GoddyofAus
Banned
There is an argument that could be made that Bioshock was a better game because of the more compact set pieces. It allowed the art team to cram a lot more detail into areas and in turn, make them better.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
System Shock 2 Confirmed for GOG Release! Out Now! (Via RPS)
- Thread starter gragy10
- Start date
There is an argument that could be made that Bioshock was a better game because of the more compact set pieces. It allowed the art team to cram a lot more detail into areas and in turn, make them better.
Looking Glass' games are significantly more ambitious than pretty much everything out nowadays, it's a sad state of affairs.
Alexios
Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Huh?
BloodMoney
Banned
Hopefully kickstarters change that... i'd live to see game development placed back in the hands of the creative director(s) instead of the publishers.
GoddyofAus
Banned
Nevermind, I might've misunderstood what you were discussing. were you criticizing Bioshock for not having bigger locations?
People have said it in this thread already but yeah, SS2 most likely forms half the inspiration behind the first Dead Space (the other half being Resident Evil 4). That's if the rumors aren't true about DS originally being SS3.
The main difference is that SS2 is a lot less linear and has much heavier RPG elements. You can (and often have to) travel back and forth between decks of the ship, and you have to develop your character's abilities in different areas like weapons, hacking, and psionics (basically magic).
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
Recommendation to anyone playing for the first time: Consider modding the game to lower the rate at which items degrade and break. Although the item maintenance mechanic adds to the feel and isolation and fear of the game, it can get a little tedious.
If this is something that appeals to you, go to your SS2 directory, open or create user.cfg, and add the following line:
gun_degrade_rate 0
The 0 number is a number between 0 and 1. 0 turns off degrading totally. You might fine 0.5 is a good mix between the base mechanic and no degrading.
Enjoy
If this is something that appeals to you, go to your SS2 directory, open or create user.cfg, and add the following line:
gun_degrade_rate 0
The 0 number is a number between 0 and 1. 0 turns off degrading totally. You might fine 0.5 is a good mix between the base mechanic and no degrading.
Enjoy
Recommendation to anyone playing for the first time: Consider modding the game to lower the rate at which items degrade and break. Although the item maintenance mechanic adds to the feel and isolation and fear of the game, it can get a little tedious.
If this is something that appeals to you, go to your SS2 directory, open or create user.cfg, and add the following line:
gun_degrade_rate 0
The 0 number is a number between 0 and 1. 0 turns off degrading totally. You might fine 0.5 is a good mix between the base mechanic and no degrading.
Enjoy
I'm turning it up to 500.
Recommendation to anyone playing for the first time: Consider modding the game to lower the rate at which items degrade and break. Although the item maintenance mechanic adds to the feel and isolation and fear of the game, it can get a little tedious.
If this is something that appeals to you, go to your SS2 directory, open or create user.cfg, and add the following line:
gun_degrade_rate 0
The 0 number is a number between 0 and 1. 0 turns off degrading totally. You might fine 0.5 is a good mix between the base mechanic and no degrading.
Enjoy
Oh sounds good. I also know you can mod in vertical mouse control into the game as well.
Danny Dudekisser
I paid good money for this Dynex!
People have said it in this thread already but yeah, SS2 most likely forms half the inspiration behind the first Dead Space (the other half being Resident Evil 4). That's if the rumors aren't true about DS originally being SS3.
The main difference is that SS2 is a lot less linear and has much heavier RPG elements. You can (and often have to) travel back and forth between decks of the ship, and you have to develop your character's abilities in different areas like weapons, hacking, and psionics (basically magic).
Pretty much. System Shock 2 is basically Dead Space + Deus Ex.
And it's sweeeeeet. Glad people are actually excited about it.
Recommendation to anyone playing for the first time: Consider modding the game to lower the rate at which items degrade and break. Although the item maintenance mechanic adds to the feel and isolation and fear of the game, it can get a little tedious.
If this is something that appeals to you, go to your SS2 directory, open or create user.cfg, and add the following line:
gun_degrade_rate 0
The 0 number is a number between 0 and 1. 0 turns off degrading totally. You might fine 0.5 is a good mix between the base mechanic and no degrading.
Enjoy
That's a bad advice, really. You'd lose some of that "from barely surviving and relying on the wrench to becoming a powerful force" progression.
trab pu kcip
Member
don't know if it has been discussed here but there were rumors about it going online on steam. anyone knows something about this?
Presumably later as opposed to sooner.
Luckily the GOG release will allow a bunch of people to obtain this excellent game without having to worry about DRM and being able to back the game up without any issues for the future.
Stallion Free
Cock Encumbered
It's a timed GOG exclusive. If you want it on Steam then you should have no problem waiting 6 months since you already waited like 12 years. What's another 6 months right??
Noisepurge
Member
People have said it in this thread already but yeah, SS2 most likely forms half the inspiration behind the first Dead Space (the other half being Resident Evil 4). That's if the rumors aren't true about DS originally being SS3.
The main difference is that SS2 is a lot less linear and has much heavier RPG elements. You can (and often have to) travel back and forth between decks of the ship, and you have to develop your character's abilities in different areas like weapons, hacking, and psionics (basically magic).
There are some plot and...environmental elements that will feel familiar if you play either game
It does indeed seem like EA was working on a SShock3 but eventually gave up on trying to mold it to the IP and went for a more action oriented horror shooter title. But some elements were left intact.
There are some plot and...environmental elements that will feel familiar if you play either game
It does indeed seem like EA was working on a SShock3 but eventually gave up on trying to mold it to the IP and went for a more action oriented horror shooter title. But some elements were left intact.
fuuuuuck. And now I realized how really close Dead Space was to SS2.
mango drank
Member
There are some plot and...environmental elements that will feel familiar if you play either game
I made an exhaustive list a couple years ago in the OT Dead Space thread. MAD SPOILERS.
The following are true of both games:
the game is survival horror
takes place on a large ship floating in space, far away from Earth
ship is dark, atmospheric, trashed
ship uses a tram system
crew of the ship has mutated into monsters
the mutation occurs after the ship picks something up from an alien planet
something from Earth is responsible for the mutation's origin being on said planet
groupthink controls the monsters (Hive Mind; The Many)
you eventually fight and kill the origin of the groupthink
the game makes use of audio/text logs
through these logs, you follow progress of someone else trying to escape (engineer Temple and his significant other Elizabeth in DS; Tommy and Rebecca in SS2)
ghosts/halluciations (Nicole in DS; everyone else in SS2)
through a good chunk of the game, you get guidance/instructions/directions from a woman over your communicator
there's a plot twist in which the woman who's been guiding you turns out to be an antagonist
there's a twist in the ending cinematic, in which someone's love interest is transformed into an antagonist
you explore these areas:
- medical wing
- atrium/hydroponics
- crew quarters
- engine area, where engine needs to be restarted
- rec area w/ basketball court (!)
- late in the game, you board an attached military ship, explore it, and return to your ship
there's a mission involving finding and destroying mutant pods/eggs
there's meat growing on the walls
the protagonist can use powers to draw objects toward him, fire them off
there's an inventory system
there's an equipment upgrade system
space marines are involved in some capacity
the game is published by EA, who still owns the rights to the System Shock franchise
the game is survival horror
takes place on a large ship floating in space, far away from Earth
ship is dark, atmospheric, trashed
ship uses a tram system
crew of the ship has mutated into monsters
the mutation occurs after the ship picks something up from an alien planet
something from Earth is responsible for the mutation's origin being on said planet
groupthink controls the monsters (Hive Mind; The Many)
you eventually fight and kill the origin of the groupthink
the game makes use of audio/text logs
through these logs, you follow progress of someone else trying to escape (engineer Temple and his significant other Elizabeth in DS; Tommy and Rebecca in SS2)
ghosts/halluciations (Nicole in DS; everyone else in SS2)
through a good chunk of the game, you get guidance/instructions/directions from a woman over your communicator
there's a plot twist in which the woman who's been guiding you turns out to be an antagonist
there's a twist in the ending cinematic, in which someone's love interest is transformed into an antagonist
you explore these areas:
- medical wing
- atrium/hydroponics
- crew quarters
- engine area, where engine needs to be restarted
- rec area w/ basketball court (!)
- late in the game, you board an attached military ship, explore it, and return to your ship
there's a mission involving finding and destroying mutant pods/eggs
there's meat growing on the walls
the protagonist can use powers to draw objects toward him, fire them off
there's an inventory system
there's an equipment upgrade system
space marines are involved in some capacity
the game is published by EA, who still owns the rights to the System Shock franchise
trab pu kcip
Member
actually that's kinda true, it would be nice to have it a bit sooner though.
maybe I just finally get myself a GOG account, hmm
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
I do appreciate that, but I don't think the mechanic is well balanced as-is. I mean, by all means play the base game, but maybe if you find yourself not enjoying this mechanic and find it a bit too aggressive, that's the fix, and it's something I personally do when I replay the game.
forknknife
Banned
Great, never got to play this but I will wait for it to come to steam.
Noisepurge
Member
well, there you go
and indeed, MAD SPOILERS, do not be tempted to read if you haven't played SShock2!!BloodMoney
Banned
i never played dead space... WTF. Dead Space is a complete rip off...
RiccochetJ
Gold Member
I think it's more the convenience of having the dl all in one place. I'm definitely going with GOG for this. I really like their service and want to support them for helping making this happen.
cartman414
Member
It's called not being a douche.
Anyhoo, I can see Steam doing more for this game's profile. GoG is still pretty niche.
Joseph Merrick
Member
yeah. just look at the deus ex 1 version on ps2. imagine if the pc version had all those load gates, or was made simultaneously for pc and ps2. it would be exactly like what happened to invisible war.
MrTroubleMaker
Member
I like the countdown timer on GOG page. Gonna get this again
trab pu kcip
Member
I have to say that's really my only excuse I did not create an account so far :S It's stupid actually but my subtle OCD tells me not to disturb the old order
lastflowers
Banned
Getting a GOG account for this. Can't wait to play it again without any hassle.
Stallion Free
Cock Encumbered
Yeah, 34k+ wanting the game is pretty sad when you recall the Dark Souls PC movement.
GOG is worth signing up for since there's not a lot of crossover with the Steam Store library. Steam still doesn't have a lot of the classics that GOG has like Planescape Torment, Baldur's Gate 2, Sim City 2000, etc etc. This might not be the case with SS2, but a lot of the re-releases on GOG may never show up on Steam.
Plus if you're ever like me and stuck with no internet at home for a period of time, you'll thank the maker for those DRM-free games.
Alexios
Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Must say you're not doing a very good job of it then. Take it to pm instead of keep derailing, please.
toddhunter
Member
The thing is it depends how you play
The glorious, glorious thing.I still don't see how they were forced to change. Sure at the time "brain dead shooter" = sales, but I've never known "one of the best games of all time with incredible atmosphere" to be a bad thing to make.
jim-jam bongs
Member
My fantasy of creating a GAF Plays System Shock 2 thread is inching ever closer. It truly is one of the best games ever made, and despite the lack of mainstream success it's easy to see the influence it had on modern games. The fact that side-stories are usually told using audio/text logs, or the presence of a voice in your head telling you what to do, are both examples of things which modern games use to ape SS2 without ever coming to close to reaching the perfection of this marvellous game.
As far as the story and Babbies 1st System Shock... er I mean Bioshock, System Shock 2 actually tells the same basic tale better, though I'd argue that Bioshock is still important for different reasons. Also, I'm definitely in the camp which feels that removing a whole range of features made the later game a lesser experience. For one thing, you could only disable vita-chambers in Bioshock after a patch, but pro SS2 players just never activated the fucking things in the first place.
And while every single ability in Bioshock can be wielded and used by the player in one run, SS2 has the player actually tailoring their abilities to how they want to play like as though it's *gasp* an RPG. It's genuinely impossible to max out weapons, tech and psi in a single run, and focusing on one tree or another will net you real benefits in the form of advanced skills which give you some much-needed win buttons once you get deep into the later parts of the game.
So yeah I like it.
Stump is scrub confirmed
As far as the story and Babbies 1st System Shock... er I mean Bioshock, System Shock 2 actually tells the same basic tale better, though I'd argue that Bioshock is still important for different reasons. Also, I'm definitely in the camp which feels that removing a whole range of features made the later game a lesser experience. For one thing, you could only disable vita-chambers in Bioshock after a patch, but pro SS2 players just never activated the fucking things in the first place.
And while every single ability in Bioshock can be wielded and used by the player in one run, SS2 has the player actually tailoring their abilities to how they want to play like as though it's *gasp* an RPG. It's genuinely impossible to max out weapons, tech and psi in a single run, and focusing on one tree or another will net you real benefits in the form of advanced skills which give you some much-needed win buttons once you get deep into the later parts of the game.
So yeah I like it.
Recommendation to anyone playing for the first time: Consider modding the game to lower the rate at which items degrade and break. Although the item maintenance mechanic adds to the feel and isolation and fear of the game, it can get a little tedious.
If this is something that appeals to you, go to your SS2 directory, open or create user.cfg, and add the following line:
gun_degrade_rate 0
The 0 number is a number between 0 and 1. 0 turns off degrading totally. You might fine 0.5 is a good mix between the base mechanic and no degrading.
Enjoy
Stump is scrub confirmed
not from a gameplay perspective at least. it plays WAAAAAAAY more like Resident Evil 4 than anything else.
setting and plot, sure.
Of All Trades
Member
Eh, it really isn't. Some of those points are extremely tenuous and miss things that aren't even subtle differences; without spoiling, DS doesn't have anything like SHODAN in pretty much every sense. For example, what movie am I referring to that has:
A non-military/science crew
Takes place in a spaceship in the far future.
Has a very strange looking alien
Alien hides throughout the ship
Alien is being hunted down by crew.
Computer system called Mother.
A disobedient AI that tries to kill the crew.
Movie ends with the main ship exploding.
When people said it was resident evil 4 in space, they weren't kidding.
I NEED SCISSORS
Banned
Goddam, I am on this. I had previously wanted to track down the discs and mod it (this version can still be modded, right?), but the jury rigged setups I read about on reddit just to get it working put me off.
Conciliator
Banned
Thanks for this. I was about to post how Dead Space really wasn't that similar to System Shock 2 and make an ass of myself.
jim-jam bongs
Member
Uh except that it does,
she's just an actual human person in DS.
trab pu kcip
Member
woah I did not even know that! thanks
magicalsoundshower
Member
Personally, I find it very easy to prefer SS1 if it's the first game in the series you've played, like I have. They're both extremely different games. SS1 is more like an action adventure game as opposed to an action RPG and while it definitely tries hard to creep you out, it's definitely not as horror-centric as SS1.
SS2 is a very good game but I was kind of turned off by its small levels, awkward-feeling engine and little variety in enemies as opposed to the HUGE cyborg army you fight in the first game. On the other hand, its RPG elements are quite deep and add a lot to the game which makes it a great game in its own right. SS2 also disappointed me when it came to the soundtrack, though. While SS1 has some of the most creative uses of MIDI video game music I've ever heard (the music shifts and morphs as you play and never sounds exactly the same twice) and has some brilliantly moody compositions, SS2 seems to suffer from a serious overdose of somewhat generic-sounding breakbeats.
While this thread is great news, a SS1 remake of sorts would send me straight to heaven.
SS2 is a very good game but I was kind of turned off by its small levels, awkward-feeling engine and little variety in enemies as opposed to the HUGE cyborg army you fight in the first game. On the other hand, its RPG elements are quite deep and add a lot to the game which makes it a great game in its own right. SS2 also disappointed me when it came to the soundtrack, though. While SS1 has some of the most creative uses of MIDI video game music I've ever heard (the music shifts and morphs as you play and never sounds exactly the same twice) and has some brilliantly moody compositions, SS2 seems to suffer from a serious overdose of somewhat generic-sounding breakbeats.
While this thread is great news, a SS1 remake of sorts would send me straight to heaven.
Anyone think System Shock 2 deserves an OT, given how fucking long it's been, and that so few people have played it?
How would one go about doing that? 'cause there are some great things in this thread, like modding and such, or explanations as to the awesomeness of the game... they could all fit in their own thread.
How would one go about doing that? 'cause there are some great things in this thread, like modding and such, or explanations as to the awesomeness of the game... they could all fit in their own thread.
trab pu kcip
Member
RiccochetJ
Gold Member
I would love that. Seriously. If anything a rttp/lttp thread.
Of All Trades
Member
But
it's all in the protagonist's head in DS via the Marker. SS2 literally has SHODAN as the entity which created the infection, whereas the Unitologists existed prior to discovery of the Marker and the fake wife is a delusion created by the Marker
I mean, even at a surface glance it's not 'note for note', because SS2's final levels are
inside the Many biomass
on the surface of a dead planet where the Marker was found or rebuilt, I can't remember which
Even the early plot progression is highly dissimilar in the approach to getting the protagonist into the story.