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Left 4 Dead 2 >  Workshop > Evil's Workshop > Dr. Malroy's Absolution (v4.2) > Discussions
Dr. Malroy's Absolution (v4.2)
Description Discussions6 Comments149 Change Notes
Kyle H. McCloud 4 Feb, 2022 @ 2:45pm
Kyle's Feedback for "Dr. Malroy's Absolution"
Well, since you asked, here you go. As of Feb. 4, 2022, Dr. Malroy's Absolution is a likeable campaign that shows clear improvement over the last entry in the series. Please feel free to disregard any of my suggestions if you don't like them -- it's your campaign. Here's my feedback in bullet points:

WHAT I LIKE
  • This campaign has a delightful atmosphere that flows naturally from one map to the next, which is quite a feat when one of the maps takes place on the moon. The slow buildup toward the wacky stuff was the right call, and yet I love the kitschy sci-fi B-movie vibe throughout -- it's consistent without being "samey."
  • The length is just right, which is no easy feat for a 7-map campaign. The difficulty is also engaging and well balanced apart from the boss fight (more on that later).
  • Compared to Dr. Malroy's Laboratory, this campaign uses fog and color much better. It also has more distinct and memorable segments that keep the maps from blending together, which is greatly helped by the more natural-looking environments. Dr. Malroy's Absolution is full of surprisingly believable places, moon base and all. Special shout-out to the broken door covering up a hole in the floor!
  • The moon level deserves its own section of praise. It's not the first time I've played Left 4 Dead in space, but there are some details I love. The floating props outside the playable area really sell the feeling of low gravity, and I like the usage of windows and octagonal openings (rather than rectangular ones) to create a unique visual identity that's separate from the Earth levels. There's some clever "kitbashing" too that always makes me smile. Using the cloud textures for force fields is something I wish I'd thought of myself, and using the Atlas statue's globe to represent Earth is hilarious.
  • Love those easter eggs! The alternate endings are incredibly charming.

MAJOR GRIPES
  • The climactic boss fight with Dr. Malroy has some significant issues that hold it back. I already mentioned two major problems in a comment: it's hard to tell at first that shooting Dr. Malroy actually hurts him, and his retaliation attacks are simultaneously too strong and too hard to dodge. The fight is still perfectly playable and it avoids some obvious problems by highlighting Dr. Malroy and providing an ammo pile, but I think rebalancing and instructor hints would help a lot.
  • Although every other aspect is an improvement over the last campaign, the backtracking in this campaign is a step down from Dr. Malroy's Laboratory. I'm glad there wasn't much of it, but it was hard to know what I was expected to do or find, and the helpful arrows from earlier levels became a hindrance.
  • The level design is still a little boxy and flat despite generally being a big improvement over your last campaign. The metallic lab interiors were particularly lacking in details or "interesting wrinkles," as I like to call them -- small bits of content that massively improve the atmosphere and immersion. Optional areas, environmental storytelling, puzzles, mini-games, etc. Dark Carnival is the best example of "interesting wrinkles" in Left 4 Dead 2, and I think The Whiteboard Test[80.lv] is also something to always keep in mind. I know how tough it is to break out of the right angle mindset because Hammer is A.) grid-based and B.) terrible -- but it's worth it!
  • Related to the above, sometimes it was hard to tell what I was actually looking at due to a lack of unique objects. In particular, why was the teleporter basically just a glass cube? I acknowledge and respect that you seem to make campaigns with as little custom content as possible -- I try to do the same -- but I think this campaign needs more time in the oven to create unique visuals. Even with brushes, you can still make things stand out -- think of the spinning vats of radioactive goop you made. I'd love it if the teleporter was a big crazy machine that looked menacing and memorable, for instance.
  • I'm glad there was some Survivor dialogue, but I wanted so much more. Info_Remarkable entities are great for directions and less great for reminding us of why we love the Survivors so much. I would've appreciated getting inside the Survivors' heads a little and knowing what they're thinking. Do they hate Dr. Malroy? Did they expect to go to the moon? Is Nick going to lose his lunch in zero gravity? Obviously there's only so much you can do with pre-written dialogue, but Logic_Choreographed_Scene is your friend.

OTHER SUGGESTIONS
  • This is a suggestion that's pretty massive in scope, but I think it would take your work to the next level: what if these Dr. Malroy campaigns had more story elements? Maybe this already exists and the custom dialogue sounds just didn't load for me, but I get the feeling there's a lot going on behind the scenes in these campaigns and I would love to see more of that in-game. Characters talking directly to the Survivors over a radio is the gold standard, but there are easier ways of fleshing out a level, too. Notes, graffiti, whiteboards, audio logs and even instructor hints could all give us more context on who Dr. Malroy is and what he's doing. There are a fair few named characters in Dr. Malroy's Absolution, but I didn't learn anything about them in this campaign. Again, disregard this if there's custom dialogue that just didn't load for me, which is its own problem.
  • The pacing is mostly good, but something about having a boss fight that's immediately followed up by a finale just bugs me. It's like there are two climaxes back to back. Maybe move the boss fight earlier, or make it part of the finale somehow? Those are such massive changes that if I were you, I'd just keep them in mind for my next campaign.
  • Rectangular hallways are the backbone of L4D2 level design, but there are lots of ways to visually spruce them up without changing their function: little columns jutting out of the walls, girders and vents on the ceilings, trash and bodies on the floor. Don't forget the pipes and decals, of course!
  • This suggestion is mostly a "me" thing, but I've realized that I generally prefer when there's a visual distinction between doors the player can open and doors that stay closed. This is simply so players don't have to waste time trying every door. You can use a different door prop for the locked doors, or you can block the locked doors with furniture, wooden planks, etc.
  • The little alchemy equipment props are a personal favorite, but they come in two parts: a metal component and a glass component. I noticed all of these props were metal-only in this campaign, which should probably be avoided because without the glass, they're awkwardly floating in the air.
  • I don't remember which map it was, but there was a half-open door that couldn't be fully opened because something was blocking it in the labs, and I noticed a missing texture behind the door. That was the only thing missing, at least!

Overall, there's a lot of improvement from the last Dr. Malroy campaign and I sincerely hope you hone your skills and keep making good stuff.
Last edited by Kyle H. McCloud; 4 Feb, 2022 @ 2:51pm
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Showing 1-2 of 2 comments
Evil  [developer] 6 Feb, 2022 @ 10:14am 
I had a feeling you posted this and I didn't notice for some reason. Anyways, a lot of good info here. I was curious about several things you mentioned that are mostly overlooked in comments, particularly the boss encounter.

I almost didn't post this cuz of that aspect, few things can kill a campaign more than a bad boss encounter.

Would you say the attacks themselves should be re-worked or would visual indicators be good enough? I could add a light model to the starting point of each attack that would turn on just before the attack happens.

About the backtracking aspect, do you remember any spots that stood out? Was the route back to the elevator after the boss fight one of these spots? A few people have mentioned the path back to the elevator isn't clear enough.

You pretty much hit the nail on the head with the details, as much as I'd like to refute that I just can't. Certain things were left semi finished when I stopped working on this and I just overlooked them entirely when I decided to post this. I'm glad you mentioned how bland the hall ways look, I was waiting for that to get pointed out before addressing it.

Gonna use this as a bit of an outline for the changes. Honestly I have so many builds going on right now that I pretty much have no time to do runs of this campaign to see what needs to be changed so you posting this is beyond helpful. Thank you.
#1
Kyle H. McCloud 6 Feb, 2022 @ 12:26pm 
I think better visual indicators on the boss's attacks is enough. The Survivors just need a chance to dodge.

Also, the backtracking to the elevator was fine and made sense. It's been a few days but I'm pretty sure the backtrack that messed me up was the one before heading to the moon... map 4 I think? Instructor hints for backtracks would probably be the quickest solution.

Happy hunting!
#2
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