Clever gamers uncover hidden maps mistakenly released in a VR performance test, based on Half-Life and Left 4 Dead, as well as a possible Left 4 Dead 3 survivor.
With an official price announced for the HTC Vive, it’s no surprise that Valve would release a performance test for users to determine if their computers could handle virtual reality or not. However, it would appear that a Valve official released the test a little too soon, with some incomplete maps for a variety of Valve games still included, as well as a possible survivor of Left 4 Dead 3.
While the performance test has since been removed from the Steam store, users who acted quickly and downloaded it have uncovered some interesting files hidden inside. While the performance test was only intended to include a demo based on Valve’s Portal series, a myriad of other maps and files have been found, including assets based off Half-Life, Left 4 Dead 3, and Dota 2, amongst others.
Left 4 Dead fans in particular may be receiving a hint about what’s ahead in the rumored Left 4 Dead 3. A new character model, code-named only as “Retired Engineer” has textures included in the test. Unfortunately, the character model itself is absent, so it’s difficult to determine exactly what the character will look like. However, he appears to be a balding Caucasian male, wearing a red plaid shirt, jeans, a vest, baseball cap, gloves, boots, and a backpack.
It’s worth pointing out that this character design and code name don’t match any of the leaked character descriptions for Left 4 Dead 3. However, prior code names for Left 4 Dead characters haven’t fully matched their finished characters, and even some voice files have been incorrect, like Louis from Left 4 Dead sometimes being incorrectly referred to as a manger, when he’s actually a systems analyst.
Unfortunately, the maps are far from finished, with most of them filled with large ERROR messages indicating that an object is missing and can’t be properly displayed. However, the real interest lies in whether or not this is an indicator that Valve may be working on a VR Half-Life game and whetherLeft 4 Dead 3 will be VR-enabled from the start. While it’s unlikely that any of these maps will appear in an actual game, it’s interesting to know that Valve is evaluating whether their existing game assets look good in a three-dimensional virtual reality space.
Chances are that the leaked files that don’t directly pertain to the VR performance test demo will be removed when the performance test is re-released. However, thanks to gamers digging through the hidden files in the demo, the footage can be viewed by everyone now, even if the maps are never available to the public again.
[Source:- Gamerant]
