I know I'm just playing into the hype for the upcoming "System Shock"
reboot, but I'm not really excited about that game. The original
"System Shock" was fine, but I never found it as revolutionary or
enjoyable as others seem to see it.

(Personally, I always felt that System Shock was actually something of
a step back from the sandboxed gameplay in the older "Ultima
Underworld" games, even if it was more technologically advanced).

But "System Shock 2"? I loved that game. Yeah, it was a flawed game -
not the least due to its aging graphics engine - but it was incredibly
atmospheric. It still ranks up there as one of the spookiest games
I've ever played.

So the following trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6mb44nDWj0
showing off some of the improvements made in the will-be-released-
eventually "System Shock 2: Enhanced Edition" excites me a lot more
than any news about the SS1 reboot.

Admittedly, there's not THAT much to see. Most of the work so far
seems to have gone into remaking the introductory movie. What in-game
advancements there are seem to be to the character models, and those
aren't that much better than what are already available through
fan-made mods. I was hoping for a lot more work done to the textures
and level design. Still, even with these modest changes, the game
still looks pretty good, which is a testament to how well the base
game was designed in the first place.

So good on Nightdive Studios for finally getting their "System Shock"
remaster out the door*, but I'm really hoping that just lets them put
more resources and effort into bettering the sequel.

* well, nearly; it's not for sale for another 11 days

On Sat, 20 May 2023 10:04:16 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson
<spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

>
>I know I'm just playing into the hype for the upcoming "System Shock"
>reboot, but I'm not really excited about that game. The original
>"System Shock" was fine, but I never found it as revolutionary or
>enjoyable as others seem to see it.

I had the same reaction to System Shock 1 as I did to Fallout 1. I
enjoyed them both but I did not think either of them was as great as I
was led to believe by the reviews.

>But "System Shock 2"? I loved that game. Yeah, it was a flawed game -
>not the least due to its aging graphics engine - but it was incredibly
>atmospheric. It still ranks up there as one of the spookiest games
>I've ever played.

System Shock 2 is one of my favorite games ever. I love it. I think it
is much better then the original, even considering its flaws.

>Admittedly, there's not THAT much to see. Most of the work so far
>seems to have gone into remaking the introductory movie. What in-game
>advancements there are seem to be to the character models, and those
>aren't that much better than what are already available through
>fan-made mods. I was hoping for a lot more work done to the textures
>and level design. Still, even with these modest changes, the game
>still looks pretty good, which is a testament to how well the base
>game was designed in the first place.

I was underwhelmed by this trailer.

On Sat, 20 May 2023 13:58:18 -0400, Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com>
wrote:

>On Sat, 20 May 2023 10:04:16 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson
><spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>I know I'm just playing into the hype for the upcoming "System Shock"
>>reboot, but I'm not really excited about that game. The original
>>"System Shock" was fine, but I never found it as revolutionary or
>>enjoyable as others seem to see it.
>
>I had the same reaction to System Shock 1 as I did to Fallout 1. I
>enjoyed them both but I did not think either of them was as great as I
>was led to believe by the reviews.
>
>>But "System Shock 2"? I loved that game. Yeah, it was a flawed game -
>>not the least due to its aging graphics engine - but it was incredibly
>>atmospheric. It still ranks up there as one of the spookiest games
>>I've ever played.
>
>System Shock 2 is one of my favorite games ever. I love it. I think it
>is much better then the original, even considering its flaws.
>
>>Admittedly, there's not THAT much to see. Most of the work so far
>>seems to have gone into remaking the introductory movie. What in-game
>>advancements there are seem to be to the character models, and those
>>aren't that much better than what are already available through
>>fan-made mods. I was hoping for a lot more work done to the textures
>>and level design. Still, even with these modest changes, the game
>>still looks pretty good, which is a testament to how well the base
>>game was designed in the first place.
>
>I was underwhelmed by this trailer.

Any -whelming on my part came mostly from its existence. I knew that
there were vague plans to do an enhanced edition of the second game,
but news on that front had been extremely scant since the initial
announcement. So just seeing that the project was still alive was
heartening.

But in all honesty, if it were never to come to fruition? I'm not sure
it would matter. The original still plays fairly well on modern
hardware* and - with a few fan-mods - comes close to matching what was
showcased by the trailer. Still, I wouldn't object to a one-click
install of an updated version of SS2 that took away a lot of the
fiddliness of getting the original up to snuff. I'd pay for that sort
of convenience.

And anything giving "System Shock 2" a second opportunity to shine and
get a larger audience can only be a good thing, as far as I'm
concerned.

* well, it played well on my old PC. I haven't tried it on the new
computer yet ;-)

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

> I know I'm just playing into the hype for the upcoming "System Shock"
> reboot, but I'm not really excited about that game. The original
> "System Shock" was fine, but I never found it as revolutionary or
> enjoyable as others seem to see it.

I'm excited since I couldn't get into the original DOS game due to its
bad controls. I loved SS2!

> (Personally, I always felt that System Shock was actually something of
> a step back from the sandboxed gameplay in the older "Ultima
> Underworld" games, even if it was more technologically advanced).

> But "System Shock 2"? I loved that game. Yeah, it was a flawed game -
> not the least due to its aging graphics engine - but it was incredibly
> atmospheric. It still ranks up there as one of the spookiest games
> I've ever played.

> So the following trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6mb44nDWj0
> showing off some of the improvements made in the will-be-released-
> eventually "System Shock 2: Enhanced Edition" excites me a lot more
> than any news about the SS1 reboot.

> Admittedly, there's not THAT much to see. Most of the work so far
> seems to have gone into remaking the introductory movie. What in-game
> advancements there are seem to be to the character models, and those
> aren't that much better than what are already available through
> fan-made mods. I was hoping for a lot more work done to the textures
> and level design. Still, even with these modest changes, the game
> still looks pretty good, which is a testament to how well the base
> game was designed in the first place.

> So good on Nightdive Studios for finally getting their "System Shock"
> remaster out the door*, but I'm really hoping that just lets them put
> more resources and effort into bettering the sequel.

Yes, they need to work on the models. The trailer said work in progress so...

> * well, nearly; it's not for sale for another 11 days

Did I read preordering SS1 remake gets SS2:EE for free?
--
"In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now." --Philippians 1:4-5. Warm Cat. 2 make all da bugs come out 2 hitchhike on da clean shirts! Lakers, pls win by (b)eating Denver's chicken Nuggets this quiet weekend & next wk. @ home.
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Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com> wrote:
....
> >Admittedly, there's not THAT much to see. Most of the work so far
> >seems to have gone into remaking the introductory movie. What in-game
> >advancements there are seem to be to the character models, and those
> >aren't that much better than what are already available through
> >fan-made mods. I was hoping for a lot more work done to the textures
> >and level design. Still, even with these modest changes, the game
> >still looks pretty good, which is a testament to how well the base
> >game was designed in the first place.

> I was underwhelmed by this trailer.

Work in progress. I don't know why they even bother releasing it. At least, they put a "work in progress" message.
--
"In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now." --Philippians 1:4-5. Warm Cat. 2 make all da bugs come out 2 hitchhike on da clean shirts! Lakers, pls win by (b)eating Denver's chicken Nuggets this quiet weekend & next wk. @ home.
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
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/ /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail.
| |o o| |
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On 20/05/2023 19:42, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> But in all honesty, if it were never to come to fruition? I'm not sure
> it would matter. The original still plays fairly well on modern
> hardware* and - with a few fan-mods - comes close to matching what was
> showcased by the trailer. Still, I wouldn't object to a one-click
> install of an updated version of SS2 that took away a lot of the
> fiddliness of getting the original up to snuff. I'd pay for that sort
> of convenience.

I do have the original kicking about somewhere but it was a game that I
never got into for whatever reason. The remake, that kinda interests me
because, as you say, playing about with mod's can be a pain.

It's why I have the EE versions of BG:1/2 and Planescape:Torment. Why go
to all the hassle of the originals when you can pay £5 and have all the
work done for you?

Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com> looked up from reading the entrails of the
porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs say:

>On Sat, 20 May 2023 10:04:16 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson
><spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>I know I'm just playing into the hype for the upcoming "System Shock"
>>reboot, but I'm not really excited about that game. The original
>>"System Shock" was fine, but I never found it as revolutionary or
>>enjoyable as others seem to see it.
>
>I had the same reaction to System Shock 1 as I did to Fallout 1. I
>enjoyed them both but I did not think either of them was as great as I
>was led to believe by the reviews.

For the full effect you had to have played it new, back when DOOM was
really 2d that faked being 3d, when the only true 3d was SS1 and Ultima
Underworld 1 (low rez voxel graphics.)

The sheer number of things SS1 did that DOOM did not (inventory, addons
like jetboots, etc was astounding not to mention the best Villain of all
time

>>But "System Shock 2"? I loved that game. Yeah, it was a flawed game -
>>not the least due to its aging graphics engine - but it was incredibly
>>atmospheric. It still ranks up there as one of the spookiest games
>>I've ever played.
>
>System Shock 2 is one of my favorite games ever. I love it. I think it
>is much better then the original, even considering its flaws.

Once they gave us access tot he underlying controls so you could dial
down the wear rate and repopulation rates to realistic levels, SS2 got
so much better.

Sorry, but Bang, Bang, Break, is in no way realistic for a gun wear
rate, and levels repopulating in 5 minutes again stretches credulity to
the breaking point.

>>Admittedly, there's not THAT much to see. Most of the work so far
>>seems to have gone into remaking the introductory movie. What in-game
>>advancements there are seem to be to the character models, and those
>>aren't that much better than what are already available through
>>fan-made mods. I was hoping for a lot more work done to the textures
>>and level design. Still, even with these modest changes, the game
>>still looks pretty good, which is a testament to how well the base
>>game was designed in the first place.
>
>I was underwhelmed by this trailer.

I have yet to see any post a review for a game or movie or such where
they were merely whelmed, not over- or under-.

Xocyll
--
I don't particularly want you to FOAD, myself. You'll be more of
a cautionary example if you'll FO And Get Chronically, Incurably,
Painfully, Progressively, Expensively, Debilitatingly Ill. So
FOAGCIPPEDI. -- Mike Andrews responding to an idiot in asr

ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) writes:

> Did I read preordering SS1 remake gets SS2:EE for free?

That's how I remember it too.

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> writes:

> Admittedly, there's not THAT much to see. Most of the work so far
> seems to have gone into remaking the introductory movie. What in-game
> advancements there are seem to be to the character models, and those
> aren't that much better than what are already available through
> fan-made mods.

That was my feeling too from my recent play through with the available
textures and fan patch and whatever else was recommended
somewhere. Still, it'll be a while before it comes out considering that
trailer. I think I might want to go through the game one more time once
this Enhanced Edition comes out.

Maybe even kick it up from easy difficulty since that seemed a little
too easy. The cyborg assassins especially were sometimes just standing
around and I remember there was a lot more spawning on normal than what
I encountered. Good and bad since I don't really like it when someone
sneaks up on me from a room *that was empty seconds ago*.

Also turret fire rates seemed super slow. Good for me but my hacked
turrets got broken by even pipe mutants since they got so few shots off.
Although I don't know if this was the easy difficulty or maybe just a
dubious tweak from the fan patch.

Anssi Saari <anssi.saari@usenet.mail.kapsi.fi> wrote:
> ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) writes:

> > Did I read preordering SS1 remake gets SS2:EE for free?

> That's how I remember it too.

OK, so it's not just me.
--
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." --Acts 1:8. Quiet warm weekend with a lot of Z, biological bugs, watching, & eyePhone gaming. Lakers & Celtics suck again. :P
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