New player from the Tremulous community

ZdrytchXZdrytchX Australia Join Date: 2016-02-06 Member: 212662Members
edited February 2016 in New Player Forum
A few years ago a clan member from Tremulous donated me a copy of NS2 but I couldn't play it for several years due to my outdated specs which were supposedly so bad that people have said their eyes bleed when they try to watch me play with my slide-show like framerates. But recently I had a new computer built and now I can finally play NS2. Back then I remember that NS2 had a horrible reputation for its resource consumption too (steam recommended specs supposedly barely ran NS2 from what I heard) and that could be contributing the lack of players.

I was somewhat disappointed in the active population size (as in "hop in at a certain time of the day at a certain day of the week for x players" in general) is a lot smaller than I had expected for a commercial game released on Steam. In fact Tremulous which started development as early as the year 2000 still has at least half the number of players you would see in this game.

Although I practically get either 80 ping to Australian servers or get > 310 ping to american and >400 to European servers, I find that the best way to get a game outside the local prime time is only through the American/European servers and either way it seems that my stats aren't recorded on the Australian servers unfortunately (despite vanilla rules, or so they say). This is still much better than in Tremulous because the Australian community in it is practically non-existant.

Being a former Trem player I found this game somewhat quick to learn

Right now I have the following questions:
1. What's the best way to level up so I can start commanding in small games where there can be just one non-rookie (each commander must be lvl 3 or greater) because else the game will never start. I find this very annoying.
2. I see videos about the Fade class being able to shadowstep to the side and a vortex ability that disables phase gates. It seems the cross-armed thing only regenerates health and energy, so I guess it's safe to assume shadowstep was removed?
3. I've seen NS1 videos of people doing the HL2/quake world style bunnyhopping strafe jumping. It seems you can no longer gain noticable speed by strafe jumping in a similar fashion (and bhopping as marine slows you down) but you can still strafe to turn corners by pressing the strafe key with or without the forward key. Is it true that you actually no longer gain speed through raw air strafe acceleration techniques now in NS2 (excluding special abilities such as the skulk walljump)?
4. How do you actually stick to bumpy ceilings without falling off with the skulk? I'm too used to the Tremulous style where you flip upside down and orientate relative to the surface which can be a disadvantage in orientation on bumpy surfaces but at least you stick to the surface.
5. Is the single-weapon exosuit even worth it if you don't have a fellow wielder or bot to follow you around to repair the unit?
6. The mass driver cannot charge simultaneously. Is this for balancing?
7. What's the difference between NS2, NS2HD and NS2: Combat? From what I hear Combat seems much better than the current NS2 gameplay and Combat as a mod does exist in NS2 though there are no servers available iirc.
8. How do I know which server is ranked and which isn't?

Comments

  • Kouji_SanKouji_San Sr. Hινε Uρкεερεг - EUPT Deputy The Netherlands Join Date: 2003-05-13 Member: 16271Members, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue
    edited February 2016
    1. Just play, that is kinda the only thing that levels you up so to speak (http://hive.naturalselection2.com/) It's based on win/loss ratio and if the enemy team was stronger or weaker, hive skill based) -> IIRC :D
    2. Shadow Step and Vortex have been removed, the fade is basically now what he was in the original NS (aside from having blink/metabolize tied to a movement key instead of a weapon slot (which had a weapon switch delay)
    3. Skulks can speed up by walljumping, look up NS2 skulk walljump videos (which explains it better than a text here). Fade can kinda keep his momentum by a combination of tap blinking and jumping (also videos on that)
    4. Skulk wallwalking is an annoying bit of stuff, I agree. You can of course try shiftwalking on ceilings. But that doesn't guarantee sticking to walls/ceilings entirely. Just keep an eye out for odd geometry. Most of it is clippbrushed by the mappers, but not all. So it can be deceiving... This didn't translate very well from NS->NS2, because of the detail increase and with that the collision details as well, need more proper clipbrushing IMHO, but that would also cause "floating Skulks" if overdone...
    5. EXO's in general are dependent on welding regardless, your marine trades in his HP+AP combo for a high AP (armor points), but once that goes to zero he will explode. It is important to note that you are indeed able to exit the EXO yourself to perhaps do make some repairs or build stuff [default key G]. Single gun EXO's are more of a pre-endgame unit, for that final push you'd want to invest in that second gun - I still want my sword wielding EXO J/K
    6. Mass driver? Not sure what you mean here, the map NS2_Goliath has a mass driver area :innocent:
    7. NS2 is the vanilla RTS+FPS hybrid game, the main game. NS2HD is @Hugh his fanboi channel so to speak :tongue: which has kinda been officially used for tournaments and PR for NS2 as well. Hugh (NS2HD) has been hired by Unknown Worlds Entertainment. NS2:Combat is more FPS focussed game, with upgrade paths/levels for players themselves. In essence is plays like an FPS Moba type of game in a melee vs ranged setting (NS). It has no commander mode, maps are smaller and there are only two main structures. The goal is to only take out the enemy Hive/Command Station. Also NS2:Combat is a standalone game created by Faultline Games (Unknown Worlds is the publisher), it was based on combatmod for NS2, but has gone stand alone.
    8. AFAIK all servers have "Hive Ranking" included, the Server Browser Skill tab shows the skilllevels on that particular server, compared to your current Hive Rank. The Hive system is undergoing a complete overhaul, UWE is working on a new/better system. Also you can right click on a server to see which mods have been installed on a particular server or to see who's playing on there.

    Hope this answer your questions, apart from #6...
  • ZdrytchXZdrytchX Australia Join Date: 2016-02-06 Member: 212662Members
    2. There was a weapon switch delay for aliens?
    3. I'll quote myself:
    (excluding special abilities such as the skulk walljump)
    Also I already figured the fade exploit on my own. It seems to work best if you tap the blink and jump because usually you slow down after the blink
    5. I see. So in small games you're better off with a flamethrower then
    6. I mean railgun. Mass driver is the name of a similar weapon in Tremulous, and railguns are a type of mass driver.
    7. Can you build in NS2 Combat as a marine? If yes, I guess its gameplay is even closer to tremulous except the fact you probably cannot shift the hive/command station a few meters for personal adjustments (most Tremulous games happen on a map called ATCS and usually first thing that happens is humans would push forward through the hallway and have a builder and defender move the reactor back half a meter, because that half meter can mean the difference between surviving an alien rush and defeat). Thinking of which, when I look at the NS1 source code it seems like it was built into the mod itself. I haven't thoroughly read it though, honestly I'm not much of a programmer.
    8. Well that obviously isn't the case it seems. I've probably played more marines than aliens but when you look at my stats it shows more on the aliens side. Knowing that mods are available, does that mean the source code is available to the public / people who purchased the game? I've modded Tremulous to the point that its source code size multiplied by 1.5 for things like physics changes that allows me to do weird stuff like maintaining speed in a way which is normally impossible through Vanilla Quake 3 physics. Anyway, all I could find in regards to Natural Selection source code is their (UnknownWorlds) github account containing the HL2 mod version only.
  • FoxyFoxy United Kingdom Join Date: 2014-08-19 Member: 198032Members, NS2 Playtester, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Shadow
    2: Very slight for fade switching to meta (you see a small animation as it retracts its claws slightly)
    3: You can't bunnyhop in vanilla, compmod allows gorges to bunnyhop as a buff
    5: FT is purely a support weapon, good for disabling the passive & active effects of alien structures and draining lifeform energy
    6: Yeah, they charge independently of one another, I believe it's a balance thing.
    7: Yes, you can buy structures for ability points.
    8: You can check the hive page here or run enable NS2+ locally (from mods option, main menu), restart NS2 then in the top right of the server browser there will be a Hive Whitelisted button, to reset that view click 'all' on the gamemodes filter on the far left of that bar.
  • Kouji_SanKouji_San Sr. Hινε Uρкεερεг - EUPT Deputy The Netherlands Join Date: 2003-05-13 Member: 16271Members, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue
    edited February 2016
    2. Fade was set up as follows in the original NS, with weapon switch delays. So basically the NS2 Fade is a more polished version and as a result also tad bit more powerful during combat.

    Slot1: Swipe, Slot2: Blink, Slot3: Metabolize, Slot4: Acid Rocket (not in NS2)


    3. Walljumping is kinda a more intuitive approach to bunnyhopping, replacing it. That is why I mentioned it anyway :)

    5. Flamethrower is more of a support weapon, it is anti infestation/cyst, burns Lerk gas, reduces energy regen for aliens, if they are on fire, it burns off bilebomb from structures (Gorge anti marine structure weapon) and IIRC disables alien structure abilities. The EXO sacrifices mobility and gives you firepower, the Flamethrower sacrifices firepower and gives you support abilities. Both have up and downsides. Kinda like all weapons in NS2. Keep in mind that NS2 is riddled with hidden game mechanics like this that aren't clear from the start and requires some indepth knowledge. Kinda like the Onos, looks though right, would you believe it melts like butter in a fire if 4 marines unleash their lvl3 rifles on it with focus fire :D


    6. Dual Railgun has a very high burst damage, so yes it should indeed be balanced to only fire one at the time. It also penetrates targets so it can actually damage multiple lined up structures/enemies.

    It kinda goes like this. Onos > EXO, Onos == 2xEXO Add a gorge or welder into the mix and it gets more complicated. Jetpack > Onos, Jetpack == Lerk/Fade (depending on marine weapon) and so on... These are not hard counters, but one has a slight edge over the other in terms of armor/firepower/mobility, all dependent on the individual's skills


    7. In combat you can unlock as a single marine, one of three types (minigun/fire/siege) of turrets or an ammo station. Spending points on those, places you into a support role, you can respend your points as well at any give time to adapt to a situation. But yeah those are the only things you can build. Well apart from Gorge and his Clogs+Hydras of course.


    8. All NS2 Lua is accessible for anyone to fiddle with, basically NS2 is a mod on the Spark engine like any other mod. Just have a look in "/Natural Selection 2/ns2/". You would have to run a modded server though, if you want to run with different values.
  • CalegoCalego Join Date: 2013-01-24 Member: 181848Members, NS2 Map Tester
    ZdrytchX wrote: »
    Right now I have the following questions:
    1. What's the best way to level up so I can start commanding in small games where there can be just one non-rookie (each commander must be lvl 3 or greater) because else the game will never start. I find this very annoying.
    2. I see videos about the Fade class being able to shadowstep to the side and a vortex ability that disables phase gates. It seems the cross-armed thing only regenerates health and energy, so I guess it's safe to assume shadowstep was removed?
    3. I've seen NS1 videos of people doing the HL2/quake world style bunnyhopping strafe jumping. It seems you can no longer gain noticable speed by strafe jumping in a similar fashion (and bhopping as marine slows you down) but you can still strafe to turn corners by pressing the strafe key with or without the forward key. Is it true that you actually no longer gain speed through raw air strafe acceleration techniques now in NS2 (excluding special abilities such as the skulk walljump)?
    4. How do you actually stick to bumpy ceilings without falling off with the skulk? I'm too used to the Tremulous style where you flip upside down and orientate relative to the surface which can be a disadvantage in orientation on bumpy surfaces but at least you stick to the surface.
    5. Is the single-weapon exosuit even worth it if you don't have a fellow wielder or bot to follow you around to repair the unit?
    6. The mass driver cannot charge simultaneously. Is this for balancing?
    7. What's the difference between NS2, NS2HD and NS2: Combat? From what I hear Combat seems much better than the current NS2 gameplay and Combat as a mod does exist in NS2 though there are no servers available iirc.
    8. How do I know which server is ranked and which isn't?

    First of all: Welcome!

    2. A lot about this game has changed a lot over the time that it's been released. Unfortunately there are very few resources out there that are still accurate and up to date with regards to the hidden mechanics (reading material for when you want to slog through 5 pages of stuff that's mostly still true).

    6. The Dual Railguns can charge simultaneously, but its difficult to do, and the indicators don't both light up. Play around with mashing both mouse buttons down at the same time and then releasing to get this down. Whether you're supposed to be able to or not is a different matter, but I know I've done it recently and consistently.
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