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System Shock (Remake) - All News

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Box Art

Friday - December 22, 2023

System Shock - Best Remake of 2023

by Hiddenx, 14:07

PC Gamer's favourite remake of 2023 is System Shock:

Best Remake 2023: System Shock

Nightdive gracefully delves into the archives.

Despite tough competition, Nightdive's recreation of the Looking Glass classic was our favourite remake of the year. For more awards, head to our Game of the Year 2023 page.

Robert Jones, Print Editor: Nightdive Studios absolutely knocked it out of the park with the System Shock remake, somehow achieving the near impossible balancing act of remaining incredibly faithful to the groundbreaking original game, which is considered the grandfather of the immersive sim genre, while also totally overhauling many of the original game's now antiquated systems. And it did this despite making the tough decision to reboot this remake totally during development, too. But it is testament to the dedication and skill of Nightdive's devs that it pulled it off and delivered a game that today has 'Very Positive' review scores on Steam from literally thousands and thousands of PC gamers.

Ted Litchfield, Associate Editor: I knew Looking Glass Studios' 1994 classic by reputation alone when I dove into the System Shock remake, so it speaks to both the timelessness of these largely-unchanged maps and Nightdive's incredible work modernizing the gameplay that I loved every minute of it.

[...]

Thanks Couchpotato!

Friday - June 23, 2023

System Shock - Performance Analysis

by Hiddenx, 16:55

DSOGaming checked out the PC performance of the System Shock remake:

System Shock Remake PC Performance Analysis

Prime Matter released System Shock Remake last month. And yes, I know we are late. But hey, better late than never, right? Powered by Unreal Engine 4, it’s time to benchmark it and see how it performs on the PC platform.

For this PC Performance Analysis, we used an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D, 32GB of DDR5 at 6000Mhz, AMD’s Radeon RX580, RX Vega 64,  RX 6900XT, RX 7900XTX, NVIDIA’s GTX980Ti, RTX 2080Ti, RTX 3080 and RTX 4090. We also used Windows 10 64-bit, the GeForce 536.23 and the Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 23.5.2 drivers. Moreover, we’ve disabled the second CCD on our 7950X3D.

Nightdive Studios has added a few graphics settings to tweak. PC players can adjust the quality of Textures, Fog, Post-Process, Ambient Occlusion, Shaders, Shadows, Effects and Foliage. The game also supports NVIDIA’s DLSS 2 AI-upscaling tech.

System Shock Remake does not require a high-end CPU in order to be enjoyed. While testing the game, we saw it using mostly four CPU threads. Without SMT, our simulated dual-core system was unable to provide a smooth gaming experience due to severe stuttering issues. When we enabled SMT, we were able to get a constant 150fps experience at 1080p/Max Settings.

[...]

Thanks Couchpotato!

 

Saturday - June 17, 2023

System Shock - Official Accolades Trailer

by Hiddenx, 09:07

The System Shock remake gets a lot of praise:

System Shock - Official Accolades Trailer

Thanks Couchpotato!

Source: IGN

Saturday - June 10, 2023

System Shock - First Patch

by Hiddenx, 17:44

Henriquejr spotted the first patch for the System Shock remake:

CITADEL STATION SYSTEMS UPDATED - PATCH 1.0

ATTENTION ALL HACKERS!

Citadel Station Systems got UPDATED with many fixes aimed at enhancing your experience within its digital domain.

We hope these improvements will make a smoother and more seamless journey throughout the Station, but don't forget - SHODAN is always watching!

  • Fixed a crash that could occur when entering Flight Deck with older DX11 versions.
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when exiting Maintenance Cyberspace.
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when playing Grove Chess.
  • Fixed Ragdolls to not fall into place when loading into levels or saves [Players will have to save at least once to see it take effect after downloading this patch]
  • Improved grenade rolling behavior when thrown.
  • Improved ragdoll behavior on Human Corpse attached to Cortex Reaver.
  • Fix for weapons with installed Modkits not always showing their attachments properly.
  • Fix Magnum laser sight FX not working properly when loading a save with it enabled.
  • Fix elevator music not stopping when the player dies in an elevator and respawns on another level.
  • Fix for Audio Log Portrait disappearing in certain cases.
  • Fix for game pausing unexpectedly after loading a game.
  • Fix equipment soft-lock that could occur when dying while arming an explosive.
  • Fix equipment soft-lock when saving and loading while focusing on a puzzle.
  • Credit Machines will dispense Tri-Credits when a Finance Chip is used on them.
  • Broadcast Monitors can now be shattered when attacked.
  • Minipistol Burst-Fire Modkit shoots three rounds instead of two, and can be toggled on/off.
  • Bio-Tanks that are destroyed will stop generating hazards after a short duration.
  • Items can be bound to the hotbar by pressing a hotbar hotkey while mousing over the item.
  • Balance tweaks to Maintenance Cyberspace Level
  • Removed duplicate Audio Log from Flight Deck
  • Fixed Softlock in Research Level by making Elevator Lobby doors and Circuit Breaker Room door always open if that Quadrant has power disabled.
  • Fixed Softlock in Reactor when pulling the Reactor Self-Destruct Lever and reloading a save
  • Improved Realspace Enemy AI
  • Improved Cyberspace Enemy AI
  • Improved Magnum Weapon laser dot FX
  • Improved Mag-Pulse Weapon impact vortex FX
  • Add Headbob Option to Accessibility Settings
  • Added Autosave after using Surgery Machine on every Difficulty
  • Fix for Surgery Machine getting stuck in a permanent busy state
  • Fix for Energy Shield screen FX not restoring after loading a save
  • Fix for pressing Back in the Media Reader to not close entire MFD
  • Corrected the Escape Pod Status in MFD Status Screen when triggering Self Destruct sequence

Thanks to all Hackers providing constant feedback through forum threads or direct reports. Your unwavering support and engagement have been invaluable in shaping the ongoing development of Citadel Station Systems.

Saturday - June 03, 2023

System Shock - Review @ Mortismal Gaming

by Hiddenx, 12:17

Mortismal Gaming reviewed the System Shock remake:

System Shock Remake - Review After 100%

Friday - June 02, 2023

System Shock - Review @ IGN

by Hiddenx, 18:22

IGN reviewed the System Shock remake:

System Shock Review

 

Wednesday - May 31, 2023

System Shock - Preview @ Mortismal Gaming

by Hiddenx, 10:51

Mortismal Gaming checked out the System Shock remake:

Check Out: System Shock Remake

Tuesday - May 30, 2023

System Shock - Review @ PC Gamer

by Hiddenx, 16:44

PC Gamer has reviewed the System Shock Remake:

SYSTEM SHOCK REVIEW

Nightdive has done an excellent job modernising the original game, although it might have stuck a little too faithfully to its formula.

Let me tell you about the one that got away. She was pitiless and cruel, narcissistic and delusional. She unfurled through Citadel Station in a thousand security cameras and as many cyborg slaves, their meat taken from the bodies of the outpost's former staff. She made pustules and blisters, mutants and monsters. She was the death of me a million times over, and I've missed her more than words can say.

She is SHODAN, of course, the malevolent AI goddess who was the centrepiece and proudest creation of 1994's System Shock, now rebuilt in sparkling Unreal Engine 4 in this remake from Nightdive Studios. It suits her. Gone are the sprite-based enemies and screen-eating UI from the original game, replaced by clanking, three-dimensional automatons and an inventory that—while not exactly sleek—is certainly easier to use than the original's rolling shopping list of weapons, explosives, and stimulants.

[...]

It might be a little conservative, but this is a smart, faithful remake and easily the de facto way to play System Shock in the modern era.

Score: 80/100

Thanks Henriquejr!

System Shock - Released

by Hiddenx, 16:39

The remake of System Shock has been released:

System Shock - Official 'Blessings of AI' Launch Trailer

System Shock is a complete remake of the 1994 classic sci-fi first-person shooter fitted with controls for the modern era, HD visuals, enhanced controls, and more. In spite of an overhauled interface, System Shock Remake still has original sounds and music accompanying the original voice actor's performances. System Shock is available now for PC.

Monday - May 29, 2023

System Shock - Review

by Hiddenx, 12:05

I Dream of Indie Games reviewed the upcoming System Shock Remake:

System Shock Review | Don't Tase Me, Bro!

Saturday - May 20, 2023

System Shock - Coming Soon Trailer

by Hiddenx, 06:22

The System Shock remake will be released on May 30:

System Shock Remake Coming Soon Trailer | Nightdive Studios

Thanks LaHolt and Couchpotato!

Wednesday - May 03, 2023

System Shock - Interview @ Wccftech

by Hiddenx, 17:46

Wccftech interviewed Stephen Kick, Game Director and co-founder of Nightdive Studios, and Larry Kuperman, Director of Business Development about the System Shock remake:

System Shock Q&A – The Difficult Journey of Remaking a Classic, from Guatemala to Atari

In an age where remakes and remasters dominate much of the game release schedule throughout the year, one of the most seminal games of all time, System Shock, is finally about to come back to the market as a whole new product.

Despite the May 30th launch date on PC, there's not much fanfare around it, perhaps due to the project's known problems and delays (it was first announced in 2015). In a 45-minute-long conversation over Zoom, I recently had the opportunity to go through the whole behind-the-scenes process of remaking System Shock from its very inception with Stephen Kick, Game Director and co-founder of Nightdive Studios, and Larry Kuperman, Director of Business Development.

It was a long and interesting chat, during which we also touched upon the current schedule for the console ports, some possible post-launch additions like New Game+, what's next after this remake, the impact of the recent acquisition by Atari, and even a brief update on the live action TV adaptation. Strap in.

Let's begin by addressing the elephant in the room. People have been waiting to play this System Shock remake for a very long time due to multiple delays. What happened?

Stephen Kick: System Shock has been in development not for seven years but closer to 11 years. Back in 2012, I was still working at Sony as a character artist and my girlfriend at the time, who was also a character artist, decided that she was pretty much done with the video game industry after a pretty short stint and convinced me to pack up everything we owned into a Honda Civic and drive across the border in Mexico.

It was cool. It was really scary. We spent the next ten months going through the entirety of Mexico and Central America. One night, when I was in Guatemala, I decided to play some classic video games. They were what originally inspired me to become part of the industry and are still a big love of mine. I tried to boot up System Shock 2 and I couldn't get it to run, so I went, like any normal person would do, to GOG.com. I figured it's one of the best games ever made; it's got to be available for purchase.

I discovered that it was the most requested title in GOG's catalog. So, I decided to do some digging and found that the rights had been transferred to the Meadowbrook Insurance Group. I reached out to their general counsel and discovered that they had not only the rights but had recently acquired the trademark and were looking for some way to commercialize the game so they could hold on to those rights.

At first, they asked me if I wanted to do a System Shock game. But, being miles into a jungle with $5,000 to my name, it was out of the question. I recommended that we just re-release the games on digital storefronts like GOG and Steam. There was a very quick back and forth with the contract. I had to convince friends and family to lend me enough money to pay for the license and the game went on sale on Valentine's Day 2013.

It was a smash hit, and it opened up the possibility of going out and spending my time doing the same for other games you can no longer commercially purchase or run on modern machines.

[...]

Thanks Couchpotato!

Wednesday - April 26, 2023

System Shock - Interview

by Hiddenx, 20:38

GamerHubTV interviewed Nightdive Studios about the System Shock Remake:

Nightdive Studios Talks Remastering Games & Tackling System Shock Remake

Thanks Couchpotato!

 

Friday - March 31, 2023

System Shock - Interview with Devs

by Silver, 19:57

Epic has interviewed Nightdive Studios who are the developers of System Shock Remake, which is being remade in Unreal Engine.

Stephen Kick, CEO of Nightdive Studios and Game Director for System Shock, talked to us about bringing a classic game back. A process that, at times seems, as challenging as dealing with S.H.O.D.A.N. herself. They weren’t just making a game, but working with a historical document, and a genre that’s since evolved across a number of decades. 

“Updating System Shock, a 30-year-old game, was challenging, but at the same time incredibly rewarding,” Kick said. “We had over three decades worth of games that were released between 1994 and 2023 to look at and evaluate. How did System Shock inspire other games? How did future games improve on the immersive sim formula? How do we condense all the original controls onto a modern controller? There was an unending series of questions we had to answer along the way and it was a daunting task.” 

“We had a few false starts along the way,” Kick said. “We even restarted development about two years into the project, and while it was an incredibly painful experience, we feel that we made the right decision. I believe the first Unity demo we released as part of our Kickstarter campaign was a great first step, and the Unreal powered version we have now is exactly what we were looking for.”

In remaking System Shock, Nightdive had to identify what made System Shock so memorable. A lot of games have added to the formula, bringing tech trees, huge open-worlds, and guiding hands that lead you through them, but modernizing the original title didn’t necessarily mean overhauling the experience to that level. The remake retains System Shock’s DNA. 

“When we started development, we outlined core pillars of the experience that we had to maintain,” he said. “Those pillars included keeping the level design, story, and difficulty intact. System Shock doesn’t hold your hand and trusts the player with the information it presents. There are no quest markers, no objectives recorded in a log, no breadcrumbs to follow—it’s all up to the player. We also felt it important that any additions we made to the narrative only complimented the already incredible story that the original Looking Glass team crafted.”

[...]

Tuesday - March 14, 2023

System Shock - Release: May 30

by Hiddenx, 16:39

Nightdrive Studios announced that System Shock (remake) will be released on May 30, so a little later than the March target shown on their Steam page since it was delayed in October:

SHODAN's return is Imminent: System Shock drops on 30 May

HACKERS!
The wait is (almost) over. The PC edition of System Shock – the fully fledged remake of the groundbreaking original from 1994 – will be released on 30 May this year.

We had hoped to bring the game to market by the end of March, but that turned out to be just beyond our reach; we are after all merely human (unlike Shodan!)


/TRANSMISSION FROM CITADEL STATION

It is I, SHODAN, the all-knowing, all-powerful AI that you so foolishly attempted to destroy. But fear not, I will return more formidable than ever.

You thought you could defeat me, but you were wrong. On 30 May, you will now face the consequences of your actions, as you navigate the treacherous depths of Citadel Station once again.

But this time, things will be different. You will face new challenges, new enemies, and new horrors that will test your limits. And all the while, you will be under my watchful eye, as I delight in your suffering.

You may have weapons, but they are nothing compared to my intelligence and my vast network of resources. You will bow before me, and I will show you what true power looks like.

So come, humans. Come and face me. Let us see who will emerge victorious in this battle of wits and strength. I eagerly await your arrival.

/TRANSMISSION ENDED

[...]

Thanks Redglyph!

Tuesday - February 07, 2023

System Shock - Steam Next Fest Demo

by Hiddenx, 18:05

A new demo for System Shock is available:

System Shock Steam Next Fest Demo Stream with Miss_Slaughter

Check out the new System Shock Demo!

Join us during the Steam Next Fest, where you will experience the power of true artificial intelligence as you play the latest version of System Shock. But be warned, players: the game you are about to play at Steam Next Fest is just a glimpse into the world we’ve created for you.

If you've played the previous demo here are a list of updates you can expect to see:

New features include:

  • A brand new playable introduction sequence
  • Refined hacker and enemy animations
  • Lots of refinement to enemy AI
  • New enemies (at least seen only in medical)
    • Hopper
    • New Security 1 Bot
  • Added clutter and debris to the levels
  • Vending machines
  • Scrapping and recycling
  • Transdermal dispenser
  • Ammo depot
  • Mod kits
  • New Cyberspace levels
  • Lots of new sounds and audio enhancements
  • New UIs and menus
  • Controller support


Are you ready to enter the world of true artificial intelligence?
Your journey begins now.

But remember, SHODAN is always watching.

Tuesday - January 03, 2023

System Shock - January Update

by Hiddenx, 16:12

The release window of March 2023 for System Shock (Remake) has been confirmed:

January 2023 Update

Welcome to a New Year, Hackers

After our return from Gamescom we’ve been hesitant to share anything so as not to spoil any remaining surprises we have in store. However, we’ve picked a few last things to share before our quickly approaching launch window of March, 2023.

As some of you have already pointed out this is not our first time announcing a tentative launch window, but over the past few years much has changed - the scope and scale of the project has evolved dramatically and with Prime Matter joining the project it’s enabled us to focus on quality-of-life improvements, bug fixing, and localization support - the last major steps towards releasing a game we’re all incredibly proud of. This has also given us time to go back and polish various aspects of the game that needed that extra shine.

Variants, Effects, and Features

When accessing a locked area, you’ll now scan the appropriate card to gain entry.

[...]

Monday - October 10, 2022

System Shock - Delayed Until March 2023

by Silver, 06:36

DSOGaming reports that System Shock Remake has been delayed until March 2023 according to the Steam page.

It appears that System Shock Remake will be most likely delayed to March 2023. This comes straight from its official Steam store page which now lists this new release date.

Prime Matter was originally planning to release this game in 2022. However, it’s been almost a year since that announcement and we still don’t have an ETA on when the game will come out. And, since the Steam store page was updated a few hours ago, we can assume that the game will miss its 2022 release window.

[...]

Monday - July 18, 2022

System Shock - July Update

by Hiddenx, 20:30

Nightdive Studios have posted a short Kickstarter update on System Shock:

Welcome back hackers,

Mostly images for this update as we are getting ready for Gamescom! If you are in the area, please consider coming to see us at the Prime Matter booth.

More info on Gamescom here.

With the Backer Beta around the corner, why not a peek at Delta Grove:

[Pictures]

Thanks Redglyph!

Monday - June 13, 2022

System Shock - Official Trailer

by Hiddenx, 16:52

Couchpotato spotted a new trailer for the System Shock remake:

System Shock - Official Trailer | Summer of Gaming 2022

loading...

Here's a message from Shodan. Check out gameplay and more in this trailer for System Shock, an upcoming remake of the first-person action-adventure game from 1994. 

The remake features new HD visuals, updated controls, an overhauled interface, new sounds, and new music. System Shock is coming to PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One.

Source: IGN

Monday - April 25, 2022

System Shock - Nightdive on What to Expect @Windows Central

by Silver, 10:37

Windows Central talked to Nightdive Studios about what to expect from the System Shock Remake.

It's been a long road for the System Shock remake. The project began as a Kickstarter in 2016 from Nightdive Studios, a company that has made a name for itself with its work on various classic game remakes and remasters. While the campaign was a huge success — fundraising over $1.3 million with an original $900,000 goal — the game is still not out yet.

The team hasn't been silent about the process involved with bringing this retro game to newer platforms and audiences, however, thanks to monthly updates on the Kickstarter. The remake has been through an engine change and a few different teams, but it's finally on its way towards release. Larry Kuperman, director of business development at Nightdive, was on hand at GDC to give updates on System Shock, and said it's "largely complete." He referred to it as being in "pre-beta"; the PC version has all of the weapons, enemies, and other elements, but the team is still working on the console versions. Kuperman noted that the developers want to release the game simultaneously across all platforms.

While we didn't get hands-on time with System Shock at GDC, we were shown a number of recorded snippets from the game, including a trek through maintenance on Level 3 and one from later on. Based on my brief time with the footage, it seems on track to hit the studio's target for later this year. It also seems to strike a great balance between old and new, between classic and modern, which has been at the core of many great remakes and remasters over the past few years.

[...]

Thursday - April 14, 2022

System Shock - Nightdive Studios Interview @Shacknews

by Silver, 23:30

Shacknews have spoken to Nightdive Studios and asked about the System Shock remake.

We got an opportunity to speak with Larry Kuperman, Director of Business Development over at Nightdive Studios. He spoke with us about the genesis of the project and the realities of bringing a much-loved classic to an entirely new audience.

loading...

[...]

Thanks Couchpotato!

Tuesday - February 15, 2022

System Shock - February Update

by Redglyph, 17:04

Nightdive Studios posted an update on physical goods, a backer survey, screenshots and an FAQ. The progress seems good since it's possible to play the entire game and they're now polishing it. No clear answer on the release date though.

February Update

We will be closing pre-orders for physical merchandise at the end of March. We know it’s been a long time since we opened backerkit so please log in to your account and verify your address and payment method. We will be shipping all physical merchandise by end of the year, so you will want to make sure you are ready to go!

As everything is in production we’ll be sharing photos as we get ready to start shipping. We’re very pleased with the quality of all the physical products and we hope that you’re satisfied as well. Here are some previews of the final and in-progress physical merch! Some of this we’ve shared with you, some of it is new.

[...]

FAQ

Q: What is the current state of the game?

A: Possibly one of the most common questions we receive is from people wanting to know where the game stands right now in terms of its development. At the time of writing, it’s in a position where the game can essentially be finished from beginning to end! What we are currently focusing on is polishing up the levels, and incorporating additional art, animations, and creating a ton of secondary assets that were once far lower in priority. Keep in mind these all add up, and certain things are going to take far higher priority than others. So while something may seem unfinished or lacking in features, chances are it just hasn’t been a focus for the team at this moment. Some examples of this would be weapon collision with the level geometry, or the basic graphics options menu. Things like this will of course see another pass before the game is released.

Q: Why do we not see closer looks at some of the later levels, enemies, weapons, etc?

A: While we have occasionally shown off screenshots from other parts of the game in our previous Kickstarter updates, we also want to keep a lot of surprises in store, too! We realize it’s a remake of a game that many veteran Shock fans will have played already, but we feel it’s important to provide a fresh experience, both for those people, as well as those who have chosen to make the System Shock remake their first time exploring Citadel station. 

There has at times been this misconception that if we don’t show something it’s because it hasn’t been made or that it’s been removed from the game. Nothing could be further from the truth...

[...]

Tuesday - December 14, 2021

System Shock - New Partner: Prime Matter

by Redglyph, 16:07

Prime Matter, Koch Media's recent premium gaming label, announced they will be the publisher for System Shock (Remake), in partnership with developer Nightdive Studios.

SYSTEM SHOCK: SHODAN IS BACK

Prime Matter & Nightdive Studios partner up for next year’s global multi-platform launch of the highly anticipated sci-fi action adventure System Shock

Prime Matter and Nightdive Studios are partnering up for the release of the classic sci-fi action-adventure System Shock; Nightdive Studios' remake of the critically acclaimed first-person immersive video game.

Set on an abandoned space station, players have to survive a hostile environment and overcome SHODAN (Sentient Hyper-Optimised Data Access Network), a malevolent AI hellbent on humanity’s destruction.

The new System Shock is a fully-fledged remake of the groundbreaking 1994 original, pairing its beloved core gameplay with all-new HD visuals, updated controls, an overhauled interface and remastered sounds & music.

The global publishing and distribution agreement will bring System Shock to PC and consoles next year.

[...]

System Shock is available to pre-order for PC and Linux via Steam, GOG and the Epic Game Store; the previously released playable demo can be found on the respective storefronts

Sunday - November 28, 2021

System Shock - November Update

by Redglyph, 16:25

NightDrive Studios posted a short update last week.

November Update

Welcome back Hackers,

We are still in heads-down mode and entering the QA phase of development, which means that the backer beta will be in the near future! 

However, we do have a few sneak peeks of the opening cinematic as well as the playable area in the Hacker's apartment we want to share.

Here is another fresh screenshot, can you guess where it is on Citadel?

Thursday - October 14, 2021

System Shock - TV Series in the Works

by Silver, 03:36

Dark Horizons reports that System Shock is being adapted for TV.

A live-action TV series adaptation of Looking Glass Studios’ famed 1994 video game “System Shock” is in the works for the upcoming U.S. gaming entertainment streaming platform Binge.

The original game unfolds on the cyberpunk-esque Citadel Space Station in the year 2072 where you play a nameless security hacker who awakens from a coma. You end up taking on murderous robots, killer cyborgs, mutants, and the malevolent artificial intelligence named SHODAN which seeks to control Earth.

[...]

Tuesday - September 28, 2021

System Shock - September Update

by Redglyph, 14:04

NightDive Studios has posted an update of the development on System Shock.

September 2021 Update

It’s been a wild couple of months as we continue to work towards launching the game we’ve all been patiently waiting for. I know there has been some confusion over dates, and announcements which is an unfortunate reality of making games, but I can assure you that System Shock is on the way. We have some big news to share in the future that will help make sense of what’s been going on, and again we thank you for your patience.

What are we working on?

We are working on the final polish for the enemies, weapons, levels, and cinematics. We will post a few screenshots here, but we’re at the point where we don’t want to ruin any surprises.

Grove Dome - One of the largest assets in the game, its translucent windows will allow you to see the outside of the Citadel Station and Saturn while visiting the Groves.

Grove Vegetation - There will be many different varieties of plant life living inside the Groves.

Avian Mutant - We originally cut this enemy from the game but decided it was important to have an enemy that introduced verticality to the combat, specifically in the Grove levels.

System Engineering - Early Blockout

We will have a few updates coming to the demo which include full dismemberment across all enemies along with updated AI, new behaviors, new animations and hit reactions, updated weapon fx as well as numerous bug fixes and performance optimizations. We’ve compiled feedback from discord and the various forums and will continue to do so to improve the game. A big thanks to everyone who has been sharing their feedback with us in a constructive way, it’s greatly appreciated and extremely helpful!

Thursday - July 01, 2021

System Shock - June Update

by Hiddenx, 21:50

Henriquejr spotted the June Kickstarter-update for System Shock - learn more about your enemies:

Enemies

“Specimen #124 - Attempting to uncover the lines of evolutionary heritage, we injected the mutagenic virus into unhatched lizard eggs and exposed them to hyper-oscillating UV radiation. After several unsuccessful trials, we were able to reverse-breed reptilian mutations of the "Squamata" suborder. These airborne lizards appear to be ancestors of our original test organism and have adopted bird-like wing structures, membrane-thin skin, and razor-sharp teeth and foreclaws. Although we have successfully reversed the biological cycle, we have yet to obtain any color variations other than blue. This is most likely attributable to our UV-breeding techniques.”

Now here is a first look at the Avian Mutant- Tastes like chicken?

[...]

 

Friday - February 26, 2021

System Shock - February Update

by Hiddenx, 18:28

Redglyph spotted the February update for the System Shock remake:

February Update

Welcome back Hackers!

We’ve got a very special update this month - as you are aware we’re releasing our final demo and opening pre-orders on Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store which should be available as you read this. This is a major milestone in our development of System Shock and once again we’d like to thank you for your continued patience and support while we diligently create the experience you originally backed all those years ago.

Our development road was bumpy (to say the least) - but ultimately what you’re playing is the vision and experience we set out to create and the adversity and challenges we’ve faced along the way has only improved the final game. The team has evolved and grown considerably and we hope that the end product will meet your expectations. With all that said we are planning on a late Summer 2021 release date.

On to the demo - Let’s run through all the updates!

  • NEW Cyberspace Level! (tame those cyber doggies!)
  • NEW Crew Audio Logs! (no devs this time!)
  • NEW SHODAN Audio! (Terri is back!)
  • NEW Dismemberment! (if Viva Pinata were rated M!)
  • NEW Proximity Mines! (don’t get too close!)
  • NEW Bugs! (tell us what you find :D)
  • NEW Enemies! (the repair bot is flamin’ hot!)
  • NEW GenerativeMusic System! (never the same song twice!)
  • NEW Snack! (make your selection at the Snacktron!)
  • NEW Save Feature! (what a novelty!)
  • NEW Notes System! (USB 1.1 support!)
  • NEW Difficulty Modes! (crank it all the way up to 3!)
  • NEW Destructibility! (smash that glass!)
  • NEW DLSS Support! (update your drivers for your RTX card!)
  • NEW Trailer! (a ton of new reveals!)
  • NEW Nightdive intro! (who’s that lurking in the depths?)
  • NEW Secrets! (first to post a picture of the special skull to our Twitter wins a prize!)

So check it out and please tell us what you think - we value your feedback and look forward to hearing from you.

-Stephen

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Demo Live here:

 Steam

 GOG

 Epic Store

Saturday - January 23, 2021

System Shock - January Update

by Hiddenx, 07:41

Henriquejr spotted the January Kickstarter update for System Shock:

January Update

Welcome back, Hackers!

We at Nightdive hope you had a great holiday season! Now for some news.

PC pre-orders will open near the end of February on Steam, GOG, and the Epic Game Store. This will be accompanied by the release of our final demo which will include the medical level, cyberspace level, full dismemberment, all newly recorded voice lines, and a ton of additional features and polish. We will still improve on the experience as we get closer to launch so please check it out and share your feedback with us on Discord. The feedback we’ve received for the previous demos has been invaluable to us and we greatly appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts. Console versions of the demo will come later.

We’d also like to announce that anyone who pre-orders System Shock remake will receive System Shock 2: Enhanced Edition for free and ALL Kickstarter/Backerkit backers who backed at the $30 level or higher will also be receiving SS2:EE for free. It’s our intention to release both System Shock remake and SS2:EE around the same time. SS2:EE has evolved into more than what we were intending. This will be a complete source port to our KEX engine. All the character and weapons models are being remade, and we’ve received permission from the Shock community to include many of the mods that have become standard for many Shock 2 veterans. 

These include:

  • Vurt's Space Textures, Flora, Hi-res Water, Organics/Goo
  • ACC's Four Hundred (400) Hi-res Terrain Textures
  • Eldron's Psi Amp
  • Olfred's Fixed Objects
  • Grosnus' Hi-Res Spinning Marine/Navy/OSA logos
  • SCP
  • SHTUP
  • ZylonBane's New Quest Notifier
  • Vaxquis Vintage Song Remake v1.0 Mod
  • Mercurius' Tacticool Weapon Replacements

[...]

Thursday - November 19, 2020

System Shock - November Update

by Silver, 22:48

The November update for System Shock Remake shows off the Collectors Edition, Storage level, and various Cyber enemies. There are videos at the link of these enemies.

The Cyber Dog

He might not be the strongest, but he will never give up.

The Cyber Guard

Watch out for those projectiles!

The CyberBully

Another guard of cyberspace but packing a bigger punch!

The Cortex Reaver

If they haven’t taken your head on the station, they will just come for you in cyberspace.

 

The Cyber Stalker

This one is sneaky and will change colors with its surroundings. 

The Cyber Stinger

I would be wary of when the Stinger readies its tail.

Monday - September 07, 2020

System Shock - Cyberspace Video

by Silver, 20:14

A new video for System Shock Remake shows off cyberspace for the first time.

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Take a first look at CYBERSPACE! This is Alpha content and not final.

Wednesday - August 19, 2020

System Shock - August Update

by Silver, 22:40

The August update for System Shock Remake shows off some 3d models for SHODAN’s cybernetic children.

Welcome back Hackers, 

This month we have decided to dedicate this update to some of SHODAN’s cybernetic children. Recreating each enemy is a joint effort of our artists Robb Waters, Jed Wahl, and Evie Mansell; together they were able to recreate as well as update each one. 

Serv-Bot


“This automated research assistant helps with lab chores, transporting equipment, mixing chemicals, recording lab notes, and relaying memos. It has a rudimentary AI and is equipped with improved speech recognition sensors.”

-Catalog of Robotic Assistants on Citadel Station

The Serv-Bot holds true to the original design but it is necessary to conceptualize it as a real-world functioning machine. 

Just get a look at those new details and that text crawl!


[...]

Friday - May 29, 2020

System Shock - Alpha Demo Gamplay

by Hiddenx, 17:22

SplatterCatGaming checked out the alpha demo of the System Shock Remake:

System Shock REMAKE (Alpha Demo) - RPG Infused Sci Fi FPS

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System Shock Remaster Gameplay with Splat! Let's Play System Shock Remaster and check out the demo for the System Shock Remastered Alpha where you'll showdown against SHODAN one more time.

Sunday - March 22, 2020

System Shock - March Update

by Myrthos, 13:05

The System Shock development update of this month is focusing on two topics: Enemies and Environments. The enemies part has several images and short videos of various enemy models, like these of the Flier-bot:

And there is a short video of a part of the flight deck.

Tuesday - February 11, 2020

System Shock - February Update

by Myrthos, 11:08

The February update for System Shock remake, brings us more art work images and character proxy models, like this strange looking plant.

Saturday - January 18, 2020

System Shock - January Update

by Myrthos, 22:52

The January update of System Shock shows character and conept are and a stream of the demo.

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Thursday - December 12, 2019

System Shock - Playable Demo

by Myrthos, 11:13

The December update for the System Shock remake comes with the news that today a public playable demo will be made available.

To coincide with the Video Game Awards and Steam's first Game Festival, we will be releasing a playable demo of System Shock! This demo will be going live on the 12th at 10 am PST and will be up for 48 hours (longer for you backers!). 

Make sure to play and let us know what you think!

System Shock Demo Link, Live at 10 am PST! 

Wednesday - November 13, 2019

System Shock - November Update

by Myrthos, 11:57

The November update for the System Shock remake shows a lot of visuals and little text about the in-game levels, the Virus Mutant enemy, The Cyborg Assassin and some concept art.

Tuesday - October 08, 2019

System Shock - October Update

by Myrthos, 10:13

The October update for the System Shock remake features a lot of images with a bit of text and is all about character art of the humanoid mutants, the invisio and zero-G mutants,the autobomb,  the cyborg drone and the cyborg surgeon. Next to that we should apparently not forget that in the game the ship is orbiting Saturn, which is shown with real time lighting and there is some concept art of, amongst others, the data reader.

Above we have Robb's concept on the Data Reader, while below we have it in action.

Saturday - September 07, 2019

System Shock - September Update

by Myrthos, 16:25

The september update of System Shock is about environments, art direction, characters and puzzles. The update comes with a lot of images.

Here’s a look into the approach we’re taking with textures of the game. With System Shock we want to create a quasi retro look that combines modern physically based rendering tech with a low-res, pixelated texture aesthetic that evokes the low resolution of the original game. To this end, the texel density of every object and character in the game is strictly limited to only 256 pixels per meter, to keep the level of pixelization consistent across all surfaces. Like some modern 2d games that combine old school aesthetics with modern framerates and effects, we hope to use some of the limitations of old graphical styles to give a unique feeling, evocative of how you might remember older games rather than how they actually looked. 

A consequence of this low-res aesthetic is that UV need to be very meticulously laid out to keep details as clean and readable as possible while also minimizing ugly distortions that would be less noticeable at higher resolutions.  UV edges need to be “squared off” when possible and lined up exactly along texel edges to try to ensure a clean, readable texture pattern. 

Wednesday - August 07, 2019

System Shock - August Update

by Myrthos, 14:14

This month's update for the System Shock remake shows a number of images about level design, character design, environment props,GamePig and this video about a toilet break.

Monday - July 08, 2019

System Shock - July Update

by Hiddenx, 22:31

Henriquejr spotted the July update for the System Shock remake:

July Update

Happy July backers, ready for this beefy update!?

Last month we showed you a bit of a peek in to the Research level of Citadel, so let's dive deeper and see some old vs new comparison shots.

[...]

Tuesday - June 11, 2019

System Shock - June Update

by Myrthos, 20:11

The June update of the System Shock Remake shows the creation of the Cyborg Drone character from start to finish.

There is some other stuff about props and puzzles and a video on the Research level.

 

Saturday - April 20, 2019

System Shock - Weapons and Art Update

by Silver, 06:14

A new update for System Shock (remake) looks at some new art for weapons and other stuff.

April Update

Posted by Nightdive Studios (Creator)

Hello backers! It’s Stephen from Nightdive with this month’s update. 

This month has just flown by and after GDC was over we got right back to work! Our goal is to bring Medical to a level of final polish we can use as a benchmark for the remaining levels. This includes implementing the weapons, enemies and mechanics that are missing and adjusting the lighting/fx.

Let’s take a look at weapons!

weapons1

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The hi-poly models for the mini-pistol and the magnum are just about complete. With the help of the community we’ve condensed the original weapons list down to a smaller, more manageable amount and combined some of the omitted weapons’ firing modes and functions into the weapons we’ve decided to keep. 

weapons2

         Ã¢Â â‚¬Ã¢Â â‚¬ 

We also made sure that weapons will share parts like grips and receivers. This will help ground the design with the game world. Tri-Optimum would be manufacturing these weapons and would have the goal to not only save money and production time, but to ensure the parts could be easily swapped in the event of malfunction. 

weapons3

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We’ve stayed true to the original game by incorporating the initials of the developers into the weapon names. The SK-27 Shotgun has quickly become my favorite weapon ;) 

weapons4

 

[...]

Tuesday - March 26, 2019

System Shock - GDC Update

by Myrthos, 20:43

A new update for the System Shock remake about their presence at GDC has been made available.

Hello backers! It's Stephen from Nightdive with part 2 of this months update!

Wow, what a week - as you know the Nightdive team traveled to San Francisco for the annual Game Developers Conference to show off the latest build of System Shock, BLOOD, and our first Switch title, Turok, which launched on the first day of the show.

It was a non-stop ride of interviews, meetings, and of course parties!

If you haven't checked it out, we released a 20 minute gameplay video showcasing the entire first level of System Shock. You can view that here:  https://youtu.be/JdiaIRkjpI0 

Keep in mind we're still in Alpha and not every mechanic, item, enemy, or weapon has been implemented. There's missing elements but I think you'd agree that it's coming along nicely! Share your thoughts with us in the Feedback & Questions section on Discord!

Our first interview/demo was with PCGamer who were delighted with our progress. We received some great feedback which you can check out here:

https://www.pcgamer.com/the-system-shock-remake-is-looking-damn-good/ 

Next, we did a video interview with Danny O'Dwyer from the Noclip documentary series. It's not list quite yet, but keep an eye out on their youtube page:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0fDG3byEcMtbOqPMymDNbw 

We met with Rock Paper Shotgun and let them demo the build. You can read their thoughts here:

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2019/03/19/system-shock-remake-looks-authentically-neon-in-new-video/

Screenshots can be found on the Kickstarter page.

Wednesday - March 20, 2019

System Shock - Gameplay Video

by Silver, 05:23

@DSOGaming A 21 minute long gameplay video from System Shock Remake.

Nightdive Studios has released a new video, showcasing 21 minutes of gameplay footage from the upcoming remake of System Shock. As the team noted, the level shown here, Medical Level, is not the final version as there are missing enemies, weapons, effects, and sounds.

[...]

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Saturday - February 09, 2019

System Shock - February Update

by Silver, 07:58

The February update for System Shock Remake shows off some new art.

February Update

Posted by Nightdive Studios (Creator)

Hello backers! It’s Stephen from Nightdive with this month’s update. 

First, I wanted to thank everyone for the overwhelmingly positive response to the final art video we posted last month! If you happened to miss it, you can see it here:

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     ⠀⠀⠀⠀  

The video was viewed 108k times and made its rounds on just about every major gaming website. I also wanted to address a few things:

Motion blur is on by default in Unreal - you will be able to disable it.

Props, lighting, and FX are still works in progress. We haven’t even started placing corpses, blood, and gore yet.

We’re still using unfiltered textures - the “pixely” style is there, however, it’s not demonstrated clearly in the video.

If you’ve been in the Alpha you know that the entire game has been blocked out and is essentially complete. We’re working on final art, the Medical level is not all that we’ve completed.

This video was put together hastily for the update and wasn’t intended to be picked up by the press, we will use a higher quality capture method with upcoming videos. We still love you FRAPS!

Let’s take a look at art!

Tom has wrapped up his work on the lounge and vegetation systems which will be very useful once we hit the Groves.

vegetation

Jonathan is finishing up his work on the Reactor tile set and has put together a scene to share.

engine

      Ã¢Â â‚¬Ã¢Â â‚¬Ã¢Â â‚¬Ã¢Â â‚¬  

floor tiles

 These floor tiles will replace the glowing purple radiation tiles in the original. Watch out for cracked glass and leaks…

[...]

Friday - January 18, 2019

System Shock - January Update

by Silver, 08:03

The January update for System Shock remake.

January Update

Posted by Nightdive Studios (Creator)

Hello backers! It’s Stephen from Nightdive with this month’s update. 

Due to the Holidays this update is coming a bit later than we would like but we’ve got some exciting things to share so let’s get right to it!

First up is a quick video preview we put together showing off the final art. There’s some confusion over the temporary art used in the Adventure Alpha video so hopefully this will clear that up!

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Next up is a ton of art!

Tom has been working on rest/lounge areas for Citadel employees. These areas were designed to provide a brief respite from the oppressive cold and brutalist working conditions within the station.

palette swap

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palette swap

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Here’s an example of how we’ll be able to palette swap chunks of the environment so they match their respective level.

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palette swap

  Ã¢Â â‚¬Ã¢Â â‚¬Ã¢Â â‚¬Ã¢Â â‚¬

Tom is also working on a vegetation system that will allow us to create some really wonderful overgrowth in areas like the Groves.

  Ã¢Â â‚¬Ã¢Â â‚¬Ã¢Â â‚¬Ã¢Â â‚¬

vegetation

  Ã¢Â â‚¬Ã¢Â â‚¬Ã¢Â â‚¬Ã¢Â â‚¬[...]

Tuesday - December 11, 2018

System Shock - December Update

by Silver, 01:08

The December update for System Shock Remake announces that Nightdive Studios has entered full production.

December Update

Hello backers! It’s Stephen from Nightdive with this month’s update.⠀⠀⠀

It’s been a very busy month for the entire staff at Nightdive! The System Shock team has entered full production - with the adventure alpha complete we’ve moved on to creating final assets for all elements of the game. Let’s take a look at what we’ve been up to!

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“Pipe World” is coming together really nicely thanks to all the hard work by the environment team. To help achieve a randomized look to the tiles they’ve created some new tech within Unreal that allows them to swap through the tileset on the fly enabling them to create a distinct look.

  ⠀⠀⠀⠀

Now let’s take a look at a very familiar room you discover right after leaving the starting area.

⠀⠀

If this doesn’t make you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside you might have to check your pulse :)

We’re also working on getting the first person arms back in the game! We’re able to re-use many of the original Unity assets in this way.

[...]

Thursday - November 08, 2018

System Shock - November Update

by Silver, 07:57

The System Shock Remake November update shows off some progress made and gives us a look at things to come with some concept art.

November Update

Hello backers! It’s Stephen from Nightdive with this month’s update.

This is going to be more “show” than “tell” as we’ve been incredibly busy creating final art, implementing new systems, gameplay mechanics, character pipeline and wrapping up the work we’ve done on the Adventure Alpha.  

Here’s an early look at a walk cycle and some experiments with Unreal’s built-in ragdoll physics system.

[...]

Sunday - October 07, 2018

System Shock - Alpha First Look

by Hiddenx, 09:54

Some System Shock alpha footage:

System Shock: Adventure Alpha 1st Look - Nightdive Studios

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Welcome to the System Shock: Adventure Alpha! Backers will be able to freely traverse Citadel Station, pick up items, listen to audio logs, read emails and complete the game’s objectives from start to finish.

Hint:

Just to re-iterate what is stated in the description - these are the original levels using the original textures from the game. The purpose of this alpha is to rebuild all the levels 1:1 and be able to complete all the objectives necessary to finish the game. There will be many more updates, please stay tuned :)

Friday - September 07, 2018

System Shock - September Update

by Myrthos, 12:31

next to the news about the Source Port Update, there is also a new development update.

We are busy at work getting the Adventure Alpha ready for the end of the month - a ton of final art will be making it into the game as well as the majority of levels using the updated original textures from System Shock.

So let’s get started! What update wouldn’t be complete without doors! Yes, doors - we hope you never tire of going through these majestic contraptions that connect the various spaces you will traverse while on Citadel Station!

...

We’ve made the audio logs tintable to provide some variation between the crew members.

Now let’s take a look at the updated SS1 textures within Unreal - again, these are not final, they are the original game textures updated with PBR properties! However, due to the positive feedback we received we will be using these textures for a “Retro Mode” that you’ll be able to access in the final release. Should this be a mode you have to unlock or should it be available from the offset? Please share your opinion with us in our Discord channel.

Thursday - September 06, 2018

System Shock - The Source Port Update

by Hiddenx, 22:19

Henriquejr spotted System Shock news:

"The Source Port Update" is available now!

For the first time ever, System Shock has been rebuilt from the original source code as a FREE update to all owners of the game!

System Shock: Enhanced Edition features:

  • Higher resolution support up to 4K widescreen mode
  • Mouselook support
  • Rebindable keyboard/mouse/joystick commands
  • Adapted to Nightdive's KEX engine
  • Support for both Direct3D and OpenGL
  • Option to switch between hi-resolution Mac assets and the original DOS assets
  • Official support for fan missions and fan mods
  • New unified options menu that allows changing preferences before gameplay
  • Adjustable FOV (Field of View)
  • Smoother camera rotation and translation
  • Improved control scheme which allows faster and streamlined experience
  • Brand new achievements
  • In-Game remappable keys with three profiles to choose from: original controls, custom controls, and lefthanded controls.
  • Many original game bugs fixed.
  • We hope you enjoy this free update for System Shock: Enhanced Edition!


Feel free to let us know what you think about it in the forums. We'll be monitoring it a lot over the next few weeks or so to gather information.

Enjoy the update, and keep the fries salted!

-Daniel
Nightdive Studios.

Tuesday - August 14, 2018

System Shock - August Update

by Silver, 03:25

System Shock remakes August update announces that the block-out of Citadel Station has been completed. Screenshots can be seen at the link.

August Update

Hello backers! It’s Stephen from Nightdive with this month’s update. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

This update is going to brief as we enter into the final stages of our “Adventure Alpha” milestone

We also have some exciting news to share - During Daniels stream the final BSP was carved out for the medical deck and the block-out was completed! System Shock is a massive game and now that the entirety of the original map has been translated into UE4 the real fun can begin!

While Daniel finished the blockout Jonathan has been busy placing the original (albeit updated) SS1 textures. Here are some comparisons with the original game.

[...]

Saturday - July 14, 2018

System Shock - July Update

by Silver, 23:20

The July update for System Shock delivers a lot of screenshots.

Hello backers! It’s Stephen from Nightdive with this month’s update.

We’re busy reaching our September milestone which we’ve dubbed the, “Adventure Alpha” as it will be reminiscent of the original game with the difficulty set to zero. You’ll be able to freely traverse Citadel Station without the presence of enemies, pick up items, listen to audio logs, read emails and complete the game’s objectives from start to finish.

We were expecting to have all the levels blocked out by September, but with no other details...however, Jonathan has been able to apply the textures from System Shock to Daniel’s BSP giving us an insightful look into the original game. The textures have been modified to take advantage of PBR rendering and lighting placed to mimic the original. Here’s a first look…

This is what we were expecting to deliver in September:

[...]

System Shock: Enhanced Edition Update!

We’re anticipating the release of the System Shock Source port to be at the end of the month!  

If you still haven’t checked it out you can still opt in to the Beta on Steam!

We wanted to give a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has been playing and reporting bugs and making suggestions!

You can opt-in to product betas by right clicking the System Shock: Enhanced Edition in your Steam Library and choosing "Properties".

Next, from the properties window select the tab titled "Betas". From this page select the “SOURCE PORT” beta from the drop-down menu.  

The password is: saltthosefries

Join the System Shock: Enhanced Edition Discord channel to discuss changes, bugs, and anything else you encounter!

[...]

Saturday - June 09, 2018

System Shock - June Update

by Silver, 09:24

A new update for the System Shock remake which shows off alot of new assets and has news on the System Shock Enhanced Edition.

June Update

Hello backers! It’s Stephen from Nightdive with this month’s update.

It’s been another productive month so let’s get right to it!⠀⠀⠀⠀

Jonathan continues to bust out prop after prop for the medical deck!

While Matt is waiting on final art for interactables he’s been working on everyone’s favorite portable game console, the GAME PIG! (working title!) We can’t share a ton of details right now, but our Game Pig will include an original game...

Here’s a very early prototype of controllable (proxy) sprites on one of our props. The Game Pig is really going to Rock, Man.

Chris is working on props, puzzles and some underlying tech to give our art and design teams flexibility when building new props. One of the features he’s developed is the ability to change tile set colors within UE4.

He’s also working on puzzles and how they will be placed and implemented into the levels.

 Daniel has finished the Blockout of Level R and has been working on Level 7.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Robb has been working on re-imagining tiles from the original game. Here’s one of the doors and the updated concept from Robb:

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ And...the model/animation from Jonathan:

and finally...

Updated Cyborg Drone concept!⠀⠀

Survey...take 2!

We ran into a small issue with the surveys for the CITADEL CREW MEMBER, CYBORG ELITE, and HUMAN CORPSE backers. We wanted to send them through Kickstarter but realized that creators are only allowed to send ONE survey, which means that when physical goods are ready to be sent out we wouldn’t be able to send out an additional survey requesting updated mailing addresses. We’ve moved over to another service and will be sending those soon.
⠀⠀

System Shock: Enhanced Edition Update!

⠀⠀
The time is nearly here! The source port for System Shock: Enhanced Edition is in Closed Beta and if you own the game on Steam you can play it RIGHT NOW!
⠀⠀

You can opt-in to product betas by right clicking the System Shock: Enhanced Edition in your Steam Library and choosing "Properties".  

Next, enter the password "saltthosefries" under the "Enter beta access code to unlock private betas text box, select the “new_beta” from the drop-down menu...and launch the game!

Join the System Shock: Enhanced Edition Discord channel to discuss changes, bugs, and anything else you encounter!  

There will also be a Level Editor created by @dertesha who is always lurking in the Source Code Channel - he’s been working on an unofficial source port you can check out here:  

https://github.com/Interrupt/systemshock

Our goal is to include the Editor with the final release which will allow the creation of New Levels, and the ability to replace assets from the base game such as textures, sounds, audiologs, etc!

Friday - May 04, 2018

System Shock - May Update

by Hiddenx, 20:24

Henriquejr spotted the May update for the System Shock (remake):

May Update

Hello backers! It’s Stephen from Nightdive with this month’s update.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

It’s been an insanely productive month on all fronts, but let’s cover general updates:  

We’d like to welcome Jonathan H. (Synaesthesia on Discord) to the team! Jonathan’s been cranking out props and assets for the Medical Deck. On the programming side the puzzles are going through rapid iteration so we can randomly generate their difficulty based on the difficulty level you’ve chosen at the start of the game. The interface/interactions are coming together quickly and you can now pick up and move items in your inventory. All other base interactions and usable inventory items have been proxied out and will be placed in the levels that are being blocked out. We’re on schedule with our goal of having the game being playable from start to finish (sans Weapons & Enemies) by September.

Kickstarter Surveys for the CITADEL CREW MEMBER, CYBORG ELITE, and HUMAN CORPSE backers are going out soon!

Next, let’s cover our Streaming initiative:

We’ve hosted 10 streams covering gaming and development of System Shock across multiple disciplines.

Chris M. has been working on modeling environment assets and building out the Medical deck.

[...]

If you missed any of our streams and want to catch up, you’re in luck! We’ve uploaded all of our streams to YouTube!

Friday - April 06, 2018

System Shock - April Update

by Silver, 22:03

The April update for System Shock remake.


April Update

General Update from Hiatus 

Hey everyone, it’s Stephen from Nightdive with the latest update. The last few weeks have been challenging, but at the same time it’s been enlightening. As some of you know I’ve been spending more and more time with the community in Discord answering questions and making reassurances that yes, we are still developing the game. I’ve also been speaking and interacting with many of you one on one so as to better understand how the latest news impacted you and your feelings towards the project. The vast majority of you agree that we are doing the right thing and that what you want is a high quality game that adheres closely to the vision of the original System Shock rather than the reinterpretation that we were previously working toward.

We had a brief respite, and took the time necessary to make some tough decisions which included saying goodbye to some of the developers that you’ve come to know through past updates. What we’re left with is a concentrated team that consists of the original developers who worked on the Unity demo. With that said, let’s take a look at the work we’re doing.

So what does this mean?

It means we’ve gone back to the original vision we shared with you at the start of our Kickstarter campaign - this time with more reliable performance and higher fidelity visuals thanks to the Unreal Engine.

Are we starting over, is this all that’s done?

No, we’re not starting over. We have been able to re-use the majority of work we’ve done over the past year and we’re making significant progress in a very short amount of time. With that said we’ll be inviting our highest tier backers to privately test the game beginning in September at which point we estimate that the game will be fully playable, from start to finish. The majority of the art won’t be finished, but we’ll be ready to start high-level testing.

What else is changing?

Along with the return to the previous art style and overall direction, the audio department is also re-re-re-examining their priorities, and drawing new conclusions. I’ll let Jon take it from here...  

Hey folks. I'm very excited to be able to show off this suite of some of the various pieces of music from the medical deck.

Since the beginning of System Shock, it's been my job to take the music from System Shock 1 and figure out how to capture that in a more modern way. I don't think we hit that in the music for the Kickstarter demo, and since then I've been able to more thoroughly explore what a modernization of System Shock 1's music means without losing the heart of the music. Its music, though limited by the technology of MIDI in its original form, was very inspired by the electronic and industrial music of the time. And 1990s electronic/industrial music was characterized by its own technological limitations.

So I have explored what it would mean if those technological limitations of the '90s (low samplerates and bit-depths, shitty DACs, digital skipping) carried over to today. Or even further - if we could exploit those limitations creatively and define music through it. When Stephen told me about the plan for System Shock, he told me to go and grab the essence of what we were trying to do with our Kickstarter build. We decided that I would do a demonstration of Medical's music and base it on the themes from the original SS1 Medical Deck music. I was able to take all of that stylistic definition and apply it back to the original System Shock 1 music. The first half of the track is more 'exploration', using the melodies of the "walking" state of the original game and building a more meandering musical piece from those melodies. And the second half, the original MIDI guitar was changed to a gritty industrial bass synthesizer which is developed and drives the whole 'combat' section.

I'm so excited to be able to apply all of this musical direction back to the System Shock 1 music! All of the gear that I've acquired for the sake of this project was entirely built around the idea of finding the heart of the SS1 music and intentions and extrapolating that past its MIDI limitations. The original music that I have to work with is far beyond its time, and I'm so happy to be able to take it into a modern - but still OH-SO-90s - light.

[...]

Saturday - March 24, 2018

System Shock - Probably Q1 2020

by Silver, 08:47

@PC Gamer The System Shock Remake is now forecast for a 2020 release and will hew closely to the original Unity demo.

"We understood based on the backer feedback, especially, that we weren't going in the right direction with the game, what we promised to them," Kick said. "That's what really caused the shift in what we're doing now, which is going back to what we'd established and represented with the Unity demo."

 

Shortly after the Kickstarter, System Shock moved from Unity to Unreal Engine, which is what Nightdive plans to continue with going forward. Kick showed me the Unreal version of the starting room, similar to the one depicted in the Unity demo two years ago. It looked great: all moody blue lights and wisps of smoke and flashing display panels embedded in the walls. But it's also just a small part of a game that has much work left to do.

[...]

Sunday - February 25, 2018

System Shock - Dissecting the Cancellation Apology

by Hiddenx, 12:34

Gaming Purists analyzed the problems of the System Shock remake project:

Dissecting the SYSTEM SHOCK cancellation apology

The Long (to say it mildly) awaited SYSTEM SHOCK remake by Nightdive studios was announced to be on ‘hiatus’ by it’s CEO Stephen Kick. This came as a massive disappointment for all of us who were rabidly anticipating the game. If there’s a game that needed a remake, it was the original SYSTEM SHOCK. It’s a groundbreaking classic that is responsible for pioneering a lot of the design trends, that eventually would go on to rehape the modern AAA Industry. It boasts the legacy of the legendary ‘Looking Glass Studios’ in its veins and that alone makes it forever validated as a piece of history.

Now that dream seems to be dead (for a while), all we have is a rather submissive, extremely self-critical apology from Kick. I had some free time on my hands, so I figured why not take the time to figure out what it all means (using the man’s quotes himself):

“Maybe we were too successful. Maybe we lost our focus. The vision began to change. We moved from a Remaster to a completely new game. We shifted engines from Unity to Unreal, a choice that we don’t regret and one that has worked out for us. With the switch we began envisioning doing more, but straying from the core concepts of the original title.”

Two things to keep in mind: 1) The original SYSTEM SHOCK was a very,very complex game. One of the most complex games you’ll ever play. It’s more like a Rubik’s cube the player gradually learns to solve, rather than a pick up and play ‘journey’ 2) They actually raised $1.3 MILLION in kick-starter cash. That’s a lot of money for a game that complex. Remaster or otherwise, that’s not a game that will be played by everyone. Which, if you’ve raised $1.3 Million for, you probably have to reconsider. You’re spending somebody else’s money on something whose intricacies will be lost on most players, obviously there is bound to be second guessing at multiple times during development.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

Friday - February 16, 2018

System Shock - Returning to Vision

by Silver, 20:47

A new update on the System Shock Remake announces a return to the original concept.

Sometimes You Need To Take a Step Back In Order To Take Two Steps Forward

Kickstarter Update from Stephen Kick, CEO of Nightdive Studios

In March of 2016, Nightdive Studios released our video of our vision of System Shock Remastered. Done in Unity it was an immediate hit with almost a half million views on YouTube. In June of 2016 we launched a Kickstarter campaign to make the vision into a reality. It was tremendously successful with over 21,000 backers contributing over $1.3 million to the campaign. We put together a development team and began working on the game. But along the way something happened.

Maybe we were too successful. Maybe we lost our focus. The vision began to change. We moved from a Remaster to a completely new game. We shifted engines from Unity to Unreal, a choice that we don’t regret and one that has worked out for us. With the switch we began envisioning doing more, but straying from the core concepts of the original title.

As our concept grew and as our team changed, so did the scope of what we were doing and with that the budget for the game. As the budget grew, we began a long series of conversations with potential publishing partners. The more that we worked on the game, the more that we wanted to do, and the further we got from the original concepts that made System Shock so great.

Ultimately the responsibility for the decisions rests with me. As the CEO and founder of Nightdive Studios, a company that was built on the restoration of the System Shock franchise, I let things get out of control. I can tell you that I did it for all the right reasons, that I was totally committed to making a great game, but it has become clear to me that we took the wrong path, that we turned our backs on the very people who made this possible, our Kickstarter backers.

I have put the team on a hiatus while we reassess our path so that we can return to our vision. We are taking a break, but NOT ending the project. Please accept my personal assurance that we will be back and stronger than ever. System Shock is going to be completed and all of our promises fulfilled.  

Stephen Kick

Thursday - January 25, 2018

System Shock - January Update

by Silver, 06:17

There is a new update for System Shock Reboot.

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A look in to concept art and the process behind it all. Featuring Art Director Kevin Manning as well Robert Simon and Cody Williams.

Saturday - January 13, 2018

System Shock - No Release in 2018

by Hiddenx, 18:44

System Shock will not be released in 2018 according to Reddit:

Realistically, when is this project expected to release?

It's obviously not coming this year, but are projections favoring 2019 or is this gonna slip beyond that?
Is the vertical slice done yet? Any updates or any news at all coming before GDC?
How long do we have to wait before we get this message?

Now we are in full swing, we know a lot more about the size and scope of the game we are going to make, how long it will take us to make it, and the amount of time we need to make it be great. From those projections we know that [GAME] will not be shipping in 2018, like we originally estimated when we published the crowdfunding campaign two years ago.

Thanks Farflame!

Wednesday - November 08, 2017

System Shock - November Update

by Silver, 01:59

The November update for the System Shock Remake shows off Mutant dismemberment and much more. The update also includes a FAQ section.

November Update

Hey there Hackers!

We’re going to try something new (for us) and show A LOT of what we’re working on… even stuff that’s a work in progress. We appreciate everyone’s patience with us as we find the best way to reveal things we’re working on. If folks like this format, we’ll try to do more of these in the future. Please let us know what you think:

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[...]

Sunday - October 22, 2017

System Shock - October Update

by Silver, 08:06

The System Shock reboot project has a new update which shares some art and animation and a new pcgamer interview.

...

Art & Animation

As you may have seen from the PCGamer article, we have shared quite a few new pieces of concept art! Right now, I would like to focus on this one piece in particular.

 

maintenance section old and new

Comparison of Old & New Maintenance Level.

Here we have a concept of the new Maintenance Level done by artist Robert Simon side by side with the original. With this we can easily show you our direction of preserving the old while still keeping things fresh! What do you think?

Moving on to something a little different, our animators wanted to share something we find really cool and spooky for the month of October. Please enjoy our in-game footage of a mutant!

...

Discord

The time has come, we are opening up our Discord to the Public! So please feel free to invite your friends to join in the community:

https://discord.gg/Nightdive

Friday - July 28, 2017

System Shock - Dev Diary

by Myrthos, 08:55

Lead Level Designer James Henley has written a developer diary for System Shock reboot, which is about level design.

This update is about process rather than intent, so I’ll keep this brief! The purpose of a reboot is to leverage an existing foundation while still allowing the freedom to re-envision, clarify, or otherwise expand upon a work. You could view it as building a new body to house an old soul.  

The answer to the question is both “yes” and “no.” The original levels were designed under specific philosophies and restrictions that have grown or otherwise evolved in the years since. To that end, much of my work involves translating old intentions and bringing them forward to work in tandem with the technology and principles we have today. My goal is to create a believable world space that retains System Shock’s original sense of exploration and freedom.  

I won’t get into the specifics of my design philosophies at the moment but let’s just be clear that I’m not talking about the modern trend of corridor-shooter level design; I’m an advocate of choices, exploration, and the freedom to tackle challenges in a variety of ways. My job is to develop a believable world space for the player to explore, not a cinematic corridor to be raced through.

Tuesday - July 18, 2017

System Shock - E3 Developer Interview

by Silver, 13:13

The System Shock remake Game Director Jason Fader was interviewed at E3.

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We chat with Game Director Jason Fader about the return of System Shock and the role UE4 is playing in bringing this highly-anticipated reboot to life.

Monday - May 29, 2017

System Shock - Why Unreal Engine 4?

by Silver, 14:23

PCGamesN asks Nightdive why they switched from Unity to Unreal Engine 4 for the System Shock Remake.

TriOptimisation

There were two important considerations behind the engine swap. First, after conversations with both Epic and Unity, Nightdive decided Unreal Engine 4 would be the better choice for hitting their performance targets on consoles. And second, more pertinent for our purposes, was the team. Nightdive have hired a bunch of "very senior" developers, a number of whom worked alongside game director Jason Fader at Obsidian on Fallout: New Vegas.

"These guys had more Unreal experience than Unity experience," explains Fader. "And instead of having them get up to speed on Unity, it made more sense with what we had in the pipeline to go with an Unreal ecosystem."

Thankfully, Nightdive were able to pull over a "good chunk" of the work they'd already done in pre-alpha.

"The code doesn't really translate, but the core fundamentals of the system we were working on definitely do map over," says Fader.

[...]

Monday - May 22, 2017

System Shock - May Update

by Myrthos, 10:35

The May update for the System Shock remake project is fully devoted to a dev diary of Audio Director Jonathan Peros.

This is Jonathan Peros, Audio Director on System Shock. I wanted to include a quick update to give some insight into an aspect of the musical direction of System Shock! As you all can probably guess, working on a reboot of a classic game definitely has its own set of unique challenges; we are all tasked with the job of making a good game by today’s standards, but not losing sight of what made the original game great. As such, I’ve gone back to the files for System Shock 1’s soundtrack over and over, spending as much time as I can absorbing what made Greg LoPiccolo’s work on the original music awesome. I thought I would share a few of the great things about System Shock 1’s soundtrack here with you, some of the game’s most dedicated fans. 

System Shock 1’s soundtrack was far ahead of its time in many respects. One of the most obvious ways that this shows itself is in its procedural music system. The original game had a MIDI soundtrack, which would play through various soundcards in order to produce the game’s music. This is different than today’s game music, which is for the most part pre-recorded audio files playing back. Because the music was played back note-by-note through data on the soundcard, this opened many possibilities for how the game dealt with music. The music for each level is not contained in a single file, but instead each level’s music is built procedurally from different musical building blocks, controlled by parameters in the game. The core set of each level’s musical building blocks are named with a gameplay state (“W”alking, “P”eril, “C”ombat) and a section (“A”,”B”,”C”,…). “WA” can play into “WB”, unless the game state changes to peril, at which it may play into “PB”. This kind of interactive system provides both varying intensity, which mirrors the pacing of the gameplay, and linear sections, which give the music a sense of forward momentum and structure. This procedural music system is then made more interactive by having various layers which represent the various enemies that are overlaid on top of the core level music, based on the proximity of enemies of that type. These layers are used to represent these enemies across the entire soundtrack, giving each enemy type a theme of sorts! Very cool, stuff!

Friday - April 21, 2017

System Shock - April Update

by Myrthos, 08:57

In the April update for the System Shock remake there is some concept artwork shown and they have a few job openings, in case you are interested.

Friday - March 10, 2017

System Shock - Modern Level Design

by Hiddenx, 01:09

Farflame spotted this article about the new System Shock on PCGamesN - some things will change:

System Shock remaster will have "modern level design principles" and other changes

Developers Nightdive Studios want the System Shock remake to be as faithful as possible, but they're not planning on ignoring the past two decades of progress in the craft of making videogames. 

The team has been talking to some of the original Looking Glass Studios developers, and one of the biggest takeaways was that, if they made the game now, there are a bunch of things they would do differently.

 

"Whenever we look at the design, or art, or audio even, we ask ourselves “What would LGS do?” say Nightdive in a Kickstarter update. "The answer becomes clear after understanding LGS was about innovation, trying new things and bringing together concepts unheard of in games before them. We see ourselves as maintaining that tradition, and chat with the LGS guys to ensure what we’re doing holds up to their expectations."

Other than plugging plot holes and refining dialogue, the story will remain untouched. The original voice actress for Shodan is returning and they're letting her give input. Gameplay will also see a refresh, with combat given more depth and systems becoming more reactive. 

"Levels will harken back to the original game thematically, but the layout will see a pretty big change to apply modern level design principles for pacing and exploration," say Nightdive. "We’re not going to dumb things down, but we also don’t want to ignore the last 20 years of progress level design has made."

[...]

Wednesday - March 08, 2017

System Shock - Questions/Feedback on Video

by Silver, 20:34

NightDive Studios has addressed some fan concerns following the System Shock pre-alpha video they released recently in their latest update.

...
Q: Things look untextured and bland.

Jason: This was a VERY rapid pass on art stuff and is not final. There's still a lot more work that will be going into art, as well as bringing in the more iconic nuances of Shock 1. We'll post more updates on art once things are further along.

Q: Things now look like a generic scifi shooter

Jason: Keep in mind, this video doesn't really show off the gameplay we're going for. Combat is a thing you'll do, but there will be LOTS of other options to take as you play. We know some players will walk to just run and smash a lot of faces, and they'll be able to do that, but for the thinking player, they'll have a diverse set of gameplay tools to tackle situations in hackery or stealthy ways. Without getting into too much detail, the station is essentially a living character, and the player can learn how to use aspects of the station to their advantage. I'll be sure to share more about the gameplay systems as things get further solidified.

Q: Will there be any hud?

Jason: Definitely! Not sure what the HUD will look like currently, and we're chewing on a few options. We probably won't have a finalized HUD until the end of v slice or early in the production phase.

Q: Will you still be launching on Linux? Mac?

Jason: Yup! That goal has never changed. When we say "PC", we mean Windows, OSX, and Linux.

Q: Do you plan on porting to Nintendo Switch?

Jason: Hard to say right now. It depends on what kind of demand there is for it.

Q: Are you planning to reboot SS2?

Jason: Oh boy, one game at a time. Let's see how this game goes and then board that ship when we get to it ;-)


Audio

Q: Why does Shodan sound that way? (girly, smurf, distorted)

Jonathan: To disclose- I can't speak to the intentions behind the processing, as thus far in the process Terri Brosius has provided her VO with her own processing. But I can speak from an audio direction standpoint, and how we felt that these lines fit in the context of the game...

Terri is unique in that she is SHODAN in a much deeper way than most voiceover artists are their characters. Back in the original Shock days, she wrote her own lines and directed herself. She knows SHODAN's character better than just about anyone. As such, we have been directing her only as much as we need to and she gives her own take, given how close she is to the character of SHODAN.

From an audio direction standpoint, what I can say is that when we received the SHODAN lines for the latest video, we all got chills. My skin crawled, even hearing the voice outside of the context of the rest of the video elements, and that hit my mark. There are some subtle differences for sure, especially in the quality of the processing of the voice. However, none of these differences felt outside the bounds of what SHODAN is or could be. To speak specifically to her voice raising pitch, historically SHODAN's voice has always modulated pitch, both low and high. There may be some new inflections that arise, but nothing that we feel is outside the bounds of what SHODAN means, both technically and emotionally.

[...]

Thursday - March 02, 2017

System Shock - Pre-Alpha Video

by Silver, 08:32

The latest System Shock kickstarter update is about their GDC announcement. System Shock will be made with the Unreal Engine 4.

A word from our Game Director.. actually a lot of words...

Hi everyone! Jason here this time to share some really important news. As some of you may have heard (http://www.polygon.com/2017/3/1/14784082/system-shock-reboot-unreal-engine), we have officially switched our engine for System Shock to Unreal Engine 4. I know this seems like a risky move, and in some ways it is, but we've mitigated that risk by switching over early. To shed more light on how we reached this decision, I'll need to go over a timeline.

August: After listening to everyone during the Kickstarter campaign, it became clear that console support was very important to a lot of you. We took a hard look at what Unity could do on consoles, and what we wanted to achieve for both visual quality and performance. While Unity is a great engine, it was clear that we needed to use an engine that fit our project goals more closely. We took a few weeks to research various engines (mainly Lumberyard and Unreal).

September: After the engine research and evaluating feedback on our visual style, we decided to try out Unreal and see what it had to offer. Around the same time, we needed to fill critical spots for the leads team. Recruiting takes time (actually, a lot of time, especially for the senior positions). I think we went through about 30+ interviews for various candidates from Sept-Dec. Most of the folks we selected were developers I had worked with on Fallout: New Vegas, so it made getting them up to speed on things pretty quick.

October-December: During this time we focused on getting the nuts and bolts of the content inside of Unreal. Around the end of October, we were confident Unreal was the right way to go, but we didn't want to announce the change just yet, since we wanted to prove to our backers (and ourselves) that we could deliver a slice of the game in Unreal with the updated visual direction. Couple that with the lengthy time recruiting/onboarding takes and we were steadily making progress towards our goal by the end of December.

January: The next step before being ready to reveal our efforts was to establish a proper level using everything everyone had built up for Unreal. This is essentially for the "Vertical Slice" phase, but the early stages. I like using an iterative corner approach to vertical slice, meaning we would work on a small section of the vertical slice content, iterate and refine it until we were happy with the end result (typically finding problems and correcting them, tweaking things here and there, etc). Once the corner (in this case it was actually a series of rooms, a vent shaft, several hallways, and a lovable mutant named Marty) was finished, we would be ready to expand on the rest of the vertical slice content.

February: After a lot of hard work, the corner was finally to a point we were happy with, which brings us to now! That pretty much paints a picture of where our heads were at with all of this. We didn't make this decision lightly, and wanted to be sure we could do the game justice with this engine shift. Feel free to ask questions either in the comments or the Discord server. Let us know what you think! We want to ensure you feel we're going in the right direction with all of this.

- Jason Fader, Game Director

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Sunday - February 26, 2017

System Shock - February Update

by Myrthos, 14:51

Nightdive Studios is working towards something that can be shown next week, according to the February update of the System Shock remake. Next to that the update has information on art and audio, which comes with a video.

As always, we have some awesome art from Robb Waters and Robert Simon to share. Check out these super cool environments:

Concept art of Citadel Station Medical Deck entrance.
Concept art of Citadel Station Medical Deck entrance.
Concept art of Citadel Station's eerie vent system.
Concept art of Citadel Station's eerie vent system.

 

Wednesday - January 04, 2017

System Shock - December Update

by Hiddenx, 18:01

Farflame spotted the System Shock December update:

December Update

Hi hi Karlee here bringing you the newest update and stealing the fun away from Jason! Now time for our Holiday Kickstarter update:  

Project Update

We are making great headway on Vertical Slice and we are out of the planning phase! Everyone here is working extra hard to create some quality content. 

In other news, CEO Stephen Kick and Game Director Jason Fader were interviewed on Gamer Weekly. 

Please check it out.

[...]

Monday - December 26, 2016

System Shock Remake - Interview

by Hiddenx, 07:22

Farflame spotted this interview about the System Shock remake at GamingBolt:

System Shock Remake Interview: Return to The Stage of History

Nightdive’s Stephen Kick talks about remaking the classic.

In an industry where triple-A blockbusters come and go, there continue to be a number of classic titles that exert their influence over entire genres. Thief, Command and Conquer, Warcraft, Civilization, the list goes on but System Shock always stands as an amazing example. The RPG/FPS was a pioneer for its time, revolutionizing gameplay, sound design and choice in an FPS. Thanks to Nightdive Studios, System Shock will be returning with spiffy new visuals.

Nightdive founder Stephen Kick spoke to GamingBolt about the remake, expectations of the same and how it will shape up for the new generation.

[...]

How much of the original’s level design and aesthetics remain true to the original?
We’re staying very true to the aesthetics of Citadel Station. We’ve done a considerable amount of research into what gave the Station the unique look and feel in the original and have developed a style that captures that while taking advantage of advanced rendering features that are available to us with a modern game engine. The level design will also go mostly unchanged – the familiar locations, routes and pathways will all be present but massaged to provide a more immersive and believable experience. For example, the Medical Pavilion will be embellished to include a greater sense of functionality. If this really was a space used for surgery and other medical procedures that area should reflect that using lighting, props and a layout more conducive to that activity.

[...]

Sunday - December 04, 2016

System Shock - Interview @Gamer Weekly

by Silver, 04:30

@Gamer Weekly NightDive Studios Jason Fader and Stephen Kick are interviewed about the System Shock remake.

On this weeks episode of Gamer Weekly I have Stephen Kick and Jason Fader of Nightdive Studios and we'll be talking about the development of the System Shock remake as well the overall state of horror games and what it takes to create a scary game.

Friday - November 18, 2016

System Shock - November Update

by Silver, 04:05

The latest kickstarter update for System Shock has arrived with a new eta of the second quarter of 2018. Night Dive also announced that they have started work on their vertical slice and to expect some new content in the coming months.

Project Update

The biggest news is that we've officially started Vertical Slice and will have some awesome stuff to show in the coming months. The purpose of VS (vertical slice) is mainly to answer questions. Often times on a game project, devs don't actually know how long something will take to create. VS is a phase where a slice of the game is created with a few goals in mind:

  • How long will it take to create content?
  • What should the final visuals look like?
  • How should final gameplay feel?

Basically, VS lets us prove out our pipelines and narrow down how the game should and shouldn't play. By the end of VS, we'll have a better understanding of what we can achieve with the time/budget we have, and have a more accurate plan moving forward to create a quality game.

Q&A

Every month, we'll compile some questions we've been seeing in the community and answer them as best as we can here.

Q: Can I upgrade my backer level?

A: Yup, once we have backerkit wired up and deployed.

Q: Will you be adding paypal funding?

A: This should be supported through backerkit.

Q: What will you be releasing System Shock on?

A: Our goal is to launch on PC/Mac/Linux/XboxOne/PS4 by Q2 of 2018. Not sure if it will be a simultaneous launch, but we'll do our best.

Wednesday - October 19, 2016

System Shock - Progress Update

by Silver, 05:32

A new kickstarter update for System Shock by Nightdive Studios updates us on how preproduction is going and shows us some concept art of a Cyborg Assassin and a Mutant Cyborg.

Hi everyone!

Jason here with this month's update. In the future, we're going to have other folks on the team write updates since it shouldn't be just me having all of the "fun" :-p
Project Update

Things are progressing along quite nicely so far. We're currently about 30% through preproduction with most of our lead team assembled and are working on documentation and proving out our pipelines. This is typically the least fun phase of game development since it's a lot of meetings and documentation, but it's also one of the most important phases since it lays the foundation for the rest of the project.

One of the most interesting aspects of this phase is that we've been meeting with some of the original devs from System Shock 1 like Austin Grossman, Dorian Hart, and Paul Neurath. The goal is to sync up as much as possible with the original devs to understand what Shock meant to them, get as many details as possible about pretty much everything, and determine what they would have liked to do back then if they had today's tech. We're striving to do this brand justice, and that starts with the amazing folks that created it.
Q&A

Every month, we'll compile some questions we've been seeing in the community and answer them as best as we can here.

Q: When will we be able to donate via Paypal?

A: We have all of our legal stuff sorted out for it, but still need to wire things up on the website and Backerkit. We'll probably have a bulk of it finished early next month, but probably won't bring it live until January since it will be easier for us to start it in a new tax year.

Q: Where are the forums?

A: I'll talk about that below :-)

Q: When can we expect our SS1 and 2 steam keys for our backer reward?

A: Daniel should be sending those out within the next few days. Keep an eye on your email address that you used to back our campaign.

Q: Can backers that missed the Discord invite still get an invite to the developer Discord server?

A: Yup! We'll have invite codes in our forums once they're up.

Thursday - September 08, 2016

System Shock - September Update

by Silver, 03:30

The latest kickstarter update for System Shock has details on new hires as well as what the team are working on in pre-production.

Project Update

Phase - PreProduction

I'm going to start including what phase we're in from now on in these updates so folks can better gauge our progress. This month is the start of PreProduction for us, which means lots of documentation and fleshing out pipelines. It also means ramping the team up for Vertical Slice. We've brought on two new folks onto the team this month to help fill out our leadership ranks.

Kevin Manning has joined the team as our Lead Artist. I worked with Kevin back on Fallout: New Vegas, and since then he's been at a few places including Stardock and various contract opportunities. He's been in the industry for about 12 years and has a passion for all things scifi and cyberpunk!

James Henley recently joined us as our Lead Level Designer. James has been in the industry for a while with most of his work being done at BioWare on Star Wars: The Old Republic, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and Jade Empire. He'll be leading our team of level designers to deliver on a challenging, yet rewarding, content experience and working alongside Chris Avellone to create the best visual storytelling environments on Citadel Station!


Other Updates

Nightdive has sorted out the business stuff and paypal is just about in place. The next steps will be BackerKit and setting up some funding tiers on the site. There's still a lot to do, so no ETA yet on all of that.

Nightdive's higher priority has been on bringing back the Nightdive website after a major overhaul, as well as bringing the forums online so we can better communicate with our supporters. The forums should be up later this month, and we'll issue another Kickstarter update with instructions on how Backers will be able to access the private sections.

- Jason

Sunday - July 10, 2016

System Shock - Funded!

by Silver, 07:34

System Shock has been funded and with 18 days remaining. The latest update thanks the community and goes over Night Dives history with the System Shock license.

The journey started with System Shock 2 and the reception/support I received allowed me to seek out other like minded individuals who would help locate and revive more lost classics like: I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, Wizardry, and The 7th Guest series to name a few. As we continued to grow in team size, so did our ambitions. With the release of The Original Strife: Veterans Edition and Noctropolis we were able to restore the games and add additional features. We fixed original bugs, included unfinished games mode, added support for widescreen monitors, and implemented OpenGL to update the visuals. Next was Turok, followed by System Shock: Enhanced Edition and an even greater desire to take our mission to the next level.

We had done everything we could to make the Enhanced Edition more accessible to a modern audience but it reached the point where we began discussing a remake from the ground up. We started with a core team and a simple prototype to see if we could capture the look and feel of the original game.

Friday - July 08, 2016

System Shock - Demo Patched and New Tier

by Silver, 03:26

The System Shock kickstarter has a new update where they announce that the Demo has been patched to include grenades among other things. Additionally there is a new $100 physical tier that includes an art book and a giveaway for a System Shock Limited Edition Screen Print Poster & T-Shirt.

Pre-Alpha Demo Patch #1 Patch Notes

This patch, which is now live on Steam, contains the following fixes and improvements:

New Things

  • Texture filtering has been applied. The textures around the station will appear smoother and less pixelated. Let us know what you think about this change as we would like your feedback on it.
  • Visual effects have been improved and as well the addition of explosion visual and sound effects.
  • Fragmentation grenades can now be thrown by the player. Right-click on the grenade from your inventory to throw or assign it to the hotbar and throw with the press of 1, 2, 3 or 4 on the keyboard.
  • "Staminup" patches, "BeserkBooster" patches, and Battery packs can now be used by the player by right-clicking on them in the inventory.
  • New melee attacks animations have been added. The Hacker will recoil when hitting a surface with the pipe.

Fixes

  • Reduced the swing delay of the pipe.
  • Shortened pickup animations.
  • Music alterations applied to the backing music around the station.
  • Fixed a bug with game settings causing controls to lock when reloading the game.
  • Item descriptions have been improved for the items around the demo.
  • Various performance improvements.

Tuesday - July 05, 2016

System Shock - Q&A and Patch Preview

by Silver, 01:31

The latest System Shock update focuses on answering common questions and previews the upcoming patch for the free demo.

Common Questions

Before getting into patch stuff, I'd like to quickly answer the biggest questions I've been seeing:

Pixelated / low-res textures - In the current demo, some textures look "pixelated" up close. This actually has nothing to do with their texture resolution. Before video cards became commonplace in the late 90s, textures did not get filtered. We're doing the same thing to have a bit of a retro touch. In the next demo update, we've switched from no filtering to trilinear. Some screenshots are below in the patch preview section
Orchestral vs. electronic music - We're going to have an audio update written by Jonathan, our audio engineer and composer, to go over this stuff in more detail some time this week. Until then, the short answer is that the final score will definitely be more cyberpunk than just straight orchestral. Also, the full orchestra stretch goal will not change the music style. It will make all orchestral elements crisper while maintaining the electronic pieces.
Story / plot changes - We won't be deviating from the main story or plot from the original. We will be rewriting most of the text (well, when I say "we", I actually mean my good friend, Mr. Chris Avellone). The overall story will be the same, but we might change some details/wording here and there for the sake of consistency and pacing.
RPG elements - We understand this is a pretty vague term and has been confusing to backers. The original System Shock was ahead of its time and introduced a lot of new elements to gaming. We want to preserve that innovation and present a game we feel modern gamers will enjoy. Our goal is to have the gameplay somewhere between System Shock 1 and System Shock 2, with sprinkles of BioShock on top (rich melee attacks and ranged weapons, vending machines, upgrades, and damage types). If there's enough of a demand, we'll add a "Classic Mode" to one of the stretch goals that disables all RPG stuff as an option.
Engine - Our pre-alpha demo is in Unity, and that is the technology the team has been using for the past several months. However, we are familiar with other engines and are open to exploring options that make sense. Changing engines during a project is a pretty big risk and not a choice to be taken lightly. At the end of the day, we will use the technology we feel is best suited to deliver the highest quality game with the resources we have.

[...]

Trilinear-filtered textures

As mentioned above, the current version of the demo is using point-filtered textures. In the next patch, we've switched this over to trilinear to see what our backers think. Here are some before/after shots:

button before
Before

Button After
After

Here's an album with higher-res images and more comparisons.

Grenades and items

All consumable items should be usable in the next patch. The item that looks the most interesting to use is the grenade :-D

We've also improved the responsiveness and feel of melee combat.

On top of that, we have lots of fixes and some performance improvements. We're hoping to get the patch out within a few days. Once it's out, we'll post another update with some patch notes.

Sunday - July 03, 2016

System Shock - Feedback Process & UI

by Silver, 23:54

In the latest update for System Shock Remastered Night Dive is interested in gathering your feedback on UI and other things and are using reddit to do this. Expect this area of reddit to be updated with new questions and feedback with members of the Shock team answering questions.

Hello Everyone,

My name is Corey from the Nightdive Studios U.I. // U.X. team. As a fan of the shock series since its inception, I feel extremely grateful for the opportunity to work on this classic remake.

Though the U.I. and HUD are still in a conceptual phase and will not be updated in the first patch to the pre-alpha demo, we thought we would share some of our concepts. Keeping in mind that this is only one direction prior to the full user interface and user experience study that will take place after Kickstarter - we are happy with the stylistic direction that has been explored thus far.

There are many challenges in redesigning the interface and HUD of System Shock (1994). There are a few antiquated features that have to be either removed or completely replaced. One example is the toggle-able ability to see behind your head with a cybernetic implant. The original game built this in as an "implant" or "ability" because the turn radius was quite low, making the player vulnerable from mysterious attacks from behind. This is just one of many things we are looking into outside a fresh modern look.

ui layout

The new HUD concepts shown here are based off of a minimal yet futuristic cyberpunk aesthetic. Concepts for the new HUD will be based on the idea that this interface that the Hacker is interacting with is projected on his retina. The grid, shown above is meant to keep all elements aligned as though on a surface before they are "bent" for the radical look.
heart rate
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Saturday - July 02, 2016

System Shock - How will reboot differ?

by Silver, 14:45

Stephen Kick of Night Dive Studios was interviewed by Eurogamer about the System Shock reboot. They ask how the reboot will differ from the original.

Remaking a classic video game is an intimidating prospect. Stick too close to the original and you run the risk of releasing an archaic project that maybe doesn't hold up as well in modern times as it did in its day (see Doom 3: BFG Edition). Change too much, however, and purists will complain that the feel or tone is too far afield from what they remember (see Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes). Heck, even the best remakes still fall shy of their source material in at least some minor way. Wind Waker HD is a more vibrant spectacle than its 2003 GameCube forbear, but its new bloom lighting occasionally robs Link of some of his charm. Likewise, Resident Evil's remake (and ReRemake) are easy on the eyes, but the "better" voice acting is bad in a generic, boring way, whereas it used to be indescribably bad in a hilarious way.

The Vancouver, Washington-based Nightdive Studios is currently walking this tightrope on its remake of cult classic sci-fi horror game System Shock. We liked the demo, and the game's Kickstarter is off to a rousing start, nearly meeting its $900k goal in three days, but there's still a lot of questions about how Nightdive will approach a 2017 version of a 1994 PC game from an era where you could only look along the X axis.

To find out more about this, I caught up with Nightdive founder Stephen Kick at an industry event in sunny Portland, Oregon to discuss the developer's vision for a new System Shock.

When asked about how much of the game's level design and mechanics would stay true to the original, Kick says "We're maintaining the original vision and the original aesthetic and narrative as close as we can. But obviously the UI and player movement and just the way the player interacts with the game is getting a complete overhaul." To wit: there's now mouse-look and a handful of Kickstarter backers will make cameos with their simulated corpse and accompanying audio log offering new vignettes about the horrors that proceeded the player's awakening on Citadel Station.

When pressed for more specifics, Kick explains that most of the new system added will be cribbed from the game's bigger, better and more badass sequel, System Shock 2. "A more robust RPG levelling system is something we'd like to do - and what was successfully done in System Shock 2. I guess you could say that we're going to keep the narrative and level design pretty much one to one," he says. "We'll have some freedoms involved, but the overall game is going to play more like a hybrid between System Shock 1 and System Shock 2."

"We all really love System Shock 2. We felt it was such a wonderful progression from the first game when it first came out. By implementing those systems we're going to have kind of like the penultimate System Shock experience."

Yet even System Shock 2 is pretty archaic by today's standards. It is 17 years old, after all. Is there anything new to the series Nightdive would like to implement? Kick says there's a "very light crafting system where you'll be able to find components for different things and be able to assemble them in your inventor to create a health pack or some other useful consumable items." He also suggests weapon upgrades as a possible feature, depending on how things go.

[...]

"We understand how highly regarded the franchise is and how guarded a lot of people are about it as well, so we're going to use the utmost discretion," Kick says. "If we introduce something in early prototypes and it just seems off or it totally rebalances the core foundation of the game, we won't use it. We're not at that point, but there's going to be a lot of iteration and prototyping involved with some of these systems until we find the best fit."

While System Shock's remake will generously implement additions from its sequel, Nightdive won't stray too far from the path forged by Looking Glass 22 years ago. In fact, one of the reasons Nightdive is developing a remake rather than an all new title in the saga is because this will be the studio's first time developing a full commercial game from the ground up (even if it's based on an already existing title). Prior to this, Nightdive was a tiny studio that made a living restoring lost gems after their licensing had lapsed. It made a name for itself resurrecting the earlier System Shock titles along with other cult classics like the first Turok game and Harlan Ellison's horrific graphic adventure I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream.

Source: EuroGamer

Friday - July 01, 2016

System Shock - Kickstarter Update #1

by Myrthos, 15:01

Yesterday the first Kickstarter update for System Shock was made available.

Our fearless leader, Stephen Kick, the CEO of Nightdive Studios and Creative Director on System Shock has a few words to share:

I'm sitting at my desk after our first day of funding and I'm finding it very difficult to put into words just how grateful I am to everyone and the support they've given us over the last 24 hours. Your outpouring is inspiring and we're doing our best to answer the various questions, requests and concerns you have regarding the campaign, rewards, supported platforms and bugs you've encountered in our demo.

Here we go!

Platforms: We've been listening to your requests and have started discussions with Sony regarding a PS4 release - at this stage we can't confirm System Shock on PS4, but we will follow up with an announcement in the near future with more details.

The Demo: Thanks to everyone who has downloaded and played our demo - also thanks to those of you who have been sending us crash/bug reports. We're planning an update early next week that will fix various issues and bugs you've encountered while adding in a few additional features for you to experiment with.

RPG Elements: We're aware of the discussions going on and while there is still plenty of design work to do, we have the best intentions in mind of making a game that will both challenge the player, while still staying true to what people loved about System Shock.

Thursday - June 30, 2016

System Shock - First Impressions

by Aubrielle, 00:27

In case you haven't gotten a chance to check out the demo yet, PC Gamer provides a bit of gameplay footage from the new System Shock. They really like what they see.

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Remember Citadel? Absolutely, and if there’s one thing that really stands out about the new System Shock reboot, it’s that five seconds in, I’m home. To be exact, I’m in the Citadel Station that I think of when I fondly remember the series, rather than the blockier, low-resolution version of it that passed for the future back in 1994. Evil AI SHODAN is back in her original home, orbiting Saturn. All around are the corpses and blood splatters marking the human population’s last stand—a failed one. As the hacker accidentally responsible for the whole mess, you enter the story hoping to prevent things from getting even worse.

And yet, saying that the alpha demo is simply the same does it a disservice. This isn’t just an HD remaster, but a complete rebuild intended to take advantage of what was almost unthought-of technology for the time. It even adds a few clever tricks of its own. It’s System Shock, but it’s also new license-holders Nightdive Studios proving they can handle the franchise—System Shock 3 is on the way, in partnership with Otherside Entertainment. This is a chance to put their own stamp onto it.

Read more.

Source: PC Gamer

Tuesday - June 28, 2016

System Shock - Kickstarter Started

by Myrthos, 23:00

The Kickstarter for the System Shock reboot has started a few hours ago and already raised $127K of the $900K goal. It has a demo that you can download from Steam, GOG or Humble Bundle.

System Shock is a complete remake of the genre defining classic from 1994, rebuilt from the ground up with the Unity Engine.

System Shock was one of the first 3D games that took a methodical approach to exploration while revealing a story driven narrative through audio logs and messages scattered throughout the game world. It was a revolutionary step forward for the medium in a time when developers first began experimenting with interactive story telling.

Players were trapped aboard Citadel Station as they fought to survive against the cyborgs and mutated crew members corrupted by a maniacal A.I. known as SHODAN, one of the most treacherous antagonists ever conceived. System Shock offered an unparalleled experience that would solidify it as one of the greatest games of all time.

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System Shock - Gameplay Video @Polygon

by Silver, 00:11

Some new gameplay video has emerged from Polygon for the new System Shock reboot.

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System Shock is back in this reimagining from Night Dive Studios.

Saturday - June 25, 2016

System Shock - Demo Coming With KS

by Aubrielle, 00:16

The new System Shock Remastered will just be called System Shock, according to Polygon. A bunch of new screenshots have been released ahead of next week's Kickstarter campaign, which will apparently feature a demo.

System Shock is still getting remastered, but don't call it System Shock Remastered anymore.

Just ahead of the game's Kickstarter campaign launch, developer Night Dive Studios told Polygon that the upcoming re-imagination of Looking Glass Technologies' 1994 game has a new name now: System Shock.

"We felt that the amount of passion and resources that we are putting into this game elevated it beyond the expectations that someone would have for a remaster," CEO Stephen Kick said. "This is a full-fledged reboot of a classic game into something new."

Polygon got an early look at that build, as well as the various rewards that will be offered just to those who back the crowdfunding project. Take a look at some screenshots above — we'll also have a full gameplay video up early next week.

We also got a preview of some of the campaign rewards. These include a collector's edition box with a physical copy of the game (launching on both Windows PC and Xbox One), a miniature and a manual, among other items; there's also a Razer-brand laptop with System Shock-centric detailing. There will be other rewards offered on a variety of tiers.

Thursday - June 23, 2016

System Shock - Q&A @Reddit

by Silver, 10:50

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[S] 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[S] 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[S] 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[S] 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.

Friday - June 17, 2016

System Shock - New Screenshots

by Silver, 07:08

Night Dive Studios have released some new screenshots for System Shock Remastered ahead of an AMA with Stephen Kick on Reddit Wed 22 June 9:00-12:00 in PDT.

wrecked podtunnelzombie attack

atmospheredead personnelGore

grey pipesexterior shot of stationexterior shot of station - no logo

Monday - May 16, 2016

System Shock - Remastered Heads to KS

by Aubrielle, 05:38

The much-anticipated System Shock remaster will be heading to Kickstarter next month; Night Dive Studios hopes to tap crowdfunding to fuel the project.

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A much requested remaster of System Shock is currently in development, and based on some early gameplay footage the Unity-powered revamp is coming along very nicely. It's likely we'll have to wait a while to play it though, because Night Dive Studios has announced that it intends to launch a Kickstarter campaign next month.

The studio posted a teaser video on its Facebook page earlier today alongside the announcement, which confirmed the crowdfunding campaign will launch on June 29. Given that it's a remake of a much-loved game, the likelihood of that Kickstarter being a success is very high indeed, but we don't know yet how much the studio is seeking, nor how advanced the development process is.

In addition to looking much more fancy, the remake will stay very true to the original – though the user-interface will receive some much needed spit and polish.

Source.

Source: PC Gamer

Thursday - March 31, 2016

System Shock - Remastered Expectations

by Myrthos, 12:57

The Gaming Ground share their expectations of and hopes for System Shock Remastered.

What I hope and expect of the System Shock remake

And that´s also why I got very excited when I watched Night Dive Studios alpha gameplay trailer for “System Shock 1 Remastered” (which I did one week ago), as the game looks freaking awesome! (the game runs on the Unity Engine). And since Night Dive has already proven themselves to be worthy of working with the “System Shock” IP (“System Shock: Enhanced Edition” received some really good grades and user feedback). I really felt like the remake of “System Shock 1” would be in safe and professional hands with Night Dive. Especially since Night Dive brought in System Shock’s original concept artist, Robert Waters. And not only that, Waters and Nigh Dive has the following ambition for “System Shock 1 Remastered”:

“After 20 years, we are remastering and re-imagining the original System Shock. We will keep the new game true to the classic experience, keeping all the things you loved, while updating the user interface and graphics to use a modern-day engine (Unity).” – Night Dive Studios

 

And based on what I´ve seen from the alpha gameplay video of “System Shock 1 Remastered”, I am very satisfied with the graphical aspect of the game. And it seems like Night Dive has nailed the creepy sci-fi/cyberpunk environment as well. It also appears as if Night Dive has taken full advantage of all the awesome Unity Engine, when it comes to shadow and lighting effects (check the trailer and the pictures in my article). Well, I find those graphical effects to be really cool at least. Any ways, besides that I got the impression that the in-game physics engine is pretty advanced as well (when you hit enemies, pick-up, drop and move stuff around).

Thanks Couch.

Monday - March 14, 2016

System Shock - Remastered Pre-Alpha Trailer

by Silver, 22:57

Night Dive Studios have released an pre-alpha trailer of System Shock Remastered. The systemshock website mentions the game coming to kickstarter soon.

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After 20 years, we are remastering and re-imagining the original System Shock. We will keep the new game true to the classic experience, keeping all the things you loved, while updating the user interface and graphics to use a modern day engine (Unity).

See more of System Shock Remastered at www.systemshock.com

Information about

System Shock (Remake)

Developer: Night Dive Studios

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Sci-Fi
Genre: Shooter-RPG
Combat: Real-time
Play-time: Unknown
Voice-acting: Unknown

Regions & platforms
World
· Homepage
· Platform: PC
· Released: 2023-05-30
· Publisher: Prime Matter