With the new down loadable content known as the L4D Survival Pack heading are way real fast the L4D team has posted a blog to fill us all in on what we can do to last just a little longer, you know you got a chance when they give you a graph to look over.
l4d.com reads as follows: Survival Mode pits your team against never ending waves of infected. Sounds simple. Just trap the survivors in a small part of a map, unleash the hordes, and record the longest time. Survival Mode, which will be released next week, is actually a bit more than that.
Our 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.
Survival Mode draws on the planning and communication aspects of a successful Finale or Crescendo event, while taking it to another level. It rapidly hits a fever pitch that only a well coordinated team will be able to successfully survive. Everything from simply covering a reviving teammate, to making every shot count to minimize reloads becomes crucial in Survival Mode.
Given the importance of pacing in Survival Mode, we need to define as precisely as possible how the difficulty ramps up during the course of a round. We have numerous variables to work with: mob spawn frequency, special infected spawn frequency, number of each type of special infected, total number of special infected, tank spawn frequency, total number of tanks, and so on. We need all of these variables to work together to create a fairly smooth difficulty curve.
If the curve ramps up too sharply, we find that teams of all skill levels tend to hit a wall at the same time. There isn't enough variation in the times to separate great teams from average ones. If the curve is too flat, then average teams will have a good experience, but really good teams can grind on long enough to cross the line from having fun to just getting worn out.
It might seem that just gradually increasing spawn rates and numbers of infected will create a nice smooth curve, but it turns out to be much trickier than that. Each type of infected has its own spawn schedule, so even though the individual spawn curves may be designed to be fairly easy at a particular point in time, sometimes they overlap in just such a way that the players find themselves in a really bad situation far earlier than we intend.
For example, a tank will be much harder to fight if a mob of common infected spawns at the same time - and nearly impossible if three hunters also show up right at that moment. A similar situation can happen due to variables outside our control - a team may not dispatch a tank or mob quickly enough, causing subsequent waves to start arriving and piling on to an already difficult battle. It's also hard to anticipate when teams will need to make an ammo run or heal up, both of which can be extremely difficult only a few minutes into the round. In order to help visualize these overlap points and the collapse of each spawn curve, we graphed out the wave behavior of infected over the course of a survival round.
EA, MTV and Harmonix has peeled back the wraps for The Beatles: Rock Band Limited Edition Premium Bundle revealing contents, pricing and box art.
Packaged in this ultimate Beatles Rock Band set for PS3, Xbox 360 or Nintendo Wii is The Beatles: Rock Band game; Höfner Bass controller: Large scale replica of the Bass famously used by Sir Paul McCartney; Beatles-inspired and Ludwig-branded Rock Band 2 drums with classic pearl finish and vintage replica Beatles kick drum head; Microphone; Microphone Stand; and additional special content.
As you can imagine all this Beatles goodness won't come cheap. Here in the US this bundle for either of the three consoles will set you back $249.99. Continental Europe retail pricing is €199.00 and £179.00 in the UK.
North American and Europeans who pre-order any version of the game will be eligible to join the The Beatles: Rock Band Pre-Order Club. This nets you breaking news and access to exclusive game elements including art and behind-the-scenes footage directly from MTV Games and Harmonix. The first material will be available in May and flow regularly until the game's worldwide release on September 9, 2009 (09-09-09).
Eurogamer are reporting that Square Enix have confirmed a Winter 2009 release date for Final Fantasy XIII in Japan. The date was shown upon completion of the new FFXIII demo.
That date was pictured at the end of the PS3 FFXIII demo, which is included in the Blu-ray release of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children - due out tomorrow in Japan and in June in North America.
However, European dates for both Advent Children and Final Fantasy XIII are still to be confirmed, the publisher told us this morning.
The demo, according to a Famitsu preview (read by Gamezine, lasts for over an hour and lets players control characters Snow and Lightning. Perhaps they listen to Earth, Wind and Fire.
FFXIII takes full advantage of the Xbox 360 system's advanced hardware, providing tangible, intuitive controls while delivering seamless transitions between real-time gameplay and stunning in-game cinematics. The latest in cutting-edge technology has been utilized in the development of FINAL FANTASY XIII, thus making this newest addition to the FINAL FANTASY series worthy of the title "next generation."
Square Enix also had nothing to say about a trademark filing for Front Mission Evolved, spotted by a keen-eyed Kotaku.
Front Mission is a strategy series in which robots beat each other up. Evolved could be a series reboot, a revamped instalment for XBLA or PSN, or simply one of the many Japanese releases heading West.
Red Faction: Guerrilla is coming to Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION®3 this summer - but you can get your hands on the single player demo today and experience the most realistic destruction engine ever seen - Geo-Mod 2.0 - for yourself.
The Red Faction: Guerrilla Single Player Demo is not open to the general public, but we're offering myTHQ members exclusive access right now – there are a limited number of places available, so sign up today.
As always for more info stay tuned to the 360-HQ for the latest gaming news and updates. For instant updates install the new 360-HQ toolbar which will inform you of everything new on HQ..
I don't know about the rest of the HQ but i have been waiting for a long long time for this game and i will soon have a chance to try the online multiplayer and i cant wait, this game is going to be a hard core eye hand test for sure.
VG247 Capcom has announced that a multiplayer demo for Bionic Commando will land on Xbox Live soon.
In all, the game will contain 16 multiplayer maps, but the demo will focus on Deatmatch mode, the map Vertigo, and support up to eight players.
Konami Digital Entertainment announced today that Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment, the first next-generation installment for the classic tactical RPG series, will be available on Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PLAYSTATION®Network. Featuring newly designed mechanics, Flames of Judgment combines the speedy RPG pace of the original with top-notch visual presentation. The rich storyline expands the universe further serving as the prequel to the original Vandal Hearts.
On the continent of Sostegaria, two rival kingdoms stand on the brink of war. Caught in the tide of battle is young orphan Tobias Martin. Driven to defend his homeland, and to avenge those already fallen, Tobias enlists with his comrades to fight for peace. But all is not what it seems, and they face a threat far deadlier - and closer - than they know. As the massive battle unfolds across expansive environments, players will experience party members adapting to their style of gameplay broadened by a deep range of character customization options.
Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment will be released for Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360 in August 2009 and the PLAYSTATION®Network in September 2009.
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