Valve has brought Christmas early to the Left 4 Dead 2 modding community: the L4D2 Software Development Kit is now available for download right this moment. If you've been aching to create your own maps and mods, now is your chance to do so.
Some of the more substantial features implemented with the L4D2 SDK include:
Game mode logic - Control map behavior depending on which mode is being used. You can recycle the same map for various modes and reduce file size.Director logic - Map events and layouts can change depending on how "angry" the A.I. director feels based on the performance of the players.Scavenge Mode support - All the requirements needed to make your own Scavenge map. Valve has also kindly provided a tutorial map to show you how things work.Also coinciding with the release of the SDK is add-on support for Left 4 Dead 2. Players who want to play custom campaigns and mods must download the "Left 4 Dead 2 Add-On Support" from the Tools tab in Steam to access player-made content. Once the add-on module has downloaded, players can begin using any custom campaign including those made for the original Left 4 Dead. Of course, map authors are encouraged to recompile their maps in the new SDK for better compatibility.
As a side note, we earlier reported on the discovery of L4D2 SDK internal files showing support for custom weaponry, Survivors, and Special Infected. A quick trip to the Steam forums features a post by a Valve developer stating additional support for mods will be coming over the next month -- Valve just wanted the authoring tools released as soon as possible.
Source:Left 4 Dead Blog
Sections:OS & Software, PC Games
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