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Natural Selection 2 dev's 'Subnautica' dives into Steam Early Access
Natural Selection 2 developer Unknown Worlds launched its latest game on Steam Early Access this week, Subnautica. In it, players submerse themselves in an "alien underwater world" with brightly-colored creatures and environments, such as coral reefs and volcanoes. Fighting to survive, the swimmers also hunt for resources to build new gear and submarines, allowing them to further explore the aquatic areas. Subnautica is currently 10 percent off ($18) until December 23 and supports virtual reality headsets such as Oculus Rift. Unknown Worlds handed development duties for Natural Selection 2 to a group of dedicated fans in June, after announcing Subnautica one year ago. Head past the break to see a trailer for Subnautica, showing some of the pretty (and some of the ferocious) creatures in the Early Access game. [Image: Unknown Worlds]
Fans grab development reins on Natural Selection 2
Unknown Worlds Entertainment has decided to pull its developers from cult-hit, team-based shooter Natural Selection 2, though instead of ending the game's lifespan the studio is handing development duties to a group of dedicated fans. WasabiOne, co-leader of the newly-founded fan development team, revealed this news via the Natural Selection 2 forums. While introducing his new team of amateur game developers, WasabiOne also outlines how his teams' plans for Natural Selection 2 differ from Unknown Worlds Entertainment. According to the nascent development lead, work on Natural Selection 2 will henceforth be more visible to the public, and the dev team is introducing a program which recognizes those community members who root out particularly egregious bugs or design especially awesome maps. Though WasabiOne is confident in his team's abilities, he remains realistic about its new task. "There is potential for greatness, but we will have many hurdles to overcome along the way," he states. "While these things take time to implement and grow, we plan on being very open with what we are actively working on." [Image: Unknown Worlds Entertainment]
Natural Selection 2 dev approves fan-driven championship
Developer Unknown Worlds has heard the pleas of its fans and has decided to greenlight a worldwide championship tournament for its flagship shooter, Natural Selection 2. Tournaments are generally created by developers to promote a game, but in this case the idea for the event came from the Natural Selection 2 fan community. The only hitch is that Unknown Worlds is a relatively small firm which readily admitted that it couldn't afford the $30,000 necessary to host such a tournament. Undeterred, the fans pushed harder: "We will organize it, Unknown Worlds. We will fund it. All we ask is that you help us," wrote members of the community. Finally convinced, Unknown Worlds has agreed to the tournament, assuming the community is able to raise the necessary $30,000 funds. If that occurs, the tournament will host 24 of the best Natural Selection 2 players from around the world in a round robin tournament to determine who is the best of the best. If you'd like to donate to the tournament fundraiser, you can find full information on the game's new GoFundMe page.
Natural Selection 2 introducing female marines
The female TSF Marine will join the battle of Natural Selection 2 in the game's next update, scheduled for August. The character was one of the first announcements made for post-launch content and developer Unknown Worlds revealed the final render of the game's 3D model on its site. "The game industry has a history of depicting female characters inappropriately," wrote Unknown Worlds' Hugh Jeremy as part of the announcement. "Often, they are stylized to such a degree that they become sexual objects: While their male comrades are clothed, armed and armored to fight, the female character is notable for the lack of any clothing at all. When female characters are granted equal protection, that protection often ignores basic laws of physics in favor of offering titillating form." And if you feel good after reading that, don't read the comments found on Unknown World's announcement. Just don't. Don't.
Natural Selection 2 credit card scam sees developer out $30,000
Valve has deactivated 1,341 Steam keys for Natural Selection 2, a result of a scam that saw developer Unknown Worlds Entertainment out a total of $30,000. These 1,341 keys were purchased through the developer using stolen credit cards. The real credit card owners made chargeback claims on the fraudulent charges, and as a result the developer never received its money and was instead hit with the $30,000 fee to recoup the stolen funds.It seems someone "purchased" keys through Unknown Worlds, sold them to third parties at a discount and then vanished once original credit card holders disputed the charges to Unknown Worlds. As a result, Unknown Worlds has temporarily closed its store, making Steam the only eligible place to purchase Natural Selection 2 at the moment.As of today, anyone who purchased those illegitimate keys will find their game deactivated. Unknown Worlds suggests contacting the site you purchased the key from for a full refund – good luck with that.
Natural Selection 2 receives free 'gorgeous' update, 50% off sale
Natural Selection 2 gets "Gorgeous" today, along with a 50 percent off sale on Steam. The update, according to Hugh Jeremy of developer Unknown Worlds, introduces "new weapons, creatures, abilities, map, tutorial system and more: Gorgeous takes the struggle for survival between alien and marine to the next level."At 50 percent off, Natural Selection 2 will be $12.50. We've followed up to find out how long the sale will last.%Gallery-180146%
Natural Selection 2 launch bumped up, available later today
Natural Selection 2, which was originally slated for a Halloween launch, will now be available later today. The new calculation on the game's Steam page has the team-based shooter's release set for around 8PM Eastern (5PM Pacific, Midnight UK).As Shacknews points out, the original idea was for the game to launch at midnight Pacific, 10 years to the day of the original Natural Selection mod for Half-Life. Now that it'll launch a little early, it'll be a multiplayer multi-time zone fiesta.
Natural Selection 2 treats us to alien slaughter on October 31
Natural Selection 2 is really pushing that October release window it set up in September; it's now due out on October 31. The original Natural Selection mod came out on October 31, 2002, precisely 10 years prior to its sequel's launch date."As the old saying goes, 'you've bitten off more than you can chew,'" Unknown Worlds writes in its release date announcement. "To which we reply: 'swallow it whole.'" While we're not quite sure of the context for that one, it is understandably spooky.
Natural Selection 2 makes it to Steam, set for October release [update]
Ten Halloweens ago, the absurdly popular Natural Selection mod transformed Half-Life into a multiplayer shooter with real-time strategy. Today, its long-developed sequel is finally up for pre-order on Steam, attached with a very convenient 'October 2012' release window. Yup, we'll eat our pumpkin hat if Natural Selection 2 isn't out by October 31. Until then, the game remains in beta with over 40,000 active players according to developer Unknown Worlds.Natural Selection 2 now offers a tactical team-based shooter in a proprietary engine, with one side the marines, the other the aliens. One member of each team plays the "Commander" role, overseeing the fight from above and influencing it through RTS features like defenses, buildings, and upgrades.Pre-orders on Steam are being rewarded with Natural Selection 2's deluxe version. That includes the official soundtrack, a digital art book, and some in-game armor amongst other goodies, all for $24.95. Sadly, there's been an oversight regarding a pumpkin hat.Update: Clarified release window and corrected engine information.
Natural Selection 2 demonstrates Darwin's theory in new video
With the advent of antibiotics, platinum credit cards and thermal underwear, the purist's notion of natural selection remains a long-forgotten, useless ideal -- at least until the aliens attack. Sequel to a 2002 Half-Life mod, Natural Selection 2 will act as a survival-of-the-fittest simulation for both sides: Players will inhabit the bodies of aliens and Marines to see which traits will be passed on to the following generations. We're guessing large teeth and precise trigger fingers will make the cut, but not necessarily on the same species.Natural Selection 2 is set to launch this summer, but those who pre-order will get early access via the beta on Steam.
Natural Selection 2 developer details its to-do list
Though many of you seemed glad to see indie FPS/RTS Natural Selection 2 getting some attention from Joystiq last week, a lot of you that were already playing expressed frustration with the current state of the game. Developer Unknown Worlds recently used its official site to explain the game's current state and what the future looks like. In short, we're talking about a relatively tiny developer, who acknowledges this is a true beta, with far less polish than those from Blizzard or Bungie like you may be used to. That said, the team is focusing on fixing server crashes, connection problems, frame rate slowdown and a few other problems, all of which are detailed right here. We're sure it's frustrating right now, but think about what a badge of honor it'll be to have been into Natural Selection 2 before it actually worked.
