do I have to preorder to play the demo? 

The demo will come out later, possibly when the game proper is released, but the only way to get it early is with a preorder. I suspect my ageing rig isn't going to cope, so I'm gonna have to hold on until that demo rolls around rather than preorder something I'm unlikely to be able to play. 

Demo is coming out on the 11th, so best to wait a few days if you're unsure about your purchase. 

I would say L4D has similar performance to the Orange Box games, perhaps slightly more demanding in certain instances (Zombie horde rushes, etc) but it works as a basic guide. 

Hoe bind je met Armagetronad Ik Snap er niks van? 

Ik Weet Niet Hoe Je Moet binden ik snap er niks van Jullie laat het me horen ! 

Na het doornemen van dat Babelfish, I' niet helemaal zeker m welk spel you' het re spreken over (Armagetronad?), maar enkel in geval it' s Radioactieve neerslag 3, u kan rebind controles door gaande Montages --> Controles --> De Afbeelding van de actie, en dan het klikken op " Device" aan schakelaar tussen muis en toetsenbord.

(After running that through Babelfish, I'm not quite sure what game you're talking about (Armagetronad?), but just in case it's Fallout 3, you can rebind controls by going Settings --> Controls --> Action Mapping, and then clicking on "Device" to switch between mouse and keyboard.) 

Googling "Armagetronad" leads me to some Tron light-cycle remake? Looks kind of cool...

(Googling " Armagetronad" me leidt tot ��n of andere Tron licht-cyclusremake? Kijkt vriendelijk van koel...) 

Armagetron(ad) is great, try a 4-player-drunk-LAN-match. 

toetsenbord is a much better word than keyboard 

http://www.foddy.net/Athletics.html 

Thanks for effectivly killing me and Lunaran's productivity. 

i managed to hobble to the 10m mark... also got a few strides in a row that sort of looked like running...

this game reminds me of a science museum i went to as a kid... they had a bicycle set up with mechanical legs attached to the pedals, and four pneumatic pistons each connected to a button. You could make the legs pedal the bike with the right sequence of button presses.

This is a lot harder because in addition to timing, you have to keep your balance. 

I CAN'T RUN 

yeah! 

with a series of awkward lunges. 

Sent that game to one of my buddies at Raven, and he managed to actually run and get to 50m... and there's a fucking hurdle. 

a game that exploits the broken-ness of current animation/simulation? bah! 

what i meant was that all this game does is present you with an incredibly shitty control scheme for something that should be as intuitive as possible and then makes it a contest. Teh win. 

theres only so many times you accidentally fall over backwards and land on your head before you laugh. 

In an Elvis shuffle. 

while you're correct in your assessment, I don't think that makes it a bad game.

A good control scheme, using your criteria, abstracts the details of an activity and emphasizes the top-level goals instead -- a way to limit complexity and provide focus. Therefore, a game about conquering the planet would involve moving huge armies, not micromanaging individual squads or soldiers. A game where you are an individual soldier focuses on shooting, reloading, moving around, but you don't have to worry about low-level activities like moving your limbs.

This game is about the low-level muscle coordination. Unless you think there is a different keyboard mapping that make more sense, I'm not sure what you suggest -- the game is about moving your legs to run, abstracting that would remove the game. An "intuitive" control scheme is simply one you're already familiar with. Show Quake to your grandmother and see how intuitive she thinks it is. 

Following your argumentation, that would just make it a bad game mechanic :)

But imho "there's no better way" doesn't help with the shittyness of the controls. It's still shitty controls ;) They just don't work. Btw, there is a better way, it's called animation. It's just not realtime.

imagine that 'game' with the goal of "walk as beautifully as you can". What part of it would be fun? Or rewarding?

bah, i just can't write or think anymore today. 

just a beta, but absolutely awesome. EA hired the guy who made fancy pants adventures apparently, and the animation and movement is ace:

http://www.bornegames.com/?page_id=369 

~3 days and counting.

It's an instant classic. One of those games where it gets more interesting, not less, as you play.

With bots is ok, but it's with bots.

Replaying the demo so far we've had three last-man-standing finishes. Basically the group turning on each over before closing the door to the safe room.

One involved a 'mate' chucking a molotiv into the safe room where the rest of us were waiting. I saw what he was doing (waiting to close the door) and exited. He was stood next to a gascan and I had an automatic shotgun.

Playing on a LAN, and we're pissing off all the Quake4 players by screaming at each other more than they do.

Just waiting for the full game now.

This game gets an ijed nine drinks drank.