Natural Selection 2 News Update - NS2 Build 163 released

Plasma

Shame about the sound cutoff bug - how is this sort of thing missed in testing (??)

Is there a hotfix we can do to delete the corrupted sound file?

schkorpio

<!--quoteo(post=1833180:date=Feb 18 2011, 03:56 PM:name=Squeal_Like_A_Pig)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Squeal_Like_A_Pig @ Feb 18 2011, 03:56 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1833180"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Yes, both teams are not meant to be able to drop a hive/cc in the others starting base. However, the expansions are meant to be built in by the enemy team. The eggs not spawning at the Marine Expansion techpoint on Tram is a bug that we thought had been fixed. Will have to look into that again.

Yes, power packs have been added into the game, but not enabled and tested properly for gameplay yet.

Charlie and I actually discussed something pretty close to that idea during a DI brainstorming session and I believe it has been added to the list for power pack features.

--Cory<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->


i'd much prefer the idea that grenades and flamethrower does the DI damage - that way you need team work - one person to do the powernode, one to shoot the flamethrower - commander shouldn't be able to build on DI at all, even powernodes- otherwise whats the point of having DI if it's so easily overcome

Miidgi

I'm not sure how I feel about the give damage indicator. Right now, I suppose it'd be helpful because sometimes lag issues cause hits that shouldve definitely connected to fail to register, but in the future when that gets smoothed, I think maybe the damage indicator should be left to CoD and Battlefield. It's a little too "let me hold your hand" for my taste. Just my 2 cents, though. Not a big deal.

wakeboarder

I had a strange issue as com I jumpped out of the chair with a flamethrower to burn aliens on power node and the flamethrower was out in front of me? I could see the entire gun including the butt. And it did not work resulting in a alien win not good. Not sure if anyone else has had this but it was a major issue.

Price

To bad i have to say it but the wallclimb bug is still in. (Video:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcfTXvMgcPI)" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcfTXvMgcPI)</a>

The buymenu is the same? It is, i guess its changed?

The nightvision is very nice.
The infestation sound is very loud

All the texts are a bit unsharp, hmm something change?

Karba

<!--quoteo(post=1833201:date=Feb 18 2011, 07:17 AM:name=PersianImm0rtal)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (PersianImm0rtal @ Feb 18 2011, 07:17 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1833201"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I still dont get how people enjoy playing this. 99% of the time all servers lag to the point that its not playable.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

+1, sounds cut off and looping, massive lag and poor fps = unplayable. On the other hand, DI is cool but the prototype showed 5 years ago looked better.

Acolyte

Skulk bites and fade swipes now register quite good compared to few weeks ago. Flamers still obstruct way too much to be able to see anything. Games became very slow because of the slower resource income, and my oh my, how skulks are supposed to kill a marine running backwards and sideways at approximately 90% of skulk' speed? This needs to be addressed, and, if necessary, reverted back to NS1 speeds or thereabouts.

zone_Blackwolf

is it true, that now as a gorge u can't build any attacking chambers anywhere without DI ?

peregrinus

Resource generation is way too slow!

As a commander it is very boring setting each individual patch of infestation. Please make it just how it was in the old video :( <b>That's a big reason why I pre ordered the special edition to one day play the game with<i> that</i> infestation. </b>

Whips had problems following my way points and they glitch through the geometry then fall off the map :/

Alien vision is fine but lowers my fps so i wouldnt use it in combat.

Don't notice any changes in overall performance.

SparkTR

Though the sound is broken, the gameplay is choppy and there are many balance issues, this is probably the first time I've played something that resembled UW's vision for NS2. The infestation really creates the sense of progression and regression in matches. There's still a long, long way to go before I'll become a regular in NS2 servers, but it's coming along.

schkorpio

please please change the powernode attacking light diming from a slow sleep inducing fade in/out to a more random violent lightening fluoro flicker. seriously the current slow fading of the light makes me sleepy.


also areas that have DI in them should have the lights to change to creepy teal/green and halloween orange.

aliasWarlord

One day i will tell my son: "There was a moment when NS2 started to be playable... and i was there"

This build seems a bit regressive to me but i trust in you guys! :D

NurEinMensch

<!--quoteo(post=1833119:date=Feb 18 2011, 04:41 AM:name=Kouji_San)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Kouji_San @ Feb 18 2011, 04:41 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1833119"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Making resource towers also a new source for infestation spreading would solve the slow expansion issue.

Perhaps have the Gorgy put down a patch first so the RT can be placed, after which it starts spreading infestation?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->


Excellent idea. Maybe not just RTs but some/all alien structures. Extends the gorge's role, boosts commander/gorge interaction, increases DI distribution and helps aliens claim the map faster.

Harimau

Personally I'd just rather that any node structure spread DI, and not require DI to place them. Of course this only means hives (tech node) and harvesters (res node). It makes sense though, as they are supported by the nodes which pump stuff into them and support them.

Triggerman

Everything before the DI comes into play has improved (I can hit stuff as alien, wallwalking works, alien viewmode is great), although once the aliens get their first RT, the game is basically already over on Tram due to overwhelming lag.

So... yeah. I'll probably go solo-play on this patch as well and try to help out and report whatever bugs I find, but playing online I aint. Maybe give Rockdown a shot though as it may work better performance-wise.
And this first implementation of how the DI is spread needs to be more accessible, right now it's quite hard and takes a lot of effort to simply grab a second resourcetower.


Some good that came with this patch, overshadowed by the bad I'm afraid, but keep it up! First implementation of the DI anyway, not supposed to be perfect.

BoBiNoU

So marines would require a power node to have RTs working but Aliens wouldnt need DI to do so ?
That sounds a bit imbalanced.
I guess a gorge should be dedicated to place DI close to a RT node and then the alien comm would drop the RT and connect the DI.

Another bug that I forgot : getting stuck when getting out of the com chair

Chris0132

<!--quoteo(post=1833241:date=Feb 18 2011, 01:01 PM:name=NurEinMensch)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (NurEinMensch @ Feb 18 2011, 01:01 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1833241"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Excellent idea. Maybe not just RTs but some/all alien structures. Extends the gorge's role, boosts commander/gorge interaction, increases DI distribution and helps aliens claim the map faster.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

And entirely breaks the game if you don't have a cooperative gorge doing nothing but follow your orders.

Price

<!--quoteo(post=1833232:date=Feb 18 2011, 12:56 PM:name=zone_Blackwolf)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (zone_Blackwolf @ Feb 18 2011, 12:56 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1833232"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->is it true, that now as a gorge u can't build any attacking chambers anywhere without DI ?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
yes but its not a problem, the alien commander can spam infestation all over the map...and the DI sound is very loud and annoying, but its better then the spamming arround i guess.
And yeah, the DI on Source engine looks way better but this here is a DI in a Game, the other DI in Source engine was just one little room.

Magneto

<!--quoteo(post=1833201:date=Feb 18 2011, 08:17 AM:name=PersianImm0rtal)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (PersianImm0rtal @ Feb 18 2011, 08:17 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1833201"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I still dont get how people enjoy playing this. 99% of the time all servers lag to the point that its not playable.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--quoteo(post=1833239:date=Feb 18 2011, 12:42 PM:name=aliasWarlord)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (aliasWarlord @ Feb 18 2011, 12:42 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1833239"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->One day i will tell my son: "There was a moment when NS2 started to be playable... and i was there"

This build seems a bit regressive to me but i trust in you guys! :D<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Yeah, they should really focus on fixing performance issues in the next few patches, i don't think anyone expects it to run amazing on average hardware but its not really so much an fps issue, its the stuttering, even a fairly low fps can be playable if its stable.

I know most of the team are working on stuff thats unrelated to performance but the devs responsible for engine and server need to make performance a real priority now for at least a few patches, we have plenty of stuff to play with but not many find it fun to with all the lag and stuttering.

Paul-Hewson

Even if i had some fun through few games since its out, i think i'll give up the beta until 164 or further.

DI is a real big ######, haven't managed it on alien side, but on marines side you kill it (take a full clip..) and it repop very quick behind (alien com do it if i get it right). We have done a 2 or 3 hours game because aliens were poping DI all over the map, even in the marines base and hydras everywhere too. At the beginning it was working not too bad (no real lag) but it became more and more "unplayable".
The ressource thing isn't really a problem, it take times at the very beginning of the game but after you get 3 or 4 rt it goes well.

Marines still have win at the end (aliens never threatened marines base except with DI everywhere..), but the game wasn't so funny when DI was poped everywhere and it becames a little bit boring (doesn't NS2 should bring quicker game than NS1 ?)

That plus, third weapon view bug, sound bug, skulk bite that seems now a little bit too easy (i've played as alien too, the bite work from a little bit "too far" distance), alien walk bug on stairs.

I am not sure we are going the right way with this build. Maybe some mechanics need to be redone (DI, hydras, flamers and netcode for sure) before proceeding to add new things.

Zeno

i just played 163 and it's still unplayable. And i mean not only performance wise but the balance too. Marines are still untouchable. As a skulk you can't do ###### against a marine if he is not standing still. They just run into your main hive, kill the only RT and leave. Biting them doesn't work, lerks aren't there in this early stage of the game and thats it. That is how most games end. No res for the aliens. As soon as they get shottys its not even possible to get near them.
So for the sake of the gameplay, can we just remove the shotgun from the game for just the next 2 updates?

Runteh

There are big issues, but you are definitely playing a completely different game to me Zeno.

At the moment the issues with DI growth and spread mean that on Rockdown the Aliens dominate significantly, where as on Tram you can barely build a thing because it takes so long to infest power nodes.

I rarely play a game any more where by aliens win early game, as long as you have a reasonable commander who upgrades to shotguns early and has at least one sentry in the base for some light cover. Also it helps that the team does not go rambo and spread out too early.

Paul-Hewson

<!--quoteo(post=1833291:date=Feb 18 2011, 05:01 PM:name=Zeno)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Zeno @ Feb 18 2011, 05:01 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1833291"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->i just played 163 and it's still unplayable. And i mean not only performance wise but the balance too. Marines are still untouchable. As a skulk you can't do ###### against a marine if he is not standing still. They just run into your main hive, kill the only RT and leave. Biting them doesn't work, lerks aren't there in this early stage of the game and thats it. That is how most games end. No res for the aliens. As soon as they get shottys its not even possible to get near them.
So for the sake of the gameplay, can we just remove the shotgun from the game for just the next 2 updates?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Strange i think the opposite thing, skulk bite became a little bit easier. The main problem is the bite effectiveness range which has increased slightly too much, if there could be a middle between bite range in build 162 and 163, that would be fine i think. (test on buildings)

Maybe you got some lag on the game ?

The nights games i've done after updating to build 163 were really cool without lag at all and players not abusing hydra/turret/DI, it was fun.
Today it's not the same thing :/

Asraniel

yeah the game has issues, but its much better than 162. Performance really is much better. not saying it couldn't be better, it really could! but i really like the way the game goes.

and in the end, a beta is here for balancing, and a FPS/RTS hybrid surely isnt easy to balance!

Nazo

My expirence with 163 was pretty good, only things I didient like was.

Sound bugs (I know this has been said 90000 times)

And DI theres no limit to where you can put it, about 5 min's in a game the marine spawn was covered it

Dank McShwagger

Great patch! obviously performance is still a big issue but i love the prototype DI and alien vision, they really add to the atmosphere and feel of the game. im hoping that you intend on making DI grow on walls and ceilings as well. cant wait to see the remaining features added in the near future.

countbasie

-40 FPS average (35 when looking at hive) on empty server.
-25 FPS average on filled server.

-sound bug
-fade unplayable (i can't hit anything and got no orientation)
-skulk starts to feel better
-DI may become a good thing. But is it an option just to put it in fo visuals? I mean, it doesn't have to have a function.
-gorge DI-plates disappearing sucks. That means, that OCs have a lifetime of about 3 minutes - not cool.
-marine's weapons feel like if they don't hit anything (lag and visuals; hitting aliens looks like hitting metal)
-night vision rocks

I think it will become a cool game, but performance is still not good for me. I can't play a serious FPS-match like that.


Edit:
-cool rifle sounds
-DI sound should not play all the time ;)


Edit2:
-really freakin' great atmosphere, uncomparable to any multiplayer-game experience I ever had. To end this summary positive ^^

TAPETRVE

Something else: Why the hell can I build a ghost Robotics Factory?

Kouji_San

<!--quoteo(post=1833301:date=Feb 18 2011, 05:45 PM:name=TAPETRVE)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (TAPETRVE @ Feb 18 2011, 05:45 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1833301"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Something else: Why the hell can I build a ghost Robotics Factory?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The same reason you can walk around as an invisible Onos in dev/cheat mode. The coding is there, the visuals aren't yet :)

TAPETRVE

I was NOT in dev mode, that's the point.