NS v3.0 beta 2 is now publically available! Here's the [file=changelogs/v30b2-changelog.html]complete changelog[/file]. The patch is 10 megs, and is available from our downloads page. The full client install and dedicated server builds will be updated shortly, but for now, you'll to install the full client or dedicated server, then apply the patch.
Thanks to Nemesis Zero, Comprox, and Joev, the forums are now back up! Head on over to give your feedback on the beta.
In other news, this weekend marks the opening weekend for the first beta Battle For the Galaxy tournament! This is some cool stuff:
Battle for the Galaxy is a tournament for the Natural Selection mod taken to an Epic Level. Instead of fighting independently or with a small clan-sized group, participants enlist in a massive force of Marines or Aliens composed of hundreds of players. Each player enlisted only fights on one side (alien or marine) called a "force" for the duration of the campaign, so the destiny of every player in that force rests not only on their own skill, but on the teamwork and commitment of their teammates. Individual battles take place over 12 hour marathon clashes, across multiple servers, during which hundreds of combatants enter the fray and struggle alongside their comrades for as long as they choose. When the battle is over and the smoke clears, the results from all the servers are compiled and the victors secure the region the battle represents.
The tournament incorporates a realistic command structure with Commanding Officers and Alien Leaders. By demonstrating your skill and ability to assist in a team effort, you raise yourself above your peers and become a candidate for being promoted to a leadership position: setting the stage for your climb into the ranks of the upper echelons.
Get yourself registered for this free tournament at: http://www.battleforthegalaxy.com/register/
See you on the battlefield!
NS v3.0 beta 1 is now publically available! Click the downloads link on the left to get it!
Many thanks to the many hundreds of Constellation members, Veterans, file mirrors, server admins, forum moderators and countless community members that have contributed to NS up to this point. We couldn't have done this without you. See you in-game...
We have made great progress on 3.0, and are close to release. Many people thought that when we announced we were releasing "this holiday season", that mean before New Year's Eve. We apologize if that was misleading. We take our release dates very seriously and don't want to mislead people. It's been changed to "this winter", to avoid any more confusion. We had a January release in mind, and we hope to be able to stick to that...
In order to facilitate communication with the community, we've set up a few NS mailing lists (no longer active). We have one for mappers to learn about late-breaking news and get their questions answered, one for file mirrors, and (soon) one to keep up to date with community events. These lists will soon be integrated more directly with the site and the forums, but they are functional now. Click the "mailing lists" link above to join. Of course, we will never ever spam you or give out your information to anyone. The lists are just getting going, but they're functional, so go sign up for any you are interested in.
After many months of productive playtesting and balance work with around 2000 Constellation members and Veterans, we feel like we are ready for the next step. We just can't get the kind of balance and compatibility testing we need by running all the playtest servers ourselves, and we want to give back to the ever-patient greater NS community. So instead of waiting until v3.0 is totally complete before release, we're going to release the beta to the public. We don't have the exact date yet, but we expect that the v3.0g beta is the build we're going to release to everyone, just as soon as we get everything in order.
The NS dev team wants to personally thank everyone that helped test, and especially to the Constellation members that have donated to further NS development. If you see any Constellation members on a server, be sure to thank them for their contributions. Without their contributions, you probably wouldn't even be playing v2.01 right now...