System Shock - Q&A @Reddit

[Silver]

Night Dive Studios conducted a AMA on Reddit recently and gave out some interesting information about System Shock Remaster as well as Turok.

pripyat_beast
1. How much important is Warren Spector's role on SS3 project? I believe Warren is going to provide an incredibly solid foundation for the development of SS3. He's responsible for creating some of the most memorable and timeless experiences in gaming and I can tell he's eager to bring fans of Shock something new and innovative. Warren and his colleagues thrived during a time when hardware limitations dictated game design and I'm really excited to see what they'll be able to accomplish with the tools available to developers today.

2. How much money do you think you'll reach on SS Remaster's Kickstarter? I hope we reach our minimum goal of $900K - it will provide us with what we need in order to finish the game the way we envision it, but I believe we'll raise considerably more. We've gone all in on the Kickstarter and I think everyone will be surprised by what we have to offer. We're doing things no other crowd funding campaign has done and we're doing everything we can to differentiate ourselves from other high profile projects that have failed to deliver on their promises.

3. Turok 2 enhanced when? We're making great progress but that's all I can say!

[...]

One question to start, concerning the System Shock kickstarter.

It was mentioned that the music will be changed, and that it was being considered to include the original soundtrack as an optional DLC / kickstarter tier reward. Can you confirm if this is the case?

[-]pripyat_beast 3 points 14 hours ago

Our current plan is to offer a remixed album of the original soundtrack to everyone once a certain stretch goal is met. We will have a playable demo track available on the Kickstarter page.

[...]

Video game preservation is a topic that concerns me. We have a lot of trouble with it today, but what about 50 or even 100 years from now?

We can listen to/look at music/paintings from centuries ago, but video games are different.

Do you keep source code for your remasters? Or source code that was provided by the developers?

Steam versions may run for next 15 years for sure, but what about something like 30-50 years into the future? You should have a well backed up database of source codes for all your games for very distant future.

[-]pripyat_beast 3 points 15 hours ago

You're definitely not alone! We've been contacted by David Gibson at the Library of Congress who has started an initiative to track down and collect code, art, and anything else in hopes of preserving it. Lost source code is one of the things that genuinely depress me and we're currently evaluating the idea of releasing the code we've discovered and restored to anyone who wants to store it or modify it.

We've heard stories about the fate of Shock 2's code - apparently someone found a dreamcast disc in a trash bag that contained the code, but what became of that is anyone's guess.

If you want a little bit more information about the Library of Congress and where they currently stand with their collection/preservation philosophy feel free to check out this interview David Gibson recently did with David Wolinsky for his Don't Die oral history project

[...]

[-]pripyat_beast 2 points 13 hours ago

1. What is your opinion on fan projects like Citadel? I've been following the progress on Citadel for a long time and I'm really impressed with what JosiahJack has accomplished. I fully support the project as long as it remains free and he doesn't attempt to commercialize it. I think it's admirable of him to have a working Git depot of his project available to the public!

2. Is there any plan to do a source-code release of any of the games you've re-released? We have released the source to Strife: Veteran Edition and we are planning on releasing more code in the future. Good luck with your dissertation, hope this helps!

3. In SSR, do you plan on retaining the ability to climb any surface that looks climbable? Currently in our build we have climbable ladders - you'll be able to climb other surfaces as well.

[...]

[-]pripyat_beast 3 points 15 hours ago

1)Yes, the remake will follow the original very closely in terms of story and levels. The gameplay will be smoother and more streamlined mostly due to the reworked interface. We've taken what was great about Shock and Shock 2's interface and created a hybrid that fans of the genre will feel very familiar with. All the weapons and enemies will be there, but re-imagined and updated by the original concept artist Robb Waters. We've identified a number of areas in the game that we're going to expand by various degrees - we felt there were great story telling opportunities just waiting to be explored. Veterans of the series will definitely find some surprises this time around...

2)We're big fans of the difficulty level presented in the first Shock and would like to emulate that as close as possible. If someone wants a greater challenge, the time limit posed by the original is a great source of inspiration. Having the events of the game occurring in real time is not something that's explored in games these days and would be fun to bring back - or if someone wants a more leisurely experience an adventure mode (Difficulty 0) is possible.

More information.

 

[Silver]

There's lots more than what I posted here.

I think I'm late, but I'll ask anyway. How will cyberspace be? Will it be close to the original?

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[–]pripyat_beast 3 points 10 hours ago

We are redesigning Cyberspace - it will still serve the same purpose as it does in the original but the environment and visuals will receive a total overhaul.

 

[henriquejr]

System Shock Remaster will be kickstarted on 28th june? YAY!!!

 

[JDR13]

The gameplay will be smoother and more streamlined mostly due to the reworked interface.

Hmmm.. . Not sure how to interpret that. The word "streamlined" makes me nervous.

How will cyberspace be? Will it be close to the original?

We are redesigning Cyberspace - it will still serve the same purpose as it does in the original but the environment and visuals will receive a total overhaul.

Definitely not happy to hear that.