Hey everyone,

NS2 Build 171 was released about 12 hours ago on Steam!

Even though the first line in the changelog is a simple "Changed to new script binding code", this represents a _massive_ change, one that touched nearly every aspect of the game. It's certainly the biggest single change I've ever seen to the game, and Max has been working really hard on it.

The idea was to improve script performance across the Lua/C++ boundary, as well as vastly reduce the amount of "garbage" that's created. We can explain this more in depth later but for now know that some people are reporting some improved performance, but most importantly this has laid the groundwork for more improvements.

Changelog:

• Changed to new script binding code
• Improved cleanup process when the game is shutting down
• Improved Rifle animations and effects (fixed looping sounds, new recoil animations)
• Sped up Rifle reload 10%
• Fixed bug causing AI units to stop moving if something is in their way, they will now continue moving once the path is clear
• Doors now open for MACs, Drifters, and Whips in addition to Players
• Alien armor upgrades now function properly
• Fixed scoreboard displaying alive state for enemy players
• Removed unimplemented BloodThirstTech and PiercingTech from the Whip tech buttons
• Maps are now displayed in the create server dialog based on the ns2_*.level files available in the maps directory
• Removed faceoff and MvM from the list of game modes

We're continuing to focus on making the game run and play better before we add much in the way of new features. Once that happens, we'll pop in the jetpack, Onos, Exosuit, etc. I'm sure you're looking forward to that as much as we are.

Thanks again for your support!