On Monday, July 26th, Unknown Worlds will be releasing the NS2 Playable Alpha to all the Special Edition pre-orderers, on Steam. Like with NS1, this is not the complete game, this is the first of many versions. Here’s what you can expect on that day:
NS2 Alpha 1 content
- One of our shipping maps (ns2_tram), plus some smaller “test” maps
- Marine, with Rifle, Pistol, SwitchAx, Grenade Launcher, and Shotgun
- Skulks, Gorges, Lerks and their basic movement abilities and weapons
- Marine armory “buy” screen for purchasing new equipment
- Alien evolution menu for choosing your lifeform and upgrades
- Basic marine and alien commander interfaces including MACs, Drifters
- Much of the final sounds, artwork, animations, etc.
They will be adding new weapons, upgrades, commander abilities, maps, etc. throughout our development to v1.0. Rxpect the alpha to be patched somewhere between 1-4 times per month. Sometimes they will need to tweak balance, other times they will need to take a step back and make a bigger change, but it will be a work in progress. The fact that they are shipping on Steam makes the updating progress pretty easy.
Something else you should know is that when they release alpha 1 at the end of this month, they are also discontinuing the NS2 Special Edition and all-black marine armor. It will no longer be available after this date, ever. Also, players that order NS2 after July 26th won’t be able to play in the release date alpha. Here’s an in-game shot of the limited edition black marine armor:
If you’ve been on the fence about ordering the Special Edition, you now have two weeks to decide. If you have the Special Edition, you will be able to choose your armor when you play – possibly at the Armory, like the rest of your weapons and equipment!
