Should the map command be allowed during a run?
7 years ago
North Carolina, USA

The conversation came up in Discord today so here's a thread to discuss it. Should the "map" command in the console be allowed during a run at the end of a campaign to switch to the next?

Currently, changelevel is disallowed since it is a server-side command (meaning it wouldn't work in an official server) and breaks the intro cinematic of the campaign switched to.

The "map" command instantly launches a listen server on the specified map. This does not break the intro cinematic, and it is arguable if it's a server command or not as it launches a new server, not exactly affecting the server you're currently in besides closing it if you were already the host.

My opinion on the matter is that it will bypass the vote creation timer (relevant to All Campaigns) and could be used to instantly switch campaigns once the end credits sequence starts, removing the need to time your campaign vote and also bypassing the voting lock they have when said sequence begins. Also the fact that it's borderline a server-side command as those are disallowed (changelevel, kick, z_difficulty) in part because they can't be used on an official server. Technically this can be used on an official server, it will just remove you from it completely and place you on your own.

It's also a quandary if this command is "intended" for use or not, since the lobby system has an option to launch on a local server. You could either argue that the lobby proves it is an intended command, but you could also argue that the lobby proves it isn't an intended command since the lobby is the system they have in place to use it.

Looking for opinions.

Edited by the author 6 years ago
Canada

map has been a command for developers and admins since Quake 1 or earlier. It is not a cvar, is not a control, and destroys multiplayer client connections, so I don't believe it belongs in a speedrun.

mariorules64 likes this
Paraná, Brazil

I'll repeat the arguments I presented on Discord here. The map command feels like an intended way of playing the game, since it's the only way to launch a listen server, which seems to be something that the devs expected from the players. That being said, and considering that I don't know of any other way to launch a listen server, the map command just feels like another option to launch a server, even though using the menu is the most straightforward one. If launching a new server on the menu was just as quick as launching a server with the map command through a key binding, bypassing the vote creation timer would be simply a clever idea, so I don't think that bypassing the vote creation timer is a real problem.

The only problem is knowing if launching a listen server is really something expected and intended for the players to use, but as I said, I think it is.

Derpduck likes this
Paraná, Brazil

I just found this link regarding hosting servers on the Steam Support page: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=5452-TASB-6078

The info on the page even mentions how there's no other way to launch a listen server on L4D, so you must use the map command. So that gets rid of the doubts that I had about this command being intended to be used.

Ontario, Canada

After giving it some thought:

It's hard to compare L4D2 to other games simply due to the nature of the console being more developer-oriented than player-oriented. That being said, the map command is intended to be used by players. I think that starting a new server is akin to opening a new blank save file. This could be compared to categories in other games that would involve completing "all characters" which is done by opening new files, so I think this comparison is fair enough to draw and thus I'd support allowing the map command.

I also want to point out that since we remove loading times, and we start timing from taking control, the elimination of start/end cutscenes from timing makes this question irrelevant. :P

North Carolina, USA

Just to finally cap this off, there was more discussion and a community vote that ultimately allowed the use of the map command. Responses to the questionnaire posted can be seen here, https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XyCq84VGijwKDkmVT7kDEwzIRVGRvo-OoDRryjwjyC4/

Thank you to everybody that participated.

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