System Shock 2: Enhanced Edition Update & Community Participation

[6746affdbb479Hikari]

Here's hoping.

I'm still unsure what will be gained from us end users, but I want ot be positive on the matter. If nothing else if they're using kex this kinda demonstrates what kex can do as an engine. Plus the codebase being under nightdive control with OS portability and adding features....

[6746affdbb67avoodoo47]

yes.

[6746affdbb9e1JDoran]

I'm still unsure what will be gained from us end users...

Considering how bland and unexciting the games industry and it's projected output is at the moment, I'm just glad to have anything to look forward too, even if it is just a more polished version of a twenty plus year old game.

[6746affdbbae2voodoo47]

we are getting the updated AI models, if nothing else.

[6746affdbbc20icemann]

Well lets hope SS2 under KEX isn't another Cyberpunk 2077.

[6746affdbbe94eeooee]

voodoo47
Basically every single PC game has an FOV slider in the menu graphical options. It's a feature that should be in any first person game by default, and is used by countless people to tweak their experience.

[6746affdbbf9avoodoo47]

you can set it in the cfg right now, but yeah, it's not in the options. it's very safe to assume EE will remedy that.

[6746affdbc13bSuperV1234]

New hybrid model preview:
https://twitter.com/NightdiveStudio/status/1389255150481547267

Looks pretty good IMHO.

[6746affdbc26dvoodoo47]

the face texture could use a bit of work, but yeah, looking pretty good, and this definitely is the proper direction. and as expected, the higher res model is making the flawed motions much more obvious (see the ankles).

would love to see the joint positions though - hopefully those semi-public betas will start to pop up soon..

[6746affdbc3bcbigfatfrog605]

I feel like I need to see it in Von Braun lighting before making a final judgement. But yeah, looks good!

[6746affdbc691Marvin]

Eyes and face in general looks kinda goofy.

BTW, was there any confirmation whatsoever that enhanced models can (read: are allowed to) be used as mods for the original?

[6746affdbc7bfvoodoo47]

not explicitly - I will make sure/ask directly soon enough.

anyway yeah, the face and eyes are more on the mentally handicapped side of things (funnily enough, the original Rebirth midwife had a similar issue going on) - lets hope they can be moved closer to the original scary melting face mutant area.

[6746affdbc916icemann]

I really hope they put the ability to switch on / off any graphical enhancements (models, textures etc) via the options menu. Or via a keyboard hotkey (like how the C&C Remaster and Wonderboy did it). Nothing worse than having an objectively better change that you yourself aren't a fan of forced on you. Like Rebirth for all the good it was, I could not stand some of the "enhanced" models used in it. To each their own of course.

[6746affdbca26voodoo47]

being able to dynamically toggle the AI models ingame means the model joints would have to be spot on, else you'd get a whole lot of trouble when playing with mods that attach objects to them.

to make it short, it's probably not a good idea (and a whole lot of work, I'd imagine).

[6746affdbcc0aNameless Voice]

Uh, Rebirth wasn't objectively better, it was higher quality but a very different aesthetic.  It's a bit like comparing apples and oranges.

Some of the changes were really drastic, like replacing the cyborg assassin with a robot.

[6746affdbcd14voodoo47]

what I was trying to say is that it seems like it's not quite as easy to maintain a horrifying face visage when upscaling a model - unless done exactly right, it may end up looking derpy (just like the original Rebirth midwife).

[6746affdbce34Nameless Voice]

Yes, I agree that the face could do with a little more work.

Also, the costume seems to have a lot less contrast than the original, though as others have said, it's a bit hard to judge without game lighting.

[6746affdbcf86lgs]

It was the same for new Protocol droid model, if i remember correctly Kick said it would look different in-game.

[6746affdbd1bavoodoo47]

yeah, I think it's very safe to assume this is not the final version of the model.

certainly wouldn't mind grabbing it and checking how does it play with mods.

[6746affdbd52cRocketMan]

I think it's a pretty damn good first try.  I like it quite a bit.

[6746affdbd63bvoodoo47]

yeah, but we are a bunch of old people now (some old enough to have grandchildren, I kid you not), and old people like to complain about everything.

turn the music down Billy! bring me my slippers! fix the hybrid's face, it ain't scary enough!

[6746affdbd737icemann]

"Back in my day we didn't even have the internet, and every game came on a 5 inch floppy disk and took 10 minutes to load"

[6746affdbd841RocketMan]

The age of this game is a generational gap in and of itself so yeah... old people.  But the new millennium sucks balls so being old is like a good thing.

[6746affdbd930Marvin]

Regarding something as being in need of improvement is not the same as saying it is bad. Everything can be improved, to some degree.