Natural Selection 2

[SiniStarR]

For a while now I've been meaning to bring Unknown World's Natural Selection 2.

NS1 is arguably one of the best hl1 multiplayer mod to date with still a large amount of servers up. Essentially if you are looking for some unique fps/rts hybrid action this is! This is really the only time i've seen an fps/rts done right. Sure Battlefield 2/ 2142 tried to do it with their commanders and squads, but it just doesn't work as well as it does on paper. Team work is the heart of Natural Selection.

Anyways the developers, Unknown Worlds, has been working on a sequel, which was initially intended to be on the source engine. Surprisingly they scraped that and decided to develop their own engine called the Spark Engine.


So why am I telling you all this? Why because of the MAP EDITOR OF COARSE! The Map Editor is still currently in Alpha right now, but if you preorder the game you get access to it and all the updates that are patched in weekly. Since buying it and playing around with it I have to say it is one of the most incredible map maker I have ever seen! The alpha already blows hammer out of the water imo.

The map editor is so easy to pick up! The scary thing is, that you can spend about 20mins messing around and learning the tools and come up with something like this.

Unfortunately you can't play your maps but because everything in the editor renders in realtime, there isn't any need! what you see is what you get!

While I can go on and on and on and on about it, let me just assure that this indie developer is breaking the rules of traditional map making, and they definitely could use everyone's help since they are literally on their own as a starting up company. The $40 bucks for the early access is worth it! Lol I may sound like im trying to make one big advertisement, but I dont want this to slip under the radar.

Just look at these screenshots! http://www.ausns2.com/articles/spark-editor-the-first-48-hours

 

[A Boojum Snark]

I won't be impressed by the "ease of creation" until the game has been out for awhile. Everything is new so people are satisfied and impressed by just using what is in the box. Once people get used to it and start recognizing props and such then we'll see how easy it is to make a neat looking map.

 

[TheBladeRoden]

bah, I'm so jealous of indie developers

 

[Psy]

I wasn't at all surprised that they decided not to use Source and I do like the look of the editor and the engine. However some things are still a bit iffy like still having to create materials through XML file editing. This is odd because Source's ancient methods of importing content is one of the reasons why they decided to not use Source in the first place. :\

 

[Flame]

i pre ordered it months ago to shoot aliens, not map =P

game looks good from both an fps and mapping standpoint just looking at the custom maps that have been made for it already.

http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/news/2009/12/community_showcase

 

[Steff0o]

Wow you made a really nice thing

 

[lana]

The editor that comes with it is incredible. It's built around a framework similar to SketchUp with brushes, and can even use anti-brushes!

 

[ratclaw]

Hey, another NS2 fan

Don't forget the special deal Unknown Worlds has going. For a short time you can pre-order a bundle of Natural Selection 2 and another Indie game called Overgrowth.

Check it out here and support your local Indie devs today.

 

[SiniStarR]

Hey, another NS2 fan

Don't forget the special deal Unknown Worlds has going. For a short time you can pre-order a bundle of Natural Selection 2 and another Indie game called Overgrowth.

Check it out here and support your local Indie devs today.

lol ya i saw that, dont know much about overgrowth but from what I got the video its gonna be awesome anyways

 

[strangemodule]

I never really got into NS, and feared that trying to get into it now would result in being a newbie in a sea of people who play it all the time. Would it be bad for me to wait for NS2?

 

[Numerous]

I never really got into NS, and feared that trying to get into it now would result in being a newbie in a sea of people who play it all the time. Would it be bad for me to wait for NS2?

Protip: There's a special saying I tell to people who are jerks when I'm trying to learn how to play a new game. Here's a clue on what it is; it starts with F and ends with 'uckoff numbnuts".

Works just fine for me, I had that habit before I started TF2, although when I played CS online (not "CS online", just CS but online. Fucking nexon had to make an annoying name) I ended up using it on prettymuch half the server after I joined.
So I didn't know you could powerstab, BIG F***ING DEAL.

Lesson: never play the original counterstrike. Never play CSS either, its full of elitist morons too.

 

[absurdistof]

The editor that comes with it is incredible. It's built around a framework similar to SketchUp with brushes, and can even use anti-brushes!

This is the editor spawn of ut3. Sounds exactly like it. Model heavy, additive and subtractive brushes, real time 3d rendering (ut3 can playtest though)... Not to say it's bad at all however.

 

[Numerous]

Yea, sounds like unrealeditor. I only actually used that once, and I was also screwing with Maya at the same time. Not the best way to learn.

 

[grazr]

Bumping this thread because NS2 comes out at the end of the month.

http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/wiki/index.php/Natural_Selection_2_Mapping

If there was ever a game i wanted to map for besides TF2 it's probably this. I'll likely pass on CSGO because i was never much of a CS player and the DoDS has totally passed.

If i were to give any advice to someone who wants to keep mapping it's this: Don't get a girlfriend. Bitches be all up in your business, a major distraction if there ever was one. I'm really sad that i havn't touched the SDK in a few months, but losing my job and having to deal with my local council and jobcentre at the same time has also been a real time consumer.

Plus it'll be good to learn a new editor. The UDK sucks balls as a mapping program as far as i'm concerned.

 

[Crash]

I'll be playing too.

That editor looks very similar to Hammer. I am going to have to keep it in mind.

 

[grazr]

I'm kinda sad that those who've pre-ordered it recently don't get access to the editor. It seems only those who've been following the development since 2008-9 have had that luxury. I can only hope the public can get their hands on it come November.

Failing that i might be able to snatch a copy, as it turns out a personal friend of mine is actually friends with one of the developers. But chances are that shouldn't be necassery.

 

[Tom Hoen]

I played with the Spark editor some time before I started with hammer. I still have one crappy alpha map on my computer and haven't touched it in a long time. I'm too afraid to open it ever again. But the editor was nice and different.

Those who got special pre-orders have extra copies of this game. I wonder if that extra copy has editor enabled.