Natural Selection 2
Encyclopedia
Natural Selection 2 is a multiplayer computer game mixing first-person shooter
and real-time strategy
gameplay. It is set in a science fiction universe, and is currently under development.
Natural Selection 2 will be set a few years after the original Natural Selection
.
On August 31, 2007, podcasts by Max McGuire and Charlie Cleveland were released. These audio updates have since been released at irregular intervals. They discuss the development process, funding and focus, and serve as a basis for interviews with other names in the industry.
In Q3 2008 the team announced a switch to a custom game engine
named Spark, dropping Source
because of a balance between flexibility needed and licensing costs.
On April 9, 2010 a standalone Engine Build became available which included an external map creation utility.. On May 7th, the Engine Build started using Steam as its primary distribution and update source.
The Alpha Test started on July 26, 2010 and can be activated on Steam for users who have purchased Special Edition Pre-Orders.
An official release date for the game has not yet been given.
On December 1 2006 the first major announcement of a possible feature was announced, named 'Dynamic Infestation'. A video containing an example of Dynamic Infestation was posted on the Unknown Worlds development blog.
On April 7, 2008, Unknown Worlds established an office and hired additional employees using newfound funding for Natural Selection 2. Although work had been taking place up to this point at near full-time, this solidified Unknown Worlds' commitment to the game.
On July 10, 2008, Unknown Worlds announced their move from the Source Engine
to a in-house developed engine dubbed "Spark"
Concept artwork is often shown on the Unknown Worlds development blog.
As of October 2009 Unknown Worlds have confirmed plans to support Mac OS X
, Xbox 360
and Linux
platforms. But, as of February 2010, Max McGuire announced that OS X, Linux, and Xbox support will not be available at the game's initial launch. It was also revealed that Natural Selection has raised over $200,000 in pre-orders and $500,000 through angel investors
.
On July 13, 2010, Unknown Worlds Entertainment announced that a private alpha will be released through Steam for all Special Edition pre-order customers on July 26, 2010. It will be updated throughout the game development and eventually become the beta release. The full release version of the game will subsequently follow.
On November 18th, 2010, Unknown Worlds Entertainment updated the status from private alpha to closed beta, allowing anyone who had previously pre-ordered either edition of the game, plus the first 10,000 preorders after the announcement was made, into the beta. This was primarily to bring in more capital.
NS2's game engine will utilize the Lua
scripting language for game logic, allowing for easy expansion of the game's mechanics. Physics support is being provided by several third-party libraries, and will be part of the multi-player experience. The engine also is one of the few to use only dynamic light sources.
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
and real-time strategy
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
gameplay. It is set in a science fiction universe, and is currently under development.
Natural Selection 2 will be set a few years after the original Natural Selection
Natural Selection (computer game)
Natural Selection is a modification for the video game Half-Life. Its concept is a mixture of the first-person shooter and real-time strategy game genres....
.
Development Status
A blog is maintained to demonstrate progress on writing the game. The developers are also active on the Unknown Worlds forums.On August 31, 2007, podcasts by Max McGuire and Charlie Cleveland were released. These audio updates have since been released at irregular intervals. They discuss the development process, funding and focus, and serve as a basis for interviews with other names in the industry.
In Q3 2008 the team announced a switch to a custom game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
named Spark, dropping Source
Source engine
Source is a 3D game engine developed by Valve Corporation. It debuted in June 2004 with Counter-Strike: Source and shortly thereafter Half-Life 2, and has been in active development ever since...
because of a balance between flexibility needed and licensing costs.
On April 9, 2010 a standalone Engine Build became available which included an external map creation utility.. On May 7th, the Engine Build started using Steam as its primary distribution and update source.
The Alpha Test started on July 26, 2010 and can be activated on Steam for users who have purchased Special Edition Pre-Orders.
An official release date for the game has not yet been given.
Development History
The game was officially announced in October 2006. It was to be developed by the Natural Selection creator's newly-founded company, Unknown Worlds. Charlie ‘Flayra’ Cleveland will continue his work on the game and Cory Strader (concept artist from Natural Selection) will also be contributing concept artwork.On December 1 2006 the first major announcement of a possible feature was announced, named 'Dynamic Infestation'. A video containing an example of Dynamic Infestation was posted on the Unknown Worlds development blog.
On April 7, 2008, Unknown Worlds established an office and hired additional employees using newfound funding for Natural Selection 2. Although work had been taking place up to this point at near full-time, this solidified Unknown Worlds' commitment to the game.
On July 10, 2008, Unknown Worlds announced their move from the Source Engine
Source engine
Source is a 3D game engine developed by Valve Corporation. It debuted in June 2004 with Counter-Strike: Source and shortly thereafter Half-Life 2, and has been in active development ever since...
to a in-house developed engine dubbed "Spark"
Concept artwork is often shown on the Unknown Worlds development blog.
As of October 2009 Unknown Worlds have confirmed plans to support Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
, Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
platforms. But, as of February 2010, Max McGuire announced that OS X, Linux, and Xbox support will not be available at the game's initial launch. It was also revealed that Natural Selection has raised over $200,000 in pre-orders and $500,000 through angel investors
Angel investor
An angel investor or angel is an affluent individual who provides capital for a business start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity...
.
On July 13, 2010, Unknown Worlds Entertainment announced that a private alpha will be released through Steam for all Special Edition pre-order customers on July 26, 2010. It will be updated throughout the game development and eventually become the beta release. The full release version of the game will subsequently follow.
On November 18th, 2010, Unknown Worlds Entertainment updated the status from private alpha to closed beta, allowing anyone who had previously pre-ordered either edition of the game, plus the first 10,000 preorders after the announcement was made, into the beta. This was primarily to bring in more capital.
Distribution
Unknown Worlds Entertainment announced that the game will be distributed through Steam. All pre-order customers currently have access to the pre-release editing tools that will ship with the full game, and the engine test. Both were distributed on Steam. Unknown Worlds Entertainment has taken feedback and bug reports from pre-order customers and has updated both of them regularly.Game Engine
A game engine originally dubbed "Evolution" is being developed specifically for NS2. It has since been renamed "Spark". It is based on code written by Max McGuire, which was originally designed for loading Source engine media (the Source engine was originally the target for NS2 development).NS2's game engine will utilize the Lua
Lua programming language
Lua is a lightweight multi-paradigm programming language designed as a scripting language with extensible semantics as a primary goal. Lua has a relatively simple C API compared to other scripting languages.- History :...
scripting language for game logic, allowing for easy expansion of the game's mechanics. Physics support is being provided by several third-party libraries, and will be part of the multi-player experience. The engine also is one of the few to use only dynamic light sources.
See also
- Steam
- Unknown Worlds EntertainmentUnknown Worlds EntertainmentUnknown Worlds is an independently-owned American game development company whose goal is to "unite the world through play". Based in San Francisco, California, the studio is best known for the forthcoming sequel to Natural Selection, due to be released in 2011.-History:Unknown Worlds was formed in...
- Half-Life (video game)
- Natural Selection (video game)