Commentary in L4D.

[QuotidianTemerity]

Developer commentary is a most promising feature that doesn't strictly pertain to floating-point operations per µsecond, a feature whose nature cannot be conveyed by german journalists as "zere are mäni påliguns in zis gäme".
Commentary adds depth to a game. It also provides us with an insight into the development process of the title in question. Why then should it be excluded from L4D?

It could be implemented in a manner adjacent to that of TF2; that is, the commentary can only be viewed (or listened to, rather) while running a listen server through the "developer commentary" option in the main menu. Simple, eh?

Next, to address concerns that "implementing this would only prolong the time until release"; no, it wouldn't.
By the time the commentary is being implemented - usually at the end of the development cycle - most of the "crew", especially those responsible for creating textures and the like, are reduced to playtesters. These individuals should obviously be available to record the commentary itself.




Also, for those of you who enjoyed the commentary in the OB titles, I suggest you check out The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Riddick:_Escape_from_Butcher_Bay ), a great game with terrific commentary.

[Shrubberyjsc]

Sounds good.

[Dead Fish]

å
There is no such thing in the German language... :/ Besides from that, I totally agree with you. :D

[QuotidianTemerity]

There is no such thing in the German language... :/

I'm aware of that.

[squerl]

We have already gotten a lot of commentary on the process of design decisions, but it would be really cool to see. Things like map changes (the elevator turned into the truck, the finale tower with stairs is no more, etc.) would be neat to have, then design with the boss infected, etc.

I like how TF2 did it a lot. I wish EP2 would have had it where you can just magically jump to next point, so I don't have to replay the entire game to hear the commentary.

[hooray for zombies]

I would love to hear Mike B's dulcet tones in the form of commentary, mmmmm, so nice.

[Etheallmighty]

Mike B's

yeah chet did actually a lot of commentary in Portal, i was doing that last night......oh btw I noticed a glitch (360 version) i think??.... in comentary movde, when I shoot a portal and press X (equivalent to clicking mouse and pressing E) u appear at the next commentary pointI like how TF2 did it a lot. I wish EP2 would have had it where you can just magically jump to next point

...oh just noticed that...ok no glitch then :)...but the commentary really helped on one of the portal levels, where originally u have to get cubs/orbs,etc...but in the commentary they tell you u can just jump off here and bypass all of that to beat the level (taking about 10 seconds)...so later 2night I'm gonna do that to get MORE GOLD MEDALS!

[Puscifer]

teh cake is a lie!

commentary would be cool in l4d, booth n chet and the rest of the god like dev's talking bout different parts of the game;)

[Dead Fish]

Tbh, I didn't listen to all of the commentary in the Orange Box (except TF2), although I'd find it tinteresting, because I didn't want to rush through the levels just for listening to the commentary.

I agree with squerl on this a lot. They'd have to implement a similar feature to TF2.

[gorgoth]

Oh funny commentary story. In Portal, the first time you encounter the rocket bot, you use it to break the two glass sheets. After that, I spent an hour+ elaborately placing chairs to get into the pipe. After playing again with the commentary, I was told how players would redirect the missile into the tube, dropping a cube to climb on. Funny, also sad. I want commentary in L4D, as it would be enjoyable and provide insight into the workings of the game.

[Armored_Zombie_Cow]

lol shrub made a new thread!!
he must have forgotten that he had actually posted on a thread of the same topic lolz!!!!

[Tarron]

In Portal, the first time you encounter the rocket bot, you use it to break the two glass sheets. After that, I spent an hour+ elaborately placing chairs to get into the pipe


haha, i did the same thing, i didnt say anything for fear of insults of my n00b exterior :(

[dontleave]

haha, i did the same thing, i didnt say anything for fear of insults of my n00b exterior :(

Don't you just use a barrel, then shoot the end of the portal through?

[gorgoth]

No, you can't shoot a portal through. I felt so stupid not knowing I could break the tube and jump onto the cube.

[hooray for zombies]

I tried to portal on top of the tube, and then tried to stack computers. It took me a while to figure out that the rocket would work and when it did I was extremely surprised