Friday, May 19th 2023

Nightdive Studios Releases System Shock 2: Enhanced Edition First Look Trailer

System Shock 2: Enhanced Edition was created with the goal of reverse engineering the original code to port SS2 (1999) to the KEX Engine and made available on next-generation consoles for the first time. Nightdive Studios has also partnered with the systemshock.org community to integrate all the best mods and updates. All cinematics, textures, characters and weapon models have been updated, and the Co-Op Multiplayer has been overhauled to create a seamless experience.

"Remember, it is my will that guided you here. It is my will that gave you your cybernetic implants, the only beauty in that meat you call a body. If you value that meat... you will do as I tell you." The cult classic sci-fi horror FPS-RPG has returned...
You awake from the cold chill of your cryo-tube to discover cybernetic implants grafted to your flesh and the crew of the starship Von Braun slaughtered. The infected roam the halls, their screams and moans beckoning you to join them as the rogue artificial intelligence known as SHODAN taunts and ridicules your feeble attempt to unravel the horrifying mystery of the derelict starship Von Braun.


Nightdive Studios' mission is to bring lost and forgotten gaming treasures back from the depths.

Follow Nightdive Studios:
www.nightdivestudios.com
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twitter.com/nightdivestudio
Sources: Nightdive Studios YouTube Channel, PC Gamer - screenshots source
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26 Comments on Nightdive Studios Releases System Shock 2: Enhanced Edition First Look Trailer

#1
LabRat 891
This isn't the remake, right?
I ask, because the screenshots look pretty similar to when I played the original SS2 with visual upgrade mods.
Posted on Reply
#2
T0@st
News Editor
LabRat 891This isn't the remake, right?
The 2023 remake (due May 30) is a full-blown reimagining of System Shock (1994).

Nightdive has already released an Enhanced Edition version of the first game - back in 2015.
Posted on Reply
#3
KrazyT
They done the same way with Quake and Doom 64 ... maybe PowerSlave / Exhumed too, no ?
So far, they've made a good job !
Posted on Reply
#4
Gmr_Chick
I thought this game sounded interesting....

...But then I saw the creepy crawlies and said "hell no!" :fear:
Posted on Reply
#5
csendesmark
Let's go!!
Cannot wait for the new SS1 remake, but if they make SS2EE, then maybe they also remake it!
... eventually :laugh:
@Gmr_Chick this one is a proper horror game, unlike DeadSpace which is more on the gore-side, the System Shock games are relying more on the atmosphere. :toast:
I love DS too, don't get me wrong, but this one is stronger in that.
Posted on Reply
#6
TheDeeGee
csendesmarkLet's go!!
Cannot wait for the new SS1 remake, but if they make SS2EE, then maybe they also remake it!
... eventually :laugh:
@Gmr_Chick this one is a proper horror game, unlike DeadSpace which is more on the gore-side, the System Shock games are relying more on the atmosphere. :toast:
I love DS too, don't get me wrong, but this one is stronger in that.
Fans will jump onto SS2EE no doubt with Nvidia RTX Remix.
Posted on Reply
#7
csendesmark
TheDeeGeeFans will jump onto SS2EE no doubt with Nvidia RTX Remix.
Nvidia RTX Remix?
You mean ray traced?
That would be awesome, good and realistic lighting could improve the mood of the game
Posted on Reply
#8
Bomby569
why reverse engineer , don't they have the code?
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#9
AlwaysHope
How much will this cost on official release?
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#10
sepheronx
Bomby569why reverse engineer , don't they have the code?
probably not. It is so common for companies to lose source code over time. I think its mostly because they never really think they would need it again.
Posted on Reply
#11
Case39
LabRat 891This isn't the remake, right?
I ask, because the screenshots look pretty similar to when I played the original SS2 with visual upgrade mods.
I'm confused too...
Posted on Reply
#12
Carlyle2020hs
This here is about system shock 2 which is the free (freshly converted) bonus game if you pre-order the new reimagination of system shock, which it seems is an amalgamation of the best what the two original ones did offer.

Nice!

Here ist the original cover, that is quiet old enough to order itself a whiskey:




to the author:
Without context you can´t release this article about a remake of system shock 2 10 days before the reinvented system shock comes out!

Regards

A kickstarting, preordering and very miffed SS2 fan who you actively have confused with this piece until I did some research myself before putting one and one together.
Posted on Reply
#13
TheDeeGee
csendesmarkNvidia RTX Remix?
You mean ray traced?
That would be awesome, good and realistic lighting could improve the mood of the game
It's what the modding is called.
Posted on Reply
#14
ZoneDymo
solid title, I only played it relatively recently for the first time but man that is some class from the time period you basically dont see anymore, different times, different mentality.

I do think that if you basically just clean up the textures a bit and make it more playable (not trying to underplay that effort btw) one should add something like RT to the game, I think it could add a lot to the visuals.
Posted on Reply
#15
Frick
Fishfaced Nincompoop
Anyone who likes Bioshock should play this, and then maybe we can have an end to the "Bioshock is the spiritual successor to SS" nonsense.
Posted on Reply
#16
Kaleid
Hm, what's the difference? There are already mods than makes this playable on modern hardware and also downloadable mods which makes the AI / enemies more high-poly.
Posted on Reply
#18
Chrispy_
I read this yesteday and I'm already halfway through a replay of SS2 (original) as a result.

TBH, this EE doesn't seem to be massively different to the original - the only place you'd notice it would be face textures. I'm guessing this is more for console players who never experienced the original SS2 on PC.
Posted on Reply
#19
csendesmark
FrickAnyone who likes Bioshock should play this, and then maybe we can have an end to the "Bioshock is the spiritual successor to SS" nonsense.
Bioshock is good, but it been dumbed down too much to accommodate console players... it is a shame
I don't mind that, but we should still the "pro" version for PC :D
TheDeeGeeIt's what the modding is called.
Cool
Hopefully we will get several times better cards for ray trace.
Posted on Reply
#20
Chrispy_
csendesmarkBioshock is good, but it been dumbed down too much to accommodate console players... it is a shame
I don't mind that, but we should still the "pro" version for PC :D

Cool
Hopefully we will get several times better cards for ray trace.
Bioshock and System shock are so different that I'm baffled anyone can possibly compare them.
Bioshock Infinite, in particular, ditches just about everything related to system shock entirely. It was a fun game, but a different genre.
Posted on Reply
#21
csendesmark
Chrispy_Bioshock and System shock are so different that I'm baffled anyone can possibly compare them.
Bioshock Infinite, in particular, ditches just about everything related to system shock entirely. It was a fun game, but a different genre.
Well, both of them have a wrench :D
Posted on Reply
#22
londiste
Chrispy_Bioshock and System shock are so different that I'm baffled anyone can possibly compare them.
Bioshock Infinite, in particular, ditches just about everything related to system shock entirely. It was a fun game, but a different genre.
Bioshock (the first one) was compared or likened to System Shock 2 quite a lot at release. In places System Shock 2 was even used in marketing. Irrational Games and Ken Levine are the big commonalities there. Themes for both games are not that far apart, the whole "dead place with (audio) logs" thing was also much more novel than it is now.

System Shock 2 has older and more traditional take on the gameplay, UI etc while Bioshock has a much more direct focus on combat. And while I am a big fan of System Shock 2, Bioshock simply nails it in the whole ambiance and story department.
Posted on Reply
#23
Frick
Fishfaced Nincompoop
londisteBioshock (the first one) was compared or likened to System Shock 2 quite a lot at release. In places System Shock 2 was even used in marketing. Irrational Games and Ken Levine are the big commonalities there. Themes for both games are not that far apart, the whole "dead place with (audio) logs" thing was also much more novel than it is now.

System Shock 2 has older and more traditional take on the gameplay, UI etc while Bioshock has a much more direct focus on combat. And while I am a big fan of System Shock 2, Bioshock simply nails it in the whole ambiance and story department.
Yeah, a System Shock but only the combat is a pretty good way of describing it. Too bad the combat is System Shock wasn't all that good.
Posted on Reply
#24
lilhasselhoffer
So...I remember playing this on a windows xp x64 system. None of the modern convenience mods, none of the rose tinted glasses...because Bioshock was out.

What I remember the most is a clunky set of mechanics that weren't well explained. Access to a wrench...that seemed to do nothing until it killed a thing. Access to an inventory system that was absolutely bonkers. Most builds being possible...until you hit one of various walls that made builds entirely non-viable because of poor design. A cargo hold map with no distinctive features, and infinitely spawning enemies that would not drop ammo for weapons. Random deaths and game overs because even paying attention you were both rewarded and penalized with little heads-up. Most of all, I remember that when I finally got to the end there were infinitely spawning monsters in the places you wanted to backtrack to...and literally everything that could deal with them was finite unless you saved a ton of points for the highest tier melee weapon...which didn't have any progress to get it. Wrench or crystal...and nothing in-between to support builds.

I want to see an update to this game...but it needs a lot of the more...frustrating...bits removed. It also needs to be someone other than Nightdive...because I love them for remaking old games. System Shock II doesn't need a remake, it needs someone to fix it with enough chutzpah to burn the nostalgia out. That's going to make for a better game...but not a faithful port into the modern age. I...hope that Nightdive walks the line here, but I feel this game is just too much of an experimental mess to be great without nostalgia goggles. That nostalgia means that it will not work for new gamers...and old gamers misremember the difficulty. Sigh.
Posted on Reply
#25
Chrispy_
lilhasselhofferSo...I remember playing this on a windows xp x64 system. None of the modern convenience mods, none of the rose tinted glasses...because Bioshock was out.

What I remember the most is a clunky set of mechanics that weren't well explained. Access to a wrench...that seemed to do nothing until it killed a thing. Access to an inventory system that was absolutely bonkers. Most builds being possible...until you hit one of various walls that made builds entirely non-viable because of poor design. A cargo hold map with no distinctive features, and infinitely spawning enemies that would not drop ammo for weapons. Random deaths and game overs because even paying attention you were both rewarded and penalized with little heads-up. Most of all, I remember that when I finally got to the end there were infinitely spawning monsters in the places you wanted to backtrack to...and literally everything that could deal with them was finite unless you saved a ton of points for the highest tier melee weapon...which didn't have any progress to get it. Wrench or crystal...and nothing in-between to support builds.

I want to see an update to this game...but it needs a lot of the more...frustrating...bits removed. It also needs to be someone other than Nightdive...because I love them for remaking old games. System Shock II doesn't need a remake, it needs someone to fix it with enough chutzpah to burn the nostalgia out. That's going to make for a better game...but not a faithful port into the modern age. I...hope that Nightdive walks the line here, but I feel this game is just too much of an experimental mess to be great without nostalgia goggles. That nostalgia means that it will not work for new gamers...and old gamers misremember the difficulty. Sigh.
IMO it's the infinite respawns that hurt the OG game.
Playing it with infinite respawns penalises non-melee builds because your weapons require TWO resources (maintenance tools and ammo) that are scarce by design, and for the first 30% of the game neither ammo nor maintenance tools drop from those infinite respawns. The only way to play the game if you don't speedrun the game through to the end of hydroponics is as a melee-focused build, otherwise you're simply going to run out of ammo, maintenance tools, or psi hypos.

The game is definitely better IMO if you disable infinite respawns with the no_respawn user.cfg line and increase the difficulty to maintain the challenge instead. You do still get respawns when you load into a previously cleared area, but it's not quite as ridiculous as it is by default and it doesn't ruin the immersion. You're on a goddamn spaceship that had a limited population of crew and bots. When you've completely cleared a deck and suddenly more just appear out of nowhere, it kills the entire immersion and atmosphere for me by revealing a tedious, dated game-mechanic that was already ageing poorly when the game first released.
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