TheMadMonk

There is a mod available, that basically replaces the blocky character textures with newer, prettier ones. It is still a beta, and not all models have been replaced, but I thought you might like to check it out. (Looks like a BIG improvement, to me)

Contains:
- The Many Hybrid with Pipe
- The Many Hybrid with Shotgun
- The Many Hybrid with Grenades
- The Midwife
- The Cyborg Assassin
- All Dead Crew Members of the Von Braun and the Rickenbacker
- The Ghosts

The others meshes will be available in a next release....

Screenshots here:
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/etienne.aube...ck_rebirth.htm

Download mod here: (only 3.75 meg!)
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/etienne.aube...rth_Beta_1.zip

joshd2012

I might have to play this game again when all the characters are updated.

Trigger

Yeah - thanks for the heads up - I'll wait till the thing is complete.

nickdawgy

me too, what a fun game, scared me just a tad the first time I played it, hehe

CharlesC

I never did finish this game. Way too hard for me. My guns kept breaking down and the dang zombies would never stop coming. It was a well done game though.

Basically a precursor to Deus Ex.

Trigger

I didn't wait and I tried the beta - half the characters don't even show up... it's best to wait.

slop101

There was supposed to be an upgraded version coming to the Dreamcast, but they canceled it as soon as Sega pulled the plug on the DC (just like what happened to Half Life).

Kellehair

Same here.

TheMadMonk

That's what makes it fun! Rarely do games inspire fear in me, but when your weapons are crappy, and low on ammo, and prone to jamming, and your backup weapon is even weaker, is more fun that knowing that you have a backpack full of rockets that you can use to dominate the everything around you.

And I briefly tried this mod, and it worked so far; I just got as far as seeing the first hybrid, and he had the new skin.

Also, it is strange that this works at all, since I didn't have a "\mesh" directory initially, and that is where all the files reside, and it doesn't modify any other files. How does it know to look in this directory?

areacode212

This mod sounds pretty cool, but since it'll be about a year or so before I return to System Shock 2 (I still have a ton of games I have yet to play), I'll probably wait until it's closer to completion.

I don't have my SS2 CD right here so I can check this, but I'm guessing that there is a "mesh" directory within one of the SS2 .crf data files (you can open them up in WinZip and see for yourself), and that any files placed in a user-created "mesh" directory in the SS2 folder override those within the data file.

As for the low on ammo/breaking guns thing, yeah, it's annoying, but as TheMadMonk said, it's what makes the game so challenging. Anyway, once you come across the annelid crystal weapon, a lot of the monsters can be defeated by being bashed over the head. When I played the game, I concentrated on Psi powers, so I'm not too familiar with the way the guns work, but if you build your stats correctly, you should be able to repair your weapons/prevent weapon degradation once you get to higher levels. Those early levels of the Von Braun are pretty tough with the weapons/abilities you're given, but it's definitely worth sticking with the game.

BizRodian

The key is to never reley much on your ranged weapons early on, because otherwise you'll have them break far too often, and you'll get stuck.

I've been waiting for an excuse to replay this game, and looks like soon I'll have one.

They should do the Midwifes to make them look how they did in the games concept drawings! they looked about 100 times more creepier, because they looked more like a human who had been altered instead of simply a monster.

TheMadMonk

I always focused on the Navy/Hacker character. Nothing like hacking a turret so it fires on your enemies. I sorta "minored" in the weapons disciplines, and really didn't focus on the psi abilities.

joeblow69

The official patch for SS2 let you adjust the amount of weapon degradation, as well as the respawning level of enemies.

RoQuEr

Once people realized that its not a shoot-em-up, they play much better. If you run around shooting like crazy, then you will quickly run out of bullets, and working guns. If your foe is charging you with a pipe, there is no need to waste bullets on it. The assault rifle has a fully automatic mode. That doesn't mean there was ever a reason to use it.

madmonk, that is the best way to play the game the first time thru. just max out your hacking skills and your basic weapon skill. With that, and the fact that you can hack replicators for cheap bullets, you can beat the game. Ignore the psy skills, and just focus on your stats, hacking, and standard weapons.


I actually think the new models leave something to be desired. I liked the way that the mechanical hybrids, like the nannys and assasins looked dark, ominous, and half machine. Now they look like the half naked zombies you see in all the movies. And the assains should look like the original assasains looked like. So far, I'm not impressed, but maybe they can make the annelid creatures look scarier.

RoQuEr

both SS2 and deus Ex had a basketball easter egg. I sure hope that Deus Ex 2 has one as well.

BizRodian

The Midwifes looked closer to this remade version in the original production sketches. I kind of like them for the reasons I said above, but still think they should be closer to the production sketch or the original game one. I don't like the facial expression either.

http://www.sshock2.com/ss2mmdb/artwork/midwife2.html <-- original sketch

The assasins I don't think should have been made to look that way... they should be like the looked in the game.

The Many Hybrid looks great though!

TheMadMonk

Thief had this as well (and first!)

nickdawgy

What was the reference to b-ball in Thief? I know about the Deus Ex and SS2 references, but can't for the life of me remember it in Thief.

TheMadMonk

There was a hidden basketball court in Thief 1. (But it was on the training level, and I think only when playing on "easy")

mwj

I loved this game up until the final level then it got ridiculously difficult. How does this mod run on an older computer(300a Celeron)?

BizRodian

Really? I thought the last level was painfully easy.

However, the game really faltered near the ending... the final boss was terrible, seemed very rushed... and The Many was pretty linear... the final cut scene is stupid too :P :P

But the first ship? awesome!

Mikey

I agree, the last level(s) seemed too difficult for me. As a result, I decided to cheat but had some fun. First, I would constantly make myself invisible. At the same time, I would summon one of those turret gun things, hack it, and then it would start shooting at the enemies. I would constantly switch from doing this to invisibility, so that noone could see me. For a while, this barely slowed them down since the enemies kept respawning (I sometimes had like 20 turret guns shooting). However, it eventually worked.. and it was really fun. BTW, the last level of the game was a great way to honor the previous game, for those of you who have got that far.

areacode212

Yeah, I think the game suffers a bit once you hit the Rickenbacker. I don't think there's a single "ghost" (one of my favorite aspects of the game) from that point on, the logs are less interesting, and it just generally gets a little more tedious.

The last level (the SHODAN, uh, showdown) is easy if you have a high hacking skill (it helps to have the psi skill that boosts your cyber stats).

And yeah, I hated that last cutscene:

BizRodian

The last level was super easy for me since I still had some of those tools that auto hack for you.

RoQuEr

the more I think about it, the less cool this mod is. By far, it was the sounds in this game that blew me away. The groans of the humans who were trapped in bodies they couldn't control. The muttering of the servant droids trying to "assist" you. Xerxces and his damn schizophrenia. Its was the sounds, and not the sites which freaked me out in this game.