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

In-game general settings.

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	%APPDATA%\Natural Selection 2
Linux	$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/Natural Selection 2/

This game follows the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux.

Save game data location

System	Location
Steam	<Steam-folder>/userdata/<user-id>/4920/

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Steam Cloud

Video settings

In-game video settings.

Multi-monitor setup with multi-monitor HUD mod.

Template:Video settings

Multi-monitor

NS2 Multi-monitor HUD^{[citation needed]}
Download the mod files. Unzip to `<path-to-game>/ns2/lua/`

Input settings

In-game key map settings.

Template:Input settings

Audio settings

In-game audio settings.

Template:Audio settings

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English				Official translation.
Bulgarian				Fan translation. Details missing—please edit this page and add it.
Croatian				Fan translation. Details missing—please edit this page and add it.
Czech				Fan translation. Details missing—please edit this page and add it.
Danish				Fan translation. Details missing—please edit this page and add it.
Dutch				Fan translation. Details missing—please edit this page and add it.
Finnish				Fan translation. Details missing—please edit this page and add it.
French				Fan translation. Details missing—please edit this page and add it.
German				Fan translation. Details missing—please edit this page and add it.
Italian				Fan translation. Details missing—please edit this page and add it.
Korean				Fan translation. Details missing—please edit this page and add it.
Norwegian				Fan translation. Details missing—please edit this page and add it.
Polish				Fan translation. Details missing—please edit this page and add it.
Portuguese				Fan translation. Details missing—please edit this page and add it.
Russian				Fan translation. Details missing—please edit this page and add it.
Spanish				Fan translation. Details missing—please edit this page and add it.
Swedish				Fan translation. Details missing—please edit this page and add it.

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
LAN play		24	Requires an internet connection for Steam authentication.^[1]
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^[2]
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

Random latency spikes while moving around maps

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

Verify the game cache in Steam^[3]
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

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

Create FavoriteServers.json^{[citation needed]}
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Create an empty file called `FavoriteServers.json`.

Windows

Textures are pitch black/transparent on AMD cards

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

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

Launch issue

Recreate FMOD library symlink^[4]

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

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

Other information

Removing Steam workshop mods

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

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

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9	11 is WIP^[5]
OpenGL	3.1	^[6]
Shader Model support	3	^[7]

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
Linux

System requirements

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

32-bit version is no longer supported^[8]

References

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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[5]

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Developers

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