SSR: System Shock Kickstarter

[6745fc004ef42icemann]

A new KS update is out, featuring screenshots of updated models and more concept art. Hmmm. Still a massive wall of silence on the overall current state of things and no streams announced. They've slipped back into old habits. Grrr.

What I'd like to know:

* What is the current state of the project
* What is implemented so far
* How goes the level design process. Last we saw months ago was maintenance. Then nothing since.

[6745fc004f129edx]

November Kickstarter update: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1598858095/system-shock/posts/2680837

[6745fc004f584icemann]

The good - Virus mutant looks pretty good:

Cyber Assassin is coming along:

Looks fine, but it just occurred to me, that they kinda look like Cybermen from Doctor Who:

Lift bot. New enemy, only in concept for now:

Overall look of the game seems good:

And the bad:

The Cyborg mutant looks like someone with a virtual boy stuck to their head:

And their still not telling us what the state of the project is. Grrr.

[6745fc004f740Kolya]

This is more and more looking like a vaporwave-remix of SS1.
Which is fine with me if that's what they're going for. Maybe replace the severed head with one from a Greek statue?

[6745fc004f888icemann]

Vaporwave? Not heard that term before.

Reading what it says on that site you linked, it sounds like a retro-future style? Isn't 80s - 90s cyberpunk considered retro-future style nowadays, since it takes a possible alternate future (which never came to be) and then just goes with it?

Wouldn't Alien Isolation fit that? Since it goes with retro future stuff. Though that was more them sticking to the technical aesthetic of the original Alien movie.

[6745fc004f9d2ZylonBane]

The cyborg assassin still looks like a cyborg riot cop, and I hate it.

[6745fc0050016ThiefsieFool]

Vaporwave? Not heard that term before.

Reading what it says on that site you linked, it sounds like a retro-future style? Isn't 80s - 90s cyberpunk considered retro-future style nowadays, since it takes a possible alternate future (which never came to be) and then just goes with it?

Wouldn't Alien Isolation fit that? Since it goes with retro future stuff. Though that was more them sticking to the technical aesthetic of the original Alien movie.

It's mostly the neon colors in those gifs, neon purples and reds are more of a general 80s pop culture thing than the cyberpunk we're used to.

[6745fc0050331RocketMan]

Lift bot?  So a less functional forklift with enough superfluous AI to attack you?  What, are they getting bored or something?

[6745fc0050454ZylonBane]

The lifter bot is an implementation of an enemy that was cut from the original game.
https://tcrf.net/System_Shock#Enemies_.28class_14.29

[6745fc0050597RocketMan]

Yeah I remember that part of the unused resources.  Unfortunately, this incarnation of it didn't jog my memory, probably because it's pretty different.  The original at least tried not to look like a conventional forklift you'd find in a furniture warehouse.

[6745fc00507b1icemann]

Ah nice. Well if it's an unused enemy from the original then that's great to see it in. Much like the Talon Droids fixed up and implemented by the community for SS2.

My only gripe is that I see very little use for it in the game. Much of the levels are so confined, with very little use of open space. Flight Deck it would work on, and the Security level, and that's about it really.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQouJSK_-PM

[6745fc0050adbThiefsieFool]

Ah nice. Well if it's an unused enemy from the original then that's great to see it in. Much like the Talon Droids fixed up and implemented by the community for SS2.

My only gripe is that I see very little use for it in the game. Much of the levels are so confined, with very little use of open space. Flight Deck it would work on, and the Security level, and that's about it really.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQouJSK_-PM

It would pretty much need its own areas to really shine, like some kind of wide corridors to charge down to get you, with you using your hardware/agility to get out of the way.

[6745fc0050bceKolya]

It says
* Storage level
* Flight deck
in the concept art.

[6745fc0051050vurt]

It's mostly the neon colors in those gifs, neon purples and reds are more of a general 80s pop culture thing than the cyberpunk we're used to.

Neon is very much in line with how Cyberpunk should look (neuromancer, blade runner). Looks great.

80's vibe is great and also in line with what to expect from something Cyberpunk'ish...  people unfamiliar with it might think of vaporwave and synthwave though, which is just modern takes of 80's culture.

If it's exaggerated too much it can get a bit cheesy and on the nose "WE KNOW ABOUT THE 80's!" and that's when it gets lame.

[6745fc00513a6ThiefsieFool]

Neon is very much in line with how Cyberpunk should look (neuromancer, blade runner). Looks great.

80's vibe is great and also in line with what to expect from something Cyberpunk'ish...  people unfamiliar with it might think of vaporwave and synthwave though, which is just modern takes of 80's culture.

If it's exaggerated too much it can get a bit cheesy and on the nose "WE KNOW ABOUT THE 80's!" and that's when it gets lame.

Exaggerated is exactly what those gifs look like, and those are what we're talking about.

http://www.carstyling.ru/de/entry/Soncept_art_for_Blade_Runner_by_Syd_Mead_1982/images/3642/

Odd bit of funky color aside cyberpunk doesn't look like a vaporwave video.

[6745fc00514d2ZylonBane]

I think part of it is the shaders they're using. If the glow was toned down it would probably look fine. But yeah, the way it is now, in the clips above it looks like the Hacker is fighting in a Neo-Tokyo nightclub.

[6745fc0051638Kolya]

I'm actually not averse to the glowy neon colours. It's a distinctive style that has been popular in retro shoot'em-ups for at least ten years. I've never seen anyone apply it to an FPS before.
I just thought some inside joke that they're aware of this peculiarity would be fun. Maybe a note by the hacker how he still hasn't figured out how to turn down the saturation in his cyber rig. I'm sure they can think of something.

[6745fc00517abJDoran]

What's NDS's current stance on virtual reality? SSR (and SS2R, if it comes out) would be incredible in VR.

[6745fc0051af1vurt]

Exaggerated is exactly what those gifs look like

In case you missed it, the whole 80's was exaggerated. But sure, it does not need neon colors all the time, that could get old, but i'd like to see areas like that.

[6745fc0051c75ZylonBane]

I still hate those two bare fingers every time I notice them.

[6745fc0051eeeOlfred]

That indeed looks strange.
I would understand it if it were the index finger.
That exist for better tactile feel on triggers and such

[6745fc0051fdcKolya]

Maybe he lost the index finger in a terrible accident with a forklift.

[6745fc0052147edx]

December 2020 Update:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1598858095/system-shock/posts/2707480

To coincide with the Video Game Awards and Steam's first Game Festival, we will be releasing a playable demo of System Shock! This demo will be going live on the 12th at 10 am PST and will be up for 48 hours (longer for you backers!).

[6745fc00522a8voodoo47]

lets see whether my 10-year old rig cuts it.