System Shock Infinite 2.0 looking for playtesters

[674387c9b4854xdiesp]

UNN Atropos: thanks! The newest patch already includes fixes for the Delacroix log, and the AI stuck in the door. I will fix the rest. Customized emails for harvesting the black eggs are a real pain, I tried once... I will give it another go.

[674387c9b4b34xdiesp]

This updated Beta 9 patch fixes all bugs reported by UNN Atropos, including:

• Imprecisions in the Notes;
• Problems with geometry and AI with the hangar doors in Command;
• The destructible door with the broken keypad in Hydroponics can now be opened from the monsters' side - so they can get you better;
• A previously cut SHODAN message now plays in Recreational;
• Black eggs on the Rickenbacker make a different sound, when harvested;
• If you hit the threshold of 1\5\10\15\all black eggs, and the last one has been harvested (not destroyed), then it's Korenchkin congratulating you;
  
• Among these congratulations messages, 2 are new Korenchkin sound bits.

Download https://db.tt/tIY37U7E

[674387c9b51a5unn_atropos]

I have finished the game with the Marie ending.
- whats that about: on the body in rick med you get the keycard for this room, but it isn't used (or elsewhere?). But I don't understand why I had to fight Shephard here.
- original issue: I dont know if this mistake appeared in the original game already
- shodan says: I harvest the egg and Shodan likes it. Shouldnt she hate it when you do not destroy it? Korenchkin didnt say anything about it.
---
I made made much more screenshots, but after looking at them I noticed, that I just made them to save something cool. I like how you have included familiar maps and gave them a new twist. There so many places that look really cool. Last time I made so much screenshots was in Tron 2.0!!

Generall impressions:
Playing System Shock Infinite makes it nessecary for long time Shockers to change old habits and adapt. So the first levels have their motivational low-points.
But after I got used to the new weapon system and learned to used psi for my advantage fun and excitement came back.
A setback would be the frustrating respawns in some areas: In hydroponics I killed a midwife, barely getting out alive, just to find that there were three new ones...and monkeys. Also I feel that the rumbler is a bit too commonly used.
I played on normal and can't speak for higher levels but the game gives you way too much cyber modules. I have maxed out literally every stat there is, even the psi ones I never deemed useful. So next time I play, I'll stick to higher difficulties.
I liked the cyberspace levels, though at times they could be a bit too maze-like. I was also sceptical about using my realtime guns there, but I realize that asking for cyber exclusive weaponry would be too much to ask. A cool feature for a future revision would be to have more impact of cyberspace hacking (taking controls of turrets, reprogram bots, do something smart to be one step ahead of everybody else.)

Story
The cutscenes you have put together are amazing!! The new voices are great.
What the game lacked (and I don't say that to upset you, it's just my impression) was some more explanation. Everytime you had to make a choice the rivaling parties tended to be a bit too cryptic.
They: "Flesh is good. We can hear you walking" Me:"Fine, dude. But what can you over me if I join you?"
There was a large set of variation in decisions but sometimes it remaind unclear what would happen:
I put the toxins in to the regulator in the many. Korenchkin doesn't like that. But right after that I blow the thing up. He loves it. So, did I even out my chances for both sides? Did I piss off Shodan and the many alike? Or do both like me more, because I worked in both their favours?

And: What about Sarah? I didn't really understand what she was about.

Suggestion: Should you ever want to add something more to the game, Shodan should be a factor for decision. Not only Marie, Korenchkin and Shephard. Because I feel that Shodan was tossed aside a bit.

Conclusion: I loved System Shock Infinite. It was like System Shock 2 twisted around, shaken (not Stirred ) and made into something new, yet familiar. Small and larger additions give you a lot of "wtf! yeah!!" moments, and new/changed elements force you to think out of the box.
The final battle has epic dimensions and kept you right on your toes. Towards the end I even was in doubt a little what was real anymore.
Had System Shock 2 an ending like this, the community would have had much more to talk about and discuss instead of liking or hating the "nah".

I'm looking forward to your new endeavours.

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[674387c9b53d6xdiesp]

UNN Atropos: thank you, very detailed report as always! I should have noticed these, I play too much on autopilot... That block in the crashed shuttle was already there, it was a toppled capsule: I'll make it more presentable. In the latest patch, it's Korenchkin congratulating for harvesting the eggs. The Rickenbacker key was for Diego's room where poor Shephard was hiding, I'll remove it. And the missing book was to show: "...if anyone can make it, it's Diego... he's a symbol for all of us..."

Hikari: about the misplaced Grassi, check the screenshot below - so he wasn't like that, when you found him? As for the minor bug in the room before the bombs, what was it? Here's an alternative to your alcove, see if you like it: instead of the entryway inside the toxic fumes closet, it's an elevator to the normal corridor. One screen is taken during the decompression event, the other when you came back after entering the MedSci tear.

I've thought of a way to explain how Shodan sends you the cybermodules: she's not sending them, those are cybermodules she's breaking off the infinite memory chip in your head. Which break down in lots of modules, as we know from the moral choice recurring thing. You think she's making you more powerful with gifts, instead she's taking away your real strength.
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[674387c9b5636Hikari]

No he's a bit to the right and up, then leverages worse when he moves.

Also I /LIKE/ that explanation. It.... It just makes so much sense. Now how to avoid getting my ass stomped in constantly. I've a feeling I kinda fumbled badly on my first spending spree.

Screenshot looks good man. Thank you. Will have to try going back to start to see how things look.

[674387c9b594cxdiesp]

Hikari: to get the OSA ending, you must never use a weapon trainer unit: as to say never click on it, not just never spending money on it. It's intended as a challenge run, quite harder than the direct approach. Hints:

- The only weapons you can use are wrench, pistol and PSI.

- Wrench damage bonus: OS Upgrade to melee, researched organ, psi power Adrenaline Overproduction.
- Pistol damage bonus: OS Upgrade to ranged, researched organ, modify twice.
- These are standard weapons, so you will always be ready against standard targets like hybrids.
- Eventually they will become stronger, but you'll be a PSI master by then.
- You can still shoot other targets and stun them, to escape or paralyze them (like stunlocking a robot).

- You are naturally strong against psionic targets like monkeys, spiders, ghosts, psi-reavers.
- You're still strong against non-specific targets like humans and Korenchkin's minions.
- Psi attacks slow other targets (standard, energy etc), making their stuns longer: it's our bullet time.
- There's dedicated PSI stun powers for machines and organics.
- Marie: Distract is killer against protocol droids. But if you slow them first, their explosion won't catch up with you.
- Marie: Phase revives friendly marines who are pretty powerful.
- Marie: Security hacks turrets instantly.
- Marie: Attack is very powerful against anything.

- Keep destroying standard and PSI targets, play creatively against others like Swarms and Rumblers, until you can kill them easily with Marie: Attack.

UNN Atropos: lack of explanation is an issue I tried to solve with the new text only logs.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/77839388/System%20Shock%20Infinite%202.0%20%28beta%29/Red%20Logs.txt
Compared to the version you started playing with, now the early decks should be more welcoming on Normal. 

[674387c9b5c45Hikari]

IMPORTANT: Slow down the blink/flicker on the security station light in Engineering.

I have a seizure prone sister and her eyes unfocused when we hit that section. She's OK, but ease off on the blinky/flicker when it's full room lighting please.

Korenchken's missions: Mind including something in the mission notes once you encounter him? The magazine thing was nice but I'm bound to forget between now and when things pop up. Also what does protect the biomass mean? Fight off Shep's marines in the BotM? The other two I get, but the third objective seems... Odd since I'm going in cold.


I like that you axed a lot of the backtracking and keycard hunting.

for the record: Where is the medsci keycard to get to grassi? I took the broken turret window.

Is it just me or is hacking getting harder as you go to newer decks? If so I like it. Subtle pressure to improve.


God I hate those ice nodes. end up taking a couple hits, or gete blindsided by those pink things and bam. gone. Still fair feeling. Gotta keep on my toes, but still.

Also a pity that phase doesn't work while hacking. Quick heal to full would be nice.

Gonna echo a prior question. How are actions weighted? Example being stuffing a canister in a regulator... and then destroying it.

[674387c9b6413xdiesp]

The pulsating light was there in vanilla, be careful that there might be more: today I'll fix this one in the updated patch. Don't worry about forgetting Korenchkin's quests: he will return constantly to remind you, also the quest objectives have the undertext. That tablet was just a preview for the whole quest chain: "protecting the biomass" means not to hurt the Body of the Many in a late event. But it's too early for players to realize, so I'm switching the text with:

...captain Diego wants me to help the Many...
...they can grow stronger than Korenchkin's will...

MedSci 2 is split in 2 halves that can be visited independently:
- the right side can be entered from the get go, and contains Tear + Grassi key;
- the left side requires a charged battery, and contains the key to the other half (in the room with ladder and 3 levels, on the top floor)

Gonna echo a prior question. How are actions weighted? Example being stuffing a canister in a regulator... and then destroying it.

I kept it simple: the quest flag activates no matter when you perform the sabotage. I.e. it won't disable because you first activate the air regulator. It might look a little schizophrenic, if you do the sabotage 5 seconds later... but it's up to the player to control themselves. Maybe their Goggles wanted to play double agent with Shodan, or had a change of mind at the end of the game and backtracked. Thanks for the report!
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[674387c9b6641Hikari]

Thanks for the clarification! The more I'm playing the more I like the changes and update compared to the pre-tear version I played last.

Man. Engineering cyberspace is kicking my teeth in. Might be a good idea to save the cyberspace bits for when I'm stronger, then come back to them. Do not change cyberspace's difficulty. I like that it's something just outside of my comfort zone even on easy.

For all I know I'm building Goggles wrong.

Least I know they're still around post-tear/choice.

Incidentally the machine I'm using (midrange 2005 emachines) runs the cutscenes fine and clear in windows media, but jerky and fuzzy in game (resolution in game is 800x600, desktop resolution is 1440x900.... I think.) Outside of your ability to control but ideas on what's up there?

Would try on Linux but my laptop whines it can't play it under Ubuntu 14.10, but 13.04 and earlier can run it fine.

Just... For the record. Who is Goggles? Some of the cutscenes refer to him as Shephard, but Shep is a separate NPC with a different voice than Goggles. Maybe it's something incredibly obvious I got confused on.

[674387c9b6792xdiesp]

Movies are definitely heavier in-game than from windows: try editing the movie post processing level in cam_ext:

movie_sw_scale_quality
(change to 0 or 1)

Shephard is pre-op Goggles! If you have trouble finding your way in cyberspace, follow the colored line between start -> sword -> finish.

[674387c9b68f1Hikari]

OK... Opening elevator to deck three and seeing korenchkin flanked by a pair of Rumblers freaked me out.

Well played moments like that make this mod. Trying to keep an eye out for other things and... I dunno man. Nothing ultra-glarig sticks out other than misaligned textures the community patch would have taken care of but probably would be a massive /MASSIVE/ pain in the ass to port your level effects and triggers over. So not worth it.

Apologies. Just... Trying to keep an eye out for anything game breaking.

Also Diego showing up in the many messages is good.

[674387c9b6acffox]

German magazine "GameStar" published a very favourable  (German language) review today!

http://www.gamestar.de/spiele/system-shock-2/artikel/system_shock_infinite,36436,3082586.html

Btw: reviewer is the editor in chief, Michael Graf.

[674387c9b6d3axdiesp]

fox: thanks, nice one!

Fix to update Beta 9 to 10: https://db.tt/8t3R90xM
Full Beta 10 patch: https://db.tt/9GCh5BGp

This small fix updates the mod from Beta 9, to Beta 10.
- all issues reported so far have been addressed, and some more found by the italian playtester;
- also included is a compatibility fix for Rebirth: now the talking npcs keep their vanilla look, while everything else is updated;
- same goes for SHTUP, which used to overwrite the new blood graffiti - just pay attention to load Infinite last;
- a companion cube sits in the corner of the exploding cyberspace level, you can use it unlock the Shodan ending even if you aren't eligible;
- the text-only logs are now final.

[674387c9b70aeunn_atropos]

German magazine "GameStar" published a very favourable  (German language) review today!

They also made a video in early February: http://www.gamestar.de/videos/specials,20/system-shock-infinite,81437.html

Don't let vodoo see this article because they suggest to use a mod pack.

Also

Wir raten außerdem zum Download der englischen Sprachversion des Spiels, die deutsche führt nur zu Sprachchaos, weil es die Mod bislang ausschließlich auf Englisch gibt.

I guess I'm crazy to suggest this, but I could try to make a translation.
@Marvin: You worked on the Improved German Translation. Hasse Bock mir zu helfen?

[674387c9b721aVegoraptor]

I could help with the german translation, too. Still rather busy until the March 3rd, but after that I should have more than enough time. I don't suppose we want to go for voice acting, right? That might be a little excessive....

[674387c9b7547unn_atropos]

I have Uni stuff until the end of march, but I can stuff in some time now and then. And its easy to split the work up. We have strings for 9 levels + 22 other files with partly easy translations. Some may even be still vanilla; xdiesp should know.

I don't suppose we want to go for voice acting, right? That might be a little excessive....

I'm not that crazy. Maybe in a far away future  .

[674387c9b7647fox]

IMO, German subs for spoken words would be a good idea but German synchs are generally just an unnecessary bad habbit.

[674387c9b778exdiesp]

We're working on a page dedicated to the script, it should prove useful to translators. About recording new voices: it's prohibitively time consuming, and it would also require a full re-synchronization of all codec portraits. They spawn and disappear on a timer, not just together with the audio.

A bug has been reported. The player might receive 30 maximum health until the next loading, like that old bug where a monster would become invincible until the next loading. Fortunately it seems harmless!

I was also requested a small feature, having Hypnogenesis\Restrucuring work on annelids (worms, swarms). It's no big deal, I'll update the patch later.

[674387c9b78c1xdiesp]

Here's the latest round of fixes for beta patch 10: https://db.tt/q3mYNB45

It contains various tweaks requested by the playtesters. Tomorrow I will take it for a full playthrough myself. The plan is to release the final full version between sunday and monday.

[674387c9b7a95xdiesp]

The full version is out! 

• Moddb: http://www.moddb.com/mods/system-shock-infinite
• Dropbox: https://db.tt/90D9SgWK

You can also update your Beta 8 to full version with the ultima patch: https://db.tt/q3mYNB45

Thank you to everyone who supported the making of 2.0! If any more bugs are found, I will see to patch them in later on.

[674387c9b7bf6K-Bone]

Got up to the first Cyberspace level in Med/Sci... and after picking up the ICE Breaker Shodan never showed up. So now I'm stuck in cyberspace wondering wtf I did wrong.

[674387c9b7cdeHikari]

SHODAN is a static barrier. If you try to pass her to get to the level ext you get dumped back at the beginning. It is a bit mazelike, but I like the challenge.

[674387c9b7f8cxdiesp]

Got up to the first Cyberspace level in Med/Sci... and after picking up the ICE Breaker Shodan never showed up. So now I'm stuck in cyberspace wondering wtf I did wrong.

Wait, you mean the green Shodan is not there anymore? Was it there when you started the level: check if you have the autosave, I wonder if it's something random or a conflict with mods.

There's a time limit which should kick you out after some minutes.

[674387c9b8205unn_atropos]

There's a time limit which should kick you out after some minutes.

About that, I have been menaing to ask: when you are kicked out, can you log in and try again? I never had the patience to wait