The long-in-development indie FPS/RTS title Natural Selection 2 has reached an important milestone: The gorilla-like evolution for the alien team, the Onos, and the marines’ jetpack accessory (both of which were important facets of the original Half-Life mod that NS2 is the sequel to) are now in the game. These additions, along with a brand new map, “Mineshaft,” are just some of the over 100 new features, balances, and tweaks for this build, which is now available to all pre-order customers.
Check out the fantastic new trailer that shows just how far this project has come:
[This is a guest post by ortoslon.]
Here’s an hour’s worth of jumping, climbing and gliding. As usual, you’ll need the latest version of Knytt Stories to play these levels.
1. Snow Machine by RichardJ is short, scenic and devoid of challenge. Playthrough.
2. The Dying Core by Egomassive puts you through lasers, water, lava and spikes. Custom music tracks set the tone for each trial. Playthrough.
3. White City by Headgrinder has you exploring nooks and crannies of an abandoned floating city. Playthrough.
4. Do Not Pick Up The Key by Talps is a hard level about temptation. Do not watch the playthrough.
A number of alphas/betas I follow have had significant updates, so I thought I’d mention them together. Also, I’m updating the neglected “Dev Roll” on the sidebar to feature games that are in long-term development.
The first update is from Minecraft, which finally reached v1.0 last month, during the two-day Minecon that was held in Las Vegas. The update adds a proper ending and “hardcore mode” to the game, among other things (full changelog). After the release, Notch announced that he is relinquishing duties as lead developer to Jens Bergensten, who was originally hired to do back-end programming.
It’s worth noting that Minecraft made its public debut on TIGForums on May 17th, 2009. Check out the thread for a “Before They Were Stars”-style stroll down memory lane!
Kerbal Space Program‘s alpha has now reached release 0.12, which introduces a new goal for players: a moon (or “Mun,” as Kerbals spell it) now exists in the game, orbiting the Kerbal homeworld and daring players to try landing on it.
Even in its alpha state, KSP has already established a rather dedicated following, largely due to its ability to be easily modded. Fans are regularly making new parts, allowing for players to construct everything from historical rockets such as NASA’s Saturn V or Roscosmos’s Soyuz, to modern and near-future spaceplanes. Other notable fan contributions range from the game’s 2001: A Space Odyssey-inspired loading screen (done by Riess, of Our Intrepid Crew) to the amazing fan trailer seen above, by KSP fan Dippeggs.
0.12 is the second-to-last free version of the game (0.13 is planned to mostly be bug-fixes and optimization) and gives players a great taste of what’s to come. For players who purchase the game, the planned features beyond version 0.13 include more stellar bodies (such as planets and asteroids), space stations, trainable AI crew to man the missions, and even a “story mode,” which will challenge players to complete various goals on a limited budget.
If you haven’t yet played Kerbal Space Program, you can check it out here.
[This is a guest post by ortoslon.]
Ahead lie four platformers that can be beaten in under ten minutes each (by me, that is). As usual, you’ll need the latest version of Knytt Stories to play these levels.
1. Oxi by Harumbai is a hard level that packs great graphical variety and detail into ten screens and forces the player to backtrack just enough to appreciate them fully. Playthrough.
All five games in Spiderweb Software‘s Geneforge saga are now available on Steam as a $20 bundle (currently on sale for $15). The series takes place in an original fantasy world dominated by Shapers, powerful mages who can create life from scratch. Like many of Spiderweb’s RPGs, the Geneforge games are known for their deep storylines, flexible skill system, and tactical, turn-based combat. The first game was released in 2001 and the final game was released in 2008.
A two-level demo is now available for Edmund McMillen and Florian Himsl’s shooter The Binding of Isaac.
The first half of the long-awaited “Adventure Update” to Minecraft has finally been released, and adds a number of features to support the game’s planned Adventure Mode, like NPC villages and improvements to the combat system. It also adds new enemy mobs, biomes, crafting recipes, and a Creative Mode, among other things. The full list of changes can be found here.
TIGdb: Entry for Minecraft
D-Pad Studio has just released an 80 MB demo for Owlboy. You can grab it here from their website.
TIGForums: Devlog for Owlboy
Bastion, the isometric action-RPG that’s narrated by a badass old black man (actually, it’s actor Logan Cunningham), has been released on Steam for $15, just a few weeks after its XBLA release. Supergiant has also put out the game’s OST, which is $10.