System Shock Remastered Demo Available June 28th

They just announced a 24 hour livestream they'll be doing through the end of the KickStarter, so I'm hopeful there's still a chance for some stretch goals! =)
 
I REALLY wanted it to hit 1.9, but I don't think that's very realistic at this point unfortunately. Maybe they'll get that soundtrack made anyway though. That would be very cool. I'm actually surprised the campaign didn't get higher faster. I know the SS series is pretty niche, and nobody that wasn't playing PC games in the mid-to-late 90s even knows what it is, but I would have thought there were more of us out there. Even based on the amount of people that hang out on the SystemShock and TTLG forums would seem to indicate a decent community. I wish I could have been a higher tier backer. (that themed Razer could be handy :D ) If I hadn't just invested heavily into my other hobby, I would have backed higher.
 
I hope we hit some more stretch goals too (and there's a possibility of more funding after the campaign if they choose to do that, but I think for KS purposes it's best to treat it as if that won't happen, then if it does, it's gravy).
 
Nooooooo 50k short of the 1.4 stretch goal. :(

At least we hit 1.3 though at the end!
 
Yeah, a little disappointing, but I really can't complain about what we ARE going to get. Still wanted that remixed original soundtrack... :cry:
 
Could still get there! I watched the Q&A - they're going to continue funding post-Kickstarter, but it's gonna take a bit to set up (corporate stuff). That'll include PayPal and some merch as well. So I think $1.4 should be easy, and hopefully beyond that if the incentives are good and they keep showing off their work, etc.
 
Nice! Yeah, I'd be up for sending more their way at a later date.
 
Good to hear that -- 1.3, as it is, means more areas of Citadel Station with more logs and crew members. I think 1.4 is reachable, and if it does, we'll have a greatly expanded Citadel Station experience: System Shock, the way it was meant to be in 2017 ;)
 
Yeah, I was glad to hear about the extended funding and possibly KS goals.
 
I find old school pixellated monsters more scary than the modern smooth rendered monsters. Could not wait for the remastered version of SS2.
 
MavericK said:
Figures.
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Considering they pretty much only had a tech demo built, it's still 2 years of development which is pretty short. Games are usually 3-5 years.

It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. I'm not suggesting they fibbed, but had they been totally honest about the stage of development they were in or the length needed, they may not of been funded.
 
bigdogchris said:
Considering they pretty much only had a tech demo built, it's still 2 years of development which is pretty short. Games are usually 3-5 years.

It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. I'm not suggesting they fibbed, but had they been totally honest about the stage of development they were in or the length needed, they may not of been funded.
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Yeah, it's not the end of the world. Just seems to happen far too often with these KS titles.
 
System Shock Remake Switching to Unreal Engine 4

After raising over $1.3 million on Kickstarter last summer, the team at Night Dive Studios has been working to make good on updating the first-person classic System Shock for today’s audience (and the game’s backers)

Part of that process involved reevaluating Night Dive’s approach to the game’s technology after discovering that “Unity is not a great engine to use if you want to make an FPS on console,” game director Jason Fader told Polygon at the 2017 Game Developers Conference this week. “So we spent a few weeks researching other engines, really diving deep with Unreal and Lumberyard, and we made the decision to pull the trigger and move forward with Unreal.”...

http://www.polygon.com/2017/3/1/14784082/system-shock-reboot-unreal-engine

 
Awesome. Unity is such an ass engine that gives a lot of developers issues when they want to do something beyond simple games.
 
See the latest work-in-progress footage from the System Shock reboot...near the end of the video, Fader also shows off the 'shatter tech' Nightdive is developing to smash apart frozen mutants, plus a dismemberment system that sends heads, legs, and arms flying—not necessarily in a realistic way, but certainly in a dramatic one...

Game Director Jason Fader: "We got the idea to be more transparent with our backers as a result of some other studios recently calling out their communities for being toxic, leading to a reluctance to show their games as a work in progress," Fader tells me in an email. "Our community has been incredibly supportive of us, and we wanted to do something special for them to show our appreciation of their dedication and maturity while we develop System Shock. They put their faith in us, and we're putting our faith in them. Seems only fair."

 
Thanks for the update, polonyc2 -- some of the YouTube comments were far too obsessed with the "cool retro pixels", but having played SS1 far too many times to count, I have no intention of reliving those days again. If those pixelheads really wanted a near-exact remake, they can happily play the original or the retouched version.

I'm quite happy with the direction the devs seem to be going so far -- there is a lot of promise here, and with the 3D/2D approach, they can put in the detailing as needed over the polygons.

What I'm really excited about are the additional levels and log/storyline extensions -- wonder what that's going to be like? (possibly setups for SS3 as well, I imagine).
 
meh, I liked the original remasters aesthetics much better... this now just looks like a generic space station
 
Youn said:
meh, I liked the original remasters aesthetics much better... this now just looks like a generic space station
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Well, there are two sides to that IMO. Yes, it does look a little more generic, but it's actually what I think a space station would look like until WAY FURTHER into the future when luxury become more of a thing in space. (kinda what the Prey station is like I guess) However, I'm guessing the executive and rec decks will look a bit more posh, and I don't think we've seen those yet. Medical, Science, Operations, etc. will all look generic in ANY modern representation of a space station.

I do love the original game's aesthetic, layouts (as nonsensical as some of the layouts were) and still play it almost yearly. Once the new one comes out, I will still keep playing the original (and SS2). It's a masterpiece.

Anyway, I think they're doing a great job so far, and after making less than 2 million, they still have more to show for it than some other crowdsourced games. I only wish more people contributed more to this, so they can implement all of their "stretch" features. I REALLY REALLY want the remastered/recreated version of the original soundtrack available as an option in the game. I'll probably contribute more money to this before it's released, but I'm still a drop in the bucket.
 
Viper16 said:
awesome! Now they need to do a remake of they Syphon Filter series.
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I wouldn't mind seeing that at some point, but unlike SS even the early SC games still look decent and we have gotten modern sequels.

I would like to see a remake of No One Lives Forever or Thief/Thief II first. /takemymoney
 
Lateralus said:
I wouldn't mind seeing that at some point, but unlike SS even the early SC games still look decent and we have gotten modern sequels.

I would like to see a remake of No One Lives Forever or Thief/Thief II first. /takemymoney
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Heck, while we're at it, I'd like to see a full overhaul of the original Deus Ex + Deus Ex: Invisible War (the 2nd game would need extensive work, including with the storyline, to match the newer Deus Ex games).
 
J3RK said:
Well, there are two sides to that IMO. Yes, it does look a little more generic, but it's actually what I think a space station would look like until WAY FURTHER into the future when luxury become more of a thing in space. (kinda what the Prey station is like I guess) However, I'm guessing the executive and rec decks will look a bit more posh, and I don't think we've seen those yet. Medical, Science, Operations, etc. will all look generic in ANY modern representation of a space station.

I do love the original game's aesthetic, layouts (as nonsensical as some of the layouts were) and still play it almost yearly. Once the new one comes out, I will still keep playing the original (and SS2). It's a masterpiece.

Anyway, I think they're doing a great job so far, and after making less than 2 million, they still have more to show for it than some other crowdsourced games. I only wish more people contributed more to this, so they can implement all of their "stretch" features. I REALLY REALLY want the remastered/recreated version of the original soundtrack available as an option in the game. I'll probably contribute more money to this before it's released, but I'm still a drop in the bucket.
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the problem with Unreal games is that they all tend to look the same...even Wolfenstein and Doom (2016) share a similar aesthetic...hopefully they give the game a unique look while paying homage/DNA to the original System Shock
 
polonyc2 said:
the problem with Unreal games is that they all tend to look the same...even Wolfenstein and Doom (2016) share a similar aesthetic...hopefully they give the game a unique look while paying homage/DNA to the original System Shock
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I would say it was more of a problem with earlier versions of the engine, but yes, I agree. Even now, there is a difference. Actually, if I was going to choose an engine for the new System Shock, it would be id Tech 6. No question. That's a perfect (for me) world scenario though. I think it would lend itself well to the types of environments that the System Shock series portrays. I'm not sure how the current iteration is to work with in comparison to the Unreal engine though. At the very least, I think they're on the right track. Hopefully they'll fill the station with plenty of character though. The thing about this studio is that they seem to be passionate about bringing classic games to modern audiences. They've brought some games back from the dead, and seem to want to do this because they love the game. How long were fans begging for someone to figure out the rights/IP/licensing situation with SS? These guys pulled it off. I'm hopeful anyway.

You're completely right though. System Shock has a certain flavor. Without it, the game isn't System Shock. Aside from the visuals though, the audio had a great deal to do with the feel of the game. (especially in SS2) I'm hoping they can kind of meld the two styles into something interesting. Some of the ambient droning soundscapes of SS2 were great, but I also like the context sensitive electronic music during action sequences too.

There's a lot to these games...
 
I don't think they should use fluorescent lights on space stations. :p

It's looking pretty good. It still does look like they're diverging from the original designs a bit more with each update, but it still looks like something I will enjoy.
 
Code: 
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1598858095/system-shock/posts/2115044?ref=backer_project_update

In March of 2016, Nightdive Studios released our video of our vision of System Shock Remastered. Done in Unity it was an immediate hit with almost a half million views on YouTube. In June of 2016 we launched a Kickstarter campaign to make the vision into a reality. It was tremendously successful with over 21,000 backers contributing over $1.3 million to the campaign. We put together a development team and began working on the game. But along the way something happened.

Maybe we were too successful. Maybe we lost our focus. The vision began to change. We moved from a Remaster to a completely new game. We shifted engines from Unity to Unreal, a choice that we don’t regret and one that has worked out for us. With the switch we began envisioning doing more, but straying from the core concepts of the original title.

As our concept grew and as our team changed, so did the scope of what we were doing and with that the budget for the game. As the budget grew, we began a long series of conversations with potential publishing partners. The more that we worked on the game, the more that we wanted to do, and the further we got from the original concepts that made System Shock so great.

Ultimately the responsibility for the decisions rests with me. As the CEO and founder of Nightdive Studios, a company that was built on the restoration of the System Shock franchise, I let things get out of control. I can tell you that I did it for all the right reasons, that I was totally committed to making a great game, but it has become clear to me that we took the wrong path, that we turned our backs on the very people who made this possible, our Kickstarter backers.

I have put the team on a hiatus while we reassess our path so that we can return to our vision. We are taking a break, but NOT ending the project. Please accept my personal assurance that we will be back and stronger than ever. System Shock is going to be completed and all of our promises fulfilled.

Stephen Kick
 
At least they're being honest and taking a break to refocus.

Not making the Star Citizen mistake.
 
Armenius said:
I let things get out of control. I can tell you that I did it for all the right reasons, that I was totally committed to making a great game, but it has become clear to me that we took the wrong path, that we turned our backs on the very people who made this possible, our Kickstarter backers...
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what does that even mean?...did they blow the $$ on hookers and coke?
 
I have to say that my usual optimism is failing me on this one.

I liked a lot of the work they were doing, but I did start wondering if they were trying to make a completely new game all of a sudden. That's what SS3 is for. If I want a remade SS1 I want a remade SS1, which is what I paid for. I have Prey for something a little different.

I don't usually get upset over this sort of thing, (and maybe I'm not exactly "upset") but this kinda-sorta pisses me off a bit.

Glad I didn't send them any additional money via the Backer Kit thing. I was going to send a decent chunk their way.

If they're honestly just taking a short break, and they do in fact refocus on what this should have been, then I'll happily send a bit more money after I see it's true. Until then though, I'm counting my original contribution as meaningless.
 
polonyc2 said:
what does that even mean?...did they blow the $$ on hookers and coke?
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From their words it sounds like they started going down the route of trying to make a brand new game using System Shock as a guide instead of just sticking with the original concept. Aka they started following the Star Citizen path and tried to make something different from what they promised in the first place.
 
Rule number one of successful commercial endeavors: aim for something you know you can ship

I was looking forward to this too; not a backer, but I'd have bought it if they'd finished it.
 
Derangel said:
From their words it sounds like they started going down the route of trying to make a brand new game using System Shock as a guide instead of just sticking with the original concept. Aka they started following the Star Citizen path and tried to make something different from what they promised in the first place.
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but why?...there was no need to since they're also working on that System Shock 3 game (with that other studio)...that's the problem with these Kickstarter projects...the $$ starts rolling in and they start overthinking and getting overly ambitious
 
polonyc2 said:
but why?...there was no need to since they're also working on that System Shock 3 game (with that other studio)...that's the problem with these Kickstarter projects...the $$ starts rolling in and they start overthinking and getting overly ambitious
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Exactly. I backed this because I wanted an updated version of the original. System Shock 3 will be the new experience. Prey is LIKE System Shock, so there's another non-SS1 option. I still play the original, and the Enhanced Edition is great, but I also really liked where they were headed with the initial demo even in the old Unity engine. It looked like a nice new way to play the same game, which is precisely what I was looking for.

I still really liked some of the art they were showing though, and some of the re-imaginings of Citidel, but the more I listened to them talk about it, the more it sounded like they didn't think the source material was good enough anymore, which was a big mistake. The source material is one of the greatest games of all time, and if you start second-guessing that, you're probably in trouble.
 
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