system shock 2 today

pcpartys

pcpartys

pcpartys

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IS this playable? Does it take a while to get into.

Having played games like Dead space I downloaded SS2 for 1st time and tried it but i could not get into it.

Is it worth baring out on? Or to dated?
 
The game doesn't look excessively dated with all the updated graphics mods but it does have an extremely steep learning curve and isn't as user-friendly as (for instance) BioShock.

Personally I think it's a far better game that it's spiritual successor. If you can stick through the tough start it is an extremely rewarding game.
 
FrenchTart said:
The game doesn't look excessively dated with all the updated graphics mods but it does have an extremely steep learning curve and isn't as user-friendly as (for instance) BioShock.

Personally I think it's a far better game that it's spiritual successor. If you can stick through the tough start it is an extremely rewarding game.
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What mods do u have a link?
So it gets better?
 
pcpartys is on something i think lol

I'll look into this game myself when i get home.
 
pcpartys said:
What mods do u have a link?
So it gets better?
Click to expand...

If you configure your trust I can drop you a link to an easy way to get it all up and running.

I won't be able to give a huge amount of tech support beyond that (but it will really get everything sorted for you so I shouldn't need to) :)
 
FrenchTart said:
...it does have an extremely steep learning curve and isn't as user-friendly as (for instance) BioShock...
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Not sure I'd agree, I mean sure Bioshock is very much a baby's first FPSRPG in comparison but that doesnt mean SS2 has a supersteep learning curve.

I will admit it is rather brutal in terms of general difficulty :D, but so worth it. Amazing game!
 
Alex74 said:
Not sure I'd agree, I mean sure Bioshock is very much a baby's first FPSRPG in comparison but that doesnt mean SS2 has a supersteep learning curve.

I will admit it is rather brutal in terms of general difficulty :D, but so worth it. Amazing game!
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I would say that it does have a steep learning curve. At least it did when I first played it. It was so easy to get into situations where it was nearly impossible to go forward - you very much didn't understand about maintaining weapons and lots of the stats and skills were not intuitive or were poorly explained.

Obviously these days I've done melee-only runs on impossible difficulty but when I first played it back in '99 (admittedly I was 13 years younger at that point) I got to engineering and realised that I had no chance to get any further. I started again and did better but I didn't really grasp everything as well as I could've done.
 
System Shock 2 is sooo much better than BioShock or Dead Space. The atmosphere/mood is superb and the basic gameplay superior. I only first played it in 2007 (after BioShock) and it soon earned a spot on my ATG games list, as dated graphics etc don't bother me at all.

Played it earlier this year and posted some screens of my modded game here: http://91.151.218.11/showthread.php?p=21675949#post21675949

FrenchTart seems to have you covered, but if you or anyone else is interested, here's how I set mine up:

Was on a modern (Intel i5, etc.) 64-bit Windows 7 desktop and I used the following:

SS2 Tool -- Patches/fixes things up so the game is 'mod-ready', run it first after install. Here: http://www.systemshock.org/index.php?topic=4141.0
SS2 Mod Manager -- Install this secondly. Basically open a mod (zip/rar) like the ones below with it and then click a few buttons to install and 'activate' them. http://www.systemshock.org/index.php/topic,527.0.html
SHTUP -- Big texture pack. http://www.systemshock.org/index.php?topic=22.0
Straylight ADaoB -- Fixes bugs and such. http://www.systemshock.org/index.php?topic=25.0
DeepFriedBeer Sound Upgrade -- For weapons only, not music or voices. http://www.systemshock.org/index.php?topic=27.0
Tacticool Weapon Replacements -- Better weapon textures/models, which is nice since you see them so closely and constantly! I believe I ignored incompatibility issues and they still worked fine. http://www.systemshock.org/index.php?topic=691.0

You could also try the 'SHMUP' music mod, don't know why I didn't use it. And there's the 'Rebirth' mod, but I think I avoided due to potentially serious compatibility issues.

As I recall, supposedly it's safer to not install the game to either 'Program Files' folders. Instead, just make a 'SS2' folder in C: and install there. You may have to manually copy things from CD, which I didn't have to do but heard it's a common inconvenience.
For your first go I'd recommend choosing normal difficulty, Navy as 'career', and perhaps don't bother with 'Psy' abilities.

Hope you enjoy! :) Btw, vote to get SS2 on GOG.com: http://www.gog.com/wishlist/games/system_shock_2
 
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Good tips there :)

Rebirth is fine to use actually - the modified version of it (with the original-like midwife skin) is awesome and I use it in all of my replays of SS2. Some of the earlier versions had various issues that you've probably heard about though.
 
Definitely one of the best games ever made. I think it has a tutorial mission which will probably tell you everything you need to know.

It's down to user preference but before playing I usually turn off or turn down enemy respawning and weapon degradation.


Also, turn up the sound as SS2 has the best atmosperic audio ever.
 
D3lirious said:
Definitely one of the best games ever made. I think it has a tutorial mission which will probably tell you everything you need to know.

It's down to user preference but before playing I usually turn off or turn down enemy respawning and weapon degradation.


Also, turn up the sound as SS2 has the best atmosperic audio ever.
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Definitely a point of contention amongst players. Personally I like the respawning and I think the degradation really adds to the tension. However, a lot of people don't. I'd personally say the OP should go with the 'vanilla' experience first and if they find these features too irritating to disable them then.
 
Original respawning and degradation for me, indeed it enhances the survival aspect I love. And playing it at night alone with decent headphones is the way :cool:
 
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I turned respawning off, but it didn't seem to do much; I think this is the only thing stopping me from firing it up again. Weapon degredation, however, I didn't mind at all, despite it being unrealistic.
 
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I'd highly recommend Navy for a first playthrough (I love me some hacking) and probably avoiding psy and joyimo says, spreading yourself thin will make this game EXTREMELY tough. I just run around with the grenade launcher / assault rifle normally, the launcher is the swiss army knife of killing machines in SS2. I leave degredation and respawn on personally, I figure it is how it was intended and you have enough killing potential with the ammo provided.
 
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