Apr 15, 2016
Natural Selection 2 - Hugh


Natural Selection 2 has been receiving an update almost every single week. But you would not know it from looking at out Steam news, because we have been forgetting to post it (Sorry...)! Here is a summary of what's changed in the last four updates, since we last posted to Steam.

Update 294 - April 12th

Tweaks / Improvements

  • Kick reasons are now communicated to the client via the popup in the main menu
  • The “NS2” gamemode tag is now selected by default at the server browser instead of the “All” tab
  • Bots now directly join their team instead of waiting the Ready Room

Medpack Gameplay

  • Decreased direct heal from 50 health points to 25
  • Added a regeneration effect healing 25 health points per second:
  • Each medpack adds 1 sec regeneration
  • Multiple medpacks stack the regeneration time wise until the maximum health is reached
  • The health value regeneration will reach is shown green health bar
  • Lowered the pickup cool down from 0.56 seconds to 0.45

Fixes

  • Fixed that sometimes a commander bot joined a team in rookie only even though the team already has a human commander.

Server

  • Server can now indicate a kick reason when calling Server.DisconnectClient



Update 293 - April 4th

Tweaks / Improvements
  • Exosuits have had a Quality of Life pass
    • While deploying, your view is no longer locked and you are frozen for less time to better match the animations
    • You can eject instantly, and it will throw you more in the direction you are looking. You can even use it to get to some vents!
    • Subnautica has floodlights, why not NS2? The exo’s flashlight stays on after ejecting, turning it into a very expensive floodlight
    • Parasite state of the exo is tracked separately from a marine, and fixed inconsistencies with this (Thanks Dragon!)
    • Parasite status is now shown on the exo screen next to the armor display
    • You can no longer steal someone’s Exo if they buy a Jetpack until after 30 seconds has passed
    • You can now thrust in any direction
    • If you press the thrust button before the fuel bar is full, as long as you continue to hold it it will thrust when able (similar to how jump-queueing works as a Skulk)
  • Primed power nodes will now unlock if a Command Chair is in the room
  • Changed a few achievements slightly:
    • Lowered the required amount of the "Destroy X Resource Towers" achievements by 5 as it's too unlikely to destroy 15 of them in a single round
    • Constructing 33 % of a structure will count now as having build that structure to avoid race conditions against other team members
    • You also defend a Resource tower now by killing an enemy close to it instead of having to stand close to it yourself
Fixes
  • Fixed Server Browser not sorting by “Favorites” by default
  • Fixed references to Exosuits as Exoskeletons in some of the hint text and commander UI



Update 292 - March 29th

Tweaks / Improvements
  • Added a bunch of new collectible items you can earn by playing the game or by trading with others. See if you can get all 15!
Fixes
  • Fixed respawning at random view angles. Your camera view after spawning will now match where you were looking while respawning
  • Fixed that constructing only rewarded 1 instead of 5 score points
  • Fixed that bots counted for the max player check causing players to be unable to join a server

SDK

  • All C-style code comments have been refactored to Lua-style (this allows you to use any editor which supports Lua to work with the ns2 code base)
  • Added ability to assign a mod type and a compatibility tag to your mods in Launchpad, while will be displayed in the Workshop and can be used to filter certain mod types.
    • Please update your old mods with tags, especially crosshairs, hitsounds, and alien vision ones!

Want even more? You can also read the Update 291 notes on the Unknown Worlds blog (Steam news won't let me post it all at once...):

Update 291 - March 17th
Apr 15, 2016
Natural Selection 2 - Hugh


Natural Selection 2 has been receiving an update almost every single week. But you would not know it from looking at out Steam news, because we have been forgetting to post it (Sorry...)! Here is a summary of what's changed in the last four updates, since we last posted to Steam.

Update 294 - April 12th

Tweaks / Improvements

  • Kick reasons are now communicated to the client via the popup in the main menu
  • The “NS2” gamemode tag is now selected by default at the server browser instead of the “All” tab
  • Bots now directly join their team instead of waiting the Ready Room

Medpack Gameplay

  • Decreased direct heal from 50 health points to 25
  • Added a regeneration effect healing 25 health points per second:
  • Each medpack adds 1 sec regeneration
  • Multiple medpacks stack the regeneration time wise until the maximum health is reached
  • The health value regeneration will reach is shown green health bar
  • Lowered the pickup cool down from 0.56 seconds to 0.45

Fixes

  • Fixed that sometimes a commander bot joined a team in rookie only even though the team already has a human commander.

Server

  • Server can now indicate a kick reason when calling Server.DisconnectClient



Update 293 - April 4th

Tweaks / Improvements
  • Exosuits have had a Quality of Life pass
    • While deploying, your view is no longer locked and you are frozen for less time to better match the animations
    • You can eject instantly, and it will throw you more in the direction you are looking. You can even use it to get to some vents!
    • Subnautica has floodlights, why not NS2? The exo’s flashlight stays on after ejecting, turning it into a very expensive floodlight
    • Parasite state of the exo is tracked separately from a marine, and fixed inconsistencies with this (Thanks Dragon!)
    • Parasite status is now shown on the exo screen next to the armor display
    • You can no longer steal someone’s Exo if they buy a Jetpack until after 30 seconds has passed
    • You can now thrust in any direction
    • If you press the thrust button before the fuel bar is full, as long as you continue to hold it it will thrust when able (similar to how jump-queueing works as a Skulk)
  • Primed power nodes will now unlock if a Command Chair is in the room
  • Changed a few achievements slightly:
    • Lowered the required amount of the "Destroy X Resource Towers" achievements by 5 as it's too unlikely to destroy 15 of them in a single round
    • Constructing 33 % of a structure will count now as having build that structure to avoid race conditions against other team members
    • You also defend a Resource tower now by killing an enemy close to it instead of having to stand close to it yourself
Fixes
  • Fixed Server Browser not sorting by “Favorites” by default
  • Fixed references to Exosuits as Exoskeletons in some of the hint text and commander UI



Update 292 - March 29th

Tweaks / Improvements
  • Added a bunch of new collectible items you can earn by playing the game or by trading with others. See if you can get all 15!
Fixes
  • Fixed respawning at random view angles. Your camera view after spawning will now match where you were looking while respawning
  • Fixed that constructing only rewarded 1 instead of 5 score points
  • Fixed that bots counted for the max player check causing players to be unable to join a server

SDK

  • All C-style code comments have been refactored to Lua-style (this allows you to use any editor which supports Lua to work with the ns2 code base)
  • Added ability to assign a mod type and a compatibility tag to your mods in Launchpad, while will be displayed in the Workshop and can be used to filter certain mod types.
    • Please update your old mods with tags, especially crosshairs, hitsounds, and alien vision ones!

Want even more? You can also read the Update 291 notes on the Unknown Worlds blog (Steam news won't let me post it all at once...):

Update 291 - March 17th
Mar 10, 2016
Natural Selection 2 - UWE.Strayan (NS2HD)


Hi everyone! A new Natural Selection 2 update has been released on Steam. This is a small update, and contains some tweaks to the tutorial and some great community contributed bug fixes.

Before I get to the changelog, this is an opportune moment to share some other good news. For the past three months, UWE has been running an experimental project with a paid, in-house NS2 development team.

Last week Amanda, Brock, Dillon, Scott, Sebastian, Skyler and Trevor gathered and presented the results of their efforts. Those results were very positive. UWE has decided to proceed with an extension of the project for another three months.

Back on topic, here's what changed in Update 290:

Update 290 Changelog

Tweaks / Improvements

Re-recorded all Tutorial voice-overs
Added Voice-over mute option in Tutorial

Fixes

Fixed Onos and Skulk albino view-model showing incorrect texture (Thanks Samusdroid!)
Fixed issue with Death Triggers that caused them to kill entities not in the triggers!!!

SDK

Fixed Overview including special groups (Seasonals) in tga file (Thanks Salads!)
Added support for LaunchPad to load specific project on start: -o [path to mod.settings] (Thanks Salads!)

Maps

Mix-master Zavaro is at it again! Thanks Zavaro for contributing all these fixes and improvements!

Biodome
Fixed an issue where OcclusionGeometry clipped through world in Platform
Fixed an issue where OcclusionGeometry where detail props would disappear in Bioreactors
Fixed an issue where OcclusionGeometry clipped through world in Filtration
Fixed an issue with Atmospheric and Condensers not extending their locations to a conjoined room

Derelict
Fixed hole in Atmospheric Seeding allowing players to see outside the map
Fixed hole in floor of Turbine allowing players to see outside the map
Fixed face jutting out of floor in TurbineFixed OcclusionGeometry in Turbine from showing on minimap

Descent
Duplicated and rotated proximity field textures to create cohesion in visual styles between maps

Docking
Updated Reflection Probes

Summit
Fixed CommanderBuild group in Crossroads to better accurately reflect floor and walls
Fixed CommanderNoBuild in Crevice

Tram
Fixed CollisionGeometry on railing in Ore Processing to better accurately reflect prop locations
Added CollisionGeometry to Ore Processing vent to keep players from getting stuck
Fixed holes in Hub allowing players to see into North Tunnels through the walls

Veil
Fixed Y-Junction location name on minimap to intended Y Junction name
Added OcclusionGeometry in Cargo to block Gorge Tunnels from being visible
Fixed floating crates and other props in Cargo
Mar 10, 2016
Natural Selection 2 - Hugh


Hi everyone! A new Natural Selection 2 update has been released on Steam. This is a small update, and contains some tweaks to the tutorial and some great community contributed bug fixes.

Before I get to the changelog, this is an opportune moment to share some other good news. For the past three months, UWE has been running an experimental project with a paid, in-house NS2 development team.

Last week Amanda, Brock, Dillon, Scott, Sebastian, Skyler and Trevor gathered and presented the results of their efforts. Those results were very positive. UWE has decided to proceed with an extension of the project for another three months.

Back on topic, here's what changed in Update 290:

Update 290 Changelog

Tweaks / Improvements

Re-recorded all Tutorial voice-overs
Added Voice-over mute option in Tutorial

Fixes

Fixed Onos and Skulk albino view-model showing incorrect texture (Thanks Samusdroid!)
Fixed issue with Death Triggers that caused them to kill entities not in the triggers!!!

SDK

Fixed Overview including special groups (Seasonals) in tga file (Thanks Salads!)
Added support for LaunchPad to load specific project on start: -o [path to mod.settings] (Thanks Salads!)

Maps

Mix-master Zavaro is at it again! Thanks Zavaro for contributing all these fixes and improvements!

Biodome
Fixed an issue where OcclusionGeometry clipped through world in Platform
Fixed an issue where OcclusionGeometry where detail props would disappear in Bioreactors
Fixed an issue where OcclusionGeometry clipped through world in Filtration
Fixed an issue with Atmospheric and Condensers not extending their locations to a conjoined room

Derelict
Fixed hole in Atmospheric Seeding allowing players to see outside the map
Fixed hole in floor of Turbine allowing players to see outside the map
Fixed face jutting out of floor in TurbineFixed OcclusionGeometry in Turbine from showing on minimap

Descent
Duplicated and rotated proximity field textures to create cohesion in visual styles between maps

Docking
Updated Reflection Probes

Summit
Fixed CommanderBuild group in Crossroads to better accurately reflect floor and walls
Fixed CommanderNoBuild in Crevice

Tram
Fixed CollisionGeometry on railing in Ore Processing to better accurately reflect prop locations
Added CollisionGeometry to Ore Processing vent to keep players from getting stuck
Fixed holes in Hub allowing players to see into North Tunnels through the walls

Veil
Fixed Y-Junction location name on minimap to intended Y Junction name
Added OcclusionGeometry in Cargo to block Gorge Tunnels from being visible
Fixed floating crates and other props in Cargo
Mar 3, 2016
Natural Selection 2 - WasabiOne


Hi everyone!

It seems like only yesterday that we released update 288, wait a minute?!? It was :) (almost). Hot off the heels of one update comes yet another. This time there is even more under the hood adjustments and tools for us to make the deployment of new features easier. The team has been discussing and debating many suggestions by the community on ways to adjust lifeforms and new player traps. We will continue to discuss and evaluate these over the next couple weeks. For now there are some minor adjustments you will see listed in the changelog, plus a handful of fixes and map repairs. See you all on the servers!

CHANGELOG

Tweaks / Improvements
Added the ability for UWE to apply hotfixes to the main menu without releasing a full steam patch
Added the ability to spotlight mods in the main menu
Removed excessive padding from the rookie-nag popup and removed the “Remind Me Later” option
Discord button will now drop people in #general, to get them talking
Swapped Gorge and Skulk positions in the evolve menu so new players are less likely to think the Gorge is “better”
Added quick-link to Community Market in Customize screen
Revamped the scoring numbers:
Each entity gives now about half of its resource costs as points
Primary game objectives like Command-, Resource Structure and Power Nodes give a bonus of 10 points
Secondary game objectives like Gorge Tunnels, Observatories, Phase Gates, Infantry Portal and Alien Upgrade Structures give a bonus of 5 points.
Player give a bonus of half the points they have collected in their current life.

Fixes
Play Now window now only reports having found servers that it will actually try to join
Sped up initial welder animation after purchasing at an armory
Welder will no longer play its initial animation if you picked it up off the ground
Fixed initial welder animation playing multiple times if you switched weapons before it finished
Reaper Gorge now works with the correct item (it was unlocking with the Reaper Skulk before)

Maps
Awesome QoL changes, brought to you by Zavaro (send him thank you cookies)!

ns2_docking
Retooled CollisionGeometry in Courtyard to better accurately portray props

ns2_veil
Corrected minimap names from appearing in less than ideal locations
Changed collidable wires in Topographical to non-collidable for consistency
Fixed an issue with Skylights location bleeding into Command
Removed tiny duplicated orphaned Cargo forcefield face
Added new shader-based proximity material to Cargo forcefield, making it more forcefield-y. Shiny

ns2_descent
Added new shader-based proximity material to Shuttle Bay forcefield, making it more forcefield-y. Also shiny
Added prop lights to better differentiate room from external area beyond forcefield

ns2_tram
Fixed missing faces in Ore Processing allowing players to see through the floor

ns2_derelict
Fixed a few missing faces in Turbines from previous build (Whoops!)
Mar 3, 2016
Natural Selection 2 - WasabiOne


Hi everyone!

It seems like only yesterday that we released update 288, wait a minute?!? It was :) (almost). Hot off the heels of one update comes yet another. This time there is even more under the hood adjustments and tools for us to make the deployment of new features easier. The team has been discussing and debating many suggestions by the community on ways to adjust lifeforms and new player traps. We will continue to discuss and evaluate these over the next couple weeks. For now there are some minor adjustments you will see listed in the changelog, plus a handful of fixes and map repairs. See you all on the servers!

CHANGELOG

Tweaks / Improvements
Added the ability for UWE to apply hotfixes to the main menu without releasing a full steam patch
Added the ability to spotlight mods in the main menu
Removed excessive padding from the rookie-nag popup and removed the “Remind Me Later” option
Discord button will now drop people in #general, to get them talking
Swapped Gorge and Skulk positions in the evolve menu so new players are less likely to think the Gorge is “better”
Added quick-link to Community Market in Customize screen
Revamped the scoring numbers:
Each entity gives now about half of its resource costs as points
Primary game objectives like Command-, Resource Structure and Power Nodes give a bonus of 10 points
Secondary game objectives like Gorge Tunnels, Observatories, Phase Gates, Infantry Portal and Alien Upgrade Structures give a bonus of 5 points.
Player give a bonus of half the points they have collected in their current life.

Fixes
Play Now window now only reports having found servers that it will actually try to join
Sped up initial welder animation after purchasing at an armory
Welder will no longer play its initial animation if you picked it up off the ground
Fixed initial welder animation playing multiple times if you switched weapons before it finished
Reaper Gorge now works with the correct item (it was unlocking with the Reaper Skulk before)

Maps
Awesome QoL changes, brought to you by Zavaro (send him thank you cookies)!

ns2_docking
Retooled CollisionGeometry in Courtyard to better accurately portray props

ns2_veil
Corrected minimap names from appearing in less than ideal locations
Changed collidable wires in Topographical to non-collidable for consistency
Fixed an issue with Skylights location bleeding into Command
Removed tiny duplicated orphaned Cargo forcefield face
Added new shader-based proximity material to Cargo forcefield, making it more forcefield-y. Shiny

ns2_descent
Added new shader-based proximity material to Shuttle Bay forcefield, making it more forcefield-y. Also shiny
Added prop lights to better differentiate room from external area beyond forcefield

ns2_tram
Fixed missing faces in Ore Processing allowing players to see through the floor

ns2_derelict
Fixed a few missing faces in Turbines from previous build (Whoops!)
Mar 1, 2016
Natural Selection 2 - UWE.Strayan (NS2HD)


I will let the changelog speak for itself on this gigantic patch 😉 As you can see this is primarily a maintenance patch, but there is more to come on Thursday. Stay Tuned!

CHANGELOG

Tweaks / Improvements

Added force fields to the tutorial so players can’t wander off and get lost

Fixes

Building with E while holding the welder will no longer cause you to lose your last weapon switch history
Customization options should no longer be reset when switching between servers
Swipe sound will not play on the main menu when it’s not meant to
Integrated fixes for the “Tis But a Scratch” and “Strategic Thinking” achievements
Mar 1, 2016
Natural Selection 2 - WasabiOne


I will let the changelog speak for itself on this gigantic patch 😉 As you can see this is primarily a maintenance patch, but there is more to come on Thursday. Stay Tuned!

CHANGELOG

Tweaks / Improvements

Added force fields to the tutorial so players can’t wander off and get lost

Fixes

Building with E while holding the welder will no longer cause you to lose your last weapon switch history
Customization options should no longer be reset when switching between servers
Swipe sound will not play on the main menu when it’s not meant to
Integrated fixes for the “Tis But a Scratch” and “Strategic Thinking” achievements
Natural Selection 2 - WasabiOne


Hi everyone!

Continuing our theme of the week, Patch 287 adds some additional support to help new players learn about the game before joining the ranks. We are now able to guide new players through an on-screen checklist, to help them learn all the basics of the game. If they complete these tasks they are rewarded a new shoulder patch (‘Eat your Greens’). The other benefit in having this system hooked up is that we now have Steam Achievements for the rest of the players out there! So prepare yourself and see how many achievements you can collect, we will continue to add more over time and are open to suggestions on fun/harder ones to achieve too.

Next up we are working to implement some of the ideas and requests from the ‘Simplifying NS2 thread’ and document. Our continued efforts with the help of the community’s feedback should help both retain more players and allow current players to effect change. That’s a big positive for everyone. Check out the changelog below and stay tuned for what comes next!

CHANGELOG

Tweaks / Improvements

Added 48 new Achievements for you to collect
Added 5 tasks specially for new players and a new shoulder patch as reward for completing them (shown on the main menu)
Tip videos will no longer play while connected to a dedicated server, so new players can focus on the game. They are still accessible from the Training menu
Changed Trello button on main menu to link to our NS2 Discord chatroom instead (come say Hi!)
Use an achievement to track if the tutorial was completed instead of a config option.
Tutorial improvements are now for everyone (no more A/B comparison)
Added more granular analytics to the Tutorial, to find out where people are getting stuck
If you have a welder, you will build with the welder instead of the build-tool.

Fixes

Fixed issue with repairing destroyed power nodes where it would not bring out your build tool or welder
Fixed Linux clients getting a black screen on startup due to awesomium being less than awesome
Restored the old behavior of the rookie only server browser filter: It shows rookie only servers when ticked otherwise not.
The annotate command has been fixed (Thanks Salads!)

SDK / Editor

Added a Server.IsDedicated() script function to distinguish between local hosted (listen servers) and remote hosted (dedicated servers) from lua script
Fixed crash in Editor that could occur with the Trim Tool.

Maps
ns2_docking

Fixed structures being un-powered in Terminal if placed in the upper-left corner of the room.

ns2_derelict

Fixed CommanderInvisible faces, cinematics, and props throughout the map
Fixed some odd faces clipping through areas where they shouldn’t
Fixed several holes in south-western portion of the map
Fixed some excluded OcclusionGeometry faces
Made vents more visible (and connected) on the map overlay by adding several missing props and faces to CommanderInvisibleVents
Fixed an issue causing Seasonal (and secret room) props to be visible on map overlay
Added addition line of sight block in the form of derelict_vines_2b in Turbines for balance
Decreased size of central tree in Turbines for sanity and balance
Pipe props moved in Alley for blocking line of sight for balance
Natural Selection 2 - WasabiOne


Hi everyone!

Continuing our theme of the week, Patch 287 adds some additional support to help new players learn about the game before joining the ranks. We are now able to guide new players through an on-screen checklist, to help them learn all the basics of the game. If they complete these tasks they are rewarded a new shoulder patch (‘Eat your Greens’). The other benefit in having this system hooked up is that we now have Steam Achievements for the rest of the players out there! So prepare yourself and see how many achievements you can collect, we will continue to add more over time and are open to suggestions on fun/harder ones to achieve too.

Next up we are working to implement some of the ideas and requests from the ‘Simplifying NS2 thread’ and document. Our continued efforts with the help of the community’s feedback should help both retain more players and allow current players to effect change. That’s a big positive for everyone. Check out the changelog below and stay tuned for what comes next!

CHANGELOG

Tweaks / Improvements

Added 48 new Achievements for you to collect
Added 5 tasks specially for new players and a new shoulder patch as reward for completing them (shown on the main menu)
Tip videos will no longer play while connected to a dedicated server, so new players can focus on the game. They are still accessible from the Training menu
Changed Trello button on main menu to link to our NS2 Discord chatroom instead (come say Hi!)
Use an achievement to track if the tutorial was completed instead of a config option.
Tutorial improvements are now for everyone (no more A/B comparison)
Added more granular analytics to the Tutorial, to find out where people are getting stuck
If you have a welder, you will build with the welder instead of the build-tool.

Fixes

Fixed issue with repairing destroyed power nodes where it would not bring out your build tool or welder
Fixed Linux clients getting a black screen on startup due to awesomium being less than awesome
Restored the old behavior of the rookie only server browser filter: It shows rookie only servers when ticked otherwise not.
The annotate command has been fixed (Thanks Salads!)

SDK / Editor

Added a Server.IsDedicated() script function to distinguish between local hosted (listen servers) and remote hosted (dedicated servers) from lua script
Fixed crash in Editor that could occur with the Trim Tool.

Maps
ns2_docking

Fixed structures being un-powered in Terminal if placed in the upper-left corner of the room.

ns2_derelict

Fixed CommanderInvisible faces, cinematics, and props throughout the map
Fixed some odd faces clipping through areas where they shouldn’t
Fixed several holes in south-western portion of the map
Fixed some excluded OcclusionGeometry faces
Made vents more visible (and connected) on the map overlay by adding several missing props and faces to CommanderInvisibleVents
Fixed an issue causing Seasonal (and secret room) props to be visible on map overlay
Added addition line of sight block in the form of derelict_vines_2b in Turbines for balance
Decreased size of central tree in Turbines for sanity and balance
Pipe props moved in Alley for blocking line of sight for balance
...