The latest patch for the Natural Selection 2 Beta is now available on Steam. If you have pre-ordered the game it should automatically update on Steam. If you would like to pre-order and get instant access to the beta, you can still do so here.

This week's patch includes a number of design tweaks which Charlie has detailed in the online Design Log. Marc continued to improve ns2_rockdown by opening up some of the areas to improve the flow of combat. Brian and Andrew fixed a bunch of game bugs, and Max has been working on resolving memory leaks and crashes. Play testers Matso and Lazer continued to provide helpful patches with Infestation server optimizations and new Power Node light effects. Last -- but not least -- the art and mapping teams have been working hard on some new assets that we hope to show off soon!

Here's the complete change list for Build 177:

Build 177 changes

• Improved ns2_rockdown
• Removed additional tech point requirement for teching up. Now T2/T3 can be achieved on one base
• Adjusted various T2/T3 timings
• A Crag is now required to evolve Gorges and a Whip is required for Lerks
• Fixed bug where medpacks healed armor 1 for 1 if health is less than 100%
• When in Commander build mode, an illegal placement should keep you in the mode (will much improve ammo/medpack useability)
• Fixed bug where MAC and Drifters were built instantly
• Changed Skulk Bite to be easier to bite enemies while tilted down towards the ground
• Changed enemy structures to display health rather than build percentage
• Added fading/flickering lights when a power node is destroyed or repaired (thanks Lazer!)
• Heal spray energy usage reduced from 20 to 15 to make it less annoying to use and have less waiting (same as NS1)
• Added sorting to scoreboard (Score > Kills > Deaths > Resources > Client ID)
• Optimized Infestation updating (Thanks Matso!)
• Added the ScenarioHandler patch (Thanks Matso!)
• Fixed bug where heal spray view model animation didn't always play
• Fixed an issue that when you hopped out of the command center while a Drifter is building it would cancel and become useless
• Fixed an issue where drifter height would not reset if an order was canceled
• Improved error message when a vertex buffer cannot be created
• Fixed bug where changing the resolution in fullscreen mode would sometimes fail
• Fixed an issue where if you reset the game while you were in the Command Structure you would not get logged out
• Fixed bug where Blink Fade model cast shadows
• Removed all mention of carbon and plasma (now "team resources" and "resources")
• Fixed memory leak caused by physics objects
• Fixed memory leaks on shutdown
• Fixed crashes if a graphics resources could not be created
• Added first pass support for Google Sketchup Collada exports
• Fixed an issue where exporting from the latest version of Blender would cause a crash in CompileModel

You can always keep up to date with what we're working on for the next patch with our real-time progress tracker and don't forget to follow our Twitter account.

Finally, NS2HD's latest video shows off some cool NS2 action from the spectator perspective. Check it out and subscribe to his channel!