Soul_RiderMod BeanJoin Date: 2004-06-19Member: 29388Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
edited August 2012
<!--quoteo(post=1966056:date=Aug 23 2012, 10:44 AM:name=endar)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (endar @ Aug 23 2012, 10:44 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1966056"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Sorry to go OT.
SN.Wolf, why have you named one of your servers "SN - Aussie Combat Mode v1.1.75" at IP: 68.116.117.23:27016 What country is it in?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It is not SN-Wolf who has named the servers, we look after our own servers!
I believe MCMLXXXIV renamed the server for the Aussie playtest, so it could be found, and didn't change it back. The server is located on the West Coast of America and is the same server we currently use for our European, Aussie as well as US playtests.
I'll change the name back for you...
Still waiting to hear on some Euro and Aussie servers for our mods!
EDIT--------
Just remoted onto the server, I think you need to take a look at the server code files guys! Both servers are empty - Proving Grounds is using 58mb of system memory and Combat is using 772mb!!!
EDIT-2--- Did some further local testing, and 58mb for the server must be wrong!!! There must be some mis-reporting somewhere on the SN-server, as on my machine I get the following server sizes..
NS2 - With Tram - 752mb CO - with Tram - 748mb PG - with Lunacy - 684mb PGv2 - with Lunacy - 570mb
<!--quoteo(post=1966059:date=Aug 23 2012, 10:59 AM:name=AuroN2)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (AuroN2 @ Aug 23 2012, 10:59 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1966059"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->i suggest you try to make this modfoldered somehow, then any updates won't break the mod ;)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This mod is almost unbreakable thanks to the client hooks created by FSFOD. It survived build 215-216 without issue. I do not understand what you mean by make the mod foldered. If you mean client mods, well there is one available for combat mod, but as shown, client hooks are a better way to survive game updates.
Foldered mods will get broken every update if they use any files amended by UWE, purely because the GCF also gets changed, and some things are removed etc. Although I must admit, for the last 3 or 4 updates. I have not had to do anything other than merge the changed files into my mod, and the mod has worked straight away.
The combat server is using 771mb, but apparently Proving Grounds is only using 65mb? This is not correct as when testing on my own machine, each server individually uses - Combat 748mb and PG 684mb. Even when running both servers together. See below:
<!--quoteo(post=1966100:date=Aug 23 2012, 12:28 PM:name=Soul_Rider)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Soul_Rider @ Aug 23 2012, 12:28 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1966100"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->This mod is almost unbreakable thanks to the client hooks created by FSFOD. It survived build 215-216 without issue.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> Will anyone ever best GameOvermind(v10)'s streak of 24 builds...
I'm looking at the precaching hooks now to see if it's possible to reduce the amount of assets we are loading. It's pretty hard to do it in a 'safe' way though so it may me take a little time for me to get the approach right. It'll sneak into the next version but I'll most likely be leaving it disabled until it's stable enough to use all the time.
I wonder if the funny RAM stats we're seeing on the SN server are because of some kind of clever caching - in theory each of our servers are using a lot of the same assets so there could be some kind of google chrome-esque cross-process shared-memory trickery going on? I haven't looked at whether there's any utils that help with that but maybe Wolf has installed one :]
On a side note, I've finally made all our code hotload-compatible, but now I'm seeing a bug that is also present in vanilla NS2 so it won't help us work faster until I can work out why that's happening.
Soul_RiderMod BeanJoin Date: 2004-06-19Member: 29388Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
I think that if someone had invented a way for multiple servers to share assets on a game machine, it would be used by most game server operators in the world, and cost a lot of money!!
It looks like Microsoft have gone some way with a technique like that in Windows 8's memory manager...
In the meantime, UWE would implement this by using memory-mapped IO in their asset loading code. Maybe they already are and that's why we've noticed Windows XP reports such a low memory usage figure for the second server that gets started...
Soul_RiderMod BeanJoin Date: 2004-06-19Member: 29388Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
Only on the SN- Server, not when I run it on ANY other machine, lol! My windows XP machine uses 748mb for a dedi combat server and 684mb for the dedi proving grounds :P
So... I worked out how to get Steam Workshop working. Major thanks to endar for pointing me in the right direction.
Here's the short version: <ol type='1'><li>On your home PC, subscribe to each of the maps you want to use. You can do this quickly by subscribing to <a href="http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=82684884" target="_blank">my map collection</a>.</li><li>Install Steam on the server and log in with your home PC's account details.</li><li>Run the dedicated server from the "Steam\steamapps\common\Natural Selection 2" folder. - it should automatically update the mods for you at the start. You can check the progress using the console.</li><li>Log out of Steam on the server and close down the dedicated server so you can edit the config.</li><li>Look up the mod id's for each of the maps you want to include. You do this by right-clicking on the relevant map in Steam Workshop and then getting the number part of the URL - that's the one you want to use.</li><li>In the relevant server.xml for your server, add the line e.g. <!--c1--><div class='codetop'>CODE</div><div class='codemain'><!--ec1--><mods>12345678 23456789</mods><!--c2--></div><!--ec2--> Each number is a mod id for one of the maps you want to use. <b>Note the delimiter is a space, not a comma or anything else!</b></li><li>Now you can set the starting map to be one of the mod maps, and you can add these maps to mapcycle.txt as you see fit. Not all the maps are 100% ready to use in Combat so I'll only add the best ones to my Combat collection.</li></ol>
And the long version for those who don't want to or can't install Steam on their server: <ol type='1'><li>On your home PC, subscribe to each of the maps you want to use. You can do this quickly by subscribing to <a href="http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=82684884" target="_blank">my map collection</a>.</li><li>Launch NS2 - it should automatically update the mods for you at the main menu. You can check the progress using the console.</li><li>On Windows XP, go to "c:\documents and settings\<your username>\Application Data\Natural Selection 2" and zip up the Workshop folder. </li><li>On Windows Vista/7, go to "C:\Users\<your username>\AppData\Roaming\Natural Selection 2" and zip up the Workshop folder.</li><li>Send this zip file to your server, via your favourite mechanism - I use dropbox to do it...</li><li>Unzip the file in the "<username>\Application Data\Natural Selection 2" folder so that your Workshop folder from your home PC as well as its contents are now uploaded to the server.</li><li>Look up the mod id's for each of the maps you want to include. You do this by right-clicking on the relevant map in Steam Workshop and then getting the number part of the URL - that's the one you want to use.</li><li>In the relevant server.xml for your server, add the line e.g. <!--c1--><div class='codetop'>CODE</div><div class='codemain'><!--ec1--><mods>12345678 23456789</mods><!--c2--></div><!--ec2--> Each number is a mod id for one of the maps you want to use. <b>Note the delimiter is a space, not a comma or anything else!</b></li><li>Now you can set the starting map to be one of the mod maps, and you can add these maps to mapcycle.txt as you see fit. Not all the maps are 100% ready to use in Combat so I'll only add the best ones to my Combat collection.</li></ol>
Soul_RiderMod BeanJoin Date: 2004-06-19Member: 29388Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
You are aware this command downloads ALL custom maps when someone connects to the server, and not just the current playing map?
Nothing you've done, just the way this works currently, but I thought people should be aware, as first connection to server will download all the custom maps in the list.
I've done a quick playtest with 217 this morning and after testing both sides out I can't find any bugs so I'm presuming there's actually no new NS2Combat bugs introduced with the build(!) This means the old v1.1.75 code is still good to use with build 217, but you won't get the exo suit unlocks until I add them in.
I will work on integrating Exo suits today and somehow fitting dual miniguns in as a tech upgrade, but ironically with all the prep work we've done so far it might not be all that much work! Also, with the changes to tram I'm removing our custom spawn pairs there - but with Steam Workshop where it is now and with Combat teams always starting close to each other and the ability to see where the enemy spawn point is located straight away maybe they are less important than they used to be...
@Electr0: We do have plans in the distant future to implement different game modes within NS2Combat, but we need to get the core game mechanics super-polished before we even attempt to go there. A lot of it is dependent on Steam Workshop support - until mod auto-updating is working well we won't be able to mess with too much of that stuff as changes like that will inevitably break the 'vanilla friendly' server-client model that we have at the moment.
A little update on progress for this week. Exo suits are in and working but there is still more coding to do to fix issues like what happens when you have bought a load of weapons then get the Exo upgrade (currently the plan is to have your points refunded to spend on Armor/Weapons upgrades). There are also some fixes needed for the Marine buy menu as it gets a bit confused when you use it from an Exo suit...
I think the plan is for a weekend of coding and then a playtest on Tuesday to try and see if there are any problems with the approach or with balance. Dual Miniguns are also in as a further upgrade you can purchase after getting Exo.
Hi, I've sent you a PM, but I didn't get any response back.
There is another CO map in development. It is remake of co_Core.
Topic is <a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/forums/index.php?showtopic=120369" target="_blank">here</a>.
Is there any chance for organized playtest to get any feedback how well will the map perform in NS2 and which changes in layout will be necessary. The map is currently full greybox and I don't want to start detailing before I will be sure about the layout is solid.
Hi Rudy, I'm really sorry I didn't reply to your PM - I must have lost track of which messages I'd got back to!
I've added your map to the NS2Combat <a href="http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=82684884" target="_blank">Steam Workshop collection</a> and I'll edit the first post here too. I'd like to try and playtest some of the maps this coming Tuesday, under the assumption that I manage to get Exos in and working well by then (the event should be on the Steam Group soon). Some play on custom maps has been sorely needed for a while now, and I think now is the time to do it!
<!--quoteo(post=1970216:date=Sep 2 2012, 11:10 PM:name=Rudy.cz)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Rudy.cz @ Sep 2 2012, 11:10 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1970216"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->That's great. Thank you! Is it possible to participate in playtest or do you already have closed group of testesters? How is it organised?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> it is possible to be in the playtest its not closed, I suggest you join our steam combat group to get notifications when a playtest is starting, if no server IP is in the notification you can allways right click on someone in the group and see what server we are playing on and join. I have allready scheduled a playtest tuesday 4th of Sep @8:00 PM Sweden time. <a href="http://steamcommunity.com/groups/ns2combat" target="_blank">http://steamcommunity.com/groups/ns2combat</a>
Exos are in, and there has been another reshuffle of the abilities and costs to take this into account. The way it works is that all your weapons are refunded when you buy an Exo suit, so you get some extra points to spend on dual miniguns, armour or weapons upgrades. Depending on how the balance is with this version I may make it so the marines don't spawn in their exo suits, or the spawn timer is much longer for exo suit wearers - without any changes there I could foresee there being problems at the moment!
<b>Changelog for v1.1.8</b> <b><a href="https://github.com/downloads/AlexHayton/NS2Combat/NS2Combat-v1.1.8.zip" target="_blank">Download Link</a></b> <i><a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/forums/index.php?showtopic=119151" target="_blank">Installation Instructions</a></i> <ul><li>Added exosuits into the game</li><li>Added dual miniguns</li><li>Added a 'mutually exclusive' lock for certain upgrades. e.g. You can't own mines and an exo suit at the same time.</li><li>Added refunds for people who have bought upgrades then switched to an exo suit.</li><li>Added loading screen textures for Combat</li><li>Added a silly main menu proof of concept cinematic (just edited cinematics/main_menu.cinematic). Please, someone with some artistic talent, help me replace it!</li><li>Adjusted the Combat-specific help messages and the information that is shown to make it less annoying and more useful.</li><li>Fixed Hotloading for ultra-fast mod development!</li><li>Resupply now gives you ammo for all your weapons, not just the active one.</li><li>Preliminary work on an Experience Bar for marines and aliens - it's disabled at the moment but I will hopefully finish it soon (based on the old code from a couple of years ago so some further work to be done here...)</li></ul> For those of you who want to play with the menus, I have also been doing some work on integrating Jibrail's textures into the game, and I finally looked at modifying the main menu (after spending 20 minutes cursing at Combat only to discover that I'd been launching the wrong mod the whole time). It was very easy actually, just replace the cinematics/main_menu.cinematic with your own - we can use any level file for it as well (ideally a very small one), though I haven't worked out how to pose actors or anything useful. Bouncing Babblers is all you'll get for now!
The download link is here: <a href="https://github.com/downloads/AlexHayton/NS2Combat/NS2Combat-v1.1.8.zip" target="_blank">https://github.com/downloads/AlexHayton/NS2...mbat-v1.1.8.zip</a>
I'll post a version with GameOvermind support tomorrow - for now I'm a bit tired and need to get some rest so that I have enough energy to do some bug hunting tomorrow! We are planning to do a playtest tomorrow (again, we are *still* having difficulty finding EU servers - if any server operators want to help us out we would really appreciate it!). Details are available on our <a href="http://steamcommunity.com/groups/ns2combat" target="_blank">steam group</a>. Also, we are planning on testing some custom maps this time. If you want to get involved you'll need to subscribe to our <a href="http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=82684884" target="_blank">maps collection</a> on Steam Workshop.
Hi Jim long time no see man! I want to thank everyone who joined us today for the PT it was lots of fun, as allways join our steam group and keep an eye on this topic for future PTs.
P.S. Is anyone actually still using GameOvermind? I was about to make the new v1.1.8 version for Overmind but then realised I am not using myself so I can use the time to fix some Combat bugs instead! If anyone needs it please let me know...
P.P.S. I have experimented with streaming on Twitch.TV with some degree of success - I might try and stream/record our next playtest for those who are interested. I think a live developer stream is taking it one step too far though...
<b>Changelog:</b> <ul><li>Fixed the Alien Buy menu (broken in build 218)</li><li>Fixes issues where people were failing to spawn. I've totally rewritten the spawning code so it should be much better!</li><li>As originally intended, Exo users now can't buy welders</li><li>Increase game timer to 30 minutes.</li></ul>
my mouse isnt showing up in the buy menu on aliens or marines.
Also i was playing on one of the monash servers and the armory wasnt deployed, had to jump in the com chair put it down, then the armory screen got stuck open couldnt close it.
Hmm.. Looks like the hotfix isn't working too well... I'll take a look at the new spawn code, which also affects armory placement.
Also, you shouldn't be able to jump in the comm chair - the fact that you can indicates that there was probably an error on the server before the round started. This is top priority to fix so I'll put the new features on hold until all these spawning bugs are axed :]
endarJoin Date: 2010-07-27Member: 73256Members, Squad Five Blue
<!--quoteo(post=1974868:date=Sep 10 2012, 05:43 PM:name=MCMLXXXIV)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (MCMLXXXIV @ Sep 10 2012, 05:43 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1974868"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Hmm.. Looks like the hotfix isn't working too well... I'll take a look at the new spawn code, which also affects armory placement.
Also, you shouldn't be able to jump in the comm chair - the fact that you can indicates that there was probably an error on the server before the round started. This is top priority to fix so I'll put the new features on hold until all these spawning bugs are axed :]<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> My bad, I edited the wrong part of the server launch batch file, somehow I had double up all the code, and I was editing the lower half. I've made the change now and it's TRULY running combat mode now.
Comments
SN.Wolf, why have you named one of your servers "SN - Aussie Combat Mode v1.1.75" at IP: 68.116.117.23:27016
What country is it in?
SN.Wolf, why have you named one of your servers "SN - Aussie Combat Mode v1.1.75" at IP: 68.116.117.23:27016
What country is it in?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It is not SN-Wolf who has named the servers, we look after our own servers!
I believe MCMLXXXIV renamed the server for the Aussie playtest, so it could be found, and didn't change it back. The server is located on the West Coast of America and is the same server we currently use for our European, Aussie as well as US playtests.
I'll change the name back for you...
Still waiting to hear on some Euro and Aussie servers for our mods!
EDIT--------
Just remoted onto the server, I think you need to take a look at the server code files guys! Both servers are empty - Proving Grounds is using 58mb of system memory and Combat is using 772mb!!!
EDIT-2---
Did some further local testing, and 58mb for the server must be wrong!!! There must be some mis-reporting somewhere on the SN-server, as on my machine I get the following server sizes..
NS2 - With Tram - 752mb
CO - with Tram - 748mb
PG - with Lunacy - 684mb
PGv2 - with Lunacy - 570mb
<!--quoteo(post=1966059:date=Aug 23 2012, 10:59 AM:name=AuroN2)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (AuroN2 @ Aug 23 2012, 10:59 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1966059"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->i suggest you try to make this modfoldered somehow, then any updates won't break the mod ;)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This mod is almost unbreakable thanks to the client hooks created by FSFOD. It survived build 215-216 without issue. I do not understand what you mean by make the mod foldered. If you mean client mods, well there is one available for combat mod, but as shown, client hooks are a better way to survive game updates.
Foldered mods will get broken every update if they use any files amended by UWE, purely because the GCF also gets changed, and some things are removed etc. Although I must admit, for the last 3 or 4 updates. I have not had to do anything other than merge the changed files into my mod, and the mod has worked straight away.
Can anyone explain why this would occur?
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v260/Soulrefuge/servermemusage.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
The combat server is using 771mb, but apparently Proving Grounds is only using 65mb? This is not correct as when testing on my own machine, each server individually uses - Combat 748mb and PG 684mb. Even when running both servers together. See below:
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v260/Soulrefuge/servermemusagelocal.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
Any ideas on why this discrepancy would be reported?
Will anyone ever best GameOvermind(v10)'s streak of 24 builds...
I wonder if the funny RAM stats we're seeing on the SN server are because of some kind of clever caching - in theory each of our servers are using a lot of the same assets so there could be some kind of google chrome-esque cross-process shared-memory trickery going on? I haven't looked at whether there's any utils that help with that but maybe Wolf has installed one :]
On a side note, I've finally made all our code hotload-compatible, but now I'm seeing a bug that is also present in vanilla NS2 so it won't help us work faster until I can work out why that's happening.
I think we can safely rule that option out :)
In the meantime, UWE would implement this by using memory-mapped IO in their asset loading code. Maybe they already are and that's why we've noticed Windows XP reports such a low memory usage figure for the second server that gets started...
<a href="http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2011/10/how-windows-8s-memory-management-modifications-make-for-a-better-user-experience/" target="_blank">http://arstechnica.com/information-technol...ser-experience/</a>
Here's the short version:
<ol type='1'><li>On your home PC, subscribe to each of the maps you want to use. You can do this quickly by subscribing to <a href="http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=82684884" target="_blank">my map collection</a>.</li><li>Install Steam on the server and log in with your home PC's account details.</li><li>Run the dedicated server from the "Steam\steamapps\common\Natural Selection 2" folder. - it should automatically update the mods for you at the start. You can check the progress using the console.</li><li>Log out of Steam on the server and close down the dedicated server so you can edit the config.</li><li>Look up the mod id's for each of the maps you want to include. You do this by right-clicking on the relevant map in Steam Workshop and then getting the number part of the URL - that's the one you want to use.</li><li>In the relevant server.xml for your server, add the line e.g. <!--c1--><div class='codetop'>CODE</div><div class='codemain'><!--ec1--><mods>12345678 23456789</mods><!--c2--></div><!--ec2-->
Each number is a mod id for one of the maps you want to use.
<b>Note the delimiter is a space, not a comma or anything else!</b></li><li>Now you can set the starting map to be one of the mod maps, and you can add these maps to mapcycle.txt as you see fit. Not all the maps are 100% ready to use in Combat so I'll only add the best ones to my Combat collection.</li></ol>
And the long version for those who don't want to or can't install Steam on their server:
<ol type='1'><li>On your home PC, subscribe to each of the maps you want to use. You can do this quickly by subscribing to <a href="http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=82684884" target="_blank">my map collection</a>.</li><li>Launch NS2 - it should automatically update the mods for you at the main menu. You can check the progress using the console.</li><li>On Windows XP, go to "c:\documents and settings\<your username>\Application Data\Natural Selection 2" and zip up the Workshop folder. </li><li>On Windows Vista/7, go to "C:\Users\<your username>\AppData\Roaming\Natural Selection 2" and zip up the Workshop folder.</li><li>Send this zip file to your server, via your favourite mechanism - I use dropbox to do it...</li><li>Unzip the file in the "<username>\Application Data\Natural Selection 2" folder so that your Workshop folder from your home PC as well as its contents are now uploaded to the server.</li><li>Look up the mod id's for each of the maps you want to include. You do this by right-clicking on the relevant map in Steam Workshop and then getting the number part of the URL - that's the one you want to use.</li><li>In the relevant server.xml for your server, add the line e.g. <!--c1--><div class='codetop'>CODE</div><div class='codemain'><!--ec1--><mods>12345678 23456789</mods><!--c2--></div><!--ec2-->
Each number is a mod id for one of the maps you want to use.
<b>Note the delimiter is a space, not a comma or anything else!</b></li><li>Now you can set the starting map to be one of the mod maps, and you can add these maps to mapcycle.txt as you see fit. Not all the maps are 100% ready to use in Combat so I'll only add the best ones to my Combat collection.</li></ol>
Nothing you've done, just the way this works currently, but I thought people should be aware, as first connection to server will download all the custom maps in the list.
I will work on integrating Exo suits today and somehow fitting dual miniguns in as a tech upgrade, but ironically with all the prep work we've done so far it might not be all that much work! Also, with the changes to tram I'm removing our custom spawn pairs there - but with Steam Workshop where it is now and with Combat teams always starting close to each other and the ability to see where the enemy spawn point is located straight away maybe they are less important than they used to be...
A little update on progress for this week. Exo suits are in and working but there is still more coding to do to fix issues like what happens when you have bought a load of weapons then get the Exo upgrade (currently the plan is to have your points refunded to spend on Armor/Weapons upgrades). There are also some fixes needed for the Marine buy menu as it gets a bit confused when you use it from an Exo suit...
I think the plan is for a weekend of coding and then a playtest on Tuesday to try and see if there are any problems with the approach or with balance. Dual Miniguns are also in as a further upgrade you can purchase after getting Exo.
There is another CO map in development. It is remake of co_Core.
Topic is <a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/forums/index.php?showtopic=120369" target="_blank">here</a>.
Is there any chance for organized playtest to get any feedback how well will the map perform in NS2 and which changes in layout will be necessary. The map is currently full greybox and I don't want to start detailing before I will be sure about the layout is solid.
I've added your map to the NS2Combat <a href="http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=82684884" target="_blank">Steam Workshop collection</a> and I'll edit the first post here too. I'd like to try and playtest some of the maps this coming Tuesday, under the assumption that I manage to get Exos in and working well by then (the event should be on the Steam Group soon). Some play on custom maps has been sorely needed for a while now, and I think now is the time to do it!
it is possible to be in the playtest its not closed, I suggest you join our steam combat group to get notifications when a playtest is starting, if no server IP is in the notification you can allways right click on someone in the group and see what server we are playing on and join.
I have allready scheduled a playtest tuesday 4th of Sep @8:00 PM Sweden time.
<a href="http://steamcommunity.com/groups/ns2combat" target="_blank">http://steamcommunity.com/groups/ns2combat</a>
Exos are in, and there has been another reshuffle of the abilities and costs to take this into account. The way it works is that all your weapons are refunded when you buy an Exo suit, so you get some extra points to spend on dual miniguns, armour or weapons upgrades. Depending on how the balance is with this version I may make it so the marines don't spawn in their exo suits, or the spawn timer is much longer for exo suit wearers - without any changes there I could foresee there being problems at the moment!
<b>Changelog for v1.1.8</b>
<b><a href="https://github.com/downloads/AlexHayton/NS2Combat/NS2Combat-v1.1.8.zip" target="_blank">Download Link</a></b>
<i><a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/forums/index.php?showtopic=119151" target="_blank">Installation Instructions</a></i>
<ul><li>Added exosuits into the game</li><li>Added dual miniguns</li><li>Added a 'mutually exclusive' lock for certain upgrades. e.g. You can't own mines and an exo suit at the same time.</li><li>Added refunds for people who have bought upgrades then switched to an exo suit.</li><li>Added loading screen textures for Combat</li><li>Added a silly main menu proof of concept cinematic (just edited cinematics/main_menu.cinematic). Please, someone with some artistic talent, help me replace it!</li><li>Adjusted the Combat-specific help messages and the information that is shown to make it less annoying and more useful.</li><li>Fixed Hotloading for ultra-fast mod development!</li><li>Resupply now gives you ammo for all your weapons, not just the active one.</li><li>Preliminary work on an Experience Bar for marines and aliens - it's disabled at the moment but I will hopefully finish it soon (based on the old code from a couple of years ago so some further work to be done here...)</li></ul>
For those of you who want to play with the menus, I have also been doing some work on integrating Jibrail's textures into the game, and I finally looked at modifying the main menu (after spending 20 minutes cursing at Combat only to discover that I'd been launching the wrong mod the whole time). It was very easy actually, just replace the cinematics/main_menu.cinematic with your own - we can use any level file for it as well (ideally a very small one), though I haven't worked out how to pose actors or anything useful. Bouncing Babblers is all you'll get for now!
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The download link is here: <a href="https://github.com/downloads/AlexHayton/NS2Combat/NS2Combat-v1.1.8.zip" target="_blank">https://github.com/downloads/AlexHayton/NS2...mbat-v1.1.8.zip</a>
I'll post a version with GameOvermind support tomorrow - for now I'm a bit tired and need to get some rest so that I have enough energy to do some bug hunting tomorrow! We are planning to do a playtest tomorrow (again, we are *still* having difficulty finding EU servers - if any server operators want to help us out we would really appreciate it!). Details are available on our <a href="http://steamcommunity.com/groups/ns2combat" target="_blank">steam group</a>. Also, we are planning on testing some custom maps this time. If you want to get involved you'll need to subscribe to our <a href="http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=82684884" target="_blank">maps collection</a> on Steam Workshop.
I want to thank everyone who joined us today for the PT it was lots of fun, as allways join our steam group and keep an eye on this topic for future PTs.
P.P.S. I have experimented with streaming on Twitch.TV with some degree of success - I might try and stream/record our next playtest for those who are interested. I think a live developer stream is taking it one step too far though...
<b>v1.1.9</b>
Download Link:
<a href="https://github.com/downloads/AlexHayton/NS2Combat/NS2Combat-v1.1.9.zip" target="_blank">https://github.com/downloads/AlexHayton/NS2...mbat-v1.1.9.zip</a>
<b>Changelog:</b>
<ul><li>Fixed the Alien Buy menu (broken in build 218)</li><li>Fixes issues where people were failing to spawn. I've totally rewritten the spawning code so it should be much better!</li><li>As originally intended, Exo users now can't buy welders</li><li>Increase game timer to 30 minutes.</li></ul>
Also i was playing on one of the monash servers and the armory wasnt deployed, had to jump in the com chair put it down, then the armory screen got stuck open couldnt close it.
Also, you shouldn't be able to jump in the comm chair - the fact that you can indicates that there was probably an error on the server before the round started. This is top priority to fix so I'll put the new features on hold until all these spawning bugs are axed :]
Also, you shouldn't be able to jump in the comm chair - the fact that you can indicates that there was probably an error on the server before the round started. This is top priority to fix so I'll put the new features on hold until all these spawning bugs are axed :]<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
My bad, I edited the wrong part of the server launch batch file, somehow I had double up all the code, and I was editing the lower half. I've made the change now and it's TRULY running combat mode now.