Natural Selection 2 News Update - New web server and upcoming content tools
Flayra
Game Director, Unknown Worlds EntertainmentSan Francisco Join Date: 2002-01-22 Member: 3Super Administrators, NS2 Developer, Subnautica Developer
Game Director, Unknown Worlds EntertainmentSan Francisco Join Date: 2002-01-22 Member: 3Super Administrators, NS2 Developer, Subnautica Developer
Comments
Nah, remotely changing firewall rules with no access other then SSH is scarier.
Oh, and there is a typo in the news post: "...this new server is up and running and faster than <b>over</b>!"
There are many scary things to do. But, yes, the firewall remotely, always is the one to double check most.
Good question. Even though I'm not a modder/mapper or anything of the sort, I'm looking forward to seeing the new player and object models while playing with the model viewer. It'd be good to know if we should keep the models to ourselves for a while.
The community is more important than the game itself IMO, Bioshock died because there was no modding community and Duke Nukem 3D has survived it's 12 years or something because they wanted the community to make maps and such.
You guys kick ass!
I assume that they'll release information at the pace they wish. It seems that any info we receive would do more good than harm if leaked.
Flayra mentioned that they have been working on keeping up on updates through other means (facebook & twitter) but I am curious what they plan in terms of publicity for NS2. More specifically how we can help them. I have already shared links and messages with my friends, fellow gamers and even people I know that don't play video games (because the NS/NS2 development blog is interesting even without a fan's/my drooling lust for more or a complete understanding of the technical aspects, eh?). What next? The old threads on publicity and advertising don't seem to delve into the guerrilla techniques I'm sure many of us are capable of...
Flayra, would you like us to make flags with the marine symbol or gorge silhouette and take them to sporting events (and film the awesome), build delicious desserts that look like offensive chambers (and note the formula for edible awesome), or make t-shirts at home and wear them to break dancing competitions (and photograph many a double serving of awesome)?
At the very least your game has a name that is recognizable, a lot of people have heard of the process of natural selection, and that can be used advantageously in spreading the good word. I for one think that the 3 content tools and a small learning curve needed to use them are what many online games are missing. I look forward to exploring the functionality and utility of these tools myself!
and its still alive :D I myself revived about 16 months ago a mod I made 7 years ago, just to include
highres textures and 3d models and that stuff. the community is still advancing the engine and creating
mods for it.
so yeah, its the best idea you can do to a community: giving the possibility to mod your game :)
Tools should be released for free asap so quality maps can be made. The only thing gained for pre-ordering should be access to beta.
My 2 cents.
Tools should be released for free asap so quality maps can be made. The only thing gained for pre-ordering should be access to beta.
My 2 cents.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
3 words: Small Development Team
People <b>want</b> access to these tools. UWE could easily release NS2 with just in-house maps, heck they would have more maps then when TF2 launched.
If they decide to use your user generated map in the final release im sure you would receive some sort of reimbursement, either payment for assets, or refund of purchase price or whatever.
I doubt they would just take your map without payment unless you as the mapper decided that exposure was enough.
As far as I know UWE only has 1 or 2 mappers. KFS might be a mapping ninja but he can only do so much in a certain amount of time.
In the end releasing the tools for free can only help UWE. This is a new engine that mappers will have to learn meaning lots of free time needed.
Quality maps for other games take a long time to make let alone "NS" maps. A good NS map on the HL1 engine could take anywhere fron 5-12 months to finish.
What would map designers need to think about? I'm really excited about creating a NS2-map, but I'm not in the mood to create a map, only to find out that it's completely useless.
Although.. When those tools are released, maybe the alpha will come out in the same time along with one map, so that we might have a small clue how to create the best map. :)
Tools should be released for free asap so quality maps can be made. The only thing gained for pre-ordering should be access to beta.
My 2 cents.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I think it was meant to read:
If you have pre-ordered you will get the tools early. Later we will allow everyone (even if you don't own the game) to download the tools.
Least that's how I read it. Not sure what good the tools are without the game tho...
A couple of uh, 'typos', let's say...
"Well it may not look any different,"
-> While
"faster than over!"
-> ever
And to add to the discussion,
People aren't <b>paying for the tools</b>. They're <b>pre-ordering the game</b> so that they can have first access to the game. As an extra reward/incentive for pre-ordering, UWE're providing access to the beta (and alpha (and black armour, but irrelevant)). Just look at it this way. People who pre-ordered the game - people who BOUGHT THE GAME EARLY - are going to be the alpha/beta testers - <b>not just</b> for <i>the game</i>, but <b>also</b> for <i>the tools</i>. So rather than manually pick individual community members to be testers, they'll instead use a <b>selection</b> process that is entirely <b>natural</b>: pre-orderers.
Also, they've clearly stated in the past that, since this is a <b>commercial</b> venture and not a free mod, third-party mappers that have their maps shipped with the game will be reimbursed <b>financially</b>.
I'm much more excited about being able to make maps and stuff than actually playing the game at this point. Having played Multi Theft Auto San Andreas (mod with like 0 maps at launch) I realize that you can build a much stronger community, and make maps and other content that is much more in tune with what players want. Especially if you allow everyone to contribute content to the server they usually play on, up to a certain point ofc.
P.S Logging in was faster than over!
highres textures and 3d models and that stuff. the community is still advancing the engine and creating
mods for it.
so yeah, its the best idea you can do to a community: giving the possibility to mod your game :)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Exactly, give more to the comm,unity thant to the actual game and it's guaranteed that the game will last for a LONG long time which means more people will buy the game instead of having everyone buy it when it's released then die off because there's no reason to keep playing a game, no matter how great it is.
Tools should be released for free asap so quality maps can be made. The only thing gained for pre-ordering should be access to beta.
My 2 cents.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It's not about paying for access to tools - we're pre-selling the game, and one of the perks of that is EARLY access to the tools. The first version of them could be rough and the tools will not be perfect. We need to get them in front of a small number of people first, so we can take feedback and grow the tools along with your desires as well. We are advocates of this process instead of spending longer and trying to get them just right before releasing them, only to find out that they don't work nearly as well as we expect. We think this is the way to go!