Installing NS, a simple 2 step guide.

• Step 1:
  • Setting up steam, a steam account and Half-Life (not "Half-Life:Source")
  • Download and install steam
  • once steam has installed and updated itself launch it and create a steam account
  • If you don't have a retail copy of Half-Life
    • make sure steam is running then open this link
    • click purchase and let steam guide you through the process
  • If you have a retail copy of Half-Life
    • open steam and select "Browse Games" now select "Register a product..."
    • Enter your CD-key
      • valid keys come from:
        • Half-Life
        • Half-Life Bestseller Series
        • Half-Life Game of the Year Edition
        • Half-Life Anthology
        • Half-Life Generation
        • Half-Life 2 Silver&Gold
        • Counter-Strike Retail
      • the following products don't include a Half-Life key:
        • Half-Life 2 Retail
        • Half-Life 2 Bronze
        • Half-Life 2 EP1 Retail
        • Counter-Strike Condition Zero
        • The Orange Box
  • Choose "Half-Life" from the "Play Games" tab and select install
  • As soon as "Half-Life" has been finished downloading you are done with step 1
• Step 2:
  • Downloading NS and setting it up
  • Download NS
  • Run "Half-Life" (not "Half-Life:Source")
  • Set up your Video and Audio options
  • Start the "Half-Life" training level
  • Close Half-Life and exit Steam
  • Execute the NS installer
  • Browse to your Half-Life folder "C:\steam\steamapps\steam_id\half-life"; Replace steam_id with the ID you used to register with steam
  • Install NS
  • Run steam again, If everything is in order you can select "Natural Selection" from your "Play games" tab, do so
  • Set up your config and join a server

Welcome to the World of NS, the rest is up to you

• Common problems:
  • Error message: NS does not support software mode.
    • Solution: Go to your video options and select either opengl or d3d as video mode.
    • If you cannot select either update your video drivers
  • Error:I only see black when entering the command console and also some texture overlays are completely black.
    • Solution: Open the console and enter "cl_gammaramp 0" without the "".

If this guide didn't help you, maybe the power of pictures will

Edit: Whee updated again to include a small "How to buy over steam section"

Hi Faskalia,

The title of this post is very misleading, it should rather be how to Install Ns.

I thought this post would have (again) be a list of advices on how to be a good marin, alien and/or commander.

Though I am aware you are trying to help out the new players or the players who are having problems installing. I'll just add this link for those concerned.

Greetz,
XtOf

Yup the titel can be misleading.

And your link is provided in my guide

Why do we have to have half-life 1 i have half-life 2 and i dont wanna go out and buy the game can aynone help...

Honestly, I'm surprised you do not own Counter-Strike or Half-Life. These games defined the current first person shooter genre. And you are missing a lot if you did not play HL before HL2.

I suggest you stop by any store and pick a copy of HL, it will only set you back like $10 at the most. And is worth every dollar.

The reason HL2 cannot play Natural Selection is that HL2 uses the Source engine and HL/CS/NS use the original Half-Life engine. The two are incompatible.

Well that suxs why dos ns have to have those certain files why cant it run like a regular game

ive done wat it said in the tutorial many time but i always get this error "your .dll doesnt match the servers"
its been happening ever since u put in the update but i cant find it i only find the update for the servers.
i also get your "the map the server is running doesnt match yours"

its really anoying.
can any1 help?

whats the link for it?
on the web it says 3.05 beta and 3.0.1server files no client

edit:oops, i thought the client on web said 3.5beta
im downloading the new version now.this is a great game because it has 2 type of gameplay .gj guys

Woo yeah, I got a special thanks!!!!

*Mutters* probably never would have known about it if I never tried it myself */mutter*

excuse me but i dont have half life!
is there any other way to install it besides halflife?

because i want this game!

Wow, just to clarify for all these people...

HL is old, but cheap. And provides all the neccesary resources for Natural Selection to work. Without the existence of Half Life, there would probably be no Natural Selection.

Natural Selection is entirely free to you, in its own right. But you owe Valve for creating the foundation for the modifications that exist today. Thus, pay Valve the $10 to get the engine, then download Natural Selection entirely without cost to you, and enjoy it. =P

Then go donate to the NS team.

wel, i've done all you said. i dont own Source, but the original, i ran the taining course, twice, and even completed it just to make sure. i can play online with all the other mod, CS, DoD, etc, but in the 'my games' section, no NS, even though it is in the steamapps folder. i have tried it installed in the username folder by itself along with all the other mods, and specifically in the half-life sub folder, to see if that would make a difference, but no!
there are a whole load of GFC files in the steamapps folder, alnog with the (myusername) folder, is this the problem? and if so where the hell do i find the relevant file?
also, the layout of the NS file folder is different than the other mods i have. it is version 3, but perhapse the place i downloaded it from packed it wrong? i'll try to download it from somewhere else.
i can run the game in my own executable, but just not in steam. when i try to run an internet game from there it tells me my executable is out of date, but that there are no updates availab;e, just like it did before i got steam.
when i scan the relevant folder in Gamespy, no NS is found and it does not turn up on my list of available games either.

Help!!!

Well, we appear to have *D'OH* moment here...

ReiGunn, When you install NS, you MUST change "myUsername" to your actual Steam account name. For some, it's an email address, for others (like me ^_^) it's a username. For example, my NS is installed to "C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\patch_cbl_staff\HL\NS". Notice my username (patch_cbl_staff) is between SteamApps, and the Steam games? If you don't put your username into the installer, in the appropriate place, then NS won't be available under your Games listing.

Uninstall, then reinstall NS, making sure you put your Steam Username in the install path. Then launch Steam again, log in, then find Natural Selection under Third Party Games.

'preciate Patch, but i'm not that much of a noob, it is installed under my username, now from two different sources just in case the file was faulty. still however, no joy.
in the file folder itself there is an uninstall exe file before you go down the level to the actual nut's and bolts of the game itself- will this make a difference?
eg
steamapps>
reigunn>
halflife
DoD
NS>
(etc)
NS (folder)>
uninst000

get me?

You should have an uninstaller in Add/Remove Programs for NS. Use that to uninstall NS, should you need to.
Given that directory chain, I'm assuming that NS is installed into your DoD folder (right chevrons on directory chains are used to show what is in that folder, use in conjunction with 3 spaces normally...)
Assuming your Steam ID is ReiGunn (and that Steam installed with default options), then your install path would read thusly...
"C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\ReiGunn\Half-Life\NS"

Use the uninstaller to remove NS, then reinstall it. Use the offical download page to get it. Very rarely trust 3rd party download sites.

And as far as I'm aware, NS doesn't show up in GameSpy Arcade's listing. All the official mods and gametypes do (HL, CS, HL2DM), but I've never seen NS in there. Steam has a perfectly good game and server browser, use that instead. Most servers don't show up in GameSpy anyway....

sorry, that is my fault for not knowing how to use me arrers!
it is in the reigunn folder under ns, and each mod has a seperate directory, so halflife is a directory of its own, so is CS, Dod etc and of course NS itself!
so my path runs:

C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\ReiGunn\Ns
and the others:
C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\ReiGunn\Halflife
C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\ReiGunn\DoD
C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\ReiGunn\CS
Etc.

i'm making a right meal of this 'aint i!

i did use the suggested sites on the official website. but having uninstalled/reinstalled 5-6 times now, i'm at a loss

Yeah but NS is a MOD for Half-Life and thats why it goes into "accountname/half-life"

okay, moved the file to the halflife folder, but it still isn't coming up on the list.
now it reads:
C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\ReiGunn\halflife\ns
still nothing.
getting to you a little arent i?
thankyou for your patience

done exactly as it said on the tin, tried variations and everythin, listened to you lot getting progressively more **** off, and still nothing. time to go downstairs, sack this game off, as it dosnt seem to be worth the bother, and spend some time with my wife.
thanks and God bless you all

Don't say we didn't try. All that I ask you to do is quit Steam, uninstall and installed versions of NS. Restart your PC, then follow Faskalia's instructions from the beginning.
If, after all that, you still can't get NS working, then you may quit from the forum, and give up trying.

Best of luck in the future with your gaming.

Lt Patch.

*Looks to Faskalia, and Xtof*

May I vent? I won't do so unless I get clearence to...

I just tryed to run NS for the 4th time and I am having same problem as everyone else. Plus i don't seem to have a third party games menu does it appear when i download NS?

If I may... Clicky.

Thats what ive been doin but i still doesnt appear!

P.S do i need blue shift high defintion pack installed?

Hey i just downloaded NS (5th time) and started the training level. I was about to step into the suit and the game closed and this message appered: SV startbound=127 is that supposed to happen?

...? Do you mean ns_training or the training course for HL?

ns_training is not natural-selection, and the training course for HL only has tio be opened and loaded succesfully (You don't have to play the game, but it is a good game =] )

It was HL training. And when i opened steam NS was there! But i have run into another problem when i clicked on find severs the menu popped up but a message appered: failed to contact game master. or somethin like that.

Are you sure you don't have steam in offline mode?

I don't know how do i check?

Look at your steam icon in your system tray. If it is red, or in any way different than the normal black and white steam icon, it's offline.

Oh im in online mode now then. Im off on NS.

Good luck, and have fun.

What can you do if it only list Half Life Source listed? I have the original Half Life, can I install that and make it work?

Turboearl, the only way to get Half-Life: Source is to buy Half-Life 2 Silver (like me) or Gold as far as I know - and these include Half-Life. Which package did you buy? Does Steam list the other "old engine-games" (Condition Zero, CZ Deleted Scenes, Counter-Strike, Team Fortress Classic, Day of Defeat, Deathmatch Classic, Opposing Force and Ricochet)?

When some of them are listed but others not, maybe the *.gcf-files in your SteamApps-folder are missing/damaged.

Hokay. I've installed HL1, installed NS, Steam works, everything is hunky dory...

But there are no servers listed by Steam as Natural Selection servers.

So I go into Spectate, and lo and behold, there are some. Got a map error right off the bat, then another times out...and then the third finally works, but it's just a fixed view. All boring anyway, since none of these spectate-able servers had greater than zero people on them anyway.

But there are no listings in the Find Servers box, either within the Natural Selection mod or in the Steam client itself, for NS servers. Is there something wrong with my connection? Or is this specific to Natural Selection? ('Cause there's hordes of Counter-Strike servers.)

Check your fillters. More then likly that's the case. If not add the ip in my Sig and go around looking for other ips here and add them to your fav. list.

Hey there! I recently decided to play Natural Selection again after uninstalling Half-ife/Steam a year or two ago. Even after following these instructions to the map, NS still doesn't show up on the Play Games list on Steam. Both Half-life and Counterstrike work fine, but NS won't even show up on the list. Can anyone help me out? I'm really anxious to start playing again.

Thanks for your time!

Hit me up on AIM macronuttz02 I'll help you there, easier then posting back and forth.

See, sometimes it's just that easy. Now if everyone else posting problems in here would take the time and listen, they'd be playing too.

You're Welcome.