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[System Shock & 2] - SHODAN's Liberation Is At Hand

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  • azith28azith28 Registered User regular
    I hate to make this into a mini-"Wearingglasses Scares Himself Shitless With System Shock 2" chucklehour, but I have some more questions and comments.

    - I made a branch save and spent some points into PSI, since I'm not feeling the Heavy weapons (But researched the Crystal Shard which looks boss). Do people really manage to use Psi-skills in realtime combat? This shit's hard. Right now I'm using Agility-boost and Heal Light Wounds. The Melee Amplification skill I couldn't really get the hang of, because that doesn't last long enough.
    - Hacking rocks (WOOOO). Love hacking turrets.
    - Fuck Spiders.
    - I dumped the Wrench for the said Crystal Shard. Do they have the same hitboxes? I oneshot hybrids but Spiders (fuck Spiders) and Cyborg Assassins kinda no-sell the shard.
    -Just finished the OPs floor (with the reprogramming task). I'm kinda starting to be concerned with running out of bullets. Do you guys spend your nanites on bullets, or do I reserve them for the serious shit? Haven't seen any reason to spend the anti-personnel except on Spiders. Which reminds me...
    - Fuck Spiders. Everytime I run across one I don't have any antidotes. And they soak up so much ammo they make life suck even though they're not the "ohshitohshit" scary monster type.
    - Man, Cyborg assassins kinda move like chumps. I mean their cyber ninja stars hurt like hell but they move like... ninja C3POs. It kinda undermines their menacing capabilities.
    - I got a lot of Cyber modules for upgrades, but I'm undecided on what to upgrade next - My Stats are alright, don't feel like my Tech skills needs a tune-up, the next Standard Weapons are a bit too pricey, the Shard's my only exotic, not feeling Heavy Weapons, the next PSI upgrade is also too pricey, Energy weapons look like a nice branch, but the EMP rifle has a too high requirement, and I'm afraid of running out of batteries in a firefight.
    - Is the French-Epstein Device automatic? I just dropped them on my Shotgun and Rifle, but nothing happened...?

    My current killing algorithm:
    - Hybrids? Shank
    - Midwives? Shank
    - Spiders? SHOOT.
    - Cyborg assassins? Shoot, because Shard doesn't work(?)
    - Annelids? Er... shoot? Shard also kinda doesn't work. Kind of a waste of ammo tho.

    Interesting thing that surprised me: I was chilling in the large room in OPs deck, the one where the elevator opens to, and as I was staring at the bulkhead door musing on the map, I suddenly heard the doorway to my left open, with the moans of a hybrid and the robotic drone of an Assassin. WTF! I thought this area was my Safe Place!

    So: Lesson learned: Nowhere is safe. (Tell me the elevator is safe.)

    BTW, AP ammo work well on hybrids. you will want a ton of these late game. The key to ammo conservation in this game is using the right ammo. use the sound queues to id what monsters you will be shooting at soon, have two different guns with different ammo equipped for fast swap out.

    Stercus, Stercus, Stercus, Morituri Sum
  • TaminTamin Registered User regular
    edited October 2013
    well, I mean

    technically

    I'm watching the thread because I have it bookmarked so I can quickly* answer any questions anyone might have regarding the game.

    If we only get one convert a month and the thread turns into a very odd version of a standard television procedural, then, well... it'll have to do.

    * barring stupid stuff like posts being eaten and assuming I see the notification quickly and you know

    Tamin on
  • KiasKias Registered User regular
    The psi powers are clunky but I was already well in to my psi character's build (with standard weapons as a fallback) before I read the advice to avoid it on the first play through. You eventually get used to it and balancing psi and pistol/shotgun is a great way to get the best out of limited resources. I was also pretty OCD about keeping some buffs up, but I can't remember exactly what they were, just that they were very helpful.

    But yeah, if my poorly planned, hodgepodge character could finish the game, you will be good to go even if you experiment a bit.

    steam_sig.png

  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    Kias wrote: »
    The psi powers are clunky but I was already well in to my psi character's build (with standard weapons as a fallback) before I read the advice to avoid it on the first play through. You eventually get used to it and balancing psi and pistol/shotgun is a great way to get the best out of limited resources. I was also pretty OCD about keeping some buffs up, but I can't remember exactly what they were, just that they were very helpful.

    Personal favorite powers are Psycho-reflective Screen (damage reduction; cheap!), Psychogenic Cyber Affinity (easier hacking), and Anti-Entropic Field (no weapon degradation!).

  • TaminTamin Registered User regular
    edited September 2015
    :: transmission received and decoded

    Sysshock.jpg


    Alright, you've bought the game and watched that opening cinematic

    I mean, you have, right?

    Oh, I'm supposed to sell you on the game first?

    Mutants! Robots! Cyborgs! Cyberspace! Mega-Corps! Ok, so now you're sold and you're looking at that main menu and asking - where's "easy"?

    The short answer is there is no 'easy'. Or medium, or hard. There's a difficulty index. I'm a little fuzzy on the specifics.

    What do you want, it's been literally 21 years since the game came out. (when my favorite games are legally allowed to drink, I know I am an old.)

    There are four categories: Combat, Mission, Puzzle, and Cyberspace. Each settings controls difficulty within that category - a 0 in each will make the game trivial; a 3 in each will make it crazy-hard. Combat is straight-forward enough: enemies range from ignoring you to having a bloodlust. Higher Mission difficulty will impose time-limits on critical tasks. Puzzles will be made more complicated. Cyberspace will gain a time-limit, harder combat, and (I think) more difficult controls.

    (as an aside: the puzzles are my favorite aspect of the game. I wish more games would have the variety found here.)

    Let's look at your default HUD
    SHOCK001.GIF

    (there's a full-screen version that's a lot more readable, at least to me. The second box on the left side of the screen will switch to that mode)

    Remember that pipe-swinging hybrid your successor will have met in the sequel? This time, it's your turn.
    Off in the upper-right we have two bars.
    - the top is your health. Apply medical patches or find a healing station to restore this.
    - the bottom is your energy. This powers your hardware (for a broad comparison, think of the augments in Deus Ex) and any energy weapons you may find.

    The boxes that frame this screen are your hardware and other features. Compass, E-Mail, and full-screen are available from the beginning of the game. Others must be found.

    Bottom left and right are what we old-timers call MFDs - Multi-Function Displays. The function can be changed via the vertical tab selection off to the side of each.

    The map (displayed here on the right MFD) can be viewed full-screen. And you can place notes!

    Bottom center is your inventory. The horizontal tabs select different inventory sections. Your various treasures - medical patches, grenades, cyberspace software, empty bottles of cola, you know - will go here.

    The top center has two mini-panels, and is a clever answer in the days before mouselook. The right mini-panel controls leaning, kneeling, and going prone. The left mini-panel controls your eye level. There are keyboard shortcuts for each, naturally.

    ...

    I know, it looks super complicated. It's pretty easy to get used to it.


    Glancing at Stealing the bullet points from the store page, I see they added
    * mouselook
    * remappable controls (the original was well aware you had a full 128-key keyboard and a mouse; it made full use of those facts)
    * higher resolution support



    It's a great game. A pioneer, even.

    It's absolutely worth $10. Well, $6 at the moment. This post may be edited when the sale ends.

    :: end transmission.

    OP updated.

    Tamin on
  • UselesswarriorUselesswarrior Registered User regular
    edited September 2015
    I hold the unpopular opinion that System Shock 1 was a better game than its successor. It's a really ground breaking game in terms of narrative and atmosphere.

    Also it's delightful that a game like Bioshock Infinite has a direct arrow pointing back to Ultima Underworld..

    Uselesswarrior on
    Hey I made a game, check it out @ http://ifallingrobot.com/. (Or don't, your call)
  • StormwatcherStormwatcher Blegh BlughRegistered User regular
    I could never say which one is better, but both are fucking amazing.

    Steam: Stormwatcher | PSN: Stormwatcher33 | Switch: 5961-4777-3491
    camo_sig2.png
  • azith28azith28 Registered User regular
    Ahh. do we have a newbie hacker to SS?

    Will we get to watch him panting and sweating through the corridors....a pathetic sack of meat and bone?
    It's always a good time.

    Stercus, Stercus, Stercus, Morituri Sum
  • TychoCelchuuuTychoCelchuuu PIGEON Registered User regular
    I like System Shock more than System Shock 2 also, although they're both amazing games.

  • azith28azith28 Registered User regular
    Shit, i just realized what this was. Is the enhanced version only available on GOG or also steam eventually?

    Stercus, Stercus, Stercus, Morituri Sum
  • heenatoheenato Alice Leywind Registered User regular
    It's night dive, so it'll probably see a steam release eventually. I think all of the games they rescued are on steam.

    M A G I K A Z A M
  • augustaugust where you come from is gone Registered User regular
    azith28 wrote: »
    Shit, i just realized what this was. Is the enhanced version only available on GOG or also steam eventually?

    I doubt anyone but gog.com and the publisher know this for sure. But the pattern I've noticed is that it will probably come to steam in like six months or a year. Depends on how much work or money gog did to make this project happen.

  • OrogogusOrogogus San DiegoRegistered User regular
    I hold the unpopular opinion that System Shock 1 was a better game than its predecessor. It's a really ground breaking game in terms of narrative and atmosphere.

    Also it's delightful that a game like Bioshock Infinite has a direct arrow pointing back to Ultima Underworld..

    You mean better than the sequel, right? If so, yeah, I agree. The sprawling maps made it feel more like you were exploring, and I thought its various components gelled a lot better than its contemporaries (i.e., DOOM) or its sequel to make an action movie experience.

  • UselesswarriorUselesswarrior Registered User regular
    Orogogus wrote: »
    I hold the unpopular opinion that System Shock 1 was a better game than its predecessor. It's a really ground breaking game in terms of narrative and atmosphere.

    Also it's delightful that a game like Bioshock Infinite has a direct arrow pointing back to Ultima Underworld..

    You mean better than the sequel, right? If so, yeah, I agree. The sprawling maps made it feel more like you were exploring, and I thought its various components gelled a lot better than its contemporaries (i.e., DOOM) or its sequel to make an action movie experience.

    Yeah I meant successor but I typed predecessor. It was pretty early, I guess I was tired.

    Pretty good video to get people hyped for SS1:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vnh0l_Ecpx4&index=27&list=PLgdySZU6KUXKGoT_cwmapf_dZgO-X7p7q

    Hey I made a game, check it out @ http://ifallingrobot.com/. (Or don't, your call)
  • cB557cB557 voOOP Registered User regular
    So, am I the only person for whom the game wasn't scary anymore after engineering?
    Like, it was still good, it was just good in a different way. During engineering was when my build finally started coming together and after that it was more fun action instead of scary horror.

  • StormwatcherStormwatcher Blegh BlughRegistered User regular
    I mean, I'VE BEATEN SS is one of my major accomplishments on life.

    Steam: Stormwatcher | PSN: Stormwatcher33 | Switch: 5961-4777-3491
    camo_sig2.png
  • UselesswarriorUselesswarrior Registered User regular
    Wonder what these means for System Shock portable? Probably going to have to take it down now that the game is back on sale.

    Disappointed there is no Mac or Linux version.

    Hey I made a game, check it out @ http://ifallingrobot.com/. (Or don't, your call)
  • StormwatcherStormwatcher Blegh BlughRegistered User regular
    Orogogus wrote: »
    I hold the unpopular opinion that System Shock 1 was a better game than its predecessor. It's a really ground breaking game in terms of narrative and atmosphere.

    Also it's delightful that a game like Bioshock Infinite has a direct arrow pointing back to Ultima Underworld..

    You mean better than the sequel, right? If so, yeah, I agree. The sprawling maps made it feel more like you were exploring, and I thought its various components gelled a lot better than its contemporaries (i.e., DOOM) or its sequel to make an action movie experience.

    Yeah I meant successor but I typed predecessor. It was pretty early, I guess I was tired.

    Pretty good video to get people hyped for SS1:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vnh0l_Ecpx4&index=27&list=PLgdySZU6KUXKGoT_cwmapf_dZgO-X7p7q

    Oh god damn it now I'm gonna have to watch all of his reviews

    Steam: Stormwatcher | PSN: Stormwatcher33 | Switch: 5961-4777-3491
    camo_sig2.png
  • Lucid_SeraphLucid_Seraph TealDeer MarylandRegistered User regular
    >watches review

    oh yeah THAT'S why I never could get through this game. The godawful controls! :|

    See You Space Cowboy: a ttrpg about sad space bounty hunters
    https://podcast.tidalwavegames.com/
  • azith28azith28 Registered User regular
    >watches review

    oh yeah THAT'S why I never could get through this game. The godawful controls! :|

    It was a pretty great review. I remember playing shock on my ...I wanna say 386 computer. I didnt have a CD rom drive yet (They were way expensive). However I do remember that Shodan spoke. it was one of the first times my computer played audio that sounded like...audio.. Shodan's voice is an amazing mixture of technology, art, and drama. Glados comes close to it, but I still would pay good money for a synthizier that converts any text into actual shodan speak.

    I know there is something like that out there, but i want full control.

    Stercus, Stercus, Stercus, Morituri Sum
  • TaminTamin Registered User regular
    Wonder what these means for System Shock portable? Probably going to have to take it down now that the game is back on sale.

    Disappointed there is no Mac or Linux version.

    It's actually already been removed. A month or so ago, Night Dive sent that request. I just didn't see value in reviving the thread over it.

  • DranythDranyth Surf ColoradoRegistered User regular
    Oh man, I am kind of tempted to grab SS1 on GOG, even though it may come to Steam at some point in the undetermined future... I know I tried to play the original a number of years ago, but the controls man... they're way too absurd to try to get used to at this point for me. I hear this version works along the lines of SS2, switching between inventory mode and shooter mode? Seems like it should be reasonable. And being able to customize the controls should help immensely as well.

    Has anyone tried it yet? Might be a silly question, but is it still using DOSBox at all or is it actually some kind of native Windows executable now?

  • DrakeDrake Edgelord Trash Below the ecliptic plane.Registered User regular
    You get two versions, the new enhanced version which is a native windows app and a classic version that runs on DOSbox. I've only tried the enhanced version so I have no idea of the DOSbox version uses any of the SSP enhancements or if it is just barebones.

    The Enhanced version however does have all the SSP-style enhancements. Controls default to a WASDcentric scheme. There are several schemes available and controls can be rebound. You easily switch between inventory/pointer mode and FPS view controls with the E key. Also the mouselook is very smooth. There will still be some quirks to get used to, like how you climb ladders but I think your average player should be able to adapt, especially if they find SS2 playable.

  • DranythDranyth Surf ColoradoRegistered User regular
    Pretty sweet. I actually never did try Portable... I might've been slightly aware of it really early in the project but I don't think I checked into it at all after that. Interesting though.

  • Luca72Luca72 Registered User regular
    cB557 wrote: »
    So, am I the only person for whom the game wasn't scary anymore after engineering?
    Like, it was still good, it was just good in a different way. During engineering was when my build finally started coming together and after that it was more fun action instead of scary horror.

    I remember this feeling too, but it came way after engineering. I thought Hydroponics was genuinely terrifying, especially because of the audiologs and implied story.

    But right around the time you hit the big twist that everyone already knows about, the game takes a bunch of earlier enemies like monkeys and hybrids and makes them way more dangerous. But this is around the time that you've either stockpiled enough ammo, have better/more reliable guns (or the confidence to bash everything with your wrench), or are way better at psi or hacking. You learned caution from the earlier levels and you're now armed to the teeth. I don't know if it was intentional but it felt great, like you'd had the shit kicked out of you so much that all that was left was a rugged survivor.

    And then the hyperactive techno music suddenly makes sense

  • DranythDranyth Surf ColoradoRegistered User regular
    edited September 2015
    Huh, well that's unusual. I did go ahead and get Enhanced Edition, it starts up just fine, but when I start a new game, the instant I start typing letters in for my name, it crashes. Strange issue...

    Update: It's actually the instant I hit any key on my keyboard when System Shock is running. Instant crash. I know my Ducky does a little trickery with multiple virtual keyboards in order to allow for n-Key rollover, but that's never caused a problem in any program before. So I don't know if it's related or not.

    Dranyth on
  • augustaugust where you come from is gone Registered User regular
    You should go to the gog.com forum for SS and ask there.

  • DranythDranyth Surf ColoradoRegistered User regular
    I wasn't sure if there was a specific forum, I had looked in Support but there weren't any issues listed yet.

    Anyway, I sort of solved it. I used a Dependency Walker program to run the executable just to see if I could find any information about the crash. Turns out when I pressed a key, a HOOKKEY32.DLL was being called at that point that belongs to this ASUS AI Suite utility program that came with my motherboard. It has to do with tweaking overclocking settings from within Windows and I believe the keyhook thing is to be able to switch profiles with a key combo or something. A weird thing is that when I ran System Shock through the Dependency Walker, it didn't crash when I hit a key, was able to get into a new game and run around a while with no problems.

    Regardless, I went into the Suite and disabled the two utilities that apparently use the keyhook, then rebooted my PC (I had to do some Windows Updates anyway). With the two parts of the utility disabled, System Shock enhanced seems to run fine. Really weird.

  • UselesswarriorUselesswarrior Registered User regular
    Tamin wrote: »
    Wonder what these means for System Shock portable? Probably going to have to take it down now that the game is back on sale.

    Disappointed there is no Mac or Linux version.

    It's actually already been removed. A month or so ago, Night Dive sent that request. I just didn't see value in reviving the thread over it.

    Sounds like the author is working on making a version of System Shock Portable with all the copyrighted content removed, http://www.gog.com/forum/system_shock_series/system_shock_portable_gone.

    Hey I made a game, check it out @ http://ifallingrobot.com/. (Or don't, your call)
  • Lucid_SeraphLucid_Seraph TealDeer MarylandRegistered User regular
    Luca72 wrote: »
    cB557 wrote: »
    So, am I the only person for whom the game wasn't scary anymore after engineering?
    Like, it was still good, it was just good in a different way. During engineering was when my build finally started coming together and after that it was more fun action instead of scary horror.

    I remember this feeling too, but it came way after engineering. I thought Hydroponics was genuinely terrifying, especially because of the audiologs and implied story.

    But right around the time you hit the big twist that everyone already knows about, the game takes a bunch of earlier enemies like monkeys and hybrids and makes them way more dangerous. But this is around the time that you've either stockpiled enough ammo, have better/more reliable guns (or the confidence to bash everything with your wrench), or are way better at psi or hacking. You learned caution from the earlier levels and you're now armed to the teeth. I don't know if it was intentional but it felt great, like you'd had the shit kicked out of you so much that all that was left was a rugged survivor.

    And then the hyperactive techno music suddenly makes sense

    To be honest I still found the levels in the Body of the Many completely terrifying, but I also have a huuuuge squick/fear of cannibalism / weird slimy internal organ stuff, so...

    I still remember accidentally getting chewed to death by giant teeth while trying to get somewhere. Not fun.

    See You Space Cowboy: a ttrpg about sad space bounty hunters
    https://podcast.tidalwavegames.com/
  • cB557cB557 voOOP Registered User regular
    The Body of the Many was the point that I was like "wait, I've saved up how many grenades?"
    so my experience was somewhat different

    Jumping around, firing volleys of grenades into rumblers, it was pretty awesome.

  • Lucid_SeraphLucid_Seraph TealDeer MarylandRegistered User regular
    Two questions:

    > Does this re-release of SS1 have fixed controls/mouselook? Are there mods for it that make the textures a little less DOOM-janky? Because I don't have anything against that inherently, I get motion sick easily, and games like both DOOM and the first Dark Forces make me motion sick like crazy.

    > Is the SS2: Infinite story mod any good? I looked at it a bit, but it feels like they completely derailed Delacroix's character, taking her from a confused, terrified badass to sort of a lamer, flatter clone of Elizabeth from Bioshock: Infinite. With an even worse VA than her original. Also, an absolutely godawful trailer that told me nothing and was really badly shot/put together. Is it worth playing anyway? Sometimes this stuff has good writing despite terrible VAs (unpaid amateur VAs who don't suck are hard to find) and just because you can't put together a trailer doesn't mean you can't put together a good game.

    See You Space Cowboy: a ttrpg about sad space bounty hunters
    https://podcast.tidalwavegames.com/
  • DrakeDrake Edgelord Trash Below the ecliptic plane.Registered User regular
    The controls in System Shock enhanced are pretty great. WASDcentric and smooth mouselook. The inventory mode is easily accessed with the E key and you can rebind keys and choose from three different pre-sets including one for lefties.

    I have no idea about any texture mods. I'm a pretty big fan of pixel art stuff and this is some of the best around. Another great thing about the windows native Enhanced edition is great, smooth framerates. That alone makes it far superior to the DOS original.

  • augustaugust where you come from is gone Registered User regular
    They've run the ss1 textures through some filters and the ability to run the game at any resolution should hopefully make things less grainy than say playing Dark Forces at 640x800 or whatever.

  • DranythDranyth Surf ColoradoRegistered User regular
    There are some complaints about Windows' default MIDI mapper at this point, especially in regards to SS Enhanced Edition, such as missing instruments and such. I saw some info on the GOG forums so I figured I'd pass it along to anyone else who might be interested, but basically it's about installing VirtualMIDISynth: http://coolsoft.altervista.org/en/virtualmidisynth, then choosing a soundfont which are also linked on that page and using the configurator to set CoolSoft VirtualMIDISynth as the default MIDI mapper. Someone recommended the Timbres of Heaven soundfont, so that's the one I'm using right now. It definitely sounds noticably different.

  • Luca72Luca72 Registered User regular

    To be honest I still found the levels in the Body of the Many completely terrifying, but I also have a huuuuge squick/fear of cannibalism / weird slimy internal organ stuff, so...

    I still remember accidentally getting chewed to death by giant teeth while trying to get somewhere. Not fun.

    Oh man. The winding paths and lack of a real map were nowhere near as unsettling as those teeth. I don't even know why but that was one of the freakiest things in the whole game.

    Then again weird teeth bother me a lot. I cringe in Dark Souls every time I hear Kingseeker Frampts' ambient teeth-clicking noise

  • UselesswarriorUselesswarrior Registered User regular
    Gotta say, System Shock 1 holds up pretty well. Played through the starting level recently and had a lot of fun.

    Hey I made a game, check it out @ http://ifallingrobot.com/. (Or don't, your call)
  • cB557cB557 voOOP Registered User regular
    I seem to have started a new SS2 run. Whoever it was that mentioned running dual laser pistols, thanks. This is super killy.

  • UselesswarriorUselesswarrior Registered User regular
    cB557 wrote: »
    I seem to have started a new SS2 run. Whoever it was that mentioned running dual laser pistols, thanks. This is super killy.

    You can duel wield in SS2? Or are you just flipping them out to avoid overheating?

    Dug up the original SS2 because I was feeling nostalgic:

    http://youtu.be/GYIwtjstoeI

    Hey I made a game, check it out @ http://ifallingrobot.com/. (Or don't, your call)
  • cB557cB557 voOOP Registered User regular
    cB557 wrote: »
    I seem to have started a new SS2 run. Whoever it was that mentioned running dual laser pistols, thanks. This is super killy.

    You can duel wield in SS2? Or are you just flipping them out to avoid overheating?
    The latter.

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