Henriquejr spotted a re-published article from PC Gamer about System Shock:

System Shock was the FPS that changed PC games forever

In this classic feature, Jim Rossignol looks back at the real reason BioShock exists.

We're digging into the PC Gamer archives to publish pieces from years gone by. This article was originally published in PC Gamer issue 182, Christmas 2007.

Back in the summer of 1994 everyone was getting excited about Doom 2. Everyone was wrong. The only game that mattered was System Shock.

It was a defining game for me, and for the handful of others who played it. Doom 2 was fun, but System Shock was changing our perceptions about what gaming could be. It was the big step forward from Ultima Underworld, with a physics system, realistic textured environments, complex AI, and a towering, terrifying story of isolation and persecution aboard a malevolent space station. This was the first showdown with megalomaniac computer SHODAN, and it's something I'll never forget.

[...]

The Digital Antiquarian looks closely at the development of System Shock.

Doug Church, the driving creative force behind Ultima Underworld, longed to create seamless interactive experiences, where you didn’t so much play a game as enter into its world. The Underworld games had been a big step in that direction within the constraints of the CRPG form, thanks to their first-person, free-scrolling perspective, their real-time gameplay, and, not least, the way they cast you in the role of a single embodied dungeon delver rather than that of the disembodied manager of a whole party of them. But Church believed that there was still too much that pulled you out of their worlds. Although the games were played entirely from a single screen, which itself put them far ahead of most CRPGs in terms of immediacy, you were still switching constantly from mode to mode within that screen. “I felt that Underworld was sort of [four] different games that you played in parallel,” says Church. “There was the stats-based game with the experience points, the inventory-collecting-and-managing game, the 3D-moving-around game, and there was the talking game — the conversation-branch game.” What had seemed so fresh and innovative a couple of years earlier now struck Church as clunky.

Ironically, much of what he was objecting to is inherent to the CRPG form itself. Aficionados of the genre find it endlessly enjoyable to pore over their characters’ statistics at level-up time, to min-max their equipment and skills. And this is fine: the genre is as legitimate as any other. Yet Church himself found its cool intellectual appeal, derived from its antecedents on the tabletop which had no choice but to reveal all of their numbers to their players, to be antithetical to the sort of game that he wanted to make next:

In Underworld, there was all this dice rolling going on off-screen basically, and I’ve always felt it was kind of silly. Dice were invented as a way to simulate swinging your sword to see if you hit or miss. So everyone builds computer games where you move around in 3D and swing your sword and hit or miss, and then if you hit you roll some dice to simulate swinging a sword to decide if you hit or miss. How is anyone supposed to understand unless you print the numbers? Which is why, I think, most of the games that really try to be hardcore RPGs actually print out, “You rolled a 17!” In [the tabletop game of] Warhammer when you get a five-percent increase and the next time you roll your attack you make it by three percent, you’re all excited because you know that five-percent increase is why you hit. In a computer game you have absolutely no idea. And so we really wanted to get rid of all that super opaque, “I have no idea what’s going on” stuff. We wanted to make it so you can watch and play and it’s all happening.

[...]

Today's the 25th anniversary of the original System Shock. PC Gamer reports that Nightdive Studios will celebrate on Twitch TV later today:

System Shock anniversary stream will feature Warren Spector and the voice of Shodan

Nightdive and Otherside are marking the 25th anniversary of System Shock later today.

Believe it or not, September 23—that's today—marks the 25th anniversary of the original System Shock, the groundbreaking immersive sim that introduced the insane AI Shodan to the world. To mark the big birthday, Nightdive Studios is holding a livestream later today that will feature chats with System Shock producer Warren Spector, designer Tim Stellmach, and the voice of Shodan herself, Terri Brosius.

[...]

Thanks henriquejr!

DSOGaming reported that System Shock has a new level editor.

Modder ‘dertseha’ has released a brand new level editor for the classic System Shock game. According to the modder, the previous “deck” Editor from InkyBlackness reached its limits, so it was necessary to think of a brand new editor. This new editor is called HackEd and its initial version is available for download.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

Gamewatcher reports on a new campaign mod for the original and GOG version of System Shock called ReWired.

...

The campaign of ReWired is set in the damp hallways of UNN Bismarck, a medical vessel that has been taken over by SHODAN. Once aboard, the player will have to seek out the source of this technological, but also biological infestation and root it out completely. The premise itself is, of course, fairly close to that of the original game, but that's just how it goes, and not to mention the fact that this is the very first fully-fledged mod campaign ever released for System Shock.

Since the mod is compatible both with the original build of the game as well as with the more up-to-date GOG version, there's no reason for you to skip out on this release if you're a fan of retro gaming.

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According to DSOGaming a fan remake of the first System Shock is in the works:

Citadel is an open-source fan remake of the first System Shock in Unity 5 Engine

I’m pretty sure that a lot of System Shock fans are a bit disappointed after what happened with its official remake. According to the latest reports, this remake now targets a 2020 release. However, we may actually a play a different remake of System Shock sooner than that. JosiahJack is currently working on an open-source fan remake of the classic System Shock game in Unity 5 Engine and has announced that he targets to release a beta version in Q3 2018.

As JosiahJack claimed, this project is now 80% complete and the team aims to release its first version on September 22nd, 2018. Of course nothing is set on stone yet and this fan project may get delayed. After all, it has been in development for a couple of years and originally targeted a 2015-2016 release.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

AesirAesthetics analyses System Shock and discovers the value of internal consistency.

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Hi there :D

This time we're exploring Cyberpunk, Sci-Fi, Body Horror and the most 90's name of them all;
SYSTEM SHOCK.
I'm using the Enhanced Edition as footage but don't let that detract from the meaning.
System Shock is one of those lost gems, the kinds that only show up so often so don't let it pass by, jump on this and explore one of gamings greatest hits.

AesirAesthetics takes a look back at the original System Shock:

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This time we're exploring Cyberpunk, Sci-Fi, Body Horror and the most 90's name of them all; SYSTEM SHOCK.
I'm using the Enhanced Edition as footage but don't let that detract from the meaning.
System Shock is one of those lost gems, the kinds that only show up so often so don't let it pass by, jump on this and explore one of gamings greatest hits.

Thanks Farflame!

@systemshock.org Stephen Kick from Night Dive Studios has started a thread to collect feedback from fans of System Shock 1 on what the new remake should do feature-wise. He reveals that they have discovered the source code to SS1 and will release it to the community. Some interesting nuggets of information in this thread.

Greetings Everyone,

This is Stephen Kick from Night Dive Studios and as most of you know we're currently developing a complete remake of the original System Shock. As we get further along we'd like to reach out to you, the Shock community that has kept the franchise alive for so many years for feedback, suggestions, ideas - anything that you'd like to share with us so that we can deliver an experience worthy of the Shock name.

...

We've also tracked down the source code to the original game and will be releasing it to the community once it's ready.

We will most likely be seeking crowd funding to complete the game so if you have any ideas for features you'd like to see, rewards, stretch goals, concerns, anything crowd funding related, please don't hesitate to share. This is a dream project for us and working with some of the original LG crew to bring you a faithful Shock experience has been an absolute pleasure - we can't wait to show you what we have in store.

[...]

Further on Stephen Kick answers some fan questions.

Thanks to everyone who shared suggestions and ideas so far - it's given us a lot to think about and consider. We're in the process of cataloging them all and will be discussing them internally. For now here are some answers/replies to some of them:

Quote from: antimatter_16 on 11. February 2016, 03:12:34

Multiplayer: This is another beast entirely and while I agree that co-op would be a great feature the amount of work involved will have to be carefully considered. It is something that's been brought up in discussion that we'll explore further down the line.
Level Editor & Mods: Mod support is another thing we'd love to include and would make a great stretch goal if we can determine the amount of work it will take to provide adequate tools to the community.
Soundtrack: We are composing a brand new soundtrack.

Quote from: Hikari on 11. February 2016, 07:17:16

...

Scaling UI
I have a 4K monitor and have experienced how non-scaling UI ruins workflows.

Remappable Controls.
We will have this.

Keep the horror house feel and sound.
We're completely re-designing the sounds, music, and atmosphere - it's still Shock, but it will be scarier. You'll finally get to see the full extent of Shodan's experiments on the crew members and the effect she's had on the station.

ZERO Micro-Transactions
We are saving these for our SHODAN themed Angry Bird mobile game ;)

Oh! A manual.
We are building a "TriOptimum Employee Handbook" that will be a prop from the game, and include the standard stuff from a game manual.

Quote from: ThiefsieFool on 11. February 2016, 08:49:32

I don't have much to say except this: make sure there are proper difficulty settings.We love the multiple difficulty levels in Shock and will be implementing a similar system.

Quote from: Join usss! on 11. February 2016, 12:32:13
-Try to nail combat harder than in the original game, as it is the core of the game yet was a little underwhelming If we're being honest here, even with all the player choice and freedom of movement.
We want the combat to be visceral and the weapons to have weight. One of my personal wishlist goals is to have a dynamic dismemberment system similar to dead space or the original soldier of fortune. There are so many great weapons in Shock, each one should damage enemies accordingly.

I also propose the typical hand-holders can be added exclusively to lower difficulties. Add new modifiers for navigation, namely objective markers.
Great idea.

Gameinformer tells us everything we need to know about the System Shock series:

Everything You Need To Know About System Shock

Otherside Entertainment, currently developing the Kickstarted Underworld Ascendant, has revealed that they're developing a new entry in the System Shock series, the last of which was released in the tail end of 1999. Here's why that's a big deal.

Back in 1994 gaming was in a very different place. Game demos were passed around on floppy disks. Doom and Civilization ruled the world. Windows 95 wasn't even a thing yet. Looking Glass Technologies, which housed innovators like Warren Spector (Deux Ex), Doug Church (Thief) and Harvey Smith (Dishonored), was known for the revolutionary role-playing series Ultima and wanted to create an immersive simulation that wasn't fantasy-based. They opted for science fiction, and System Shock, a first-person adventure game that cast players as a hacker going up against an artificial intelligence known as SHODAN hell-bent on destroying Earth, was born.

At first glance, the original System Shock looks like a Doom clone. There are pixelated corridors where all sorts of nightmares lumber and roll about, such as reprogrammed droids or humans who have mutated into zombies thanks to corrupted cybernetic implants, all of them looking to turn you into red paste. However, the similarities end there, as the game reveals its role-playing tendencies by requiring you to use an inventory system to store items and to loot the bodies of destroyed enemies. Player movement is a bit clumsy and so is using the cursor to interact with the inventory or objects in the environment. As a result, System Shock is a game where you have to exercise caution to survive since you can't rely on twitchy reflexes to save the day. You have to plan your battles carefully while lurking in the shadows, learning which weapons work best against which enemies. [...]

BTW: Format92 spotted that System Shock 3 is coming...

Daniel Jackson (Brash Games) reviewed the recently released GOG version of the cult RPG System Shock:

System Shock Enhanced Edition Review

Having been a big fan of the original DOS game back in the very distant past i was quite eager to see what the “Enhanced” version brought to the table, and i was not disappointed. Restored by Night Dive Studios the game has had a big graphical improvement along with other changes too, but nothing that changes the overall look and playability of the original game.

The original first released in 1994, created by Looking Glass Technologies on DOS and was a horror scifi adventure game set against a rogue artificial intelligence where you were tasked with investigating the dark and empty corridors on a mysterious space station.

Its the year 2072, you play a hacker who after being caught by the authorities is tasked with hacking a super AI called Shodan, who happens to be in control of the Citidel Station. Offered a highly sought after military upgrade in exchange for the hack. Once the hacking has been done the hacker has an operation to insert the new implant. Put into a coma to help the healing process the hacker wakes up 6 months later, only for the station to be deserted and now under the control of Shodan, the AI who was tasked to take down and has now gone rogue.

At the time of release it was praised for its immersion and FPS control system which was rare back in those days and brought scifi horror to the forefront of video games. With such mechanics as an inventory system, a solid fighting system and rich and moody story System Shock soon became the game to have. Ground breaking in its innovation and style of gameplay, System Shock went on to influence many games of today. Most believe that Bioshock is the spiritual successor, whether you think that or not but what this game brought to modern fps adventure games cannot be denied.

The enhanced version boasts higher resolutions up to 1024×768, an improved control system with mouse support and the ability to redefine and bind your controls, easy stuff these days but not way back then. The higher resolution is very noticeable once played side by side to the original, as are the cut scenes and are a vast improvement. You can clearly see the fluidity in the gameplay from the original.

This is not a remake though, a lot of people think it is, but its not, its an enhancement and nothing more. It still has the old school mechanics which at the time of release were just fine but by today standards they do tend to grip on you a bit. I suppose its a case of being spoiled by modern games of today. You still have the clunky controls and the mouse controls which have been added are not quite up to todays standards of fps shooters. The hit detection also needs a lot of work as you can spend way too much time trying to hit the enemies with a stick or gun but they need to be in a precise area for the attack to work.

Other than that the game is pretty much the same as it was back in 1994, now with better looking out of control androids and zombified humans, which in my eyes can only be a good thing. Don’t go into this expecting a huge change to the original format.

Now of course this is still a game from 1994 which holds up to a certain extent but obviously compared to games of the same ilk these days may struggle to hold your attention. That said if you loved the original and want to go back some scifi horror nostalgia then i highly recommend you get the enhanced version as the changes are aesthetic and don’t take away from the game you loved as a kid.

Score: 7/10

The original System Shock. Now available at gog.com.

System Shock: Enhanced Edition features:
- Higher resolution support: up to 1024x768, and 854x480 widescreen mode.
- Mouselook support added.
- Remappable keys with three profiles to choose from: original controls, custom controls, and lefthanded controls.
- Some original game bugs fixed.

...

L-look at you, hacker. A pathetic creature of meat and bone. Panting and sweating as you search for your wallet. How fast can you purchase a perfect, immortal game?

System shock is available for a launch discount. Get it while its hot!

Programmer Marc LeBlanc streamed a live play session on Twitch a few days ago with other developers who worked on the game, and shared there opinion on the game.

You also get a look behind the scenes of System Shock's development.

Edge Online has posted The Making Of System Shock 2, looking at the creation of the Looking Glass classic:

“Looking Glass was obviously a really impactful experience on me,” Levine explains. “It was my first job in the games industry. I’d met a lot of people who I really respected and admired – people whose legacy is more known to the intelligentsia of the gaming field, and is still being felt. I left because despite how talented the people were there, in some ways it was more like a university than a games company. There really was a dialogue about advancing the media, but not a lot about making successful products.”

Coming from a film-industry background, Levine felt the company needed to find a balance between art and commerce: “I thought, probably naively at the time, ‘Hey! I can do that’. I had no idea what that would actually mean, as I was a cocky guy who thought it’d be easy. We went off on our own and very quickly found it was challenging.” Almost fatally so. The company’s first project, a singleplayer version of early isometric shooter Fireteam, had been cancelled when its publisher decided to concentrate solely on multiplayer. This left Irrational at a loss, until Paul Neurath, head of Looking Glass, called with an opportunity. While they’d left Looking Glass, they were still on good terms with their previous employer. In fact, their half room was actually buried in a corner of the larger studio.

Neurath’s offer was incredibly open. Looking Glass had, in making Thief: The Dark Project, developed its own in-house engine. All of Irrational were experienced with it, having all worked on Thief. Why not make a game with it with us? Any game you fancy, really. “We immediately started designing,” Levine recalls.

System Shock - The Cutting Room Floor is a different feature, with the author crawling through the original System Shock's resource files to find unused items. Apparently System Shock has a "wide variety of unused, unfinished, or dummied-out items, textures, and enemies, as well as text, audio logs, and other miscellaneous graphics".

There's a retrospective of sorts on System Shock at G4TV that offers insight on why we'll never get a System Shock 3. Here's a sample:

So why can’t you buy the System Shock games through download services like Steam or Good Old Games, where it’s one of the most requested titles? And why hasn't anyone rebooted the series or created another sequel?

The answer is where things get messy.

EA's System Shock Story

In 2006, a trio of rumors hinted that Electronic Arts was making System Shock 3. First came a trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Then came a couple of unconfirmed reports in Shacknews and PC Gamer U.K., with the latter publication reporting that EA’s Redwood Shores studio was handling development.

But even if EA wanted to publish another System Shock, the company didn't have the rights to do so. Back when the original game was made, producer Warren Spector negotiated a deal in which EA got the trademark to the series, while the developers at Looking Glass Studios kept the rights. To create another System Shock game, you need both. "My thinking was it would force us to be married so it never would be that either party should be able to say we own that, we’re making the next game, screw you," Spector told the San Jose Mercury News last November.

In hindsight, the deal only jeopardized System Shock’s future. Looking Glass Studios closed in 2000, a year after System Shock 2's release, and the copyright to the series went into the hands of an insurance company. That left EA with only the System Shock name, but no actual development rights.

EvilKoala points us in the direction of a Rock, Paper, Shotgun newsbit about a mod for System Shock that adds mouselook, key configs and other niceties.  Many, many years ago, I remember ordering System Shock for my store and (at the time) dismissing it as "stupid" because I struggled to even move around.  History shows how wrong I was but it would be hard to underestimate how nice mouselook would be to replay this classic.

Read the RPS article here or head straight for the mod.

Following their article on memorable bastards, Resolution Magazine takes a look back at Looking Glass' System Shock:

So it’s an odd experience to be playing a game about technophobia and the future of computers, now we’re that much further down the road of digital progress. System Shock’s a game that sat between Doom and its sequel on the early-shooter release schedule, born of an era when the technology to power something deep and involving simply wasn’t available.

Or was it? System Shock may look crude on the outside, but revisiting it 15 years later leads to a surprising discovery. For all the low resolutions, blocky, primary-colour textures and sprite-based enemies, Looking Glass’ seminal FPS/RPG still works beautifully. Its heavy stylisation transcends digital horsepower. Its presentation still takes over each and every sense in turn. System Shock in no way feels 15 years old. It’s as modern, polished and captivating as anything you like. There’s a lesson there somewhere.