System Shock 2 - if only it was on the Xbox

Kolya on 15/2/2009 at 21:50

Multiplayer has definitely helped elongate the life of this game though. Lots of gamers nowadays specifically play SS2 the first time for the coop part. As wrong as that may seem, it does attract people who will probably also try out singleplayer mode if the game is to their liking.

Nameless Voice on 15/2/2009 at 22:49

Speaking of keeping the game alive, I do wonder why there are so few FMs for SS2.

Of course its RPG and story-heavy elements dictate a need for campaigns rather than single missions, making SS2 FMs a larger undertaking, but there are many long campaigns for Thief yet very few for SS2.

ZylonBane on 15/2/2009 at 23:04

There was a big discussion about that a couple years ago. Basically, Thief lends itself perfectly to FMs-- it provides a protagonist who makes his living doing "missions", a fictional world that's remarkably fleshed-out, and the game assets themselves (textures, AI barks, etc) are extraordinarily generic and reusable.

SS2 has none of these advantages. The majority of the assets are focused specifically on TriOptimum and the Von Braun. Goggles is nameless, faceless, and has no personality whatsoever beyond "Nah". And worst of all, it's an RPG. The SS2 version of Dark is built with a vast array of systems designed to support RPG-style gameplay, and thus SS2 FMs feel half-assed if they don't make use of them. You pretty much have to do a mission set on the scale of Christine's campaigns.

This is why I long ago proposed a project to create a Shock-styled asset package for Thief II, to allow the creation of traditional thieving/espionage/etc missions set in the System Shock universe. Nothing ever came of it though.

Nameless Voice on 15/2/2009 at 23:48

Yes, I remember that thread. My point was that there are several Thief campaigns the length of Christine's maps, so the assumption would be that there should be more SS2 campaigns, too.
Of course, the editor is a lot less understood and less user-friendly.

I suspect that I know the only way that we're going to be seeing another big campaign any day soon... argh.

Enchantermon on 16/2/2009 at 00:52

I remember that thread, too.
ZB pretty much hit the nail on the head. If the SS2 universe was more open-ended and the editor's resources more generic, it might actually have more FMs than it does.

Quote Posted by Nameless Voice

I suspect that I know the only way that we're going to be seeing another big campaign any day soon... argh.

You mean if a bunch of us quit RL and locked ourselves in a room until we finished CCP? ;)
Or were you thinking something more along the lines of SS3?

Nameless Voice on 16/2/2009 at 01:01

I just meant a generic "I guess if I want more FMs I would have to make them myself".
It was a joke.

Enchantermon on 16/2/2009 at 01:04

Ah. Yeah, there's always that option.

Zygoptera on 16/2/2009 at 02:48

Quote Posted by ZylonBane

For some reason I'm more inclined to believe Ken Levine's opinion here.

Technically it would be accurate to say that KL's opinion is factually wrong, or at least irrelevant- I think the Jon Chey/ gamasutra post mortem mentioned that co-op or a multiplayer component was required by EA as a prerequisite for SS2 being developed at all. However, I would certainly agree with KL's sentiments.

Quote Posted by Enchantermon

You mean if a bunch of us quit RL and locked ourselves in a room until we finished CCP?

Well, the good news is that theoretically by Monday of next week I will have finished my university contract (haha 2 days to mark 200+ exam scripts it may take time to recover) so should have more, or actual, free time.

Enchantermon on 16/2/2009 at 23:24

Quote Posted by Zygoptera

I think the Jon Chey/ gamasutra post mortem mentioned that co-op or a multiplayer component was required by EA as a prerequisite for SS2 being developed at all.

Well, that's...kind of dumb. What if SS2 turned out to be a horrible game for co-op?

Quote Posted by Zygoptera

While I'm actually getting into my core classes and finding myself with less free time than ever (in fact, I really should be doing schoolwork right now :p)
Though I'll have a lighter load for the next five weeks, so I might be able to finish what I started a while ago.

C0rtexReaver on 17/2/2009 at 17:58

Quote Posted by Gunzo

Hi,

Now SS2 is one of the best games I have ever played along with Bioshock. When the coop patch came out for SS2 then the game became the finished article in my eyes, the game still looks and sounds good today!

I had SS2 on pre-order and had the came within a couple days of the release. Infact, I had already downloaded this "co-op patch" you speak of before my copy of the game even arrived. You make it sound like people were chomping at the bit for months after the game's release, waiting for the patch.

-CR