Quick SS2 FAQ, and SS2EE info

[ps47.3dfx]

Everything we currently know about SS2EE can be found here[www.systemshock.org] - to make it short, it's SS2 running on the KEX framework, with many popular mods loaded out of the box (the SS2 Community Patch[www.systemshock.org] for example), NDS enhanced AI models and a few other additions, minor UI tweaks, modern multiplayer, achievements, and redone cutscenes.

SS2EE is a free bonus for those who have pre-ordered SSR, implying anyone else will have to buy it separately. No official release date yet, realistic estimate would be Q4 2024.


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SS2 MODDING:
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go here[www.systemshock.org]. apply all if you want to go as HD as possible, or stick just with SCP and SHTUP-ND if you want to stay close to vanilla. Check here[www.gog.com] if you have the MAC version.

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Subtitles:
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go here[www.systemshock.org].

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General:
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-if the game refuses to start (or displays other odd behavior), uninstall it, delete everything from your SS2 folder except your saves, and reinstall it. if that won't help, try to patch up with ss2tool[www.systemshock.org] (make sure to check game features and pick what you want/like). moving the game out of Program files[blog.pcgamingwiki.com] might help as well (do note that the modding part is outdated, go here[www.systemshock.org]if you want to mod your game).

-there is a free demo available[www.ttlg.com], you can try it out before buying the full game. it contains the updated engine and all the major graphics mods, so if it runs fine, you shouldn't have any problems with the full game either.

-if you drop your mods directly to the SS2 folder, you will break your game. if you want to install mods, you should use a proper modmanager (see the mod guide for more details and recommended mods[www.systemshock.org]), this should help you avoid problems with priorities and overwriting.

-the most important rule of a healthy SS2 install: move the game out of Program Files (unfortunately, this is the default steam location, so the chances your game is placed there after you download it are pretty high). Running the game from Program Files can result in a wide variety of strange issues - crashes, missing audio, inability to save or change configuration, etc. See this very nice steam guide[blog.pcgamingwiki.com] that will show you how to move the game properly (the mod part is outdated though, as mentioned before, using the modmanager[www.systemshock.org] is the way to go).

-the GOG FAQ[www.gog.com] is applicable to the steam version, check the useful links for solutions to some common issues.

-the SystemShock org troubleshooting guide[www.systemshock.org] is also very useful, if maybe a bit technical. a lot of extended functionality is explained there.

-multiplayer only works up to three players, and currently, it's far from perfect - expect a lot of stability and synchronization issues. the game should be completable, but you will have to be really patient (and save a LOT). there is no known fix - all you can do is hope that the problem will be addressed in the next version of NewDark/SS2 2.4x.

-do not force anything via your graphics card's control panel (like multisampling, V-sync etc), this is known to cause problems.

-check here[www.gog.com] if you need to run the game in windowed mode.


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Fixing known problems:
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-if you have audio issues, go to the audio menu, and make sure the hw acceleration is off. also make sure the positional sound bias slider is right in the middle.

-if audiologs still don't play, move the game from Program Files, as described in this guide[blog.pcgamingwiki.com]. also, make sure the positional sound bias slider is right in the middle.

-if you have Intel integrated graphics, and see only black screen after starting a game (usually with a small square with graphics in the upper left corner), or you are experiencing poor frame rates, disable multisampling - edit cam_ext.cfg with notepad, find multisampling and make sure it looks like this:

;multisampletype 8

or get the extra safe cfg[docs.google.com] (download the zip, extract the cfg file from the archive and copy it to your SS2 folder, overwriting the old file).

-if you have a black screen or crash when starting the game for the first time, try setting your resolution manually - edit cam.cfg with notepad and edit (or add, if not present) the following line with your desktop resolution (fullhd used as an example):

game_screen_size 1920 1080

save and run the game again.

-if you encounter invisible enemies or missing textures, make sure you are not forcing anti-aliasing in your gpu control panel (forcing pretty much anything is a bad idea, just leave everything at factory defaults).

-if you have a Windows version with asian localization, and the game crashes immediately after launching, try this solution.

-if the controls are weird, you can completely reconfigure them in the ingame menu.

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also, if you have any technical questions, this is the place. if you have a problem, try to provide your ss2.log (in your SS2 folder) as well.

[OpticalShadow]

so even though ss2tool was used, we should download and reinstall it with this version?

[ps47.3dfx]

it certainly won't make things any worse. do remember that you will have to clean the conflicting files from the SS2 folder each time you use the tool.

[OpticalShadow]

is the new patch coming out going to make co-op more "stable" then it was pre steam/gog launch? ive owned this game for years, but very rarely can actually get co--op to work

[ps47.3dfx]

no changes to co-op. unless this is addressed by the NewDark mystery man, multiplayer will remain wonky.

[Sikobae]

My steam folder is in Program Files x86 and this game works just fine.

My original retail install has been in plain Program Files for about a year now and it works just fine.

A while ago on an WinXPPro/GeForce4-128mb/Pentium 4 I used 2xAA and 8x Anisotropic driver settings and the game looked just fine and played fine too minus the "Direct3D blah blah texture memory" crap.

I'm not sure what you guys are going on about with some of these non-multiplayer issues...

[bldoggett]

I'm just bumping it up as it's usefull.
I'm a non PC gamer. I only really play Dawn of War II, FTL and Left 4 Dead 2. So when I hear people talking about mods and programme files and deleting/changing bits of code, I'm in a world of confusion.
So I'm hoping the new patch will include all the mods in one easy install. (I looked at the wiki install thing and even though it seemed simple with bullet points, I dont have the tech confidence to try it.)

[ps47.3dfx]

Originally posted by ๖ۣۜSik:

My steam folder is in Program Files x86 and this game works just fine.

that does not necessarily mean it will work fine for everybody else. if you don't have any problems, go play the game happily and stop wasting forum space in a support topic.

[Sikobae]

Originally posted by ps47.3dfx:

Originally posted by ๖ۣۜSik:

My steam folder is in Program Files x86 and this game works just fine.

that does not necessarily mean it will work fine for everybody else. if you don't have any problems, go play the game happily and stop wasting forum space in a support topic.

Yeah but this FAQ is insinuating that everyone is going to have problems.
"do not, I repeat, DO NOT" when that clearly isn't the case.

[ps47.3dfx]

"it works fine for me" is not an argument. it does not for a lot of users, just search the forum. crashes, black screens, weird issues that shouldn't be happening (I know, because I already went through this when the game got released on GOG). like it or not, when running the game from program files, you ARE asking for trouble. you may get lucky, and the game will run fine.. or not.

also, by running from program files, you are adding a really unpredictable variable into the System Shock2 support equation - this will complicate all (my) troubleshooting efforts considerably.

you remind me of that other guy I have seen on this forum - he goes around posting that the old modmanager works fine, despite the gigantic red letters in the systemshock.org topic with the download that say it is not, ignoring the advice of users that have been working with the game longer than his lifetime.

when the electrician says "don't stick the fork into the power outlet", maybe you should consider the possibility that he has a good reason to say so, and perhaps heed the advice.

[[40-1]King_Kosher]

bump for greater justice & to honor ps47.3dfx's great work

[hiscore]

Will the ''update that should solve many problems'' include your suggested mods or will it just fix the non-mod bugs due to crappy release?

[ps47.3dfx]

it will clean up the install of all junk files, making sure it will load mods properly right out of the box. the configuration files have been tweaked to fix many issues found in the current release, and the graphics quality has been increased slightly. also, the new build is fully compatible with ss2tool.

changelog:
-fixed missing audio issue
-fixed stuttering issue
-fixed the file structure to allow proper loading of all mods
-solved ss2tool compatibility issues
-tweaked the cfgs for slightly improved visuals
-no parts of the build infringe copyrights now

no mods are included in the new build, those will always have to be installed by the users, as Night Dive does not have permission(s) to distribute the 3rdparty content.

note: Kolya constructed the build, I did the cfg tweaks.

[Grief.exe]

Glad that they worked with you guys to fix the problem.

[hiscore]

About vsync: it seems the game prefers 30fps locked, right? I can get more framerate when I unlock vsync (through nVidia control panel), but at the cost of screen tearing. How can we get SS2 to run at 1080p60 vsync locked? Is there a tweak? I don't see anything in the video menu of the game (only resolution options). Thanks for your support ps47.3dfx (I owned a Voodoo gfx card too back in the old days - I'm guessing that's where your 3dfx is coming from? ;-)

[ps47.3dfx]

indeed. as for the v-sync and fps limits, check cam_ext.cfg, there are some variables that will allow you to change those settings.. do back up the file first.

but I would stay away from the cfg unless you have issues, getting more framerate for just the heck of it will not really help anything - optimally the game should run locked at 60FPS to prevent anomalies in the physics engine.

the nvidia control panel settings should stay at their default values.