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When you change the anti-aliasing setting in some Source games, some bugs occur in the interface, but I do not think these bugs occur in the Source 2 games.

In fact, although these bugs do not cause huge issues, but this guide will still be useful for those who want to know the cause and solution of these bugs.

We use two methods called 'matset' and 'gameinfo' when installing the custom font or scheme items because you are not allowed to modify some user interface files directly.

In this guide, you will see the bugs and fixes of the most used method when installing custom fonts and similar items.

This guide will not specifically tell you to 'use this installation method', it will simply compare the two installation methods. The decision is yours.

⠀By the way, I recommend doing this tutorial to avoid confusion:

Originally posted by ion:

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: To avoid mistakes, set your operating system to always show file extensions. To learn how, read this tutorial[www.howtogeek.com]

You may be a little confused at first, but don't worry. I tried to explain with images as best I could. If you're ready, let's go.

The matset method gets its name from the developer console's mat_setvideomode command. So at least in this guide we'll call this command matset for short.

This command is mostly used to install a custom font or scheme. It also helps us to adjust the screen resolution from the shortcut. It's extremely safe but causes some bugs on user interface.

You will be a little confused, but I need to show them to you so you can understand them better. I will show the bugs in the following sections.

The mentioned installation methods are as follows:

#The Method 1

1) Subscribe to the custom font or scheme addon you want to use.
2) Launch Left 4 Dead 2.
3) Open the developer console and type the following command:

mat_setvideomode 1920 1080 1; mat_setvideomode 1920 1080 0;

NOTE: It's done, if you have a resolution other than 1920 1080 above, replace it with your own game resolution. Also you have to type the command above into the developer console every time you launch the game to have the custom font or scheme installed.

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#The Method 2 (autoexec)

1) Subscribe to the custom font or scheme addon you want to use.
2) Launch and quit the game once for the add-on file to download to the game files.
3) Unsubscribe from the add-on.
4) Open the Left 4 Dead 2 game files.

\Steam\steamapps\common\Left 4 Dead 2\left4dead2\addons\workshop

5) Find your addon file (.vpk) and move it here.

\Steam\steamapps\common\Left 4 Dead 2\left4dead2\addons

6) Open the autoexec.cfg file and type the following command:

alias reloadfont "mat_setvideomode 1920 1080 1; mat_setvideomode 1920 1080 0"; reloadfont;

NOTE: It's done, if you have a resolution other than 1920 1080 above, replace it with your own game resolution.

If you don't have an autoexec.cfg in “\Steam\steamapps\common\Left 4 Dead 2\left4dead2\cfg” you can create a .txt file and rename it to “autoexec.cfg” then edit it with any text editor like notepad.

After the command is added to autoexec / aliased , you'll be able to execute it from developer console (by typing “reloadfont”) in order to load / activate the font mod.

I said at the beginning of the guide that these methods cause some user interface bugs. In this section, I will write about those bugs.

Players with English (US) input language don't already have the input indicator by default, but that doesn't mean other bugs are not happening in their hud. After looking at the images below, you will understand better what I mean.

When you use the matset methods above to install custom fonts or schemes, some parts of the user interface will have bugs like the images below:

They cause long names to disappear.



They cause the input indicator to be cut off.



As with the developer console, they cause the input indicator to be cut off.

GameInfo Method is actually a familiar method, but many players do not prefer to use it because game files are modified.

This method tells the game to use a custom font or scheme, honestly you make the game look like its own file. It's a method that the game knows and already uses, so we can call it a legit method.

This method eliminates bugs caused by the matset method. If you are bothered by the bugs caused by the matset method, use the gameinfo method. Unfortunately, the game does not offer us any other option.

Let's try to install the custom font and scheme with gameinfo method that we tried to install with the matset method above.

This section is a comparison with the previous section:

This method does not cause long names to disappear.



This method does not cause the input indicator in the developer console to be cut off.



This method does not cause the input indicator in the chat to be cut off.

In this section, I will show you how to install a custom font or scheme with the gameinfo method.

Warning: If the custom font or scheme authors have uploaded the add-on file to a website and have given you a download link, you can get the .vpk file from there and start from Step 4.

I'll use the L4D1 Font item as an example.


Steps:

This section also explains how to access the .vpk file of the add-ons in the workshop.
The parts marked with a red box indicate in which location the steps should be performed.

1) Subscribe to the custom font or scheme add-on you want to use.


2) Launch the game for the add-on file to download to the game files.
- Then quit the game after the add-ons have been loaded at the main menu.



3) Unsubscribe from the add-on you have subscribed to.


4) Go to the game files of Left 4 Dead 2.



5) Create a new folder here as shown below.



6) Give the folder any name you want, but don't give it a long name and please use english characters.
- I named my folder as "fontscheme".



7) Find the add-on file you subscribed to.
- You don't need the add-on image file, you can delete it.



8) Move your add-on file to the folder you created.



9) Open the folder you created and change the name of the add-on file to "pak01_dir".
- You have to name it to "pak01_dir" or it will not work.



10) Find and open the "gameinfo.txt" file from the location specified below.



11) After opening the "gameinfo.txt" file, move the scrollbar to the bottom.
- You will see a section in the file like the one below.



12) In order for the add-on to work, you will need to write the name of the folder you created in Step 6.
- I named my folder as "fontscheme".
- So the file now looks like:



For Example:
- Let's say you named the folder as l4d1font, you will need to rename it as l4d1font instead of fontscheme in the part I specified above in the image.
- So like this:



13) After completing Step 12, save and close the "gameinfo.txt" file.
Done!

Originally posted by ion:

Warning!

• Do NOT make your folder under "left4dead2" folder! They have to be in the same level.
  
• VPK file has to be called "pak01_dir.vpk", otherwise it won't work!
  
• Be careful when renaming the file if the .vpk file extension is hidden! You should rename it to only "pak01_dir" in that case.

Q: Is the gameinfo method safe?
A: Yes, it's safe as long as you don't use it for any malicious purpose.

Q: Will I get a VAC Ban If I use the gameinfo method?
A: No, gameinfo method has nothing to do with foreign file extensions. You're not cheating, only making changes to files that the game knows and uses, so custom fonts or schemes shouldn't be that dangerous. This is a method that the game originally used. As I said, it's still useful not to use malicious and advantageous add-ons.

This guide was made to avoid bugs that occur after installing custom fonts and schemes.
Thanks for reading.