Urbane Scrawl: A Foggy Fortnight in Hull

Urbane Scrawl: A Foggy Fortnight in Hull

The long-frozen liquids of last night’s excitement slumber beneath the sheet of briny vapour which chokes thoroughfare and lung on this windless Winter morning. Savage revellers put respectlessly to rest, the four drift in the still air of Paragon Square – at the choke-point of Hull’s central business district. Beleaguered, bruised and withered, the manured breeze of the Humber Valley won’t be scented for another three days of tentative traipsing, and just as many nights of dealing with the crowds. This is the mod I believe Left 4 Dead deserves.

hullmod1

Although this idea is probably beyond the capabilities of septic Source, it’s worth abandoning alone in an alleyway in the hopes that someone will come from above and lick it.

The idea is to randomly generate a city, plonk the survivors at the centre, and politely suggest (through the medium of hordes of unmentionable horrors) that they’d best scarper. Safehouses are scattred throughout the rural areas surrounding the city, so it is to the countryside – heartland of British Values (unprofitable Post Offices, leaving kids to wander unattended, and Furry canibalism) – that our principled anti-car activists must flee.

The Hull Breach mod will feature a sped-up day/night cycle, with zombie hordes only being released during the night. During the day, most of the zombies will be nesting in their warrens, so the task of mutilating the final remnants of the human race will be left to the special infected. Additionally, with each passing day, the concentration of bad men will increase – I expect this will encourage risky forays into the darkness, as well as placing pressure on the doorknob-operators to keep moving rather than searching for useful bits and bobs.

To encourage coordination amongst the slightly smellier side, the humon aura will be removed and, in its place, both AI and player-controlled infected can let out a cry when they spot dinner – this will place a beacon for Hull’s worst to shuffle towards, rather like Bargain Booze. To make searching more fun and effective, the gooey ones will start off as Hunters and can chose to mutate into a Boomer or Smoker. The hunter should be ideal for city life, as he’s swift, capable of jumping between rooftops, and he wears a hoody. When the specials respawn, they’ll do so at a random location, so that the warm-bloods’ position won’t be a dead giveaway.

Health will be harder to come by – with medpacks replaced by foodstuffs. Being well fed will keep survivor-speed at a constant Freeman Saunter, but injuries won’t heal (though they can be numbed by pain pills) as recompension to the special infected for being cursed with an open play-area and no aura to guide them.

Yep, I think that’s all of my thoughts on this mod. Please have it ready by Friday.

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