Author Topic: the system shock pre-alpha is out  (Read 719 times)


  • The demo was very short, probably not even 10 minutes long. That's not necessarily bad but there wasn't much room to make judgement.
  • Combat was...unresponsive. Melee combat only involves one type of attack (you can't block or do heavy/light attacks) and so revolves around swinging, moving back and then rinse and repeat. The laser gun felt underpowered and inconsistent (different enemies of the same type took wildly different amounts of shots to kill).
  • The music was fine, except for when the horror music played after you switched on the lights and the enemies were gone.
  • The textures were blurry, and there were very few graphics options (also, using the default Unity UI textures?). I felt like the game had been set into LOD1 the entire time, which detracted from the otherwise gorgeous visuals.
  • There was apparently an email listed in the UI, but no way to read it.
  • I thought the ending should have involved SHODAN, since we didn't get enough of that classic aspect of the series.
  • Felt the character dialogue was unnecessary and underdone.
  • Overall felt like the demo was a far too linear, whereas System Shock is famous for its open levels that are ripe for exploration.

Still very interested in the final game, but it needs a LOT of work before hand.

music sucks, doesn't carry that awesome cyberpunk feel the original tracks did. orchestral music just doesn't work for me here.

the audio log was automatic and the door code was written on the wall..? considering how important audio logs were in the original two games I'm assuming these two things were only done for the pre-alpha.

I REALLY loving hate the "stop and admire the thing you just picked up" mini cutscene bullstuff that plagues modern first-person games. bethesdoom pulled the same stuff (though it was avoidable in that game if you turned auto weapon switching off). taking away control from the player in a first-person game is one of the worst possible things you can do.

the sparq beam's power level selection was pretty non-descript. there's little to no indicator of what each power level actually is in terms of strength, though you can probably guess with experimentation and cycling through the four of them. the original sparq beam had a slider, which felt like you had more control over it.

(you find a dart gun and not a sparq beam in that area in the original game, loving 0/10 try again)

pipe swing animation and sounds really lack impact. pre-alpha stuff, so that can change.

using the medical bed is another take-control-away-from-player moment. I don't give a stuff if it's a bed and you have to lie in a bed to properly use it. I'm playing a goddamn video game, I can suspend my disbelief. same thing with the power station, I can do without seeing a hand extending and going BZZZZZT. using ladders is also loving terrible.

not a fan of how doors are opened through a small button on the door. immersive, sure, but having doors open by using the entire door is more idiot-proof...and I think a lot of us know how idiotic modern game players are.

they're really going for the doom 3-levels of dark here. can they not do that? not being able to loving see anything does not always equate to horror or suspense.


overall, I'm not really feeling it. I'd like to see a more complete version of the game that's closer to the original.
« Last Edit: June 29, 2016, 10:28:43 AM by ChexGuy331 »

i agree with you guys on pretty much everything. I didn't really feel the demo either, it wasn't very fun lol
but THIS
I REALLY loving hate the "stop and admire the thing you just picked up" mini cutscene bullstuff that plagues modern first-person games. bethesdoom pulled the same stuff (though it was avoidable in that game if you turned auto weapon switching off). taking away control from the player in a first-person game is one of the worst possible things you can do.
was so forgetin' annoying, i rolled my eyes when i picked up the second thing and had to admire it for 10 secs

is this dead space with computers?

music sucks, doesn't carry that awesome cyberpunk feel the original tracks did. orchestral music just doesn't work for me here.
Totally agree, would have preferred a Cyberpunk theme.

the audio log was automatic and the door code was written on the wall..? considering how important audio logs were in the original two games I'm assuming these two things were only done for the pre-alpha.
I'm not embarrassed to admit that I actually didn't see the code on the wall that's right next to the panel and spent 3 minutes looking around the level for an audio diary or email for the code. I don't think it was physically possible for me to register the puzzle being that easy.

I REALLY loving hate the "stop and admire the thing you just picked up" mini cutscene bullstuff that plagues modern first-person games. bethesdoom pulled the same stuff (though it was avoidable in that game if you turned auto weapon switching off). taking away control from the player in a first-person game is one of the worst possible things you can do.
100%, thank you for this. I forgot to complain about this but it is absolutely bullstuff.

Developers forgot that making games is about making games, not movies.

using ladders is also loving terrible.
THIS! The ladder movement was just pain in the arse. I actually skipped all downward ladder movement on my second runthrough (the game crashed because of FRAPS). It was actually a disadvantage (a moment of "fake difficulty" if you will) because they put a spider at the bottom of the ladder and so you might as well just shoot it from the top or jump down and shoot it from behind.

I don't think it was physically possible for me to register the puzzle being that easy.

"we want the absolutely braindead BioShock Infinite audience"

WAIT A MINUTE, THAT CARD

Thank god this was community made. I thought the Demo for SS3 came out and thought it was going to piss based on your feedback.

there rebooting a series using the same name as the original therefore 0/10

there rebooting a series using the same name as the original therefore 0/10
Actually, this is not really a reboot and is actually really a remake (the original game in modern graphics with some gameplay "enhancements") by an entirely different developer team.

It's still needs a lot of work and has some annoying issues, but at least this isn't some quick cash-grab.

Actually, this is not really a reboot and is actually really a remake (the original game in modern graphics with some gameplay "enhancements") by an entirely different developer team.

It's still needs a lot of work and has some annoying issues, but at least this isn't some quick cash-grab.
oh i thought this was a reboot
tbph i would rather have a reboot than a remaster/remake but if they add some (a lot of) new content i'll be happy