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[Azure Dream]

The real reason is just that they want all their hit franchises to be at "2". Team Fortress 2. Half Life 2: Episode Two. Left 4 Dead 2 (soon to be renamed Left 2 Die). Garry's Mod X-2. Then they just have to get Portal up to 2 and they'll never make a new game again.


Something's wrong with L4D1, whether it involves their distribution deal with EA, or the engine, or something else, and they want to be done with it and "do it right" this time. That's what I suspect, especially with all the talk of importing L4D1 content, instead of expecting people to buy the original in addition to the sequel.

 

[vandalvideo]

They're probably doing it so they can charge full retail for a slightly improved L4D instead of charging a fraction of the price for what would otherwise constitute DLC.

 

[Blizzard]

The problem isn't what's in L4D2. The problem is what isn't in L4D1.

And aside from Valve time, which may well push out the release date, I'm wary of what would be included in L4D2. Five new campaigns...but will only two be playable in versus mode for months again?

 

[Sibylus]

And aside from Valve time, which may well push out the release date, I'm wary of what would be included in L4D2. Five new campaigns...but will only two be playable in versus mode for months again?

Read teh articles

All campaigns Versus compatible, all campaigns with Survival arenas.

 

[ezekial45]

Also a new multiplayer mode.

 

[Blizzard]

Read teh articles

All campaigns Versus compatible, all campaigns with Survival arenas.

Yes, they're saying that, and if it's true when they release it, then that's better than they released with Left 4 Dead.

I'm saying that "plans change" as people are saying about their L4D1 support, and thus I am somewhat wary about what might change for future releases.

*edit to fix GRAMMAR FAIL*

 

[Draft]

And aside from Valve time, which may well push out the release date, I'm wary of what would be included in L4D2. Five new campaigns...but will only two be playable in versus mode for months again?

I have no reason to believe L4D2 will be anything less than what Valve has promised.

After all, they've had a very successful beta test.

 

[rohlfinator]

The problem isn't what's in L4D2. The problem is what isn't in L4D1.

There are still a lot of people saying that L4D2's content should be DLC, though.

I can see where you're coming from, but at the same time, how many people did not get their money's worth out of L4D1? And if they didn't, they probably wouldn't be interested in L4D2.

They're probably doing it so they can charge full retail for a slightly improved L4D instead of charging a fraction of the price for what would otherwise constitute DLC.

What other games have DLC with the level of content as L4D2?

edit:

I'm saying that "plans change" as people are saying about their L4D1 support, and it thus I am somewhat wary about what might change for future releases.

If they remove those features before the game releases and you don't think the remaining package is worth $50, don't buy it. It's not like you'll be buying the game without full understanding of what's in the box.

 

[Sibylus]

Yes, they're saying that, and if it's true when they release it, then that's better than they released with Left 4 Dead.

I'm saying that "plans change" as people are saying about their L4D1 support, and it thus I am somewhat wary about what might change for future releases.

Of course, but the articles and videos are all we have to go on. The game shipping with only two campaigns in Versus could happen, but given the complaints by people at the first game's amount of content, it probably is on Valve's mind.

 

[andycapps]

I think the problem with Valve's response is that they continue to justify L4D2's value as a stand alone game, which isn't in question. The issue is that LFD1 really didn't have that much stuff in it, and I know there was serious pre-release discussion that centered around that fact, and lots of pish poshing about how it was Valve, and Valve would be dropping all sorts of maps and content on the game.

So now here comes the sequel, and they're all like, wow, look at all the new guns! And it's like, seriously, the first game had three guns. And wow, look at all the new player characters! And while I appreciate the characterization of L4D1's cast, a character in these games is a model and like 200 spoken sentences.

The problem isn't what's in L4D2. The problem is what isn't in L4D1.

You're bringing up good points, and I think that what we all need to realize is that L4D1 was basically just a test for them and we were a glorified large focus group. They saw what worked, what didn't. They saw that people were stacking in corners, which eliminates a lot of the scariness of the game when the zombies are no threat to you. And obviously other things too, but it seems like they're treating that as a foundation or a research project and that this is the game that they really wanted to create. That's what I'm getting out of it anyway.

I would really like to see some form of credit given to people that bought L4D1 in purchasing the sequel. But then you're getting into an issue of how they do that with Xbox 360 users.

 

[Sanjay]

Really good impressions from the 1Up Listen podcast, They left Peter Molyneux for dead! :lol

And aside from Valve time, which may well push out the release date, I'm wary of what would be included in L4D2. Five new campaigns...but will only two be playable in versus mode for months again?

5 new campaigns which will work with Versus, Survival mode stuff, a whole new mode which they have not announced yet, 3 new Special infected, round 20 new weapons, new AI Director which can control the weather system and also which routes you will be able to proceed with. What more do you want for £20! I can't wait to buy this game.

 

[Blizzard]

I have no reason to believe L4D2 will be anything less than what Valve has promised.

After all, they've had a very successful beta test.

I'm assuming you're joking and mean L4D1? :lol :lol

Spoiler

;_;

 

[Won]

Read teh articles

All campaigns Versus compatible, all campaigns with Survival arenas.

You know, plans change!

 

[Blizzard]

5 new campaigns which will work with Versus, Survival mode stuff, a whole new mode which they have not announced yet, round 20 new weapons, new AI Director which can control the weather system and also which routes you will be able to proceed with. What more do you want for £20! I can't wait to buy this game.

20 British pounds = 32.34200 U.S. dollars

They said "Full price", which I can only assume means $50 USD.

And yeah, I normally trust Valve to (eventually) release what they say. I was just making the point that if they "changed their plans" ala how they changed their plans with L4D1, they might not release with all five campaigns playable in versus or something. Hopefully they do, though it wouldn't affect me personally at first anyway.

 

[Sibylus]

You're bringing up good points, and I think that what we all need to realize is that L4D1 was basically just a test for them and we were a glorified large focus group.

Only if you particularly like revisionist history. This wasn't "basically a test for them". They finished the game, were relatively happy with it, and then decided to make something outside the scope of DLC (huge amount of content at once with some big fundamental changes). They didn't go into L4D1 at the beginning and say, "Hey, and let's follow this up with the real Left 4 Dead a year later!"

You know, plans change!

Scroll up, monkey

 

[Sanjay]

Hey £20/£25 is what full price PC games come out at.

 

[1-D_FTW]

I was just making the point that if they "changed their plans" ala how they changed their plans with L4D1, they might not release with all five campaigns playable in versus or something. Hopefully they do, though it wouldn't affect me personally at first anyway.

Which is exactly why I put that somewhere around 0 percent of happening. I really think they'd delay the game before that happened. With all the shit they're taking, to pull out the L4D playbook would seem like suicide for PC sales.

 

[Won]

Scroll up, monkey

It was the sequel, looks the same, costs the same, but was much better!

 

[Chinner]

so ive been a l4d 360 scrub for most of the time, and i've had the pc version for awhile now but im just wondering why the shit do they use the same search engine. i wanna find games with custom maps and shits but to no avail.

or am i a scrub?

 

[Sibylus]

It was the sequel, looks the same, costs the same, but was much better!

Are your referring to the answer I gave Blizzard yet?

 

[Won]

Are your referring to the answer I gave Blizzard yet?

Hmm, maybe.....honestly I don't know anymore.

Overall I would say Valve shouldn't ask us for trust after pulling this stunt. Maybe they deliver, maybe not. I still have some doubts that Valve of all companies can deliver a quality sequel in such a timeframe.

 

[Blizzard]

Hey £20/£25 is what full price PC games come out at.

You're lucky then. On Steam, most new releases (Left 4 Dead, Crysis Warhead, Mirror's Edge if I recall correctly) end up at $50 USD / £30 or so. Not that it's a huge difference, I was just nitpicking.

 

[Sibylus]

Hmm, maybe.....honestly I don't know anymore.

Overall I would say Valve shouldn't ask us for trust after pulling this stunt. Maybe they deliver, maybe not. I still have some doubts that Valve of all companies can deliver a quality sequel in such a timeframe.

Their team got bigger after release, so who knows. They've certainly dumped a lot onto their plate.

 

[Mrbob]

Wow this thing is definitely blowing up much bigger than Valve anticipated. So much damage control going on from them. It is sad to see.

Another problem Valve has is trying to sell this game as a full sequel to L4D. With all the groundwork done on the title last year, all this extra content is expansion pack material. Which is normal in pc gaming.

If Valve would have said L4D expansion pack out fall 09, pc version $29.99 and 360 version $39.99 bam! No issue. But attempting to sell this product as a fully fledged sequel is the main issue. Especially with all their pre-release comments on the original L4D.

 

[Gully State]

My guess is that as a reactionary step, Valve is going to bundle L4D 1 with L4D 2 and charge full price.

 

[MickeyKnox]

As for the resentment over the timing of the sequel, he's just hoping all of you give it a fair shake. "We want to wait and weed through the comments, I'm already getting e-mails, and I'm responding to them," he said. He talked about the reaction to the Orange Box, how people were angry about "buying" Half-Life 2 again. "And looking back, was the Orange Box a ripoff? Give us a fair shake on this, read more about it, find out about it, we've already let people play it here... After that, if you want to vent, post to the forums. We do read them, we read all the forums, we read [the Ars forums]. You can e-mail me at ChetF@valvesoftware.com, or I'm Chet on Steam. Hit me up, we can play some games and talk about it."

Not only is this a completely different situation but there was that little thing with the Black Box you patronizing ass.

And another thing, if you want to make money that's fine, this is a business after all, the game was a great success for you on 360 and that's great but just come the fuck out and say it. Don't play these bullshit PR games with a community that's this old and this large.

 

[ArjanN]

I look forward to all the backpedalling from the 'should be free!' crowd once Valve starts showing more of L4D2 at future events.

 

[Blue Geezer]

If Valve would have said L4D expansion pack out fall 09, pc version $29.99 and 360 version $39.99 bam! No issue.

no issue? really? for being charged for DLC i think a lot of people (on the PC version at least) would have had a major issue with that.

 

[Mrbob]

PC gamers are used to buying expansion packs for games. This happened all the time in pc gaming. Release the original game at full price, and then an expansion 8 to 12 months later for $29.99.

What Valve is adding to the game is worth some value beyond being free. The problem is they are stuck in the middle at the moment. The content does have some monetary value attached to it, but it doesn't feel like a full fledged sequel which they are pushing this as. Five new campaigns is not something most realistic gamers would expect at zero charge. The fact they bring up new weapons and new characters is kind of pathetic. These are items that should be given away for free to flesh out the experience.

Also, part of the extension experience is tied to the SDK release so homebrew material can be created. With the SDK being released between L4D and L4D2, Valve could potentially splinter the community before it ever had to take off. Doesn't matter what they say, the fact L4D2 is coming out this Nov is going to affect how the mod community reacts.

 

[dLMN8R]

You're wrong.

Doug Lombardi confirmed that L4D sold more copies on PC than Xbox 360. The numbers where 2:1 for PC.

Where did you see this? As much as I'm convinced the PC version outsold the 360 version, especially after the $25 sale, I don't remember ever seeing this specific number.

The last such confirmation I remember reading is that, long before any Steam sales took place, the PC version of the Orange Box significantly outsold the 360 and PS3 versions put together.

 

[dasupremeone]

the day L4d2 was announced, Rock Paper Shotgun released their podcast with Chet Faliszek good stuff.

 

[Mad Decent]

Who cares?! It's a great game, and I will definitely purchase L3D2 on day of release.

 

[Blizzard]

Who cares?! It's a great game, and I will definitely purchase L3D2 on day of release.

A THIRD sequel is already announced? This time Valve has gone TOO FAR!

 

[Shrennin]

A THIRD sequel is already announced? This time Valve has gone TOO FAR!

You didn't hear about L4D4gain, I take it?

Anyway, money is probably a big factor, but I loved L4D so I'll probably get this although I'm not sure how well it'll take off - I assume L4D took off well if they are already creating a sequel to it.

 

[wayward archer]

Who cares?! It's a great game, and I will definitely purchase L3D2 on day of release.

 

[rohlfinator]

My guess is that as a reactionary step, Valve is going to bundle L4D 1 with L4D 2 and charge full price.

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised to see something like this happen. In the Ars Technica article Chet mentioned that they're working on getting the new weapons and zombies working in L4D1 maps. And bundling L4D1 seems like the best way to keep the community-splitting to a minimum (short of unrealistic options like giving the new game free to L4D1 owners).

What Valve is adding to the game is worth some value beyond being free. The problem is they are stuck in the middle at the moment. The content does have some monetary value attached to it, but it doesn't feel like a full fledged sequel which they are pushing this as. Five new campaigns is not something most realistic gamers would expect at zero charge. The fact they bring up new weapons and new characters is kind of pathetic. These are items that should be given away for free to flesh out the experience.

New guns, sure. Melee weapons change things more significantly, as they basically demand a new animation/physics -- a chainsaw isn't very exciting if you can't cut off limbs. Likewise, new characters sound pretty basic thing on the surface, but if they added those to the existing game they'd have to write a ton of new dialog for all eight characters, which is beyond the scope of most free DLC.

I think the biggest problem Valve has is that the cohesiveness and story-driven nature of the game make it a very different beast from most multiplayer FPSes. It doesn't lend itself easily to bite-sized chunks that work well as free/cheap DLC, at least not without them seeming half-assed and disconnected.

 

[Slavik81]

Not only is this a completely different situation but there was that little thing with the Black Box you patronizing ass.

I can understand Valve being skeptical about the community reaction. People WAY over-reacted on Black Box's cancelation.
Orange Box was basically Valve giving you HL2 and Episode 1 for free, but the complaining was endless. Could you seriously imagine Episode 2, TF2 and Portal bundled for <$50? If Orange Box was the deal of the century, Black Box would signal the end of the world.

no issue? really? for being charged for DLC i think a lot of people (on the PC version at least) would have had a major issue with that.

I can't speak for everyone, but I certainly wouldn't. If you'll look back at the rumour thread suggesting that there was a L4D2 coming, I suggested that they'd be more likely to put out an expansoin pack. That is, paid DLC.

I'd be much happier with a stand-alone expansion than a sequel. The two need to be integrated so that L4D1 isn't lost and forgotten.

 

[Manos: The Hans of Fate]

So is there really any story or ability for people to create story or plot? That's why I avoided LFD in the first place. I know killing Zombies should be enough, but it just seems well an endless loop, but then again that's my issue with MP. I need something more than just endless killing. I guess most Zombie games and movies suffer from get to point and point b. Still would be cool if say you could use different buildings and stores and use the unique properties (say a bank vs a two level house) or even non-weapon items (almost a co-op rpg/fps game).

I guess my rant is give me some sort of story, but at the very least just plagiarize Max's Brook's Zombie Survival guide for gameplay and environment development. Imagine running from Zombies and you can run in a house, a super market, or a bank. Each has a plus or minus (and possibly unique items).

I just feel that Left For Dead is so basic, but it can be so much more.

Anyone agree?

 

[Twig]

Anyone agree?

No.

Why bog down an excellent multiplayer game with excessive story?

You've already got plenty of environmental story, plus the way the characters talk and interact with each other. The whole point is you make your own story as you play. It is, first and foremost, a game. And nothing should change that.

The sequel is going to focus a bit more on character development, but, thank god, that seems to only be from the things they say, not from cut scenes in the middle of a scenario.

 

[Dacvak]

OP Reply:

Cause DLC is bullshit.

 

[firex]

New guns, sure. Melee weapons change things more significantly, as they basically demand a new animation/physics -- a chainsaw isn't very exciting if you can't cut off limbs.

Especially if you can do it to your own survivors. Chainsaw better be an instant kill if you fuck up and use it on your team.

I admit, all the new features sound great, and maybe I am forgetting that Doom 2 is like the best sequel ever, and it only added one gun and like 5 new enemies, and had 32 all-new maps. So L4D2 might be more like that and still be a really good game, but it feels so cheap.

But man, L4D1 was pretty barebones. In fact, it still is. They're just lucky (well, not lucky, I think they planned on this) that TF2 was boring and hadn't gotten good updates in awhile when L4D came out. Sniper/Spy update and its new content completely eliminated my desire to play L4D again, although when community maps come out I will try them.

So they're not going to do any further official updates for L4D, that's fine, I don't really give a shit. Just don't expect people to be happy that all the things they said the game would get for free are instead being bundled in with the sequel for $50 a year later. I mean it's such a simple concept: don't promise something, then not deliver on it, then show up with everything you promised we'd get for free and attach a heavy price tag to it.

If they're going to bundle them, just do something like L4D2 $30 by itself, $50 with L4D1, and for peons 360 owners, give them some free Allards if their gamertag has L4D1 achievements on it.

 

[NotWii]

Larger dev team working on L4D2 gives me hope that they'll actually finish it on time, given the ambitious ideas they want to do with it, and not much of those ideas are really being showcased in the E3 build.
They've still got a lot of work to do in the next 5 months.

Also seems that rumour about TurtleRock and Valve splitting up most likely had to do with the L4D2 decision. But I guess Valve <3 Turtlerock

It's good that they're thinking about campaigns and migrating some of the technical and minor gameplay changes back into L4D

I'm happy, but I really wanna see more of L4D2 now.

So is there really any story or ability for people to create story or plot? That's why I avoided LFD in the first place. I know killing Zombies should be enough, but it just seems well an endless loop, but then again that's my issue with MP. I need something more than just endless killing. I guess most Zombie games and movies suffer from get to point and point b. Still would be cool if say you could use different buildings and stores and use the unique properties (say a bank vs a two level house) or even non-weapon items (almost a co-op rpg/fps game).

I guess my rant is give me some sort of story, but at the very least just plagiarize Max's Brook's Zombie Survival guide for gameplay and environment development. Imagine running from Zombies and you can run in a house, a super market, or a bank. Each has a plus or minus (and possibly unique items).

I just feel that Left For Dead is so basic, but it can be so much more.

Anyone agree?

No, I don't agree

Have you even played L4D? There's a lot of subtle backstory you can piece together if you pay attention.

 

[Manos: The Hans of Fate]

No.

Why bog down an excellent multiplayer game with excessive story?

You've already got plenty of environmental story, plus the way the characters talk and interact with each other. The whole point is you make your own story as you play. It is, first and foremost, a game. And nothing should change that.

The sequel is going to focus a bit more on character development, but, thank god, that seems to only be from the things they say, not from cut scenes in the middle of a scenario.

Well, that's part of the reason I don't like multiplayer games, it feels like an endless loop. It's doesn't have to be excessive story or cutscenes (in fact I wouldn't want that either).

Can you explain how they are planning to focus more on character? I've most only heard gameplay tweaks being mentioned.

Regarding environmental story, the clips I've seen of LFD (and one of the reason I never got it) didn't show a huge amount of importance on where you were, all the building and rooms seemed to have similar properties.

 

[Twig]

Well, that's part of the reason I don't like multiplayer games, it feels like an endless loop. It's doesn't have to be excessive story or cutscenes (in fact I wouldn't want that either).

Can you explain how they are planning to focus more on character? I've most only heard gameplay tweaks being mentioned.

Regarding environmental story, the clips I've seen of LFD (and one of the reason I never got it) didn't show a huge amount of importance on where you were, all the building and rooms seemed to have similar properties.

Well if you don't like multiplayer games, go play Dead Rising. d: I mean, I'm sorry, but what else do you want?

I don't know if you've ever played Half-Life 2, but if you had, you'd know about all the newspapers and bulletin boards and the way the environment sort of tells its own story, without some raunchy narrator spelling it out for you, step by step.

Left 4 Dead is like that.

Sometimes the characters you play as comment on things they see, but the whole point is, they've been dumped into this mess without any idea of what's really going on. AFAIK, at the time of L4D1, it's still pretty early in the infection phase. L4D2 is a bit later.

The way characters react and talk to each other in L4D2 is supposed to change as you proceed in each campaign. That's how it's different. In L4D1, the characters never changed.

As for each room feeling the same... well, I don't know what to say. You're wrong? I've played each campaign quite extensively, and even within the same LEVEL, things feel different. Not story different, mind you, but they're clearly making progress toward the next "safe room". It's not like you go through apartment building 1, apartment building 2, apartment building 3, etc. until you reach your goal.

In the first campaign alone, you, yes, start out on the roof of an apartment building. Then you get out, walk along the road, through some alleyways to the safehouse, head for the subway, walk along the tracks, go into a factory of some sort from underground, get out, walk down another road to the next safehouse, etc., etc. Go through some sewers, find your way to the roof of a hospital, fend off some bitches until a helicopter rescue. Good times.

 

[DjangoReinhardt]

The problem is that the first L4D was the cash grab. I feel like I paid full-price for the privilege of participating in a (robust) beta, which is not how the game was presented by Valve at all. I could've handled the lean original release if they had built the game up along the way, and even that would've been sub-optimal compared to just waiting until the game was ready and releasing it in 2009.

I'm interested in L4D2 if it's going to be the TF2-like product they promised with the first L4D, but I don't want to give them the benefit of the doubt in November only to see L4D3 announced at E3 2010.

 

[Twig]

Still lollin' at "L4D1 was a beta!"

 

[Draft]

I'm joking when I say L4D was a beta, but I'm serious when I say it's a bit sparse, and I definitely ponied up my dough day 0 firm in the belief that I'd see some more maps and weapons and game types. Feel a little burnt about this whole thing.

L4D2 is going to be the first Valve game that I'm not buying as soon as it's released. Just can't square paying $50 for it. I'll wait for it to hit a price point I'm comfortable with, which is probably right around the xpac retail of yore. A decent $30 or so.

 

[Manos: The Hans of Fate]

Well if you don't like multiplayer games, go play Dead Rising. d: I mean, I'm sorry, but what else do you want?

No, I just don't like ones where the is just a kill and spawn mentality, I enjoy co-op story gaming a lot. I mean COD, MGO, etc. are fun, it's just after awhile, it's like whats the point. I just like a motivation. L4D should provide it in the sense of survival, I just wanted to see if there is a "story" to it (which you talk about later on).

I don't know if you've ever played Half-Life 2, but if you had, you'd know about all the newspapers and bulletin boards and the way the environment sort of tells its own story, without some raunchy narrator spelling it out for you, step by step.

Left 4 Dead is like that.

I play a little of HL 2 a long time ago, but I vaguely remember that. That is some I actually like a lot. Deus Ex had a ton of that, I loved reading the newspapers that established the world. You weren't forced to read them, but you could. It just makes the world more real. I think that type of immersion is important, it makes the game more than just a kill and spawn.

Sometimes the characters you play as comment on things they see, but the whole point is, they've been dumped into this mess without any idea of what's really going on. AFAIK, at the time of L4D1, it's still pretty early in the infection phase. L4D2 is a bit later.

The way characters react and talk to each other in L4D2 is supposed to change as you proceed in each campaign. That's how it's different. In L4D1, the characters never changed.

Now that sounds interesting, that for me would be a hell of a change for the old standard and something that would greatly interest me. It reminds me of RP'ing while playing D&D it just helps to flesh out the characters more. Make them more human for lack of a better term. I want to care about them and for me that is story in itself (as you say the player makes the story)

As for each room feeling the same... well, I don't know what to say. You're wrong? I've played each campaign quite extensively, and even within the same LEVEL, things feel different. Not story different, mind you, but they're clearly making progress toward the next "safe room". It's not like you go through apartment building 1, apartment building 2, apartment building 3, etc. until you reach your goal.

In the first campaign alone, you, yes, start out on the roof of an apartment building. Then you get out, walk along the road, through some alleyways to the safehouse, head for the subway, walk along the tracks, go into a factory of some sort from underground, get out, walk down another road to the next safehouse, etc., etc. Go through some sewers, find your way to the roof of a hospital, fend off some bitches until a helicopter rescue. Good times.

Well, I'm just going on what I recall hearing on some message boards and reviews. It does seem like there is a form of environmental story which allays my concerns about stale map design or an immersion killer.

Still, it would be cool to have unique buildings in regards to item availability. I've always wanted a Zombie game where you find an armory in a police station (and its not jsut one gun). Deus Ex (which as you can guess I really like) had one of the best examples of environmental story telling. You wake up in the MJ-12 base with nothing. Well, it's an MJ-12 base, there should be a ton of weapons (like the sporting good store in Commando) and there was, it made sense, and was realistically stocked. Parasite Eve 1 gets an honorable mention for having a gun store and having characters deciding to go there instead of to some random place after all hell breaks lose in NYC with monsters.

Hmm, if I can pick it up for cheap somewhere, I'll give it a try.

Thanks!

 

[mikeGFG]

I'm all for them updating this franchise annually. And I don't really care that a standalone L4D2 will be $60 at retail. That is what the game is worth to new players, right? The price and timing seems fine. The problem is, we do not know if they will incentivize L4D1 owners with affordable sequel DLC.

Have they talked about definitive pricing strategies at all?

 

[firex]

L4D tells its story more or less by reading what people write on the walls in the safe room at the start of each chapter (past the first one) in campaigns, plus other stuff that can be written on walls or other static objects. Even then, it doesn't tell you every dirty detail, but you get an idea of how long it's been since the infection broke out and what the government's response has been.