System Shock 2 on a modern PC?

[Zhukov]

Short version:
If I were to get my hands on a copy of System Shock 2, a game released in 1999, is there any way I could get it to work on a modern PC running Windows 7?

...

Long version:
I like Bioshock. A lot. And I am aware that the game takes more then a little inspiration from its "spiritual prequel" System Shock 2.

This alone would be enough to pique my interest. But I've also noticed more then a few people saying that SS2 not only serves as Bioshock's inspiration, but is in fact significantly better. I strongly suspect that these people are talking out of their fanboy arses, but I'm willing to take them up on it. Mostly because Shodan strikes me as an awesome villain.

Which brings me to my original question. Would I be able to run the thing on a Windows 7 PC? Or should I just save myself the bother and find a play-through on youtube?

 

[setting_son]

System Shock 2 is the better game (in my opinion). Naturally the graphics aren't anywhere near as good seeing as it's about a decade older but in every other respect SS2 beats Bioshock hands down.

Don't get me wrong, Bioshock is a fantastic game in it's own right but SS2 had a lot more depth than Bioshock and I think I'm going to dust off my copy and play it right now. Assuming it'll work under Windows 7...

Edit:

Also having played SS2, a lot of Bioshock seemed like a scaled down copy and even the storyline had more than a few similarities. So in a way playing SS2 had taken the shine off Bioshock right from the outset.

 

[The Madman]

*cracks knuckles*

Finally, someone making a topic about a game I specialize in. Yes, it's capable of running on newer computers although it takes a fair bit of fiddling with the game since its engine was never designed to run on such advanced computers. However there's actually a fan made patch for the game which in most cases is all you need though to get the game running on new computers, available here. Install the game, run the SS2Tool, enjoy!

And no, it's not just fanboy talk (Although I do suspect most of the 'system shock' was better crowd when the game was released hadn't even played SS!), System Shock 2 really is absolutely incredible and superior in a number of ways over the much-simplified Bioshock.

Awesomely enough, googling 'System Shock 2 Retrospective' brings up my old topic on the first page. HERE YOU GO! I wont bother repeating how much I love System Shock 2 here when I can just link there and save both time and effort!

Good luck, the game's worth it!

 

[octafish]

My two cents. I actually dual boot XP and Windows 7, for games like System Shock. Any fixes you find for Vista should work for 7 as 7 is basically Vista that works. There are fan patches to make System Shock 1 more playable to modern users too (if you can find a copy). System Shock is a survival RPG not a shooter, don't expect it to be as easy as Bioshock.

 

[Desaari]

I've had hell trying to get SS2 working just on XP, and haven't been able to play it for years despite feeling the urge to replay it. I just downloaded that SS2Tool linked by The Madman, and hopefully this will solve my issues.
I'll reply with feedback on this, because I've tried numerous fixes over the years and none of them have worked for me.

 

[Nomanslander]

SS2 is abandonware, I'll start giving a damn when it comes on Steam and isn't treated like trash by the IP owners....-_-

 

[Desaari]

Well the tool worked better than most fixes. I can play the game, mostly, but now I can't select anything in my inventory. Clicking while in use mode causes me to attack. This means I can't get past the start of the game into MedSci proper. Any advice Mr. The Madman?

 

[The Madman]

SS2 is abandonware, I'll start giving a damn when it comes on Steam and isn't treated like trash by the IP owners....-_-

System Shock 2 is not abandonware, for all that's worth. Not officially anyway.

Well the tool worked better than most fixes. I can play the game, mostly, but now I can't select anything in my inventory. Clicking while in use mode causes me to attack. This means I can't get past the start of the game into MedSci proper. Any advice Mr. The Madman?

Your key bindings are messed up, that's all. Resetting to the default in the options 'should' fix it, and if not that then simply messing with the key bindings till you find something that works. It's a common problem, but not hard to work around.

 

[Desaari]

snip

Your key bindings are messed up, that's all. Resetting to the default in the options 'should' fix it, and if not that then simply messing with the key bindings till you find something that works. It's a common problem, but not hard to work around.

I had already tried changing the key bindings, but that didn't work. Loading a pre-made config worked for me though. Thanks! I can finally play SS2 again after all these years.

Also, since when does SS2 have multiplayer?!

 

[lacktheknack]

Are you sure you realize exactly how terrifying this game is? It's scary enough to make Bioshock crap itself inside out.

 

[lacktheknack]

Are you sure you realize exactly how terrifying this game is? It's scary enough to make Bioshock crap itself inside out.

I doubt it.

I'm interested in giving it a go to. But don't over egg the pudding. I don't really see how it can be that scary given the time it was made.

Sure it might have been scary at the time. But remember, the first King kong film had people running out of the theatre in terror.

Think that on a smaller scale.

If you say so... also note how the first Silent Hill is the most nightmarish.

 

[The Madman]

Also, since when does SS2 have multiplayer?!

Since always, the coop mode was actually extremely fun when the game first came out. No deathmatch or anything like that though.

Enjoy the game!

I doubt it.

I'm interested in giving it a go to. But don't over egg the pudding. I don't really see how it can be that scary given the time it was made.

Sure it might have been scary at the time. But remember, the first King kong film had people running out of the theatre in terror.

Think that on a smaller scale.

I dunno, I still find System Shock 2 to be much more frightening than any recent horror titles simply because it relies on a genuinely frightening premise rather than simply 'boo' monster attacks or gross visuals like 99% of horror games made within the last 5 years. Graphics don't make a whit of difference when the story is well told and unnerving.

It's not 'crap your pants scary' but it does leave an impression.

And then there's SHODAN...

 

[lacktheknack]

Are you sure you realize exactly how terrifying this game is? It's scary enough to make Bioshock crap itself inside out.

I doubt it.

I'm interested in giving it a go to. But don't over egg the pudding. I don't really see how it can be that scary given the time it was made.

Sure it might have been scary at the time. But remember, the first King kong film had people running out of the theatre in terror.

Think that on a smaller scale.

If you say so... also note how the first Silent Hill is the most nightmarish.

All that means is that within the silent hill story the first one was the best.

I'm saying I don't think system shock can really be all that scary given the time it was made... There was only so much they could do with what they had available. I can't see it being scarier than Bioshock. And that's not scary.

I really dislike this point of view, that's all. Even as a graphics whore, I still say that earlier horror games were scarier then current ones, BECAUSE they couldn't rely on graphics.

 

[Worgen]

well it works in xp, I have a copy around somewhere that my friend played tho on my xp comp, altho I might have had to go tho dos box for it.... I dont actually remember since it was awhile ago, I dont think I did

 

[The Madman]

I'd have to see it to believe it.

Colour me skeptical at the minute.

Well this is easily solved; go play the game and judge for yourself!

One thing to consider though is that sound design is also a big element of immersion, and thus horror, in games. Perhaps even moreso than graphics. And System Shock 2 used the Dark Engine which also hosts the Thief series and had the most advanced sound system in gaming at the time. It actually, gasp, required a dedicated sound card! Sound really hasn't improved much since then either, so despite the ten year gap that is one element which this game still does better than many modern titles on a technical level.

I think a good example of this which anyone who's played the game will instantly understand is when I say "Damned monkeys!".

Done by Eric Brosius, one of the bigs at the time in sound design. If you played the more recent SWAT 4 you'll have an idea how good the guy is.

 

[Fr]anc[is]

Good luck. You will really need it. But its worth the effort. Here's the site that helped me:

http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69958

I'll add another voice saying it's scary. True the graphics are lame, but its the sound and the story that really makes it scary. The music is so creepy, and they did excellent work with ALL the voices, both human and non-human. It's not your standard "RAR IM A MONSTER" theres more to it that makes it so much more, I dont want to spoil anything

 

[The Madman]

It's a lot of effort to get running on current systems though, isn't it?

I will probably get round to it eventually but I'm not expecting the fright of my life from it.

Not really, I linked a fan-made compatibility patch which will for most people get the game running no problems. If you want there's also the Rebirth mod which improves the model quality, and the SHTUP mod which vastly increases resolution quality.

Still an old game, but the graphics aren't unbearably bad thankfully. Go in without expectations and you might find yourself pleasantly surprised. I'd say it's still worth playing today! I only played it myself a few years after it came out and when the graphics were already considered outdated, but it's been one of my favorites ever since.

 

[ShiningOmega]

Short version:
If I were to get my hands on a copy of System Shock 2, a game released in 1999, is there any way I could get it to work on a modern PC running Windows 7?

...

Long version:
I like Bioshock. A lot. And I am aware that the game takes more then a little inspiration from its "spiritual prequel" System Shock 2.

This alone would be enough to pique my interest. But I've also noticed more then a few people saying that SS2 not only serves as Bioshock's inspiration, but is in fact significantly better. I strongly suspect that these people are talking out of their fanboy arses, but I'm willing to take them up on it. Mostly because Shodan strikes me as an awesome villain.

Which brings me to my original question. Would I be able to run the thing on a Windows 7 PC? Or should I just save myself the bother and find a play-through on youtube?

Dude, I'm right with you on this one. I loved BioShock (my favorite game in fact), and I wanted to play it's predecessor. I got System Shock 2, I have it running perfectly on a dual-core gaming machine running Windows 7 64-Bit.
You want to have it run on only one processor, so if you wanted to download a patch to make it run on only one of them. You can also do it from your task manager.

Anyway, no, it's not as good as BioShock. The voice acting, writing and story quality, level design, and music are all inferior to BioShock's, but the inventory system and level-up system is leaps and bounds ahead of BioShock's. If you really enjoy BioShock, you'll love SS2. Go for it!

 

[lacktheknack]

Are you sure you realize exactly how terrifying this game is? It's scary enough to make Bioshock crap itself inside out.

I doubt it.

I'm interested in giving it a go to. But don't over egg the pudding. I don't really see how it can be that scary given the time it was made.

Sure it might have been scary at the time. But remember, the first King kong film had people running out of the theatre in terror.

Think that on a smaller scale.

If you say so... also note how the first Silent Hill is the most nightmarish.

All that means is that within the silent hill story the first one was the best.

I'm saying I don't think system shock can really be all that scary given the time it was made... There was only so much they could do with what they had available. I can't see it being scarier than Bioshock. And that's not scary.

I really dislike this point of view, that's all. Even as a graphics whore, I still say that earlier horror games were scarier then current ones, BECAUSE they couldn't rely on graphics.

It has to be said I've never actually been frightened of a game. The most unerving thing I've seen in a game is probably prenumbra. I haven't had a chance to play it yet, but from what I've seen it looks to have some genuine suspence and terror.

From what I've seen of system schock, it just looked like it had the occasional 'SURPRISE I'm Sodan' moments.

Add in the bloody corridors, lack of lights and "BWWWAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRHELPMEAAAAAUUUUGGGGHHHRRRRR" enemies... there's more to it then just SHODAN.

 

[ShiningOmega]

Actually, lemme clarify something. I misrepresented SS2 to be less than it is. System Shock 2 had better overall gameplay than BioShock. Not just the HUD and inventory, etc. Although SS2's is the best HUD/interface I've ever seen in a video game. (Deus Ex is a close second.)

And not that System Shock 2 is lacking in the artistic elements either: it has excellent atmosphere, sound design, music, story, and voice acting. It's just that BioShock does each one of them better, especially story. For example, if you compared some of the SS2 characters to their equivalent in BioShock, I don't think it's a stretch to say that the BioShock character wins each time.
Crazy Doctors: Miller and Steinman
Omnipresent Antagonist who you help dethrone: XERXES and Andrew Ryan
Support Character who turns out to be a Bad Guy: Polito/SHODAN and Atlas/Fontaine

Okay, *MAYBE* SHODAN is as good as Fontaine, but Ryan is the true villain of BioShock, and between him and SHODAN, well, he comes across as a much better character.

Awesomely enough, googling 'System Shock 2 Retrospective' brings up my old topic on the first page. HERE YOU GO! I wont bother repeating how much I love System Shock 2 here when I can just link there and save both time and effort!

Good luck, the game's worth it!

Hats off to you sir. You know your stuff. I read your review, and that is truly awesome. I don't agree with all of it, but you really know that game!