Hello, dear Left 4 Dead aficionados,

I'm pleased to announce a major update to the server that addresses a long-standing issue with rescue closets in the game. As many of you know, accidentally opening an "unoccupied" rescue closet door can result in losing that respawn point for the rest of the map round, which can be particularly disheartening on custom maps where the locations of these closets might not be familiar.

The good news is that we now have a plugin (mod) that locks all rescue closet doors. This prevents anyone from opening them—intentionally or accidentally—until a survivor dies and needs to respawn.

Additionally, I've implemented a 90-second CPR timer into the plugin that delays the door from opening if a player needs resuscitation first. If a CPR attempt fails within the grace period, then the door will automatically unlock, allowing the respawned survivor to be released from the closet. If a medkit isn't available for CPR, members can quickly override the respawn timer using the chat command '!ss' (Spawn Survivor), which will immediately respawn the survivor/s at the nearest closet.

In retrospect, it would have been helpful if Valve, the game developer, had simply placed a notice on rescue doors advising players not to open them or at least kept them locked until a player needed to respawn. It seems myopic of Valve not to have included this feature, as it would have been quite valuable to the game.

This new plugin marks a major quality-of-life improvement for HardA games, enhancing the overall experience by keeping rescue closets functional and ensuring smoother gameplay for everyone.

Game on!