KickStarter System Shock 1 Remake by Nightdive Studios

[Zboj Lamignat]

But the game funnels you into it rather nicely with the Shodan trap (that you can also sabotage) and all the other entry points to the center of the level hitting you instantly with yuge dose of radiation and high robot resistance, no?

 

[Trithne]

This seems to be the only log/note I can find that says it's on Reactor at all. Takes a bit of exploration then I guess.

But the game funnels you into it rather nicely with the Shodan trap (that you can also sabotage) and all the other entry points to the center of the level hitting you instantly with yuge dose of radiation and high robot resistance, no?

It does - You can go through the Death Machine, there's a heavily irradiated crawlspace that leads there, or you can go through the maintenance tunnels and end up behind the Death Machine.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Oh, it's on one of the 'handwritten' notes, the ones that are represented in-game by a tiny green widget that can often be mistaken for a light on an instrument panel, so tends to be overlooked? Figures.

Well, at least it's there, and I had found that one. It's also the one note regarding the laser that I didn't read. :facepalm:

But the game funnels you into it rather nicely with the Shodan trap (that you can also sabotage) and all the other entry points to the center of the level hitting you instantly with yuge dose of radiation and high robot resistance, no?

Step into my shoes for a moment:

# I know there's a location I need to get to, but I don't know where it is.
# I know that the reactor, located in the central area is very hazardous, and that I shouldn't be there at this point in the game.
# I know there's a trap on the Reactor-floor, but I can't recall what's the 'bait', i.e. why the trap is there in the first place.
# If I have no reason to enter the trap, I don't enter the trap.
# I didn't enter the trap because I saw the room was full of cameras, and merely peeked into the room to shoot them all. SHODAN didn't like that and activated the trap.

This series of events led to my problem: At one point in time I didn't know where to go, and I had a location I didn't see a reason to enter, and was actually (mildly) deterred from entering. That the situation can arise in the first place is a concern.

So to save time, I looked up "System Shock Safety Override" online and the very first result is a video guide that tells people where to go to find it. That's another, much bigger concern - there is a sizeable group of people encountering the same problem.

The "funnel" only does its job if players know they have to go into the hazardous environment anyway.

IIRC, in the original game there was a warning about the "death trap" on the Reactor-level. It's not in the audiologs, but perhaps it was written on a wall somewhere?

I know that we're sperging over a minute topic here, but this is also Game Design 101 - make the main objectives clear to the player.

 

[Zboj Lamignat]

Well, my line of thought is:

1. At this point it's 100% obvious that the gameplay is about thorough exploration of the levels to unlock everything, get resources, get info, find stuff to do.
2. There is a yuge unexplored part in the center of the level, and when you try to access it, you are immediately hit by big radiation spike and dangerous enemies - big red flags that you should not be here at this point.
3. The only point of entry with no radiation and enemies is a corridor where Shodan threatens and attacks you by surprise (and you're also lured there by cameras - at this point you know you want to get rid of those as much as possible), ergo she doesn't want you to be there.
3a. If you explore thoroughly (see point 1), you can make the trap much less dangerous.

So yeah, sure, it's not really spelled out but also definitely not the most cryptic shit in existence.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

On the topic of exploring, one thought occurred to me: How come I haven't found any hidden places in the remake?

Then I remembered in the original game how the Hacker left an e-mail to himself that he had left a secret stash in a certain hidden place in Medical. No such e-mail can be found in the remake.

But I figured I'd go and look - and the hidden stash is there. So is every other hidden place I could recall from the original game, both on Medical and Reactor.

In the original game you're given a message that hidden places exist, and the map also gives them away. But I've not heard a peep from the remake-game that there even is such a thing as hidden places, and the map doesn't give them away.

Other small points:

# You can't ride the Scrub-bot.
# Getting drunk is funny.
# One Inviso-mutant got me by blowing up the chemical barrel behind me. Accidental misfire, or malicious intent?

 

[anvi]

 

[anvi]

Zoomer Shock

 

[SharkClub]

In the original game you're given a message that hidden places exist, and the map also gives them away. But I've not heard a peep from the remake-game that there even is such a thing as hidden places, and the map doesn't give them away.

Yeah, there's also the fact that hidden doors in medical in the original have a blue outline which makes them very easy to spot at a glance. All those same hidden doors exist in the remake but now they blend in so well that unless you already know where they were you aren't going to find them without random lucky wallhumping.

There's a particularly egregious hidden door on the flight deck which has a new camera behind it in the hidden room that wasn't there in the original's hidden room, so to get 0% security on the flight deck you have to have a lucky random wallhump moment or have prior knowledge of that area (even though there's no camera in there in the original game).

The lack of telegraphing for hidden doors is markedly decline, unfortunately. Wallhumping without any clues sucks balls. It wouldn't even be that bad if not for them putting a remake-exclusive camera in one of the hidden rooms, but that kinda tips it over the edge.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

I think I'm gonna drop my current playthrough, and start again after the patch.

Reason? Some of the QoL-mods recommended in this thread require a restart, and anything that eases the recycling path is a Win for me.

 

[SharkClub]

Someone made Maintenance dark again if anyone is interested:
Darker Maintenance at Nexus Mods

Spoiler

There's also a mod that makes enemies harder, though I'm sure it'll either become broken or need an update when the next patch (which mentions that it modifies some enemy AI) drops:
More Difficulty at Nexus Mods

Increases enemy forget time and reduces hesitation.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

That may be a little over the top... but I'll have to try it to find out.

But seeing that screenshot, I have a question: How many here "straightened out" the UI of the game? Rate this post 'Yes!' if you did.

 

[Tweed]

Someone needs to make the Tri-Op security that busts the hacker in the retardedly long intro into Silencers. Crusader and System Shock take place in the same universe and in the original cinematic they look a lot like Silencers.

 

[Stormcrowfleet]

Someone needs to make the Tri-Op security that busts the hacker in the retardedly long intro into Silencers. Crusader and System Shock take place in the same universe and in the original cinematic they look a lot like Silencers.

Is it canon they are in the same universe? If so that's cool. I never realized.

 

[JDR13]

Crusader and System Shock take place in the same universe

They actually don't. I remember people speculating about that, but the devs stated that any in-game references to other games were just easter eggs. Crusader also has references to Wing Commander.

 

[SomeGuyWithAnOpinion]

That may be a little over the top... but I'll have to try it to find out.

But seeing that screenshot, I have a question: How many here "straightened out" the UI of the game? Rate this post 'Yes!' if you did.

I straightened it out on my TV so it was readable from the couch. But for regular play I leave it curved.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Someone needs to make the Tri-Op security that busts the hacker in the retardedly long intro into Silencers. Crusader and System Shock take place in the same universe and in the original cinematic they look a lot like Silencers.

Is it canon they are in the same universe? If so that's cool. I never realized.

It's also mutual. In the Topline Newsletter that comes with Crusader: No Remorse, there's a segment about how the Consortium is close to unveiling the first true AI, one powerful enough to manage an orbital space station with 1000 people onboard. "Project: SHODAN" as it's called also sports an image of SHODAN's cyberspace-appearance and the TriOptimum-logo, though the corporation itself is never named.

 

[Trithne]

Well I finished it and can see that none of my feedback on the ending being fucking trash was taken on board, unsurprisingly.

I also found myself in the (unskippable) credits and they managed to fuck up my name. Not that I really care.

Uninstalled, I'm pretty much done with it. It genuinely doesn't feel like something I'd replay, unlike the OG.

 

[Fedora Master]

Having only played the original SS2 and trying the remake I gotta say Im not done with the first level and already annoyed. The map is obtuse, important items are barely visible and there is no clear way forward.

 

[Grampy_Bone]

Having only played the original SS2 and trying the remake I gotta say Im not done with the first level and already annoyed. The map is obtuse, important items are barely visible and there is no clear way forward.

"Where is the voice on the radio telling me what to do?" - System Shock 2 enjoyer

 

[Sordid MCA/Prosper Hybryd]

About time we finally realized that System Shock 2 is a disgusting woke press-button-to-win decline walking simulation from soy hipster Ken Levine.

 

[Fedora Master]

Or perhaps the first SS was a neat proof of concept without the technology behind it to fully work. Now that we have the tech, it turns out the rest of the game wasn't so great after all.

 

[Lemming42]

Try playing the original (Enhanced Edition is fine). It's been discussed to death in the thread but IMO the remake recaptures very little of what makes the original so appealing, I imagine someone playing the remake without any context for the original would just be wandering around bored and confused in the dark, playing inventory tetris and lacking any reason to care about what's going on and not having any investment in the story and setting, which is what you describe.

You're robbing yourself of a great game if you don't play the original, and judging the original by this fairly dull remake is wildly unfair.

 

[anvi]

People are trash who deserve this over the original. Fuck them and their shit taste.

 

[SomeGuyWithAnOpinion]

About time we finally realized that System Shock 2 is a disgusting woke press-button-to-win decline walking simulation from soy hipster Ken Levine.

What strong stuff are you smoking, because I want some

 

[Tweed]

Crusader and System Shock take place in the same universe

They actually don't. I remember people speculating about that, but the devs stated that any in-game references to other games were just easter eggs. Crusader also has references to Wing Commander.

Way to ruin everything.