Left 4 Dead engine branch: Difference between revisions

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; "Counter-Strike bot" AI
; "Counter-Strike bot" AI
: Source's original AI routines appear to have been completely replaced by the successor to Mike Booth's [[Counter-Strike bot]]. As well as unknown changes to code structure, the old [[nodegraph]] system has been superseded by polygonal [[Navigation Meshes|navigation meshes]] that are automatically generated by the engine.
: Source's original AI routines appear to have been completely replaced by the successor to Mike Booth's [[Counter-Strike bot]]. As well as unknown changes to code structure, the old [[nodegraph]] system has been superseded by polygonal [[Navigation Meshes|navigation meshes]] that are automatically generated by the engine.
; AI director
; [[info_director|AI director]]
: A "dungeon master" for the entire game which controls NPC spawning, music, weather effects, map layout, and more.
: A "dungeon master" for the entire game which controls NPC spawning, music, weather effects, map layout, and more.
; Ambient occlusion
; [[$ambientocclusion|Ambient occlusion]]
: Used for the survivors' eyes. See [[$ambientocclusion]].
: Used on the survivors' eyes.
; VPK add-ons
; [[VPK]] add-ons
: An archive format for easy mod distribution. See [[VPK]].
: An archive format for easy mod distribution.
; Lag compensated props
; [[lag compensation|Lag compensated]] props
: [[prop_physics]] entities can be selectively [[lag compensation|lag compensated]].
: [[prop_physics]] entities can be selectively lag compensated.


== Availability ==
== Availability ==

Revision as of 08:56, 3 January 2010

The Left 4 Dead engine branch was released in 2008 with Left 4 Dead, and continued in 2009 with Left 4 Dead 2. It is currently being maintained side-by-side with the Orange Box branch; the two branches share technology, but it is unclear if they will ever be merged.

Unlike other branches, L4D does not require earlier versions of Source to be installed. It stands entirely alone.

Features

New since the Orange Box is:

"Counter-Strike bot" AI
Source's original AI routines appear to have been completely replaced by the successor to Mike Booth's Counter-Strike bot. As well as unknown changes to code structure, the old nodegraph system has been superseded by polygonal navigation meshes that are automatically generated by the engine.
AI director
A "dungeon master" for the entire game which controls NPC spawning, music, weather effects, map layout, and more.
Ambient occlusion
Used on the survivors' eyes.
VPK add-ons
An archive format for easy mod distribution.
Lag compensated props
prop_physics entities can be selectively lag compensated.

Availability

Gamecode for this branch is not included in the Source SDK. However, server plugins are possible.