Crosshairs are graphics shown in the center of the screen to assist with aim. They can be scaled up and down in the Advanced Options under Crosshair. You can customize them locally or via a Mod on the Steam Workshop.

All you need is a copy of Natural Selection 2, an image editor capable of editing .dds files (e.g. GIMP[www.gimp.org], or Photoshop), and an idea.

The easiest way to modify your crosshairs is to edit the local file. Now that NS2 does no longer receive regular patches to the main game, this is more valid than ever, because you used be forced to do this every time a patch was released. Now it will last until you re-install, or validate your game files.

Navigate to you ui folder and locate crosshairs.dds and crosshairs-hit.dds files. The first one contains the crosshairs, the second one the hitmarkers that show whenever you hit something with your attack (aka deal damage).
Open the files in the editor of your choice (in this guide I will focus on using GIMP, because it is the free option). If asked, don't open the MIP-Maps, those are irrelevant to us.
The files contain room for 16 slots of 64x64 Pixels each, but only 7 of these are used. You can set the grid[docs.gimp.org] to 64x64 Pixels and display[docs.gimp.org] it to make it easier to see where each individual crosshair is.

Now edit the files to your liking. If you want to have no hitmarkers, just leave crosshairs-hit.dds completely empty.


Export[docs.gimp.org] your files overwriting the existing files (File->Overwrite crosshairs.dds). If you want to revert to the originals, just validate your Steam files (beware this will also revert all other local modifications you might have made).

Creating a mod is the more complicated way to do this, but this way no only survives Steam file validations, but also allows you to share your creation, if you so choose.

Launch the NS2 Launchpad and create a new mod.
Select a Path for the Mod and a Name to be displayed on the Steam Workshop.
Navigate to you ui folder and locate crosshairs.dds and crosshairs-hit.dds files. The first one contains the crosshairs, the second one the hitmarkers that show whenever you hit something with your attack (aka deal damage).
Open the Output folder on the left and create a folder ui and copy your files into the newly created ui folder.
Open the copies and edit them as detailed under Step 2-3 in the section above.
Under Configure you can edit the Name, add a description and give additional information. Set the Mod Type to Crosshairs, and leave the Compatibility as Not Specified. This way your mod will have the 'Crosshairs' tag and can be found as such in the Steam Workshop. Setting the Compatibility removes all tags due to a known bug.
You can replace the preview.jpg file in your mod folder by another 512x512 Pixels jpg file of the same name. This will be the image shown on the workshop for your mod. You can also leave the default file untouched.
Publish your mod. You can add change notes if you want, but they are not required.


Now your mod will show up in your Steam Workshop. You can find it by visiting your profile and clicking "Workshop Items" in the list on the right side of your Steam profile. On the mod page you can also add screenshots, videos, or links, and also set the visibility of your mod, if you choose not to share it. You can also allow/disallow comments, or add contributors from your Steam friendlist.
You can also subscribe to your mod, and it will show up in your Modlist in game. Activate the mod from the Mod menu 'Options->Mods' in your NS2 client, and press the "RESTART" button. From now on you will be using your own custom crosshairs.