Left 4 Dead gets hacked on Xbox 360 [update]
by Justin McElroy 
{ Dec 10th 2008 at 10:30AM }
The Ars Technica piece about the issues includes terrifying details like witches spawning in the safe room and giant player characters. (We're told there's also human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together and mass hysteria.) Witness the horror for yourself right after the jump.
Update: Valve just wrote us to say that the problem has apparently been fixed. "Valve has released a server-side fix to deny the recently reported cheats on all dedicated Left 4 Dead Xbox 360 servers. The fix is designed to halt the cheating behavior on the dedicated servers, which accounts for the majority of the co-op and Versus modes of play. A title update for those playing on user-hosted servers and/or via system link will be released in the coming days."
[Via Giant Bomb]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Brazell @ Dec 10th 2008 10:34AM
nice GB ref.
Poisoned Al @ Dec 10th 2008 10:38AM
Interesting. The 360 version must have a command console like the PC version does. The host can do all sorts of dickary with the console, and it's always a pain in the arse when playing online games where the admin thinks he's funny/can't stand losing/is just a total knob.
United States of Generica @ Dec 10th 2008 11:33AM
Damn griefers being a PITA is bad enough, similar things happened in the PC beta of L4D. 12-year olds on servers spawning Tanks-n-Witches and thinking they are funny.
Strategy_Panda (the artist formally known as Titanium_Orchid) @ Dec 10th 2008 11:34AM
yea, there is a way to access to console commands in the Xbox version. I'm posting something about this further down in the thread.
Pedobear @ Dec 10th 2008 4:13PM
Thats why I play on Hamachi.
oolz @ Dec 10th 2008 10:41AM
valve is really dropping the ball with this game. Way too many bugs, not enough patches, not enough content, locking versus difficulty, etc etc etc. They shouldn't have released it when they did. A semi-public beta and another month would have done wonders!
it's still a fun game, but it's tapering off sooner than it should for the above reasons.
Jeff @ Dec 10th 2008 11:01AM
While I definitely agree their should have been a public beta, because this is just a great design philosophy overall, the game is in much better shape at release than anything from any other company but Valve. I will admit it is slightly behind the curve for a Valve game, but god knows they'll have all the kinks worked out and patched in less than a month.
And there is word of substantial additions coming in the future.
Bass Masterson @ Dec 10th 2008 11:52AM
^ mmmmmmm Kool Aid. Delicious Kool Aid.
Jeff @ Dec 10th 2008 11:56AM
I prefer Crystal Lite because I'm a little bitch, but there comes a point when you have to stop being cynical and treat a company that has always been the closest thing to Jesus (Buddah, Luke Skywalker, etc) for PC gamers like they deserve. They've always provided great post-release support, and acting like they wont for Left 4 Dead is retarded.
Unless you have the console version-- cuz then its just sour grapes. But I'm guessing that Left 4 Dead will get much better support on console than TF2 did... mostly because new weapons/campaigns are easier to sell as DLC than slightly confusing and hard to explain unlockables for only a couple of characters.
deaftly @ Dec 10th 2008 12:30PM
huh?
Jakka ( The Order of Haters of Balance) @ Dec 10th 2008 1:30PM
Well...going by Valve's 'standards', it's an unfinished, buggy, broken and unbalanced piece of shit.Ironically it's still one of the best game this year, anyway!
L4D FTW!
lee @ Dec 10th 2008 10:42AM
the ps3 version of COD4 was hacked, there was infinate ammo and health and even a wall hack, its been patched now though
Gaucho @ Dec 10th 2008 10:46AM
I thought those were accessible without hacking. I wouldn't know how to even approach hacking the ps3 or 360.
tmmoore_nc @ Dec 10th 2008 10:44AM
the 360 version of Orange Box was hacked. Basically no one plays it anymore because it's nothing but modders now.
Erluti @ Dec 10th 2008 10:50AM
I didn't know that. At first I was like, "Maybe video trickery with the achievements pop-up?" But if valve 360 games have been hacked before, the makes me sad for L4D players.
Ibere @ Dec 10th 2008 10:55AM
Yeah, it was sad what happened with the 360 version of Team Fortress 2... someone is spreading a "virus" on it: when you play in an infected match, the next time you host it (until the console is turned off) the match will have the mods too: infinite metal, low gravity, friendly fire.
Valve is really letting us down. I love TF2, but the game is not only full of bugs (skywalking, shooting thru walls, etc.) but now is all modded. I understand their priority is PC games, but c'mon, if you'll offer no support to the console version, it's better to not even publish it.
Lord Negatron @ Dec 10th 2008 10:45AM
Justin you racist!!!
Giants are people too!
Joystiq with its snarky wit, giants, witches in safe rooms = ima daggumbed racist.
*if this makes no sense, it is because i miss Phoenix already, and im just a little confused with life at the moment...*
Hrm, maybe you can superimpose a little pic of Soulja boy as a zombie in there somewhere. Maybe he'll comeback? Yes/no?
ROFL all the way to the coffee machine!
Lord Negatron @ Dec 10th 2008 10:54AM
Besides my horrible morning humor the infinite molotovs/ pipe bombs are bananas.
Heh (Mr. ESC, living in the hearts of us all) @ Dec 10th 2008 12:07PM
Infinite molos were awesome. Prolly made Expert mode easy as pie to beat lol.
Erluti @ Dec 10th 2008 10:51AM
What is the song on this video?
SimbaDogg @ Dec 10th 2008 11:36AM
i'm curious as well, i dont wanna spend the stupid .99 cents on music id on my phone.
Robert Maynard @ Dec 10th 2008 11:49AM
Haha, I had to track it down too. It's by some group called Uma Floresta, the tracks are "Almost Everything" and "Three Thousand Years". If you just sign up for an account you can get them for free. :D
http://www.thesixtyone.com/umafloresta/
XLM @ Dec 10th 2008 11:59AM
http://podsafeaudio.com/jamroom/bands/7/audio.php?p=2
All their songs and no sign up needed.
Robert Maynard @ Dec 10th 2008 1:30PM
Even better.
aj @ Dec 10th 2008 2:19PM
Really awful.
When will boring indie music end, and can it end quicker than that?
The Dark Wayne @ Dec 10th 2008 10:56AM
while some of them would probably be a pain in the ass in matchmaking, I think it would be beyond awesome to play with giant survivors. Imagine if you were on the zombie team and you killed a giant bill by eating his shin
Zertoss @ Dec 10th 2008 10:56AM
I'm probably the only one that was impressed by what it took to cause a drop in performance.
Ethan @ Dec 10th 2008 11:01AM
They know you can turn off annotations right?
Cody @ Dec 10th 2008 11:38AM
Exactly what I was thinking.
Ethan @ Dec 10th 2008 12:26PM
Maybe it's just a disclaimer or something, seeing as it's see-thru anyway.
DonkeyBarf @ Dec 10th 2008 11:10AM
Wow. Watching the infectious plague this releases is kinda reminds me of M$'s business ethics...
DonkeyBarf @ Dec 10th 2008 11:11AM
Me needs to lern spelln' grummer
Haggard @ Dec 10th 2008 2:15PM
Some 'valid point' might help too.
DonkeyBarf @ Dec 10th 2008 3:07PM
Actually I didn't get to finish my thought before interrupted by work. I feel for the people who bought the game and like it, now being ruined by a few bastards
Clarky456 @ Dec 10th 2008 11:12AM
So any chance of this guy in the video getting banned?
http://live.xbox.com/en-US/profile/profile.aspx?GamerTag=III%20Bran%20III
And loosing all of cheated achievements seeing as how he has all 50 for L4D
Lord Negatron @ Dec 10th 2008 11:17AM
*LOSING achievements is likely, and/or ban.
Who knows...
xD
peEtr @ Dec 10th 2008 11:20AM
The big people are in every Source engine game. If you noclip to the skybox your model will be magnified with it and you will appear massive.
Leo McKelvin @ Dec 10th 2008 11:34AM
This game is OK. I dont see what all the fuss is about with this one on the 360. the graphic are just ok and the gameplay is twitchy at best. pc is the way to go with this one. just dont feel like much skill is needed for this game. its just shoot in every direction. not near as good as the orangebox IMO.
i love the 360 but lately the game have really let me down.
Strategy_Panda (the artist formally known as Titanium_Orchid) @ Dec 10th 2008 11:41AM
I read something about this a day or two ago, everything done is a result of the fact that console commands can be accessed in the xbox version of the game.
Without getting to technical, The giant people come from how the source engine operates, and draws large background objects. Basically there are spots that are created in the map that are not accessible. These spots contain small objects that are transposed onto the normal level, and made larger. Thats why you see a giant human inthe video, and later a guy standing in the middle of nowhere.
Almost everything else in the vid is a result of playing with the spawners.
The state that the Source engine exists in now is pretty interesting. Its able to produce some pretty high fidelity graphics, but its old enough to have been optimized to work smoothly across a variety of hardware setups.
If you want to see more fun with the Source engine, clicky the linky:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn9970dxQ2g
Strategy_Panda (the artist formally known as Titanium_Orchid) @ Dec 10th 2008 11:49AM
oops, forgot to add a sentence or two.
The source engine can produce a large number of detailed objects quickly, and still deliver a smooth frame rate. Thats why I think the source engine is interesting.
Strategy_Panda (the artist formally known as Titanium_Orchid) @ Dec 10th 2008 11:59AM
oh and the console commands are accessed by modifying files on the 360's hard drive.
Heh (Mr. ESC, living in the hearts of us all) @ Dec 10th 2008 12:05PM
Anything ELSE you want to add to your comment? Makes you wish Joystiq had an edit button, huh?
Strategy_Panda (the artist formally known as Titanium_Orchid) @ Dec 10th 2008 12:17PM
uhh... I'm eating cherry pie for breakfast?
Its good
The Dark Wayne @ Dec 10th 2008 12:25PM
WHAT?! CANDY FOR BREAKFAST?!?!
JaneWellsJr @ Dec 10th 2008 11:51AM
Glad you publicized it. Great work.
JaneWellsJr @ Dec 10th 2008 11:53AM
to clarify, suck my fucking balls.
mirage @ Dec 10th 2008 2:02PM
Anybody who cares enough about this game and also cares enough about cheating to do this, probably found out about it long before Joystiq published this. Get over yourself.
JaneWellsJr @ Dec 10th 2008 2:10PM
Give me a break.
Suggesting that no one will try this after reading about it? Ha. You're a fucking moron.
People find out about exploits one way or another, you're right. But without the majority of potential exploiters finding out about them, they wouldn't be as big of a problem. Publicizing exploits it counterproductive.
If you actually believe what you posted, you're a god damned fool.
JaneWellsJr @ Dec 10th 2008 3:14PM
RE: the Valve update.
Ok, I am simmered.
nickux @ Dec 10th 2008 12:32PM
This kind of worries me. While it's really cool as a proof of concept, I'd hate to get into a Quick Match on Live and have this shit happen. It'd ruin the game for me. But kudos for figuring it out.