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You heard it right folks, Natural Selection 2 the FPS/RTS hybrid is now available on Linux from Steam. The official announcement has yet to be made but they confirmed it's correct on their forum.

QuoteThanks to the outstanding dedication of the Brians, the Reinforced update is now live. Changelog will come tomorrow after the boys have gotten some sleep at last.

Some notable last minute bug fixes include the bilebomb splash when going through phase gates, fixes for alien movement, and the new alien vision now highlights players and structures in a different colour. Huzzah!

Source: http://forums.unknownworlds.com/discussion/comment/2142909/#Comment_2142909

I have tested it myself and it works and works pretty well for me too! Did the whole marine training course without any major issues.

For those who don't know about it, details below!

About
Natural Selection 2 is an immersive, multiplayer shooter that pits aliens against humans in a strategic and action-packed struggle for survival. It seamlessly combines shooter and RTS/strategy gameplay.

Key Features:
  • Two Unique Sides:
    Whether you play as one of the elite marine Frontiersmen or the vicious alien Kharaa, you must use unique strategies and your abilities to win. Marines form persistent squads to find and destroy alien hives. Aliens can choose a wall-running Skulk, pudgy Gorge, flying Lerk, murderous Fade or gigantic Onos that can smash through doors.
  • Real-time Strategy:
    Commanders play from overhead to lead their team to victory. Build structures anywhere, collect resources and research upgrades. Marines buy weapons at an Armory or build sentry turrets and siege cannons to assault the enemy. Aliens build upgrade chambers, evolve special abilities and plant traps.
  • Dynamic Environments:
    Use a flamethrower to clear the spreading alien infestation. Aliens destroy power nodes knock out the lights and power down marine structures. Random start locations mean you must scout your enemy and before committing to a build. Every game is different.
  • Unlimited Variations:
    WYSIWYG graphical tools and powerful scripting allow you to create new weapons, scenarios or entirely new games. You’ll get all our tools (level editor, cinematic tool and more) as well as the full Lua source code to Natural Selection 2. Version 1.0 is just the beginning – ongoing automatic updates keep the game fresh by adding new maps, weapons and abilities. Steam Workshop support and auto-downloading makes playing and distributing mods automatic - and gameplay always fresh. 

Unofficial update video
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So you know what to do folks, go pick up a copy here.
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15 comments

abelthorne Aug 29, 2013
Mmm... Tried it a few hours ago, launched the training and all I got was a black screen with the mouse cursor visible. The game was not frozen, I could display the Steam overlay or alt+tab to get back to the desktop and kill the process.
I thought that maybe it wasn't really released yet and there would be an update tomorrow but if the devs confirmed it's live...
Arkdor Aug 29, 2013
Same here!! Any suggestion how to resolve black screen issue?
maokei Aug 29, 2013
Mmm... Tried it a few hours ago, launched the training and all I got was a black screen with the mouse cursor visible. The game was not frozen, I could display the Steam overlay or alt+tab to get back to the desktop and kill the process.
I thought that maybe it wasn't really released yet and there would be an update tomorrow but if the devs confirmed it's live...
The official Linux release date is supposed to be tomorrow with the new update, so theres probably going to be a path soon.
Liam Dawe Aug 29, 2013
Mmm... Tried it a few hours ago, launched the training and all I got was a black screen with the mouse cursor visible. The game was not frozen, I could display the Steam overlay or alt+tab to get back to the desktop and kill the process.
I thought that maybe it wasn't really released yet and there would be an update tomorrow but if the devs confirmed it's live...
The official Linux release date is supposed to be tomorrow with the new update, so theres probably going to be a path soon.
The official update has already landed, that's the point of this whole news post ;), read the quoted part in the article "the Reinforced update is now live".

If you have issues report it to the developers, if you don't report bugs then they don't get fixed.


little Aug 29, 2013
To resolve the black screen issue:
http://forums.unknownworlds.com/discussion/131682/linux-game-has-trouble-with-locales-that-use-different-decimal-separator
Also decided to register. I think I'll be hanging around here a bit more in the future :)
(sorry for doubleposting. wont happen again ;))
abelthorne Aug 29, 2013
toor Aug 29, 2013
is it normal that even with lowest graphics ever I get so few fps… it's hardely playable.

lspci | grep -i vga
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GK107 [GeForce GTX 650] (rev a1)

with nvidia-313 driver and Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2500K CPU @ 3.30GHz
scaine Aug 29, 2013
View PC info
  • Contributing Editor
  • Mega Supporter
is it normal that even with lowest graphics ever I get so few fps… it's hardely playable.

lspci | grep -i vga
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GK107 [GeForce GTX 650] (rev a1)

with nvidia-313 driver and Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2500K CPU @ 3.30GHz

I have a Core i7, Nvidia GTX670, so a bit better hardware, but comparable - the game plays perfectly here. Same driver too. What are you running things on - I'm on a 64-bit Ubuntu 12.04 install here?

I must say, I'm really surprised at the quality of the graphics. This game is a real stunner.
toor Aug 29, 2013
I'm running linux mint 15 so we could say ubuntu.
64 bit as well.
And I get between 30-40 frames per second.
Xpander Aug 29, 2013

is it normal that even with lowest graphics ever I get so few fps… it's hardely playable.

lspci | grep -i vga
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GK107 [GeForce GTX 650] (rev a1)

with nvidia-313 driver and Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2500K CPU @ 3.30GHz
are you sure you are running on nvidia card? or you have optimus and its actually running your intel card?

i get 50-70 fps @ 1920x1080, everything maxed, textures medium(due crashes with high), vsync off on AMD FX-8320 @ 4,0Ghz, GTX 560Ti, 8GB DDR3 1600mhz. Arch Linux x86_64, 3.10-pf kernel, nvidia 325.15 drivers, MATE Desktop + Compton compositing.
toor Aug 29, 2013
I use a desktop, I don't have optimus or bumblebee whatever.
And I'm sure I'm using the 313 driver of nvidia, not nouveau driver.
My resolution is even lower 1360x768, everything maxed I won't go more than 45 fps and it's very laggy… like can't aim right
scaine Aug 29, 2013
View PC info
  • Contributing Editor
  • Mega Supporter
Regarding weird lag affecting aim - it might be worth turning off the Steam overlay. I got that when I used my laptop (which has AMD graphics) on Portal. Turned off the overlay, and everything was snappy again. Worth a try anyway.
owen123 Aug 29, 2013
BTW it free for this weekend on steam so I gonna try this :D
Qantourisc Sep 1, 2013
To make it playable on a localized linux:
Prefences of game: launch command LC_ALL=C %command%
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