SSR: System Shock Kickstarter

[674074399cf17icemann]

There is a few new Shodan logs here and there. Didn't mind those. The new crew logs in Storage weren't bad either.

[674074399d3b3sarge945]

There is a few new Shodan logs here and there. Didn't mind those. The new crew logs in Storage weren't bad either.

The SHODAN logs are really well done and are probably the best logs in the game.

Most of the crew logs are fine. I still prefer some of the original lines, like "investigate my butt" and "we know all about you and diego" etc. I feel the new writing isn't as good, but it's serviceable and at least good enough. Most of the voice acting is fine too.

But then there are the KS logs. They are just awful. The better ones are mostly written okay, but often have bad voice acting (since they are Kickstarter logs, after all), but the worst ones just make me want to not listen to logs ever again.

[674074399d7feXkilljoy98]

Ugh, why did they apparently spend the time between the backer beta and the final release adding new badly-written logs instead of fixing the biggest issues we told them about?

I assume the logs were already ready to go, I think they just used an older build for the beta as they said that not all content would be in the beta.

Also I don't think they are badly written, some are good, especially the SHODAN ones

The others are ok, they show how life was like for average people which I do like

None are bad, at least imo

The joke one is kinda funny

That said there are some of the altered logs that I do prefer the original versions, namely Diegos, the one talking about Beta Grove, and a few others.

Also I wonder why they brought back some cut logs but not others?

Also KS Logs?, IDK what they have to do with KS at all

[674074399d990Nameless Voice]

$750 backer rewards:

+ Your Final Log Entry in-game (submit a paragraph of text describing your fate on board Citadel Station to be performed by our voice actors)

[674074399dbdbXkilljoy98]

$750 backer rewards:

Ah oke, well I must have forgotten about those, I didn't think they are too bad, not my fav ones but I didn't mind those

Tho IDK why they remembered KS stuff like that and the nametags but forgot other things like the Fem Hacker option, Shooting Range, Logs going over SHODAN's creation, Remix OST mode, etc

They did do new areas and logs tho I suppose

[674074399dfdeicemann]

Ah oke, well I must have forgotten about those, I didn't think they are too bad, not my fav ones but I didn't mind those

Tho IDK why they remembered KS stuff like that and the nametags but forgot other things like the Fem Hacker option, Shooting Range, Logs going over SHODAN's creation, Remix OST mode, etc

They did do new areas and logs tho I suppose

Going by the old dev streams Daniel used to do, they should still have the basic layout of the original levels still present in every one. Was just a 3D layer that you could toggle on and off. I know the plan at least back then, was to have it as a new game+ option for when you beat the game. Did they get rid of that? Be a waste of all that time Daniel spent creating them.

Just played through Executive. Now this is the highlight of the game so far. Actual really good music that I would have in a playlist, excellent battles and good layout (mostly sticking to the original with some changes). Only negative was the Diego battle. He appears in a cutscene but doesn't say a word. Silence. Then attacks and it's on like donkey kong. Once you have him hurt enough, he just vanishes into thin air with no teleportation sound or anything. Odd. Battle itself was very good. His new model in the remake is far more humanoid than his OG counterpart which looked far more cybernetic.

Noticed during the level that the model for the gorilla tiger model doesn't have proper physics checks for their heads when they charge at a door. So if its charging your way, and then the door closes, it's head will go through the door. Fully shootable too. Amusing.

Besides some minor gripes that a patch would easily fix, this level is excellent.

[674074399e336Xkilljoy98]

icemannI never knew that, idk if it is still like that but that would have been cool

TBH any post game unlocks or modes would have been cool

Also I agree, Executive was my fav too, both in the original and the remake is one of the few music pieces I like in the remake and you can actually hear it.

I do miss the large windows in the viewing room though, but the new areas are cool.

[674074399e5cdZylonBane]

hmm.. now that I think about it, was even one thing mentioned in this topic taken into consideration? one single suggestion?

Well, puzzles are no longer referred to as "Puzzles" on the map. So there's that.

[674074399eaa7Autz]

So, I finished the remake. Gonna start with the bad:

- The final boss. Feels like an Alpha version of what they were trying. You cannot die, lmao. There's no game-over. Outside of the fact that is not like the OG, not having a fail-state for this one is a big mistake. I guess Atari gave them an ultimatum before they could finish?

- They cut the minigames, even tho there's footage of those over their Discord. Same with other mechanics, like the cyberspace timer and logs.

- Diego now looks like a discount Adam Smasher.

- There are still bugs and crashes plaguing the game. The cyberspace section on maintenance can crash if you spend your time killing enemies on the final segment. Perhaps they keep spawning enemies until your memory runs out or something? And also, some achievements are still locked even if you match the criteria, like the "It's over" achievement that you get by killing SHODAN and ending the game.

- The chess minigame can freeze the game for a moment. And the technical explanation is that the team used mini-max algorithm, an algorithm that is not suitable for chess as the tree for possible successor states can blow quickly. And you can see why.

- The bridge lost its iconic unknown bio contamination.

Now the good:

- I like how enemies looks and their murmurs. The murmurs of the cyborg enforcers were disturbing.

- The weapons looks and feels great, except for the rapier and its lack of visual feedback. The upgrades makes a nice addition to the game and another reason to stick with some weapons for a bit longer.

- I liked the changes to the levels and how the whole station rotates to see Saturn. And how you traverse the groves, very nice touch. SHODAN traps are still there, and they added some more, like the disabled bridge on Medical.

- Gameplay overall has become more accessible. The map doesn't let you write notes but it compensates it with automatic icons. Energy weapons cannot be tuned gradually as the OG, but the 3 levels they have is more accessible and quick. And for the objectives, there are plenty of info now that is more explicit on what you have to do. Like, we have more logs now detailing how the station's laser is charging and why firing it is a bad idea.

- The gadgets got reworked, but the most expected features are still there. The boots and enviro-suit are there an works as the OG, sensaround now doesn't work like a second camera, but it works as a complement to the navigation unit and can highlight items and enemies. The shield is there. And also, the energy consumption got reduced in comparison to the OG, so, no penalties for having shields and boots active. And the target identificator gadget works like the OG, with the addition you can now hack robotic enemies and check their patrol state. Very nice overall.

- While many people criticize the music, I found it to be a banger, specially combat themes. So far, the favorites are Research and Executive.

I gave it a 7.5/10, up to an 8 if they fix the bugs and add a game over to the final boss. The game was almost there to be a replacement of the OG. Almost, but it doesn't.

Also, it makes me laugh how pixel texture triggers everyone. I can imagine NDS scrapping the early build nobody liked, so they went with the pixel art to piss everyone:

NDS: "Ok, you people want the original design?"
You: "Yes"
NDS: "Ok, we're making it more faithful to the original..."
You: "Nice"
NDS: "...and retaining the level design and story progression..."
You: "YES"
NDS: "...and retaining the pixelated look of all textures..."
You: "No"
NDS: "...and retaining the lack of visual clarity..."
You: "NO"
NDS: "...and it will look even more pixelated when looked up close. Anything else?"

[674074399f49dNameless Voice]

I guess Atari gave them an ultimatum before they could finish?

Didn't they only get bought after the backer beta was already out, with (by the sounds of it) the same terrible ending?

Also, it makes me laugh how pixel texture triggers everyone. I can imagine NDS scrapping the early build nobody liked, so they went with the pixel art to piss everyone:

Honestly, more people seemed to be angry that some people hate it / want it to be removed, than are angry about the pixellated textures.  99% of the players seem to absolutely adore the look.

[674074399fe10Xkilljoy98]

Never had this bug but it seems like a big one

https://youtu.be/WV_cZ-Q2mFo

It seems to involve the reactor destruction switch

[67407439a0171voodoo47]

it's more of a facepalm than a triggering.

https://youtu.be/WV_cZ-Q2mFo

achievements breaking the game, now THAT is hilarious.

[67407439a045dAutz]

Didn't they only get bought after the backer beta was already out, with (by the sounds of it) the same terrible ending?

Yeah, but the team mentioned they were changing it and scrapped a lot because "lack of time". I was thinking on the 2022 leak of the final boss that looks different to what we got (at least in gameplay).

[67407439a05e9ZylonBane]

The weapon you use in the final boss fight looks suspiciously like a low-rent Lego version of the suffusion rifle from Tron 2.0.

Let's not even talk about how Tron 2.0's version of cyberspace looks so much better than SSR's, even though Tron 2.0 came out TWENTY years ago. Night Dive's vision for cyberspace seems to pretty much begin and end at "neon graph paper".

[67407439a08a9sarge945]

Let's not even talk about how Tron 2.0's version of cyberspace looks so much better than SSR's, even though Tron 2.0 came out TWENTY years ago. Night Dive's vision for cyberspace seems to pretty much begin and end at "neon graph paper".

Let's not talk about it because it's false.

Cyberspace looks pretty good, tbh.

[67407439a09b1ZylonBane]

Oh... bless your heart.

[67407439a0d3eJosiahJack]

The weapon you use in the final boss fight...

What did I just watch!?!?

It's difficult to describe my vehement disgust.  Suffice to say, I will never buy this.

Trying to pull some slight inkling of praise, I suppose that reminds me of this... but just barely.

[67407439a0ff2icemann]

Never had this bug but it seems like a big one

https://youtu.be/WV_cZ-Q2mFo

It seems to involve the reactor destruction switch

Man thats bad. They better fix that asap. Why would it persist game wide regardless of saving / loading / starting a new play thorough. Wow.

On the pixel look I don't really care about it. Its a design choice and doesn't affect the gameplay in any shape or form.

I could use more backpack limit upgrades. Are there more spread throughout the game or just the one? Found only 1 so far on the Storage level.

[67407439a1102Nameless Voice]

There's a second one on one of the groves.

[67407439a13faAutz]

Man thats bad. They better fix that asap. Why would it persist game wide regardless of saving / loading / starting a new play thorough. Wow.

On the pixel look I don't really care about it. Its a design choice and doesn't affect the gameplay in any shape or form.

I could use more backpack limit upgrades. Are there more spread throughout the game or just the one? Found only 1 so far on the Storage level.

There's a second one if you complete the chess minigame on grove Delta.

[67407439a172bsverXRazum]

Never had this bug but it seems like a big one

https://youtu.be/WV_cZ-Q2mFo

It seems to involve the reactor destruction switch

I also saw people softlocking themself at research level when they turn off electricity in delta quadrant, die before activating restoration chamber on this level, therefore respawning on medical, coming back to research only to see locked door out of an elevator with no way around it. Amazing. Now I realised in how many ways these levers could go wrong and lock players from progressing further. But I guess noone tested it. And it's not just "old school" thing, OG DON'T have any way to softlock because devs knew it was stupid.

[67407439a19adicemann]

There's a second one if you complete the chess minigame on grove Delta.

Oooo. Thanks.

[67407439a1ac7Autz]

Also, I saw some messages over the Discord. Apparently the GamePig will be there with the console release. Now so far the "important" cuts are the cyberspace timers and logs.

[67407439a1eccXkilljoy98]

icemannYeah they need to fix this asap

I load old saves for testing purposes for wiki stuff so I guess I did it by accident

Also I didn't even realize you could softlock on Research but that is another big one

AutzOh I'm glad that they are coming, though who knows when that will be,  I also hope the cyberspace stuff comes back too.

It's even mentioned in the manual but isn't in the game