Shh, we have a secret for you. Just moments ago, a Steam Beta version of Build 263 was released. We are not promoting this release anywhere but here on the blog (Edit: Ok, and a tweet!) - Because we only want you, our most committed players, to find out about it. [caption id="attachment_1740" align="aligncenter" width="600"]

That there looks like another menu option...[/caption] Build 263 has been gestating for quite some time. Hard work from Andi, Lukas, community volunteer Brian 'SamusDroid,' and many others has combined to produce an update that could change the way you play NS2. For the first time, there is an organised play option available in game. [caption id="attachment_1741" align="aligncenter" width="600"]... something that is very much an 'alpha' work in progress[/caption] This system is not a 'beta,' and if you must use a term to describe it, 'alpha' might be generous. At the moment, it does not look like much. It does not yet have a visual theme or even a final main-menu name. But under the hood, it is very cool.  It has the ability to allocate a party of players to a server in a dedicated pool. 25% of UWE's server capacity is being turned over to this pool as this post is written. Nothing in this beta build is confirmed for release - Even the organised play system. Everything could be reverted, and this is only a test. We have internal deadlines and quality goals for the organised play system that we have to hit, or we will remove it. That might sound harsh, but we would rather be open and honest with you, than tease you with something we cannot deliver. We will closely watch your feedback to determine what state the system is in. Please go ahead and abuse it! [caption id="attachment_1744" align="aligncenter" width="600"]Select 'Beta' in Natural Selection 2's properties[/caption] To access the beta, right click on Natural Selection 2 in your Steam Library. Then, go to the 'Betas tab' and select 'Beta' from the drop down menu. To restore the game to 262 release state, select 'None' in the same menu. Please note that you may have difficulty finding a game in the beta due to lower player and server numbers. Here is the provisional 263 changelog. It will change, is not final, and much of it may never leave beta form: Fixes Fixed "name" console command not working with spaces in names Fixed bug where a bad value in the options file for the player skin would cause the menu to stop functioning Fixed Aliens sometimes not being able to hear distress beacon sound Always trigger "jump" sound together with improved jump sounds for Skulks (sounds for Fade jumping no longer cut out as well) Fixed lifeform name being hidden behind the lifeform icon in the Alien buy menu Doors now open from further away for fast moving players to compensate for the speed of the player Fixed some structures not immediately destroying collision when destroyed (most prominent with Resource Towers) Fixed power nodes not blinking red on minimap when being attacked Fixed requestweld console bind not working for Exo’s Fixed progress bar for Aliens having a tiny piece of texture being where it shouldn't in the top of the progress bar Fixed players being able to see the enemy commander on scoreboard Fixed mouse wheel events always being blocked in unpredicted code when mouse cursor is visible Fixed room name on hud not updating when the game first starts Fixed being able to use commander interface while menu is open Fixed voice chat being stuck on when entering a Command Structure Fixed Alien Buy menu Fade description Fixed Armories giving health while stunned Smoother catpack view effect in dark areas (No more black oval when in dark places) Features Steam friends nameplates and minimap icons are now highlighted Added ammo bars for the Marine Commander to nameplates Low light quality option. All official maps now have a “Low Lights” layer in which lights can be placed to allow for increased performance. The option can be changed in the menu and takes effect immediately. (Similar to how sv_nsllights works in the NSL mod). Thanks to Mendasp and Dragon for helping with the code Chat will now wrap to next line for long messages. Added random team console bind. j3 or jointeamthree in the console Added a new vote which tries to balance teams using previous round and hive stats Added previous menu theme back into the files under "sound/NS2.fev/main_menu_old" Added option to precache extra files. Default to 'Off.' (Allows you to balance load times against your desire to avoid early game hitching) Added queuing for servers with reserved slots in server browser. You can attempt to join the server if you think you can (i.e. you have a reserved slot) Added numerical values and input for sliders in options menu Added next / previous weapon keybind to main menu options Added evolve last upgrades keybind Key bindings can now be unbinded/cleared (Finally) hooked up interface sounds Updated news ticker to open in overlay like everything else to give proper better web usage Added open/close fade animation to GUI's on right side of menu (news box, logo, Reinforcement/store buttons) Added fade effect when opening credits Remove skill ranking from main menu Reduced hitching when opening pages in the menu Implemented option description tooltips and tooltips for various things using new hover tooltips. (Hover over the label on the left side to see) Rearranged server browser tabs (all game modes are now grouped up on the left side) Fixed main menu tip video layer being behind the tip videos content page. Fixed tip videos not hiding when you close the training page. Made microphone input volume progress bar color change depending on volume in the sound option page(yellow and red possible now) Fixed bug in main menu with MouseIn / MouseOut events not handled properly Moved HUD detail option to general options tab Server list and chat font size now resizes for really small screen resolutions Optimizations Consistency checking now uses a much faster algorithm which in most cases should decrease loadtimes Drastically reduced network traffic generated by scoreboard updates Optimized cloaked effect Changes Player outlines now work in first person for neutral spectators Inactive/unbuilt structures appear now in a darker color on the minimap Observatories will now reveal nearby cysts on the minimap Rookies are now always highlighted green on the scoreboard Muting a player will now also mute voice requests (like need ammo / medpack) Removed useless Drifter icon from tech map. Made unavailable color very slightly darker to provide better differentiation between unbuilt grey color. Increased weight of exclusive Female Marine Shadow badge taunt from 3% to 8% Increased max chat length to 120 from 80 SDK Added MouseWheelUp and MouseWheelDown as separate keys to bind (note for modders: InputKey.MouseZ is no longer being used) Added InputKey.None to allow clearing of bindings Added Client.GetIsSteamFriend(steamId) Added GUIHoverTooltip for providing tooltips offset from mouse cursor when hovering over something Added mapinfo console command to print out information like light and prop count to console Added MultiCheckbox form type which allow to have more than just true/false values Added console command chattime <number> to set how long chat messages display on screen. Must be at least 3 seconds. Changed profiler to use Left and Right key since old keybinds didnt work well with other keyboard layouts Added ControllerMixin:SetIgnorePlayerCollisions(time) Added client side loadtime console output Removed Cooked Mesh console output Fixed out of memory condition on Linux Kernel 3.12 Fixed fatal error message box on Linux machines that didn't have GTK ***gather_server can now be added as a tag in ServerConfig.json Send Commander time to Hive Biodome Lighting optimisations, approximately 200 lights removed Removed 2 glass sections in Falls to reduce render calls Moved Condensers power node away from Filtration Improved occlusion in Falls and Alley Fixed gap in Gallery Cleaned up commander view in Falls. Repositioned Condensers and West Route power node. Eclipse Hole fixes Removed center rail on Triad stairs Pathing fixes in Maintenance Docking Added additional vents to Ballcourt, Maintenance and Junction Reduced clutter around Maintenance RT Enlarged the space around Departures techpoint Fixed some CommanderInvisible around Departures Fixed the train in Departures not playing Slightly increased travel time to Maintenance through Courtyard Summit Smoothed out movement in Flight Control Minor cosmetic fixes Veil Fixed bad collision in Dome Tram Removed buggy cable bundle from Logistics->South Tunnels connection. Refinery Fixed Removed some unneeded collision geometry in Conduit Fixed pathing in Extraction Fixed gaps in location entities Fixed some unconnected pipes Fixed death trigger entities in lava falls Rotated smelting RT 180 degrees Fixed some flickering textures Smoothed out stairs in Falls Approach