Update 325 includes balance adjustments, map refinements, bug fixes, gameplay tweaks, and new cosmetics to the Catalyst Pack. A long time veteran of NS2 development has rejoined the team, Fsfod is back and putting all his focus on improving and stabilizing LuaJIT. Fsfod was the original developer that implemented LuaJIT support for NS2. His efforts will ultimately yield a faster and more stable game.

The Machine Gun is getting some needed love this update. The Commander is no longer required to research it separately after upgrading to an Advanced Armory and we have lowered the cost of the Commander weapon drop as well. Additionally, with a lower overall weight and slight increase to the base damage, this is starting to feel like a better weapon choice to have in a group of Marines later in the round.

Sound is a critical component of NS2 gameplay. Hearing the clatter of claws on metal can mean the difference between life and death. Our resident audiophile Sweets has prepared an overhaul of audio cues, from footstep distances to Gorge Tunnel sounds over the last few patches and now has taken a peck at the Lerk glide and ambient sounds for additional player tracking.



Last update we introduced the Catalyst Pack, new Sandstorm skins for all Marine equipment, and Toxin skins for all Alien lifeforms. This update we are adding to that DLC, Catalyst now gives the Command Station and Hive the cosmetic DLC love they’ve always deserved. This update also includes cosmetic options for Alien Eggs and Harvesters as well as Marine Extractors.

 

 

*Proceeds from the sale of all NS2 DLC items, including this new Catalyst Pack, go towards funding the on-going and long-term development of NS2.

Since this is Halloween, we have added our first ever animated shoulder badge. This spooky new babbler badge will unlock after completing just five rounds of play that are at least five minutes long.

 

Check out the full changelog below to see all the goodies contained within.

Follow the NS2 development roadmap to see our plans for future updates.

Changelog

Gameplay

• Machine Gun tweaks
  • Now unlocks with the Advanced Armory
    • We felt that accessibility was an issue preventing the weapon from being seen in most games, with the research cost and research time not being justified by the stats.
  • Lowered weight to 0.18 (from 0.21).
    • Now it weighs slightly more than the Grenade Launcher. This allows you to move faster with it, to include when using a jetpack to chase down those higher lifeforms.
  • Increased base damage to 9 (from 8)
    • The weapon should feel more impactful now later in the round, creating a greater distinction from the rifle when it comes to DPS.
  • Lowered commander dropped costs to 20 team resources (from 40)
    • This should bring it into parity with other commander dropped weapon prices.
• Prototype Lab build time
  • Fixed that the build time was 8 instead of the intended 23 seconds.
• Eggs and Embryos (Contributed by Katzenfleisch)
  • All eggs (spawned by hives) and embryos (player evolved or commander dropped lifeforms) now have a flat 350 hp and do not mature anymore. Additionally, we have removed Marines from seeing the nutrient mist “column” effects that play on evolving players. Aliens can still see the effect on their evolving teammates.
    • We did not like how frustrating it felt for a field Marine to so easily determine which were weak evolving embryos and which were strong eggs, without commander assistance.
  • Lifeforms now share their HP relative with their Embryo. For example: While evolving, if your Embryo takes 50% damage you will hatch with 50% HP. Also: If you evolve with only 50% HP, your embryo will only have 50% of its 350 HP when you begin evolving.
    • A compromise to the aforementioned increase in HP for embryos, and because it felt horrible to shoot an embryo to 5% HP and have a 100% HP Onos hatch out.
  • Both eggs and embryos can now be healed.
    • This just felt natural to finally have, and fitting with the relative HP changes. It also can make egg-locking slightly more difficult to achieve.
  • Regardless of the damage eggs take, respawning Skulks will always hatch with 100% HP.
    • This will ensure a Hive room under attack can still respond accordingly with respawning players.
• Default Alien Vision Changes
  • Players and structures on Marines and Aliens now have separate colors
    • During chaotic engagements with teammates involved, it was easy to lose your target with only a screen full of orange. Now Marine structures are dark blue but Marine players are still the same color (red-orange) and Alien structures are now tinted green and Alien players have a faint green outline. Hive Vision outlines now dim depending on if the highlighted player is through a wall or not. If it can damage you, it will be red-orange like a Marine.

Tweaks / Improvements

• Added Commander skins for owners of the catalyst pack:
• Added the animated Haunted Babbler shoulder patch:
  • Play 5 rounds during the remaining halloween season to unlock it!
• The location caches for lights, reflection probes, and emissive props will now be calculated at map load, rather than as power points first come into relevancy for a player.  This prevents hitches in the early game of the first round of each map change.
• Flinch animations have been removed from all players, Alien and Marine alike.
  • The blending of these animations were causing slight Client / Server desynchronization resulting in inaccurate hit feedback occasionally, and they were barely visible during typical engagements.
• Removed the key binding to hide/show player names on the minimap (Contributed by Handschuh)
• Modified structure extent boxes used for checking placement validation to more closely match the model. This is an improvement, but does not fix all cases.

Sound Effects / General Audio (Thanks Sweets!)

• Removed all Alien idle sounds
  • Idle sound triggers were unreliable and difficult to predict. Most idle sounds were based on speed with an arbitrary cooldown time. A fast moving player would unknowingly play an idle sound at a time which would betray their position unintentionally. Additionally, leaving the sound turned on in 1st person only would be confusing, leading the player to believe they are making idle sounds that could be audible to the enemy.
• Lerk Gliding
  • To prevent Lerk gliding from being completely silent after the removal of idle sounds, the 1st person sound you typically hear while gliding as a Lerk is now audible to all players. It will increase in volume slightly based on your speed. The range is very short. It is designed to allow shotgunners to flip around and respond to the Lerk sound at the very last second rather than responding only after receiving 2 bites, if they are paying attention in a quiet environment.
• Fade Blinking
  • Sound added for all players while remaining in Ethereal form. (holding down the Blink key)
• Audio for the Refinery buckets pouring in Smelting have been turned off for the time being until a difficult bug can be resolved.

Fixes

• Fixed issues with input handling that occurred at consistent ~80 fps or lower, resulting in ignored input commands and frame hitching. This fix makes user input consistent regardless of framerates. (Thanks Matso!)
• Fixed issue with Gorge belly slide sound cutting out and playing inconsistently.
• Fixed Alien regeneration sound not consistently playing when alien lifeforms or structures are healed.
• Fixed that hydras could still shoot if they were completely inside of a clog.
  • Key word: completely. If you can see it, you can kill it.
• Improved scenarios where commanders could execute multiple actions simultaneously that were intended to be single-use only.  For example, alien commanders could upgrade 2 or more hives at once to crag hives, or ink with more than one shade at a time.
  • More often than not these actions were done on accident, wasting resources and even having permanent repercussions (in the case of the hive type). There is still an edge case that allows you to upgrade two hives with the same hive type, but the primary means has been resolved.
• Fixed that the Marine commander’s cursor would vanish if the player opened the main menu before the chair had fully closed around them.
• Fixed that some players still got the summer gorge patch notification while not being able to unlock it anymore.
  • That lazy gorge on the inner tube wouldn’t hush up about summer never ending on their world.
• Fixed some server/client desync issues with the flinch animation which could cause hit registration false positives
• Fixed the marine builder tool animation flickering occurring while building structures from certain angles (Contributed by Katzenfleisch)
  • IronHorse is forever in Katzen’s debt for fixing his #1 most hated bug of all time.
• Fixed that some players got beaconed when they were already in the target room (Contributed by Katzenfleisch)
• Fixed that updating the game to a newer version (when a patch releases) and immediately connecting to a server actively playing on a custom map could cause an invalid files error.

Maps

• Biodome (Contributed by pSyk)
  • Improved stairs in Bridge so Skulks can use the gap between them.
  • Fades can now use the gap under stairs for the lowest staircase in Bridge.
  • Improved performance of Low Lights setting
  • Improved overall performance in multiple locations by optimizing occlusion culling and lighting.
  • Map wide tweaks to Commander view to reduce visual clutter, which should make dropping structures and commander abilities easier from multiple viewing angles.
  • Fixed several misaligned textures and props
• Descent (Contributed by Zavaro)
  • Removed Launch Bay – Shipping vent to prevent alien mobility and cheesing
  • Removed Monorail – Water Treatment vent to prevent alien mobility and cheesing
  • Removed Shipping – Hydroanalysis vent on South side of room as it was unnecessary as well as an annoying spot for Gorges to prevent Marines from ever feeling safe in Hydroanalysis
  • Added additional Shuttle Bay – Gravity vent for flanking and escape
  • Added Gravity – Shipping vent for lifeform escape
  • Added Water Treatment – Silo vent for alternate Alien path
  • Removed Hydroanalysis broken glass tube to prevent near invincible shotgun Marine positioning, is now the “unbroken” asset
  • Added pipe and cables to block line of sight from northern Hydro vent entrance to
  • prevent Gorges from Bile Bombing structures from an invincible spot (Thanks, Psyk!)
  • Broke down catwalk in Shuttle Bay – Gravity hallway to increase marine speed to the top
  • Increased size of Nebula sign in Receiving northward to better block LOS to Receiving-Hydro staircase
  • Broke glass and opened door of kiosk in Receiving to offer some additional way into/out of Shipping
  • Broke glass on rounded corner on upper level of Gravity to give line of sight to vent for marines to kill escaping aliens
  • Removed crates and a support beam to upper Shipping to make the area less cluttered and better for movement in combat
  • Added reflective glass reflections and geo to props that lack that shader
  • Changed the signs in Plaza and other areas to have proper aspect ratios
  • Fixed a number of areas with misaligned textures and holes
  • Removed a bunch of lights that were inside the walls in both vanilla and NSL lowlights
• Refinery
  • Fixed misaligned textures around Containment tech point
  • Fixed areas where structures could not be built
  • Fixed cyst several placement bugs in multiple location

Tools

• Fixed all NS2 tools always allocating 2GB of memory.
• Updated GUI framework used by all tools.
  • This significantly increases their stability! No longer does using the Cinematic Editor feel like you’re blindly defusing a sentient bomb with every mouse click, waiting for it to crash just because it knew you forgot to save your work and wanted to watch you suffer.
• Editor
  • Fixed startup crash issue when attempting to initialize a sound device.
  • Fixed a memory leak in the prefab tool that would occur whenever a prefab was placed.
  • Fixed an issue that would cause static props that were mirrored to not properly generate pathing mesh on top of themselves.
  • Lights are now filtered for selection according to their type (spotlight, point-light, and ambient-light), rather than all lights being filtered together.
  • Added a reflection probe selection filter.
  • Added a CommanderInvisibleNonCollision group (Contributed by Nin)
• Cinematic Editor
  • Added support for the Edit and View viewport cameras to be saved in cinematic files automatically.

SDK

• Crash dumps are now compressed before being uploaded and now have an ID that can used when reporting an issue. Click the “Copy GUID” button on the crash dump dialog window, or see your “%appdata%/Natural Selection2/dumps/dumplog.txt” file
• Increase the amount of data captured in crash dumps to try and help track down the Lua stack corruption crash.
• Changed how some of the engine’s Lua bindings are generated, to work around the Lua crash (seems to reduce them but not entirely fix the issue)
• Fixed the steam branch name not always being written to the log correctly

Known Issues

• Tools
  • Some of the tools may crash when moving/dragging their sub-window panes outside the main program window.
• Client Crashes
  • We continue to look into our recent crashes and have made some adjustments through client only updates – as well as this patch – to both help us better locate the issue and resolve it. This continues to be the top priority of our team and we have contracted FSFOD to assist in resolving these crashes and enhance our crash data gathering tools.

Update 324 is the start of something exciting! It’s the catalyst to our new development cycle! Over the last few years we have made changes and fixes to further develop NS2 with the emphasis on helping to stabilize the gameplay and create the best experience possible for every player. Today we start the sale of our limited time DLC the Catalyst Pack! This premium DLC offers the single largest skin pack we have ever released and it also includes future custom skins and items as a thank you for purchasing the DLC now. Sales of this DLC directly affect the budget for our development team and will help us to continue to bring you more exciting updates to the game. See more at http://www.naturalselection2.com/catalyst, but hurry because this DLC will only be available for a short time and then it will be locked away in the UWE vault forever!

We have spent the last few months working behind the scenes to develop a Roadmap for our vision of NS2 2.0. This isn’t a new game, but what we feel is the ultimate version of NS2. Once our objectives on the roadmap have been completed, we will work with our partners to do a large marketing push and even test some free to play options to get NS2 in the hands of those who haven’t had the opportunity to play.

While our focus is shifting towards new and exciting changes, we will still continue to fight for more performance both server-side and client-side. We are fortunate to have so many community contributors who are helping on both fronts. We’re excited and passionate about supporting their efforts and we can’t wait to see their work included with a future release.

With our push to both increase development productivity and shorten the time we can release this roadmap to you, we have hired an additional programmer. Not a stranger to NS2, please welcome Brian “Samoose” to the team! Over the years Samoose has been a big part of work done with our old customize menu and he has done lots of tinkering around the entire game. With his addition to the team, we hope to accomplish a lot of our tasks in a shorter amount of time.

We thank you for your continued support

See you on the battlefield!

Changelog

Gameplay

• Fade
  • Decreased the size of the Fade’s hitbox slightly
    • In recent months, feedback from the community has illustrated that the Fade can feel a bit too vulnerable or “squishy”, leading to aversion from average players in choosing the crucial lifeform. In lieu of adjusting its eHP values, we decided to refine the hitbox to make it closer to the actual model, making it slightly harder to hit for inaccurate shots. We’ll be monitoring this change closely.
• Gorge Tunnel
  • Added a new unique building sound that can be heard beyond the Gorge Healspray distance. (Thanks Sweets!)
    • This allows attentive Marines the chance to counter and contend aggressively positioned tunnels that are placed a full room away, but it should not heavily impact defensively placed tunnels that are predictable (such as Nanogrid). This has allowed us to lower the build time.
  • Lowered build time to ~8.5 seconds (from 12, was previously 5).
    • We received a lot of unhappy feedback regarding the longer build times, which were originally intended to provide time for Marines to discover them when laning. However, utilizing sounds should allow us to lessen this build time while accomplishing similar goals.
  • Added a new unique idle sound that can only be heard just beyond melee range by both teams (Thanks Sweets!)
    • This should aid both Aliens and Marines locating the tunnel in cramped and busy structure environments, especially when shaded. Aliens can no longer utilize silence to conceal a tunnel from a nearby Marine.
  • Removed the Tunnel cysts (“muffins”) inside the tunnel
    • These obstructions were originally intended to provide brief cover for Aliens traversing inside, but after years worth of experience, it is clear that they more often obstruct Alien movement instead. Commence Gorge bellyslide halfpipe stunts!
• Webs: (Thanks Katzenfleisch!)
  • You can now place Clogs on Webs.
    • This allows for some creative Clog placement rather than simple Clog towers, and while it can better obstruct Marine movement it often provides a greater LOS for the Marine to shoot through.
    • You can place 3 Clogs on a web. Any more than this will break the web and your clogs will fall. Hydras and Babbler Eggs on the underside of these Clogs will be destroyed when a Clog falls, so be wary of their placement!
    • You can utilize this mechanic to get to previously hard to reach positions.
  • Webs are no longer destroyed on contact by Marines. Only Exosuits remove them on contact.
    • This was done to both accommodate Clogs on Webs (otherwise a single Marine can just run through your creation to destroy it) as well as provide a much needed increase in utility to the carefully placed Webs. As such..
  • Webs can be destroyed by the Axe
    • It takes 4 swings to destroy a web with no weapons upgrade, 3 swings at any other level. So better get a welder if you’re in a hurry!
• Babblers
  • They will now reattach when a player evolves, even to another lifeform. They will also reattach to a player after leaving the Hive. (Thanks, Katzenfleisch!)

Tweaks / Improvements

• Added the first batch of skins for the Catalyst DLC:
  • Toxin skins for all playable Kharra lifeforms.
  • Sandstorm skins for all Frontiersmen equipment including for the first time the Grenade Launcher and Welder.
• Optimized the Marine droppable Catalyst Pack and Onos Boneshield effect shaders (Thanks Handschuh)
• Players now lose their rookie status at Hive Level 15

Sound Effects / General Audio

(Thanks Sweets!)

• Marine footstep distance for Aliens have been slightly increased to 12 (from 11)
• Increased Jetpack looping sound at mid-distance. Jetpack looping sound now louder than the burst sound.
• Gorge Tunnel ambient sounds now play everywhere inside the tunnel and are much more audible.
• Hive pain sound no longer plays for the Marine Commander at full volume across the other side of a map. Volume rolloff dependenton how close the camera is to the hive.
• Optimized sound banks including 150 sounds. Many critical sounds that are very short but needed to be played immediately were inefficiently being streamed from disk which created a small delay. Other Voice Overs and music tracks which are larger files are no longer loaded into memory. This will help players the most who are still using mechanical HDDs and it slightly lowers overall memory usage for all players.
• Axe impact sound on organic materials (Lifeforms, structures, infestation) is no longer delayed.
• FEV and FSB files are now part of the default consistency checks.

Fixes

• Fixed Commander droppables not “snapping” to the target entity (such as an empty RT node or a Marine receiving a medpack) as intended.
  • The placement model flickering on and off unreliably was also fixed
• Fixed that the lua garbage collector did not run while the renderer is finalizing the frame frame but afterwards. Additionally we made sure it doesn’t run longer than absolutely necessary every frame to decrease the time spent only collecting garbage every frame. This decreases the time spent to generate each frame for at least 0.5 ms.
• Fixed that almost all sound and visual effects were networked and thus shown to the enemy commander even if they didn’t have any line of sight (LOS) to them. All known LOS issues have now been resolved except for the following:
  • Gorge Tunnel, Phase Gate, and Beaconing may still show the enemy transition to their new location on the map momentarily if LOS is achieved first.
  • Bonewall (from spectator only)
  • Webs remain (after gaining LOS at least once)
• Fixed issue where gorge web placement model would persist after an invalid placement attempt.
• Fixed that beaconing cared more about proximity to the command chair than room location. (Thanks, Katzen!)
  • For example, on Descent, a marine in Receiving would not get beaconed to Hydroanalysis
• Fixed that you couldn’t drop a hive while hovering directly over the techpoint with your mouse.
• Fixed that you could Echo upgrade chambers on top of Hive tendrils
• Fixed that embryos appeared on the minimap using a different icon than eggs if they were your friends on steam, allowing marines to easily distinguish between eggs and evolving players.
  • NOTE: Despite the obvious balance implications of this change, this has been classified as a bug, and has been fixed.  The rationale behind it is that eggs and embryos appear identical in the world, therefore they should appear identical on the minimap.  The minimap should not be capable of providing more information to the team than they could collectively gather from in-world visuals alone.  In the future, the embryo world-model may be altered to appear different than the egg model, in which case the embryo minimap icon can be reinstated.
• Fixed that using the bait ball inside a gorge tunnel caused all babblers to be destroyed.  (Thanks, Katzen!)
• Fixed that babblers did not reattach after leaving a hive.  (Thanks, Katzen!)
• Fixed that too many babblers could stop khammanders from dropping a structure.  (Thanks, Katzen!)
• Fixed that the team’s skill tier was often off due to using incorrect player values.
• Fixed that the server’s skill tier didn’t correctly account for bots and added a tooltip for the icons in the server browser.
• Fixed that running the performance profiler crashed the application when a worker thread got interrupted by the operating system. However there are still some other less commonly known cases where using the profiler can crash the application.
• Fixed that firing a shotgun into infestation (or anything that plays the “materials/organic/ricochet” sound event) caused a massive hitch.
• Fixed that you could place Cysts on floors below gratings/stairs, despite collision geo inbetween, and floors being set to “commandernobuild.”  (Thanks, Katzen!)
• Fixed that you could not open the Server console on Windows 10 and Windows Server 2012 or higher.
• Fixed starting a server on Windows 10 and Windows Server 2012 or higher would result in an immediate crash.

Maps

• Biodome
  • Fixed an issue with visible Seasonal items in the Ready Room (Thanks, Zavaro!)
  • Fixed z-fighting textures near Join Team entities (Thanks, Zavaro!)
• Caged
  • Fixed a hole in Purification (Thanks, Zavaro!)
• Derelict
  • Fixed an issue with cysts stuck under the stairs in Western Entrance (Thanks, Kash!)
  • Fixed hole in ceiling in Lookout (Thanks, Zavaro!)
• Kodiak
  • Improved Command window visually and added additional Occlusion Geometry (Thanks, Loki!)
  • Added preplaced IPs in Marine Start (Thanks, Psyk!)
  • Fixed Marine Start hologram (Thanks, Loki!)
  • Fixed fullbright Hangar when power goes out (Thanks, Psyk!)
  • Improved Occlusion Geometry and performance (Thanks, Psyk!)
  • Improved and brightened lighting (Thanks, Psyk!)
  • Fixed an area where structures are unpowered in Command (Thanks, Zavaro!)
• Mineshaft (Thanks, Kash!)
  • Fixed map visual issue near The Gap
  • Fixed unpowered areas in North Tunnels, Crusher, Water Pumps, Snake Pass
  • Fixed location entities not covering parts of rooms
  • Fixed stuck spot in Pilot Drill
  • Made the Cart Tunnel to Water Pumps vent exit more easily used
  • Added partial cover to the ceiling of Operations so that the hive tendrils attach to something when a hive is dropped there.
  • Added lights to eliminate black spots in brew room and the water pumps vent.
  • Added collision geo to make walking in the lower section of Pilot Drill less frustrating.
  • Tweaked a few props in North Tunnels to make it less of a mess visually.
• Summit
  • Fixed some commander invisible issues with snow and waterfalls
• Veil
  • Removed collision of props above all doors
  • Fixed Onos stuck spot in Topographical
  • Fixed various holes and minor gaps throughout the map
  • Polished up some glass around the map to be shiny
  • Added crate to allow Onos to get out of small pit in Topo near the gold pipes

Tools

• Fixed that builder was attempting to use the wrong path for the nvcompress executable and couldn’t build any textures.
• Editor
  • Added new Rotation Nudging tool to assist in getting precise placement and rotation of model props. New key-binds are available for this tool, but not set by default. These binds can be found under the “Edit” menu while using the Rotation Tools. To use this new feature, hover over the axis to rotate around and press the keys that were bound

SDK

• Fixed that static prop collision visualization wasn’t properly scaled, and thus didn’t match the actual collision model.

Known Issues

• There is a micro stutter that can occur for players with less than 70 fps held consistently, while circle strafing, and using Windows 10. (strafing around an object while keeping your view centered on it.) We have a fix ready for the next patch. This stutter has been in the game for months, and was not introduced this patch.

There are pros and cons to having a longer patch cycle. In this case, our reason for delay was out of our control. However this ended up allowing for a lot more of our work to be brought into the update. Update 323, as you will see in the changelog below, is probably one of the more impactful updates that we have done in some time. Beyond adding some new cosmetics and our new Shadow Onos model, there are some big changes to gameplay that have shown to not only adjust a lot of the existing strategy, but force you to think and apply all-new ones as well. We hope that these changes will inspire new gameplay and lifeform usage in the foreseeable future.

Summer is now afoot and as a special treat Rantology has added some new flair for your shoulder armor. It’s only available through July 16, 2018.

 

We teased at what was moving in the shadows just a couple weeks ago and now we are ready to unveil the Shadow Onos. An entirely new model created just for this skin, this completes the entire range of the shadow aliens. Since this is the final piece of the shadow skin collection, we have decided to give away the Onos skin to anyone that was a Reinforced Shadow Tier contributor, or purchased the Shadow Pack DLC. For those of you that don't receive the Shadow Onos from a prior purchase can buy it HERE. *please note that this item is not tradable

 

Our Forge skins have been very popular amongst the community, you could say they’ve been red hot. They are one of our favorite skins in the game but we felt that the pack just wasn’t complete enough. So as a gift from us to you, please enjoy the addition of Shotgun and Flamethrower Forge skins. Anyone that already owns the Forge DLC will be granted the new items for free in the customize menu. If you don't already own this awesome DLC, you can buy it HERE.

 

We know everyone here likes to show off their bling, whether it be a badge, armor or some other in-game cosmetic. So we’ve added player skill tiers and fancy new icons to help differentiate between the tiers while in game. Of course, the main purpose of this feature is really more towards helping to balance teams based on skill and their relative groups.

 

There is much to digest in the changelog below. We hope you have fun playing around with the changes, new skins and Shadow Onos model. As always, there is more to come in the future! Good hunting.

Changelog

Gameplay

• Alien Upgrades rebalance
  • Auto-spawn with upgrades
    • Reapplies last used Skulk upgrades on spawn, even if you’ve since evolved into a higher life form, it will remember.
    • If no upgrades were last used, they’re assigned randomly (save for focus)
    • Has 4 second delay for each upgrade level, totaling a max of 12 seconds for all 9 potential upgrade chambers to take effect. Manually evolving is faster. But this mechanic keeps the QoL that is spawning with upgrades, without being overpowered or preventing Marines from locking down a hive room. (Thanks for the idea Handschuh!)
  • Removed Silence
    • The current implementation of this upgrade worked against some of the fundamental requirements for the Melee vs Ranged design. We felt it was easily one of the most frustrating things in the game to encounter, for all skill ranges. A proper solution couldn’t be implemented due to technical constraints, so this is the best path forward we believe.
  • Vampirism
    • Now on the Crag hive and it no longer cloaks you, this upgrade better fits the facerolling playstyle of aggro aliens by providing as good or better eHP benefits as Carapace, provided you’ve successfully landed 3-4 hits on an enemy. You’re more vulnerable at range compared to Carapace, but if you can close that distance and land your hits, you’re better off. It now restores a fraction of your eHP (health + armor) instead of a fixed amount of health per shell:
      • Skulk Bite: 6% (4.5-6.7 eHP)
      • Gorge Spit: 3.2% (5.1-5.9 eHP)
      • Lerk Bite: 3% (4.5-5.2 eHP)
      • Fade Swipe: 3% (7.5-9.3 eHP)
      • Fade Stab: 6% (15-18.6 eHP)
      • Onos Gore: 2.5% (22.5-31.5 eHP)
  • Regeneration
    • Tweaked to compliment the 3rd form of Crag Hive playstyle, the Hit and Run type, Regeneration now heals by 3% (was 2%) of your health for each shell every 2 seconds. (but is clamped to heal at least 6 and at most 80 hp). It only activates when out of combat (taking damage) for 3 seconds.
  • Adrenaline
    • This upgrade currently doesn’t provide enough benefits to higher life forms while being too good for lower lifeforms. So we started addressing that issue. However to fully resolve the issue we will need to fully rebalance the alien energy system which we plan to do in one of the next updates.
    • Increases maximum Energy levels by 20 per Spur for a maximum of 160, old energy cap was 100.
    • Removed increased energy regeneration of 1 energy per sec for each Spur (default energy regeneration is 10 energy / sec)
    • Lowered the Gorge ability energy costs:
      • Heal spray costs 10 energy (instead 12)
      • Dropping a structure costs 15 energy (instead 20)
  • Camouflage
    • In an attempt to make camouflage viable as its own upgrade, it now applies during all typical non-ability movement for an alien.
    • Leap, Charge and Blink etc will still decloak you, but a gliding Lerk or a wall jumping Skulk will remain cloaked at full speed, albeit at a higher degree of visibility.
    • Potentially useful if used in chaotic engagements. An idle ambushing alien is still difficult to spot. Typical decloaking rules when attacked or attacking apply.
  • Focus
    • We’ve heard your resounding feedback that Focus is frustrating to play against when it can one-hit-kill an unarmored Marine. So in an effort to address this we’ve made the following changes:
      • Decreased the damage bonus from 16/33/50% to 11/22/33% - this means a Focus Fade Swipe at maximum can do 99.75 damage to a Marine!
      • Only primary attacks are affected by Focus and consume 33% more energy to account for the slower RoF.
      • Vampirism heals 33% more health if Focus is selected to account for the RoF difference.
  • Crush
    • Moved to Shift Hive to replace Silence’s position, and allow for Vampirism to be on Crag Hive.
  • Celerity, Carapace, and Aura are unchanged from previous update.

• Lerk
  • Increased personal resource cost to evolve into a Lerk to 21 (from 18)
    • This change was based on feedback from the community regarding a large amount of Lerk dominance early in a round often dictating the outcome. We believe the subtle lifeform timing difference coupled with the increased cost of re-Lerking will aid in marines being better prepared by the time they arrive on the field, as well as dealing with them less frequently, or giving more weight to their deaths.
• Gorge Tunnel
  • A single Gorge now needs 12.5 seconds (from 5) to build a tunnel.
    • Should increase the requirements to set up a gorge tunnel base rush in the late game and give Marines more time to notice them. Should not impact most early game tunnel placements that are well defended like Nano.
• Welder (Contributed by Katzenfleisch)
  • What you aim at will determine whether you repair or attack something, reliably.
    • The Welder was welding wounded friends first and ignoring any enemies nearby, leading to some minor issues when you wanted to get rid of babblers near an RT or wanted to finish off a low skulk when a friendly was nearby. This change is replacing the old targeting priority with one taking the closest target from your crosshair, so the mechanic works as you’d expect.
• Now preventing players who joined a team in the first 60 seconds of a round from spawning instantly, because some players started exploiting it during early game base rushes. All players who join after the round has started will now be added to the re-spawn queue like normal.

Tweaks / Improvements

• Added the new shadow Onos
• Added the new summer Gorge shoulder patch every player can unlock by playing 5 rounds during this summer until July 16th 2018
• Added the Forge Shotgun and Flamethrower skins
• Added player skill tiers (Thanks to IeptBarakat for helping out with this)
  • Your skill tier only changes after playing at ranked ns2 servers. All other servers do not update your Hive stats! Ranked servers show up with a blue gamemode field in the server browser. Otherwise quickplay tries to connect you to a ranked server whenever possible.
  • Your skill tier is based on lower bound of your skill value. This is a combination of Hive’s estimate of your skill, and its confidence in that estimate. This makes the tiers more stable than a skill threshold alone would be, and causes them to tend to trend upward over time as Hive gets more confident.
  • 1 tier for all rookies below level 20 (approx. 20 hours playtime)
    • Tier 0 - Rookie - green color
  • 7 tiers for all other players to group them by their skill:
    • Tier 1 - Recruit - blue color - ~20% of the weekly players
    • Tier 2 - Frontiersman- silver color - ~25% of the weekly players
    • Tier 3 - Squad Leader - gold color - ~25% of the weekly players
    • Tier 4 - Veteran - platinum color - ~15% of the weekly players
    • Tier 5 - Commandant- diamond color - ~9% of the weekly players
    • Tier 6 - Special Ops - purple “shadow” color - ~5% of the weekly players
    • Tier 7 - Sanji Survivor - red color - ~1 % of the weekly players
  • The skill tiers should help players  to balance teams roughly on their own without having to rely on automatic shuffle algorithms.
  • Each servers mean skill tier is also displayed in the server browser sp players can avoid joining a server with the majority of players having a significant higher/lower skill tier.
  • You can check your own tier in the main menu.
• Changed “Rookie Only” servers to “Bootcamp” servers, and opened them up to every player below skill tier 2.
• Gorge Healspray will now show a healing effect on the friendly unit or structure the Gorge is targeting.(Thanks IeptBarakat for helping with this!)
• Some structures have had their poor or awkward collision for player movement improved to allow for smooth traversal. This impacts the Observatory, Extractor, Shell, and Arcs. You might notice that you can move through the Observatory dish now, or that Skulks aren’t floating in air as much on specific parts of an RT.
• Reflections no longer look "half-rez" due to incorrect texture coordinate derivatives.  As a result, some reflections appear more/less visible than before due to the now correct usage of the gloss map.
• The bulk of the art assets in the game were rebuilt using newer and better tools. This removed a lot of artifacts from them improving overall visuals of the game.
• Specular Maps now render at full resolution, was half-resolution before. This help improve lighting fidelity of most surfaces in the game.
• The refraction/distortion effects (glass, alien cloaking, etc.) now properly stack up.  Before, only one layer of refracting objects would be visible, occasionally causing some more important information to be lost (eg. cloaked Skulk hiding on refracting glass would be quite literally impossible to spot because it simply wasn't being rendered!). Also, parts of the Cloaked Alien would lose the refraction effect and become completely invisible in some spots during typical use.
• The game now has a ‘RepairGame.exe’ utility in the ’x64’ sub-folder. This can be used to fix common issues clients may encounter. It will delete your Workshop and Cache folder contents, as well as deactivate any mods in your options.xml file and then validate your files the next time the game is run.
• Changed the position of the Help Screen notification reminder to a more active screen area that will not risk obscuring your view. We found it wasn’t very noticeable in it’s previous position. A stroke was added to the text so that it is readable against all backgrounds.
• Added a favorite server “Heart” button to the in-game scoreboard next to the server’s name at the top of the screen. Make sure to hit that when you found a server you really like to find it again later on in the server browser!
• Added a numeric ping value next to the ping bars in the Server Browser because they might be needed if you live in certain regions like Australia.
• Limited the ping filter in the server browser to a minimum of 100 ms, to prevent users from accidentally setting it to 0, effectively making all servers disappear.
• Labeled the server rank column of the server browser with rank instead of # which most players didn’t understand.
• Improved the server rating formula so that not all full servers are moved to the second page of the server list. We also introduced a new policy for ranked servers to improve the experience that players have on them.
• Improved the “failed to connect” dialog to look better and offer a few more options, such as Retry or Try Another Server.
• Added 3D visual hints on the HUD indicating the position of spotted Resource Towers for players with hints enabled. Hopefully this will help new players to know where to go, and to attack resource towers instead of the Tech Points which were previously the only thing shown with hints on.
  • Requires LOS established by your team before showing.
  • Shows a maximum of 2 resource towers on screen at any time to avoid clutter.
  • Prioritizes distance and direction you are looking to determine which RTs to show
• Replaced the resource tower dots in the bottom right of the HUD with icons representing the actual resource tower structures of each team, to avoid any confusion.
• Unlocked the maxfps console command from 200, so player can set it as high as they want up to 1000 - at their own risk. Also added a maxfps field to the system_options.xml so players can use that to change their maxfps permanently.
• Damaged Exosuits that are not occupied now show damaged effects. If you hop into an Exosuit that has only 20 armor left, it was your own fault for not noticing.
• Added the ENSL Season 12 badges.
• Railgun impact decals properly reflect the size of the projectile now (Contributed by Nin)
• The Cache and Workshop folders are cleared out automatically this patch for everyone - and will be again each time we ship patches in the future. This prevents some odd and rare performance bugs that could arise after these folders reached very large sizes.
• Changed some default settings to prevent some disadvantages for newer players.
  • Field of View 10 from 0
  • Infestation Quality set to Minimal from Rich
  • Reflections set to Off from On (but do give them a try this patch)

Sound Effects / General Audio

For the past several months Sweets has worked with us to overhaul the playback, quality, and balancing of all the game’s sound effects. His herculean efforts of reviewing, tweaking, and tuning just about every sound effect in the game have yielded great results! It’s now easier to identify specific sources of sounds, be aware of what is happening around you, and gauge the distance of potential threats. Additionally, there are some small performance gains from what he’s done, as the amount of active channels have been reduced by an incredible degree. The culmination of Sweets’ work is a much better and more full soundscape. The following cannot cover the entirety of his changes, as that would require its own separate 10 page changelog. Outstanding work, Sweets!

• General Sound Changes
  • Reviewed and changed over 1000+ sound events and their implementation to reduce global channel count. Optimizations to max playback behavior, steal behavior, max polyphony behavior, and several other properties for all events. Combined with a reduced global channel count, these optimizations should address sounds which stop playing or cut out which breaks immersion from the player and also prevents the player from hearing important gameplay information cues.
  • Re-balanced all footstep sounds for Marines and all Alien lifeforms for all material types in the game. Walking on a particular surface won’t suddenly seem much louder than other surfaces now.
  • Many additional minor optimizations to sound quality, volume attenuation over distance, reverb properties, and "under the hood" improvements.

• Aliens
  • Increased the volume and distance for many structures. Hydras, Whips, Shades, Shifts, and others are much more audible to allow Marines entering a room to scout idle and active sounds.
  • All lifeform footsteps balanced for volume and consistency. For example Onos footsteps now travel as far as a Skulk and Skulk footsteps aren’t at the loudest volume at maximum distance on rock materials.
  • Onos charging into a Marine and an Exosuit sounds added.
  • Impact sound for Parasite added regardless of a successful hit.
  • Optimized gorge channel count.
  • Optimized fade channel count and increased the sound of blink so fades can be scouted more easily at longer distances.
  • Improved and tuned Hive pain sounds.
  • Volume roll-off added for Hive death scream so it doesn’t cut off abruptly at range.
  • Fixed Tunnel exit/enter sounds when inside a tunnel. Escaping aliens in a Gorge Tunnel will now hear an enemy chasing after them.
  • Tunnel exiting sound now emits from the Tunnel itself instead of following the player. (Thanks Steelcap!)
  • Balanced UI voice over volumes such as team notifications or “Base Under Attack” notifications.
    
• Marines
  • The Marine Beacon sound should never cut out anymore during heavy combat.
  • Optimized all bullet ricochet sound rolloffs and balanced to make it easier to tell if shots are near the player and the material it impacts.
  • Rifle firing sound fidelity increased along with many channel usage optimizations.
  • Added sound for Weapon Upgrade Level 0, which was previously missing (Weapon 1 upgrade did not change the sound).
  • Pistol channel optimizations and balancing.
  • Shotgun channel optimizations. There is a new sound for shotguns at longer distances (removed click artifacts from shotgun distant sound and made it more audible).
  • Grenade Launcher fire and explode channel optimizations. Reduced the explode sound at max distance so it is not always at max volume, players can now hear how far away the explosions are.
  • Grenade bounce no longer max volume at max distance, but still audible at medium distances.
  • Grenade throw sound added.
  • Jetpacks reworked along with channel and fidelity optimizations. Jetpacks are much more audible at all distances. A Marine with a jetpack is extremely fast, threatening, and should not be quiet and stealthy.
  • Removed initial breathing Marine sound while sprinting which can be abused with strafe button animations.
  • Minigun Exosuit channel optimizations. Barrels now have a spin down sound.
  • Railgun Exosuit channel optimizations. Charged shots are now audible at max distance. You know when a Railgun is charging up near you now!
  • Changed Exosuit voiceover damage state sounds and increased the health required to initiate sound (35% and 50% for each warning). Should be a stronger indicator of low health rather than a warning that plays just a moment before death. A looping beeping sound has been added for the lowest health warning level for Exosuits.
  • Structures now attenuate volume sooner and do not travel quite as far while also being more audible at medium distance.
  • Volume balance changes to structures which are too loud or too quiet. For example a destroyed power node was too loud and the phase gate idle was too quiet.
  • Arcs firing will no longer deafen players and override every other sound nearby.
  • Arc charging sound is more audible.
  • Footsteps and Marine movement behavior should no longer cut out quite as much. A Skulk biting a structure should be able to stop biting and identify Marine positioning more clearly. Marine walking footsteps now travel as far as sprinting footsteps and no longer provide a stealth advantage.
  • Small improvement to Pistol idle flip animation sound.
  • Volume balancing and fixes to UI voice-overs so they do not interrupt each other and become silent.

Fixes

• Cached pathing map data no longer takes the build number into account (which was causing pathing meshes to be rebuilt for every new patch, even though the level probably hadn't changed).
• Fixed that some of the new player progressions menu entries did not work correctly and used outdated descriptions.
• Fixed an issue with the team bot controller that caused it to start a never ending loop of adding commander bots at rookie only servers.
• Fixed that Warmup structures, such as Armory or Prototype Lab, didn't respawn after the first Warm Up phase.
• Fixed issue where the material of the sound of footsteps was sometimes wrong (eg walking on a "metal" surface would sometimes result in "thin_metal" surface footstep sounds.
• Fixed that dropped Marine Weapons would not make any sound on most surfaces.
• Fixed that using a non 16:9 screen resolution or disabling hints in the options menu would hide the harmless loading screen tips. We are working on updated tips but those didn’t make it for this build.
• Fixed issue preventing the game from using exclusive Fullscreen mode
• Fixed an issue preventing changing from a low resolution to your monitor’s native resolution.
• Fixed that Sentry Batteries were not visible in Alien commander view or on the Alien map
• Fixed that Stomped Marines could occasionally use the Armory or other interactions, causing a race condition.
• Fixed that by default the "Texture handling" option defaults to "nil" instead of "1 GB".
• Fixed that whenever a Powernode without armor takes damage from Infestation (even 0 damage) the lights in a Location slightly flicker.
• Fixed that Babbler-mines hatched if an enemy is nearby but already dead
• Fixed that Babblers are not 'poofing' blueprints, making them an easy target when they are stuck trying to kill it, and not targeting a built one.
• Fixed an issue with Servers and Clients creating too many HTTP requests when calling external APIs. Both Servers and Clients now use managed and throttle request queue.
  • Server ops can change the default value in ServerConfig.json
• Fixed that fetching mod information, even through the server browser when looking at server details, would begin downloading the mods before you even connected to the server.
• Fixed that the spectator round time display was unable to display a round time of more than 60 minutes.
• Merged the UWE Extension fixes into the build, including Commander Bot loop fix as well as the Lerk poison bite fix.
• Fixed that DX11 renderer could not utilize CTRL+ESC shortcut to reach the desktop

Maps

• Summit (Contributed by Psyk)
  • Updated with cosmetic improvements to Atrium, Crevice, and Crossroads
  • Updated vent connecting Reactor Core and Glass Hallway. It’s now more accessible to both teams.
  • Added support for reflections to the entire level
• Veil
  • Tweaked reflection probes to work better with improved Reflection rendering

Tools

• Editor
  • Added extra placement options from the Static Prop tool into the Entity tool (Contributed by Steelcap)
  • Fixed that using select-all would select types of objects that were filtered out.
• LaunchPad
  • Increased number of "recent mods" that appear in the open box.
• RepairGame
  • Added this utility to perform reconfigure and repairs tasks that automatically fixes a number of common issues.

SDK

• HLSLParser now supports tex2DGrad() and texCUBElod().
• Added some utility scripts to the ‘utils’ folder used to help migrate physics joints data from old 3dsmax 2009 reactor physics format to new fbx-friendly format that spark uses now.
• Fixed a help-screen related script error that prevented modders from easily customizing the help screen. (Thanks Nin!)
• Removed all code related to the old sabot organized play system and heavy rifles.
• Added a new Client API call to get the address of the server the client is currently connected to.

Known Issues

• Repair tool close button will not close, but instead run the tool just the same as clicking OK would.
• There is a minor script error in the end of the Alien tutorial if you return through the gorge tunnel, inappropriately

You’re probably already thinking to yourself, “where is the update or patch number for the blog?” There isn’t one, that’s right we are not releasing an update today and we are truly bummed about that.

About three weeks ago our physical server that builds and maintains all of our patches began having issues. We quickly realized that this was a hardware issue and not something we could quickly remedy, so we took the time and moved all of our needs to the elusive cloud. While this has delayed both testing and some development, we are back on track and have some great things to show you in the next patch.

We expect the upcoming patch to be released in the next couple of weeks, but while you wait, we have left a teaser above for something we have long waited for and is finally ready to step out from the shadows.

Update 322 is now live on Steam! This update is primarily a maintenance patch. Over the last few months lots of new systems and features have been introduced to the game and with those additions have come some small issues and strange new bugs. Hopefully this update will address those reported issues and get us back on solid ground. The dev team continues its work on the UGC conversion from Steam Workshop which is slated for 323. Always more to come, including something very special that could come with 323 as well, so stay tuned!

Changelog

Gameplay

• Improved sentries slightly (contributed by Nin)
• Prevent beeping noise while attacking and for 1.5 seconds afterwards
• Speed up barrel swivel when it has a target so you're not getting shot at by a sentry facing the other way
• Add a delay after shooting at a target before starting to swivel and scan again
• Always show tracers from sentries so that players better know where they are getting shot at from
• Sentries will prioritize players over other things, and will shoot at the closest players. Previously, they would prioritize anything that wasn't a cyst.
• Hydras do not block each other’s line of sight anymore (contributed by Katzenfleisch)

Tweaks / Improvements

• Tweaked some marine pickup icons to appear more stylistically consistent.  (Thanks Sinakuwolf!)
• Metabolize is no longer a switchable weapon.  This means you cannot accidentally switch to it any longer, and can only use it via the MovementModifier key.
• Drifter Eggs can now be issued orders that will be carried out by the drifter when it hatches.  Before, drifters could only be issued rally-points.
• AI movers such as ARCs and movable alien structures like Crags would move on top of players, sometimes trapping them.
• Tweaked the infestation shader slightly to better hide the hard edges of infestation circles.
• Don’t show team resources for the Ready Room team at the scoreboard.

Fixes

• Fixed that servers could get stuck in a infinite loop while filling teams up with bots.
• Fixed that bots were not removed properly after they got kicked.
• Fixed an issue where ARCs would sometimes leave collision ghosts behind in PredictWorld.
• Fixed that the "They Came From Behind!" achievement was granted in some incorrect circumstances.
• Fixed that dying in an Exosuit would cause players to lose their unused grenades.
• Fixed issue where some commander buttons would not work if multiple entities were selected, despite the button being visible.
• Fixed issue where sometimes the lines connecting queued orders in the commander interface would be connected in the wrong order.
• Fixed issue where a marine's welder and mines could be "stolen" from them at the map origin if that player was inside an exosuit.
• Fixed an issue where the build tool would be stuck building if the player picked up a welder while they were building a structure.
• Fixed an issue where players could be stuck attacking during a concede sequence.
• Fixed an issue where the wrong tech point would be visible during a concede sequence.
• Fixed an issue where MACs could not be told to repair destroyed power nodes.
• Fixed an issue where MACs would sometimes disregard their orders to move to some previous location.
• Fixed an issue where sometimes clicking the "refresh" button in the server browser would cause the game to crash.
• Fixed an issue where deploying an ARC would prevent all future corrosion damage to the ARC, including after un-deploying the ARC.
• Fixed a script error occuring if an Onos died while using stampede.
• Fixed that gorges couldn’t recycle the second tunnel entrance they placed (contributed to Katzenfleisch)
• Fixed a script error that occured if a marine had no active weapon (contributed to Katzenfleisch)
• Fixed various text positioning/visibility bugs of the GUIChat (contributed by Person8880)
• Fixed that the marine commander action notifications below the minimap often did not  display the correct location name.

Maps

• Fixed the reflections in ns2_veil.

SDK

• Editor
  • Exposed antialiasing and ambient occlusion settings for the map Editor.
  • Changed some popup messages to be console messages instead.
• Added debug utility methods to simplify dealing with upvalues (locals inside method/file scope) (contributed by Las)
  • Please read core/lua/DebugUtility.md for more details!

Update 322 is now live on Steam! This update is primarily a maintenance patch. Over the last few months lots of new systems and features have been introduced to the game and with those additions have come some small issues and strange new bugs. Hopefully this update will address those reported issues and get us back on solid ground. The dev team continues its work on the UGC conversion from Steam Workshop which is slated for 323. Always more to come, including something very special that could come with 323 as well, so stay tuned!

Changelog

Gameplay

• Improved sentries slightly (contributed by Nin)
• Prevent beeping noise while attacking and for 1.5 seconds afterwards
• Speed up barrel swivel when it has a target so you're not getting shot at by a sentry facing the other way
• Add a delay after shooting at a target before starting to swivel and scan again
• Always show tracers from sentries so that players better know where they are getting shot at from
• Sentries will prioritize players over other things, and will shoot at the closest players. Previously, they would prioritize anything that wasn't a cyst.
• Hydras do not block each other’s line of sight anymore (contributed by Katzenfleisch)

Tweaks / Improvements

• Tweaked some marine pickup icons to appear more stylistically consistent.  (Thanks Sinakuwolf!)
• Metabolize is no longer a switchable weapon.  This means you cannot accidentally switch to it any longer, and can only use it via the MovementModifier key.
• Drifter Eggs can now be issued orders that will be carried out by the drifter when it hatches.  Before, drifters could only be issued rally-points.
• AI movers such as ARCs and movable alien structures like Crags would move on top of players, sometimes trapping them.
• Tweaked the infestation shader slightly to better hide the hard edges of infestation circles.
• Don’t show team resources for the Ready Room team at the scoreboard.

Fixes

• Fixed that servers could get stuck in a infinite loop while filling teams up with bots.
• Fixed that bots were not removed properly after they got kicked.
• Fixed an issue where ARCs would sometimes leave collision ghosts behind in PredictWorld.
• Fixed that the "They Came From Behind!" achievement was granted in some incorrect circumstances.
• Fixed that dying in an Exosuit would cause players to lose their unused grenades.
• Fixed issue where some commander buttons would not work if multiple entities were selected, despite the button being visible.
• Fixed issue where sometimes the lines connecting queued orders in the commander interface would be connected in the wrong order.
• Fixed issue where a marine's welder and mines could be "stolen" from them at the map origin if that player was inside an exosuit.
• Fixed an issue where the build tool would be stuck building if the player picked up a welder while they were building a structure.
• Fixed an issue where players could be stuck attacking during a concede sequence.
• Fixed an issue where the wrong tech point would be visible during a concede sequence.
• Fixed an issue where MACs could not be told to repair destroyed power nodes.
• Fixed an issue where MACs would sometimes disregard their orders to move to some previous location.
• Fixed an issue where sometimes clicking the "refresh" button in the server browser would cause the game to crash.
• Fixed an issue where deploying an ARC would prevent all future corrosion damage to the ARC, including after un-deploying the ARC.
• Fixed a script error occuring if an Onos died while using stampede.
• Fixed that gorges couldn’t recycle the second tunnel entrance they placed (contributed to Katzenfleisch)
• Fixed a script error that occured if a marine had no active weapon (contributed to Katzenfleisch)
• Fixed various text positioning/visibility bugs of the GUIChat (contributed by Person8880)
• Fixed that the marine commander action notifications below the minimap often did not  display the correct location name.

Maps

• Fixed the reflections in ns2_veil.

SDK

• Editor
  • Exposed antialiasing and ambient occlusion settings for the map Editor.
  • Changed some popup messages to be console messages instead.
• Added debug utility methods to simplify dealing with upvalues (locals inside method/file scope) (contributed by Las)
  • Please read core/lua/DebugUtility.md for more details!

Happy New Year! It has already been an exciting start to 2018 for UWE and we look forward to bringing you more exciting and interesting game experiences. The core of NS2’s development has always been the community. So many people from around the world dedicating time, opinions and skills to help make this game what it is today. Five years in and we are still working with dedicated members, new and old, to make the game better and more enjoyable.

Today we release Update 321, bringing you some of the first new gameplay features to come in 2018. First we wanted to look at some of the alien features that haven’t felt complete. Onos Stampede is a great way to really immerse yourself into the large beast and finally feel like an alien gorilla on the warpath, using your body to buck and shove almost anything out of your way using the existing Charge ability. Special thank you to Steelcap for all the hard work and many revisions to get this into the game.

Next, Babblers also see some love with the addition of the Babbler Mine. No longer sitting on the sidelines of an attack, the babblers can stay in an egg and placed like a proximity mine to hatch on unsuspecting marines and harass with more aggression than ever before. Special thank you also to Katzenfleisch for all the hard work and many revisions to get this into the game.

Finally, this update includes a nod to our co-workers on the Subnautica team. With the release of Subnautica and it taking part within the same universe of NS2 we found it only fitting to throw some in-game love their way. Rantology has worked up a couple cool new shoulder patches and they are free to everyone!

There is more to this update below in the changelog so take a look and then get in there to play with the new stuff. Big shoutout to our Playtesters for all the extra PT time this update, you always make the difference. Enjoy!

Changelog

Gameplay

• Onos Stampede (contributed by Steelcap)
  • A long desired addition to round out the Onos Charge ability; where a charging Onos will now push Marines out of the way while doing 12 damage.
    • Exosuits feel the impact too, but are heavier so they barely get pushed and stop Oni in their tracks.
    • Requires 72% of charge’s top speed to be reached in order to work
    • Onos charge ability has had it’s acceleration increased ~35%
    • Added two new sound events for when Onos impact Marines and Exos (contributed by Sweets)

This is something that just feels "right" for Onos. No longer will a 2-ton space gorilla/rhino be stopped dead in its tracks by a puny 180-pound human when barreling down a hallway. This should aid in Oni being unable to escape poorly positioned situations where they would otherwise be body blocked.Great job Steelcap!

https://i.imgur.com/OecDW4N.gifv

• Babbler Mines (contributed by Katzenfleisch)
  • Babbler Eggs can be placed on walls or ceilings now to be an effective mine.
  • Babbler Eggs placed by gorges will no longer hatch immediately after being built
    • Gorges can hatch them if they choose to via the Use Key
    • If you hatch the babbler mine manually, they will automatically attach to you
  • Babbler Eggs will hatch when enemies get too close, quickly disposing of any hapless marines that weren't paying attention.
  • Babbler Eggs can be hatched at a distance by their Gorge hitting it with Spit.
  • They have a range of 200 to 300 hp based upon maturity, which takes 20 seconds.
  • They can do up to 40 initial damage when exploding on a Marine when fully matured, and proportionately less damage when not matured.
  • Babbler Mines can be scanned by observatories

We wanted to do something to help gorges in the early game and create something interesting, tactically. This feature adds a lot of depth to gorge-play, we feel. Marines will soon learn that not all gorges should be chased.Thanks to Katzenfleisch for all his hard work on this feature!

https://i.imgur.com/iSloxtv.gifv

• Babbler Improvements (contributed by Katzenfleisch)
  • Now tracks targets much more effectively
  • Significantly increased aggression and rate they will attack
  • Attacks will now land more reliably but they can still be dodged (don’t stand still or backpedal Marines!)
  • Significantly increased speed of Babbler bait ball, allowing it to be used over much greater distances and with more accuracy. It now behaves more like a fast moving projectile instead of a lobbed grenade.
  • Bait ball now uses the first surface touched as the location for babblers to go to.
  • Fixed bug where Babblers would become unresponsive if their set target was too far away.
  • Fixed bug where Babblers would not consistently attack their target after moving within attack range.
  • Babblers now attack as a pack when given an attack order.
  • Unit Status now shown for Babbler Eggs to show their status and built percentage.
  • Babblers will now cling to friendlies much more consistently

• Marine weapons purchased by players or commanders and intentionally dropped within a very short range of Armories will no longer expire. (contributed by Katzenfleisch)
  • Killed Marines will always have an expiration timer for their dropped weapons, regardless of distance to armory.

We felt that it was restrictive that players with an excess amount of resources - be they field players or commanders - who purchased weapons for their teammates, had to have their teammates pick them up within a quick amount of time. Now they can be picked up at any time, provided it was an intentional drop and very close to the armory.

• Flamethrowers
  • Increased Pres cost to 20 from 15
  • Decreased direct damage to 12 from 15
  • Removed the immediate damage applied to flame puddles when they first appear. (8 dmg) This provides Aliens a chance to get out of harm’s way.
  • While on fire, Alien lifeforms now only take damage for 2.1 seconds after the direct attack has ceased - structures will still burn for up to 6 seconds depending on how long the attack is sustained.
  • Decreased Flame puddle radius to 1.8m from 3m.

Some subtle tweaks were necessary after fixing Update 320’s Flamethrower implementation, based upon resounding feedback from the community in public playtest sessions. Players felt that being on fire for 6 seconds after leaving the room felt unfair, and that the Pres cost was not remotely punitive enough when rushing the tech, nor was it reflective of the weapons new capabilities.

Tweaks / Improvements

• Two new Marine Shoulder Patches added for all NS2 owners to celebrate Subnautica’s release, Leviathan and Peeper.
  

• Commanders can now group select multiple entities and the action buttons will be contextually appropriate for what is selected (contributed by Katzenfleisch)
• Cancel button for Commanders now shows  when you expect it to (when blueprints are involved) and the Recycle button when appropriate, and does so in the bottom right of the commander UI area. (contributed by Katzenfleisch)
• Improved Hydra placement (ghost model) allowing for more consistent behavior for all valid placements (contributed by Katzenfleisch)
• Improved Gorges ability to build their structures when placing in hard to reach spots (i.e. ceilings above the Gorge, or tight corners). This eliminates the need to jump and healspray in most circumstances. (contributed by Katzenfleisch)
• Smoothed out a lot of the performance hits caused by using phase gates and distress beacons. There will also no longer be any lag time between when a marine phases through and when they see what is in the new location. See SDK section "RelevancyPortals" below for details.
  • Gone are the days when you could phase through a phase gate and die before you even knew you were being chewed on. Now, you may still die but you won't be so confused.
• 
  Optimized the routines that checks if a point is inside a trigger entity. This reduces occurrences of small hitches in the early game when lights are being updated per their map location.
  

Fixes

• Fixed bug with Babblers causing script errors when their target wasn’t considered alive. (contributed by Katzenfleisch)
• Fixed issue with Flamethrower damage type being incorrectly calculated
• Fixed issue in Light Handlers that causes duplicate calls for map lights to be updated when after they were already updated for the current render frame. This significantly reduces the cost for map lighting changes (i.e. Power Node damaged / destroyed) as the game progresses.
• Fixed that sometimes the concede sequence wouldn't play.
• Fixed Healspary causing Marine structures to show their flinch/damaged animation. (contributed by Katzenfleisch)
• Fixed Marine waypoints staying applied to Alien lifeforms after line of sight was lost.
• Fixed a rare script error that would occur when a new hive was created.
• Fixed an issue where attempting to play a blank-named sound via a network message would cause a script error.
• Fixed most cases of enemy icons sticking on the minimap when they should no longer be visible.
• Added a nil check to OrdersMixin.lua to prevent a harmless edge-case script error.
• Fixed an issue that would cause the server time to drift out of sync with the client time on a listen server.  This would eventually cause permanent red-plugging on listen servers. (This may help those who experience issues with Skulk Challenge)
• Fixed a rare issue where clients would experience a massive game-freezing hitch whenever a power node's power-state changed.
• Fixed an error that would occur if a spectator was able to see a ReadyRoom player who also had a health bar (required the RR player to somehow get onto the actual map)

Maps

• Caged
  • Fixed issue introduced in Update 320 where some of the Location names did not show on map. #BlameMcGlaspie
• Mineshaft
  • Fixed stuck spot preventing Marine and Fades from being able to walk through vent entrance in north-western area of Cave.
• Summit
  • Small tweak to provide paneling model in Sub Access to block LOS better and prevent model clipping - thank you Zavaro
• Tram
  • Fixed stuck spot in Repair Room around techpoint - thank you Zavaro
• Veil
  • Minor tweaks to Low Lights in The Neck location - thank you Zavaro

SDK

• Added "RelevancyPortal" feature.
  • Creates a link between two areas on the map, so that as a player approaches the "source" point, a relevancy sphere expands around the "destination" point.
  • Smooths out spikes in performance caused by the server suddenly needing to send lots of new data to clients who teleport.
  • Removes the delay between a client's (predicted) teleportation and the relevant entity data of the new location reaching the client.
• Editor
  • Added "Un-weld-faces" feature. All selected faces are separated from each other.
  • Fixed "local space" transform, which now works with geometry, Scale Tool, and last prop selected as transform basis.
  • Added "remove collinear vertices" that removes useless vertices to optimize geometry.
  • Added "edge flow select" feature
    • This selects edges in a directional flow. Example: it will select an entire row or column in a regular grid, or the entire cap of a cylinder. Selects the adjacent edges that are closest to parallel with the starting edge.
  • Fixed RMB+drag issue that caused mouse cursor oddities
  • Reworked s_stats debugging command to display more details of playing sound events and internal resources of the sound system.

Known Issues

• There are still some edge cases where enemy units will remain visible on the minimap when they should not be visible (however nothing new introduced in this update).
• Weapons that do not expire near the armory will still contain their additional ammo pack as all dropped weapons do. This means players who may walk over those ammo packs might receive them, and thus a future Marine who picks up a weapon may only have a single magazine worth of ammunition. Not a huge issue considering you’re at melee range to an armory already anyways, but worth mentioning as we could not resolve this in time.

Happy New Year! It has already been an exciting start to 2018 for UWE and we look forward to bringing you more exciting and interesting game experiences. The core of NS2’s development has always been the community. So many people from around the world dedicating time, opinions and skills to help make this game what it is today. Five years in and we are still working with dedicated members, new and old, to make the game better and more enjoyable.

Today we release Update 321, bringing you some of the first new gameplay features to come in 2018. First we wanted to look at some of the alien features that haven’t felt complete. Onos Stampede is a great way to really immerse yourself into the large beast and finally feel like an alien gorilla on the warpath, using your body to buck and shove almost anything out of your way using the existing Charge ability. Special thank you to Steelcap for all the hard work and many revisions to get this into the game.

Next, Babblers also see some love with the addition of the Babbler Mine. No longer sitting on the sidelines of an attack, the babblers can stay in an egg and placed like a proximity mine to hatch on unsuspecting marines and harass with more aggression than ever before. Special thank you also to Katzenfleisch for all the hard work and many revisions to get this into the game.

Finally, this update includes a nod to our co-workers on the Subnautica team. With the release of Subnautica and it taking part within the same universe of NS2 we found it only fitting to throw some in-game love their way. Rantology has worked up a couple cool new shoulder patches and they are free to everyone!

There is more to this update below in the changelog so take a look and then get in there to play with the new stuff. Big shoutout to our Playtesters for all the extra PT time this update, you always make the difference. Enjoy!

Changelog

Gameplay

• Onos Stampede (contributed by Steelcap)
  • A long desired addition to round out the Onos Charge ability; where a charging Onos will now push Marines out of the way while doing 12 damage.
    • Exosuits feel the impact too, but are heavier so they barely get pushed and stop Oni in their tracks.
    • Requires 72% of charge’s top speed to be reached in order to work
    • Onos charge ability has had it’s acceleration increased ~35%
    • Added two new sound events for when Onos impact Marines and Exos (contributed by Sweets)

This is something that just feels "right" for Onos. No longer will a 2-ton space gorilla/rhino be stopped dead in its tracks by a puny 180-pound human when barreling down a hallway. This should aid in Oni being unable to escape poorly positioned situations where they would otherwise be body blocked.Great job Steelcap!

https://i.imgur.com/OecDW4N.gifv

• Babbler Mines (contributed by Katzenfleisch)
  • Babbler Eggs can be placed on walls or ceilings now to be an effective mine.
  • Babbler Eggs placed by gorges will no longer hatch immediately after being built
    • Gorges can hatch them if they choose to via the Use Key
    • If you hatch the babbler mine manually, they will automatically attach to you
  • Babbler Eggs will hatch when enemies get too close, quickly disposing of any hapless marines that weren't paying attention.
  • Babbler Eggs can be hatched at a distance by their Gorge hitting it with Spit.
  • They have a range of 200 to 300 hp based upon maturity, which takes 20 seconds.
  • They can do up to 40 initial damage when exploding on a Marine when fully matured, and proportionately less damage when not matured.
  • Babbler Mines can be scanned by observatories

We wanted to do something to help gorges in the early game and create something interesting, tactically. This feature adds a lot of depth to gorge-play, we feel. Marines will soon learn that not all gorges should be chased.Thanks to Katzenfleisch for all his hard work on this feature!

https://i.imgur.com/iSloxtv.gifv

• Babbler Improvements (contributed by Katzenfleisch)
  • Now tracks targets much more effectively
  • Significantly increased aggression and rate they will attack
  • Attacks will now land more reliably but they can still be dodged (don’t stand still or backpedal Marines!)
  • Significantly increased speed of Babbler bait ball, allowing it to be used over much greater distances and with more accuracy. It now behaves more like a fast moving projectile instead of a lobbed grenade.
  • Bait ball now uses the first surface touched as the location for babblers to go to.
  • Fixed bug where Babblers would become unresponsive if their set target was too far away.
  • Fixed bug where Babblers would not consistently attack their target after moving within attack range.
  • Babblers now attack as a pack when given an attack order.
  • Unit Status now shown for Babbler Eggs to show their status and built percentage.
  • Babblers will now cling to friendlies much more consistently

• Marine weapons purchased by players or commanders and intentionally dropped within a very short range of Armories will no longer expire. (contributed by Katzenfleisch)
  • Killed Marines will always have an expiration timer for their dropped weapons, regardless of distance to armory.

We felt that it was restrictive that players with an excess amount of resources - be they field players or commanders - who purchased weapons for their teammates, had to have their teammates pick them up within a quick amount of time. Now they can be picked up at any time, provided it was an intentional drop and very close to the armory.

• Flamethrowers
  • Increased Pres cost to 20 from 15
  • Decreased direct damage to 12 from 15
  • Removed the immediate damage applied to flame puddles when they first appear. (8 dmg) This provides Aliens a chance to get out of harm’s way.
  • While on fire, Alien lifeforms now only take damage for 2.1 seconds after the direct attack has ceased - structures will still burn for up to 6 seconds depending on how long the attack is sustained.
  • Decreased Flame puddle radius to 1.8m from 3m.

Some subtle tweaks were necessary after fixing Update 320’s Flamethrower implementation, based upon resounding feedback from the community in public playtest sessions. Players felt that being on fire for 6 seconds after leaving the room felt unfair, and that the Pres cost was not remotely punitive enough when rushing the tech, nor was it reflective of the weapons new capabilities.

Tweaks / Improvements

• Two new Marine Shoulder Patches added for all NS2 owners to celebrate Subnautica’s release, Leviathan and Peeper.
  

• Commanders can now group select multiple entities and the action buttons will be contextually appropriate for what is selected (contributed by Katzenfleisch)
• Cancel button for Commanders now shows  when you expect it to (when blueprints are involved) and the Recycle button when appropriate, and does so in the bottom right of the commander UI area. (contributed by Katzenfleisch)
• Improved Hydra placement (ghost model) allowing for more consistent behavior for all valid placements (contributed by Katzenfleisch)
• Improved Gorges ability to build their structures when placing in hard to reach spots (i.e. ceilings above the Gorge, or tight corners). This eliminates the need to jump and healspray in most circumstances. (contributed by Katzenfleisch)
• Smoothed out a lot of the performance hits caused by using phase gates and distress beacons. There will also no longer be any lag time between when a marine phases through and when they see what is in the new location. See SDK section "RelevancyPortals" below for details.
  • Gone are the days when you could phase through a phase gate and die before you even knew you were being chewed on. Now, you may still die but you won't be so confused.
• 
  Optimized the routines that checks if a point is inside a trigger entity. This reduces occurrences of small hitches in the early game when lights are being updated per their map location.
  

Fixes

• Fixed bug with Babblers causing script errors when their target wasn’t considered alive. (contributed by Katzenfleisch)
• Fixed issue with Flamethrower damage type being incorrectly calculated
• Fixed issue in Light Handlers that causes duplicate calls for map lights to be updated when after they were already updated for the current render frame. This significantly reduces the cost for map lighting changes (i.e. Power Node damaged / destroyed) as the game progresses.
• Fixed that sometimes the concede sequence wouldn't play.
• Fixed Healspary causing Marine structures to show their flinch/damaged animation. (contributed by Katzenfleisch)
• Fixed Marine waypoints staying applied to Alien lifeforms after line of sight was lost.
• Fixed a rare script error that would occur when a new hive was created.
• Fixed an issue where attempting to play a blank-named sound via a network message would cause a script error.
• Fixed most cases of enemy icons sticking on the minimap when they should no longer be visible.
• Added a nil check to OrdersMixin.lua to prevent a harmless edge-case script error.
• Fixed an issue that would cause the server time to drift out of sync with the client time on a listen server.  This would eventually cause permanent red-plugging on listen servers. (This may help those who experience issues with Skulk Challenge)
• Fixed a rare issue where clients would experience a massive game-freezing hitch whenever a power node's power-state changed.
• Fixed an error that would occur if a spectator was able to see a ReadyRoom player who also had a health bar (required the RR player to somehow get onto the actual map)

Maps

• Caged
  • Fixed issue introduced in Update 320 where some of the Location names did not show on map. #BlameMcGlaspie
• Mineshaft
  • Fixed stuck spot preventing Marine and Fades from being able to walk through vent entrance in north-western area of Cave.
• Summit
  • Small tweak to provide paneling model in Sub Access to block LOS better and prevent model clipping - thank you Zavaro
• Tram
  • Fixed stuck spot in Repair Room around techpoint - thank you Zavaro
• Veil
  • Minor tweaks to Low Lights in The Neck location - thank you Zavaro

SDK

• Added "RelevancyPortal" feature.
  • Creates a link between two areas on the map, so that as a player approaches the "source" point, a relevancy sphere expands around the "destination" point.
  • Smooths out spikes in performance caused by the server suddenly needing to send lots of new data to clients who teleport.
  • Removes the delay between a client's (predicted) teleportation and the relevant entity data of the new location reaching the client.
• Editor
  • Added "Un-weld-faces" feature. All selected faces are separated from each other.
  • Fixed "local space" transform, which now works with geometry, Scale Tool, and last prop selected as transform basis.
  • Added "remove collinear vertices" that removes useless vertices to optimize geometry.
  • Added "edge flow select" feature
    • This selects edges in a directional flow. Example: it will select an entire row or column in a regular grid, or the entire cap of a cylinder. Selects the adjacent edges that are closest to parallel with the starting edge.
  • Fixed RMB+drag issue that caused mouse cursor oddities
  • Reworked s_stats debugging command to display more details of playing sound events and internal resources of the sound system.

Known Issues

• There are still some edge cases where enemy units will remain visible on the minimap when they should not be visible (however nothing new introduced in this update).
• Weapons that do not expire near the armory will still contain their additional ammo pack as all dropped weapons do. This means players who may walk over those ammo packs might receive them, and thus a future Marine who picks up a weapon may only have a single magazine worth of ammunition. Not a huge issue considering you’re at melee range to an armory already anyways, but worth mentioning as we could not resolve this in time.

"Twas the night before Gorgemas
when all through the base,
Not a creature was stirring
not even a MAC;
The Hydras were placed
by the Command Station with care,
In hopes that Saint Gorgie, soon would be there..."

Tis the season of gift giving and holiday cheer, so with that in mind we bring you Update 320. We’ve got some balance tweaks, visual improvements, and stability fixes for you this season. A huge thanks to Katzenfleisch for his many contributions this patch!

We’d like the take a moment and address some of the mod/client/server issues that started this week. Earlier this week Valve pushed out an update on the way clients access and use the version of workshop NS2 utilizes. As a result NS2 clients and servers can no longer access the workshop content. Thanks to some coding magic by Ghoul and McGlaspie, we have a temporary fix that will be released with Update 320, please be aware that some users may experience slightly longer load times as a result of this workaround (the more mods the longer it will take). We want to stress that this is a temporary fix and that server operators have been encouraged to setup mod backup servers to help keep games going if we continue to run into issues.

Our team is in communication with Valve and working to find a long term solution to the issue and we will be posting more in the next couple weeks as we figure out just what that permanent fix is going to be.

We hope you enjoy your holidays and stay tuned for more to come.
Merry Gorgemas!

Changelog

Gameplay

• Exosuits - Based on resounding community feedback, these are temporary interim changes to slightly nerf Exos, to allow us time to redesign them entirely through proper testing in following updates.
  
  • Increased purchase costs to 55 pres (from 45)
    
    • So marines can’t get them too early into the round and to make buying an Exo a significant investment again, as well as potentially limiting the ability to just re-purchase after a quick death.
  • Decreased the base (0% charged) damage of a railgun to 10 from 33. Each railgun shot now deals only up to 150 (instead of 173) damage fully charged without any weapon upgrade researched.
    
    • A lower base dmg should help encourage fuller charges and diminish the likelihood of cheap “chipping” kills from immediately tapping fire, especially as follow up shots.
  • You can no longer simultaneously charge both railguns at all. You can only charge one at a time.
    
    • This, along with the base dmg decrease, should prevent the "Double Tap" issue that can result in a near instant ~250 dmg output by skilled railgun shooters. Feeling like you were being killed by one shot was an incredibly frustrating experience for the community.
• Flamethrower - Based on community feedback, our previous Flamethrower buffs were not enough for the weapon to feel viable on it’s own. Please try these changes thoroughly before providing your updated feedback!
  
  • The flamethrower now deals light damage instead of “super light” damage
  • Increase the direct damage of the Flamethrower to 15 (from 10)
  • Increased burn damage to 8 (from 6)
  • Fixed that the flamethrower did not deal any direct AOE damage unless you hit an enemy directly.
  • The flamethrower can now set targets on fire up to 6 seconds. Each hit will add 2.1 seconds.
    
    • This should help with tackling the improved Whips
• Dissolving ragdolls no longer stop or absorb bullets (Contributed by Katzenfleisch).
  
  • This affects Babbler, Resource Tower, Hive, Player and any other ragdolls from blocking any following damage or bullets. This is quite a notable change for the attentive shooter, and we think it feels much more responsive. Let us know what you think!

Tweaks / Improvements

• Optimized the update routine for unit status HUD elements:
  • Health and armor bars of targeted units now update instantly.
  • Removed the annoying pulsate effect of the repair icons.
• Improved map overviews
  • Fixed an issue where mini-maps would exhibit z-fighting, resulting in mini-maps that appeared to be missing certain details (eg crates).
  • Fixed an issue where the area the mini-map is rendered would not line up correctly with the minimap_extents object placed in the editor.
  • Added multisampling to greatly improve the quality of the generated mini-maps.
  • Fixed an issue where vent coloring would be incorrect/inconsistent.
  • Fixed an issue where some objects would incorrectly be colored vent-like (eg Repair room in Mineshaft had many yellow objects on the mini-map -- yet has no vents).
  • All vanilla maps now have higher resolution mini-maps!
    • Note to Mappers: ALL CUSTOM MAPS MUST BE UPDATED FOR THE MAP TO BE ACCURATE! Before re-rendering the mini-map for your level, open the level in the editor, and re-save it. Otherwise, the newly generated mini-map will not line up correctly with the in-game icons.
• Improved quality of cloaked aliens shader effect for Marines.
• All models and props that were not hand-made by level designers that emit a glow, will now change to match the current light color when power nodes are destroyed or repaired (code contributed by Nin). As a result unpowered locations will appear to be much more consistent now.
  • Note to Mappers: Please read the SDK section, as there is an explanation on how this change impacts your maps. By default, no changes are need and it will work correctly with all maps.
• Commander selection and entity moving improvements. (Thanks Katzenfleisch!)
  • Fixed that you are able to select both movable and non-movable entities at the same time, resulting in a "invalid" sound each time an order is given to that group (even if all the movable entities are following that order). This happens especially with cysts and crag/shift/etc.
  • Fixed not being able to cancel an action given while a group of entities was selected.
  • Fixed having all the movable selected entities going to the same exact point when asking them to move, resulting in entity stacking. They should now distance themselves automatically when arriving at their destination.
    • Note: It is still possible to *manually* stack entities if one tries hard enough, but it should no longer occur automatically when moving groups.

Fixes

• Fixed client/server crash when checking file(s) consistency from multiple threads.
• Fixed client crash with texture streaming when resetting render device or closing client.
• Fixed client crash with sound system when device is reset or client closes.
• Fixed client crash during physics update when collision objects were create or read from multiple threads.
• Fixed client crash where in some rare cases, starting a listen server with a mod enabled that had model resource content would crash when loading a map.
• Fixed that the curl multi interface doesn't exit when the easy interface times out and thus the given network connection is never closed. Based on the number of players connecting this can cause a server's network interface to overload / show redplugs.
  • This was a major issue that we discovered when Hive temporarily went down, and while Hive’s issue was permanently fixed, we wanted to doubly ensure it could not negatively affect servers going forward.
• Fixed issue with LuaJIT memory allocator not having correct memory space available.
• Fixed that spectator slot users could not join a playing team, after a player slot user joined the spectator team in a full server.
  • This also fixes spectators from joining a team while a player who was guaranteed a playerslot is connecting. As a result, this should also fix most cases where the playercount was able to eventually show negative numbers in the browser.
• Fixed that veterans couldn’t spectate in rookie only servers.
• Fixed that Auto pickup of a Welder would also auto switch to it, even in combat.
  • Weapon pickup now behaves much more like you’d expect : you still pick up weapons automatically when walking over them, but if you want to swap weapons, you can now look at specific dropped weapons to pick them up within a pile of different weapons. Additionally, standing on top of a pile of welders will no longer hijack your “drop weapon” key, preventing you from swapping out weapons within that pile for a welder you already own.
• Fixed that the quickplay_ready server flag didn’t work. Also added it as an option to the serverconfig, which defaults to enabled. Server operators do not have to rely on mods anymore to remove their server from the quick play queue.
• Fixed that entity ragdolls did not dissolve properly or on time.
• Fixed that Babblers did not detach when their parent died. (Contributed by Katzenfleisch).
• Fixed that the Babbler’s collision boxes were not removed correctly when an attached babbler got destroyed causing aliens to become invincible around the babbler attachment points in the world. (Contributed by Katzenfleisch).
• Fixed that certain structure’s range circles did not show up while placing them. (Contributed by Katzenfleisch).
• Fixed that phasing through a Phase Gate could fail due to a server/client time desync (Contributed by Nin).
  • Note: This only fixes one of the possible conditions where this bug can occur.
    Fixed that the lights flickered when a destroyed/unsocketed/blueprint Power Node was attacked by Aliens, or when any Powernode state was attacked by Marines. (Contributed by Nin).
• Fixed that AI unit’s speed restrictions weren’t applied while turning (bye-bye Initial-D Drifters!).
• Fixed that many entities did not display damage numbers upon killing them. This list includes Hallucinations, Veils, Shells, Spurs, Babbler Eggs, Drifter Eggs, Eggs, Babblers, Jetpack on ground, Clogs, Mines, Cysts, Exosuits, and Sentry Batteries. (Contributed by Katzenfleisch).
• Fixed that net_lag, net_loss, and net_blackout console command values were maintained after switching servers.
• Fixed that Skulk bots tried to evolve to higher life forms including all available upgrades even if they don’t have enough personal resources, causing them to stay still until they have the needed resources.
• Fixed that buildings that require orientation before placement (Phase Gates, Robotics Factory) would change their *position* (not just orientation) when the commander clicked once and moved their camera. (Contributed by Katzenfleisch).
• Fixed a script error occuring because the jetpack flying sound wasn’t stopped when the Jetpack was destroyed (Contributed by Katzenfleisch).
• Fixed that the Kill-Feed did not show the healspray kill icon when they gorge had the bile bomb or the babler bait selected (Contributed by Katzenfleisch).
• Fixed that commander couldn’t place new structures while having enemy units selected (Contributed by Katzenfleisch).
• Fixed that some alien structures’ impact were not removed from the navigation mesh after they got repositioned (Contributed by Katzenfleisch).
• Fixed that you can damage a un-fully repaired PowerNode with every Alien damage ability except with Bilebomb

Maps

All maps have been updated to better utilize the glow toggling effect (when power is destroyed). As a result, the auxiliary power will now be more visually uniform. Some additional changes were added to toggle objects like holograms on/off when the power goes out.

Changes contributed by Zavaro:

Tram

• Fixed stuck spots in Repair around the tech point
• Added missing occlusion to southern Repair entrance
• Fixed occlusion issue in east vent in Ore
• Added more robust collision geometry in east vent in Ore to prevent stuck spots
• Fixed lighting issues in North Tunnels

Refinery

• Removed two invulnerable Gorge locations in Conduit (NE and SE corners of the room)
• Added method for Marines to jump into Chasm-Containment vent
• Fixed stuck spot on stairs north of Flow Control
• Fixed spots around Exchange where cysts could be placed inside pipes

Docking

• Removed invulnerable Gorge location in Stability above the vent

Descent

• Fixed stuck spot in Fluid Transfer

Mineshaft

• Fixed unaligned props near Repair Room
• Fixed hole in Deposit’s moving crates that allowed players to exit the map

SDK

• Note to Mappers: ALL CUSTOM MAPS MUST BE UPDATED FOR THE MAP TO BE ACCURATE! Before re-rendering the mini-map for your level, open the level in the editor, and re-save it. Otherwise, the newly generated mini-map will not line up correctly with the in-game icons.

Graphics

• Material files used as layered effects (eg the distortion material used for cloaked aliens) can now use "%inherit" as a texture name, meaning it will use the base material's texture in its place. As a result, cloaked aliens now appear more detailed, since the normal map can now be used. Before, only the vertex normals were available for generating the distortion map.

Editor

• There is a new “Emissive matches power” drop-down option for level-props. By default this option is set to true. All level Models (props) used by the game can now potentially be affected by a Location’s power-state. The emissive channel in said model’s materials is toggled off when there is no power or the auxiliary lights are active. Mappers have control over which props are affected at run-time. In order for this to be applied to a map, it simply needs to be open and re-saved. To control the effect mappers will need to selectively choose which props are excluded from being changed by a location’s power.
• Added a new option to the texture tool that will cause it to attempt to align textures by their seams when copying the texture from one face to an adjacent on.
• Added options for prop placement, including align-to-surface, and randomize \rotation.
• Fixed a crash that occurred when trying to select a sound file.
• Fixed that selecting multiple layers was difficult/impossible.
• Fixed that sometimes the drawing tools would cut into invisible faces.
• Fixed that double-click-selecting a large interconnected piece of geometry would sometimes crash the editor.

Known Issues

• NS2+ percentage unit-status option updates too slowly (every 200ms)
  • While the flickering issue was resolved, fixing the update rate of this NS2+ option will require the base game to be refactored due to the way this option hooks into the game. This is a goal for our next patch.
• Tram’s Logistics Hologram will be off when the power is in an unbuilt / neutral state.
• The inability to charge your secondary railgun simultaneously is not currently communicated through the HUD.
• Not all map overviews are 100% accurate, with some connecting room areas showing as not being connected on the map. This is going to require mappers making per item changes over the next few weeks through our extensions mod. We apologize for not having this feature in perfect condition upon release, but we felt the benefits provided by it justified the temporary downsides.
• Not all room lights are updated to take advantage of the Emissive power state changes (eg: Hangar Bay on Kodiak). This is another issue that will require mappers making per item changes over the few weeks, and was a feature we felt while not perfect yet, should be included for feedback as it was improvement over the current state of things.

"Twas the night before Gorgemas
when all through the base,
Not a creature was stirring
not even a MAC;
The Hydras were placed
by the Command Station with care,
In hopes that Saint Gorgie, soon would be there..."

Tis the season of gift giving and holiday cheer, so with that in mind we bring you Update 320. We’ve got some balance tweaks, visual improvements, and stability fixes for you this season. A huge thanks to Katzenfleisch for his many contributions this patch!

We’d like the take a moment and address some of the mod/client/server issues that started this week. Earlier this week Valve pushed out an update on the way clients access and use the version of workshop NS2 utilizes. As a result NS2 clients and servers can no longer access the workshop content. Thanks to some coding magic by Ghoul and McGlaspie, we have a temporary fix that will be released with Update 320, please be aware that some users may experience slightly longer load times as a result of this workaround (the more mods the longer it will take). We want to stress that this is a temporary fix and that server operators have been encouraged to setup mod backup servers to help keep games going if we continue to run into issues.

Our team is in communication with Valve and working to find a long term solution to the issue and we will be posting more in the next couple weeks as we figure out just what that permanent fix is going to be.

We hope you enjoy your holidays and stay tuned for more to come.
Merry Gorgemas!

Changelog

Gameplay

• Exosuits - Based on resounding community feedback, these are temporary interim changes to slightly nerf Exos, to allow us time to redesign them entirely through proper testing in following updates.
  
  • Increased purchase costs to 55 pres (from 45)
    
    • So marines can’t get them too early into the round and to make buying an Exo a significant investment again, as well as potentially limiting the ability to just re-purchase after a quick death.
  • Decreased the base (0% charged) damage of a railgun to 10 from 33. Each railgun shot now deals only up to 150 (instead of 173) damage fully charged without any weapon upgrade researched.
    
    • A lower base dmg should help encourage fuller charges and diminish the likelihood of cheap “chipping” kills from immediately tapping fire, especially as follow up shots.
  • You can no longer simultaneously charge both railguns at all. You can only charge one at a time.
    
    • This, along with the base dmg decrease, should prevent the "Double Tap" issue that can result in a near instant ~250 dmg output by skilled railgun shooters. Feeling like you were being killed by one shot was an incredibly frustrating experience for the community.
• Flamethrower - Based on community feedback, our previous Flamethrower buffs were not enough for the weapon to feel viable on it’s own. Please try these changes thoroughly before providing your updated feedback!
  
  • The flamethrower now deals light damage instead of “super light” damage
  • Increase the direct damage of the Flamethrower to 15 (from 10)
  • Increased burn damage to 8 (from 6)
  • Fixed that the flamethrower did not deal any direct AOE damage unless you hit an enemy directly.
  • The flamethrower can now set targets on fire up to 6 seconds. Each hit will add 2.1 seconds.
    
    • This should help with tackling the improved Whips
• Dissolving ragdolls no longer stop or absorb bullets (Contributed by Katzenfleisch).
  
  • This affects Babbler, Resource Tower, Hive, Player and any other ragdolls from blocking any following damage or bullets. This is quite a notable change for the attentive shooter, and we think it feels much more responsive. Let us know what you think!

Tweaks / Improvements

• Optimized the update routine for unit status HUD elements:
  • Health and armor bars of targeted units now update instantly.
  • Removed the annoying pulsate effect of the repair icons.
• Improved map overviews
  • Fixed an issue where mini-maps would exhibit z-fighting, resulting in mini-maps that appeared to be missing certain details (eg crates).
  • Fixed an issue where the area the mini-map is rendered would not line up correctly with the minimap_extents object placed in the editor.
  • Added multisampling to greatly improve the quality of the generated mini-maps.
  • Fixed an issue where vent coloring would be incorrect/inconsistent.
  • Fixed an issue where some objects would incorrectly be colored vent-like (eg Repair room in Mineshaft had many yellow objects on the mini-map -- yet has no vents).
  • All vanilla maps now have higher resolution mini-maps!
    • Note to Mappers: ALL CUSTOM MAPS MUST BE UPDATED FOR THE MAP TO BE ACCURATE! Before re-rendering the mini-map for your level, open the level in the editor, and re-save it. Otherwise, the newly generated mini-map will not line up correctly with the in-game icons.
• Improved quality of cloaked aliens shader effect for Marines.
• All models and props that were not hand-made by level designers that emit a glow, will now change to match the current light color when power nodes are destroyed or repaired (code contributed by Nin). As a result unpowered locations will appear to be much more consistent now.
  • Note to Mappers: Please read the SDK section, as there is an explanation on how this change impacts your maps. By default, no changes are need and it will work correctly with all maps.
• Commander selection and entity moving improvements. (Thanks Katzenfleisch!)
  • Fixed that you are able to select both movable and non-movable entities at the same time, resulting in a "invalid" sound each time an order is given to that group (even if all the movable entities are following that order). This happens especially with cysts and crag/shift/etc.
  • Fixed not being able to cancel an action given while a group of entities was selected.
  • Fixed having all the movable selected entities going to the same exact point when asking them to move, resulting in entity stacking. They should now distance themselves automatically when arriving at their destination.
    • Note: It is still possible to *manually* stack entities if one tries hard enough, but it should no longer occur automatically when moving groups.

Fixes

• Fixed client/server crash when checking file(s) consistency from multiple threads.
• Fixed client crash with texture streaming when resetting render device or closing client.
• Fixed client crash with sound system when device is reset or client closes.
• Fixed client crash during physics update when collision objects were create or read from multiple threads.
• Fixed client crash where in some rare cases, starting a listen server with a mod enabled that had model resource content would crash when loading a map.
• Fixed that the curl multi interface doesn't exit when the easy interface times out and thus the given network connection is never closed. Based on the number of players connecting this can cause a server's network interface to overload / show redplugs.
  • This was a major issue that we discovered when Hive temporarily went down, and while Hive’s issue was permanently fixed, we wanted to doubly ensure it could not negatively affect servers going forward.
• Fixed issue with LuaJIT memory allocator not having correct memory space available.
• Fixed that spectator slot users could not join a playing team, after a player slot user joined the spectator team in a full server.
  • This also fixes spectators from joining a team while a player who was guaranteed a playerslot is connecting. As a result, this should also fix most cases where the playercount was able to eventually show negative numbers in the browser.
• Fixed that veterans couldn’t spectate in rookie only servers.
• Fixed that Auto pickup of a Welder would also auto switch to it, even in combat.
  • Weapon pickup now behaves much more like you’d expect : you still pick up weapons automatically when walking over them, but if you want to swap weapons, you can now look at specific dropped weapons to pick them up within a pile of different weapons. Additionally, standing on top of a pile of welders will no longer hijack your “drop weapon” key, preventing you from swapping out weapons within that pile for a welder you already own.
• Fixed that the quickplay_ready server flag didn’t work. Also added it as an option to the serverconfig, which defaults to enabled. Server operators do not have to rely on mods anymore to remove their server from the quick play queue.
• Fixed that entity ragdolls did not dissolve properly or on time.
• Fixed that Babblers did not detach when their parent died. (Contributed by Katzenfleisch).
• Fixed that the Babbler’s collision boxes were not removed correctly when an attached babbler got destroyed causing aliens to become invincible around the babbler attachment points in the world. (Contributed by Katzenfleisch).
• Fixed that certain structure’s range circles did not show up while placing them. (Contributed by Katzenfleisch).
• Fixed that phasing through a Phase Gate could fail due to a server/client time desync (Contributed by Nin).
  • Note: This only fixes one of the possible conditions where this bug can occur.
    Fixed that the lights flickered when a destroyed/unsocketed/blueprint Power Node was attacked by Aliens, or when any Powernode state was attacked by Marines. (Contributed by Nin).
• Fixed that AI unit’s speed restrictions weren’t applied while turning (bye-bye Initial-D Drifters!).
• Fixed that many entities did not display damage numbers upon killing them. This list includes Hallucinations, Veils, Shells, Spurs, Babbler Eggs, Drifter Eggs, Eggs, Babblers, Jetpack on ground, Clogs, Mines, Cysts, Exosuits, and Sentry Batteries. (Contributed by Katzenfleisch).
• Fixed that net_lag, net_loss, and net_blackout console command values were maintained after switching servers.
• Fixed that Skulk bots tried to evolve to higher life forms including all available upgrades even if they don’t have enough personal resources, causing them to stay still until they have the needed resources.
• Fixed that buildings that require orientation before placement (Phase Gates, Robotics Factory) would change their *position* (not just orientation) when the commander clicked once and moved their camera. (Contributed by Katzenfleisch).
• Fixed a script error occuring because the jetpack flying sound wasn’t stopped when the Jetpack was destroyed (Contributed by Katzenfleisch).
• Fixed that the Kill-Feed did not show the healspray kill icon when they gorge had the bile bomb or the babler bait selected (Contributed by Katzenfleisch).
• Fixed that commander couldn’t place new structures while having enemy units selected (Contributed by Katzenfleisch).
• Fixed that some alien structures’ impact were not removed from the navigation mesh after they got repositioned (Contributed by Katzenfleisch).
• Fixed that you can damage a un-fully repaired PowerNode with every Alien damage ability except with Bilebomb

Maps

All maps have been updated to better utilize the glow toggling effect (when power is destroyed). As a result, the auxiliary power will now be more visually uniform. Some additional changes were added to toggle objects like holograms on/off when the power goes out.

Changes contributed by Zavaro:

Tram

• Fixed stuck spots in Repair around the tech point
• Added missing occlusion to southern Repair entrance
• Fixed occlusion issue in east vent in Ore
• Added more robust collision geometry in east vent in Ore to prevent stuck spots
• Fixed lighting issues in North Tunnels

Refinery

• Removed two invulnerable Gorge locations in Conduit (NE and SE corners of the room)
• Added method for Marines to jump into Chasm-Containment vent
• Fixed stuck spot on stairs north of Flow Control
• Fixed spots around Exchange where cysts could be placed inside pipes

Docking

• Removed invulnerable Gorge location in Stability above the vent

Descent

• Fixed stuck spot in Fluid Transfer

Mineshaft

• Fixed unaligned props near Repair Room
• Fixed hole in Deposit’s moving crates that allowed players to exit the map

SDK

• Note to Mappers: ALL CUSTOM MAPS MUST BE UPDATED FOR THE MAP TO BE ACCURATE! Before re-rendering the mini-map for your level, open the level in the editor, and re-save it. Otherwise, the newly generated mini-map will not line up correctly with the in-game icons.

Graphics

• Material files used as layered effects (eg the distortion material used for cloaked aliens) can now use "%inherit" as a texture name, meaning it will use the base material's texture in its place. As a result, cloaked aliens now appear more detailed, since the normal map can now be used. Before, only the vertex normals were available for generating the distortion map.

Editor

• There is a new “Emissive matches power” drop-down option for level-props. By default this option is set to true. All level Models (props) used by the game can now potentially be affected by a Location’s power-state. The emissive channel in said model’s materials is toggled off when there is no power or the auxiliary lights are active. Mappers have control over which props are affected at run-time. In order for this to be applied to a map, it simply needs to be open and re-saved. To control the effect mappers will need to selectively choose which props are excluded from being changed by a location’s power.
• Added a new option to the texture tool that will cause it to attempt to align textures by their seams when copying the texture from one face to an adjacent on.
• Added options for prop placement, including align-to-surface, and randomize \rotation.
• Fixed a crash that occurred when trying to select a sound file.
• Fixed that selecting multiple layers was difficult/impossible.
• Fixed that sometimes the drawing tools would cut into invisible faces.
• Fixed that double-click-selecting a large interconnected piece of geometry would sometimes crash the editor.

Known Issues

• NS2+ percentage unit-status option updates too slowly (every 200ms)
  • While the flickering issue was resolved, fixing the update rate of this NS2+ option will require the base game to be refactored due to the way this option hooks into the game. This is a goal for our next patch.
• Tram’s Logistics Hologram will be off when the power is in an unbuilt / neutral state.
• The inability to charge your secondary railgun simultaneously is not currently communicated through the HUD.
• Not all map overviews are 100% accurate, with some connecting room areas showing as not being connected on the map. This is going to require mappers making per item changes over the next few weeks through our extensions mod. We apologize for not having this feature in perfect condition upon release, but we felt the benefits provided by it justified the temporary downsides.
• Not all room lights are updated to take advantage of the Emissive power state changes (eg: Hangar Bay on Kodiak). This is another issue that will require mappers making per item changes over the few weeks, and was a feature we felt while not perfect yet, should be included for feedback as it was improvement over the current state of things.