I have finally resolved this a while ago, by using Hamachi. But i wonder if others have been as lucky as me in figuring this out. Unfortunately there is no specific guide on how to configure the excellent Left 4 Dead PC game without having to install Steam, so i have made this easy guide to inform you that you CAN play L4D without Steam!
How to play via LAN
There is NO need for Steam to play L4D in LAN. I know this from (sadly) personal experience, as i have downloaded Steam's HUGE ~2gb setup files and it still didn't work for me, so i did some research and discovered an excellent program called Hamachi (freeware for personal use) less than 1 MB in size! I now use it all the time, when playing L4D on LAN. It's a great little program! I only wish i had known about Hamachi before Steam.
1. Install Left 4 Dead game.
2. Forget about installing/downloading Steam.
3. Install Hamachi (It's small and free for personal use!)
4. Follow the instructions below once you have installed the game on your computer and other computers connected to yours, via crosswire cable or router.
Example of setup for running L4D in LAN via Hamachi:
Create a Hamachi room/channel and have your friends join it. You will see their Hamachi usernames and IPs in the Hamachi window list. You can even chat with them via Hamachi and guide them along or let them know how you're doing with the game setup or whenever you're ready to start so the others can connect to your computer, which will act as the server, assuming that you are hosting the game.
For the Hoster - when you are in the menu of the game, press the ~ button (normally found above the Tab button on your keyboard). This will open up a console menu, which will have a text area at the bottom, where you can type in.
1. Type: ip [insert here Your Hamachi ip].
For example, type: ip 5.200.200.1 (you will see your Hamachi IP in big and bold white numbers at the top of the Hamachi window. Type this in. Note that this IP is only for use in Hamachi.)
2. Type: sv_allow_lobby_connect_only 0
3. Type: net_start
4. Type: map [press space and then select the map you want to play from the drop down list].
Don't forget to forward port 27015 if you have any software firewall. You will have to add this port to your exception list. I set it on UDP protocol on my router.
For the clients, that is, others waiting to connect to your computer to play in LAN:
The others can easily get your Hamachi IP, but simply right-clicking on your Hamachi username in the Hamachi window and then selecting copy address. Then, tell them to load the game and in their game menu, hit the ~ key. This will open up the L4D console. In their own L4D console, tell your clients to type connect, press space and then do Ctrl+V and it will paste the Hamachi IP in the console area. Lastly, tell them to press enter to join you in the game.
Just tell them to type: connect [press space and then type/paste in the Hamachi ip of the host, that is, your Hamachi IP]
For example, type: connect 5.200.200.1
Normally, to prevent the game from freezing or slow loading, tell the others to hit connect only after you have loaded the map on your computer and you are already in the game.
All set! have fun!
Then later when you are in game, you can change difficulty by voting, if you want.
Edit, this is tested and working with the SKiDROW release!
P.S. Thanks to the guy (don't quite remember where i gathered these helpful lines which pointed me in the right direction) who did the outlines on this guide. I only filled in the gaps and made it more comprehensible.
Important: I applied the patch for this game and this method to play multi-player via Hamachi stopped working. So, i strongly recommend that you do NOT install any patch (not really necessary, as the game runs perfectly fine without it), unless you want to play via Steam, which is a real pain in the ass.
I hope this proves useful to all gamers, who are working their brains out on how to play via LAN or even online multiplayer - BTW, it's the BEST online multiplayer shooter game i have ever played! Wink
How to play Online Multiplayer
Again, no need to download Steam.
This is really easy, once you have understood the simple steps on how to configure/join a LAN match, as described above.
Just download the freeware Garena and you'll discover a whole new world of endless zombie shooting joy! Very Happy
www.garena.com
Download it. Install it.
Then follow these instructions to configure and use Garena to play Left 4 Dead online against people from all over the world... and the best part is, it's all FREE:
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