@@ -15,6 +15,40 @@ Information below is summarized from:
1515
1616See "Lump Hashes and Information.txt" for MD5, SHA1, File Sizes and more.
1717
18+ # The Need
19+
20+ Officially, map recompiles aren't allowed due to "testing cost and risk".
21+ We can't even officially recompile Cold Stream 1 to fix a Crash-to-Desktop.
22+ Millions of people play L4D2 on thousands of varied hardware setups, so
23+ on that basis alone it's wise to not recompile. Valve knows how black magic
24+ BSP files and compilation can be. The other reason is we're not authorized
25+ to create a "Remaster" -- that would demand an entirely separate Steam Store
26+ item, and only to that extreme would recompiles make sense. Lump editing is
27+ powerful, but it also naturally limits options and enforces self-control.
28+
29+ For The Last Stand Community Update aka TLS:
30+
31+ https://github.com/Tsuey/L4D2-Community-Update
32+
33+ VScript was used to overcome some BSP limitations. 14_LUMP_MODELS was used
34+ (or should I say abused) extensively for that to clone pre-existing Infected
35+ ladders to create new ones. Cloning brushes (that are tied to edicts) was
36+ already exhaustively used... now it's about manipulating baked-in brushes
37+ that previously could only be achieved with Hammer recompiles.
38+
39+ # The Goal
40+
41+ Make the official L4D2 maps flexible. This isn't about forcing subjective
42+ changes or entities on players, it's about allowing server mods to have
43+ more control over how they change the maps (clips / dynamic pathing) with
44+ the smaller side effect of benefitting official vanilla Versus updates,
45+ updates to Mutations, easing clipping for RocketDude, etc.
46+
47+ It's about finding what can be changed, with minimal visual impact on
48+ the default/original maps, and supplementing those changes with VScript
49+ that can dynamically add/remove previously-baked-in clips, or Propper
50+ restoration of modified world geometry to empower us with dynamic options.
51+
1852Keeping everything above-board is critical for this type of project since
1953the goal is to (indirectly) modify Valve's original map BSP files. This
2054will allow official updates to accomplish the previous unthinkable, where
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