The difference between speed of marines and skulks compared to NS1 is already almost non existential. Making vents and alternative moving routes for marines makes alien regrouping almost impossible, which is one the biggest flaws in NS2 metagame. Vents should give mobility advantage for aliens, especially in NS2, because of lack base speed difference. Ironically, in NS1 (without boosting) almost every vent was non accessible for marines.
Vents is NS2 are deathtraps for aliens if marine is able to get there. Any marine with decent aim will kill "checking" skulk who goes to vent, so no, you can't check are there marines in vent or not. Skulks are just too big and slow to challenge marines in vents. But I agree, the best way would be make access to West vent from overlook, not because RT biting skulks but gorges.
And when it comes to covering RTs as marine, this topic has shown how uncreative people are. If you just run like idiot from one RT to next, you deserve to lose those RTs. You know, in this game you can sneak and even better you can predict your opponent’s movement.
Just published a small update to tram to fix a power issue in the corridor between Ore and Warehouse. Also reported to Olmy so it gets fixed in the official tram.
One skulk can keep going back and forth doing damage to the nodes without the marine being able to catch him. Even if the marine can sprint at first, he can't keep up with the skulk. Eventually, those nodes go down unless you commit another marine to it or research mines and mine up the vent.
So? It takes years to kill one rt this way (though rts have less hp than ns1). I probably should not be telling secrets here but marine does not need to run all the way to the rt if skulk stops biting it! You can just stay pretty much in the middle point and/or sneak kill the skulk when he decided to go down to one rt. Only small 50% chance skulk dies. AND if the skulk kills one rt there is only one place where (a stupid) skulk will go. But I guess you have not been really defending rts ever before this so you would not know.
ScardyBobScardyBobJoin Date: 2009-11-25Member: 69528Forum Admins, Forum Moderators, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow
edited April 2013
ns2_nsl_descent appears to be broken. Whenever I switch to it, I get this spammed in server console and everyone is kicked from the server with a level error issue:
Loading 'maps/ns2_nsl_descent.level'
Error: Couldn't load 'maps/ns2_nsl_descent.level'
Unable to find NS2Gamerules!
Unable to find NS2Gamerules!
Unable to find NS2Gamerules!
Unable to find NS2Gamerules!
JektJoin Date: 2012-02-05Member: 143714Members, Squad Five Blue, Reinforced - Shadow
You don't need to do anything. Just join the server.
If you want to run around the map by yourself in a listen server then you need to subscribe to the map in workshop.
Yup just did it now, I don't think at any point I dropped below 160 frames, and was seeing 170-200 frames in a lot of rooms, also while the maps weren't fullbright like you'd see in doom 3 or quake (meaning super bright)
They were all dull bright, like I can clearly see in every single room without my flashlight, but it wasn't insane bright.
So what do I think? Why the heck aren't these things official?? No ambient noise (while it never stopped me from hearing anything, it's just nice, also sometimes you'd hear sounds cancel out and other weird things in certain spots) improved performance, and no dark spots noticeable for me anywhere. These things kick the official maps right in the face, and then kick them again while they're on the ground, and then run their pockets to take their lunch money and go and buy pizza down the block, and then come back to them and eat the pizza in front of their face as they cry many tears of sadness
ns2_nsl_descent appears to be broken. Whenever I switch to it, I get this spammed in server console and everyone is kicked from the server with a level error issue:
Loading 'maps/ns2_nsl_descent.level'
Error: Couldn't load 'maps/ns2_nsl_descent.level'
Unable to find NS2Gamerules!
Unable to find NS2Gamerules!
Unable to find NS2Gamerules!
Unable to find NS2Gamerules!
Are you sure it's a map problem? We've played this a couple of times since the patch and it was fine...
If anyone gets the spam error in console from the spectator view (it seems to only happen in veil after the round ends), I'd appreciate if you sent me the log (it's in %appdata%\Natural Selection 2).
You can also fix the problem in the meantime typing "lowlights" in console twice.
One skulk can keep going back and forth doing damage to the nodes without the marine being able to catch him. Even if the marine can sprint at first, he can't keep up with the skulk. Eventually, those nodes go down unless you commit another marine to it or research mines and mine up the vent.
So? It takes years to kill one rt this way (though rts have less hp than ns1). I probably should not be telling secrets here but marine does not need to run all the way to the rt if skulk stops biting it! You can just stay pretty much in the middle point and/or sneak kill the skulk when he decided to go down to one rt. Only small 50% chance skulk dies. AND if the skulk kills one rt there is only one place where (a stupid) skulk will go. But I guess you have not been really defending rts ever before this so you would not know.
Whats with the hostility, did I piss in your bowl of sugar?
First of all, it doesn't take "years" to get down these nodes in this way. Actually, just going back and forth as a skulk with a marine chasing you from skylights to overlook means you can do enough damage to take down a node by going back and forth 3-4 times.
Surely the marine can try to sneak, but a good skulk will notice that(crouching marines still makes noise) and leave the room he is getting ambushed at before the marine arrives, but you probably haven't played skulk before, so you wouldn't know
This means that with a good skulk, there is only a tiny chance(far from those 50% you mentioned) that the skulk will die when he is doing this. The marine often won't even see the skulk for more than a split second while he enters the vent, if he even manages that.
I agree that vents are there for a mobility advantage for aliens, but the advantage in the case of the skylights/overlook vent is simply too much and being able to use it as a marine helped balance out that fact.
If anyone gets the spam error in console from the spectator view (it seems to only happen in veil after the round ends), I'd appreciate if you sent me the log (it's in %appdata%\Natural Selection 2).
You can also fix the problem in the meantime typing "lowlights" in console twice.
Updated NSL Summit and NSL Tram for the updates in 245.
Also, Tram (both normal and NSL) now includes the same spawn configuration from the Spawns mod by default, I did the same with NSL Summit (default summit still needs the mod to get cross spawns).
I have updated EVERYTHING here, all 4 maps and the mod (to include the new lights for spectators, nothing from the code). Let me know if I forgot something.
Comments
Vents is NS2 are deathtraps for aliens if marine is able to get there. Any marine with decent aim will kill "checking" skulk who goes to vent, so no, you can't check are there marines in vent or not. Skulks are just too big and slow to challenge marines in vents. But I agree, the best way would be make access to West vent from overlook, not because RT biting skulks but gorges.
And when it comes to covering RTs as marine, this topic has shown how uncreative people are. If you just run like idiot from one RT to next, you deserve to lose those RTs. You know, in this game you can sneak and even better you can predict your opponent’s movement.
So? It takes years to kill one rt this way (though rts have less hp than ns1). I probably should not be telling secrets here but marine does not need to run all the way to the rt if skulk stops biting it! You can just stay pretty much in the middle point and/or sneak kill the skulk when he decided to go down to one rt. Only small 50% chance skulk dies. AND if the skulk kills one rt there is only one place where (a stupid) skulk will go. But I guess you have not been really defending rts ever before this so you would not know.
If you want to run around the map by yourself in a listen server then you need to subscribe to the map in workshop.
They were all dull bright, like I can clearly see in every single room without my flashlight, but it wasn't insane bright.
So what do I think? Why the heck aren't these things official?? No ambient noise (while it never stopped me from hearing anything, it's just nice, also sometimes you'd hear sounds cancel out and other weird things in certain spots) improved performance, and no dark spots noticeable for me anywhere. These things kick the official maps right in the face, and then kick them again while they're on the ground, and then run their pockets to take their lunch money and go and buy pizza down the block, and then come back to them and eat the pizza in front of their face as they cry many tears of sadness
Are you sure it's a map problem? We've played this a couple of times since the patch and it was fine...
You can also fix the problem in the meantime typing "lowlights" in console twice.
First of all, it doesn't take "years" to get down these nodes in this way. Actually, just going back and forth as a skulk with a marine chasing you from skylights to overlook means you can do enough damage to take down a node by going back and forth 3-4 times.
Surely the marine can try to sneak, but a good skulk will notice that(crouching marines still makes noise) and leave the room he is getting ambushed at before the marine arrives, but you probably haven't played skulk before, so you wouldn't know
This means that with a good skulk, there is only a tiny chance(far from those 50% you mentioned) that the skulk will die when he is doing this. The marine often won't even see the skulk for more than a split second while he enters the vent, if he even manages that.
I agree that vents are there for a mobility advantage for aliens, but the advantage in the case of the skylights/overlook vent is simply too much and being able to use it as a marine helped balance out that fact.
I fixed this problem
Also, Tram (both normal and NSL) now includes the same spawn configuration from the Spawns mod by default, I did the same with NSL Summit (default summit still needs the mod to get cross spawns).