www[dot]systemshock[dot]org/index[dot]php?topic=2427[dot]0

""We're only releasing System Shock 2; there's virtually no story overlap between 1 and 2, so there's no real need to play the first one to enjoy the second one fully.""

To who ever said that:
That is, in the nicest possible way, bull. I wouldn't have enjoyed the next-to-last level half as much if I hadn't played SS1. And yeah, I have played it. But I want the developers to have my money, or at the very least see how many people still enjoy their game (and I'll add that I liked the controls) decades on, because it's just that good.

(And, privately, I want those GLaDOS fanboys to actually know who I'm talking about when I say 'SHODAN did it first', but that's beside the point)

I have to agree. I played SS2 first. A few years later, decided to go back and play SS1. Then played SS2 again right after finishing SS1. Knowing the plot of SS1 really does add a lot to the SS2 experience, in at least 2 moments of the sequel.

The SS1 controls take getting used to, but if you get past that, it's a very satisfying game with a lot of atmosphere and scares. In some ways, I prefer it to SS2 (but obviously both are great).

It means the copyright is not enforced and it would cost more in legal fees and time to gather the rights to make the product sellable than it would likely generate in revenue. In other words, it's not worth it to them.

What do you think GOG does regarding rights to games? Some games take years to go through all proper parties to get absolute signoff to make something that can be sold and profits neatly divided. And even then, it's not etched in stone. Look at what happened with Fallout.

GOG doesn't sell pirated games (so-called 'abandonware'). They only sell games that they have gotten rights to sell through the correct channels.

I never stated they did. You seem confused by my post.

I will echo this sentiment. Having played System Shock (the original disc, not Portable) years ago, I felt right at home with Realms of the Haunting as well. Although ROTH goes really downhill about halfway through.

I also find SS1 a better game than SS2 overall, which I felt was terribly unbalanced in its original incarnation, and replaced some of the cyberpunk feeling for a more survival horror setting. Not that it would be a problem in itself, but SS1 was a masterpiece of cyberpunk, so when I played the sequel I really missed that.

Night Dive is hinting at re-releasing SS1-

http://www.gog.com/forum/general/system_shock_1_rerelease_being_teased_by_night_dive


But it may be a usual trolling.

Just a thought on piracy,

with regards to old games that are no longer sold as new (ie GOG sells "new" software with this definition), I would go and download them for free because the company/game designers/developer does not make any money out of second hand sales.

If you are so worried about piracy because you want to help the company/game designers/developer then I would suggest you never ever buy second hand stuff. It is pointless :P.

Imagine there are 10 potential customers.
Scenario 1. All buy the game. Great! Ten sales for the company!
Scenario 2. One buys the game then the other 9 pirate it. End result is 1 sale for the company.
Scenario 3. One buys the game, then sells it to the next person who sells it and so on. End result is 1 sale for the company.

Therefore in practice and maybe in principle, Scenarios 2 and 3 are exactly the same.

My advice then is do not waste your money on eBay unless you want the actual physical media (which I do sometimes)

well, this is certainly not the smartest thing I've read today. let's hope you'll grow out of it.

Without thinking about legal or not...
I decided to try looking for System Shock Portalble, and could only find version 1.2.3 and not the 1.2.2 that was mentioned above. And when I start running it (hitting "b" from the main menu in SSP I get messages about missing DLL files. Tried downloading them, but there's just too many missing to bother (DLed 10 before giving up).

Anyone else having this problem, and if so: Have you managed to fix it?

definitely not a widespread problem, as the point of SSP is to be, well, portable, not really requiring anything else to run. your pc must be missing some very basic functionality if it's not working properly. or so it seems.

I suggest you take this to the systemshock.org topic, posting as much details about your hardware and software as possible for a start.