The Enhanced version from Nightdive is in many ways superior than the Portable version.
That's because many people these days are cheap f***s and just want everything for free. Games where much more expensive in the past than they are now and also had much less content available and still most people had no problem with paying the price. These days people are just too spoiled with all those daily/weekly/whatever sales.

Nobody is being forced to pre-order now. If the game really releases in August 2021 you could just put some money aside, wait until one day before the official release and get it then. That way it would feel less like pre-ordering and more like getting a game on release day but still with a free bonus game on top of it.
This could still be happening once both games are released. There is always the possibility of getting a launch discount for those people that own the original System Shock 2 already. Saying that this will not happen is something you can't be sure about as you are not able to forecast the future.

Tbh I was mainly musing....I kinda got that you were agreeing with me. That said, thanks for adding some context and info. :)

This is most likely to see who will "bite" and buy it for a higher price point....the more loyal fans of the series who have more money than they know what to do with and others who don't like to wait. Likely they'll allow discounts later on down the line, to entice the ones who don't bite during launch.

I think I know the type... you mean those who think they know better than the people who play the games and who only/mainly listen to input they agree with, right?

Yep

What do you mean disrespected? You mean the upcoming SS2 "remaster"?

If so, yeah I am guessing they "borrow" things from the fan mods like the SS1 enhance version seemingly did from SS portable.

Or did you mean the enhanced edition of SS1?

It has some better portraits for the audio logs, and the ability to mod the game, and some other things...but:

1. SS portable was nearly the same thing, features/etc wise.

and

2. SS portable was free (though only legal if one owned the original game)

And one could also say that a good number of devs/pubs are greedy and just treat consumers like gullible walking wallets.

The game is digital, and they got a bunch of KS money(which they blew stupidly on bad decisions), and yet they still want to charge non-KS supporters around 50% more for the same digital edition of the game.

The price they originally asked for from KS supporters(30 US) seems fair.....but 45 dollars?

You seem to forget that companies made physical editions long ago, and as such costs were higher(making manuals and discs, shipping them out, etc).

With digital editions, costs should be adjusted accordingly. Some game makers do so, but some like to nickel and dime the players because they know some will pay near anything if the right conditions are met.

Sidenote: I somewhat agree that some seem to be "spoiled" by deep sales online and IRL, though.
(Of course I also think the sale prices for some of the games is what they should cost normally, as well)

Again, for me(and some others here as well) it's not preordering....it's the price.

Usually(from what I can recall and afaik) they gave such discounts even during preorders....so not seeing one here might mean they're not giving one.

If they do, then ok...fair enough and good on them. Still, (imo) they are charging too much for the game itself.

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In the end, I think devs/etc should get paid for their efforts, but I also don't think they should use people's nostalgia to soak them an arm and a leg & that they should charge a fair price.

Awesome thanks for the write up here (I asked a similar question in my post). Will give the new demo a shot - maybe even along side the old demo that I'm pretty sure I still have installed LOL.

I was confused by some of the earlier posts - I was like "Why the fuck would you raise a bunch of money, and then switch FROM Unreal TO Unity???"

That's like saying I can't wait until I get rich so I can trade in my Porsche for a Camry.

Tbf, I hear unity is decent enough if game makers pay for the premium version...but I hear ya.

Yeah and I don't know if it's just me but I SWEAR it's gotten a ton better recently. Unity games used to spin up my GPU like CRAZY (and I'm talking like RPG type stuff - not even graphically intensive). Whereas the last few years I don't even realize if a game is Unity.

But there was a time when I'd start up a game, here my fans go crazy and my first thought was "Huh, didn't know this was a Unity Engine game" LOL.

Those games made by small groups or studios and/or with a tight budget? Then there's your answer....they likely cheapened out and used the free/cheap version of unity. :)

Over in Australia $65

also Unity is MUCH better now Look

This Cartoon "WINDUP" was made with unity WINDUP FILM

I mean the upcoming SS1 remake: at some point during the campaign Mr. Kick told us that the goal was to make a SS1 with elements borrowed from SS2 and Bioshock...
Specifically one of them was the introduction of vending machines, well, the problem there is that if you put vending machines in the game you radically change its mechanics/gameplay because in SS1 you can actually run out of ammo, med patches and consumables.

In order to put in place an economy system like that, you need to respawn enemies that carry ammo, med kits and/or money, which partially happens in SS with mutants dropping sometimes a medi patch or dartgun ammo but that's it.
Hoppers drop nothing and are a pain in the back exactly for that reason. Alternatively it could be achieved with some kind of contraption that recycles stuff in exchange of money but, again, you need endless clutter or body parts and depends on its efficiency.

Kind of related to that another idea was to make monsters modular with the premise that SHODAN, forced by the paucity of resources (humans), started to replace limbs with robotic interchangeable (salvaged?) ones.
That means that enemies would be made by the same components just rearranged, to be fair that's not a bad idea per se but: 1) you are freaking messing the whole lore up and 2) somehow that negates the need for cyber conversion.

So the idea was to turn SS gameplay into an hybrid SS2/BS one which, from a purist's point of view, is just plain wrong and disrespectful.
At hat point I suggested to at least give us a classic mode where people could experience the original without the modern stuff, many other backers agreed and we finally managed to get that as an in game option.
That was before the mess-up, no idea if the classic mode is still in.

This may not matter to most folks here but I read that the SS2:EE is getting a fully-fleshed out VR mode. Just mentioning it in case it interests anyone. VR can be a nice diversion to supplement normal gaming, so I wouldn't mind running around in the terrifying setting of SS2 from time to time. I'm not sure I can bring myself to pre-order though. Feels too much like gambling, or high risk investing (I guess there isn't much difference). I'll have to think on it for a while. If anything, I'll pre-order at the last minute of the pre-order window if things seem promising.

I have nothing against this particular company, but I'll never pre-order any game again. I decided this years ago and have only had cause to be glad of the decision- it feels like half the games that come out these days are disappointing, buggy, rushed messes. Just off the top of my head, I can think of No Man's Sky (though after literally years of work it seems like they've finally managed to make it worth playing), The Sinking City with its legal drama that prevents gamers on most platforms from getting the full version of the game, Warcraft III Reforged which was by all accounts a terrible half-assed effort, and of course, Cyberpunk 2077, which is a buggy clusterf*ck that doesn't deliver on its promises. One doesn't have to look far to find a dozen similar examples. If the new System Shock gets great reviews in the first couple weeks after it comes out, then I'll buy it. Not before. Companies need to learn to actually finish and polish their games before releasing them, and the only way that's going to happen is if customers only pay for games that are actually good instead of games they gullibly assume will be good.

Isn't part of that due to your taxes and whatnot? Still, yeah, it is crazy.....games in the digital age(especially non AAA ones or ones like this that are made from pre existing "resources") should be cheaper, yet some devs and pubs still want physical edition prices(or much more if you get their "collector's editions").

It was ok before, if people used the paid version....but smaller devs couldn't easily afford it and others liked to cheap out.

Btw: The title card for the short looks nice...will watch in a bit(gotta do busy work first). :)

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Musing: Vending machines might work if the items sold had reduced benefits and/or the "money" was scarce. Also a setting/option to disable them on higher difficulties and/or for anyone who wants to do so might also work/help.

More musing: And i'm gonna guess others will complain if it's not "fresh" enough....but I hear ya.

Well we will find out in a few months. :)


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Sounds a bit iffy....I mean what if players get jump scared and knock into their furniture and what not. o.0

That aside, aren't many VR games simplified(controls and mechanics)? If so, how will they incorporate all the features and mechanics of SS2 into a VR mode? I hope they won't dumb it down just to fit in VR mode. :|

Yeah, most VR games / game modes are simplified due to the input limitations from the user. VR surprised me in the sense that it's a lot neater and less gimmicky than I expected it to be, but we're still a long way off from it being serious enough to take up the bulk of a gamers play time for most of us. I think it can get way more immersive than it currently is. People who play sims (racing games, flight sims, etc) I think have the most to gain from the current state of the technology. But, I find it a nice distraction - something to play around with from time to time. I don't take it seriously.

One of the neatest things for me has been a game like Star Wars Squadrons. Now, don't get me wrong, that game pales in comparison to its predecessors. But, its predecessors are why I find VR so fascinating. I was a teenager with one our first home computers when my dad brought home a joystick and a 3.5" floppy disk version of Tie Fighter when it came out. I was hooked on that game for a long time. So, it has been neat for me to fly around, feeling like I'm really in the cockpit of a star wars fighter, just thinking about how far we've come with gaming technology. In a similar sense, I don't expect the VR mode of SS2 to be perfect, but it will be neat to see another game from my youth in VR, even with the limitations.

Like I said, it's nothing to take seriously. I have no plans to replace my love for isometric cRPGs or 4x strategy games with VR, but I enjoy putting on the headset and messing around with it in short bursts. I will say that when I get an itch to mess around in No Man's Sky (I find NMS to be more of an experience than an actual game), I can't even play that one without VR now. No Man's Sky is a great experience under the current limitations of VR.

Anyway... sorry for the off-topic discussion folks =)

The original Systems Shock is much closer to be a VR game: the crosshair is detached from the center of the POV and items can grabbed and thrown, the strenght can be adjusted by mouse movements.

Nothing to be sorry for.....t'was a nice read.

As for VR: I agree, it can be fun for some things and in some cases(if albeit a bit expensive for what's essentially akin to a screen taped to one's head). That said, it could be better....but it'd likely need a complete overhaul in how it's implemented(something akin to a brain jack or anything else that can accept more/quicker input from the player).

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And lastly to the thread, and back ontopic for a sec: I am going to hold out hope that they offer a nice discount for owners of the original games at launch, or perhaps offer a decent discount for others later on.....so some of us long time fans with limited budget and/or who think the price is too high can also get it at some point.

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And the VR-interfaces in that game would likely be fun for some to play that way as well...rushing through tunnels and grabbing blocks and whatnot.