How do I modify attributes of common infected?

[Atomic Bane]

I want to edit the "speed" stat of the common infected. In other words how fast they move. I like some of the mods that slow them down, but they all have some feature that's a deal breaker for me, like zombies killing you in one hit.

Do I need to edit a certain .nuc, .nut, or a .vpk file? I can edit vscripts and .vpk's, but I've looked through seemingly every file and can't find the location that would contain the stats or attributes for just the general f***ing zombies.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Rectus]

The infected attributes are set with console variables. Unless you want to turn on cheats and edit them manually, the easiest way of modifying them is to make a mutation and add the modified convars to the mode .txt file.

https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/List_of_L4D2_Cvars

https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Mutation_Gametype_(L4D2)
https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/L4D2_EMS/Creating_a_Simple_Mutation

[Atomic Bane]

Originally posted by Rectus:

The infected attributes are set with console variables. Unless you want to turn on cheats and edit them manually, the easiest way of modifying them is to make a mutation and add the modified convars to the mode .txt file.

What you're saying might be a little over my head.

I definitely don't want to have to input console commands every time I fire up the game. I don't want to just make a "mutation" mode either.

I'd like to do what this mod does: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=330349798

... and fine tune some of the details. For example, that mod makes the zombies TOO fu**ing slow, and doesn't increase the amount of them or the damage they deal.

I mostly play the campaigns, so here are the things I'd like to change about them:
- Common Infected deal roughly 35% more damage
- Common Infected movement speed decreased by 50%
- Common Infected spawn rates multiplied by 1.5
- Multiply time between mobs by roughly 2

To me that would make the campaigns so much more fun.

I have a fair idea on how to alter spawn rates and mob delays, but if I can't do all of it then I'll deal with the Slow Zombies mod that makes them look like they're just shuffling their feet. Lmao!

Fml...

[Rectus]

That mod works pretty much the same way as mutations, except it changes the convars for the offical modes instead by modifying the gamemodes.txt file. You could extract the files from that mod using the GCFScape tool, and edit the file yourself. Then pack it back up with vpk.exe and you have a mod.

[Atomic Bane]

Originally posted by Rectus:

That mod works pretty much the same way as mutations, except it changes the convars for the offical modes instead by modifying the gamemodes.txt file. You could extract the files from that mod using the GCFScape tool, and edit the file yourself. Then pack it back up with vpk.exe and you have a mod.

Oh okay, well that seems simple enough. I went ahead and did that and am about to go test it out.

[Atomic Bane]

Awesome! Your solution worked great.

For those who might stumble upon this thread, it's worth noting that before compiling a mod (at least a script mod) with vpk.exe, there's super-specific rules you have to follow regarding folder structure. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm a noob modder.

The top level folder can be called anything. ex) "my mod"
There has be a sub-folder inside the "my mod" folder, specifically called "scripts"
Then the actual edited .txt file is inside that folder.

So it would look like this: my mod\scripts\whatever.txt

Then you click and drag "my mod" folder into vpk.exe. That creates a .vpk file w/ the name of that top-level folder.

That's what I had to do in order for it to work anyway.

[Payne☣]

You can do many things with Vscript but a shame none of its documented.

[Rectus]

Originally posted by Payne☣:

You can do many things with Vscript but a shame none of its documented.

What do you want to do that isn't documented?

[KiLL SHoT]

Originally posted by Atomic Bane:

Originally posted by Rectus:

The infected attributes are set with console variables. Unless you want to turn on cheats and edit them manually, the easiest way of modifying them is to make a mutation and add the modified convars to the mode .txt file.

What you're saying might be a little over my head.

I definitely don't want to have to input console commands every time I fire up the game. I don't want to just make a "mutation" mode either.

I'd like to do what this mod does: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=330349798

... and fine tune some of the details. For example, that mod makes the zombies TOO fu**ing slow, and doesn't increase the amount of them or the damage they deal.

I mostly play the campaigns, so here are the things I'd like to change about them:
- Common Infected deal roughly 35% more damage
- Common Infected movement speed decreased by 50%
- Common Infected spawn rates multiplied by 1.5
- Multiply time between mobs by roughly 2

To me that would make the campaigns so much more fun.

I have a fair idea on how to alter spawn rates and mob delays, but if I can't do all of it then I'll deal with the Slow Zombies mod that makes them look like they're just shuffling their feet. Lmao!

Fml...

I know this post is pretty old but it seems like you've figured how to configure the values to your liking, I was looking for something very similar to what you described and was wondering if you could possibly publish a mod for your values because I have never modded and cannot seem to figure it out. Thanks.

[Atomic Bane]

Originally posted by KiLL•SHoT:

I know this post is pretty old but it seems like you've figured how to configure the values to your liking, I was looking for something very similar to what you described and was wondering if you could possibly publish a mod for your values because I have never modded and cannot seem to figure it out. Thanks.

Unfortunately I was never able to figure out how to make all the edits in one functioning mod. I even made several posts in different L4D2/gaming/modding forums and no one seemed to have the answer, or an answer I could at least understand. Instead I opted for simplicity:

Zombies Move at 50% Speed: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1308832168

There's a link in the description of that mod to my 30% speed version,even slower, just with a strange looking shuffle-walk way of moving. I typically use the 30% version and deal with their weird movement, because I like my zombies Romero-style.

Yeah L4D2 is one of the more difficult games I've modded, and with only limited success. Many better modders out there. I hope someone can get what you're looking for, or at least figure out how to make it. I've since abandoned modding L4D2. If you have better luck than I did, be sure to publish what you've made. I bet a lot of people would really enjoy it. I know I would.

[KiLL SHoT]

Appreciate the speedy reply, thanks a ton Ill try this out and let you know if I come up with anything better. Cheers!

[jetSetWilly II]

I haven't tried this but if you wanted to make zombies slow you could test out making global friction high with the cvar sv_friction and then edit the individual friction of each player making it normal for them using script.