After the response and tracking of a lot of the changes we introduced last week we decided to continue with another update of shakeups. There are some minor adjustments to a few items from the patch after more feedback. Also new this week is a revamped server browser! We have been hard at work to create a better way to filter and sort the list and even provide more information to the user before choosing what server to connect too. Our week to week experiments and changes have been very interesting to watch and see what works and what doesn’t and we aren’t done just yet! Over the next couple weeks there are plans for some additional UI changes, maybe a new weapon? A new map? Additional weapon skins? And if we sell more shadow fades then maybe that Onos will appear (hint: go buy more shadow fades). Special shout out and thank you to xDragon for allowing us to use his code. Until next week, happy hunting! UPDATE NOTES Tweaks / Improvements

• When a team concedes, everyone is treated to a short sequence showing all the conceding team’s players and structures being destroyed.
• New Server Browser:
  • Highlighting custom gamemodes better by having only two filters, NS2 and Modded
  • Restructured all UI elements for better usability and to better feature the two main filters
  • New fancy color scheme and artistic design
  • No longer showing relative server skill, since it was not very useful
  • Search bar will search for both matching map names as well as server names
• Added an option to disable health bars for those that prefer less visual clutter
• Spectators will be able to see nameplates from further away than players
• Enemy health bar tweaks
  • Changed armor color to be more readable
  • Bile Bomb and spores now also mark enemies
  • Melee attacks now cause enemies to be marked for longer (5s instead of 2s)
  • Fixed that health bars were disappearing semi-randomly as they got close to the edges of the screen
• Added a new achievement for collecting all 15 of the random drop items
• Corrode damage type changed to be more effective vs exos and less effective vs players
  • Damage reduction to player armor changed to 12% (was 23%)
  • Damage reduction to to exo armor changed to 40% (was 30%)
• Phase gates have more of their eHP moved to armor and now has 1500 health and 800 armor (was 2000/550)
• Fade blink movement changes
  • Vertical speed can no longer be converted to horizontal
  • Celerity will have a slightly lessened effect on changing direction
  • Ability to change direction without celerity has been improved
• Marine HUD Parasite icon displays the time left on parasite effect, for Marines
• Gorge:
  • Gorge Webs
    • Now available at biomass 0 and can be placed for Free!
    • Limited to 3 Webs maximum
    • Enemies will be parasites for 10 seconds if they walk through a web
    • Web slowdown effect changed to a 25% reduction (was 85%)
    • Slowdown duration now lasts for 1.5 seconds (was 2)
  • Gorge Babblers
    • You can now only place one egg, but it will spawn 6 babblers
    • Babbler movement speed increased to 7.5 (was 7)
    • Babbler damage type changed to Structural (double vs structures)
    • Babbler damage reduced to 8 (was 10)
  • Gorge Tunnel:
    • Costs reduced to 3 (was 4)
• Increased the amount of personal resources each resource tower grants per player from 1 to 1.25 per minute (by 25%):
  • Reduced Alien starting personal resources to 12 (from 15)
  • Lowered Marine starting personal resources to 15 (from 20)
  • Reduced Lerk personal resource costs to 18 (from 20)
• Onos Gore:
  • Damage lowered to 90 (from 100)
  • Energy cost reduced to 10 (from 13)
• Nutrient mist now prevents structures off infestation from taking damage, and prevents disconnected cysts from taking damage.  Also heals cysts at half crag efficiency.  It no longer requires infestation to be placed.
• Improved damaged exosuit effects as well as minigun and ricochets, to be less vision obscuring (Thanks IronHorse!)
• Umbra changes
  • Duration of umbra cloud reduced to 4 seconds (was 5)
  • Radius of umbra cloud reduced to 4 units (was 6)
  • Flat damage reduction vs all weapons changed to 25% (was 33% vs shotguns, 30% vs Minigun, and 32% vs Railgun)
• Improved fade blink effects to be less vision obscuring (Thanks IronHorse!)
• Reduced the damage Power Surge’s overcharge deals to 25

Fixes

• Fixed that certain commanders abilities e.g. Power Surge did not cost anything.
• Health bars show when a marine is being healed over time by medpacks, again
• Insight health bars are far less colorful (will no longer show parasite and poison status)
• Fixed issue with nameplates allowing players to see where enemies were through walls, if in close proximity
• Fixed issue with fade blink sound sometimes getting stuck looping (Thanks xDragon!)
• Fixed that the crosshair will blink red when players respawn
• Fixed that the nav mesh initialized incorrectly causing issues at some maps (Thanks ZycaR!)
• Fixed that directional damage feedback was only updating at 25hz

Translations

• Completed Finnish translations (Thanks MisterOizo!)

SDK

• Improved camera movement in Cinematic Editor

Maps

• ns2_refinery
  • Changed dimensions of Ready Room join entity to prevent players from being stuck
• ns2_summit
  • Added missing lights in Ready Room
• ns2_veil
  • Fixed various floating props throughout Cargo and Dome
  • Lowered the infamous head-height trashcan. RIP.

[ 2016-05-13 13:11:09 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