The GZDoom-powered shooter finally gets its second chapter. The Machines of War is a free update with 19 new maps, a remastered Chapter 1, rewritten AI and a minigun. Your old saves won't survive it.
Selaco Chapter 2: The Machines of War launches 13 November as a free update for existing owners.
It adds 19 new maps (about 6 to 8 hours), more story and voice acting, a companion, and a remastered Chapter 1.
New weapons include a minigun and a jetpack, plus new enemies, deployables, weapon kits and almost entirely rewritten AI.
It still runs on a heavily modified GZDoom, now with baked lighting, a new particle system and 19% lower VRAM use.
Old saves won't work. Finished players can skip to Chapter 2, and a CHAPTER1 Steam beta lets you finish your old run.
Time to stop pretending you were ever going to uninstall it. Altered Orbit Studios has locked in 13 November for Selaco Chapter 2: The Machines of War, and it’s a free update for everyone who already owns the game. The devs say it’s been more than two years in the making and call it an absolute behemoth. Going by the feature list, they’re not kidding.
Heads up on timing: Steam lists 13 November with no launch time yet. Depending on when it drops in the US, NZ and Aussie players could be playing on the 14th.
The Chapter 2 trailer arrives on launch day, along with the full patch notes. Until then, here’s the Early Access launch trailer that got us hooked in the first place.
Every time Selaco shows something new, someone in the comments refuses to believe it. It runs on a heavily modified version of GZDoom, the open-source source port that grew out of ZDoom. Both trace their lineage back to id Software’s original 1993 Doom engine. The project started life as a Doom mod before becoming a full commercial game.
Chapter 2 pushes the old girl further again. The update brings new baked lighting and shadows, a second-generation particle system for more on-screen chaos with less of an FPS hit, and asset streaming that Altered Orbit says cuts VRAM use by 19%. Dawn’s movement has moved to a new scripting system too, and the devs reckon you’ll feel the difference the moment you start sliding around.
The catch: the changes are big enough that existing saves won’t work after the update. Here’s what you can do.
There’s plenty of quality-of-life work too. You can buy missed weapon kits in Safe Rooms, so you’re not locked out forever for missing one. Mutators can now be changed mid-game, with new ones including Companion Mode and Random Encounters. Secrets no longer count toward 100% completion (there’s an optional Completionist mutator if you liked the old way). The new Chapter 2 music is being added to the soundtrack DLC for free.
We love this game. We played through the first campaign twice, and Selaco has never left our drive. Steam says we last played on 23 December 2024. We kept it installed anyway, because we figured the second chapter couldn’t be far off. It took nearly two years, but here we are. And for the record, we’ll be starting from the beginning anyway. A remastered Chapter 1 is a perfect excuse for a third run.
Selaco is the best argument going that you don’t need a massive engine and a 16GB graphics card to make a shooter that feels incredible. It’s fast and crunchy, the gunfights play like F.E.A.R. on a sugar high, the destruction is ridiculous, and it’s more polished than plenty of full-price AAA releases. All of it runs on a fork of a Doom source port. Absolute wizardry.
It sits at Very Positive on Steam and costs NZ$35.99 in Early Access. If you’ve been waiting for more content before jumping in, this is it. To be clear, we haven’t played Chapter 2 yet, so everything about the new stuff comes from Altered Orbit. We’ll be in there on day one, jetpack first.
Jumping back in on the 13th, or starting fresh? Tell us in the comments, or come yell about boomer shooters in the GetRekt Discord.
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