polytourist97 on 16/3/2013 at 19:53
So, with the recent gog re-release of System Shock 2, and the fact that my last play-through was AGES ago, I decided it was high time for me to venture back to the Von Braun. But this play-through couldn't just be any normal play-through, oh no. It was going to be something special, but what? I had already done melee only, energy only, OSA only, wrench only, etc. What else was left for me to do? RANDOM, that's what.
I decided to do a play-through where every character build option was decided randomly by a 12-sided die roll. I figured out a system where I only needed to use the one die for every choice in the game, from the career path, to the final cyber module. I thought that might be challenging, fresh, and of course, fun! So how is it turning out? Well, I also decided to record the experience, so why not join me to find out?
I recorded these videos mostly for friends and family that had not played the game and/or were not likely to play the game so they could still get to experience it in some fashion. Hence, I give some rudimentary explanations of things as I encounter them or notice might be unclear to someone that has never played the game. However, I thought the videos still might be enjoyed by the fans and veterans of the game as well, so....
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvlteeTIGhU) SS2 Random Character Part 1: Prologue + Med/Sci
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWi3nGsAJxU) SS2 Random Character Part 2: Engineering
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7k8XHzq_Os) SS2 Random Character Part 3: Hydroponics
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TiKMOGz6zk) SS2 Random Character Part 4: Operations
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyW0szBLj2E) SS2 Random Character Part 5: Recreation
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIvoYtCz8nQ) SS2 Random Character Part 6: Command
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPrKv6XzQJc) SS2 Random Character Part 7: Rickenbacker
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs9-P0Rj2F8) SS2 Random Character part 8: BOTM + ???
I'll upload and post new parts as I complete them. I'm recording the videos in lengthy parts (one deck for each part) to enhance both my own immersion in the game as well as to try to better capture the feeling of playing the game for anyone watching the videos. Let me know any comments or questions you might have!
Also, for anyone interested, here is a link to the chart I'm using to determine how the rolls affect the character build:
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http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/227/ss2randorollchart2.png) SS2 Random Roll chart
polytourist97 on 23/3/2013 at 22:39
I've just completed uploading the next part of my random play-through:
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TiKMOGz6zk) SS2 Random Character Part 4: Operations
It's getting pretty interesting. This deck features the most character build decisions thus far. Most of the abilities I've rolled complement one another fairly well. However, there are a few rolls that prove to be quite impractical, especially given the lack of rolling certain stats/abilities that would be otherwise essential in a normal play-through on impossible.
icemann on 28/3/2013 at 13:21
Off topic: Speaking of Let's Play SS2 videos, this week I came across "The Pacifist Approach" which is a no weapons Let's Play of SS2. Quite awesome I have to say.
Link:
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTfVlcCWw5Q)
Though for one spoiler: He doesn't use any weapons until he gets to
the Rickenbarker. Which honestly is an achievement in itself, and takes true skill in the game. I honestly didn't believe that anyone would get THAT far without using a weapon even once. Amazing.
Bjossi on 28/3/2013 at 23:58
Polytourist, looking forward to part 5, this is a very interesting challenge.
Btw I find some of your gameplay a bit weird. Why did you get into so many unnecessary fights? Especially on deck 4 with those cyborg assassins. Also you greatly overestimate the degrade rate of the laser pistol, there is another one on Ops 3 you can go get once the other one breaks and there will be more of them on deck 5 and 6. You can safely use it against all robots and turrets you encounter as long as you always use the overcharge mode.
polytourist97 on 29/3/2013 at 21:59
Yeah....I'm a bit stubborn in my gameplay sometimes haha. I tend to get caught up in the heat of the moment and feel like I have to "finish what I start". Even though it's really counter-productive a lot of the time.
As for the conservative laser pistol use: I think that's a holdover from my mentality for melee-only runs. My pride tells me I can take on most things with the wrench, but I forget my character is not built for that :p
I definitely start utilizing my laser pistol more on deck 5, and also do a better job at avoiding unnecessary conflict (however, "better" is a pretty relative term). Speaking of deck 5, I've just posted it to the interwebs here:
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyW0szBLj2E) SS2 Random Character Part 5: Recreation
Glad you're enjoying it Bjossi! It's definitely been fun to play, and it's funny rolling certain things and getting my hopes up for potential direction, only to get crushed on the next roll. What's interesting is that it's entirely possible that I might have a run of the same rolls and end up with Standard 6, which means I have to be careful about recycling ammo, whereas normally at this point in the game I have a clear idea of the weapons I'll be using and recycling any and all unused ammo.
Quote Posted by icemann
Off topic: Speaking of Let's Play SS2 videos, this week I came across "The Pacifist Approach" which is a no weapons Let's Play of SS2. Quite awesome I have to say
I saw that in another thread over at systemshock.org and it definitely has me intrigued. I'm definitely going to have to try it at some point!
polytourist97 on 12/4/2013 at 22:13
Command deck complete!
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIvoYtCz8nQ) SS2 Random Character Part 6: Command
This was without a doubt the most fun part of the playthrough for me thus far. I have finally gotten a feel for my character's sporadic ability set and am able to react a bit more fluidly to situations. It's not without it's hiccups (a certain military bot in particular gave me some problems), but was overall quite satisfying.
Xlator on 20/4/2013 at 10:42
Very cool idea. I've watched every part so far and am keen to see you tackle the Rickenbacker and beyond. Certain misgivings about your play style, think it would fit the formula better if the PSI disciplines got a bit more use, but it's your game so you do what you want. I would've probably used a lot more Laser Pistol and PSI than you have, but I get what you mean about wrenching everything being the first reaction to enemy encounters. ;) I'm glad you didn't abuse quick saves like some do, defeats the point of high difficulty and the nanite cost for QBRM usage, surgical beds, healing items etc.
I'm thinking of having a go at using your chart and doing my own random playthrough - probably recording it too. Want to run an idea past you first though. Would you consider it to be cheating to give oneself a second option? Say you roll twice for every stat/psi/weapon/tech upgrade and then you get to choose one or the other. My inspiration for this is how leveling heroes works in the Heroes of Might and Magic series - you get given a number of random skills to choose from every level, rather than having free picks from the skill tree. It doesn't play the game for you and make it entirely about luck, but it stops you from going cookie cutter every time. Translated to SS2, you'd reduce the chance of gimping your character or going completely without upgrades for hours on end. You give yourself a little freedom to move, but still largely need favourable die rolls. Not sure how it would work for OS upgrades, might be better to just have one die roll there. Also, if you roll the same thing both times, should that be seen as fate forcing your hand, or should it allow you to reroll so you always have two choices? Lemme know what you think!
About your playthrough, [spoiler]when you were looking around for a grenade launcher, I was screaming inside my head at you to check Hydroponics. There's one in good condition near the cold storage place where one of the Regulators is. Also, you shouldn't have shelled out the 50-something modules for tier 3 when you were going for invisibility. Pretty sure you don't need to unlock every tier before the one that contains your chosen discipline.
Your use of neural restructuring on that Rumbler was epic! Was hoping you might save him for the way back, would've been cool to see him tear through the legion of Hybrids that come at you after you destroy the shuttles. But wow, the way he pulverised that turret and that bot. Super cool. Definitely a skill I need to play with some time. :D[/spoiler]
Many thanks (heh, Many :rolleyes:) for an entertaining playthrough. Look forward to seeing the conclusion. ^^
Bjossi on 22/4/2013 at 14:58
You're right about the tiers, you can buy tier 4 right away without getting any other tiers first.
@polytourist: Looking forward to the Rickenbacker part. With so many mechanical enemies ahead it'd have been awesome if you managed to get Energy 6 and grab the EMP rifle.
polytourist97 on 25/4/2013 at 23:43
@ Xlator: Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad you're enjoying the playthrough. The idea you proposed sounds really cool! Definitely record it if you end up doing that because I'd be interested to see how it turns out.
I've finished the Rickenbacker, but unfortunately I've been out of town for the past week so I haven't been able to upload it to the interwebs yet. I should be able to get it on youtube tonight though.
And I had no idea you can get upper psi tiers without first getting the lower ones! I guess I just always assumed you had to have all previous tiers. I've never even tried getting an upper tier on its own. Crazy! That...probably would have been helpful seeing as how I haven't rolled any tier 3 disciplines haha, woooops.
