System Shock - Questions/Feedback on Video

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

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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.

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