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Version 3.3 beta 8
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@pierow pierow released this 30 Mar 00:07
· 107 commits to develop since this release
v3.3b8
4871012

Installation

Notice: This is only compatible with the Half-Life 25th Anniversary update.

  • To install the full game, download ns_v33b8_full.zip and follow its instructions, then restart steam.
  • To update an existing installation of NS 3.3b2 or later, download ns_v33b8_patch.zip and follow its instructions. Be sure to read the note in the patch zip that contains extra details about patching.

Integrated Bot Support by @RGreenlees

  • Bots have been added to NS to enable a single-player experience offline, or help maintain player counts on servers.
  • Other bots such as RCBot and Whichbot will continue to work as normal and can play alongside the new bots.
  • New settings for enabling bot support have been added to the listen server menu in-game and the server config files.
  • Bots can be added and removed manually, or automatically to either maintain team sizes, or keep teams balanced.
  • The bot can optionally command for the marines.
  • Navigation files for the bots are held in ns/navmeshes, with support for all official maps (both combat and regular play).
  • A custom-built (Windows only) nav editor tool is included in ns/navmeshes/NavEditor to allow you to edit existing files or create new ones for custom maps. Documentation is included.
Bot command details: 
  mp_botsenabled (0/1)        Bots are enabled Y/N
  mp_botautomode (0-2)        (0 = manually add/remove bots, 1 = Maintain min player counts, 2 = Keep teams balanced only)
  mp_botskill (0-3)        Bot skill (0 = Easiest, 3 = Hardest)
  mp_botcommandermode (0-2)    (0 = Bot never commands, 1 = Bot commands after mp_botcommanderwait seconds if nobody else does, 2 = Bot only commands if no humans are on the team)
  mp_botcommanderwait (0..)    How long the bot should wait before taking command (if allowed to)
  mp_botusemapdefaults (0/1)    Use the map min player counts defined in nsbots.ini Y/N
  mp_botminplayers (0-32)        If not using map defaults, maintain this player population for all maps
  mp_botallowlerk (0/1)        Bot is allowed to evolve lerk Y/N
  mp_botallowfade    (0/1)        Bot is allowed to evolve fade Y/N
  mp_botallowonos    (0/1)        Bot is allowed to evolve onos Y/N
  mp_botlerkcooldown (0..)    After a lerk is killed, how long in seconds should the bot wait to evolve again (default 60s)
  mp_botmaxstucktime (0..)    If a bot is stuck longer than this time (in seconds) it will suicide (default 15s)
  mp_botdebugmode (0-2)        (0 = Disabled, 1 = Drone Mode, 2 = Test Nav Mode). Use test nav mode to validate your nav files.
  
  sv_botadd <Team>    If mp_botautomode is 0, this will manually add a bot to team 1 or 2. If Team is 0, it will assign randomly
  sv_botremove <Team>    If mp_botautomode is 0, this will manually remove a bot from team 1 or 2. If Team is 0, it will remove randomly
  sv_botregenini        If your copy of nsbots.ini is lost or corrupted, this will generate a fresh one
  
  bot_cometome        If mp_botdebugmode is 1, this will force the bot to come to you. Helps test your nav file.
  bot_drawoffmeshconns    Will draw the off-mesh connections present in the loaded navigation file, color-coded based on connection type
  bot_drawtempobstacles    Will draw nearby temporary obstacles affecting the nav mesh

Graphics and Audio Updates

Why does the game look different than before?
Note: If you are patching to version b8, it will look incorrect until you select a preset.

NS was originally designed to use the Windows “gamma ramp” feature to increase the color intensity and brightness of the image in a way that was controllable by mappers. This Windows feature broke when Windows Vista came out and is unreliable at best, so users have disabled it for over 15 years and it was completely disabled in all post-3.2 NS patches. Disabling it meant the game was up to 2x darker than before, so players (and subsequent patches) increased every HL engine lighting value to the max to make the game playable.

With the v3.3b8 update, the “gamma ramp” feature has been rewritten as an OpenGL shader, which also adds cross platform support. The original visuals of NS can be viewed with the “Classic NS preset” button when in the main menu or in game.
Why are the default settings different from NS 3.2?
This fork of NS was made with the goal of getting new players in the game quickly and on an even playing field, where their only disadvantage to experienced players is experience itself, not configuration file edits. As mentioned above, players have been playing for 15+ years with modified lighting settings that made shadows less dark. These settings can’t just be locked down because monitor gamma can also be adjusted to achieve similar results.

NS was also very much a product of its time, where high shadow contrast and color intensity were graphics novelties and were used with a heavy hand. The resulting flashy visuals made for great screenshots, but wind up being quite literally flashy and headache-inducing when coupled with fast paced multiplayer gameplay where players travel around the maps at very high speeds.

The new defaults try to bring the best of both worlds by intensifying colors moderately, while keeping the maps well lit. The lighting is now much closer to other multiplayer shooters. It isn’t perfect, as the lighting between the official maps vary quite a bit, we don’t have the source files to recompile the maps, and the engine’s settings are limited, so reaching a good middle ground hasn’t been easy. Feel free to play with the settings yourself and give feedback.

Additionally with the new defaults, for similar reasons, the ambient sounds and music have been reduced in volume. The music also plays only at the start of rounds. The weapon bobbing has also been reduced, as well as the crosshairs replaced with ones that are less elaborate and easier to discern. These can all be altered individually in the options, or swapped between with the new presets.
  • Presets are now in the main menu for selecting from Classic NS, NS 3.3 (new default), and Competitive audio and visual settings.
    • Classic NS: NS 3.2 lighting, audio mix, crosshairs, HUD, and view/weapon bobbing.
    • NS 3.3: Brighter lighting with less shadows, reduced volume music and ambient sounds, new crosshairs, minimal marine HUD, reduced weapon bobbing, and no view bobbing.
    • Competitive: At the moment these are just the settings from previous NS 3.3 releases, but with the Nine Legends HUD. This will likely be updated in the future to take advantage of the new lighting settings.
  • The previously disabled "gamma ramp" for NS that used a broken windows API has been rewritten as an openGL shader.
    • This allows the for the graphics to be viewed as originally intended in the "Classic NS" preset.
    • cl_postprocess toggles the shader (and any future postprocessing effects). It also clears the framebuffer between frames, so untextured areas (ex. outside the map) no longer retain pixels from previous frames.
    • cl_intensity scales the image intensity, with 1 being the same as the original gamma ramp. Image intensity varies according to the map's settings for it.
    • cl_intensityalt toggles using a new alternative env_gamma setting than the map's original for certain maps where the lighting was much darker or brighter than other maps (enabled in NS 3.3, disabled in Classic NS presets).
      • Added alternative map env_gammas: ns_hera 1.7 -> 1.55 (reduced intensity) , ns_lucid 1.6 -> 1.75 (increased intensity).
    • Removed cl_gammaramp and ResetGamma.exe
    • Special thanks to @bacontsu, @SamVanheer, and @Admer456 for sharing their openGL work in HL and answering my questions about HL's rendering. They all make cool stuff, go check it out. The postprocessing shader uses some of bacontsu's and Sam's code.
  • Added new default crosshairs themed for each team and weapon (cl_weaponcfgs 2) and fixed a few crosshair bugs.
    • Added cl_cross_scaling so the new defaults are scaled up at resolutions above 1080p. When making your own custom crosshairs, you can turn this off so the values you set are equal to the amount of pixels.
    • Crosshair outlines can now be non-integer values for soft edges and the values now represent the number of pixels. If your custom crosshairs look different, try halving the outline values.
    • Box-shaped crosshairs are now possible.
  • HUD styles can now be swapped during gameplay without reloading the map.
  • Hivesight text labels are now less visible if the structure or player isn't currently being attacked.
  • The minimum lightgamma value has been reduced from 2 to 1.81 (the lowest the engine will go before crashing).
  • Updated the NS options menu. This is the best that can be done with HL's UI as a mod without completely replacing it.
  • Removed the NS title music track from the gameplay music, so it plays in the main menu only.
  • cl_musicdelay -1 plays a music track at the start of the round only (new default), instead of playing another after a random time.
  • Welder flickering has been removed from cl_dynamiclights 1. It can be turned on with cl_dynamiclights 2 and an epilepsy warning has been added to the options UI. (0 is NS3.3 default, 1 is Classic NS default)

Other Changes

  • Pistol binary trigger added and can be toggled with cl_pistoltrigger. TSA command saw that their best marines were modifying their pistols to take advantage of the high rate of fire. Binary triggers are now standard issue on pistols.
    • Added attack queueing to the pistol, so attacking again before it's ready to fire will make it fire when ready.
  • Lerk flap and Gorge heal spray can now be used via the +movement bind.
  • Reduced sticking to diagonal walls. Credit to @AltimorTASDK
  • Network rate presets added to the NS options and nsrates command added. Much of the low level networking is handled by the engine, so setting these dynamically isn't feasible.
    • Players can start at the top of the list for the lowest delay possible and try lower options until their connection feels stable and other players move smoothly.
    • rate 100000 is now default (100KB/s max burst download speed from a server - engine limit, should prevent choke).
    • updated default server values sv_maxunlag 0.3 (300 ms max network rewind, down from 500ms) sv_maxupdaterate 102 (engine limit, up from HL default of 30 if servers never set this in their config).
  • Added cl_bobview to toggle view bobbing (off by default) and separate it from weapon bobbing. View bobbing will only occur if both cl_bob (weapon bobbing) and cl_bobview are enabled.
  • cl_bob, lightgamma, and cl_showspeed settings are now saved.
  • Fix for typing another key in chat before releasing the enter key causing it to send the message.
  • Resources received from kills are no longer random by default (sv_randomrfk 0).
  • The building cancel button is now the second to last hotkey slot (C) by default, instead of the last (V), to prevent accidental recycles. This can be changed back with cl_cmcancellast 1.
  • Fixed commanders not being able to heal at an armory if they had previously gotten into the chair with low HP and did not need to restock ammo.
  • Fixed mouse centering not working correctly with non-native fullscreen resolutions.
  • Fixes to bugs from the HL 25th anniversary update. NS is now built for this version of HL.
    • Forced sv_rollangle 0
    • Replaced NS's widescreen method with HL25's and ported over the exploit prevention and commander fixes.
      • Added sv_widescreenclamp to limit fov expansion to 16:9 aspect ratios in tournament play if desired. It is disabled by default to support ultra-widescreen displays.
    • Fixed view spinning when closing the popup menu.
    • Fixed menu button sounds being HL's, but the button rollover sounds no longer work since the update.
  • Fixes to bugs from the previous patch:
    • Fixed health rings showing on gorges being spectated when waiting to respawn.
    • Fixed func_nobuilds underneath the map preventing commanders from dropping structures in eternal requiem on ns_lost.
    • Webs placed on the floor now correctly connect with marines walking over them.
    • Allies and structures no longer block the web's effect if they're between the enemy and the web origin point.
  • mp_blockscripts is now off by default.
  • Adjusted default zoom_sensitivity_ratio (for the increased fov with gorge and skulk) to be closer to targeting the same sensitivity at center to vertical monitor distance, instead of center to edge of a 4:3 monitor.
  • Fixed a possible crash when a player completes a commander order. Credit to @RGreenlees.
  • Fix crash in debug mode when spectating aliens. Credit to @RGreenlees.

New Known Issues

  • Occasional server crashes when running the new bots.
  • Changing video presets while in game too much can crash the HL engine and cause any settings changes to be lost (HL engine issue). ValveSoftware/halflife#3753
  • Changing video presets using the menu while in game will make your next left click not register (HL engine issue).
  • Menu button rollover sounds don't work (HL25 issue).
  • HLTV from the HL25 update doesn't work. Using the HLTV from the steam_legacy branch is recommended. ValveSoftware/halflife#3707
  • Music and ambient sound mp3s don't play on linux clients. This isn't new, but these settings are enabled by default now.
  • Ambient sound mp3s can pop when they start playing or if a player's view spins very fast. This isn't new, but this setting is enabled by default now.

Contributors

AltimorTASDK, SamVanheer, and 3 other contributors
Assets 4
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