Source
r/gaming•
billyblaze

[Step-by-step modding guide] System Shock 2 - "Look at you, hacker..."

System Shock 2. Good times! I actually had to take a bullet and browse some forums that look like BBS welcome screens for this one. A lot happened to this game, modding-wise. A widescreen mod, good, bugfixes, retexturing, goood.. a modmanager? Aaaawesome! Since I spent the last five days troubleshooting people that tried to follow my half-assed Baldur's Gate, Deus Ex, Arcanum or Jagged Alliance 2 guides - it's pretty hard to take every variable into account, especially since I only have one system with one OS to test it on - I'll write this guide as I mod this bitch up myself to reduce the margin of error by a bit.

Let's get to it.

We're gonna do something a bit different when it comes to installing the game this time

  • Instead of running the setup.exe, just copy the SHOCK folder of your System Shock 2 disc onto your hard drive (Preferably not in Program Files). That is because the installer doesn't like NT systems and while there is a way around it, the copy-method is less of a hassle and the final product is the same.

  • Download Kolya's SS2Tool, it's at the bottom of the first post.

  • Execute SS2Tool_v3.0.exe, make sure to put a checkmark next to everything and direct it at the SHOCK directory you copied earlier.

  • Everything should go by smoothly, and you'll be prompted to enter a resolution. I recommend you choose the maximum your display supports, because we'll shortly add crisp high-res textures to back that decision up. Remember: the bigger number first!

  • Download The Brain's SS2 Modmanager, again at the bottom of the first post. I recommend SS2MM_1.10_Beta_Build_0.0.4.048_installer.7z.

  • Execute setup-ss2mm.exe and point it at your SHOCK directory. Remove the checkmark to launch it after extraction.

  • Download SHTUP (mirror)

  • Rename shtup_beta6.zip to shtup_beta6.ss2mod. Some of y'all non-nerds will have to modify your Windows Explorer Folder Options for that. If you're using Windows Vista or 7, you can just bring up the start menu and enter Folder Options to bring that menu up. For XP or something I believe you'll have to enter an explorer window and enter Tools/Folder Options or somesuch. Once there, remove the checkmark next to Hide extensions for known filetypes.

  • Execute the freshly renamed shtup_beta6.ss2mod. The SS2 Modmanager will open, let it run in the background.

  • Download SS2 Straylight ADaoB (mirror)

  • Rename ADaOB-v030.7z to ADaOB-v030.ss2mod

  • In the SS2 Mod Manager, File -> Add Mods.. -> ADaOB-v030.ss2mod

  • Download HiTorque's complete Med/Sci changes, at the bottom of the first post.

  • Rename HiTorque_MedSci.zip to HiTorque_MedSci.ss2mod

  • In the SS2 Mod Manager, File -> Add Mods.. -> HiTorque_MedSci.ss2mod

  • Download SS2 Rebirth Complemented (mirror)

  • Rename rebirth01_complemented.zip to rebirth01_complemented.ss2mod

  • In the SS2 Mod Manager, File -> Add Mods.. -> rebirth01_complemented.ss2mod

  • Download SS2 SHMUP (This one is 250mb big since it introduces a high quality version of the game sounds. Low-bandwidth-people, you've been warned.)

  • Rename shmup_1.1.7z to shmup_1.1.ss2mod

  • In the SS2 Mod Manager, File -> Add Mods.. -> shmup_1.1.ss2mod

So, that's what I consider necessary mods that don't stray too far from the original vision. You can find more here, but you'll have to see if they're compatible, etc. I also did not include any of the Multiplayer-mods in this guide, since the testing would require friends and I'm a dude writing guides for reddit.

Now activate all the mods within the SS2MM - there's a button called Activate to do just that - in the order you added them according to this guide! Two of those will give you conflict warnings (namely: ADaoB, Med/Sci changes), which you can safely ignore. - It's not a principle, the warning's there for a reason, but in this case, we're good. If you press the START button now, you're in the game and ready to play! - there's no crack needed, if you got the game in a shady way or just don't care for an occupied drive. ...if something went wrong, see below.

Troubleshooting:

  • If the game crashes on start, rename the LGVID.AX to LGVID.AX.bak, since it's probably that the intro-movie and a faulty or lacking codec is causing the problem (You're not missing much). If you got further Video problems, there's a Guide for that

  • Win7/Vista users: Launch the game as administrator. (but don't use compatibility modes)

  • Should you experience Broken Use/Shoot Mode problems, there's a guide for that, too.

  • If the game runs too fast, activate V-Sync in ATi Catalyst or NVIDIA control panel.

  • If you don't see a menu but hear the sound, disable your second monitor.

  • If you cannot see the menu with your SLI/Crossfire setup, disable one of the cards.

  • Some sounds too quiet?

  • Should you experience inexplicable crashes with a multicore-cpu, try setting the processor affinity to 1 core via task manager. (7 remembers this, with Vista you'll have to do it every time)

Docs:

Enjoy!

Notarized disclaimer: Don't even think of coming crying to me because you shat all over your room. This game is scarier than that one time your uncle took you down to the basement with nothing but his manic laughter to drown out the humming of the Super-8 camera.

Edit: made some screenshots

Posted Jun 21, 2010, 5:20 PM UTC · edited

204101
Loading comments…