SSR: System Shock Kickstarter

[67410abfa358bNameless Voice]

Really cool, didn't think that would be an easy thing to mod in.

[67410abfa36e8Nameless Voice]

Our System Shock Remake General board (and mod subforum) is now open.

I've made threads there for all my mods.

[67410abfa3b48sarge945]

Respawning just seems totally busted right now, even on Combat Difficulty 3 you only need to ever fix 1 cyborg conversion chamber and then you are safe forever it seems.
This needs to be made into a setting or adjusted so you cannot respawn to another level on Combat 3.

I kinda wish we could either disable them entirely, or require TriCoins in order to respawn

The "respawn endlessly for free" mechanic sucked in the original (respawns and medbeds are the sole reason why resource management barely exists in the game), and it sucks even more here.

[67410abfa3f40Xkilljoy98]

sarge945I didn't mind it in the original and it helped give the game a less stressful feel

That said I agree that an option to disable them or a coin option could be cool, as long as it is optional

Though you could simply not turn them on but that is up to you

[67410abfa41e8sarge945]

Though you could simply not turn them on but that is up to you

This is the current go to.

But having some actual gameplay around them (coin economy) rather than simply not using the mechanic is more interesting.

It's really unfortunate the modding support stretch goal was never reached. Would have been nice to do a proper gameplay pass on this.

I guess I need to learn Unreal and hope against all odds that most of the gameplay is implemented via blueprints.

[67410abfa462bicemann]

sarge945I didn't mind it in the original and it helped give the game a less stressful feel

That said I agree that an option to disable them or a coin option could be cool, as long as it is optional

Though you could simply not turn them on but that is up to you

I'd prefer it as it was in the original, where it was all tied into the current level you were on. Switched off = Turned into a Cortex Reaver. On = Safely resurrected on that level. Simple.

Having it be that as long as 1 was switched on somewhere then you would resurrect at the nearest one, adds greater chances of soft locking yourself since the original wasn't designed that way. Secondly it completely eliminates the fear factor of dying from the game (except in boss fights, where you die properly regardless of if 1 is on or not).

[67410abfa4781Nameless Voice]

It also doesn't make any sense in the lore.  The implication is that if you are killed, some kind of robot will carry your body to the nearest regeneration station, which SHODAN has been adjusted to produce cyborgs.  It's mentioned several times in logs, plus the whole "Cyborg conversion cancelled" audio.

It doesn't make sense for the automated restoration systems to know which ones are still set to cyborg conversion and to avoid those.

[67410abfa49a0Xkilljoy98]

Nameless VoiceI assumed it was a type of teleporter or lone set of friendly robots

[67410abfa4abdicemann]

The way it looks in the remake is that your essentially remade from scratch, with you seeing your hands literally materialize in front of you. That leads me to think of it as that your basically a clone of the original sample placed in the machine. Much like products created in a replicator.

[67410abfa4d74ZylonBane]

with you seeing your hands literally materialize in front of you

Don't try to figure out how you can move your body before it even completely exists.

[67410abfa4e95Xkilljoy98]

In other news the Speedrun page for the remake is now up, if anyone here is into that

https://www.speedrun.com/system_shock_2023?h=Any&x=zd349ne2

[67410abfa50e5sarge945]

The way it looks in the remake is that your essentially remade from scratch, with you seeing your hands literally materialize in front of you. That leads me to think of it as that your basically a clone of the original sample placed in the machine. Much like products created in a replicator.

It looks like it rebuilds your body essentially from scratch. It doesn't looks pleasant, but I guess it's preferable to slow decomposition.

[67410abfa537aJosiahJack]

The way it looks in the remake is that your essentially remade from scratch, with you seeing your hands literally materialize in front of you...

Is this game a parody?  Serious question

[67410abfa550fla0s]

"Looks cool" as an overarching design philosophy

[67410abfa5614sarge945]

If your big immersion issue is some hands when regenerating, you might need to get your head checked.

This entire game (and possibly the entire cyberpunk genre) is essentially a larger-than-life parody of science fiction. SS2 is a dark parody of Star Trek.

[67410abfa58acla0s]

Oh please, I have written extensively on my issues with the game. This is a symptom of how they designed the remake, others could be the dismemberment system, "interactive" intro, My First Cash Register-coins + coin system (I know you are infatuated with that mechanic), the cool pixelated textures and so on...

This entire game (and possibly the entire cyberpunk genre) is essentially a larger-than-life parody of science fiction. SS2 is a dark parody of Star Trek.

And I need my head examined?

[67410abfa59beNameless Voice]

The art style is inspired by Star Trek, certainly.  But I don't see how it's a parody in any way?  The settings are completely different.

[67410abfa5aa8ZylonBane]

For System Shock's art style to be influenced by Star Trek, it would first have to have an art style at all.

[67410abfa5bafNameless Voice]

Hmm?  I was talking about SS2.  Its brightly-lit, futuristic aesthetic with sleek lines and lots of sliding doors is clearly inspired by Star Trek

[67410abfa5ce2Pacmikey]

and "suit color determines role"

[67410abfa5f14ZylonBane]

Hmm?  I was talking about SS2.

Oh, indeed you were. Somewhat I guess. One could make an argument for 2001: A Space Odyssey being an influence as well, or really any scifi that predated or avoided the "used future" aesthetic that Star Wars popularized.

[67410abfa60ddXkilljoy98]

The Remake for all its faults does have an art style, now how good that is compared to the original, is up to each person, but there is something there.

Is it different in areas?, yeah, but playing it, overall I don't think it is bad, I do like it in places/overall, and there are places in which case they are close to 1:1, but there are various areas in which I do prefer the original.

As far as rematerializing goes, I mean it's fine to not prefer it but I fail to see how that is a big issue at all as that is how it worked in SS2, at best, it's a personal preference thing

For comparing it to star trek, I wouldn't call it a parody as it isn't one, I mean the settings and looks is all different and it is largely serious. Did it take some inspiration?, sure since the original did as well, but this is nothing new to sci-fi.

Dismemberment I think is fine, Intro I feel is kinda pointless for it to be playable as it doesn't add much, coins don't affect the game too much and can be ignored if one doesn't like them. Are they perfect?, no, but I don't think they ruin the game by being there.

[67410abfa660fsarge945]

Oh please, I have written extensively on my issues with the game. This is a symptom of how they designed the remake, others could be the dismemberment system, "interactive" intro, My First Cash Register-coins + coin system (I know you are infatuated with that mechanic), the cool pixelated textures and so on...

Actually I have issues with every single one of these elements (except maybe the dismemberment which I really don't have any problems with), especially the intro which I'm pretty sure even diehard fans of the remake agree is awful. I already explained my issues with the recycling and coin system earlier in this thread and even proposed two alternates which preserve the economy without many of the issues that exist in the current implementation. I'm far from infatuated with it.

But I've seen people nitpick tiny element after tiny element and then conclude that therefore the game is shit. I've also seen people ignore clear faults to praise it as clearly superior to the original. Obviously people are entitled to their opinions, but if seeing a hand regenerate is a big enough issue for you to mention as to why you think the game is bad, then I'm suspicious of whether or not you're really approaching it in good faith with an open mind. When expectations are high and people are purists, seeing the actual value in something is difficult.

The art style is inspired by Star Trek, certainly.  But I don't see how it's a parody in any way?  The settings are completely different.

I was talking about SS2 specifically. From the design of the Von Braun to the overall aesthetic of the characters and the idea of a military utopia, SS2 is essentially Star Trek if all the humans were shitty and everything went horribly wrong. It seems to be implying that Star Treks version of the future is impossible because humans will be humans.

You're right that SS1 isn't really inspired by or related to Star Trek in any way. It's a good thing I never claimed it was.

[67410abfa676dicemann]

SS2 was more inspired by the Thing if anything, with the paranoia of not knowing who was and wasn't under control of the Many. I don't see anything in common with Star Trek in it at all, besides the use of replicators, and look of the laser pistol + shuttle pods.

SS1 on the other hand, sure it's a definite influence. Though it has A LOT of influences (eg Bladerunner and older sci-fi films) and unlike SS2 it's proper cyberpunk. SS1 literally has Borg look-a-likes in it, that rest in sleeping devices exactly like in Star Trek.