Re: System Shock - The Remake
Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2016 5:07 am
For real
Nightdive named their update mail account "Shodan", which is funny
Do tell, how many full hydrodynamical galaxy simulations have you written on that Windows pc of yours?Talvieno wrote:It's okay, Windows is superior anyway.
I still disagree with altering the original gameplay. But as Nightdive are obviously determined to do that, this is the honest and responsible way to go about it.1.4m Goal Changes
We've altered the 1.4m stretch goal to something a bit more manageable from a game development standpoint. Before, it was vague and misleading regarding “RPG Elements”. That lead to a bit of confusion and unease with our backers, and to be perfectly honest, deep system features like that are pretty dangerous as stretch goals. We have an awesome vision for the game and setting a bunch of features we deeply believe in to a stretch goal stifles our own creativity since we can't fully plan for things.
Now, the 1.4m stretch goal is something much safer for us to scale if we don’t make the goal. It’s to add content in the form of more maps such as Groves, floors of Citadel Station, and Cyberspace content. This will make it better for us to properly execute on our core vision of the game, while still being able to offer some more awesome content if we hit the stretch goal.
As I mentioned before, we have a pretty good vision of where we want to take things and what RPG systems we’ll be leaning towards within our budget. Also, RPG systems can imply a lot of things, so I'll go over some core concepts that we're following with the overall systems design.
I know that isn't very detailed, but it's still early in the game’s development, and things can change. Those rules above are what we're confident in delivering. At the end of the day, we always ask ourselves “What would Looking Glass do?” and strive to carry on their tradition of innovation and quality while being as faithful as we can be to the original game.
- Stats are boring - Instead of letting the player feel stronger with stat boosts and level identification, we’re more in favor of ability and skill depth. As the player progresses, they will get more abilities/weapons, which will take skill to master (player skill, not skill points)
- Things should make sense - We want to have vending machines, but they're mainly for food/drinks that the player can get to help heal themselves or provide a slight boost to their abilities. You won't hack a vending machine to get a gun, since why would a vending machine on a space station have a gun?
- Upgrades are good in moderation - Throughout the game, the player will find upgrades to their abilities and find better weapons. We're not going to get crazy with this one since the point of the game is to have fun, and not noodle around in your inventory. If something is tedious, don't expect us to do it.
- Multiple ways to solve a problem - We're going to assume our players are smart and want to find creative solutions to problems/enemies. We'll provide the tools/weapons/abilities, and the player will decide how they want to solve the problem given their playstyle.
"Abilities" is the kicker. That's the main way in which progression was controlled by Irrational in SS2 where progress was left to the player in the original. I remain unconvinced that shoehorning developer control over magical character "abilities" into the original game, which emphasized gear-based progression, improves the original.Dinosawer wrote:...but most of that is stuff the original already does
Upgrades come in the form of new/upgraded modules and guns, and there were regularly multiple way of doing things (I think I found the laser override code in three different ways )
GOG.com: Gamers are concerned that the ambitious stretch goals will add stuff to the game which will somewhat change the original's DNA. What's your take on these additions, as well as the feedback?
Kick: These proposed changes to the existing foundation of the game won’t alter the experience in a dramatic way - for example we want to make sure that the roleplaying aspect of the game comes naturally to the player and that we don’t force them to choose a role from the outset like in Shock 2 and have that dictate the experience. They should feel free to experiment with the mechanics in the game and not feel penalized for a prior choice should their play style evolve and change throughout the game. If you want to take a more stealthy approach and focus on hacking and avoiding combat our system will reward you for that and make you more proficient in those skills. It’s more of a behind the scenes approach that won’t take you out of the game for an extended period of time, forcing you to think about where to put skill points.
As for the feedback, it’s justified. As soon as you start talking about messing with the formula of a beloved franchise you can see the torches being lit in the distance. We want to add our own unique touch to the game, but it won’t in any way violate what’s been established or change the basic foundation of the game.