u/moultano

As a storyteller I have been uncomfortable deciding when to allow the demon to kill the mayor. It feels like far too much control over the outcome of the game than is good for the players' experience. If I let them die, then I feel I am cheating the mayor. If I don't allow them to die, then I feel I am cheating the demon.

Has anyone experimented with custom rules that codify this? The rule I am considering is that on the first time the demon kills the mayor, someone else dies, but the second time the demon kills the mayor it succeeds.

Original source here: https://discord.com/channels/84689542480674816/124106303235817473/1521214121331134786

Greetings @everyone

Ghoul here with one of the first news in a long time. Today marks the start of another cycle in the development of Natural Selection 2.

Although the community has always continued to support the game, it's wonderful to see that the community is still thriving even after official development has halted for the second (or third?) time.

In that light, it has been decided to integrate several enhancements from the community into the official build to reconcile the overall state of the game development. This way, all players will benefit from these improvements regardless of where they choose to play.

First up is the Community Balance Mod (CBM) to deliver gameplay changes that were planned but never shipped in the last Unknown Worlds release, plus three and a half years of iteration on top.

▶️ Here we need your assistance!

The Community Balance Team is currently offering two versions of their modification: <:manicmarine:921862052614643793> Core Edition is what we presently consider bringing to the whole community. It covers QoL changes, bug fixes, optimizations, and fundamental game balance changes. <:onos:413482410953670668> Content Edition provides their full vision, the one they've been iterating on for the last 3 years.

So kindly take the time to play a few rounds on a community server running either version of the Community Balance Mod and share your feedback with us at <#543873955770007563> .

🎁 We will reward all players participating by enabling Thunderdome rewards on servers running either version of CBM during July 2026.

For further details on the Community Balance Mod, the different editions (Core and Content), and performance improvements, see below or jump over to the CBM Discord. To see the full changelog in-game, use the gorge icon in the top left of the menu after joining a server running either version.

🗺️ NS2 Development Roadmap July/August/September 2026

1. CBM: Core Edition (Available now) Core focuses on quality of life, bug fixes, optimizations, and essential balance. Highlights from ~400 lines of changelog (3.5 years of work):

- Performance: damage, collision, and movement systems fully reworked with major client and server gains, plus big improvements to pre-game and spectate.
- QoL: improved tech maps, UI, and descriptions; better blueprint/structure placement; new minimap and status icons.
- Balance: rebalanced alien structure HP and biomass scaling; reworked Onos Stomp; reworked pulse grenades, sentries, and power batteries; modular exosuits with swappable arms and upgrades ("biosec" tech path).
- Bug fixes: squashed crashes from ARCs, robotics lab, phase gates, and whips; fixed Fade/Onos animation bugs, welder drop-outs, cyst-chain destruction, and dud mines.

Full changelog: https://tinyurl.com/ns2-cbm-changelog

Server owners are encouraged to run the CBM: Core Edition and spread the word. We want to gather your feedback, squash bugs, and adjust the content to finalize the scope of an official release.

2. Release Preview: Before anything ships as default, we will publish a preview at least a week ahead of release, including a compatibility layer so existing custom game modes keep working. This gives modders and server owners time to test the incoming changes so nothing breaks overnight.

3. Release of build "344.1" (ETA: 4-6 weeks): The final changes move into Unknown Worlds' hotfix mod, improving the game experience for everyone.

4. Continuous Community Development: Based on the community's feedback, we will plan the next steps.