vortex
Fabulous Optimist
Will they change the engine to Unreal or will they stay with Unity?
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KickStarter System Shock 1 Remake by Nightdive Studios
- Thread starter LESS T_T
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Vae
Novice
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They will stay with Unity.
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Arcane
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Can't polish a turd.
LESS T_T
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Looks like they're moving to Unreal: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/were-hiring-lead-artist-system-shock-stephen-kick
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The latest issue of Retro Gamer has a news item on the System Shock 1 Remake Demo, along with a small box of "Reader's Reactions".
:australia:
:australia:
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Declinator
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Didn't someone here predict this happening (even though they wouldn't reach the Kickstarter goal)?
What's the point of remaking System Shock 2? I mean System Shock 1's interface is quite different from modern titles but the same can't be said of 2. Just a graphical revamp?
A horse of course
Guest
If SS2 remake lets you bang SHODAN I'm ok with it.
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The primary reason I posted those comments is to show how far too many of them are out of touch with reality. The amount of "remake" that System Shock 2 needs is miniscule, compared to System Shock 1.
On that note, releasing the source code is a brilliant PR move on their behalf that should appease the butthurt of the people that helped make System Shock 1 relevant and runnable for the past 20 years, and thereby directly contributed to every penny that Night Dive Studios gained from the Kickstarter.
ZylonBane Intensifies
With the source code out in the public, you can have Vanilla System Shock 1, System Shock 1 as Deemed Proper By The Fans, and the System Shock 1 Modern-Day Remake by Night Dive Studios.
It's Win-Win for everyone.
I only wish that Otherside Studios would do the same for Ultima Underworld 1 and 2...and yes, they have the source code for them.
Stephen Kick said in one of the Mattchats that he's totally against the idea of a SS2 remake. He said it is a timeless classic and that it has stood the test of time. So according to him the original SS2 is just fine.
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Could make the final third of the game not suck.
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Gentle Player
Arcane
Disagree with the recent posts here. I think SS2 is actually in more need of a remake than the original. Though this won't make me many friends here, I'll say that SS2 is one of the most overrated classics of the Codex canon. Not to say that it is a bad game, or even that it's not a very good game (I still enjoyed it very much), but it's deeply flawed in ways which don't apply to the original. Systemically it's a mess; I don't think many could argue against that considering that the path of least resistance - Standard Weapons 6 - is enough to trivialise the game even on Impossible thanks to the Assault Rifle and its ammo types and the ubiquity of bullets. Rather, it's praised mostly for its atmosphere: the Many are eerie, unnerving, and terrifically voice acted, and all credit is due there. Take that away, however, and I fear that what remains is largely mediocre.
Even when it comes to cultivating an oppressive atmosphere, there are tremendous failings when it comes to lighting (arguably of primary importance in any visual medium, and particularly relevant in games considering what the late 90s and early 00s had to offer). The flat lighting is disappointing in light (no pun intended
) of what System Shock 1 (level 3 springs to mind) and even the Ultima Underworlds had to offer years before; it's downright retrograde and inexcusable when considering Thief, on whose engine SS2 was built upon.
In terms of the gameplay itself, which should be the main contributing factor to the atmosphere of any game, the scarcity of the early levels, at least on Impossible - in terms of low HPs, ammo, and the condition of weapons before the Maintenance skill has had a chance to be raised - made for a fantastically tense early game. However, this dissipates much too soon, even without a Standards Weapons build. It reaches a point where, in the late game, the Psionic Reaver enemies - whose ferocity is much built up through the audio logs - are a joke when actually encountered. Perhaps only an Exotic Weapons user would have difficulty, but considering the late stage in which those weapons are encountered and the steep requirements (points into Research, when zero points and an Implant are enough to enjoy the main benefits of that skill), most players would have already invested their Cyber Modules on other weapon skills (perhaps I'm wrong, but I think any game should primarily be judged on the basis of a first time player's experience).
Nor was there any challenge in terms of level design and puzzles - the only thing to give one pause was seeking out the hidden codes in the Recreation Deck. Whilst UU combat was also even more trivial - other than encountering Headless at a low level or those annoying poison bats early in UU1 - the late game challenges of finding the remaining artefacts or solving those puzzles in the Void more than made up for it. System Shock 1 remained tense throughout most of the game, particularly with the snipers in level 8 and the ordeal of the groves, the last level only being easy if you'd managed to find all the Shield upgrades and because the Skorpion ammo stopped being rare. Looking at one of SS2's contemporaries, another First Person game praised primarily for atmosphere, Unreal also managed to be very tense throughout, the Skaarj in the later Mothership levels being very fearsome - not to mention that the lighting in that game was utterly marvellous. Thief, by its very nature, was also challenging and tense up until the end, despite the variation in style of the later levels. SS2 really doesn't compare favourably to its predecessors nor to its contemporaries; only to the dross which came after, which is no real prize.
All in all, I think System Shock 1 is an accomplished game whose primary flaws have been fixed with System Shock Portable - those in charge of this new remake might as well add completely new elements, however misguided, for the sake of actually doing something, as there's little to really improve upon except Cyberspace. System Shock 2, however, is a deeply flawed game in real need of some well-meaning remaster or remake or whatever.
Even when it comes to cultivating an oppressive atmosphere, there are tremendous failings when it comes to lighting (arguably of primary importance in any visual medium, and particularly relevant in games considering what the late 90s and early 00s had to offer). The flat lighting is disappointing in light (no pun intended
) of what System Shock 1 (level 3 springs to mind) and even the Ultima Underworlds had to offer years before; it's downright retrograde and inexcusable when considering Thief, on whose engine SS2 was built upon.In terms of the gameplay itself, which should be the main contributing factor to the atmosphere of any game, the scarcity of the early levels, at least on Impossible - in terms of low HPs, ammo, and the condition of weapons before the Maintenance skill has had a chance to be raised - made for a fantastically tense early game. However, this dissipates much too soon, even without a Standards Weapons build. It reaches a point where, in the late game, the Psionic Reaver enemies - whose ferocity is much built up through the audio logs - are a joke when actually encountered. Perhaps only an Exotic Weapons user would have difficulty, but considering the late stage in which those weapons are encountered and the steep requirements (points into Research, when zero points and an Implant are enough to enjoy the main benefits of that skill), most players would have already invested their Cyber Modules on other weapon skills (perhaps I'm wrong, but I think any game should primarily be judged on the basis of a first time player's experience).
Nor was there any challenge in terms of level design and puzzles - the only thing to give one pause was seeking out the hidden codes in the Recreation Deck. Whilst UU combat was also even more trivial - other than encountering Headless at a low level or those annoying poison bats early in UU1 - the late game challenges of finding the remaining artefacts or solving those puzzles in the Void more than made up for it. System Shock 1 remained tense throughout most of the game, particularly with the snipers in level 8 and the ordeal of the groves, the last level only being easy if you'd managed to find all the Shield upgrades and because the Skorpion ammo stopped being rare. Looking at one of SS2's contemporaries, another First Person game praised primarily for atmosphere, Unreal also managed to be very tense throughout, the Skaarj in the later Mothership levels being very fearsome - not to mention that the lighting in that game was utterly marvellous. Thief, by its very nature, was also challenging and tense up until the end, despite the variation in style of the later levels. SS2 really doesn't compare favourably to its predecessors nor to its contemporaries; only to the dross which came after, which is no real prize.
All in all, I think System Shock 1 is an accomplished game whose primary flaws have been fixed with System Shock Portable - those in charge of this new remake might as well add completely new elements, however misguided, for the sake of actually doing something, as there's little to really improve upon except Cyberspace. System Shock 2, however, is a deeply flawed game in real need of some well-meaning remaster or remake or whatever.
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Gentle Player - If I'm not mistaken, much of what you mention as wrong with System Shock 2 can be, and has been, fixed with mods.
The community has the almost complete source code for the Dark Engine (which runs SS2 and the first two Thief games) and therefore can make some big changes to them.
I'm not saying that System Shock 2 shouldn't be looked at - I just think it's less of a priority compared to SS1.
The community has the almost complete source code for the Dark Engine (which runs SS2 and the first two Thief games) and therefore can make some big changes to them.
I'm not saying that System Shock 2 shouldn't be looked at - I just think it's less of a priority compared to SS1.
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Wait, what "level design"? I thought this was a remake, not a reboot.
Sorry there's no "naive" button to appropriately rate this post.
Sorry there's no "naive" button to appropriately rate this post.
This is like that thing Darth Roxor was talking about, you poor fools
I cancelled my pledge at the right time. :cheersmate:
Baron Dupek
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First inXile, now SySoRemake.
Where is your incline, my fellow traps victims?
Where is your incline, my fellow traps victims?
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This was already made clear during the Kickstarter, I guess you weren't paying attention
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