Manual
From NS community wiki
Natural Selection is a multiplayer Half-Life mod in which the Trans System Authority Frontiersman (Marines) battle the vicious Kharaa (Aliens).
When Natural Selection was first released, it had only one mode, what is now known as Classic. This is the Real-Time Strategy/First Person Shooter (RTS/FPS) version and is used for competitive play. Combat was added in v3.0 and is a faster, more action oriented mode. It has elements of an RPG in that players gain levels that they can then spend on equipment, weaponry, classes, and abilities. The game is geared towards fast action with no building required.
Contents |
Teams
Marines
The Marines rely on ranged weapons, tight teamwork and coordination to reach their goals.
In Classic mode there is a Commander for the marines, who has a top down, RTS view of the world. He drops buildings for marines to build, researches upgrades, buys weapons, and leads the marines. The team must work together to gather resources for this technology to defeat the aliens.
In Combat, players kill enemies to gain experience to buy their own equipement and weapons. There are no structures involved, and the game is won when the one alien hive is destoyed within the time limit. The buy menu is accesible via right click.
Aliens
The aliens use, for the most part, melee weapons. Their strength is based on individual skill and coordinated ambushes. In general, they are faster than the marines, and excel at hit and run attacks.
In Classic mode, aliens must use different alien classes to attack or build and eradicate all the Marines and their Infantry Portals. The aliens have a more communal command structure in which there are builder classes (Gorges) who make buildings and several attack classes.
For Combat gameplay, players kill enemies to gain experience to buy their own upgrades or alien classes. There are no structures involved, and the game is won when the one alien hive is defended within the time limit. The buy menu is accesible via right click.
Quickstart Guide
Marines
- Unless absolutely no one else will, avoid commanding until you are familiar with the game.
- Go to your waypoints.
- Do not ask for weapons; the Commander will drop you them (must be dropped close to an Armory) if it's needed.
- Build dropped buildings by holding use (default is 'e') on the structures until it's fully built (most the building will go through an animation when it's done, or you can check the build indicator. The build indicator is around the base of the building and indicates how much building is needed. Notice the outline turns blue when the building is finished).
- When you hear your teammates yelling you to "PHASE, PHASE!", press use (default is 'e') on the Phase Gate to be teleported to a point of contention. If you phase and find nothing there, use the phase again until you are with your teammates.
- Listen and communicate with your teammates.
- Press use on an Armory to get more ammo. Do NOT fill up with ammo, get one to three clips then get moving.
- If you are given a Jetpack or Heavy Armor (within distance of the Prototype Lab), keep in mind they are expensive. Find out what your commander wants done with them.
- Stick with your teammates, do not attack structures unless you are cleared to do so (attacking alien structures alerts the Alien team).
- If you need health or ammo packs, right click to access your menu and request them from the Commander. By using the right click menu, the commander can quickly find you on the map.
- Move in groups.
Aliens
- Use your Hivesight to find where the action is. You can find which teammates are being attacked, or where they are going.
- Most beginners will work on building up the resource economy by finding a resource nozzle, evolving into a Gorge (use your right click menu to evolve), and dropping a Resource Tower (again accessible through your right click menu). You must then hold use (default is 'e') until it is built up. Watch the build indicator on the bottom of the structure to see it complete. All structures except for the hive are built like this.
- To build a Hive, use your minimap to find a hive location (there are three possible locations, including your starting Hive), and use the right click menu when within range to 'drop', or start the hive building. You do not hold use on the Hive to build it; it builds itself.
- Before building a Hive, ask your teammates which hive location they would like, (your current location name is available on your HUD).
- Your team will need upgrade chambers. Keep in mind that structure will be locked to that hive. So it's imperative tha you ask and make sure which upgrade chamber they'd like to go with first.
- When using the default Skulk class make, sure to ambush the marines. The Skulk has a wall walk ability, so be sure to use ceilings, vents, walls to surprise the enemy. The Skulk has very low health and armor, so be sure to weave, dodge, and use all the cover necessary when attacking.
- Communicate with your team to let them know what is going on and where the enemy is.
- If your team isn't doing anything or coordinating any attack, try to take down the marine Resource Towers.
- Use your minimap to see which areas and weakspots on the map need scouting and ask for it to be done or go do it.
Navigation
When you first start out, the most important key you can learn is the minimap key (default is 'c'). For both teams, this brings up a map of the entire level, letting you see what your teammates can see.
http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns/static/comm_manual/images/minimap.gif
Here is a zoomed in version of the minimap:
http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns/static/comm_manual/images/minimapCloseup.gif
As illustrated, all of your teammates, friendly structures, and hostile structures and players that are in view of your teammates are displayed. In this example the hostiles are in the bottom left. As soon as your teammates lose sight of hostiles, they will disappear from your minimap.
From this view, you can see the hives, the resource nodes, and weldable areas. It's useful for seeing where the action is, or where the enemy might be sneaking up.
Game Modes
Classic
Combat
Appendix
Scoreboard icons
http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns/static/comm_manual/images/icons.gif
- Beta Server Operator: The people who host servers for the closed beta testing of Natural Selection.
- Cheating-Death: An application that stops many cheats. It indicates the client machine is running it, and that it is supported by the server.
- Constellation: Those people who have donated $20 to keep Natural Selection development going.
- Developer: A developer (map maker, sound artist, programmer, etc) of the game.
- Playtester: Those who test the game and report bugs during closed beta testing.
- Server Operator: The owner and/or admin of the server.
- Veteran: A select group of experienced clan members who helped test and a much larger group of people who grouped six of their clan members together to help test.
