Hi everyone! Continuing our theme of the week, Patch 287 adds some additional support to help new players learn about the game before joining the ranks. We are now able to guide new players through an on-screen checklist, to help them learn all the basics of the game. If they complete these tasks they are rewarded a new shoulder patch (‘Eat your Greens’). The other benefit in having this system hooked up is that we now have Steam Achievements for the rest of the players out there! So prepare yourself and see how many achievements you can collect, we will continue to add more over time and are open to suggestions on fun/harder ones to achieve too. Next up we are working to implement some of the ideas and requests from the ‘Simplifying NS2 thread’ and document. Our continued efforts with the help of the community’s feedback should help both retain more players and allow current players to effect change. That’s a big positive for everyone. Check out the changelog below and stay tuned for what comes next! CHANGELOG Tweaks / Improvements Added 48 new Achievements for you to collect Added 5 tasks specially for new players and a new shoulder patch as reward for completing them (shown on the main menu) Tip videos will no longer play while connected to a dedicated server, so new players can focus on the game. They are still accessible from the Training menu Changed Trello button on main menu to link to our NS2 Discord chatroom instead (come say Hi!) Use an achievement to track if the tutorial was completed instead of a config option. Tutorial improvements are now for everyone (no more A/B comparison) Added more granular analytics to the Tutorial, to find out where people are getting stuck If you have a welder, you will build with the welder instead of the build-tool. Fixes Fixed issue with repairing destroyed power nodes where it would not bring out your build tool or welder Fixed Linux clients getting a black screen on startup due to awesomium being less than awesome Restored the old behavior of the rookie only server browser filter: It shows rookie only servers when ticked otherwise not. The annotate command has been fixed (Thanks Salads!) SDK / Editor Added a Server.IsDedicated() script function to distinguish between local hosted (listen servers) and remote hosted (dedicated servers) from lua script Fixed crash in Editor that could occur with the Trim Tool. Maps ns2_docking Fixed structures being un-powered in Terminal if placed in the upper-left corner of the room. ns2_derelict Fixed CommanderInvisible faces, cinematics, and props throughout the map Fixed some odd faces clipping through areas where they shouldn’t Fixed several holes in south-western portion of the map Fixed some excluded OcclusionGeometry faces Made vents more visible (and connected) on the map overlay by adding several missing props and faces to CommanderInvisibleVents Fixed an issue causing Seasonal (and secret room) props to be visible on map overlay Added addition line of sight block in the form of derelict_vines_2b in Turbines for balance Decreased size of central tree in Turbines for sanity and balance Pipe props moved in Alley for blocking line of sight for balance

[ 2016-02-26 14:15:34 CET ] [ Original post ]

Natural Selection 2 pits alien against human in an action-packed struggle for survival. Wield devastating weaponry as a Frontiesman marine, or become the xenomorph as a deadly. Kharaa life-form.

Strategy Meets Shooter

Natural Selection 2 is a First Person Shooter and Real Time Stategy game rolled into one! Each team, alien and human, has a Commander. The Commander looks down on the battlefield and issues orders, places structures, collects resources, researches technology, and deploys abilities.



Here are some gameplay examples: A human Commander could drop health packs and ammunition to a trapped marine squad, and deploy sentry guns to help them defend their position. Or an alien Commander could grow a new Hive to spread infestation throughout newly captured territory, allowing more alien eggs to spawn...

Two Unique Sides

Aliens players choose to evolve into one of five lifeforms: The fast, fearsome Skulk can run on walls and deliver massive damage with is jaws. Lerks fly and deploy gasses to support their teammates in battle. Gorges heal other lifeforms and build tunnels, hydra turrets, walls, and other tactical structures. Fades blink in and out of battle, picking off marines with giant scythes. Finally, the giant Onos is so massive and so tough, that even entire marine squads can't take it down.



Marines wield rifles, shotguns, grenade launchers, pistols, and other weapons. Cluster grenades can clear ventilation shafts of sneaky Skulks, flamethrowers make short work of alien structures and infestation, and boosts dropped by the Commander increase combat effectiveness.

When attacking on foot doesn't cut it, marines can construct hulking Exosuits wielding miniguns and railguns, and equip jetpacks for high speed assaults on alien Hives.

Long Term Development

Natural Selection 2 receives constant updates. This year, 2016, Unknown Worlds continues to develop new features, content, and improvements.

Mod Tools Come Standard

Natural Selection 2 comes with all the tools we used to make the game. All game code is open source. That means you can create, and play, an endless variety of mods. Publish, share, and download mods from the Steam Workshop, and automatically download mods when you join modded games.

Digital Deluxe Edition

Digital Deluxe Edition includes:

• Official Soundtrack - 1 hour of tribal, industrial music composed by David John and Simon Chylinski
  
• Digital Art Book - 40+ pages of art by Cory Strader, including environments, creatures, weapons and more
  
• Exclusive in-game marine model - Exclusive in-game marine model - A new marine model with custom visor and armor plating
  
• Exclusive Wallpapers and Avatars - Unique views of the NS2 universe by Amanda Diaz