I feel so giddy...

[WarLocke]

I love Abandonware sites.

I've been wanting to play System Shock II for the longest time, since everybody and their talking dog considers it a classic. But it's no longer sold/supported. Fortunately for me, the Underdogs have it up for download (258mb, but what else am I going to do with my net access while playing Freelancer or Morrowind?).

For those who aren't familiar, SS2 was a FPS/RPG hybrid released in 1998 by Looking Glass (same people who did the Thief games) and published by Sierra. It's supposed to be hellaciously creepy and spooky, set on a ghost ship in the 2100s.

Awww yeah. Now I just need to find an Anachronox link...

- WL

[NiteFox]

Aye, except the HotU version doesn't have the movies.

Anyhoo, I'm glad that I actually found Homeworld on sale. Yay.

[Vash]

Mmm...SS2...scariest...game...ever!

They seeeeee you...ruuuuunn....RUUUUUUUN!!!!

[Amaethon]

I have the game disk if your interested, Id be happy to send it via snail mail if you want to give me a PM with your addy.

[WarLocke]

OK, so I finish downloading the game earlier, and install it.

I start it up, and play through the tutorials. This game is lookin' good!

Then I get to the character creatio process, which is really cool. I end up going Navy (so I can be a leet haxxor), and taking the +1 Strength/Hack, +2 Cybernetics, and +2 Agility career paths.

I start the game proper, run around a bit, and then run into some freaking ghost trying to get through a door. What the heck? Okay, kinda spooky. Let's see what's through the door...

Aaaaugh! What the heck ARE these things? All I have is a crowbar! Oh crap here's another!

Okay, I'm hurt, but they're dead. Let's explore a bit.

Ooh, some sort of regeneration station. Let's see if I can turn it on. Cool!

OK, found another office block looking place. Hrmm, is that chittering I hear? It almost sounds like a chimp...

OH HOLY JEBUS SAVE ME!

THE CHIMP THE CHIMP OHMYGO-

[Jeunemaitre]

I came upon the same chimp while playing, but I shot him before he did anything. Wha happen?

Also, I'm stuck. I need to get the power cell from the med door charged, but I can't get to the charger in R&D because I don't have the security card. Did I miss something? Bad news is I blew up one of the security crates. Did I blow up something important???

[shodan]

OK, so I finish downloading the game earlier, and install it.

I start it up, and play through the tutorials.  This game is lookin' good!

Then I get to the character creatio process, which is really cool.  I end up going Navy (so I can be a leet haxxor), and taking the +1 Strength/Hack, +2 Cybernetics, and +2 Agility career paths.

I start the game proper, run around a bit, and then run into some freaking ghost trying to get through a door.  What the heck?  Okay, kinda spooky.  Let's see what's through the door...

Aaaaugh!  What the heck ARE these things?  All I have is a crowbar!  Oh crap here's another!

Okay, I'm hurt, but they're dead.  Let's explore a bit.

Ooh, some sort of regeneration station.  Let's see if I can turn it on.  Cool!

OK, found another office block looking place.  Hrmm, is that chittering I hear?  It almost sounds like a chimp...

OH HOLY JEBUS SAVE ME!

THE CHIMP THE CHIMP OHMYGO-

haha, nice story...reminds me of the time i played the game the first time, i was scared like hell ;)
the game only gets better and better with every level, unfortunately the multiplayer doesnt work well, i never managed to play through a whole game with another player...but maybe someone want to give a try? B)

[WarLocke]

I came upon the same chimp while playing, but I shot him before he did anything. Wha happen?

Those chimps are just... evil. Augh, I hate chimps...

Also, I'm stuck. I need to get the power cell from the med door charged, but I can't get to the charger in R&D because I don't have the security card. Did I miss something? Bad news is I blew up one of the security crates. Did I blow up something important???

There's a recharge station in the pump room (which can be accessed from the med deck, check around). Be careful of the gun turrets, though. (Hint: turning off the security system temporarily disables them)

- WL

[Jeunemaitre]

I learned the hard way that turning off the security system was better than fighting through the turrets. I had one hell of a time blowing them up though. Thanks for the tip. I'll try it...

[Vash]

Multiplayer's pretty bad unless the team is VERY coordinated. I tried playing with 4 acquaintances (not friends...acquaintances) and it was just total chaos. You gotta play with friends or people who you know will listen to one another and know what they're doing.

[Refrigerator]

OK, so I finish downloading the game earlier, and install it.

Where did you download it from?

Sounds creepy!

OH MY GOD! THERE'S SOMETHING BEHIND MY CHA-......
....
....

ee ee oo ooo aaa aaa

chymps will rool da wurld

hahahahaaa

[Guest]

Yeah, fun game. I only disliked having to repair my assault rifle after 50 shots.

[Growler]

The game designers made available an argument in an .ini file that allows adjustment of the 'wear and tear rate' for items. The difficulty (or annoyance) factor of this feature varies greatly between different players of the game. I felt there was enough game balance just trying to scrounge ammo, because I turned off monster respawning.

Oh yes, it is a file called user.cfg in the games main install directory. Here are the contents. Hope this is helpful.

Code:

;user.cfg 2/10/2002

;prevents respawning monsters makes game harder by restricting found ammo and hypos
;no_spawn

; System Shock 2's ecologies look at how many monsters are in a given area.
; If a defined minimum number of monsters are present, there is a chance that a
; new monster will spawn.  The variable:
; lower_spawn_min <n>
; reduces the defined minimum monster count on all ecologies by <n>.
; raise_spawn_rand <n>
; lowers the chance of a monster randomly spawning by changing the random chance from 1/i to 1/(i+<n>).


;is a multiplier for the rate at which your weapons degrade. &nbsp;For example, to completely eliminate weapon;degradation & breakage, set the value to 0. &nbsp;To tone it down, set it somewhere between 1 and 0.
;gun_degrade_rate <n>

Growler

[Kevin]

Just like I remember the demo doing. Graphics are still good enough, but the audio is really what gets you.

Frickin chimps.... and hybrids.... and ghosts....

[Jeunemaitre]

So after 11hrs logged in game time (for the current over achieving character) I've arrived in the body of the Many for the first time. Note to self, listen to the lags as you find them, and read all of the research reports, not just the "Damage to X will be increased by 25%," and then you might not have wasted the cyber modules on specializing in energy weapons.

Okay so other bits of the game have been intermittently frightening, but this entire level is got me in a constant state of paranoia. And it doesn't help to be completely lost in these stupid squishy tunnels...