System Shock 3 Wishlist [MAJOR SS2 SPOILERS]

Ok, this thread has lead to rampant System Shock 2 reminiscing. And that got me thinking - what would I want (and in some cases, DEMAND) to see in a hypothetical System Shock 3?

Let's start with the staples of the first-person genre - graphics and sound:

I'd like the game to run on a newer graphics engine (eg Doom 3), though it's not an absolute requirement. SS2 certainly didn't have the best graphics engine in its time, but the engine fitted what the game was trying to achieve beautifully. To sum up, I'd at least want it to look better than SS2 did.

Now the sound engine is interesting! As a matter of fact, I wouldn't even want a new one! The Dark Engine, even to this day, probably has one of the best sound propagation engines around. This was what multichannel surround sound was all about :D. The quality of the sound and voice work was also amazing. More of the same, please!

Story comes next:

Hmmm, this is a tough one. SS2's denouement certainly is open-ended, what with Shodan being alive AND having a ship to modify/ride around in. However, how do you carry forward the story without rehashing what's happened in SS1 and SS2 (ie Shodan taking over some computer system)? Or is this plot device really a requirement for a SS game?

One thing about the story - I would appreciate a slightly darker tone/atmosphere. This will probably be an automatic function of the graphics engine though - the better things look, the more realistic and disturbing they will be (and we know SS doesn't have a scarcity of mutilated bodies and scenes of bloody carnage). I'd like this darker tone to enhance the story and not cheapen it like eg Soldier of Fortune 2.

And now the most interesting aspect - gameplay:

Looking Glass/Irrational Games raised SS2 to GOTY material right here. The gameplay is almost spot-on. I'll briefly cover the main things that set SS2 apart and that can be considered essential for SS3.

Believable level architecture and layout: The levels need to make sense. No generic corridors that lead off to nowhere. No conveniently placed grates or airducts. The gamespace must be tangible.

Quests that make sense from a plot perspective: The player must feel motivated to complete a quest. The quest's completion must tie in logically to the ultimate objective of the player. The player must be able to live the story.

Item placement and balance: I think SS2 did a wonderful job here. Never are you running around with an abundance of ammunition or health kits (forget what they're called). This added immensely to the feeling of tension you got while playing the game. Every bullet counted, every health kit was gold. Also, items must be located in logical places - no rocket launchers tucked into janitorial closets or toilet stalls.

Item degradation: A contentious issue when the game was orignally released. Again I feel it contributed magnificently to SS2's atmosphere and tension. Each weapon became real for a change, instead of being some pigsticker floating around in front of your eye. What they [i]could[i/] do, however, is tone the degradation down a little bit.

Item upgrades and enhancements: Now this is just plain RPG goodness. Give a man a gun and he'll be happy for an hour. Give a man a modifiable gun and he'll be happy for the rest of the game. It's important that upgrades are meaningful and change the characteristics of a weapon sufficiently, except maybe if the upgrades are incremental in nature (as in Deus Ex) as opposed to modular (as in Deus Ex: Invisible War).

Engaging and intelligent AI: Another area where SS2 shined. Give me enemies that are aware of their own mortality and their environment. Make them stalk me, sniff me out carefully.

Some general points:

I just can't see a SS3 being anything other than an RPG. Taking that away will quicken the pace of the game too much. This might just be personal preference though. Maybe give players the option to play it as they want? (action vs psi vs hacker)

How did you guys feel about the research? I though it was quite a neat feature, especially with the different elements one needed to find. Should it go or stay?

Jumping puzzles are out. Period.

Hmmm, looking over what I typed I guess it's pretty obvious what I want - more of the same, albeit with updated graphics and a new story.

(Phew, another long post. You rogues better post some neat replies to this! :wink:)

My main System Shock 3 wish is that they''ll make it Obviously though, everything you said sounds very good. You''ve picked out the best parts of SS2.

I''d say keep research. It was just another gameplay aspect to keep the game different from your run-of-the-mill FPS type games. I wouldn''t mind a LITTLE more ammo in the game though. I can''t count the number of times I got stuck with low health, low ammo, low psi, a bunch of bad guys ahead, and nothing but empty ship behind.

Thats a preatty tall order, I''d be happy if they just made the game. I would love to see more ''The Many'' levels. Those were damn cool.

I wouldn''t mind a LITTLE more ammo in the game though. I can''t count the number of times I got stuck with low health, low ammo, low psi, a bunch of bad guys ahead, and nothing but empty ship behind.

I had that same problem, but then I started to get good at melee weapons. First the laser sword, then that weird looking crystal spike thing, that caused a ton of damage.

Nice wish list LX, I agree on them all.... as if I couldn''t.

Something akin to the Dark Engine in atmosphere is essential, the Thief:DS flavour engine with those horrid level transitions totally removed would do wonderfully.

Given peoples love for the series amongst PC gamers it would not suprise me if someone really did have plans for a third game already in the works, people just can''t talk enough about SS2 (or Planescape or Freespace 2).

I''d really like to see that ""killer"" design document Irrational had lying about, it seems like the demand is there and some of the work at least has been done.