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General information
- Modding guide on the PCGamingWiki blog
- SHODANPEDIA - Unofficial System Shock wiki
- TTLG Forums - System Shock Series
- systemshock.org Forum
- systemshock.org Forum - SS2 Troubleshooting Guide
- GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
- GOG.com Support Page
- Steam Community Discussions
Availability
- SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).
- All the digital distribution versions are pre-patched with NewDark.
- OS X and Linux versions use Wine.
- A faithful higher resolution icon for Windows can be downloaded from the Files section.
- A free demo version is available from Archive.org.
Essential improvements
- Essential patcher which integrates the NewDark patch and fixes various issues.
- Latest versions automatically disable the intro video (to re-enable it, add always_play_intro to the
cam.cfg
or cam_ext
files).
- SS2Tool requires Vista or later due to included Rsync, however NewDark runs on 2000/XP or later. One can patch it on a Vista machine then transfer it to an older machine. Digital versions already include NewDark and compatibility fixes for modern systems, but the tool is still necessary for proper mod support.
- Allows the original (aka OldDark) engine to run on modern systems.
- Not as stable as NewDark, but is more true to the original experience.
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
System |
Location |
Windows |
<path-to-game>\*.cfg[Note 2] |
macOS (OS X) |
<path-to-game>/Contents/Resources/drive_c/Games/System Shock 2/ |
Linux |
$HOME/.systemshock2/systemshock2/drive_c/Program Files/SystemShock2/*.cfg |
-
cam.cfg
contains game settings.
-
cam_ext.cfg
is the configuration file for the game once patched using SS2Tool.
- It's unknown whether this game follows the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux. Please fill in this information.
Save game data location
System |
Location |
Windows |
<path-to-game>\save_*[Note 2] |
macOS (OS X) |
|
Linux |
$HOME/.systemshock2/systemshock2/drive_c/Program Files/SystemShock2/save_* |
- Save games are kept in multiple folders, e.g.
\save_0\
, \save_1\
, etc.
Video
- In addition to setting video options, editing
cam_ext.cfg
allows setting the interface/HUD scale and transparency. There are also custom crosshairs available (using them with a mod manager requires changing their extension from .ss2mod
to .zip
).
Change field of view (FOV)[5]
|
- For retail versions, install SS2Tool.
- Edit
<path-to-game>\cam_ext.cfg .
- Change
;fov 90 to fov # (any number).
|
Change windowed mode[6]
|
- For retail versions, install SS2Tool.
- Edit
<path-to-game>\cam_ext.cfg .
- Change
;force_windowed to force_windowed
|
Disable vsync[7]
|
- For retail versions, install SS2Tool.
- Edit
<path-to-game>\cam_ext.cfg .
- Change
;vsync_mode 0 to vsync_mode 0
|
Change frame rate cap[8]
|
- For retail versions, install SS2Tool.
- Edit
<path-to-game>\cam_ext.cfg .
- Change
;vsync_mode 7 to vsync_mode 7
- Change
framerate_cap 100.0 to the desired FPS cap.
|
Ensuring correct game speed[9]
|
- Go to the installation folder.
- Edit
cam_ext.cfg .
- Change
;phys_freq 60 to phys_freq 60
- If you want more than 250 FPS, change
SlowFrame 4 to ;SlowFrame 4
|
Input
Audio
Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
Separate volume controls |
|
|
Surround sound |
|
Up to 7.0 output.[11] Requires OpenAL Soft. |
Subtitles |
|
mod on Systemshock.org |
Closed captions |
|
|
Mute on focus lost |
|
|
EAX support |
|
EAX (2[citation needed]) and A3D. For further info refer to this thread. Effects from both APIs are remapped to OpenAL in NewDark versions. Follow this guide for OpenAL Soft HRTF in NewDark.[12] |
Royalty free audio |
|
|
Localizations
Network
- Multiplayer is officially unsupported in NewDark. Even so, a guide for use with NewDark is available here.
Multiplayer types
Connection types
Ports
Protocol |
Port(s) and/or port range(s) |
TCP |
2300-2400, 28800-28900 |
UDP |
2300-2400, 28800-28900 |
- Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.
VR support
Issues fixed
Random crashing
Jerky/Uneven mouse movement
Add a line to cam_ext.cfg[14]
|
Install NewDark via SS2Tool.
- Go to the installation folder.
- Open
cam_ext.cfg .
- Add the line
use_raw_mouse_input .
- Save the file.
|
Left-clicking or dragging does not work
Small game window or black screen
Edit cam_ext.cfg to disable multisampling[16]
|
- Go to the installation folder.
- Open
cam_ext.cfg using a text editor.
- Comment out and change
multisampletype 8 to ;multisampletype 8
|
Enable SS2Tool Safe Mode[17]
|
- Download and run the SS2Tool installer.
- At the Choose Components installation step, enable Safe Mode.
- Click Install and finish installing.
|
UI too small on high screen resolutions
Edit cam_ext.cfg to enable ui scaling[18]
|
- Open
cam_ext.cfg in a text editor.
- Uncomment the line
;d3d_disp_scaled_2d_overlay 64 by removing the semicolon.
Notes
- If this does not fix the issue, try scaling the UI to arbitrary resolutions by re-commenting out the above line (add back in the semicolon), uncommenting the line
;d3d_disp_scaled_2d_overlay 640 480 and adjusting the 640 and the 480 to the desired resolution. However, this may cause the UI to become blurry/pixelated, so try the initial fix first.
|
Poor performance on Mac wineskin version
Enable X11[19]
|
Find the System Shock 2.app and right-click on it. Click Show Contents and run Wineskin.app. In the Screen Options, you should see a checkbox that says Use Mac Driver instead of X11. Uncheck that box and that should fix the problem. If box is already unchecked then check it instead.
|
Can't dive in Mac or Linux version
Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
Direct3D |
6, 9.0c |
Originally released with 6.1; 9.0c support was added in digital re-releases |
DirectDraw |
6.1 |
|
Executable |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows |
|
|
|
macOS (OS X) | |
|
Was changed from using Wine (which lacks a 64-bit macOS version) to Wineskin Winery in July 2020, making it possible to run on macOS 10.15 onwards.[21] |
Linux | |
|
|
Middleware
|
Middleware |
Notes |
Audio |
DirectSound, OpenAL |
Replaced with OpenAL in NewDark |
Mods and fan missions
- Modding guide with links and relevant mod info, from the System Shock Forums.
- System Shock Forums boards for mods, fan missions, and editing documentation
- Modding the Wineskin version can be done by firstly installing the Windows version in a virtual machine, patching it, installing all desired modifications, and then replacing the System Shock 2 installation within the Wineskin version with the custom version.
System requirements
Original retail release
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
95 |
95, 98 |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Pentium 200 MHz / Cyrix 6x86 / AMD K6
| Intel Pentium 300 MHz |
System memory (RAM) |
32 MB |
64 MB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
200 MB |
500 MB |
Video card (GPU) |
4 MB of VRAM DirectX 6.1 compatible
| 3Dfx Voodoo Graphics / Voodoo Rush / Voodoo 2 / Voodoo Banshee / ATI Rage Pro / Nvidia Riva 128 / Nvidia TNT / Rendition Vérité V2200 / Intel740 / Matrox G200 |
Sound (audio device) |
Sound card with DirectSound support | |
Digital re-release
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Operating system (OS) |
XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 |
Processor (CPU) |
1.8 GHz |
System memory (RAM) |
2 GB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
2 GB |
Video card (GPU) |
DirectX 9.0c compatible |
macOS (OS X) |
|
Minimum |
Operating system (OS) |
10.7.0 |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHz |
System memory (RAM) |
2 GB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
2 GB |
Video card (GPU) |
256 MB of VRAM |
Notes
- ↑ SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows 10[2] or Windows 11 and is disabled by default on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 when the KB3086255 update is installed.[3]
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below
%PROGRAMFILES%
, %PROGRAMDATA%
, or %WINDIR%
might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore
on Windows Vista and later (more details).
References