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[justjim89]

An hour and change into this (just into crew quarters in med area) and this has sucked me in like Bioshock and Dead Space never have. This is great atmosphere.

 

[Semblance]

I got to engineering or w/e today, the next major area. This game is pretty dope so far.

One thing that surprised me is the frequent respawning. It's something I'm usually allergic to, but it works pretty damn well here. Even after I clear out a hallway of hybrids, I'm still not sure. Dudes just come out of everywhere. There's no real safe zone, like, anywhere. Always on my toes.

And that's awesome.

 

[justjim89]

I got to engineering or w/e today, the next major area. This game is pretty dope so far.

One thing that surprised me is the frequent respawning. It's something I'm usually allergic to, but it works pretty damn well here. Even after I clear out a hallway of hybrids, I'm still not sure. Dudes just come out of everywhere. There's no real safe zone, like, anywhere. Always on my toes.

And that's awesome.

This, yeah. They come out of nowhere. And when I heard "150 monkeys" I became god damn terrified.

 

[Zemm]

I now see why everyone compared Bioshock to this, it really is Bioshock, 10 years earlier. Enjoying it so far, the atmosphere is great.

 

[JaseC]

I now see why everyone compared Bioshock to this, it really is Bioshock, 10 years earlier. Enjoying it so far, the atmosphere is great.

Ken Levine was the creative driving force behind both, so it should come as no surprise that the two are mechanically near-identical.

 

[jim-jam bongs]

hahaha

I got to engineering or w/e today, the next major area. This game is pretty dope so far.

One thing that surprised me is the frequent respawning. It's something I'm usually allergic to, but it works pretty damn well here. Even after I clear out a hallway of hybrids, I'm still not sure. Dudes just come out of everywhere. There's no real safe zone, like, anywhere. Always on my toes.

And that's awesome.

Wait, this is your first time? I am so jealous.

 

[JaseC]

Wait, this is your first time? I am so jealous.

I've only played the demo, and that was way back in 1999. I remember distinctly that my mate's 4MB S3 card didn't have enough RAM to store all the texture data, so a fair few of the game's textures in any given scene were just colourful stripes. I'll snap this up next week assuming I don't spend much on Steam in the interim. (Every time I say as much, Valve throws a deluge of Dailies that I don't currently own.)

 

[PepsimanVsJoe]

How do you scale the UI?
Got everything running nice (1920 x 1080 etc etc) but the tiny inventory/other stuff is bugging me.

 

[Jarmel]

So what mods should I download?

 

[Semblance]

Wait, this is your first time? I am so jealous.

Yeah. I only played Thief Gold for the first time last year too.

(I was a console nerd back when these games were fresh, heh.)

 

[inm8num2]

I bring you love.

 

[MrOogieBoogie]

As someone who first played System Shock 2 a few years ago and has literally not stopped thinking about it since (having replayed it a couple of times), seeing it receive all this deserved attention is so special to me. The game evokes a certain feeling in me that VERY few games do, and I'm so happy that more people will finally get to experience it.

Namely, I love the atmosphere, and the aesthetic design is akin to playing laser tag in dimly-lit blue and purple neon corridors. The game has aged better graphically than 90% of titles released around the same time. While character models are somewhat poor, the environments still look very clean. Just love the look of the game so much.

 

[jim-jam bongs]

I've only played the demo, and that was way back in 1999. I remember distinctly that my mate's 4MB S3 card didn't have enough RAM to store all the texture data, so a fair few of the game's textures in any given scene were just colourful stripes. I'll snap this up next week assuming I don't spend much on Steam in the interim. (Every time I say as much, Valve throws a deluge of Dailies that I don't currently own.)

Wait for the Steam version Jase, I know you need your game count fix. Or just play the best game ever made (until Fallout: New Vegas and Dark Souls).

Yeah. I only played Thief Gold for the first time last year too.

(I was a console nerd back when these games were fresh, heh.)

You guys. I am so jealous for real. There are a handful of books (Arkady Renko featured in particular), films (Jarmusch directed in particular) and games (System Shock 2 in particular) which I'd gladly erase my memory of entirely just to enjoy for the first time again.

 

[vidcons]

those modded models are horrible

there is something about a lack of graphical fidelity that adds to the unrealness of The Many, making them far more scary than that standard corpse drawing

 

[JaseC]

Wait for the Steam version Jase, I know you need your game count fix. Or just play the best game ever made (until Fallout: New Vegas and Dark Souls).

The Steam version is six months away if Squeenix's GoG->Steam release schedule is anything to go by, though since Night Dive did some of the work itself perhaps the exclusivity window is smaller in this instance. In either case, there's plenty of time to double-dip!

 

[Droog]

As someone who first played System Shock 2 a few years ago and has literally not stopped thinking about it since (having replayed it a couple of times), seeing it receive all this deserved attention is so special to me. The game evokes a certain feeling in me that VERY few games do, and I'm so happy that more people will finally get to experience it.

Namely, I love the atmosphere, and the aesthetic design is akin to playing laser tag in dimly-lit blue and purple neon corridors. The game has aged better graphically than 90% of titles released around the same time. While character models are somewhat poor, the environments still look very clean. Just love the look of the game so much.

It's the atmosphere that permeates the entire game, especially the sound design. It's almost unparalleled except by something like Thief.

I got to engineering or w/e today, the next major area. This game is pretty dope so far.

One thing that surprised me is the frequent respawning. It's something I'm usually allergic to, but it works pretty damn well here. Even after I clear out a hallway of hybrids, I'm still not sure. Dudes just come out of everywhere. There's no real safe zone, like, anywhere. Always on my toes.

And that's awesome.

Come back and read this when you've nearly finished the game.

Spoiler

You may well have discovered this by now but there is a kind of safe room in the game - the elevator, once it's unlocked. I often used it as a mobile storage room too.

 

[pa22word]

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?i0mjaooawepiq6f

Made these myself. Also features some custom hotkeys like W+Alt = medhypo and alt+s = quicksave, and Z to read newest audio log, X for firing mode toggle, etc.

Oh, and to get these to work move the files into your "Binds" folder in the System Shock 2 directory ("Sshock2", if the gog version is anything like the retail).

 

[BloodMoney]

http://www.gog.com/forum/system_shock_2/system_shock2_faq_patches_mods_recommendations/page1

This has quiet a few.

Some people were suggesting lowering the weapon degrade and monster respawn? What's the best way to go about that?

I'd suggest playing the game the way it was intended (don't reduce weapons degredation or respawn). This game is suppose to be hard. You are going to have to be resourceful.

 

[Alexios]

Do alarms spawn enemies, make existing enemies come for you, or both? Those damn monkeys just kept coming and coming and coming. It didn't seem balanced. Then again I still have the fear of death even though there's the resurrection system.

 

[Dice]

If a hybrid looks like this:
Then your mods aren't working. If they look like this:
Then your mods are working.

Original is way better.

 

[Harlock]

There are people asking for GOG give credit for some mods/patchs used.

http://www.gog.com/forum/system_shock_2/giving_credit_to_the_actual_patch_authors

 

[BloodMoney]

Original is way better.

I prefer the vanilla models as well considering the inconsistency of the "HD" models.

Also, updated a screenshot... now running highest levels of AA and AF

Gfx hold up very well in my opinion.
I need to enable the Afterburner overlay to see what kind of fps my 670 is pushing.

 

[Alexios]

If someone did actually good models, replaced everything that needed it, and didn't bork the animations and poses like Rebirth or make them look so good they're out of place in low poly environments I'd use them for sure. Stuff like this:

http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/7082/midwifedone.jpg

nsfw (not sexy style)

 

[Stallion Free]

There are people asking for GOG give credit for some mods/patchs used.

http://www.gog.com/forum/system_shock_2/giving_credit_to_the_actual_patch_authors

It's a pretty scummy move on their part, especially the way the interviews with them and Night Drive are presenting things. Like someone said in the thread though, this is nothing new for them.

 

[Droog]

Do alarms spawn enemies, make existing enemies come for you, or both? Those damn monkeys just kept coming and coming and coming. It didn't seem balanced. Then again I still have the fear of death even though there's the resurrection system.

I'm pretty sure that alarms do spawn enemies if they don't already exist. In fact I think they keep spawning more (up to a limit) whilst still active. I remember testing this about 10 years back with rooms I knew to be cleared and deliberately setting an alarm off and checking those rooms again but I'll admit my memory is patchy now.

 

[mrgreen]

Thanks for the heads-up. I have completed this game a few times in recent years. I didn't have a PC when it was originally out, but don't remember seeing reviews for it, anyway. I can remember when Edge reviewed Half Life and Goldeneye but not this game.

Loved this game as it gave you much more to do than normal shooters. I personally preferred the original character models, I thought the mod that was available to improve graphics made the main zombie-guys too small.

 

[lotrfan]

Do alarms spawn enemies, make existing enemies come for you, or both? Those damn monkeys just kept coming and coming and coming. It didn't seem balanced. Then again I still have the fear of death even though there's the resurrection system.

Both

I'm pretty sure that alarms do spawn enemies if they don't already exist. In fact I think they keep spawning more (up to a limit) whilst still active. I remember testing this about 10 years back with rooms I knew to be cleared and deliberately setting an alarm off and checking those rooms again but I'll admit my memory is patchy now.

Yep.

They will go into the room/area were the alarm went off. So if you escapeinto a nearby area they will start searching for you.

 

[Macmanus]

If I focus on Melee, standard weapons, hacking, and repair am I spreading myself too thin?

For O/S Upgrades this round I'm grabbing Smasher, Lethal Weapon, Cybernetically Enhanced, and Sharp Shooter.

Next round I'll go much harder in difficulty and try a psy/melee guy.

 

[lotrfan]

If I focus on Melee, standard weapons, hacking, and repair am I spreading myself too thin?

For O/S Upgrades this round I'm grabbing Smasher, Lethal Weapon, Cybernetically Enhanced, and Sharp Shooter.

Next round I'll go much harder in difficulty and try a psy/melee guy.

Those are all good upgrades and no you are not spreading yourself thin, in fact those are essential for a Navy build. With the melee upgrades your wrench will be your best friend.

I would like to add that I don’t think it is possible to fully upgrade your standard weapons and melee options plus the repair and hack. You need to prioritize. So read carefully what each upgrade offers, as some are just not worth the skill points you would use on them.

 

[BloodMoney]

If I focus on Melee, standard weapons, hacking, and repair am I spreading myself too thin?

Perhaps... you might want to consider dropping melee as a focus (it will be useful regardless) and applying that effort to standard weapons.

A focus on standard weapons, hacking, and weapon maintenance/modification is a winning formula.

 

[BloodMoney]

Those are all good upgrades and no you are not spreading yourself thin, in fact those are essential for a Navy build. With the melee upgrades your wrench will be your best friend.

Another option if you want melee as a focus is to upgrade your energy weapon abilities early so that you can make use of the laser rapier (which can be discovered relatively early in the game). The laser rapier is quite a bit more powerful than the wrench... and i mean, come'on its a frik'n laser.

 

[lotrfan]

Another option if you want melee as a focus is to upgrade your energy weapon abilities early so that you can make use of the laser rapier (with can be discovered relatively early in the game). The laser rapier is quite a bit more powerful than the wrench... and i mean, come'on its a frik'n laser.

Quite true. I forgot of the Rapier but you also reminded me of the Crystal Shard which I prefer over the Rapier as the requirements to use it are less steep and according to the stats it has more base damage. In any case these aren’t available initially.

 

[Johnson81]

How do you scale the UI?
Got everything running nice (1920 x 1080 etc etc) but the tiny inventory/other stuff is bugging me.

To scale the UI in 1080p, open your "cam_ext.cfg", and remove the semi-colon at the beginning of the line:

d3d_disp_scaled_2d_overlay 64

Save and play the game.

 

[Macmanus]

I would like to add that I don’t think it is possible to fully upgrade your standard weapons and melee options plus the repair and hack. You need to prioritize. So read carefully what each upgrade offers, as some are just not worth the skill points you would use on them.

Thanks for this. I'm aware that I wont be able to max it all out, but since my first play through is simply on normal I feel like I should be able to power through it with a little ingenuity.

Perhaps... you might want to consider dropping melee as a focus (it will be useful regardless) and applying that effort to standard weapons.

Appreciated, but Smasher and Lethal Weapon O/S upgrade have already been selected - so I'm all in for melee. I'm not sure why I enjoy bashing things with a wrench so much, but I do. The hit detection on those monkeys was simply awful, though.

 

[BloodMoney]

Quite true. I forgot of the Rapier but you also reminded me of the Crystal Shard which I prefer over the Rapier as the requirements to use it are less steep and according to the stats it has more base damage. In any case these aren’t available initially.

I've never really focused on an exotic weapon upgrade path. Always read it wasn't really worth it. I've never used the Crystal Shard.

Laser Rapier + Assault Rifle = Von Braun Commando

 

[Macmanus]

Is the Crystal Shard worth it if you just put the single point into exotic weapons?

 

[Varna]

I'd suggest playing the game the way it was intended (don't reduce weapons degredation or respawn). This game is suppose to be hard. You are going to have to be resourceful.

I've already beaten the game a few times.

You're right anyways. I couldn't bring myself to do it.

 

[BloodMoney]

Not sure if THIS has been posted, but it's a great FAQ for SS2.

 

[BloodMoney]

Is the Crystal Shard worth it if you just put the single point into exotic weapons?

I've read it's the most powerful melee weapon... but the rapier has the most reach of all melee weapons *i believe.

 

[lotrfan]

I've never really focused on an exotic weapon upgrade path. Always read it wasn't really worth it. I've never used the Crystal Shard.

Laser Rapier + Assault Rifle = Von Braun Commando

Try it. The Shard only requires level 1 Exotic weapon whereas the Rapier requires level 4. Unless you are specializing on energy weapons too, investing to level 4 just for the rapier is IMO wasting the cyber modules. That being said to use the Shard you also need level 4 research so you still spend them there but since I always level up research it is not technically an extra cost for me.

 

[Dice]

I'm very curious about this game. Looking at other old FPS loved by many, I completely hate Half Life games, but I love Thief, Hexen, and Bloodlines. Ah well, I should probably focus on finishing Deus Ex first since it was a gift.

 

[Varna]

I'm very curious about this game. Looking at other old FPS loved by many, I completely hate Half Life games, but I love Thief, Hexen, and Bloodlines. Ah well, I should probably focus on finishing Deus Ex first since it was a gift.

You will love this game. Deus EX too.

 

[MNC]

how do I know if my mods are working or not?



this happens to me too though I don't really understand what you mean to do in the bolded above. a little help please?

edit: i guess this means my mods are working. looks pretty clean.

And pretty ugly, if I may be so bold. Vanilla is the only way IMO.

 

[lotrfan]

I've read it's the most powerful melee weapon... but the rapier has the most reach of all melee weapons *i believe.

You are correct with possibly one exception. With the proper build an OSA character gets access to a unique melee weapon that is tied to your level of OSA. With the proper buffs I am almost sure that it delivers more damage than the shard.

 

[lotrfan]

Is the Crystal Shard worth it if you just put the single point into exotic weapons?

Yes. At its weakest it is still more powerful than the wrench and they both benefit from the same buffs.

 

[MarshMellow96]

I prefer the vanilla models as well considering the inconsistency of the "HD" models.

Also, updated a screenshot... now running highest levels of AA and AF

Gfx hold up very well in my opinion.
I need to enable the Afterburner overlay to see what kind of fps my 670 is pushing.

This looks great! What mods are you running?

 

[Fine Ham Abounds]

Edit: Nm, sorry, mod talk all up in here.

 

[arit]

Monkeys are creepy, but even more if you cannot hit them (tried standing and ducking wrench). Bug or monkey god?

 

[BloodMoney]

This looks great! What mods are you running?

I just reinstalled my original disc copy on my Windows 7 PC. As is, you cannot run the install file on the disc with Windows Vista/7... It just doesnt work.

I had to install the game using SSTool_v4.8
I then extracted the SHTUP_beta7 (highres textures) into the DataPermMods folder (what was created by the SSTool install process)
And then installed the SS2_v2.4 patch to provide widescreen resolutions and cut scene video compatibility.

I am not sure what the upgrade process is for the GOG edition. From what i've read, it seems all the patch stuff i installed comes pre-patched into the GOG edition? *maybe

Other than that, i just forced max AA and AF levels in the Nvidia control panel.

 

[MarshMellow96]

I had to install the game using SSTool_v4.8
I then extracted the SHTUP_beta7 (highres textures) into the DataPermMods folder (what was created by the SSTool install process)
And then installed the SS2_v2.4 patch to provide widescreen resolutions and cut scene video compatibility.

I'll have to have a look when I get home from work. I played the first 20 minutes last night and I don't remember the GOG 'version' looking that good, shader/shadows-wise.