Re: It's coming...System Shock 2 Remaster

On Tue, 25 Mar 2025 22:40:03 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
<candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote at 15:42 this Sunday (GMT):

On Sun, 23 Mar 2025 06:20:07 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
<candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:

<spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

This isn't going to be a full remaster along the lines of the 2023
"System Shock" game, with an entirely new engine, new levels,
textures, sounds. Rather, it will be more akin to the 2015 "Enhanced
Edition" releases of the first system shock game; a shiny new gloss
atop the 1999 sequel. E.g., the sort of thing you can create for
yourself if you download all those fan-made patches and apply them
yourself.

So, if someone were to make a modpack..

There used to be one called "System Shock 2 Redux" that loaded a bunch
of the most popular SS2 mods into one single easy-to-install package,
but it looks like it got taken down (I don't think the person who made
it got permission from all involved to use their specific creations in
his uber-mod). But I'm sure it probably lingers in certain corners of
the Internet.

But essentially, that seems all that this remastered version of
"System Shock 2" will be. Again, I'm not implying Nightdive is simply
packaging up mods and selling it to you. In fact, from what little
I've seen, it looks like they're making their own texture and models.
But the end result doesn't seem like it will be any more impressive
(and, in some cases, actually looks less impressive) than what the
modders have already done.

What you're paying for is mostly the convenience of having all the
work done for you. Also, it doesn't hurt that this new edition will
probably be the new 'base version' for any future mods (in fact, one
of the advertised features of the remastered version is 'better
support for mods'). But the question is: does all that justify the $40
price-tag, especially if --as most people who are interested in the
game are likely to be-- you already own the original game?