You waited 8 years, and finally: System Shock GoG/Steam keys are out now
for kickstarters!!
https://system-shock.backerkit.com/backer/digital_rewards

rms

free Free FREE! https://www.gog.com/en/game/system_shock_goodie_pack

rms

On Tue, 30 May 2023 09:33:55 -0600, "rms"
<rsquiresMOO@MOOflashMOO.net> wrote:

>You waited 8 years, and finally: System Shock GoG/Steam keys are out now
>for kickstarters!!
>https://system-shock.backerkit.com/backer/digital_rewards

Having watched a video with 30minutes of gameplay the other day*, I'm
more confident in my decision to wait on buying this one.

I've never been shy about my opinions about the original "System
Shock". As far as I was concerned, it was an okay game but hardly
worth the praise heaped upon it. It was a clunky game even when
released, and it really wasn't doing anything that Looking Glass
hadn't already done before in the Ultima Underworld games. It was an
upgraded version of those older games with a sci-fi skin and some
terrific voice-acting on the part of Terri Brosius (who played
Shodan). It wasn't bad, but worthy of a remake? Hell, as much as I
adore "System Shock 2", I'm not even sure the original was worthy of a
sequel.

But a remake we got, regardless. And it's earnestly true to the
original, which is its biggest fault. From everything I've seen, it is
largely a massive graphical update with very little changed, and what
has been altered beyond the visuals isn't very good.

But the visuals themselves aren't particularly appealing either.
Everything looks chunky; it's all in-your face, almost weirdly
distorted in proportions. Some of this is probably the tight FOV but
it's an ugly default. There's a glossy, almost wax-like sheen to
everythign too, making it look like a game developed in the mid 2000s.
I know the developers were trying to create a mix between old and new
visuals, but the graphically game looks dated right out the door...
and since that's the core of this update that's not a good start.

The rest of the game hews closely to the original, and that's not a
good thing in my opinion. The level design annoyed the hell out of me
even back in 1994, and it seems to be recreated here without much
alteration. There's more detail, but not in any useful way; the maps
are still largely devoid of character or environmental storytelling.
It seems such a waste of opportunity not to have recreated Citadel
Station into something less labyrinthine and more realistic.

The monsters look awful; the sprite-based creatures had a horrific
vibe to them but the new ones look plasticine and cartoony. The first
robot you encounter looks like Alpha5 from Power Rangers, and the rest
aren't much better.

The interface looks cluttered and distracting, lacking the clean
distinction from the background as the original's. The gunplay is
faster - one of the few improvements over the original game is better
mouse/keyboard controls. You no longer need to press the 1 & 3 keys to
look up and down!

The worst part of the video is the introduction. The 1994 set up the
game's plot with a 30-second FMV; a hacker gets caught, is offered a
deal to avoid prosecution, and unwittingly unleashes a rogue AI onto
the world. It's quick and to the point; it provides just enough
information without spoiling any of the mystery. The remake's version
is fully interactive; it's slow, it's ugly, and it doesn't add
anything useful (and it spoils some of the mystery at the start of the
game). It feels fanboyish and amateur.

Despite the years it took to pull this project together, the whole
thing feels slapdash and inexperienced. I'd have been more excited had
they decided to fully modernize the game but this half-and-half
approach just doesn't work with me.

Being the hoarder^h^h^h^h^h collector that I am, eventually I'll
probably acquire the game - and maybe even play it - but I doubt it
will supercede the original in my eyes... and that's not a hard bar to
cross.

* specifically, this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybBREPkUB4o

"rms" <rsquiresMOO@MOOflashMOO.net> writes:

> You waited 8 years, and finally: System Shock GoG/Steam keys are out
> now for kickstarters!!
> https://system-shock.backerkit.com/backer/digital_rewards

Wow, it went really differently than what they described in their
updates. All that talk about "sending keys" and I had nada. But
eventually I landed onto the right page and got my GoG code for the
game.

rms <rsquiresMOO@mooflashmoo.net> wrote:
> free Free FREE! https://www.gog.com/en/game/system_shock_goodie_pack

Got it. Now, I need the game. ;)
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Well, the thing is, they delivered exactly what they promised a mild
update on the original.
They updated the cyberspace big time, which was semi broken in the
original the rest was mostly kept intact but having a mild graphical
update which kept the style of the original but removed a ton of
outdated graphical designs. The sound design also was completely overhauled.

Most of the fans and many reviewers are happy with what they got,
because they were expecting exactly what they got.
Most people unhappy come from the shooter crowd who never played the
original and maybe part 2, but it is questionable that the original
System Shock even is a shooter to begin with. Sure it had shooter
elements but puzzles had a huge emphasis and the pacing is rather slow.
I can remember that in the original you could turn off the shooter
aspect entirely also you can emphasize on a different path of problem
solution like hacking etc...

On Tue, 30 May 2023 13:50:40 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson
<spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

>Being the hoarder^h^h^h^h^h collector that I am, eventually I'll
>probably acquire the game - and maybe even play it - but I doubt it
>will supercede the original in my eyes... and that's not a hard bar to
>cross.

The graphics and sound seem fine to me. The controls are better. As
long as it does not change much else from the original game, and as
long as it is not a buggy mess, it will easily surpass the original
for me. I want a remake, not a reboot. I think that is what I am going
to be getting here.

Interview with original devs:
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/system-shock-the-oral-history-of-a-forward-thinking-pc-classic

rms

On 5/30/2023 8:33 AM, rms wrote:
> You waited 8 years, and finally:  System Shock GoG/Steam keys are out
> now for kickstarters!!
> https://system-shock.backerkit.com/backer/digital_rewards
>
> rms

I bought it immediately on GoG and later found out it was originally on
Kickstarter. I might have even backed it at the time. I'll have to check.

In any case, it's a great remake. Original System Shock is among my
top-20 games of all time. I played the original floppy disk version in
1994. The immersion and overall environment were awesome then, as they
are now with this remake. The graphics are done wonderfully well by
recreating the feel of the original game (especially the textures) with
modern lighting among other things. I think they could have improved the
interface and added QOL features a bit more, but it's fine as is too.

There was a great article in Eurogamer today.
https://www.eurogamer.net/digitalfoundry-2023-the-system-shock-remake-is-excellent-and-nightdives-most-ambitious-work-yet

--
Noman