With the new year comes many changes. First of all, the commander mode technology is being reworked a bit for better performance and to facilitate map contruction. Soon after that's done, the next version of the mapper's technology release (the "NSTR2") will become available for download.

In other news, tonight is the first night everyone will be able to see what the aliens look like. It's been a long time coming, but the team is quite happy with these designs. Check the Ready Room tonight and throughout this week for a glimpse.

We are still in need of talented animator, especially someone experienced in the areas of animal animation and non-bipedal animation. If you or someone you know is a great animator and is interested in all things alien, let us know.

Lastly, Natural Selection is in the February 2002 issue of PC Gamer, which has covered the mod expo last month. This is the first paper coverage of NS, let's hope to see more of it.