to run games? I followed the instructions to install XP and bootcamp.. :(

ty for the reply

[yehgermeister]

i'm running this in bootcamp on a early '08 mbp (winxp 32bit) and was wondering what other peoples' settings are and graphics drivers they're using.

[mknawabi]

If you have the choice to play an FPS on a PC versus a 360, especially a Valve-made FPS, choosing the 360 over the PC s a dumb dumb idea.

[Dan.Dare]

The 360 demo version is great fun.

[MojoWill]

left 4 dead is a terrible game! downloaded the 360 demo it was rubbish not because it was on 360 but because it was a rubbish game!

[palebluedot]

left 4 dead is a terrible game! downloaded the 360 demo it was rubbish not because it was on 360 but because it was a rubbish game!

i see what you did thar

[MacRumorUser]

Downloaded the 360 demo also and can confirm that IMHO it was indeed awful, especially in single player (with Computer Controlled Allies) and I also thought the multiplayer was meh!

Maybe it's just a poor demo, but If I was to judge whether to spend my cash on it - then I'll be keeping my wallet closed....

However different boats for different folks, and i'm sure others will love it.... just not me...

[Cromulent]

The 360 demo version is great fun.

Are we playing the same game? Bloody awful.

[ildondeigiocchi]

left 4 dead is a terrible game! downloaded the 360 demo it was rubbish not because it was on 360 but because it was a rubbish game!

I dont know how you could trash such a game. It is incredible. I don't know what demo you played but it sure as hell wasn't Left 4 Dead. I have a Mac Pro 08 and maxed it out. Gameplay and gfx are terrific.

[CJM]

Downloaded and tried the demo today. It was fun and kept me amused for a few hours. Kind've a mash-up of Resident Evil, Dawn of the Dead and 28 Days Later zombies (i.e. the worst/nastiest of each :P) But I'm not sure I'd be willing the pay the asking price. Tad expensive for something that is based on existing technology. With the Orange Box you got a range of games for a reasonable price.

[palebluedot]

The first mistake you all made was playing FPS games with a controller and not on a PC.

The second (and worst) mistake you made was to PLAY A VALVE GAME ON A CONSOLE. LOL. Valve is single handedly carrying PC Gaming forward while the rest of PC games are dying out to cheap consoles. Always, always use Steam/PC when playing Valve games.

[stuff99]

can this game run on my 20" iMac, xp side?

2.4ghz core 2 duo and 1.5gb ram.

i have the ATI Radeon HD 2600 256MB

[JackAxe]

You're fine. The Source engine was originally built around ATI 9xxx GPUs and P4s. Your Core2 Duo is substantially more powerful than the CPUs from that time and your GPU is 3 generations newer that its original target specs.

If anything, there's always settings to adjust.

[Jack Flash]

can this game run on my 20" iMac, xp side?

2.4ghz core 2 duo and 1.5gb ram.

i have the ATI Radeon HD 2600 256MB

I've been running the demo at 1680x1050 everything maxed, save for no AA and 2x AF getting 30+ FPS Tripple Buffered VSYNC

[vagarach]

JackAxe, just remember, Source got a huge overall with the orange box. It isn't the same Source that shipped in 2004 which was so frugal even a nVidia RivaTNT2 could (barely, almost) run it.

Source is no longer in the realm of pentium 4 and radeon 9000.

But I think any generation intel imac, macbook, macbook pro, or mac pro (this one is a big DUH ;) ) should be able to run Left4Dead, it just may not be at native resolution.

My first run SR mbp, with 2.2Ghz C2D, 4GB ram, 128MB 8600MGT, Vista 32bit runs Left4Dead at 1440x900 with everything on except AA and aniso. As a bonus, cpu core temp only goes up to 70C and stays there.

[JackAxe]

That's why I mentioned originally and settings. ;)

It was only meant as a reference, since some of these newer games are built on 3D engines that are either "sloppy seconds" from a console, or engines like Crysis that tax most current PCs. So there should be no worries about it being a poorly optimized hog that barely recognizes more than 2 cores -- if even that, or just a massive resource hog even on lower settings.

I still haven't bought this game yet. My demo expired. I'm waiting for two of my close friends to grab a copy and I just picked up The Witcher Enhanced. :)

[padré]

loads of fun on expert mode :)

[irishgrizzly]

I played "Blood Harvest" campaign last night with 4 random players. So many freak out, ****, **** ****!! moments. I love this game.

I played on a mac pro 8800, but from what I hear this game down scales down well to lower spec machines.

[quaz]

I'm trying to play Left4Dead on an iMac (24", 3.06, NVIDIA 8800 GS) with no luck. I can watch the intro movie, then it crashes to the desktop on the loading screen. I tried forcing it to start in windowed mode but still no luck.

[quaz]

Got it working with the following from this thread:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1595829&tstart=15

1) Download the drivers for your version of the operating system at nvidia.com.
2) Run the installer. It will install the driver files in C:\NVIDIA, but the installer will fail saying it cannot find a compatible graphics card. That is expected.
3) Quit the installer.
4) Right click on your Desktop, go to Properties.
5) Click on "Settings " Tab at the top.
6) Click "Advanced" button,( it will be just abouve the "Apply" button.)
7) after that, click on the "Adapter" tab at the top, (the second tab)
8) Click Properties in the Adaptor Type section.
9) Click the Driver tab in th Properties window.
10) Click Update Driver.
after that, choose the radio button, No, not this time, click "next" after that.
choose "install from a list or specific location." radio button and click next.
select "Dont search, I will choose the driver to install" and click next.

13) Click the "Have Disk.." button.
14) Browse to "C:\NVIDIA\*winxp*\169.35\English". (*winxp* - this folder name might be different on yout computer.
15) Select nv_disp and click Open.
16) Now click OK.
17) Scroll down and select NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTx.
18) Follow the rest of the prompts to install the driver. Windows will warn you that it cannot gaurantee that the driver you installed will work with the hardware, but I can because it works for
me.
19) Reboot your computer.
20) Your new card should now be working properly. You can even access the NVIDIA control panel!

The newest drivers (180.48) have stuttering issues, so use something older until they get a patch. I used 178.13, and it works fine.

[k3lit0]

I'm trying to play Left4Dead on an iMac (24", 3.06, NVIDIA 8800 GS) with no luck. I can watch the intro movie, then it crashes to the desktop on the loading screen. I tried forcing it to start in windowed mode but still no luck.


Thanks for the post, that was my issue. I'll try what you did when I get home.

Also to avoid the opening movie you can put in -novid for the loading options, or -windowed etc... <3 tyty

[Consultant]

left 4 dead is a terrible game! downloaded the 360 demo it was rubbish not because it was on 360 but because it was a rubbish game!

I think most reviews don't agree.
http://pc.ign.com/objects/818/818215.html

I can't believe most of the people I know on Steam are playing it instead of TF2.

PC version is great. Not sure about xbox version.

[palebluedot]

Or you guys could used the optimized NVidia drivers from laptop 2 go

[Huntn]

left 4 dead is a terrible game! downloaded the 360 demo it was rubbish not because it was on 360 but because it was a rubbish game!

Hmm, I checked for demos on xbox marketplace and did not see it? Can two people coop with it and survive? :)

Anyone impressed with this game? (have not scanned all the answers) I've not yet seen it.

[mknawabi]

I absolutely loved the demo, but now they locked it out and you have to purchase the game to play it. Dang, valve. :(

[JackAxe]

If you haven't already seen this YouTube video, it's funny how this guy gets into his character.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrn4JMxsN_o&e

He's playing on a X360, so the his movement is stiff and he can't shoot for crap.

[Winni]

The first mistake you all made was playing FPS games with a controller and not on a PC.

The second (and worst) mistake you made was to PLAY A VALVE GAME ON A CONSOLE. LOL. Valve is single handedly carrying PC Gaming forward while the rest of PC games are dying out to cheap consoles. Always, always use Steam/PC when playing Valve games.


That is nonsense. I've been playing Valve games since the original Half-Life 1, and I've played Half-Life 2 and the complete Orange Box on both PC (and on the first generation 20" iMac Core Duo in both XP and Vista) and I've also played the Orange Box on my Xbox 360.

Guess what? Like with everything else by now, I prefer playing Valve games on the Xbox 360, especially now that we can copy our games to the hard disk of the 360.

HL2 looks at least identical on the Xbox at 1920x1080 pixels to the Windows version at the same resolution and detail settings. There. Is. NO. Difference.

The only difference these days is that all games will ALWAYS run on the console they were written for, but you NEVER have a guarantee whether it will run on your current computer (without the need for upgrading the graphics card, the CPU, the operating system or adding more RAM).

And you don't have to deal with any horrible copy protection mechanisms on a console.

Since the release of the Xbox 360 and the PS3, consoles have finally won the battle against gaming PCs. It just does not make any sense anymore to invest into a gaming PC; the costs are too high and there are no benefits to it.

That being said, I have the full version of Left 4 Dead running on my Xbox 360 and played through two of the single player "cinematic" episodes so far. Again, playing at 1920x1080.

The graphics are about as good as HL2 but cannot compete with Far Cry 2, Call of Duty 4 or any Unreal 3-engine based game. Still, the graphics are good enough.

The AI of the computer companions is quite good, they talk a lot and feel "human enough" for this type of game.

The game itself... Well. You MUST love zombie shooters, and I mean REALLY love them, otherwise this will be a HUGE disappointment for you. The only objective is to stay alive and get the hell out of the city. There is no story.

The selection of weapons is very limited and so is the variation of zombies and their attacks. The gameplay is very repetitive and I think you cannot spend more than one or maybe two hours in one gaming session on this without getting bored.

This game is not Dead Rising, which is also very repetitive and quickly becoming boring, but at least in Dead Rising it will take you a couple of days to fully explore the shopping mall.

Left 4 Dead is a simple, casual zombie shooter. An acceptable game for genre fans, a bad choice for everybody else.

If you want to play something really great, play Gears of War 2. Which, by the way, is only available for the Xbox 360 at this point in time. PC players can wait until next year for it. Although it was already a great game, the original Gears of War pales in comparison to its sequel and feels like it was made a decade - and not just a year or two - ago.

[mwpeters8182]

That is nonsense. I've been playing Valve games since the original Half-Life 1, and I've played Half-Life 2 and the complete Orange Box on both PC (and on the first generation 20" iMac Core Duo in both XP and Vista) and I've also played the Orange Box on my Xbox 360.

Guess what? Like with everything else by now, I prefer playing Valve games on the Xbox 360, especially now that we can copy our games to the hard disk of the 360.

HL2 looks at least identical on the Xbox at 1920x1080 pixels to the Windows version at the same resolution and detail settings. There. Is. NO. Difference.

And you don't have to deal with any horrible copy protection mechanisms on a console.

The AI of the computer companions is quite good, they talk a lot and feel "human enough" for this type of game.

The game itself... Well. You MUST love zombie shooters, and I mean REALLY love them, otherwise this will be a HUGE disappointment for you. The only objective is to stay alive and get the hell out of the city. There is no story.

The selection of weapons is very limited and so is the variation of zombies and their attacks. The gameplay is very repetitive and I think you cannot spend more than one or maybe two hours in one gaming session on this without getting bored.

This game is not Dead Rising, which is also very repetitive and quickly becoming boring, but at least in Dead Rising it will take you a couple of days to fully explore the shopping mall.

Left 4 Dead is a simple, casual zombie shooter. An acceptable game for genre fans, a bad choice for everybody else.



First off - HL2 on the 360 didn't have Antialiasing, which I get on my PC. And Steam's copy protection is incredibly transparent - I purchase pretty much all of my games through Steam. Though, you do have a point with regards to the current gen systems - I've played a lot more games on PS3 than I did on my old xbox.

Second, have you played Left 4 Dead online? It's a MUCH different feel that way. If not, give it a shot, you'll enjoy the game a lot more that way.

[Chone]

That is nonsense. I've been playing Valve games since the original Half-Life 1, and I've played Half-Life 2 and the complete Orange Box on both PC (and on the first generation 20" iMac Core Duo in both XP and Vista) and I've also played the Orange Box on my Xbox 360.

Guess what? Like with everything else by now, I prefer playing Valve games on the Xbox 360, especially now that we can copy our games to the hard disk of the 360.

HL2 looks at least identical on the Xbox at 1920x1080 pixels to the Windows version at the same resolution and detail settings. There. Is. NO. Difference.

The only difference these days is that all games will ALWAYS run on the console they were written for, but you NEVER have a guarantee whether it will run on your current computer (without the need for upgrading the graphics card, the CPU, the operating system or adding more RAM).

And you don't have to deal with any horrible copy protection mechanisms on a console.

Since the release of the Xbox 360 and the PS3, consoles have finally won the battle against gaming PCs. It just does not make any sense anymore to invest into a gaming PC; the costs are too high and there are no benefits to it.

That being said, I have the full version of Left 4 Dead running on my Xbox 360 and played through two of the single player "cinematic" episodes so far. Again, playing at 1920x1080.

The graphics are about as good as HL2 but cannot compete with Far Cry 2, Call of Duty 4 or any Unreal 3-engine based game. Still, the graphics are good enough.

The AI of the computer companions is quite good, they talk a lot and feel "human enough" for this type of game.

The game itself... Well. You MUST love zombie shooters, and I mean REALLY love them, otherwise this will be a HUGE disappointment for you. The only objective is to stay alive and get the hell out of the city. There is no story.

The selection of weapons is very limited and so is the variation of zombies and their attacks. The gameplay is very repetitive and I think you cannot spend more than one or maybe two hours in one gaming session on this without getting bored.

This game is not Dead Rising, which is also very repetitive and quickly becoming boring, but at least in Dead Rising it will take you a couple of days to fully explore the shopping mall.

Left 4 Dead is a simple, casual zombie shooter. An acceptable game for genre fans, a bad choice for everybody else.

If you want to play something really great, play Gears of War 2. Which, by the way, is only available for the Xbox 360 at this point in time. PC players can wait until next year for it. Although it was already a great game, the original Gears of War pales in comparison to its sequel and feels like it was made a decade - and not just a year or two - ago.

I own a Gaming PC and a PS3 and let me tell you, THERE. IS. A. BIG. DIFFERENCE. :)

Most games are limited to a measly 1280x720 (or even lower like Halo 3 or GTA IV) resolution compared to the PC's 1680x1050 mainstream resolution and 2560x1600 maximum resolution not to mention the actual difference in graphics, especially textures.

Keyboard and mouse is like a thousand times better than a gamepad for first person shooters (if you don't agree on better then you will at least agree on precise and faster), oh and by the way, you CAN use a gamepad with a PC (and since most games are GFW nowadays, it's as seamless as a 360 game).

The only thing I'll give you is that gaming on the PC <<can>> be a little more complicated but it also has a lot of benefits and if you can't invest a little time to learn the basics of computing then you don't care about games enough :)

Consoles are great for a lot of genres but I still think that shooters should be played on a PC, maybe I'm set in the old ways but back in 1998 I was playing Half Life on a computer and Metal Gear Solid on the PSX and nowadays I want to play Left 4 Dead on my PC and Metal Gear Solid 4 on my PS3.

Just a few things more, you connect PCs to HDTVs and play on a couch and gaming on a console is just as expensive (if not more) as gaming on a PC.

I could go on and on about how PC gaming is still very much a great way to game and between console and PC gaming there's no clear winner but I'm tired. ;)

[JackAxe]

Console also disable V-Sync most of the time just trying to maintain 30 fps.

Another thing, the PC version offers post processing effects that are not available on the 360's version.
http://www.l4d.com/blog/post.php?id=1962

I like consoles for Zelda and fighters, I like my PC games on PCs, where as they don't have to be compromised for the masses.

Valve games look way better on PCs and that margin is only going to grow wider, as it always does. Consoles always play catchup to PC -- offer a few new bells and whistles, then fall way way waaaaaaay behind.

[palebluedot]

I read that XBOX tirade and my head hurt.

People play Valve games on the XBox these days? LOL. Are you serious?!

Steam is hailed as one of the greatest content distribution platforms ever created (although I had my dads back when they first implemented friends pre-Source and it was down for about a year).

Also you do realize the Source engine is incredibly scalable and the beauty is you can play on low end hardware or high end hardware and either way its gonna look good. The high end stuff is gonna look better then anything an XBox (which is just a budget PC hooked up to an HDTV) could produce.

Consoles have "won out" because its easier for parents to buy their kids console games.. the PC gaming community is still large and active. Plus theres mods.. lets not forget the modding community.

But all that being said we can end this argument with one simple statement....

Keyboard and mouse. /thread

[CJM]

If you haven't already seen this YouTube video, it's funny how this guy gets into his character.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrn4JMxsN_o&e

He's playing on a X360, so the his movement is stiff and he can't shoot for crap.

Funny, but the corpsing (pun not intended) gave it away. Staged.

[JackAxe]

You are correct. I found the link at that Kotaku taco site where they described it as role playing. I still thought it was worth sharing. :)

[Dan.Dare]

Also you do realize the Source engine is incredibly scalable and the beauty is you can play on low end hardware or high end hardware and either way its gonna look good. The high end stuff is gonna look better then anything an XBox (which is just a budget PC hooked up to an HDTV) could produce.



This is a rather moot point. Consoles have won the gaming wars. That much is clear. It is all well and good speaking about the intricacies of Source but the fact is that the public will never care about that. Consoles have taking gaming to the mass market, something awkward-to-use computers could never achieve.

[palebluedot]

This is a rather moot point. Consoles have won the gaming wars. That much is clear. It is all well and good speaking about the intricacies of Source but the fact is that the public will never care about that. Consoles have taking gaming to the mass market, something awkward-to-use computers could never achieve.

Awkward to use computers? hah. You mean the foundation of modern gaming? Consoles are just cheap computers my friend.

I wont lie PC gaming is struggling thanks to the DRM wars, ongoing piracy, etc. The thing is PC gaming is the groundbreaker still... its where the avant garde, the art, and the revolution of the gaming medium is produced. That comes from Gabe at Penny Arcade and not me, and everyone knows PA are platform agnostic console lovers as much as they are PC gamers.

That said no one can argue that FPS games are made to be played ON PCs, for the keyboard and mouse, easy upgradeability, and primarily the modding. The reason Halo was so revolutionary is that it made a targeting system that frat boys could use - that is to say it didn't uterlly suck.. it only kind of sucked.

To me PC gaming is more then the money or the numbers - I don't care that consoles are winning out because the 12-18 year old demographic is using them. Thats fine. I'm perfecty happy to continue to support PC gamign with its groundbreaking corss genre games - and I get to use a mouse and keyboard while doing it. That and Steam is the greatest content distribution system that has ever been made and invalidates DRM. XBox Live is pretty nice but is nothing short of a Steam copy that you pay for... and doesn't always work as well.

on a side note:
The dream world would of course be a native Steam.app for OS X - then Steam could distribute Mac games like Greenhouse does for the indie games from PA.

[Huntn]

I read that XBOX tirade and my head hurt.

People play Valve games on the XBox these days? LOL. Are you serious?!

Steam is hailed as one of the greatest content distribution platforms ever created (although I had my dads back when they first implemented friends pre-Source and it was down for about a year).

Also you do realize the Source engine is incredibly scalable and the beauty is you can play on low end hardware or high end hardware and either way its gonna look good. The high end stuff is gonna look better then anything an XBox (which is just a budget PC hooked up to an HDTV) could produce.

Consoles have "won out" because its easier for parents to buy their kids console games.. the PC gaming community is still large and active. Plus theres mods.. lets not forget the modding community.

But all that being said we can end this argument with one simple statement....

Keyboard and mouse. /thread

My take:
Source is onerous, not great, but thats just an opinion. I realize there is a piracy problem so I guess I don't hold it against Valve but I prefer password protection and being able to sell a game after I'm done with it. Of course developers don't want you to be able to sell your game when you are done with it. :(

PC games are leading edge. Developers are locked into whatever standard the current generation of consoles support. However, I'm finding that I have gone from a high dislike of console games to enjoying playing certain games, mostly coop on my large T.V. :) But, some games are still going to be PC, like Fallout 3, Elder Scrolls 4:Oblivion, where I can take it on the road with me (I travel a lot with my work). However I admit since jumping back into WoW, that is mostly what I do while traveling. :p

I really wanted to play the Xbox 360 demo but it is no where to be found. I don't take buying a $60 game lightly. ;) Is there a PC demo out there?

So what is the forum verdict on F3, thumbs up or down especially concerning it's coop features? Can two players do coop on one box? Do you need a party of 4? If you use 2 real people, do you get A.I. help? Thanks! :D

[GreenFrog]

How well would this game run on a September '07 Macbook Pro with the GeForce 8600M GT 256 MB?

I don't expect it to run on full settings, but just on medium with a decent frame rate.

[Elloise]

Things change people, learn to live with it.

People are allowed to do something different than you, and enjoy it without having to be subjected to this outdated argument on platform superiority.

With that in mind I'll leave my opinion on which is best out of the thread, but I can say that Orange Box on 360 is outstanding, I'll check out L4D when I get home to see what all this fuss is about.

[palebluedot]

Things change people, learn to live with it.

People are allowed to do something different than you, and enjoy it without having to be subjected to this outdated argument on platform superiority.

With that in mind I'll leave my opinion on which is best out of the thread, but I can say that Orange Box on 360 is outstanding, I'll check out L4D when I get home to see what all this fuss is about.

The OP was asking what system to use it on and the PC gamers merely made their point heard and were refuted by the console gamers. Nothing more.

To quote the Wii Super Fan, "Do what you like". lol

It is not really an issue of change at all. Anyway either way get L4D, It's a hell of a game.

[Elloise]

The OP was asking what system to use it on and the PC gamers merely made their point heard and were refuted by the console gamers. Nothing more.

Well, they asked between MBP and 360, the PC crowd chipped in which devolved eventually into tired old KB+M FTW territory.

It is not really an issue of change at all.
Not from the OP, no. But the resistance in accepting console as a perfectly good platform for what most users want is all over this thread.

Look. People can play what they want on what they like. I'm really ok with that. I just think those that aren't should get some new material to keep things interesting.

[rougegoat]

first things first, i am not a Mac user, so i technically have no reason to be here in the first place. i was looking around for tips on getting L4D to work on a Mac for my not-so tech savvy friend(which, btw, found in this thread).

but that's hardly worth starting an account for a comment. the reason i'm leaving a comment here is because there is a striking difference in maturity between the two groups who keep arguing here. the console fanboys seem to be much, much less mature than the PC crowd just based off of how they are responding to comments and the way they "brag" about their systems(without putting up much of any evidence to anything they say). the console fanboys are apparently to stupid to realize that some things do run better on a PC, while the PC users have all been pretty uniform in admitting that sometimes a console is better. the PC gamers are noticably more mature just because of this fact. that and they realize that there is more than just what the game comes with to it(i.e. modding community).

the console fanboys who keep putting stuff up saying how they won the war and all that need to grow up and realize that somethings just work better elsewhere.

summary: thanks for acting mature PC gamers. console fanboys, grow the **** up and learn something about technology.

[Elloise]

the reason i'm leaving a comment here is because there is a striking difference in maturity between the two groups who keep arguing here.

Really glad you got your friend sorted out.

No idea what thread you were reading to inspire the rest of the contribution.

[palebluedot]

Well, they asked between MBP and 360, the PC crowd chipped in which devolved eventually into tired old KB+M FTW territory.


Not from the OP, no. But the resistance in accepting console as a perfectly good platform for what most users want is all over this thread.

Look. People can play what they want on what they like. I'm really ok with that. I just think those that aren't should get some new material to keep things interesting.

You are in the PC GAMING thread.. we come here to talk about PC Gaming. We don't want to deal with console fanbois coming to tell us how awesome it is to play 1337 games for cheap and how consoles are good for the mass public. I don't really care. PC Gaming has enough trouble with DRM and bad publishers as it is (coincidentally the publishers who are pushing for console acceptance like EA) that we dont need to have tit-for-tat about how awesome XBOX's are. If you want to discuss consoles, etc. Mac Rumors has a forum specifically for that.

And a MBP is a PC, there is no difference minus some weaker specs then most home built gaming PCs.

[Elloise]

.....

You've made a valid point there.

I got here via Forum Spy so didn't really pay attention to where I was. That was careless, I don't know what I was thinking and I'll be careful in future to respect the laws of your sanctuary.


You shall not attempt to be objective
You accept that any comment that doesn't endorse PC will result in immediate branding of you as a console fanboy, regardless of how many PC's you own
A MBP is a PC


I'm sure you don't actually think like this, as I don't believe the exact opposite so lets just be friends ok? But for the record, this is an Apple Games thread.

[irishgrizzly]

I was playing this last night. It's funny but when I play this alone (no human team-mates), I find it really scary! The feeling of being overwhelmed is so palpable at all times. Really enjoying it and looking forward to new maps or gametypes.

[palebluedot]

I was playing this last night. It's funny but when I play this alone (no human team-mates), I find it really scary! The feeling of being overwhelmed is so palpable at all times. Really enjoying it and looking forward to new maps or gametypes.

yea it is amazing how the game play is.

Tomorrow night I am having a LAN with 3 of my close friends. We are all gonna put our laptops in a dark room and play through all 4 of the campaigns. I'm predicting we will have PTSD by the time the night is done with haha.

I can't wait to see what a game like this is like at a LAN - What with the cries of terror...

[stuff99]

can the new aluminum macbooks run this?

[ChrisN]

can the new aluminum macbooks run this?

Med settings you get 35-40 fps just check youtube.

ChrisN

[Huntn]

I was playing this last night. It's funny but when I play this alone (no human team-mates), I find it really scary! The feeling of being overwhelmed is so palpable at all times. Really enjoying it and looking forward to new maps or gametypes.

Playing solo does the game give you a default 4 player A.I. team? I want to play this game but I'm waiting a bit to see if a demo ever appears on the 360.

[Huntn]

Playing solo does the game give you a default 4 player A.I. team? I want to play this game but I'm waiting a bit to see if a demo ever appears on the 360.

Oh heck, I picked up the game today for the 360. The introduction is enough to sell the game and I'll say "wow" when a bunch of infected are bearing down on you and guns are blazing. Outstanding motions graphics as they charge and crumple. Scary? Not really if you've played and have handled other games such as System Shock 2, Alien vs Predator or Doom3. :)

It feels very much like Half Life 2 (no surprise there considering the publisher) and the movie 28 Days, but in contrast to HL2 you do have 3 A.I. team mates if your playing solo and the game does support 2 on coop/split screen for the same xbox (not online). It will be a week or so before I get to try coop. I'm playing on "normal" and it's pretty easy. I may notch it up a bit. When ever I pay $60 for a game, it makes me real happy when it proves worthy. :D

[Supaklaw]

#1 Sold my 360, sick of nubbites and douches on XBL. Much happier. Some people like the social scene of XBL, friends lists, and general high school/myspace type atmosphere, teens dropping the F bomb and N word every 2 seconds like their nanny is on vacation... I'm too old for that so good riddance.

#2 PC gives you more control over the graphics card options, and you are effectively playing with better hardware... even though source engine is kinda old and xbox hardware can handle it easily.

#3 Anyone crashing running this in Bootcamp or emulation... check torrents, you need to swap out the engine dll in the bin folder with older engine.... newer one is optimized for multicore processing, but not duocores so that has been causing crashing. Turn off the MCP in options too.

#4 No idea how anyone can be bored of this game... if you expect Dead Rising, House of the Dead, Resident Evil... it's not those games. This is the Halo of zombie games. Very simple, streamlined, tons of references to other films, infinitely replayable, and you must keep spare pants around.

That is all, carry on.

[Elloise]

...sick of nubbites and douches on XBL......teens dropping the F bomb and N word every 2 seconds like their nanny is on vacation...

It really is painful when matchmaking isn't it?! It's good when you can get some mates together and group up for some normal interaction, but outside of that it gets a bit meh.

It does add +7 satisfaction to every headshot though.

[sangosimo]

always play valve games on the pc because of the mod community.

[j0n24]

How well would this game run on a September '07 Macbook Pro with the GeForce 8600M GT 256 MB?

I don't expect it to run on full settings, but just on medium with a decent frame rate.

I have an August 2007 SR Macbook pro with a lesser video card (GT 128MB) and the game runs nice and fast in bootcamp with full settings. (Tried it in Parellels but couldn't get it to run --- bootcamp would be faster anyway obviously).

[Johnny1490]

I have the 13 inch white macbook 2.4 ghz 160 hard drive.

is there anyway i can play left 4 dead?

i know it says you need 256mb video card
i only have 144 mb video card

any possible way?

[Huntn]

I have the 13 inch white macbook 2.4 ghz 160 hard drive.

is there anyway i can play left 4 dead?

i know it says you need 256mb video card
i only have 144 mb video card

any possible way?

I don't think you MacBook even with the Santa Rosa X3100 chipset has a chance of running this game. I think L4D uses Shaders v3 and a X3100 chipset MacBook can barely handle a game as tame as Prenumbra Overture (shaders 2). There is supposed to be a PC demo floating around somewhere, but I've not seen it. That would be your best bet for testing.

[99MustangGTman]

I have it for my 360. The game is so intense. But I wouldn't buy it unless you have friends to play with.

[palebluedot]

boomer!

[glxyjones]

Just installed this on a Boot Camped Vista partition on my 2.5 MBP and I'm getting poor results. Every couple minutes or so the game freezes up and loops for about 20 seconds. I don't know if this is the MBP not being able to handle the graphics or if it's something else.

Anyone else playing this smoothly on a new MBP with Vista? If so, what are your in game settings?

[tominated]

I have the 13 inch white macbook 2.4 ghz 160 hard drive.

is there anyway i can play left 4 dead?

i know it says you need 256mb video card
i only have 144 mb video card

any possible way?

that's not a graphics card, that's integrated graphics. it might run, but incredibly badly

[Huntn]

"Bla-snarf-clump-burp", I hate that sound!! :D (It's a Boomer, a bloated infected mob who sounds like he has a severe sinus infection and blows up when snot, I mean shot. ;)) Just finished the first two chapters of L4D on the 360. This game is kick ass coop! The top of Mercy Hospital is a real rush. If you like survival shooters you need to play this.

It feels very much like Half Life 2 and it's excellent.

[stuff99]

does the new aluminum macbook have integrated graphics as well?

[Huntn]

does the new aluminum macbook have integrated graphics as well?

I'd say yes (http://techreport.com/discussions.x/15700) however, as integrated graphics become more capable, I'd look for user reports on game performance before making a decision if you have doubts.

Macbook graphics (http://www.apple.com/macbook/graphics.html).

[Supaklaw]

The source engine is very easy on both processors... I think anyone with errors is running the newer engine file... do a google search for the older engine (a file to dump into the "bin" folder) that removes multiprocessing and stops the crashes. If I can find the link I'll post it.

[Huntn]

The game includes 4 campaigns each made up of about 4 chapters. I really like that at the start of each chapter, the game puts up something that looks like a movie poster with all the stars, the 4 people in your group and uses players names. At the end of each chapter a long list of statistics rolls by, most kills, most headshots, least damage, most tank damage, most witch damage (avoid witches), etc. Amazingl, you as an individual kill hundreds of infected in each chapter and by the end of a campaign you've killed thousands.

My only critique of the game is that there are certain events that trigger "rushes", when you are rushed by large groups of infected. Sometimes it appears like they come out of nowhere, but heck, it's still fun. :)

Mercy Hospital Campaign- In the sewer I had a hard time finding the way out.

Spoiler: Once you find the room with ammo, follow the tunnel in the room (the tunnel splits, but apparently either way works), when you pop out into the general sewer, turn right and look for a ladder that says to Mercy Hospital. I don't know why it was so hard to find...

[Tex-Twil]

I've been running the demo at 1680x1050 everything maxed, save for no AA and 2x AF getting 30+ FPS Tripple Buffered VSYNC
Where did you guys get the demo ?! I've looked for it but it doesnt seem to be released.

T.

[Huntn]

Where did you guys get the demo ?! I've looked for it but it doesnt seem to be released.

T.

I read something that seemed to indicate it *was* available on MS Marketplace (360), but it's not there now. Is there a PC demo?

[Huntn]

I just saw an advertisement (in Indianapolis, In) for Left 4 Dead at Circuit City for $15 off. Don't know if it was for the 360 or PC version. Might be worth a call.

[Huntn]

This weekend we notched up the difficulty to *standback*--> advanced!!. What I noticed is that rushes come more frequently, specialized infected (smoker, boomer), etc appear more frequently. Fortunately they are no harder to kill. At least the run of the mill zombies still fall quickly with head shots and even not.

[JackAxe]

I finally bought this game. It was only $39 at Target. Anyways, I'm looking forward to this coming weekend, so that I can play it with friends.

I started the game on expert and it's noticeably harder than the demo was on the same difficulty setting.

[Huntn]

I finally bought this game. It was only $39 at Target. Anyways, I'm looking forward to this coming weekend, so that I can play it with friends.

I started the game on expert and it's noticeably harder than the demo was on the same difficulty setting.

Are you playing this on PC or 360? I really don't like paying MS to subscribe to their 360 online service so I might have incentive to purchase the PC version and play there (if it is free). I think this game would be super playing with keyboard and mouse although I find for most situations that control with the 360 controller to be acceptable for coop. I've been doing 2 player coop. The critiques about playing with AI team members is that you can't give them orders when it comes to setting up ambushes and sometimes they do their own thing when they should be getting up in a hard to reach, limited access, high place. At the end of the last campaign at the farm house, foolishly I tried to save one of them, got swarmed, and my partner finally said screw it and hit the button to close the door of the APC...

So how long before they add more solo content? The first time through, 4 scenarios seems long enough but the second time it feels much shorter.

Maybe because it was all new then, but "No Mercy" on the top of Mercy Hospital was the best of the scenarios imo.

* Avoid Witches if possible- check.
* For Tanks- Run like hell and evade while shooting every chance you get- check. ;)

[toolbox]

This game is absolutely awesome well i think it is anyway. I just finished that last single player map last night. Has a bit of halflife 2 in it which is cool. I like the fact you can shoot of limbs and there heads explode when you headshot em.

I was very cautions about playing this game first cause i am not a fan of zombies in games, which is why i haven't played doom3 again! But i kind of got used to it.

Geez having this game in surround sound is unbelievable. I had some holy **** moments a few times specially with that bloody witch she will keep chasing you too in one section i shot her, she ended up trying to get on top of this roof i was on and did until i shot her gob. You know when she is around cause the music gets all creepy. The fact that the zombies run after you, climb on objects to get to you is awesome too.

Nice cache of weapons that auto shotgun, pure ownage with that one

[JackAxe]

Are you playing this on PC or 360? I really don't like paying MS to subscribe to their 360 online service so I might have incentive to purchase the PC version and play there (if it is free). I think this game would be super playing with keyboard and mouse although I find for most situations that control with the 360 controller to be acceptable for coop. I've been doing 2 player coop. The critiques about playing with AI team members is that you can't give them orders when it comes to setting up ambushes and sometimes they do their own thing when they should be getting up in a hard to reach, limited access, high place. At the end of the last campaign at the farm house, foolishly I tried to save one of them, got swarmed, and my partner finally said screw it and hit the button to close the door of the APC...

So how long before they add more solo content? The first time through, 4 scenarios seems long enough but the second time it feels much shorter.

Maybe because it was all new then, but "No Mercy" on the top of Mercy Hospital was the best of the scenarios imo.

* Avoid Witches if possible- check.
* For Tanks- Run like hell and evade while shooting every chance you get- check. ;)


I'm playing on my PC. I'm a curmudgeon when it comes to game pads and FPS, :o I bought a Logitech G9 on sale for $79 las week -- I'm a NERD -- and a Belkin n52te the other month. Both of these were worth their cost and have really helped me out -- the G9 especially helps out with Mass Effect and its manual override locks.

I won't be playing this one online until this weekend, because my internet connection is unreliable for only games. *grumbles* Prior to moving to where I am now, I gamed online quite a bit, but with Time Warner(bastards), they first throttle my connection, then they clamp it. This of course boots me from any online gaming service. So I have no choice to go to my friend's place to play -- which I like doing anyways, so no big deal.

There will probably be too many for co-op -- which is why I really wanted this game, so I'm hoping there's enough copies around to play zombie vs human. :)

No idea on the solo content, but probably about 6 months is my guess?

I ran into a Witch in the demo and got my arse handed to me. :)

The tank is the big guy in the video right?

[Huntn]

I'm playing on my PC. I'm a curmudgeon when it comes to game pads and FPS, :o I bought a Logitech G9 on sale for $79 las week -- I'm a NERD -- and a Belkin n52te the other month. Both of these were worth their cost and have really helped me out -- the G9 especially helps out with Mass Effect and its manual override locks.

I love the N52.

I won't be playing this one online until this weekend, because my internet connection is unreliable for only games. *grumbles* Prior to moving to where I am now, I gamed online quite a bit, but with Time Warner(bastards), they first throttle my connection, then they clamp it. This of course boots me from any online gaming service. So I have no choice to go to my friend's place to play -- which I like doing anyways, so no big deal.

What? I've not heard of this but it sounds like BS (not what your saying, what TW is doing).

There will probably be too many for co-op -- which is why I really wanted this game, so I'm hoping there's enough copies around to play zombie vs human. :)

No idea on the solo content, but probably about 6 months is my guess?

I ran into a Witch in the demo and got my arse handed to me. :)

The tank is the big guy in the video right?

The witch comes after whoever startles her. You can be saved by teammates, but only after you've gotten the s*** kicked out of you. ;) Yeah, the big guy, the tank looks like a deformed Hulk. If all 4 team mates are shooting him, he goes down fast enough.

[JackAxe]

My friend has Time Warner north -- about 30 miles -- from where I live and his connection is fine, so it's something in this neighborhood.

Yeah, it helps. It's much easer to situate than a keyboard. :) That new Logitech one looks good. If it has an analog stick, I'll be interested in getting one, but I'd have to feel it first, because the Belkin is great to use for extended periods of time.

Anyways, this game is so much fun and one of many I'm really liking right now.

[DARKiLLUSiON]

sorry for bumping an old thread but..I've been thinking to pick this game up..
I'm running the white mb

MacBook Specs:
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz
4GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor using 144MB
Leopard 10.5.6
think is the Sanata Rosa chip

I really hope it could run it....

[tdgrn]

sorry for bumping an old thread but..I've been thinking to pick this game up..
I'm running the white mb

MacBook Specs:
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz
4GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor using 144MB
Leopard 10.5.6
think is the Sanata Rosa chip

I really hope it could run it....

I wouldn't hold my breath, the GMA is not your friend in this case... Sorry bro, I honestly think it would be a waste of your money if you bought this game for this system.

[DARKiLLUSiON]

ah..bummer:(
thanks for the heads up least I saved some money lol

[aznguyen316]

I have the 13 inch white macbook 2.4 ghz 160 hard drive.

is there anyway i can play left 4 dead?

i know it says you need 256mb video card
i only have 144 mb video card

any possible way?

The guy above is correct. You'll just get a "slide show" when zombies come on screen. I've done a bit of research in hopes of the x3100 running L4D. YOu can check youtube vids of it not running well at on via bootcamp and some google searches of "Left 4 Dead" x3100

[Huntn]

ah..bummer:(
thanks for the heads up least I saved some money lol

Consider a 360?

[JackAxe]

Consider a 360?

Or put that money towards a more powerful PC rig with better controls for not much more, and save in the long run. But who knows, maybe he likes the added challenge of thumb-aiming, and the addition of another monthly fee just to play online. ;)

But he mentioned saving money. :)

[tomharris]

sorry for bumping an old thread but..I've been thinking to pick this game up..
I'm running the white mb

MacBook Specs:
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz
4GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor using 144MB
Leopard 10.5.6
think is the Sanata Rosa chip

I really hope it could run it....

Intel x3100 is very weak, but you can make it work if you are running bootcamp with XP Pro. Online will be very choppy and really not enjoyable. If you want to play the single player campaigns, install it on XP, then go into the registry and search for "3dmark". This should pull up multiple sections in the registry. Add a "dword" in that section of the registry with both of these....

_left4dead.exe and ~left4dead.exe

Once you do that, edit the dword and change the hex value to 1.

What that does is put the shader process on the processor. The game runs pretty smooth at that point. But, once you add the online elements, it becomes too much for it to handle, in the areas where you get swarmed. Also, you have to run it at 640x480 and all low detail.

That is how a buddy of mine got it running on his 2.4duo 4gb ram, x3100 white macbook.

For anyone out there that recently bought the white macbook (2.0duo with the 9400 nvidia integrated chip), this runs it very well, no chop, med-high settings across the board on widescreen. Very glad I got this machine and not the x3100. Need some gaming on the go, and the x3100 would have been a killer.

Bottom line...x3100 just isn't a gaming chip. My buddy mentioned that the limit he sees is around HL2 as far as high settings and running smooth. After that (or more current games), low details at best, and chop.

[aznguyen316]

that's cool there's a command to allow shaders to run processor side, but yeah from what I've seen/read x3100 is a slideshow w/ L4D.

[EdgeIcon]

Hello,
I am in dire need of help. Friends cant figure it out.. and I sure cant.. nor can I find information on this.

I am attempting to play left4Dead on my 6ghz intel core 2 duo macbook.
I used Boot camp to load windows Vista.
Vista works.
I am just missing the isight and the Network controller drivers( i assume is wireless).
ethernet works fine.

I have downloaded and ran steam fine, I *AM* able to chat with others online.

however, left4Dead will not for the life of me run.

I have reinstalled it twice.
I have updated everything I can ( windows, steam, and L4D )
I have the most recent version of DirectX.

I really do not know what to do.

It will say "Preparing to Launch".

but it will never launch, just closes out the "preparing" window and act like nothing happened.

Any suggestions?
and If this is the wrong thread to ask, please guide me to the proper board.

I appreciate it in advanced.
Hopefully I can figure this out before the weekend. :D

[Dagless]

First off you don't have a 6ghz MacBook.
Secondly did you install the drivers from the Leopard DVD? It sounds like you didn't since they install drivers for every bit of the MacBooks hardware.

[Consultant]

Hello,
I am in dire need of help. Friends cant figure it out.. and I sure cant.. nor can I find information on this.


http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/

Ever heard of nvidia drivers? google it.

Did you get the 6ghz MacBook from some boxes in the elevator?

[nateDEEZY]

http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/

Ever heard of nvidia drivers? google it.



I'm sure you've heard of proprietary hardware. Most nvidia drivers are incompatible with bootcamp installs.

kthnx.

[Consultant]

I'm sure you've heard of proprietary hardware. Most nvidia drivers are incompatible with bootcamp installs.

kthnx.

Wrong. Latest Nvidia driver for the specific card works fine on my MBP. Not sure what you are doing wrong.

[Huntn]

Wrong. Latest Nvidia driver for the specific card works fine on my MBP. Not sure what you are doing wrong.

I agree. I've used Nvidia beta drivers without any issues at LaptopVideo2go.com (http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/drivers).

For more related links regarding Nvidea beta drivers, including install guides, see the Misc Links section of the MacRumors Windows Gaming on a Mac FAQ (http://guides.macrumors.com/Windows_Gaming_on_a_Mac_FAQ).

[Consultant]

On another note, 32bit or 64bit?

Conclusion:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/64-bit-vista-gaming,2250-13.html

They did not compare xp to vista though.

[Dagless]

I'm sure you've heard of proprietary hardware. Most nvidia drivers are incompatible with bootcamp installs.

kthnx.

No that's not true.

[nateDEEZY]

No that's not true.

Tell me the 8600M GT 512MB in the 17" MBP drivers from NVidia's site works.

A simple query in a search engine shows multiple people having issues installing unmodified drivers from Nvidia's website on the 8600M GT.

Wrong. Latest Nvidia driver for the specific card works fine on my MBP. Not sure what you are doing wrong.

I'm doing nothing wrong. It's a problem if I have to edit inf files, go to a 3rd party website to find proper drivers to install something basic. That is wrong.

[Consultant]

Tell me the 8600M GT 512MB in the 17" MBP drivers from NVidia's site works.

A simple query in a search engine shows multiple people having issues installing unmodified drivers from Nvidia's website on the 8600M GT.

I'm doing nothing wrong. It's a problem if I have to edit inf files, go to a 3rd party website to find proper drivers to install something basic. That is wrong.

Nope. Mine works fine. If you search for any issue some people might have the same thing, but lots of people are NOT having problems.

Sounds like your windows install is messed up.
Uninstall your graphics drivers, and install the one from nvidia.

FYI this is L4D thread, not Nvidia driver support thread. You might want to make your own thread on this.

[Huntn]

On another note, 32bit or 64bit?

Conclusion:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/64-bit-vista-gaming,2250-13.html

They did not compare xp to vista though.

Thanks for the link!

[Huntn]

Tell me the 8600M GT 512MB in the 17" MBP drivers from NVidia's site works.

A simple query in a search engine shows multiple people having issues installing unmodified drivers from Nvidia's website on the 8600M GT.

I'm doing nothing wrong. It's a problem if I have to edit inf files, go to a 3rd party website to find proper drivers to install something basic. That is wrong.

Those are beta drivers that are being developed. You don't have to install them. It's been a while since I installed Nvidia beta drivers without any issues, but I don't remember how I selected what to install. Could there be an issue of not installing the right one? Not intended to sound stupid on my or your part, but you are installing drivers into Windows, not the MacOS?

[Consultant]

Thanks for the link!

=)

Forgot to mention they have a number of benchmarks, including some on L4D.

For the person who need more info on nvidia drivers, removal, etc.:
http://www.tweakguides.com/NVFORCE_1.html
As I said it works fine for me, for windows that is.

[aznguyen316]

grabbin pills

[Admonitor]

Downloaded my nVidia drivers, for a 9400M MacBook, directly from nVidia and they work great - a hell of a lot better than the drivers on the Leopard DVD too.

[Dagless]

^ That's agiven. Bootcamp comes with the original drivers, if you want the latest you have to go elsewhere. Unreal 3 engine games (UT3, Bioshock etc) have a huge performance leap from the original drivers too.

Only 10 or so days until the big update! Can't wait :)
Surprised at how easy it is to make sound mods. In the process of making a Cartman Tank and Rimmer common infected.

[aznguyen316]

^ That's agiven. Bootcamp comes with the original drivers, if you want the latest you have to go elsewhere. Unreal 3 engine games (UT3, Bioshock etc) have a huge performance leap from the original drivers too.

Only 10 or so days until the big update! Can't wait :)
Surprised at how easy it is to make sound mods. In the process of making a Cartman Tank and Rimmer common infected.

10 days until a L4D update? really? Is this the update to include the SDK? If sooo I can't wait for some awesome mods in the near future. Hope modders make as good material as HL2 has.

Also just to add I'm using DOX modified driver of 185.20 and I love it. Increased 10+FPS on Dawn of War II. Works on everything else just fine as previous nVidia beta drivers.

[Dagless]

Yup! The SDK is included. Both the missing versus campaigns will be added along with a new survival mode (basically a never ending finale with a high score timer) that takes place on a lighthouse.

Can't
effin
wait. :D

Seriously those on my Steam friends list will see I play about 2 hours a day of this game :).

[aznguyen316]

Yup! The SDK is included. Both the missing versus campaigns will be added along with a new survival mode (basically a never ending finale with a high score timer) that takes place on a lighthouse.

Can't
effin
wait. :D

Seriously those on my Steam friends list will see I play about 2 hours a day of this game :).

OOH SNAP! I remember hearing about that DLC, freaking A, survivor mode! I didn't know it was coming so soon. I have this on steam and 360. Will the update be available for 360 as well for free? I'd like to play some w/ my GF as this is the first FPS she's really liked, so I'm milking this game time with her.

[Dagless]

Valve will be selling a GOTY (or something) edition of L4D for both 360 and PC that contains the update but it will also be a free update for both systems too. That's just so awesome, innit!
Btw you can have splitscreen mode on the PC version too, but one person needs to use a controller for that to work.

They might sneak in another weapon too. There have been rumours about a flamethrower going back pre-launch.

[aznguyen316]

Valve will be selling a GOTY (or something) edition of L4D for both 360 and PC that contains the update but it will also be a free update for both systems too. That's just so awesome, innit!
Btw you can have splitscreen mode on the PC version too, but one person needs to use a controller for that to work.

They might sneak in another weapon too. There have been rumours about a flamethrower going back pre-launch.

flaming zombies hahah that'd be great fun.

and split screen on PC? hmm did not know that.. oh well she's into getting the Gamertag achievements so it's all good. Thanks for the info though ragged! Lookin forward to the 21st! I'll have to have it d/l'ed and ready to go sometime during the day so I can play it after work

[Dagless]

Guide for it here if anyones interested. http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=745113

A friend of mine tried it using a PS2 controller, said it worked great. So now 2 PC's could technically run a full 4 player local game! My bedroom could :eek:

[NoNameBrand]

I've been playing L4D in VMWare Fusion on my MacPro. Aside from cutscene audio stutter, and the first minute or so being a bit jerky, it works very well, and I don't have to boot Windows. Using an XP Home SP3 VM.

I'm so happy I don't have to dual boot.

[chrmjenkins]

I've been playing L4D in VMWare Fusion on my MacPro. Aside from cutscene audio stutter, and the first minute or so being a bit jerky, it works very well, and I don't have to boot Windows. Using an XP Home SP3 VM.

I'm so happy I don't have to dual boot.

That's actually very impressive.

[Dagless]

Impressive? Going off words? Heh. Numbers please; average FPS rate, DirectX level, settings level, load times.
You know the performance under Windows will be a huge improvement?

[aznguyen316]

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-3707-LA-Gaming-News-Examiner~y2009m4d16-Left-4-Dead-Survival-Mode-detailed

Here are the worthy details:
The goals for Survival Mode are "to deliver a mode of play distinct from Campaign or Versus, have games that regularly last under ten minutes, and emphasize competition with team play through leaderboards."
The Hospital Elevator portion of the 'No Mercy' campaign has been revealed as one of the survival mode areas.
The mode adds a 'lull' variable which is simply a brief period of time where nothing new will spawn, the 'lull' will not be highlighted by any signal, it will just happen and the survivors will have to react in time.
It is much more complex than a typical survival mode that simply increases the volume of spawns as the players survive longer. Rather each form of infected (Horde, Specials, Tank) have individually set spawn times that adjust separately from each other, so for instance in the first couple of minutes the nearly impossible combo of three hunters and a tank could appear at the same time; likewise, several minutes in things could seem easier than when the round opened.
Ammo piles have been moved to less defensible positions on the maps. Which means making an ammo run is "rarely a safe proposition and requires good teamwork and planning."

Good ****, lookin forward to it!

[chaosbunny]

Just a little side note, I always have to laugh when someone dies, drops his riffle and Zoey says in surprise voice: "Hey guys there's weapons over here!" :D

[P-Worm]

I played some Survival today and it is awesome! Seriously, I think this might be funner than the original game itself.

P-Worm

[Dagless]

Oh hells yes. Survival mode is brilliant. I love that leaderboards only display you and your friends times rather than some top 10 that you'll never get on.

I've not played Dead Air (my fave level :)) on Versus but Death Toll was great. Some exploitable areas are still present but they'll no doubt patch the hell out of them.

They've taken an already great game and made it better. Can't help but think the "GoTY edition" is nothing more than to get another crack at the Metacritic scores.

[Huntn]

My zombie killing experience is quite limited, having played L4D and the latest incredibly disappointing Resident Evil demo. I think L4D is one of the finest coop game I've ever played. How would you rank it compared to your average zombie survival game? My impression is that it is at the top of the heap.

[Rodus]

Yes, top of the heap. Killing Floors is fun but feels like the (originally) mod it is, I've always found Resident Evil overrated. Part of the attraction of L4D for me is the limited weaponry, instead of constantly searching for the biggest, baddest firepower you have to cope with realistic guns, I wouldn't want the BFG et al in a game like this. Roll on L4D 2.

[Verdasca]

Hello

I installed VMware Fusion on my macbook yesterday and then WIN XP so i could play left 4 dead. I have a macbook 2.4 2gb ram and a NVIDIA 9400 M, who i think is more than sufficient to play left 4 dead but im having problems on playing it. when i start the game it goes great shows the valve picture then the little trailer but when in comes up to menu i cant move anything and the letters are all black and i cant do anything :confused:

can anyone help me fix this pls? :(

compliments

[Rodus]

^^Play it under bootcamp, apparently it can be run under Fusion but it'll take a big performance hit. If you insist on doing it in VMWare then make sure you've installed VMWare tools. Oh and 2 gigs isn't really enough RAM.

[Verdasca]

and with vmware tools what do i do?

how much ram do u suggest to instal on my mac?

[Rodus]

Just install VMWare Tools, you don't have to do anything, they'll boost your graphics performance amongst other things in the background. 4 gigs of RAM would be better, 2 for the virtual OS (Windows) 2 for OS X.

[Verdasca]

dammit i just instaled it and it stays the same :(

know anything else i could do?:confused:

[Huntn]

Bootcamp + $50 for Windows XP might work. But I don't know about the video card. Does L4D require Shaders2 and does that model Mac support Shaders2?

[Verdasca]

sorry my ignorance but what is shaders 2? :(

program to download?

cant buy cross over unfortunately

[BradenG]

Verdasca,

What's your specs, video card in particular.

[Dagless]

I built a Shader test app for my own games. I don't know if it will run under Parallels or whatever but it might help - http://bossbaddie.com/files/pixelshadertest.zip.

[Huntn]

sorry my ignorance but what is shaders 2? :(

program to download?

cant buy cross over unfortunately

I may have unnecessarily alarmed you, but for some people this might be an issue. I thought at some point a little over a year ago, the MacBook did not support Shaders2, a video card standard. But now they do. I also think that if you are running this game in Windows/Parallels and your card does not support it, you may get an error message regarding lack of Shader2 video support. Does FusionWare include Shader 2 support?

Surprisingly I found these L4D specs at Yahoo Answers (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090615022109AA9uHVB):

3.0 GHz Pentium 4, 2.0 GHz Dual Core, or AMD64X2 processor,
1 GB(2 GB for Vista) RAM,
128 MB DirectX 9.0 graphics card,
Pixel Shader 2.0 support,
DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card

Yeah it will run it, but that video processor is going to slow you down quite a bit. Run it on low to medium settings and you should be ok.

The person there was running a:
White Macbook
Processor: 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Video: NVIDIA GeForce 9400 256vRAM

[Rainier42]

What's the best place to get the OS X version of this game?

[Huntn]

What's the best place to get the OS X version of this game?

A tongue'n-cheek response? :) This game is not available to run natively under OSX.

[Syonidism]

here is a free alternative:

- pirate xp/vista

- BootCamp

- pirate L4D

- play.

but you shouldn't do that.

[MasConejos]

Crossover Games 8.0 (released today) includes official support for L4D (and Snow Leopard)