We have fixed the more urgent issues that have cropped up with last Friday’s beta 4, in a small beta 4a patch. This patch is now available from our downloads page! The full [file=changelogs/v30b4a-changelog.html]beta 4a changelog[/file] has been posted as well. We think Combat is much more balanced and fun now, and there have been a bunch of other improvements as well.
There are other massive changes afoot right now. Here’s a partial list of what’s happening.
– We are adding more programmers to the team, so bugs and features can be implemented much faster. Besides fixing bugs, we plan to increase the control that mappers have over mission goals and placing structures, so we can start seeing varied game types (Escape, Save/Kill the Colonists, Onos vs. Marines, etc.). We haven’t started working on this yet, it’s just the current plan.
– We are restarting the NS Guides program. The NS Guides are people that want to help newbies, run training scenarios, teach people how to command/gorge, etc. If you’re interested in becoming a Guide, helping run the program, or helping to build the website (http://guide.natural-selection.org), please join the mailing list.
– We are building http://compete.natural-selection.org. This will be your one-stop tournament stop. Competitive news, demos, clan registration and ladder for our official tournaments, and more. This will be run by community contributors, with some help from the development team. If you’re interested in helping, please
– We are building a new NS web site. It will be overhauled to be more easily updateable (so other people can post news), will have all new screenshots, and will be more integrated with the game. If you have demonstrable web design or coding skills and want to help us out, please send examples of your work to jobs@unknownworlds.com.
– The crazy Aussies and New Zealanders over at AusNS.com have revamped their site completely ("AusNS v2.0"). Even though the site isn’t working for me at the moment, I’m told they have a great new NS interview up now, and if their track record is any indication, probably lots of great new content relating to the competitive scene.
– We are building the B.U.S. (Big Unannounced System). We do have to be quiet with the details until we have something to show, but we are very excited about the possibilities with this. If you see any of us online, please don’t ask us for any information on this, we won’t give it to you anyways. 🙂
Enjoy the new beta!