V3.0 Beta 1 (know as 2.1 during development) - January 24th, 2004

Natural Selection: Combat is a new fast and furious gameplay mode focusing on intense action. Combat games generally last less than ten minutes, and require very little knowledge to play.

New maps - Six new Combat maps, made just for Combat. Enjoy a combat-simulation on "daimos", battle over rock and water on "core", or enjoy non-stop action on "faceoff".

New upgrades - New Combat-specific upgrades like "resupply" and personal scanner sweep give you help when you need it.

Gain experience - Get experience for killing the enemy, or for attacking their base. As you gain experience, you gain levels. Each new level lets you choose a new upgrade, weapon, or piece of equipment. Even after death, you retain these power-ups.

New NS gameplay

New look - Over 150 new textures and new NS maps give the game a whole new look. Fight in the claustrophic halls of ns_ayumi, catching a glimpse of snow falling outside a catwalk, or take control of the awe-inspiring and incredible ns_agora.

Catalyst-packs - New "catalyst-packs" allow Commander to speed rate of fire and movement of marines for a short duration.

New lerk - New flight model for the "Lerk", allowing smooth and precise flapping and gliding (he also has his bite back!).

New spectator interface - All-new spectator mode is easier to use and ideal for match commentators.

New manual - The manual has been totally re-written to include a "quick start" guide, and detailed information on every weapon, ability and structure.

Other features - New chat and font system, the ability for mappers to pre-place structures in maps, votemap command, new scoreboard, new alien "focus" upgrade, and much more.

STEAM and VAC support

Full Steam support - Official Steam support, including a new NS desktop, friends list, and automatic updating. NS will be listed under the "My Games" section (not as a 3rd-party mod).

VALVe Anti-Cheat (VAC) - VAC means that NS and Half-life are updated automatically when new cheats are found. Any cheaters detected by the system are immediately temporarily or permanently banned across all NS servers.

Balanced and tested

Extensively tested - Extensive playtesting with over 100 NS clans and hundreds of Constellation members will mean the most balanced and fun NS yet.

Massive improvements - Over 200 bugs and exploits have been fixed in this version, along with dozens of other improvements. These include "sinking" structures, better hitboxes for players and structures (even for wall-walking skulks!), skulk prediction fixes, and hundreds more.