Custom Campaigns

"Built that thing to be Zombie-Proof!"

This article is not canon. Custom Campaigns is a creation made by the community, and not by Valve.

Custom Campaigns, also known as Community Campaigns, are community-created campaigns that can range in size from a full campaign, to a single chapter. Some custom maps are specifically designed for game modes like Scavenge and Survival. Custom content can only be created and used by PC users. Xbox 360 players are unable to use custom content due to technical and financial difficulties regarding porting community-based content over.

Valve is supportive of custom content. They have a SDK for each of their games including Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2, which allows for easy creating and installing of custom campaigns. They have also released audio recordings by the voice actors of the Survivors for use in specific custom campaigns and feature some custom campaigns on their online blog, as well as uploading specific custom campaigns onto the official servers for more accessibility. With the exception of these featured campaigns, most custom campaigns can only be played on Third-Party Servers or Local Servers (including Single Player mode).

After the February 7, 2013 update, Steam introduced the Steam Workshop where users can upload their custom created maps or content. This system allows custom campaigns and other add-ons to be browsed, interacted with and downloaded directly through the Steam client, even while in-game. Manually downloading and installing content from other sources is still supported however.

How To Install[]

Once a custom campaign is downloaded from a site, the VPK file is simply placed into the addons folder found in either Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2 folders. Campaigns are generally created for a certain game; a campaign created for Left 4 Dead may not always work for Left 4 Dead 2, and vice versa, so be aware which game the custom campaign is for before installing.

Some custom campaigns may not be encased in a single VPK (that could be opened with GCFScape;) the file may be a zip or rar file containing a number of .bsp (that could be decompiled to a .vmf file using BSPSource) and .nav files as well. In this case, the file will generally have instructions on where to place them, but usually, the .bsp and .nav files, along with related .txt files, will be placed in the maps folder.

Alternatively, using Steam Workshop, any campaigns that are available on the Workshop can be downloaded by clicking the "subscribe" button. Some campaigns are either packaged in one content, or split in parts (due to workshop maximum file size limits) where all parts must be subscribed to in order to play. After subscribing, the workshop content will download and be ready to play simply by launching the game.

The above instructions will apply to most community content, but occasionally, some more complex content may require additional steps to install correctly, so be sure to check for extra instructions given out by the developer of the content you wish to install.

List of Full-Length Custom Campaigns[]

Here is a list of custom campaigns which have been noted by their creators to be 'complete', or at least in the final build, with no major updates planned unless concerning bug fixes. These are based around Campaign mode, with the length and number of maps being roughly comparable to standard canon Campaigns. There may be optional modes within the maps catering to Versus, Scavenge and Survival. Descriptions are taken from where the map is found, unless no description was given.

Left 4 Dead[]

Name	Author(s)	Build and last update	Chapters	Description
Dead City	ilCannibal	version 4.0 09/14/2010	5	Kill plenty of zombies starting in RiverSide (city) then battling through the Back Alleys, over a Draw Bridge, at a Water Plant and during the escape at the Subway Station.
Heaven Can Wait	Romka Aggressor	version 8.0 07/25/2010	5	After surviving an air crash, the survivors turn out to be in most epicenter of the contamination. The Military has already left all attempts to rescue survivors in the region.
Suicide Blitz	R.T. Frisk	version 4.0 10/12/2010	5	Survivors must make their way through an infected city to escape the zombie apocalypse.
Vienna Calling	44V Mapping	version 1.1 04/07/2009	5	They could take a look at the precious sights of Vienna, at the ancient catacombs, the famous recreation areas, or all the other places of interest, if they would not be hunted by millions of hungry, undead Austrians.
I Hate Mountains	NykO18 Moroes Kane	version 1.1 06/18/2010	5	Survivors crashed their bus in a utility pole of a dark forest while fleeing. They must now find their way through the spooky North American mountains. The campaign includes a dense forest, a huge mansion, an underground complex, a coast road and its lumberyard and finally, a lakeside finale.
Dead Before Dawn	Darth Brush	version 1.66 10/09/2010	5	Dead Before Dawn is an add-on campaign with a custom story, visuals and home made music for the zombie shooting game Left 4 Dead. It is based upon the 2004 remake of George Romero's Dawn of the Dead.
Death Aboard	Petter "Diputs" Hesse	version 7.0 08/29/2009	5	In Death Aboard you start out in a prison and work your way out to the nearest docks area. From here, you board a stranded ship and finally to an island where there will be a lighthouse as a finale.

Left 4 Dead 2[]

Name	Author(s)	Build and last update	Chapters	Description
The Bloody Moors	Kev Edwards	version 4 11/28/13	5	Survivors have fled the US to seek safety in England, but crash land on the bleak wind-swept Yorkshire moors.
Back To School	100_o/o_f@ke	version 1.06 01/19/13	6	The storyline offer new setting of Borden city, struggling to survive in an epidemic apocalypse alongside with four heroes from the original L4D.
Blackout Basement	HazmatKat	version 3.3 06/02/13	4	A trip through the underground of a city to reach a train station for evacuation. This campaign is based on the industrial side of Philadelphia, with the original Survivors.
Day Break	DannBo	version 2.0 10/03/13	5	The survivors must escape San Francisco before the military bombs it! The survivors have to make their way out of the city, crossing the Golden Gate, and take a boat to Alcatraz Island.
Energy Crisis	HazmatKat	version 1.5 11/07/15	5	In order to evacuate, the survivors must traverse to an active nuclear power station in the hopes of shutting down the atomic reactor for a wounded helicopter pilot waiting on the opposite side.
Fatal Freight	Zorbos	version 1.2 02/06/2015	5	After crashing their vehicle, the survivors find themselves holed up in a small tunnel at the edge of the forest. With supplies running low and the frigid winter looming on the horizon, there is little hope for survival.
Dead City II	ilCannibal	version 17.0 08/30/2010	6	Kill plenty of zombies starting in RiverSide (city) then battling through the Back Alleys, over a Draw Bridge, at a Military Outpost finding yourself at a Water Plant and during the escape at the Subway Station.
Dead City II Lite	ilCannibal	version 6.0 08/31/2010	3	Kill plenty of zombies battling through the Back Alleys, over a Draw Bridge, Locate the Military Outpost to escape.
Heaven Can Wait II	Romka Aggressor Gemini Saga	version 11.0 10/10/2010	5	After surviving an air crash, the survivors turn out to be in most epicenter of the contamination. The Military has already left all attempts to rescue survivors in the region.
Highway to Hell	Unlawful Enemy Combatant	Version 1.0 08/31/2013	4	The streets may seem devoid of anything civilized, but make no mistake. The military owns this town and is not going anywhere anytime soon. That being said, the apartment you've been hiding out in is no longer a good place to stay and the military evacs are about to end. It's about time to get going.
Dead Before Dawn Too	Darth Brush	version 3.0 11/26/2010	5	Dead Before Dawn is the l4d(2) addon campaign remake of Dawn of the Dead, itself a remake of George Romero's classic zombie killer movie of that same name.
Dead Before Dawn Director's Cut	Darth Brush	version 4.0 02/15/2011	5	Dead Before Dawn: Director's Cut is an update of DBD including more mall, more zombies and more events! It includes our "deleted" map Undead center, which you'll be able to finally play as full release version!
Death Aboard 2	Petter "Diputs" Hesse	version 2.0 08/12/2010	5	Death Aboard 2 is the conversion to L4D2 of the popular Death Aboard campaign for L4D. It is now set during daytime. If you have problems figuring out what to do on the second level: Try looking in the sewers.
Detour Ahead	boogada inigo montoya	version 7.0 11/06/2010	5	Forced to abandon their vehicle and travel on foot, the survivors press on in search of rescue...
Haunted Forest	Dr. Boo	version 3.0 04/23/2011	4	Survivors are stranded in Transsylvania. Go through the forest and the mansion to reach the escape boat!
Questionable Ethics	Nihilanth	version 1.2 5/02/11	4	The Survivors find themselves stuck in a mysterious research facility and must fight their way out to safety.
Welcome to Hell	Garfield!!	version 7.0 10/03/2010	5	Welcome to Hell is a campaign that takes place after the events of The Parish. The campaign features custom weapons and the weapons from The Passing.
Gas Fever	Garfield!!	version 2.0 01/31/2011	3	This campaign take place before The Passing. The Jimmy Gibbs Jr car its out of gas now the survivors must find a gas station to fill up the car.
Suicide Blitz 2	R.T. Frisk	version 4.0 07/28/2011	5	Four new survivors must make their way through an infected city to escape the zombie apocalypse!
Urban Flight	The_Rabbit	version 1.4.5 02/11/2012	4	Survivors must make their way through a quarantined city and navigate their way through the mazes of barricades and obstacles to escape near a military airfield.