WSGF Source Engine Multi-Monitor HUD Editor

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WSGF

Left4Dead 2 (in addition to other games) is a visually stunning zombie shooter game by Valve Software, enhanched furthermore by the use of Eyefinity\Surround display configurations. However, as a side effect of this, the Heads Up Display (HUD) is positioned to the far outside edges of the display, making the viewing of critical information strenuous with repeated left & right head movements.

Fortunately there is a method in which to shift the HUD back towards the central monitor using mods which we shall cover in this article.

Warning

Since an update to L4D2 that forces all mods to be contained in a .vpk, there is also a restriction of the mods used on certain servers.

Before & After

L4D2-Spanned


L4D2-Centered


Downloads - v1.01

Here are some premade mods for the 4 most common resolutions and aspect ratios.


How To Install

  1. Extract the .vpk file from the archive to your addons folder located in "Steam\SteamApps\common\left 4 dead 2\left4dead2\addons".
  2. Launch L4D2 and enable the mod through the in-game menu under Extras > Addons.

L4D2-Mod-Enable

Changes

v1.01 :: 02-Aug-10

v1.00 :: 30-Jul-10

WSGF Source Engine Multi-Monitor HUD Editor: How-To Part 1

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If you intend to play the game outside of the 4 most common aspects (such as a Bezel Compensated resolution in Eyefinity or Surround) then you will need to create your own custom mod.

Tools

L4D2-AuthTools


Extracting Config Files

The config files that we need to edit for our custom mod need to be extracted from the pak01_dir.vpk container file located in "Steam\SteamApps\common\left 4 dead 2\left4dead2\pak01_dir.vpk" using GCFScape.

The files that need extracting and then editing are:

Located in "root/scripts/"

  1. hudlayout.res

Located in "root/resource/ui/"

  1. basechat.res
  2. scoreboard.res


Edit Config Files

Now we have our config files we need to edit them using the WSGF HUD Editor online tool to help automate this process. With the online tool enter in your custom monitor configuration including any bezel compensation you have applied. Browse for the extracted .res files and upload them to the tool one at a time. Upon each upload, you will be presented with a drop down menu and a form. From the drop down menu select the profile for the game and file you uploaded.

HUD Editor Select

This will automatically populate the form ready for you to submit for editing. Once submitted you are able to download the edited .res file.

HUD Editor Ouput

WSGF Source Engine Multi-Monitor HUD Editor: How-To Part 2

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Article

Prepare .vpk Mod

Here we need to prepare our custom mod, to do so we must first create a folder in which to put our freshly edited files into. This folder will also be the name of the mod once packed.

The files and folder structure should look like this:

wsgf-l4d2_hud-5760x1080
|-resource
| `ui
| |-basechat.res
| `-scoreboard.res
|-scripts
| `-hudlayout.res
|-addonimage.jpg
|-addonimage.vtf
`-addoninfo.txt

VPK Structure

addonimage.jpg and addonimage.vtf are optional icons for the in-game menu. The image is 128px x 128px in size. To create a .vtf image file, you need to import your image into VTFEdit and save as a .vtf file

Contents of addoninfo.txt
The addoninfo.txt file is a metadata file that is required by all Source Engine Add-ons.


"AddonInfo"
{
addonSteamAppID 550

// 550 is the app ID for Left 4 Dead


addontitle "WSGF Multi-Mon HUD"
// Add-on title that shows up in Add-ons list. ~20 chars max


addonversion 1.01
// Version number of add-on version of the form .


addontagline "WSGF - L4D2 3072x768 Eyefinity & Surround HUD"
// Add-on tagline or wrap-up- a short description. ~100 chars max


addonauthor "Delphium + GeneralAdmission"
// Name/alias of the author


addonSteamGroupName "Widescreen Gaming Forum"
// (Optional) Steam group related to the add-on. We use this to construct a URL to the group page.


addonContent_Campaign 0
// This addon provides multiple connected maps with a finale


addonURL0 "http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=17516"
// An html home page for the add-on that includes a download link.


addonDescription "Centered L4D2 HUD for 3072x768 Eyefinity/Surround users - from the Widescreen Gaming Forum (WSGF) community.
http://www.widescreengamingforum.com"

// Description that appears in the Add-on list screen.


}

Create .vpk Mod

With the edited .res files and addoninfo.txt placed in the file/folder structure as described above, we can now pack our files into a .vpk mod.

Locate vpk.exe which is part of the L4D2 Authoring Tools and is situated in "steam\steamapps\common\left 4 dead 2\bin\vpk.exe" then create a shortcut to this file on your desktop.

VPK

To pack the mod simply drag and drop the mod folder (in the example above the folder to drag and drop is "wsgf-l4d2_hud-5760x1080") onto the vpk.exe shortcut on the desktop. This will pack the mod for you and save the wsgf-l4d2_hud-5760x1080.vpk file onto the desktop.

Your Mod is now ready to use. To install the mod:

  1. Copy the .vpk file to your addons folder located in "Steam\SteamApps\common\left 4 dead 2\left4dead2\addons".
  2. Launch L4D2 and enable the mod through the in game menu under Extras > Addons.