Left 4 Dead Versus

Is there ANY way to play Left 4 Dead Versus without the constant cocktardery?

I know it's basically a rule of FPS's, which is generally why I AVOID FPSs, is that the other people playing will be dicks. Primarily your own TEAM.

But I like Left 4 Dead because of the emphasis on teamwork, and in Campaign I've seen even the most baffled player tolerated, the most hideous screw up forgiven, as long as the person is honestly trying.

Now, Left 4 Dead Versus seems like fun to me, a chance to PLAY the zombies. But... unlike with the Survivors, there's no single-player of play against CPU for the Zombies, so no chance to hone your skill or learn the controls, or basically get through that massive SUCK phase. Since the controls and gameplay is so wildly different than the Survivor play, experience there is unhelpful.

I wouldn't mind, except the sheer boggling dickish-ness of FPS games seems to have been distilled and concentrated into vs. mode. Game lobbies that fill up, then have 3/4 quit for no apparent reason. Entire teams who rage quit because they didn't start as infected. People who drop after a single round if their team isn't in the lead. Constant CONSTANT belittling of your own team should they screw up in the slightest way.

Yes, thank you for telling me to 'Lern 2 play'. I'd like to. If you could point me to some other place I could learn, I'd happily go there. But there isn't, so I'm stuck with this massively steep learning curve. Oh, and thank you for convincing the entire team to quit, effectively ending the campaign. I just feel unfulfilled that you didn't teabag me on the way out.

I know playing with friends would solve this, but... I'm new to Valve games, and L4D is the only Steam game I have, so I don't have many, and most aren't all on at the same time. I don't particularly feel like joining a clan or a guild or whatever just for the honor of being told I suck by the same people each week instead of new ones. I get enough abuse from random strangers at work, it doesn't help me to unwind to get it in the games I play.

Anybody else have any experience with this? A really good and fun game mechanic completely screwed because of the learning curve and the huge number of jerks playing?

Fight my Brute! http://pols-strarf.mybrute.com

This is why it is best if you assemble your group of friends that play L4D and take turns bashing each other. At least you know your buddies won't be complete jerks and screw things up for you, either way.

Wait, there are people that play versus for a reason besides griefing?
I'd have to question this.

Best advice, try and get a group of friends together for it.
Im not a fan of versus anyway, but if you can get 8 people you know, then you can have a good laugh.
Any less and the computer just breaks the game as survivors with its ridiculous accuracy, range and sight.

try looking here for peeps http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/video-...talkyness.html

Plenty of people still play it (including I) and would gladly join up to stop the internet gaming twats ruining it for you. For most, team based games means being a solo hero - odd aint it.

Anyone who is worse than I at a video game is a shitty loser and sucks. Anyone who is better than I at a video game has no life and is a cheater. The only people I respect are those at my level, whom I just beat.

I refuse to play Versus with Pubstars. Stack the team or just play Co-op, survivor, etc.

From what I can tell and speculate from my own experiences, these type of players that do this are possibly very, very impatient cockbites. They join a game and if it doesn't start right then and there(or very soon after), they turn around and leave and look for another game.

Two games that I've seen this happen alot in are GTA IV and Forza 2(I don't have L4D). I have actually sat there in a lobby before and seen the same gamertags pop in and out repeatedly. I can only assume it's because, as I said, those kind of people apparently have very little patience.