Natural Selection 2

[OPIE]

Guess what?! 20 hours to go!

The first NS2 Alpha is complete and will be released to anyone who has purchased the Special Edition of NS2 late evening on July 26th.

You have 20 hours from the posting of this post if you have not already to purchase the special edition of the game! http://www.naturalselection2.com/buy

After the timer is up NS2 alpha will be released and you will no longer be able to purchase the special edition. Which means you won't have alpha access and will have to wait until an open beta to play the game. You will also be unable to get the custom black marine armor that comes with the special edition...they will discontinue it so that only those who have purchased it before the Alpha V1.0 release will be able to have the black armor.

This is the game I have been waiting for since the release of Valves Source engine. It looks amazing and I can picture myself unable to peel myself out of the computer chair for the next few days.

I should also draw your attention to this portion of their website. It has some good screen shots and a lot of information on the alpha. http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/news/2010/7/ns2_alpha_date_set

It's starting out kind of bare but they will be making 1-4 patches each month. I expect the first month to be a lot of bug fixes. The second month I imagine we will get more maps and marine/alien abilities. The third month I am thinking we will see the Fade and Onos added into the game. These are just my predictions but I still cannot wait to play even just the bleak alpha. The marines always being my favorite to play I will enjoy the game with no Fades or Onos for awhile haha. Only downside is no heavy armor or jetpacks yet for marines.

Oh heres a fun note, the aliens are no longer as independent as they use to be. The aliens now have a commander to and the Gorge is more of a support class now rather then the primary builder. They are calling the gorge the Gardener or caretaker of the alien swarm.

If you are not interested in the Special Edition but still plan on getting the game this is your last and only chance to pre-order the regular version for $20. After the release the regular version price is being raised. So if you got $20 and plan to play in the future buy it now before the price is raised. If you have $40 buy the special edition and get ready for some good times. TWENTY HOURS GUYS! TWENTY!!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[Grizzly]

SWEET!

[Xero]

Preordered the standard edition - thanks opie =)

[OPIE]

Oh on a quick side note.

There are several sever sites out there that will be hosting Alpha servers. It could be good for the community if we hosted a official server. Could draw attention to us again and who knows we may get a crowd back here.

There will not be a huge amount of dedicated servers so this might be something to think about.

[Vanish]

Would be awesome if our hosting company allowed the steam ports to be open and functioning all of the time. Yes it would. You should get on our COO to get that fixed. *COUGH* It's Xero *COUGH*

[OPIE]

2 minute warning!!!!1 OMG YAY! 10.....9...876543210 WOOT!

[Thunder]

This game was sort of fun but I unfortunately never played enough to really understand what all you bastids were doing to kill me and how 

[Xero]

Would be awesome if our hosting company allowed the steam ports to be open and functioning all of the time. Yes it would. You should get on our COO to get that fixed. *COUGH* It's Xero *COUGH*

Hehe....Understood. Unfortunately, I don't have direct access to our box as it has been down for quite some time now. Have been trying to get in touch with someone to get access but I've not had any luck. Will send out another flurry of emails to see if I can get an answer =)

[OPIE]

Right now they are having a lot of networking and connection issues. Which surprised me even in alpha stage. Usualy thats pretty polished out by then. Its the performance issues that are big right now. Im running a very high end rig here and I am having some issues. I did happen to find one major bug they really need to fix. If the marine entering the command chair dies while going in, the chair stays closed and unable to be used by anyone else. Also this happens if the marine in the chair switches teams or heads back to the ready room. This also happens if he disconnects randomly or by his own actions.

[OPIE]

NS2 Alpha update:

Technical

    * Fixed bug where a client would continue to try and connect after the server reported that it was full or the client was using the wrong protocol
    * Fixed bug where clients could only connect to servers on the default port
    * Fixed bug where the port was removed when connecting via console command
    * Fixed bug on multi-monitor systems that resulted in a graphics reset loop
    * Fixed window border when switching from fullscreen to windowed
    * Fixed bug where key events outside of the game's focus window would sometimes be processed by the game
    * Fixed bug where the dedicated server could not be run without Steam running
    * Fixed duplicate attack/fire key bindings that caused mismatches
    * Fixed voice chat to use in-game sound volume on playback
    * Fixed bug where where clients could timeout while alt-tabbed from the game in fullscreen mode
    * Fixed bug where binding a game server to an IP would cause it to not be displayed in the server browser
    * Added client-side timeouts when attempting to connect to a server
    * Added support for closing a dedicated server by pressing ctrl+break
    * Added alt-enter to toggle between fullscreen and windowed mode
    * Added dedicated server files to the Steam release
    * Added Toggle Console binding to UI settings

Game

    * Fixed bug where MACs were free (now they cost 2 plasma)
    * Fixed bug with armory playing extra sounds when players were nearby
    * Added rally points for Hives and Command Stations
    * Fixed many vent physics objects so they can be entered
    * Fixed hitching animation problems while sprinting as marine
    * Logging into a Command Station no longer freezes you but it will open again if the logging in player leaves
    * When the Command Station closes, anyone inside besides the Commander is killed
    * Aliens become Commander instantly when +using the hive
    * Fixed bug where Extractors or Harvesters couldn't be built on a nozzle that had one previously
    * Added welding effect to MAC
    * Added new marine commander icon artwork
    * Improve marine running and jumping animations
    * Updated shell ejection effect for the rifle, pistol, and grenade launcher
    * New docking_walltech environment props

They fixed a lot of the major issues regarding connection issues. I can connect to almost every server now and if I can't it tells me instead of me just sitting there twiddling my thumbs. However performance issues are still there. It lags a lot and you "rubber band" a lot. So playability is down atm but this is an alpha. the purpose is to find bugs ect.... For a first patch in only 3 days since release I am impressed with the amount they have fixed. These guys must not sleep.

[Grizzly]

This is making me excited for my next PC upgrade!

[OPIE]

Let me give you all a little in depth review on how NS2 differs from NS1.

First and most importantly. There is no longer 3 hives for the alien team. The Aliens now get a commander just like the marines, things have changed for the commander. Instead of placing buildings down and marines having to go build them you now build, builder bots or for the aliens these larva looking things. So it plays like a traditional RTS for the commander. The thing is these units that build the buildings ect... are very weak and can't defend themselves so it is important for aliens or marines to escort these builders to the locations they are being sent.

I am not so sure I like this idea. Although very innovative and holds a lot of potential... I myself loved NS because of the team work that was needed on both ends. This kind of makes the game more combative rather then strategic like the first NS. The maps are smaller because of this, that is one thing I will miss. The Sheer size of the NS1 maps. The whole commander against commander idea is neat but again its going to take some things away from the original that I really liked.

Right now things like Turrets, heavy machine guns, jet packs, heavy armor are not implemented in the game yet. For the aliens, the Fade and Onos are not in the game yet. There are limited upgrades and they work the same. You need resources to research and you need the right buildings. Aliens still evolve and share resources independently like they use to. The gorge is still very useful. The commander for the aliens does not deploy all the buildings. The gorge will drop the hydras and other offensive and defensive structers and still has his heal spray.

We will have to see how it all works out in the end. Some definet changes have been made that seperate the game from the original but at the same time gives you that nostalgic feeling like you just met up with an old friend.

[OPIE]

Yours truly was involved in a very deep discussion on why Marines need to still be able to build in NS2. It now looks like the NS2 team is taking the advice and is going to allow marines to build. My recommendation was that they remove the builder bots completely but it looks like they are going to still keep them. The community played a big role in this and the constructive discussions on the issue looks like its a WIN for us! MARINES WILL BE ALLOWED TO BUILD!

The game is coming along nicely. They will be adding in the Marine sentry turrets in the new patch and the hit registration should be fixed in the next patch as well.

[OPIE]

New patch out. This has LOTS of fixes

Technical

    * Fixed animation choppiness on player models
    * Fixed client-side and server-side memory leaks
    * Fixed bug where pressing Enter in the password dialog would append an invalid character to the password
    * Fixed bug where the server browser (after starting a game) only listed LAN servers
    * Fixed bug where using the subtractive blend mode for effects would somteimes corrupt the rendering
    * Fixed bug where binding a server to a specific IP address would fail
    * Fixed non-QWERTY or US keyboard layouts not working properly (doesn't fully work in chat yet)
    * Fixed tilde for opening the console on some keyboards
    * Fixed num lock not working when typing
    * Fixed bug where Decoda would not properly launch a mod that had spaces in the directory name
    * Fixed assert/crash when loading levels with certain types of concave faces
    * Fixed bug where error messages would be reported incorrectly when a base class for a Lua class was not found
    * Fixed timing discrepancies between the server and client when player input was processed (fixes shooting moving enemies)
    * Fixed bug where the physics system was not properly reporting the material of hit surfaces
    * Fixed bug where the disconnect message was printed multiple times in the log on the client when a server was shutdown
    * Fixed bug where the mouse cursor was sometimes hidden in the main menu when a client was disconnected from the server
    * Added keyboard repeat rate when typing
    * Added additional error messages when a client disconnects from the server
    * Added texture quality option to editor's general settings
    * Added support for setting string material parameters on RenderModels
    * Added the ability to connect to a server with a password from the console
    * Added "sound_debug 1" in "dev" mode for finding sound problems (helpful for mod authors)
    * Changed the cursor color in Deco/da to be the inverse of the background color
    * Synchronized the "fullscreen" check box with the current window state
    * Added Overview application for generating minimaps

Game

    * Added doors. They open and close for players, but can also be "hacked" by a marine Commander. They can also be locked (locks will be able to be destroyed by alien growth in the future).
    * New Commander tooltips that show you cost, requirements, cost, for most upgrades, structures and abilities.
    * Fixed many sound problems (ricochets, spawn sounds, etc.).
    * Fixed problem with running out of spawn points and falling through the world
    * Fixed problem where multiple upgrades of the same type couldn't be performed (ie, more than one advanced armory).
    * Alien morphing is no longer instant - you turn into an egg and go third-person for a time.
    * Can no longer recycle occupied Command Stations.
    * Commanders never collide with anything.
    * Gorge spit and spray now fire instantly (you don't have to switch "modes").
    * Added parasite ability to Skulk! Hive sight isn't currently enabled though.
    * Marines no longer start with an infantry portal - they must build one. Infantry Portals must be built near a Command Station.
    * Hives start with 3 Drifters and Command Stations start with 2 MACs.
    * Marines can now help build structures like in NS1 (needs audio/visual effects still).
    * Scoreboard now shows colored numbers instead of colored bars.
    * Fixed problem where new hives didn't visually smash through tech point.
    * Added commander hotkeys (but only working for alien Commander at the moment).
    * Fixed problem where non-Commanding marines didn't get killed when closed in a Command Station.
    * Added death animations and ragdolls to most structures and players.
    * Fixed many commander icons.

Assets

    * Many updated sound effects and updated reverb settings.
    * ns2_tram updates.
    * Many new MAC voiceovers and tuned him to be less repetitive.
    * Added rifle sound variations.
    * More sci-fi rifle reload, better sounding shotgun fire.
    * Added sound variations and improvements to Gorge and Lerk.

I was running around earlier after the patch. You can actually shoot skulks now! Still no turret yet, they decided not to add that just yet. But the game is rapidly improving. Playability is up...they fixed a lot of lag issues, you generally don't rubber band anymore.

[OPIE]

A patch is to be expected for release in the next couple weeks. This patch will be the performance fixes so the game should be much more playable with a large number of people. I haven't given you an update in a while so I figured I would feed you a little information.

I wanted to point out I was wrong in my last assumption on the game play. There are multiple hives for aliens and now there are multiple command chairs for the marines that is apart of unlocking more abilities and research. Marines have to build multiple command chairs to continue to tech up and aliens have to build more hives to unlock more evolution abilities. However there still is the alien commander. The builder bots and alien builder larva are still in the game but they did make it so marines can help the bots build buildings quicker.

A few notes about Marine heavy armor:(not in game yet but due very soon)

the heavy exo-suit comes with the ability to enter "lockdown" mode where mobility is decreased but accuracy is increased.

the heavy exo-suit allows for the purchase of the dual wielding minigun upgrade which allows you to be BAMF Samuel L. Jackson.

VERY COOL! So instead of just giving you a crap load of armor it actually gives you abilities...I like this.

A few notes about the Onos(not in game yet):

The onos can break through doors that marines welded shut seen in the trailer on their site http://www.naturalselection2.com/

The screen will shake when the onos is walking nearby

They are talking about abilities for the onos such as:

Ideas:

1. Intimidating Roar - Jams bullet-type weaponry, cone of effect
2. Menacing Growl - If NOT in view by marine, marine will freeze for a split second to listen. Long(ish) recharge time.
3. Cry of the Behemoth - "Blacks Out" area of view of the marine commander around the onos for a time
- Interfere with (marine) commander ability to view/drop items in the area
- Cause marine structures in the area to stop operating
- Make marines drop their weapon
- Cause marines to start turning away from the Onos. (They could still counter this by turning in the opposite direction, but it would require effort).
- Make other game sounds fade mostly out and only the onos-related sounds could be heard. Kind of like shell shock, but still able to move around and see normally.

Those are community ideas but the developers are really working with the community and alpha testers to implement ideas. They are also talking about marine tunnel vision when an Onos charges fading the sides top and bottom of the field of view from the marines also muffling the sounds so other aliens can take advantage and attack.
They are also talking about slowing the turning speed of the onos...that is a big discussion topic right now. The argument is between the reality of a large animal like that not being able to turn fast and the other argument is it will hinder alien gameplay.
They are removing Devour though. The onos can no longer eat you YAAAAAAY! IMO that was the worst ability given to the Onos...it was unbalanced and over powered and it also took away control from the player. The community actually supports this idea but the hardcore Onos fanboys are crying pretty hard the term cry me a river would be an understatement.

A few notes on the Fade(not in game  yet):

Remember the fade blink? Just sort of made you glide in the air across the screen really fast...IMO made the fade extremely over powered. The whole glide in --> quick switch --> focus slash --> instant marine death --> glide out and use healing ability.

Well the Fade will still have blink but they are using Night Crawlers ability from X-men as it's basis to it's structure and functionality. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrVdCkKxty4

Check this out and try and tell me this is not cool http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/
That's the marine FLAME THROWER! HELL YEAH!

Dynamic Infestation! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMMiKKv7g7s&p=6321F7822E60C1EA&playnext=1&index=9

Yes it's not in yet and is still being built. What you see in that video is when NS2 was being built with the Source Engine. UWE has scraped the source engine and rebuilt the game with their own engine they created called Spark! So they have to rebuild dynamic infestation. But it will be in NS2! They are also building a Marine Power Grid. The way this will work is if an area gets infested it will shut down power in that area and make marine technology stop working. Resource harvesters will stop working, turrets ect....
They also stated that Aliens in the infested area will gain new abilities while they remain in the infested area...and marine abilities could be reduced when entering an infested area.....THIS IS JUST TO COOL! The gameplay is pretty much limitless with this. I can't wait until they add it.

Lets talk about Spark. The fact that UWE made their own engine is just so awesome. It means we're going to get community MODS! Yeap yeap yeap! I am saddened that NS2 is not a carbon copy of NS1 but I am hopeful someone will make a MOD called Classic NS for NS2 so we can get that carbon copy. UWE has also stated that they will not be making NS2 Combat....remember NS combat from the first one? Ya they said it will take to much time and money to invest in it so they are leaving it up to the community to make the Combat MOD. I hope who ever does it makes it good cause Combat is a lot of fun. There is a lot of talk in the community already about making the "classic NS" MOD and the Combat MOD so when NS2 goes Beta I am hopeful someone will have it completed already or it being close to completion. UWE made a good move when they released all the tools needed like over a year ago to the community so those projects could get an early start. UWE is putting a lot of effort in supporting the MOD community. They stated that they have a lot of compassion for MODs because it's how they got their start. NS1 was a MOD of Half-Life and they stated they hope a lot of companies follow what they did. Make the first version of the game free (the prototype in their case NS1 was the prototype) then become an independent company and make the finished version of the game (NS2) and go commercial.

Check this out. http://www.youtube.com/user/NaturalSelection2HD

These guys are cool. They do comparisons between NS1 and NS2 and their videos are very helpful and have a lot of information about the game thus far. So if you want to see whats going on in the development of the game be sure to check out their videos. Also you can check this out too. http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/progress
The NS2 progress page. You get to see what the developers are currently working on to fix or add into the game.

Another note too. All marines now have their own resources. This is GREAT because the commander no longer drops you weapons. You get to spend your own resources for what you want. No more going "Commander can I get a heavy or HMG or shot gun?" Commander: "NO!" You just simply visit the armory pull up the buy screen and choose what you want. All the upgrades though are still done by the commander.

Also be sure to keep an eye on their Twitter page too...they update it pretty frequently to let us know what they are thinking of doing or have done. http://twitter.com/NS2

Well that's about it for now. Let the information feast begin! I promise to try and give you guys regular updates about the game. And when the next patch is released I will certainly let you know how it improves the game.