Today we've released a small update called 'Bootcamp.' Bootcamp aims to create more welcoming learning environments for new Natural Selection 2 players. It does this by allowing servers to restrict their games to new players only, while allowing more experienced players to join as spectators.

When new players join NS2, it is very likely that their first games will be played with very experienced teammates and opponents. Because NS2's skill curve is so steep, that means a new player might not have the opportunity to get a single kill for several games. We think this might be deterring new players from continuing to play for long after their initial purchase.

If a new players have the opportunity to learn with people of similar skill, it is possible they will enjoy NS2 more and be more likely to play more.

To help new players learn in Bootcamp servers, bots will automatically fill empty slots. These bots have been significantly upgraded from the bots you have seen in NS2 in the past. Most importantly, they can do a passable job at acting as Commanders. New players can jump in and out of the Commander role, and bots will fill in the gaps.

Bootcamp approximates 'new players' as any player with a Hive level below three. If a player has such a level , they can join Bootcamp servers. After completing the tutorial, or after reaching Hive level 1, they may also join normal servers, but cannot command until reaching Hive level 2. Players with a Hive rank of higher than two can still join Bootcamp servers, but only as a spectator.

The Hive rank system is not perfect: Not everyone with a Hive level below two is a new player. But we think it will be a fairly good approximation.

The Play-Now button will tend to favour Bootcamp servers when searching for games for a new player. As a player's Hive level increases, the Play-Now button will favour servers with more experienced players.

Please let us know what you think about this update. We're especially keen to hear from new players, about their first few hours in NS2 went down. We're excited to hear suggestions from experienced players about how new players can be introduced to NS2.

ːwelderːːmacːːalienlogoː

Today we've released a small update called 'Bootcamp.' Bootcamp aims to create more welcoming learning environments for new Natural Selection 2 players. It does this by allowing servers to restrict their games to new players only, while allowing more experienced players to join as spectators.

When new players join NS2, it is very likely that their first games will be played with very experienced teammates and opponents. Because NS2's skill curve is so steep, that means a new player might not have the opportunity to get a single kill for several games. We think this might be deterring new players from continuing to play for long after their initial purchase.

If a new players have the opportunity to learn with people of similar skill, it is possible they will enjoy NS2 more and be more likely to play more.

To help new players learn in Bootcamp servers, bots will automatically fill empty slots. These bots have been significantly upgraded from the bots you have seen in NS2 in the past. Most importantly, they can do a passable job at acting as Commanders. New players can jump in and out of the Commander role, and bots will fill in the gaps.

Bootcamp approximates 'new players' as any player with a Hive level below three. If a player has such a level , they can join Bootcamp servers. After completing the tutorial, or after reaching Hive level 1, they may also join normal servers, but cannot command until reaching Hive level 2. Players with a Hive rank of higher than two can still join Bootcamp servers, but only as a spectator.

The Hive rank system is not perfect: Not everyone with a Hive level below two is a new player. But we think it will be a fairly good approximation.

The Play-Now button will tend to favour Bootcamp servers when searching for games for a new player. As a player's Hive level increases, the Play-Now button will favour servers with more experienced players.

Please let us know what you think about this update. We're especially keen to hear from new players, about their first few hours in NS2 went down. We're excited to hear suggestions from experienced players about how new players can be introduced to NS2.

:welder::mac::alienlogo:

Hit targets harder, and join games faster. The Aim to Please update has been released! This update includes great new hit-detection, better play-now options, and a host of other improvements to Natural Selection 2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfa5hmTWDNs

Find out more on the Aim to Please update page and find a full change-log on the Natural Selection 2 blog!

Hit targets harder, and join games faster. The Aim to Please update has been released! This update includes great new hit-detection, better play-now options, and a host of other improvements to Natural Selection 2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfa5hmTWDNs

Find out more on the Aim to Please update page and find a full change-log on the Natural Selection 2 blog!

Hi everyone.

One of the things we're actively trying to improve is the way we communicate with the community. Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for you to reach us and each other.

As well as continuing to use Trello, we've started up a new Trello Board for our activities to allow you to follow our development progress. We will continue to use the UWE forum and the UWE development blog to post announcements and interact, but we think there is now a new faster, more fluid way we can communicate in the future.

Discord is a relatively new chat & voice service. It's a combination of Slack, Skype & Teamspeak all in one. We've been testing if for a few months as Subnautica use it for playtesting, and now we think it's reach the stage where we can open up the new official Natural Selection 2 Discord server to everyone.

If you want to have a direct chat with us or other members of the community, join up at https://discord.gg/0TKQwZWu7JDk5Lm8 - don't forget to claim your account. There are great Desktop & Mobile apps available if you don't want to use a web browser tab. It's all free.

We recently started a new NS2 feedback forum. This feedback forum will help us to gather your ideas and bug reports.

So far we received 64 ideas and 6 bug reports! We would never thought about some of those ideas and are very thankful that you decided to share them with us.

At the moment we are looking into implementing 9 of the most popular ideas while we already work on one idea. Of the 6 reported bugs 1 was fixed, 4 were known internally and 1 was added to our bug tracker.

We hope that these new communication channels allow more people to get involved in Natural Selection 2 development. Thanks!

Hi everyone.

One of the things we're actively trying to improve is the way we communicate with the community. Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for you to reach us and each other.

As well as continuing to use Trello, we've started up a new Trello Board for our activities to allow you to follow our development progress. We will continue to use the UWE forum and the UWE development blog to post announcements and interact, but we think there is now a new faster, more fluid way we can communicate in the future.

Discord is a relatively new chat & voice service. It's a combination of Slack, Skype & Teamspeak all in one. We've been testing if for a few months as Subnautica use it for playtesting, and now we think it's reach the stage where we can open up the new official Natural Selection 2 Discord server to everyone.

If you want to have a direct chat with us or other members of the community, join up at https://discord.gg/0TKQwZWu7JDk5Lm8 - don't forget to claim your account. There are great Desktop & Mobile apps available if you don't want to use a web browser tab. It's all free.

We recently started a new NS2 feedback forum. This feedback forum will help us to gather your ideas and bug reports.

So far we received 64 ideas and 6 bug reports! We would never thought about some of those ideas and are very thankful that you decided to share them with us.

At the moment we are looking into implementing 9 of the most popular ideas while we already work on one idea. Of the 6 reported bugs 1 was fixed, 4 were known internally and 1 was added to our bug tracker.

We hope that these new communication channels allow more people to get involved in Natural Selection 2 development. Thanks!

Here's a cool little feature for all the clever modders and mappers out there: The Trim Tool. This tool allows you to create complex map details, fast. Trevor has put together a great video that explains what it does, and how it works:

https://youtu.be/qIxRkvdYQ6w

Read more about the Trim Tool, and Trevor's other ideas for future Spark features, on the NS2 blog.

This tiny little update has been produced by a brand new NS2 'build' system, called Sky Marshal. There's a small chance it will not work properly. If we have broken the game, please Tweet at us or make a fuss on the forums. We can and will revert the update very quickly if something has gone wrong.

Here's a cool little feature for all the clever modders and mappers out there: The Trim Tool. This tool allows you to create complex map details, fast. Trevor has put together a great video that explains what it does, and how it works:

https://youtu.be/qIxRkvdYQ6w

Read more about the Trim Tool, and Trevor's other ideas for future Spark features, on the NS2 blog.

This tiny little update has been produced by a brand new NS2 'build' system, called Sky Marshal. There's a small chance it will not work properly. If we have broken the game, please Tweet at us or make a fuss on the forums. We can and will revert the update very quickly if something has gone wrong.

One of the biggest complaints we read in the forums and steam reviews has always been “why are my load times so long?”. For some it was infuriating to load the game and wait 4+ minutes to load a level, especially when staring at a loading-screen. It can sometimes feel like an eternity. Build 276 is a great leap forward towards resolving this issue.

By taking precompiled data and shipping it with the build, it allows your machine to not have to work through each of the individual files like before and so saves time getting you into the game. Prior to Build 276, a fresh install of NS2 could take over 4.5min or longer to load into a map for the very first time on traditional HDDs. This is now reduced significantly to around 2.5min. While this is still not perfect, it makes huge strides towards solving the issue for good. Where you will notice the most change is in load time after the initial loading process. On average all traditional HDDs should see a map load time of around 46sec, down from 1.5min or more, with SSDs being even faster again. Remember that everyone’s experience may be different, but you will notice a decrease in load times none the less.

Despite it’s small download footprint there is a lot more under the hood of this patch included in the changelog below, and there is still more to come! With the anniversary of Natural Selection fast approaching, we will be releasing one more patch to get into the spirit of the season and introduce some minor balance tweaks and more updates/fixes to our editor tools!

– Dillon (“WasabiOne”)

See the full update changelog on the Natural Selection 2 blog.

One of the biggest complaints we read in the forums and steam reviews has always been “why are my load times so long?”. For some it was infuriating to load the game and wait 4+ minutes to load a level, especially when staring at a loading-screen. It can sometimes feel like an eternity. Build 276 is a great leap forward towards resolving this issue.

By taking precompiled data and shipping it with the build, it allows your machine to not have to work through each of the individual files like before and so saves time getting you into the game. Prior to Build 276, a fresh install of NS2 could take over 4.5min or longer to load into a map for the very first time on traditional HDDs. This is now reduced significantly to around 2.5min. While this is still not perfect, it makes huge strides towards solving the issue for good. Where you will notice the most change is in load time after the initial loading process. On average all traditional HDDs should see a map load time of around 46sec, down from 1.5min or more, with SSDs being even faster again. Remember that everyone’s experience may be different, but you will notice a decrease in load times none the less.

Despite it’s small download footprint there is a lot more under the hood of this patch included in the changelog below, and there is still more to come! With the anniversary of Natural Selection fast approaching, we will be releasing one more patch to get into the spirit of the season and introduce some minor balance tweaks and more updates/fixes to our editor tools!

– Dillon (“WasabiOne”)

See the full update changelog on the Natural Selection 2 blog.