KickStarter System Shock 1 Remake by Nightdive Studios

[Durandal]

You simply can't port something like SS1 to consoles without casualizing large parts of the design.
I hope Night Dive doesn't go full Piranha Bytes by trying to appeal to an audience not interested in their products at all.
Being optimistic for games these days tends to only result in more disappointment.

Spoiler

 

[Karellen]

I don't think that porting the controls to consoles is the most pressing problem with remaking System Shock. I think almost all of the interesting functionality particular to System Shock - leaning, crouching and crawling, etc. - could be achieved reasonably well even on a controller, and while playing shooters without a mouse is generally terrible, System Shock isn't a shooter and the vague sluggishness of analogue stick controls is actually mostly appropriate to it. The interactive HUD does have a unique 90s charm that probably cannot be translated properly to a control scheme that doesn't involve a mouse, but System Shock would be a good game even without it.

The thing that would absolutely kill System Shock, though, is messing with its level design and structure, which unfortunately is almost certainly what's going to happen, whether it's made for PC or consoles. System Shock's level design is superb, but the locations are also a bit abstract, cramped, maze-like and occasionally weird - it would be very difficult to update them to modern standards of "immersive" graphical quality without making everything more spacious and straight-forward. What's more worrying is that there's no guarantee they even want to preserve the level design; making games is expensive and they have to sell the game to somebody, and the fact of the matter is that the degree of freedom that you have in the original System Shock hasn't been in vogue in twenty years either, so it's very easy they'd go for something more linear and cinematic.

And really, even if they try to do all the right things, it'll almost inevitably be worse than the original anyway. That's the problem about remaking nearly perfect games.

 

[Morgoth]

It will be shit until proven otherwise.

 

[khavi]

I want to believe.

If anything, I'll get the soundtrack.

 

[DawnrazorDCLXVI]

http://wccftech.com/system-shock-remake-works-console-version-planned/

Ugh.

 

[Excidium II]

old news

 

[Suicidal Meat Slapper]

I'm actually surprised this didn't happen sooner

 

[Marobug]

Night Dive Studios ? Who the fuck are they, and the fuck are they doing with one of my favourite IPs of all time ?
A small search yielded this beauty:
http://mousenjoypad.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/03_-_Battle.jpg

This is the last and apparently only game they made. WHAT THE FUCK

 

[DawnrazorDCLXVI]

All you needed to hear was console.

 

[Severian Silk]

Remakes suck.

 

[Excidium II]

Night Dive Studios ? Who the fuck are they, and the fuck are they doing with one of my favourite IPs of all time ?
A small search yielded this beauty:
http://mousenjoypad.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/03_-_Battle.jpg

This is the last and apparently only game they made. WHAT THE FUCK

You live under a rock? They've been buying the rights to redistribute old games on digital sale platforms like steam and gog for a while.

 

[Jaesun]

Don't see a problem with a System Shock remake on the consoles. It's not like the original System Shock was some incredibly elaborate tactical game that could never be ported to the console (like Baldurs Gate etc...).

UNLESS their target audience is the brain dead, dumbed down, general console gaming public...

 

[Explorerbc]

I don't know. Those old-school cyberpunk aesthetics look cool as hell, but when I tried playing the original the controls felt kinda shit.

So ... sort of want I guess ?

 

[Excidium II]

Don't see a problem with a System Shock remake on the consoles. It's not like the original System Shock was some incredibly elaborate tactical game that could never be ported to the console (like Baldurs Gate etc...).

UNLESS their target audience is the brain dead, dumbed down, general console gaming public...

Them controls totally work on a gamepad with no streamlining required.

 

[Marobug]

All you needed to hear was console.

Between console games and the unity asset store made playable gonorrhea that's been plaguing Steam since last year, I'd rather chose the former any day.
And what worries me the most isn't the remake itself, it's what may come up later because apparently they are thinking about further milking the SS IP, which isn't exactly suprising unfortunatly.

 

[DawnrazorDCLXVI]

Really? O_O

A lot of people seem to feel they need to memorize their entire keyboard for SS2. And surprisingly few beat it.

As far as milking, what's left to milk?

 

[Archibald]

But they aren't porting remaking SS2 as I understand. Honestly, I don't really care, what matters is SS2 and I'm bit surprised about reactions here since usually nobody talks or mentions SS1.

 

[Infinitron]

You're not reading the right threads, then.

 

[Jasede]

I honestly don't think a console port will decrease the quality too much, though it does lead to compromises in the interface that I can't be happy with.

That said even Looking Glass themselves were ashamed of System Shock 1's controls. 3 stages of crouch, really? You can't justify that when there's barely a reason to use those at all. (They said as much on their "Looking Glass plays System Shock 1" stream.)

 

[pippin]

I honestly don't think a console port will decrease the quality too much, though it does lead to compromises in the interface that I can't be happy with.

That said even Looking Glass themselves were ashamed of System Shock 1's controls. 3 stages of crouch, really? You can't justify that when there's barely a reason to use those at all. (They said as much on their "Looking Glass plays System Shock 1" stream.)

I think the menus would be the most butchered portion of the game, as most console versions of games are these days. There's a chance the other aspects of the interface (like picking up objects and stuff like that) end up having a better outcome than what we could expect right now.
But I do agree with the controls, though. Being able to lean is a missed element in FPS games these days, but, for instance, I don't understand why I have two instances of crouching in Stalker, or why I should push like three buttons at the same time to sneak. I know the keyboard has a natural advantage in terms of options, and I do prefer it that way, but it's a serious pet peeve of mine when the game allows you to sneak but you don't just have a "toggle crouch" option or something to that effect.

 

[Gentle Player]

I don't know. Those old-school cyberpunk aesthetics look cool as hell, but when I tried playing the original the controls felt kinda shit.

With SSP the controls are absolutely fine.

Honestly, I don't really care, what matters is SS2 and I'm bit surprised about reactions here since usually nobody talks or mentions SS1.

SS2 is grossly overrated. The original is a far better game.

 

[DawnrazorDCLXVI]

Imagine System Shock with console popups and moron indicators spoiling those sprawling, open areas.

 

[~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸-AIN'T]

But they aren't porting remaking SS2 as I understand. Honestly, I don't really care, what matters is SS2 and I'm bit surprised about reactions here since usually nobody talks or mentions SS1.

People talk about it less here because it's not even remotely an RPG, unlike SS2. Regardless, SS1 is still one of the best games ever made.

 

[Mustawd]

With SSP the controls are absolutely fine.

SSP? System Shock Portable? That still available? Thought it was discontinued.

 

[pippin]

Wasn't it discontinued in favor of gog's System Shock EE?