How To Guide: Install/Setup with NewDark and Mods

[6740e6670c011RocketMan]

I wrote a Hubpages hub to explain how to install and setup System Shock 2, considering all the mods we have and all the fixes that now exist.

The article is split up in such a way that depending on what sort of a play experience you're looking for, you can have a more conservative play experience or a more pimped out one.  Just follow the instructions.

Note: Because mods are often highly subjective, I had to make a judgement call on how to split the mods up so you may disagree with my choices and that's okay.  The idea is that if you need advice and have no frame of reference, I provide you with one.  If you feel capable enough, feel free to make some substitutions.

Let me know what you think.

http://chriscamaro.hubpages.com/_1ygfluvwha7hg/hub/How-to-get-the-most-out-of-System-Shock-2-Installation-Mods-and-Setup

Depending on feedback and any future changes, I'm willing to revise as necessary.

[6740e6670c260Kolya]

That's rather long and complicated, with occasional hardcore ideology (like suggesting you needed to play SS1 first and the "Setup #1" option) and it's severely lacking any links on the listed mods.
You're advising users to place SS2Tool inside the shock folder, which is a common misconception. SS2Tool can be located anywhere. But it needs to be pointed at the shock folder during installation.

[6740e6670c4c4RocketMan]

Regarding the links, I'd have loved to link every mod but Hubpages is kinda anal about that and I've had a page removed on the basis that it was "substandard" because of the number of OBLs I had.

It's true the article does have kind of an edge to it but then I'm not pretending that this is supposed to be the bible of how to guides or anything.  It's supposed to be more inline with the writing style I used for the rest of my hubs which is a bit tongue and cheek.  It's all in good fun though as I fully understand users each have their own preference and I have no authority to tell them how to play.

Re: SSTool, thanks for pointing out the flaw.  I'll fix it right away.  I should have known that... in fact I did know that but it didn't occur to me when composing the article.

Not sure what to do about the length and complexity.  I always fall into that trap because I tend to want to describe the crap out of something so there's no confusion but in the process I make it more confusing... and I leave out other stuff.  I'll go over it in the coming days and see what I can do to improve readability.  It may have been premature to post here but I've always gotten good advice from this forum in the past so I thought it would be for the best and of course this only augments, not replaces any content on SMA, which is likely more targeted anyway.

[6740e6670c621Kolya]

You know, that makes me think: Since so many people place SS2Tool in the shock folder, it might make sense in SS2Tool to suggest the program's current location as the default installation folder. Sort of making a virtue out of it and saving the time for browsing to the shock folder.
Well, I'll have to think about it and test some. Either way, it will always work from any location.

[6740e6670c7adRocketMan]

Cool.  It's fixed now so I'll just keep my ear to the ground and make changes as necessary.  I may have an idea that will let me get around the link problem.  I found a site that can consolidate multiple URLs into 1.  That could work.

[6740e6670ca63voodoo47]

nice enough and all, but I have my doubts that the average Joe would be patiently reading 5+ pages of text, sometimes quite technical. you know what I always say, when you are making a FAQ, and you end up with more than three paragraphs, then you've already failed.

practical notes:
Setup #1 - fun, but potentially offending, not all CS players are (complete) idiots.
Setup #2 - ADAOB (while certainly a recommended mod) is not for purists, some changes are quite significant. a purist would probably not go beyond SHTUP. 400 mod (and similar) would probably be "too hires" for most of the purists out there. SHTUP is an exception, as it really stays (extremely) true to the original concept, and fixes a bunch of ugly issues as well (recently, I have played SS2 without it for a while, all I can say is NOT RECOMMENDED. for ANYONE).
Setup #3 - the next step would probably be "I want as much new stuff as possible, but still would like to keep it close to the original concept". this would include ADAOB, 400 mod, newsky, vurt's space, SHTUP, tacticool & addons (and perhaps vurt's eggs and dripping goo).
Setup #4 - the last step would be "gimme all, not care about the details" with all the fancy weapons, Rebirth, all the new vurt's stuff etc.

this is why I've said there won't be an easy way out of this mess - everyone has a different opinion about what should go where.

maybe we should vote -_-

[6740e6670cbdcRocketMan]

Exactly.  Everyone's different.  Because I sat on the fence just like we all are and thought about what to put where.  In my case, I thought that for setup 1 if I removed ANY of those mods, then I'd have to remove all of them and just stick with the patch.  I think it'd be irresponsible of me to suggest one upgrade mod and leave everything else untouched because it'd clash.  That's why I felt adaob, shtup and 400 are in many ways interconnected.  Maybe that was wrong but I felt they had to stay a group.  With so many mods, it's not easy speaking for everyone for sure.

[6740e6670d03bZylonBane]

...tongue and cheek.

Tongue in cheek.

[6740e6670d128Kolya]

You cheeky boy.

[6740e6670d249RocketMan]

ZB, where would we all be without you 

[6740e6670d350Kolya]

We'd barely be able to talk to another, grunting wailing and farting instead and throwing up our arms.
Then ZB comes around, pouring cups of tea between delicious bits of wisdom, making it all good.

[6740e6670d435RocketMan]

What a filanthrowpissed

[6740e6670d594Kolya]

Anyway, as mentioned to you, I've written up a short newbie modding guide now myself for this site. It's nowhere as exhaustive as yours, more a "Learn to walk then go from here" -type of guide. Maybe I'll do a followup at some point, "advanced modding" or something like that, where I'll wear my helmet and shout at the "space monkeys" who "cannot appreciate the sublime company of a warm laser pistol". Sort of a System Shock boot camp. We'll see.

[6740e6670d684RocketMan]

Article updated to include the latest mods and the most recent version of NewDark!  See first post.