Update 341 is now available on steam and includes multiple updates to maps and a bunch of bug fixes and tweaks to both the game and matched play. There are also additional updates to the balance which you can find in the in-game menu.

Remember all sales of NS2 and DLC directly affect our development budget and allow our team to continue work on NS2.

Changelog

Tweaks / Improvements

• Death screen has been made smaller in overall size, hides when the map is opened, the fade to black lasts only 2 seconds, and the killfeed is no longer hidden. This should be more in line with the previous deathscreen experience over the years. Thanks everyone for your feedback on this feature!

• Re-added text drop shadows to the in-game chat text elements.

• Changed the text drop shadow rendering feature to fix severe FPS losses on certain graphics driver and hardware configurations. (Thanks, Axtel!)

• Added Drop shadow text to damage numbers

 

Matchmaking Fixes and Changes

• Individual players are automatically kicked from a lobby after 1 hour has elapsed without progressing the lobby state beyond Waiting for Players. This prevents long term AFK individuals propping up a potentially bugged lobby that acts as a trap for everyone else matching.

• Fixed Steam Authentication potentially failing when waiting in a lobby for more than 30 minutes.

• Fixed multiple players ending up being on an unassigned team and therefore being kicked from the server.

• Fixed rare occurrence of a client not progressing through the lobby stages with everyone else.

• Fixed a lobby failing when a server request returned error 500.

• Fixed the Matchmaking Rewards menu’s Queue button being active all the time

• Fixed Steam Offline status triggering too easily. It now counts down over multiple seconds before considering you having lost connection and can roll backward to a reset state over the same time frame if the offline status did not get reached. This ensures that a momentary loss of internet does not trigger kicking you from the game or lobby.

• Fixed client script errors during certain lobby stages.

• Fixed skill offset miscalculation between the teams [Drey]

 

Mod System Changes

• Added an option to the create local server page to enable mounting UWE hotfix mods when creating a server.

• Maps from non-active mods are now included in the Listen Server map list and are automatically mounted on the server when it is created.

• Hotfix mods are no longer hidden in the menu mod list.

• Duplicate Mod ID entries in a server’s map cycle are now handled properly.

 

Fixes

• Fixed being able to receive Matchmaking invites while playing in a public server already.

• Fixed Auric Clog not being able to be selected or used once unlocked.

• Fixed Chroma Resource Tower not being able to be selected or used once unlocked.

• Fixed when earning the Battle Gorge calling card, it’s not available. And instead two items of Turbo drifter are granted.

• Fixed a potential server crash when fetching hotfix mods fails.

• Fix -game command line option not handling absolute paths for the Linux dedicated server.

 

Sounds

• Client hitsounds files are no longer constrained by our file validation rules.

 

Maps

• Biodome: (Thanks psyk!)

  • Moved Agri RT to the north of Agri (New room, thanks Kash!)

  • Increased height of small connection between Atmospherics and Scrubbers to nerf Armory blocks while arcing.

  • Disabled Bridge-Agri jump (still possible with boosting or dropped structures).

  • Reduced Cysts needed to Filtration from 5 to 4.

  • Fixed LoS issue which enabled Railguns to shoot Atmospherics Hive from CO2 Scrubbers.

  • Fixed structure placement exploits in Hydro.

• Caged: (Thanks psyk!)

  •  Added a vent below the stairs between the Purification and Ventilation connection.

  • Smoothed out movement below the walkway leading from Ventilation to Purification.

  • Closed off the door a bit more coming into Ventilation from Purification and moved Pillars/Walls at that entrance (less space at sides) to make it harder for Marines to attack Ventilation from Purification PG.

  • Added a Pipe/Crate combo so you can jump up on the higher level of Ventilation from the south side.

  • Moved the Powernode in Ventilation to be less vulnerable.

  • Created space between the scanner and container in Shipping.

  • Added a glass hole at the northern entrance of Generator for building ARCs.

  • Smoothed movement around that area below Generator.

  • Added some obstacles into Monitoring.

  • Marines can now get into the Lower Wasteflow ceiling vent using the barrels and doorframe to climb up.

  • Added a ladder into the DAT-1 vent.

  • Slightly scaled out the doorframe near the DAT-1 vent to make it easier to trick jump into the vent.

  • Marines can now trick jump into the Sewer-Puri vent from Sewer.

  • Removed collision from tons of tiny props.

• Derelict: (Thanks psyk!)

  • Added 5th techpoint in the middle of the map in Admin.

  • Moved res node in Admin.

  • More cover, thicker trees and other improvements to Plaza (smaller room).

  • Added a few more cover spots here and there.

  • Added vent between Flooded and Botany.

  • Added additional route between Garage and Turbine.

  • Added additional route between Geothermal and Flooded.

  • Re-arranged the Truck/Container setup in the entrance of Garage / Alley. Can go through the right side of the truck, jump up the small crates; also broke the right yellow railing at the right entrance for more fluid gameplay.

  • Added kinda vent between Glass Hallway and Biome.

  • Added ladder at the pipe tower in Plaza.

  • Changes to Administration to help Aliens against ARCs coming from Overlook:

    • Another window hole to bile or attack.

    • Lowered the vent on floor level to help (retreating) Gorges.

    • Put more crates into that ARC spot hallway to the right to remove some space for ARCs and to the left to give Gorges some cover to bile from range.

    • Smoothed out movement in those offices by rearranging/scaling the desks, etc. and using collision geo.

  • Moved the entire Atmospheric Seeding location higher to reduce/remove elevation at both exits, which led to frustrating uphill combat for Aliens and made the long corridor even worse.

  • Increased the height of the floor around the broken tree container prop and the RT in Nursery to remove awkward movement and collision due to height differences.

  • Geothermal fixes:

    • Moved up the entire floor plane to reduce issues with height differences and techpoint being in a kinda pit.

    • Shrunk pipes above techpoint.

    • Blocked off the space above the ceiling pipes leading away from Geothermal and used for bile bomb abuse.

    • Removed ladders, you can use the rocks to jump up now.

    • Moved power node around the corner to be more protected from bile.

  • Shrunk Western Entrance by 33%. Less negative space, less clutter needed to fill it, more fps.

  • Changed the entrance between Western Entrance and Infested Corridor to be more interesting for gameplay and less of a long, straight line abused by well positioned Marines.

  • Widened Infested Corridor and improved movement/combat.

  • Removed vent from Western/Biome to Plaza.

• Origin: (Thanks psyk!)

  • Moved Ore RT into Generator; easier to defend from Ventilation and a good tunnel location for Biodome start. Also denies an RT to Marines, if they hold Furnace side, similar to how Maintenance is denied, if they hold Biodome side.

  • Added more starting Cysts to Biodome Alien Start.

• Tanith: (Thanks, Zavaro!)

  • Increased height of Acidic-Access vent to make boosting more difficult

  • Lowered floor of Fusion Core resource node to make cyst sniping harder

  • Pipes in Computer Control-SatCom hallway have been broken so that players may more easily use them as an escape

  • Chemical Transport’s south side now allows structures to be placed

  • Ladder added to south side of Chemical Transport platform

  • Western Entrance modified slightly to smooth out travel between Old Wing and Reactor Room

  • Some fixes to areas where structures should not have been able to be placed

  • Several stuck spots removed

• Docking: (Thanks, Thesaltyseacaptain)

  • Fixed exploit where marines could escape the map

  • Fixed power issue in Locker Room