Starker on 10/6/2016 at 00:03
Quote Posted by D'Arcy
The game was different from almost everything we had seen, and probably the first 'real' 3D game - System Shock's movement/physics are miles away from games like Doom, which came out roughly around the same time. You probably have no idea of how revolutionary this game was in 1994.
Ultima Underworld was even before that, though. LGS was really ahead of its time back in the day.
terrannova on 10/6/2016 at 00:57
Playing System Shock initially on a 486DX-33 was crazy, the game chopped out a number of times, I barely got it to work. I think I used a boot disc as my system only had 4MB of RAM. That upgrade to 486DX2-66 and 8MB RAM solved a lot of issues but still nothing compared to the Pentium II 350 a few years later.
Kristijonas on 10/6/2016 at 02:41
Thank you for making some very good points everyone! Yeah, I suppose I find it a little harder to enjoy because I only tried it in 2016 and never seen it when it came out. I know there are many old games that I really adore that to new gamers today would probably look/feel ugly today. I will try to get over the initial impression and give it another try. Perhaps I should try investing more than 15 minutes, too! I remember first time I installed Planescape Torment it looked stupid to me (flying talking skull, zombies... Nameless character who I did not even choose... All the high fantasy "crap") but when I gave it a second chance it became my favorite game.
I suppose for a new player the remastered version is the one to play? Are there any unofficial patches, texture mods or other useful things that should be installed for better use/graphics? I mean surely players who know the game for almost 20 years now will probably shun on some texture mods that are too liberal, but as a new player I could probably use a little boost. I know I'm rather conservative when it comes to Thief 1 texture mods because I like to keep things as original as possible and some textures, like the stained glass/frescoes are too different in some texture mods so I feel like some content is changed.
Trance on 10/6/2016 at 10:49
There is nothing for SS1 of the likes of SHTUP that I know of. Looking Glass never designed SS1 with user-created content in mind, and it tends to be significantly harder to mod for than SS2.
My suggestion is give the game more than 15 minutes of your time. The UI is clunky, I'll agree, but it is by no means impenetrable. If you stick with it to, say, maintenance, you'll have gotten enough practice with it to be pretty fast.
Al_B on 10/6/2016 at 11:21
Also worth playing fullscreen at a reasonable resolution. The only time I played with the surrounding UI as in your first screenshot was when I had a PC that couldn't handle it otherwise about 20 years ago.
Kristijonas on 10/6/2016 at 13:13
Thanks, I'll give it another try then. The screenshot is from the internet so the resolution in my PC should be enough.
icemann on 11/6/2016 at 04:21
Graphics is not a valid question to ask when comparing a game to it's sequel. Of course the sequel's going to have better graphics, which does not make it a better game.
As to which game is better - I dunno, each is fantastic in it's own way. The first game has the retro-cyberpunk style that I absolutely love in video games, has an excellent story, great music and gameplay.
The second ditches the cyberpunk (for the most part) and goes for a more story-rich RPG experience.
I really can't say which is the better game as they are both fantastic for different reasons.
Red_Breast on 11/6/2016 at 21:28
I'm not taking a dig at you Kristijonas with what I type below.
It's just that with what you said made me think about how times have changed.
In 1994 if I got a new game and, after playing it for 15 minutes, thought it was crap, I'd still carry on playing and probably to the very end. Just to get my money's worth!
GMDX Dev on 11/6/2016 at 23:50
I think SS2 is the better game in nearly every single respect, and perhaps even the "King of Immersive Simulations", though it has strong competition. It's a so much more realized and in my opinion fulfilling experience than Shock 1, from the gameplay to the story to the UI, though most of it owed to the engine, but some of it pure unconstrained design too. There's some things about Shock 1 that I think Shock 2 would have benefited from, though it really is not much. Shock 2 despite its flaws and dated technology is in my opinion one of the finest games crafted to date, the design is second to none, and a lot of the games made today are simply disgracefully bad compared to it, though I think they're disgraceful compared to what a lot of old developers were doing back then from the Japanese to the British to Looking Glass and likewise in America. The tech has evolved at breakneck pace yet the design has generally devolved, excepting there is some conventions in modern design that are for the better.
TannisRoot on 12/6/2016 at 00:42
Wow D'Arcy, you made me really want to play SS1! I've never played any of the system shocks, but that description makes the game sound so awesome. Definitely picking it up from the GoG sale right now.
