After many months of development, the Natural Selection 2.0 release date has finally been determined: TSA Thursday - July 31st, 2003!

NS 2.0 is a significant step forward in the process of merging first person shooters with real-time strategy into a combination of truly atmospheric and social gaming. With huge improvements over the previous gameplay of 1.04, plus plenty of all new features, levels, animations, sounds, and artwork, Natural Selection 2.0 stands ready to turn online gaming back on its ear just like our first release last October. Nearly every aspect of the game has been revisited and reworked from feedback from hundreds of the top NS veterans and thousands of games played on public and private servers around the globe.

Some of our new features include:

- Highly improved server CPU performance that uses much lower resources than
previous versions, for larger games or more game servers per CPU.
- Simplified resource model and fundamental game re-balancing for faster,
more varied and more intense gameplay.

- New alien upgrades allow aliens to detect human pheromones, be silenced
while attacking, and build structures that cloak all nearby players and structures. New abilities allow the Onos to stun enemies with Stomp and Devour them whole.

- New visuals mean Skulks rotate to align to walls when running along them, sentries puff smoke when firing, and alien structures explode in a burst of slime when destroyed. Many new sounds lend a slicker sci-fi feel.

- Four new maps and tweaked and balanced existing maps for all new gameplay. Take a ride on a lost colony ship and get a view into space, or take the battle to the rock tunnels of a deserted and "re-colonized" mine shaft.

- New commander mode makes commanding easier then ever. Hotgroups, squad support, a "select all" button, the ability to locate marines in need of orders, ammo or health packs, and re-bindable hotkey support.

- Full support for competitive play through tournament mode, handicapping, VALVe's Anti-Cheat support (VAC) and large-scale match broadcasting through Half-life TV (HLTV). First-person view is now supported while playing or spectating.

This list just scratches at the surface of NS 2.0; radical changes combined with the best parts of our original play makes this release an all new experience even for experts. We think that this Natural Selection comes much closer to realizing the original design vision, and you will reap the benefits of all this hard work. Stop by http://www.natural-selection.org/ for more info on and news. We have even included some brand new custom artwork by our renowned lead artist, Cory Strader to get everyone in the mood! Check them out here . In the next few weeks we will begin to bombard your site with exclusive images, movies, info, and much more. You can also check our official news outlet at http://www.readyroom.org for daily updates on NS and the community, or visit our forums at http://www.natural-selection.org/forums/.

Natural Selection is a 100% free downloadable mod for Half-Life, Counterstrike retail, and DOD retail players. With over 1,000,000 downloads, it is one of the most popular Half-Life online experiences in the world. If you want thrilling sci-fi with truly original design and gameplay, NS is waiting for you.

NS 2.0 - July 31st, 2003 - Get ready to evolve!