System Shock remake in the works!

Mal-Adjusted · 05-12-2015 8:24pm #1

Intiresting development. Night Dive studios have aquired the rights to the System Shock franchile, long thought lost in legal limbo and are apparently at work on a remake, along with the original concept artist.

Night Dive specialize in unearthing old classics and putting them out on modern systems. They were the ones who managed to sort out the rights for SS2 about two years ago and SS1 more recently, one of their own in-house games, Spirits of Xanadu, is heavily inspired by the System Shock games.

Obviously the prospect of a SS3 is tantalizing but Night Dive themselves say that they don't have the resources for a big triple-A title, but this is good news regardless, especially as a remake is on the way. :pac:

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/11/12/system-shock-remake/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rockpapershotgun%2Fsteam+%28Rock%2C+Paper%2C+Shotgun%3A+Steam+RSS%29

Zillah · 05-12-2015 8:47pm

Good candidate for a Kickstarter I would imagine.

Robert ninja · 05-12-2015 8:52pm

Interesting considering I'm hacking my way through SS2 right now and loving it. It's the only game I'm playing consistently and feel like I'm going to actually clear. I want to finish it so I can get around to SS1 which looks a few million times better.

I want to be excited for this news but these remakes, remasters, HDs etc etc... where does it end? And what is the point most of the time other than to make money off people who aren't bothered to play the originals? I was streaming SS2 last night and the only comments I got were people saying the graphics sucks why would anyone ever play it etc. Trolls for sure, but I can't help feeling that's probably what your average gamer will think of SS. If that's the reason they're making a remake... to tap into this audience... then I honestly don't have much faith in the outcome... it's almost always casualised and loses its appeal. But there are a few remakes/remasters I can think of that have done a lot to better the original game and actually improve the game to the original niche audience, unshakling it from the limitations of their budget, hardware etc. I can only hope it's that kind of remake.

Zillah · 05-12-2015 8:54pm

HD Homeworld remake was great!

steve_r · 06-12-2015 10:47am

Excuse my vague ignorance on this, but I remember at the time SS2 came out, people were saying it fixed a lot of problems with the original? Never played the original with this bias in mind, but is it worthwhile?

Retr0gamer · 06-12-2015 12:26pm

I played through it a few years ago well after playing SS2 and once you get over the ropey visuals and just how tough it is it's an absolute classic.

07-12-2015 9:43am

The interface is 'shocking' bad.

Retr0gamer · 07-12-2015 11:30am

M!Ck^ wrote: »

The interface is 'shocking' bad.

It is indeed legendarily awful.

mewso · 08-12-2015 2:59pm

Looks like Otherside are going to be developing SS3. Very good news.

08-12-2015 3:32pm

mewso wrote: »

Looks like Otherside are going to be developing SS3. Very good news.

A sequel excites me.

The developer?? Not so sure...

Retr0gamer · 08-12-2015 3:58pm

M!Ck^ wrote: »

A sequel excites me.

The developer?? Not so sure...

There's some ultima underworld veterans on the team so I remain hopeful.

08-12-2015 3:59pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

There's some ultima underworld veterans on the team so I remain hopeful.

Are they up to scratch from a narrative perspective?

mewso · 08-12-2015 4:02pm

Considering Otherside is run by the founder of Looking Glass you have to hope they have the credentials for it and if it is kickstarted (since the underworld game was) maybe they will go looking for other veterans from the system shock past.

08-12-2015 4:57pm

At this present moment.. what would SS3 need to do to stop apart from other games like Dead Space?

08-12-2015 5:46pm

Deleted User wrote: »

At this present moment.. what would SS3 need to do to stop apart from other games like Dead Space?

Dead Space needs more monkey :pac:

James74 · 08-12-2015 5:54pm

M!Ck^ wrote: »

Dead Space needs more monkey :pac:

Creepy electrified brain monkeys?

Retr0gamer · 08-12-2015 6:51pm

Deleted User wrote: »

At this present moment.. what would SS3 need to do to stop apart from other games like Dead Space?

Dead Space is system shock for dudebros. It's a dumb shooter with nothing but jump scares and M Night Shyamalan twists that runs out of steam after the 3 hour mark. Not bad games but hardly on the level of System Shock.

Mal-Adjusted · 08-12-2015 6:55pm

Deleted User wrote: »

At this present moment.. what would SS3 need to do to stop apart from other games like Dead Space?

I haven't played Dead Space...yet. All i know is it's a horror-shooter with zombie-monsters and a guy with a blowtorch and that it eventually got ruined by microtransactions (?).

Is it an RPG? Does it have a singular enemy/A.I. like Shodan.?

Retr0gamer · 08-12-2015 7:36pm

Mal-Adjusted wrote: »

I haven't played Dead Space...yet. All i know is it's a horror-shooter with zombie-monsters and a guy with a blowtorch and that it eventually got ruined by microtransactions (?).

Is it an RPG? Does it have a singular enemy/A.I. like Shodan.?

It's just a poor man's Resident Evil 4.

gizmo · 08-12-2015 7:46pm

Mal-Adjusted wrote: »

I haven't played Dead Space...yet. All i know is it's a horror-shooter with zombie-monsters and a guy with a blowtorch and that it eventually got ruined by microtransactions (?).

It wasn't ruined by micro-transactions, it was ruined by becoming more shooter and less survival horror. Or, as Retr0gamer so elquantly put it, more dudebro.

As for what SS3 would need to do to differentiate itself from Dead Space, just being a true System Shock game would be more than enough.

One thing is for certain, this is going to need one hell of a Kickstarter with a fairly significant investor and/or tail end for backers in order to raise enough funds. Underworld Ascendant hasn't even broken a million dollars yet post-KS but I'd wager the SS fanbase is probably somewhat more willing to back a new game from this team.

Kiith · 09-12-2015 11:13am

A System Shock kickstarter would easily hit it's target, even if it's a multi million target. It's got a huge fanbase, and it'd be brilliant to see it come back. It's a far better game then Dead Space as well (and i loved Dead Space). Easily one of my favourite games of all time, and one of the creepiest games i've ever played.

Robert ninja · 09-12-2015 11:16am

Retr0gamer wrote: »

It's just a poor man's Resident Evil 4.

"Your song is not ours..."

Zillah · 09-12-2015 1:11pm

Kiith wrote: »

A System Shock kickstarter would easily hit it's target

Especially given that a very large percentage of that fanbase are going to be gamers from the 90's who are now 30+ and A) have money to spend, and

miss the good old days.

They'd walk into their target I'd say.

(Although on the topic, I did finish SS2 and I have to say that the ending was a bizarre event that clashed with the entire experience of the rest of the game - it's by no means perfect)

Zillah · 09-12-2015 1:15pm

Robert ninja wrote: »

"Your song is not ours..."

Gosh, they had good sound design.

gizmo · 09-12-2015 1:20pm

Kiith wrote: »

A System Shock kickstarter would easily hit it's target, even if it's a multi million target. It's got a huge fanbase, and it'd be brilliant to see it come back. It's a far better game then Dead Space as well (and i loved Dead Space). Easily one of my favourite games of all time, and one of the creepiest games i've ever played.

My point was more that there has been no AAA-standard game fully crowd funded based on just its Kickstarter campaign alone. They've either reached viability via further crowdfunding after the KS campaign, like Star Citizen, or via third party investors who used the campaign to gauge interest in the project, such as Shenmue III.

On the assumption Otherside used the latter approach with Underworld Ascendant I'd be fairly confident they could do the same with SS3, I'd just hope they can get the money required to really do the game justice.

Robert ninja · 09-12-2015 7:38pm

https://archive.is/t7BDj

Zillah · 09-12-2015 7:45pm

Robert ninja wrote: »

https://archive.is/t7BDj

What's that and why does it look so cheap?

Edit: this is what it currently shows
http://www.othersidetease.com/dd36tr.php

Robert ninja · 09-12-2015 7:55pm

Seems like a barebones countdown for an announcement or something. The link is an archive of the page.

Mr Freeze · 10-12-2015 10:47am

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Dead Space is system shock for dudebros. It's a dumb shooter with nothing but jump scares and M Night Shyamalan twists that runs out of steam after the 3 hour mark. Not bad games but hardly on the level of System Shock.

Ah thats a bit unfair on Dead Space 1 which was a great game and a game I would not compare to System Shock either.

DS2 and 3 are definitely games for dudebros as you call them, it just got more and more dumbed down.

Captain Chaos · 10-12-2015 11:08am

Mr Freeze wrote: »

DS2 and 3 are definitely games for dudebros as you call them, it just got more and more dumbed down.

That's when EA got involved with the IP too.

TomCo · 10-12-2015 11:40am

I really like the mock ups they've released showing their intended approach to the SS1 remake:

http://www.polygon.com/2015/11/25/9801434/system-shock-remake-first-look-art

Not so thrilled with the concept art though, especially this:

"Genetically engineered beings created by triop corp to serve as heavy maintenance workers aboard citadel station"

The mutants in the original game were the crew who Shodan decided to experiment on with mutagens developed in the garden groves. I think that's a lot more horrific than the above.

Also, the serv-bots were supposed to be lab assistants not mobile vending machines.

Maybe not a big deal to some, but it grates on me given how long I've been waiting for something new from my favourite game series.
I hope they treat the source material with reverence.

gizmo · 10-12-2015 12:11pm

Captain Chaos wrote: »

That's when EA got involved with the IP too.

Er, the first Dead Space was developed by Visceral when they were named EA Redwood Shores so that's not particularly accurate.

Mr Freeze · 10-12-2015 12:23pm

gizmo wrote: »

Er, the first Dead Space was developed by Visceral when they were named EA Redwood Shores so that's not particularly accurate.

But it did go down hill from the 2nd one, it became a lot more action oriented and completely ditched the horror by the 3rd one.

gizmo · 10-12-2015 1:06pm

Mr Freeze wrote: »

But it did go down hill from the 2nd one, it became a lot more action oriented and completely ditched the horror by the 3rd one.

I don't disagree in the slightest. The fact, however, is that the first game was designed from the ground up by an EA studio and published by EA themselves. To claim that they only became involved in the IP after the first game is simply untrue.

The changes, however, can generally be explained by the sales of the series. Despite the first game eventually going on to be a mild success sales wise, it sold extremely poorly at launch. By the end of the first month it had sold around 500K copies and it wasn't until around six months later that EA confirmed it had broken a million sales across the three platforms. Two years later it had broken 2 million units. When Dead Space 2 came out, however, it sold over 2 million copies within the first week of launch. That, unfortunately, is going to be read as "the direction we took was great, let's continue with it" as opposed to some of the other and, arguably, more sensible deductions one could make from a game within that launch window. I'd happily agree that the addition of co-op (and indeed micro-transactions) by the third game would have been solely down to influence from the publisher, Co-Op being "so hot right now" and like, who doesn't like money, right?

Therein lies the problem for games like SS3. They either go with the traditional publisher funding model and get the sizeable budget they more than likely require or they go the crowd funding route. In the former case, they'll need to not only cover their budget but also offer significant returns for the two year development cycle they require. Obviously this can come at the expense of needing to "broaden the fan base" if it fails to live up to expectations. In the latter case though they run the risk of simply not having the budget to make the game the studio wants or that the series deserves.

This is why I'm quite interested to see how the newer crowdfunding-to-show-interest model works out though. It potentially has the ability to show investors that there is support for the vision of the project from the beginning and at the very least reducing unwanted interference as development of the game and/or series continues. It's also why I have no problem with repeated returns to crowdfunding for subsequent titles, like with Larian for example, since it reduces the need to push for maximising revenues in earlier titles to justify the existence of future ones.

Mal-Adjusted · 19-02-2016 3:15pm

Apparently, Otherside got Warren Spectre to lead the team on SS3. A big name with some huge games under his belt, it still comes down to who he has working with him, but it's a good sign and will generate some hype (and give serious legitimacy to the project)

http://www.pcgamer.com/warren-spector-joining-otherside-to-lead-system-shock-3/

On an aside, how do people feel about old classics getting remakes/remasters? i say this in the wake of the Battlezone '98 Redux trailer that landed a few days ago, as well as the SS1 remake. a new dawn for our (nearly) forgotten masterpieces or outdated relics better left in the past?

Retr0gamer · 19-02-2016 5:15pm

I'm excited for Battlezone. I missed out on it back in the 90's due to having a machine that ran Half Life in the sub 10 FPS and heard it was great. The setting really seemed interesting as well.

Duggy747 · 19-02-2016 5:36pm

Loved Battlezone...........even if I all had to play of it for years was the demo from a disc which was the 1st mission on the moon.

Got the original a long time later and still loved the game.

Mr E · 15-03-2016 12:09am

First footage. Looks shiny.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okPLF9Ad9ns

Retr0gamer · 15-03-2016 12:23am

Level architecture is extremely similar to the original games first level. Even the way the level is constructed seems to follow the rules of the original game engine (levels made out of square block like wolfenstein and slopes only at 45 degree angles). Seems like they are going for the same game with minimum changes and just an aesthetic ugprade. Fine by me. I played through the original a couple of months ago for the first time and it's still holds up as one of the best ever made.

Skerries · 15-03-2016 12:29am

call me shallow but I tried again there lately with all the graphic mods on it but I just couldn't get past the aesthetics
early 3d games just don't do it for me now which is a shame as it is supposed to be a great game so I will most likely have a stab at this version

TomCo · 15-03-2016 2:07am

Mr E wrote: »

First footage. Looks shiny.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okPLF9Ad9ns

I'm biased since the original still seriously creeps me out, but that looks flipping terrifying!

Robert ninja · 15-03-2016 8:15am

Looks cool.

Except for the fact that it seems to be being played with a gamepad and the keypad numbers are also being selected by slowly moving one's aim between the keys. What happened to using one's actual NUMPAD? Even Alien: Isolation had classic support for that.

15-03-2016 10:20am

Site is sporting an Xbox One logo now at the bottom

pixelburp · 15-03-2016 10:35am

Well that looks about as I remember it, albeit now in pant-wetting HD. I have to agree with the remarks above about how poorly the game has aged, even with the mods. It's so 'early 3D' it's distracting and much of the horror is dissipated by the janky graphics.

I'm presuming this isn't using some tuned-up version of the original engine: does anyone know what this is being built in? I guess Unity / Unreal 4 etc.?

15-03-2016 10:40am

pixelburp wrote: »

Well that looks about as I remember it, albeit now in pant-wetting HD. I have to agree with the remarks above about how poorly the game has aged, even with the mods. It's so 'early 3D' it's distracting and much of the horror is dissipated by the janky graphics.

I'm presuming this isn't using some tuned-up version of the original engine: does anyone know what this is being built in? I guess Unity / Unreal 4 etc.?

Yes it's got a unity logo on the website

Zillah · 15-03-2016 2:04pm

Mr E wrote: »

First footage. Looks shiny.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okPLF9Ad9ns

Wow this looks amazing. I adored SS2, but barely managed to overcome how horrendous it looked (I was late to the party) - there was not chance I'd manage SS1, so this is very exciting.

Robert ninja wrote: »

Looks cool.

Except for the fact that it seems to be being played with a gamepad and the keypad numbers are also being selected by slowly moving one's aim between the keys. What happened to using one's actual NUMPAD? Even Alien: Isolation had classic support for that.

It is pre-alpha, I certainly wouldn't worry about this sort of thing yet.

James74 · 15-03-2016 2:22pm

Great to see (hear) that one think that was absolutely perfect both back then and now is Shodan's voice. Haunted me back then, and glad to see from that trailer that it couldn't and shouldn't be improved upon.

Zillah · 15-03-2016 3:28pm

James74 wrote: »

Great to see (hear) that one think that was absolutely perfect both back then and now is Shodan's voice. Haunted me back then, and glad to see from that trailer that it couldn't and shouldn't be improved upon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iZMD_eCpEo

Kiith · 15-03-2016 4:39pm

Shodan and Xerxes were both terrifying, especially Xerxes later on when he started...becoming one with the many... :eek:

Mal-Adjusted · 15-03-2016 7:33pm

This looks utterly fantastic. I finished SS1 on Steam last month so it's still fresh in my mind and I'm surprised how faithful they stayed with the level design. I can't help getting an Alien: Isolation vibe off of it.

Robert ninja wrote: »

Looks cool.

Except for the fact that it seems to be being played with a gamepad and the keypad numbers are also being selected by slowly moving one's aim between the keys. What happened to using one's actual NUMPAD? Even Alien: Isolation had classic support for that.

Market realities dictate a multi-platform release so you can assume they had one eye on consoles with the development. It doesn't necessarily mean anything though.

Deleted User wrote: »

Yes it's got a unity logo on the website

Unity is great in the right hands and not just the asset-flippers. It just goes to show what you can do with the Unity engine with a bit of skill.

15-03-2016 7:41pm

Mal-Adjusted wrote: »

This looks utterly fantastic. I finished SS1 on Steam last month so it's still fresh in my mind and I'm surprised how faithful they stayed with the level design. I can't help getting an Alien: Isolation vibe off of it.

Market realities dictate a multi-platform release so you can assume they had one eye on consoles with the development. It doesn't necessarily mean anything though.

Unity is great in the right hands and not just the asset-flippers. It just goes to show what you can do with the Unity engine with a bit of skill.

I'm a big fan of Unity.

System Shock remake in the works!

Comments