Update 341 Released!

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

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