Left 4 Dead 2 has been in beta on Linux for a little while now, and is more-or-less ready to merge consciousness with its Windows counterpart. This week’s patch, then, is the first of many in which the two versions will share bullet points. It puts an end to a jockey exploit that made the giggling blighters a tad easier to deal with.
On lower difficulty levels, it had been possible to kill the jockey mid-pounce, simply by sidestepping his urgent advances and thwacking him in the shoulder with whatever gun you happened to be holding at the time. So popular was the exploit that it even has its own entry in the ‘Tactics’ section of the Left 4 Dead wiki.
Well, that’s gone. As an alternative, try riddling him with lead until the added weight renders him grounded.*
See the full list of changes for both platforms below.
Windows
Changes:
- Updated some mutations to remove instances of invalid weapons or enemies
- Fixed Cold Stream image in Campaign select menu
- Fixed possible insta-kill when shoving a jockey who is mid-leap
c11m2
- Restore freezer door in co-op mode
- Restore crane lowering sound
c9m2
- Break some barricaded doors so survivors can reach supplies
- Restore missing fire particle system
- Restore color correction for both Crash Course maps
c8m1
- Fixed survivors facing the wrong direction after intro
- Restore alarm clock in downstairs bedroom for co-op mode
c8m4
- Restore missing rain particle systems
c8m5
- Restore some missing chopper pilot lines
- Move survivors out of view during the escape sequence
Linux
General
- Fixed possible insta-kill when shoving a jockey who is mid-leap
- Fixed Cold Stream image in Campaign select menu
- Remove ammo piles in Gib Fest Mutation
EMS
- ent.GetEntityIndex()
- ent.EyePosition()
- ent.GiveItem( itemname ) – Give an item/weapon by name. (“health”, “katana”, “rifle_ak47”, etc.)
- ent.GetButtonMask() – returns a bitfield of currently pressed buttons. Recognized buttons are: IN_ATTACK, IN_ATTACK2, IN_JUMP, IN_DUCK, IN_FORWARD, IN_BACK, IN_USE, IN_MOVELEFT, IN_MOVERIGHT, IN_RELOAD
*Not tried that one myself, I must admit. Go forth, guinea pigs!