Natural Selection 2

Be aware of reports that certain menu and UI mods may cause problems with the game. If encountering issues, the most likely culprit will be conflicts with installed mods.

Game data[edit]

In-game general settings.

Configuration file(s) location[edit]

System	Location
Windows	%APPDATA%\Natural Selection 2
Linux	$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/Natural Selection 2/
Linux (Proton)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/4920/pfx/^{[Note 1]}

This game follows the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux.

Save game data location[edit]

System	Location
Steam	<Steam-folder>/userdata/<user-id>/4920/
Linux (Proton)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/4920/pfx/^{[Note 1]}

Save game cloud syncing[edit]

System	Native	Notes
Steam Cloud

Video settings[edit]

In-game video settings.

Multi-monitor setup with multi-monitor HUD mod.

Graphics feature	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor		Multi-monitor HUD mod can be used to centre the HUD.
Ultra-widescreen		^[1]
4K Ultra HD		UI elements will be too small.
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Anisotropic filtering (AF)	On/off toggle. The level of anisotropic filtering is unknown. It seems to be 4x.^[2]
Anti-aliasing (AA)	FXAA or TAA.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS and 120+ FPS	Caps at 200 FPS.

Multi-monitor[edit]

NS2 Multi-monitor HUD^{[citation needed]}

Download the mod files.
Unzip to <path-to-game>/ns2/lua/

Input settings[edit]

In-game key map settings.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity		Find row <sensitivity> in <Steam-folder>/userdata/<user-id>/4920/remote/options.xml to customise with greater precision
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support		Support may be added in a future update.^[3]

Audio settings[edit]

In-game audio settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Sound, music, voice.
Surround sound		Supports 5.1 and 7.1
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English				Official translation.
Czech
Finnish
French
German
Polish
Romanian
Russian
Spanish
Swedish

Network[edit]

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
LAN play		24	Requires an internet connection for Steam authentication.^[4]
Online play		24

All official maps are designed for at most 24 players. However, dedicated servers can be set externally to have the max player limit increased beyond the recommended amount

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking		match seeding WIP^[5]
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated		A full guide on running a dedicated server can be found on the Community Wiki.
Self-hosting		For dedicated, install Dedicated Server under Tools in the Steam client.
Direct IP		Open the console (`~`) and use `connect` followed by the IP and port.

Ports

Protocol	Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP	27015-27016 (Server only), 27014-27050
UDP	27015-27016 (Server only), 3478, 4379-4380, 27000-27030

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

Issues fixed[edit]

Random latency spikes while moving around maps[edit]

Downscale your graphical settings^{[citation needed]}

If you are playing the game on high graphical settings with certain hardware setups, the game might stutter as it loads a new texture for the first time in a given match. Because of how the game is coded, this will appear as random high latency spikes in the ingame match ping overview (in spite of being related to graphical settings and not to latency). These spikes can typically be rectified by turning down the graphics via the options menu in the game.
Setting the texture quality to Medium or below will typically resolve the issue. If not, try to toggle the multicore settings.

"Client and Server Differ" error message[edit]

Verify the game cache in Steam^[6]

Navigate to your library in Steam.
Right-click Natural Selection 2.
Click "Properties". Go to the "Local Files" tab.
Click the "Verify Integrity of Game Cache" button.

Cannot get past the Main Menu[edit]

There are two possible fixes for this issue.

Delete Local Game Content^{[citation needed]}

On Steam, Right click Natural Selection 2 and select "Delete Local Game Content".
This will delete the game, and afterwards you need to redownload and install the game. Note this will delete any mods you may currently have.

Remove all files related to Natural Selection 2^{[citation needed]}

Uninstall Natural Selection 2 from Steam.
Delete the configuration folder.
Delete the installation folder.
Reinstall Natural Selection 2.

Favorite servers do not get saved[edit]

Create FavoriteServers.json^{[citation needed]}

Go to the configuration file(s) location.
Create an empty file called FavoriteServers.json.

Windows[edit]

Textures are pitch black/transparent on AMD cards[edit]

Use application settings^{[citation needed]}

In the Catalyst Control Center, go to the AA Tab under 3D settings.
If "Use Application settings" is unchecked, this will cause the textures in the game to appear pitch black. Checking this field again will resolve the issue.

Game crashes immediately on Gigabyte graphics cards[edit]

Close the Gigabyte OC Guru overlay^{[citation needed]}

In the taskbar, right click on the Gigabyte OC Guru and click Close.
You may need to click show hidden icons to see the icon.
Other overlays such as mumble or Fraps may apparently cause the same issue, so try disabling those as well.

Linux[edit]

Launch issue[edit]

Recreate FMOD library symlink^[7]

In the game's folder type in these commands:

ln -sf libfmodex64-4.44.58.so libfmodex64.so
ln -sf libfmodevent64-4.44.58.so libfmodevent64.so
ln -sf libfmodeventnet64-4.44.58.so libfmodeventnet64.so

Game crashes when marines fire[edit]

Disable Steam in-game overlay from Steam's right click menu on NS2^{[citation needed]}

Other information[edit]

Removing Steam workshop mods[edit]

Unsubscribed mods may still appear in the mods list and have to be manually deleted.

Instructions^{[citation needed]}

Load the game and disable any mods which are going to be removed.
Go to %APPDATA%\Natural Selection 2\ and delete the Workshop folder.

Console commands[edit]

Command	Notes
`fps`	Toggles the FPS counter on the HUD.
`i_rawinput true`	Sets raw mouse input to true.
`setsensitivity x`	Set mouse sensitivity, substitute x with a desired value.
`maxfps 60`	Limits FPS to chosen parameter.
`r_bloom false`	Disables bloom effect.
`r_atmospherics false`	Disables atmospheric lighting.
`r_shadows false`	Disables shadow rendering.
`r_flash false`	Disables flash GUI.
`r_aa true`	Enables FXAA (Fast Approximate Anti-Aliasing).
`r_stats`	Displays render scene data/stats/FPS.
`net_stats`	Displays network data.
`server_sound false`	Turns off server sounds.
`retry`	Connects to previously-played server if disconnected.
`kill`	Commit suicide.
`j1`	Join Marines (Ready Room only).
`j2`	Join Aliens (Ready Room only).

A full list of console commands is available at the official NS2 wiki.

Other information[edit]

API[edit]

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9	11 is WIP^[9]
OpenGL	3.1	^[10]
Shader Model support	3	^[11]

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows			^[8]
Linux

Middleware[edit]

	Middleware	Notes
Physics	PhysX
Audio	FMOD

System requirements[edit]

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	Vista	7
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core 2 Duo 2.6 GHz	Intel Core 2 Quad 3.0 GHz
System memory (RAM)	4 GB	4 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	12 GB
Video card (GPU)	ATI Radeon X800 Nvidia GeForce 8600 1 GB of VRAM DirectX 9 compatible	AMD Radeon HD 5770 Nvidia GeForce GTX 450 1 GB of VRAM DirectX 9 compatible

A 64-bit operating system is required.

Notes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/4920/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (4920) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References

[Proton_path_note-1] 1.0 ^1.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/4920/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (4920) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

[2] Steam Community :: Group :: /r/ultrawidemasterrace Group

[3] ttp://forums.unknownworlds.com/discussion/128231/anisotropic-filtering-level-offset-atmospherics-dynamically-lit-particles-console-improvements

[4] Natural Selection 2 Forum - Xbox 360 Controller Compatibility

[5] Local Server!? (LAN) :: Natural Selection 2 General Discussions

[6] ttps://trello.com/c/gBDDiKvu

[7] Steam Community Discussions - Client and Server Do not match

[8] ttps://steamcommunity.com/games/ns2/announcements/detail/1457336708765690638

[9] ttps://unknownworlds.com/ns2/update-319-anniversary/

[10] ttps://trello.com/c/mmok4DbY

[11] ttps://wiki.unknownworlds.com/ns2/Linux_Guide

[12] ttps://wiki.unknownworlds.com/ns2/FAQ

[Note 1]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[8]

Developers

	Unknown Worlds Entertainment
Engines
	Spark
Release dates
Windows	October 30, 2012
Linux	August 30, 2013

Natural Selection 2

Contents

Availability[edit]

Essential improvements[edit]

Modifications[edit]

Game data[edit]

Configuration file(s) location[edit]

Save game data location[edit]

Save game cloud syncing[edit]

Video settings[edit]

Multi-monitor[edit]

Input settings[edit]

Audio settings[edit]

Localizations

Network[edit]

Multiplayer types

Connection types

Ports

Issues fixed[edit]

Random latency spikes while moving around maps[edit]

"Client and Server Differ" error message[edit]

Cannot get past the Main Menu[edit]

Favorite servers do not get saved[edit]

Windows[edit]

Textures are pitch black/transparent on AMD cards[edit]

Game crashes immediately on Gigabyte graphics cards[edit]

Linux[edit]

Launch issue[edit]

Game crashes when marines fire[edit]

Other information[edit]

Removing Steam workshop mods[edit]

Console commands[edit]

Other information[edit]

API[edit]

Middleware[edit]

System requirements[edit]

Notes

References