LGC SYSTEMSHOCK-Portable v1.2.3

[67511214332b7Kolya]

System Shock can now be purchased at GOG (and Steam), as result, SSP cannot be distributed in its original form (including copyrighted game data). SSP has been converted into SSPtool - a simple installer that will create a copy of SSP on your hard drive as long as you provide it with your own original game data (CD, or GOG classic edition). The resulting SSP install is identical to what has been available before the original full download had to be removed (SSP 1.2.3).

This is version 1.2 of SYSTEMSHOCK-Portable (SSP), based on the CD enhanced version originally released by Looking Glass Technologies (later known as Looking Glass Studios) in 1994. It can be played from an USB-key or from your local HD.
SSP contains several features not found in the original game: higher resolutions, mouselook, custom key binds, true2audio log texts... But more importantly there's a chance that it will run on your computer without too much hassle.

SSP runs on Windows XP/Vista/7/8+ via the included DOSbox emulation. On XP it can also run outside DOSbox emulation via NTVDM.
You might also want to take a look at SHLINK the new System Shock loader that allows the game to run outside any emulation on modern Windows OS. Note that SHLINK is still work in progress.

• Download SSP
• Quickstart
• Troubleshooting
• Contributors
• Change log

Quickstart
1. Download a fresh SYSTEMSHOCK-Portable tool from this posts's attachments.
2. Run the tool, and point it at your SHOCK\DATA folder. Let the tool do its work, this will create a SSP folder at the location where you have placed the tool (make sure it's not read only or system protected).
3. Open that folder, start SSP.exe
4. Choose o for options.
5. On the Options screen enable Malba Tahan's mouselook mod by choosing e.
6. Choose m for main menu.
7. In the Main Menu choose b to start the game in dosbox.
8. Watch the Intro, choose "New Game", enter your name, click the "Start" button on the screen.
9. Press Space to pass the help screen.
10. Press Esc, then choose "Video" -> "Video Mode"
11. Select your preferred resolution, then click the "Return" button on the screen.
12. Click the fullscreen button in the top left of the game screen.
13. Press Esc again and save your game.
14. Play. You can switch between inventory mode and mouselook by pressing e

Check DOSbox keyboard shortcuts for screenshot/video creation, fullscreen-toggle, frameskipping, etc.

Trouble Shooting

• Any testing should be done on a freshly created version of SSP.
• On some systems SYSTEMSHOCK-Portable needs to be run from an Administrator Account.
• If you're looking to improve the music sound, read: System Shock using BASSMIDI
• Movies are not rescaled in higher resolutions, so they still play at 640x480 in the upper left corner of the screen.
• The movies have sometimes horizontal streaks (corruption) - if you're seeing them for the first time you might want to watch the movies using 640x480.
• There's some intermittent but serious chop in 1024x768; I think this is a memory page-flipping issue, but I'm not sure. If it's too slow to be playable try the 800x600 version
• If you want to make changes to the DGVESA-settings (only on WinXP), make sure "Platform: DOS" is checked before you do.  A "VESA" tab will appear where you should set the refresh frequency to 60Hz for LCD displays or 70Hz for CRTs.
• If your mouse gets locked in parts of the screen so that you can't reach the rest of the screen, use DGVESA mode or DOSbox (not Mouse2KV).
• If your character spins uncontrollably after some playing, push the direction your character is moving once or twice and the movement will stop. Note that there are several control sets for movement: Mouse, arrowkeys, numpad, ASDZXC and RFVTGB. So if for instance you're spinning to the right, try the mouse, right arrow, 6 on the numpad and D.
• In higher resolutions in Mouse2KV mode the cursor moves extremely fast on the fullscreen map. Move your mouse to the upper left and then slowly down right. To place a note on the map it might be easier to move the map via the arrow keys than to move the cursor.

Post problems in the System Shock Helpdesk forum.


DOWNLOAD
Read the Looking Glass Classics Disclaimer.

[67511214336b1Kolya]

CONTRIBUTORS

Looking Glass Studios' System Shock

Malba Tahan's mouselook modification
https://www.systemshock.org/index.php?topic=1719.0

Gigaquad's enhanced text modification (true2audio)
https://www.systemshock.org/index.php?topic=802.0
and scaled object textures

MOK's winXP fix for SS1
http://vogons.zetafleet.com

Toxic Frog's high resolution patch for SS1
You might also be interested in his SS1 modding tools:
http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=100333

Dege's emulation of VESA BIOS Extensions 2.0, dgVOODOO
http://dege.freeweb.hu

Squatina's com port error fix

The DOSbox team's DOS emulation software
http://dosbox.sourceforge.net

Gulikoza's custom DOSbox build
http://www.si-gamer.net/gulikoza/

Thanks go to Nameless Voice, Vigil, Voodoo47, The Night Terror
and everyone on www.systemshock.org and www.ttlg.com

[6751121433c3fKolya]

CHANGE LOG

0.3
* The downloadsize has been decreased by moving more language-dependent files to the seperate language downloads. Also unnecessary files have been deleted. Like low res movies.
* This version only supports the resolutions: 1024x768 and 800x600. The file ss1hr.exe is not distributed with this version anymore.

0.4
* The game now uses the original resolutions (640x480).
* Simplified setup.

0.4b
* Omitted DOSDRV.EXE as it's not necessary to run the game.
* Added description on how to take Screenshots.
* Fixed screenshot feature by converting bat2exe.
* Upped the RAM properties of !START.EXE.

0.5
* Fixed a bug where the mouse would get stuck in certain screen areas.
* Hex-edited the non-usable resolutions out the resolution packs to avoid misleading users.
* Fixed a falsely mapped button in 800x600 (noncritical).
* Changed the directory structure of the resolution packs to be nested inside a SHOCK folder, so extracting is just fire&forget.   
* Changed the start-up batch (!START.EXE) to not show the SS-P version anymore. (Simplifies updates.)

0.6
* Integrated Dege's emulation of VESA BIOS Extensions 2.0
* Wrote a batch script launcher
* Reorganised the directory-structure
* Made according changes to the language packs and resolution packs


0.7
* Resolution packs have been integrated with the main game and can be enabled from the START-MENU
* Joystick is turned off by default to resolve mouse movement problems
* Titles have been added to the start commands in SSP.bat to resolve errors
* The latest DGVESA 1.5 beta2 has been integrated
* Launcher plays famous "Look at you..." test speech file.    

0.8
* SSP now checks whether VDMSound is installed (red or green screen) and automatically adjust settings to support VDMS
* Updated the included resolution packs accordingly
* Bugfix: Restored DGVESA 15 beta to avoid NTVDM.exe crashes
* Set the refresh rate in DGVoodoo settings to 60Hz by default to avoid LCD screen problems.   
* The SHODAN test sound has been moved to the Info-Menu

0.8d
* Bugfix (0.8b): If VDMSound isn't detected the according CYB.CFG now gets installed
* Bugfix (0.8c): The VDMSound detection now works when VDMS has been installed to a path with spaces
* Bugfix (0.8d): Thanks to Squatina I was able to fix the com port error message at the start of the game.


0.9
* DOSbox integration

1.0
* Automatic windows version check, according options offered
* Some conflict checking
* Malba's mouselook mod (optional)
* The enhanced log text mod (optional)
* set NTVDM affinity 1 (optional)
* editing options for dosbox conf, cyb.cfg, etc
* DOSbox updated 0.73
* Gulikoza's Build of DOSbox (optional)
* Most of the help, that used tob in the readme/this post has been integrated with the program.
* scaled textures mod (optional)
* SS1 German/French intro voice over bug   

1.0.1
* Some minor script debugging

1.1.0
* recognises Vista 32bit and Win7 32bit and offers according (NTVDM based) startup options
* uses the advanced dos32a memory extender instead of dos4gw for mouselook mod
* option to start the processor slow-down program included since v1.0 (see: Info menu -> I cannot beat the final boss!)
* some information updates

1.2.0
* fixes a bug in SSP where the DOSbox start option would disappear after enabling the gulikoza build and then re-enabling the official DOSbox build
* fixes a bug where SSP would crash when trying to reach the options menu on some OSs
* uses new icon by Digital Nightfall
* updated informations

1.2.1
* Fixes a bug where SSP would stop working after mouselook mod had been enabled and then disabled again

1.2.2
* DOSBox update 0.74 moved into SSP, downloads moved into post attachments

1.2.3
* Compatibility fix of the SSP launcher with Korean windows locale (and presumably other Asian locales)

[6751121434143Kolya]

Final words from Marc 'MAHK' LeBlanc:

So, I wanted to weigh in on the disappearance of Portable in favor of the GOG version, and this seems as good a place as any.

• US Intellectual Property law is not in a very good place right now, and needs reform. It seems like we've forgotten that the whole point of IP law is to give creators a short-term incentive to create for the long-term public domain.   
• Shock Portable is awesome. All you guys who worked on it are heroes in my book. I cannot repeat that enough.
• All that said, given the current reality of IP law, there was always a sword of Damocles hanging over Shock portable. Legitimate rights holders could have shut it down at any time.  Heck, illegitimate rights holders could have shut it down with a nuisance suit. When the takedown first happened, a lot of you feared the worst, and rightly so.
  
• But, thankfully, the rights are in the hands of people who are interested in maintaining its availability, rather than just locking it up to cover their own butts. The worst did not happen. At very least, the sword of Damocles has been disarmed.
• No, LookingGlass didn't really make any money off of System Shock, other than the development costs (i.e. we got paid salaries and benefits). We could have made money if the game had sold well initially, but it didn't. Don't feel bad about the fact that we don't get a cut of the GOG sales. (And don't worry about us; We are all gainfully employed at places like Valve and Harmonix and Riot, not to mention OtherWorld. We are the Secret Masters of Gaming now...)  Your chance to give us your money was when the game first game out. If you are looking for something to feel bad about, you can feel bad about missing that chance. ;)

On the whole, I'm pretty happy to see Shock come to GOG. Maybe someday I'll finish my stream...

- MAHK

[675112143438bvoodoo47]

SSP 1.2.3 is now available again, in the form of SSPtool - a simple installer that will ask the user to feed it with the original game data (CD, or GOG classic edition), and as long as those are provided, it will spawn a full copy of SSP 1.2.3 at the location from which it has been executed. the resulting copy is identical with what has been available before the full version of SSP had to be taken down. the source of the data will not be modified in any way (the tool will just copy the data, merge them with the included SSP core files, and drop everything into one folder).

while it should work with the data from the Enhanced Edition, using those is not recommended (no real reason to - if you are using the tool, you probably either have the original CD or want to play the DOS version with all the SSP extras).


report any issues at the helpdesk.