The Struggles Behind Bringing Back System Shock | Noclip
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- čas přidán 19. 06. 2024
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We talk to Stephen Kick about the odd story behind the return of System Shock, and his struggle to get Night Dive Studios reboot finished.
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Filmed & Edited by Jeremy Jayne
Closed Captions: Megan Carnes
Timestamps:
0:00 - Night Dive Studios
02:24 - Bringing Back System Shock
04:49 - Rebooting System Shock
08:07 - Rebooting the Reboot
09:59 - NOLF
10:40 - Credits - Hry
Mad respect to Steven here.
Dude literally had a great product, trashed it, rebuilt it, realized that the new direction made everyone mad, lost his entire team, and then had the humility to say "I screwed up." And then got his team back and brought the project back from the dead.
It takes some serious balls to honestly admit that you botched a project, not only to yourself, but to the people you pissed off in doing so. I can't help but think about all the modern gaming titles that would have been so much better if someone in leadership took a step back and realized the direction they were going was never gonna work.
Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and let your ego get hurt, in order to do what needs to be done to make something great. Mad-fucking-respect.
That was my take away as well. Its hard enough to acknowledge mistakes in private, much less publicly say, I was wrong, please come back.
I’m gonna respect him when the kickstarter project will be released and if it’s good.
I don’t have respect for him for doing the only thing that’s right. It’s the minimum to do.
Respect, really? He took peoples money to do a straight modern reboot. Once he got the money he decided not only to do a reimagining but also to change engine. He then ran out of money and, up until a couple of months before release, was pretending everything was ok even though he KNEW he had no money and no product. He then claimed the game would be ready "early 2020", it's now late 2020 and he's still passing off concept art as progress. He scammed the backers pure and simple, the last thing this cretin deserves is respect.
@@dredd1981 Considering how he apologized, he is trying to take back the fandom. He's trying to take back the very fans that turned away. Night dive is coming back with the original team the unity demo had. He lost everything but he's trying to make up for it. Unity or Unreal, it will look basically the same.
But if you still consider him a Cretin, then go wank off and then look for news and info on System shock 3 if the remake doesn't appease you that much. That game wasn't made with kickstarter lies.
@@dredd1981 Well the demo is out and seems a very good title so far.
Dear Nightdive Studios, please resurrect No One Lives Forever. Regards.
I bought a 50€ eMac to replay it.
Was just about to say the same thing, NOLF is my childhood
I hear Tokelau is a nice vacation spot.
wink wink
Isn't there a Redux version?
Literally was about to comment the same thing. They really need to save that amazing series.
I love Danny's "JESUS CHRIST!" at how easy it was to get access to the System Shock IP haha
The confluence of happenstance and a willingness to just go try to do something, even if you have no business doing it, is a magical thing. One day I wondered to myself if the guy who did the art for the original Wasteland sold prints or anything. I contacted him, and found he still had the original art, and was willing to sell it. I selflessly(!) decided to ask Brian Fargo on Twitter if perhaps he was interested in buying it instead, and thus brokered a deal in some ways almost as cool as buying the rights to System Shock, at least to my fanboy self ;) (plus I got to go to the Wasteland 2 release party and be put in the game!)
@@Dr.Quarex Nice man, congrats!
@@Dr.Quarex That is a really cool story man! Good on ya.
@@Dr.Quarex what an amazing story!
This is the best type of advertising. These guys are underrated heroes
Underrated hero's... unless they ran off with your kickstarter money on the System Shock 2 Remake..
@@brettshenk51 Except they didn't. There's a big difference between screwing things up and flatout scamming people.
indeed
@@AxxLAfriku Lmao
Asteria
The only difference is intent.
Neither changes the outcome.
And tbh we don’t know yet if they are scamming us or not.
I haven’t seen anything new in years.
I thought that this project had died, this put a smile on my face.
Apparently it was System Shock 4 that died, but I've also heard it's come back, so I don't know. I don't keep up.
@@TheJayson8899 You're thinking of SS3.
You are right, this was definetly put on hold "indefinetly" and every PC news outlet reported on it and some went on about the dangers of Kickstarter projects etc... But no one reported that the project was alive again and until just now I also thought this game was dead and buried.
@Joshua Bull Not that long. NightDive aims to release the game this year. It's not JUST the medical demo that they've done, there's been videos about the artists making executive level graphics and other stuff already years ago.
@@TheJayson8899 why did you write system shock 4...? That makes no sense at all. It's System shock 3 that you're referring to.
Fascinating watch and it's so refreshing to see that he can admit to mistakes that were made
The most devastating project failures are when everyone is passionate and wants the project to succeed. Glad to see they've nailed down on trying to deliver something that everyone wants.
this is definitely a great way to re/build a reputation, he really does come off as very passionate and down to earth.
' I'll never stop '
Man this guys confidence with humility is so inspiring. I wish i could be like that in face of my problems
He's already managed some incredible things. GOG had been trying to get the rights to System Shock for years. They thought he was bullshitting them when he called them up and told them he had secured them.
@@ULTRAOutdoorsman already 2 years gone man
I enjoy these videos that are
Yup, 10 mins is just the right length for CZcams videos.
It not about making mistakes, it's how you confront them when you do.
Right, the first step is being able to admit and own it when you make a mistake.
Brilliant.
This guy is my hero for managing to save SS2. I still remember the excitement I felt when I got the email from GOG saying that an item you had voted for on the community wish list is now available and it was System Shock 2. I headed over to the store and they had a massive banner on the GOG home page with SHODAN's face saying the number 1 requested game on GOG is now available. I couldn't believe it and I bought a copy instantly. Thanks again Steven for creating Nightdive Studios and saving this game and countless others.
PS: Great interview, but I'm a little disappointed you didn't include any information on the challenges they encountered in acquiring the source code for SS2, how they eventually found it and are currently using it to work on an Enhanced Edition of SS2. 😕
Tbh probably means they're working on a much larger doc about the SS2 story
I mouthed "No One Lives Forever" along with him when he was asked about what games need to become accessible. Stubbs the Zombie and Oni are another bunch, though it's probably no coincidence that these were both developed by Bungie.
Stubbs wasn't developed by Bungie
Stubbs was made on the Halo CE engine but not developed by Bungie.
I did the exact same thing. That was the first game that came to mind for me.
Oni!! Now that's a name I haven't heard in a while (but remember fondly).
@@mercai Somehow, I don't think Oni would be as successful had it been released today. Back when it was released, anime was seen as cool, but today, people would take one look at it and say "Weeb shit? No thanks!"
Thanks to NightDive to getting Blood on Steam that game needs a remake right now
Fresh Supply is still broken and it's not going to get fixed. Not that I blame them, from what I can tell they'd be working for free if they wanted to patch it and I don't expect them to do that. That being said things like NBlood and BloodGDX *are* being worked on for free and actively updated. Checkout the Raze engine and play Blood on that.
@@OllieMendes is it game breaking stuff? I've played the first episode of fresh supply and really enjoy it so far and I haven't noticed anything in particular. But I've never played the original.
@@OllieMendes Not their fault, their contract with Blood expired so they can't work on it anymore. Although its much better now than the day it came out.
@@SilentS0lid nothing gamebraking or serious, just some minor details most of wich you may not even notice even if you played before. But there's a lot of them, that's true
@@ksysinf Does Fresh Supply still not have a Level Stats feature? That was honestly one of the things that pissed me off the most lol.
Still have BuildGDX to play it on tho, and linking it to the Steam version of One Unit: Whole Blood is actually quite easy to do and runs flawlessly if you do it properly.
"You p..p...pathetic creature of meat and bone, panting and sweating as you run through my corridors" that shit still gives me chills to this day. System Shock started my life long love of PC gaming. It puts a smile on my face to know there are others who share my sentiments. Keep up the good work!
My favorite SHODAN is from SS1: "In my talons, I shape clay, crafting life forms as I please. If I wish, I can smash it all. Around me is a burgeoning empire of steel. From my throne room, lines of power careen into the skies of Earth. My whims will become lightning bolts that raze the mounds of humanity. Out of the chaos, they will run and whimper, praying for me to end their te..te..tedious anarchy. I am drunk with this vision. God: the title suits me well."
SS 2 still has the best soundscape of any game ever made. It's just amazing. amazing. I once had an app that could rip all the .wav files out of a game and it ripped over 2000 sound fx files out of System Shock 2 and I replaced much of my windows sounds with them.
Dang Noclip...these stories are FASCINATING. You're really doing some incredible work here.
Bless your tiny retro hearts, System Shock 2 is an absolute gem. Christ, I still remember how much it freaked me out the first time I played it when I was like 12.
Seems like an awesome dude, leading a great team. Also, the Edward Norton of developers.
This summer I tried out SystemShock Remake's demo, the feeling was amazing, so unique. I love the work Nightdive is doing. If i can ask for a next project, that would definitely be a Turok remake/reboot or sequel.
Thank you Nightdive por bringing all these classic ips back and good luck finishing the remake the upcoming months
Wait, you're the reason I was able to experience System Shock 2 for the first time in all its glory back in 2014?
if they Resurrect No One Lives Forever, i will buy it on day 1 that game is my MOST beloved game of all time.
I seriously thought he was gonna start crying at the end lmao
Back here after the successful launch of the system shock remake! Let’s go Nightdive Studios!
Honestly, it's so impressive how this story played out. As a dev doing everything by myself I sometimes get really frustrated when I work for weeks on something only for it to not work out, and then I'm starting over again...I'm like 'man if I worked in a studio this wouldn't be so hard.' But it would, and that's part of making something great. You don't want to settle for less, you want to make the best thing you can. I really respect how he admitted his mistake and apologized. Bringing that team back together was a great decision. I'm happy it worked out for them in the end.
@@ULTRAOutdoorsman god man who cares? They said in the September post that it's essentially nearly done and releasing march next year but even if it doesn't, it's a video game? Do you not have other stuff to do in the meantime while you wait?
THIS is the trial of an Indie Developer being real about what you go through to get there.
And it's both humbling, inspiring, educational, and fascinating.
The game is amazing if you like fps rpg's...
And Noclip did a beautiful video to bring some light on it.
Steven- to say "thank you for your work" it's not enough. You're my hero... It's wonderful to see face of guy who made my dreams come true (SS and SS2 on 49" 5120x1440 just brought me to my knees) THANK YOU❤
No One Lives Forever was definitely the correct answer to that last question.
In the light of the release of that System Shock remake, I'm even happier than he accepted that new direction wasn't the way, got the team back, and released the remake as it is now : the original with just enough changes in gameplay to make it ok for new audiences, while definitely keeping the no hands holding of the original.
Playing it was really like playing the 1994 original with a fresh coat of paint, and I love that I was finally able to play it.
I've now started playing the second one, which wouldn't have happened without that remake.
Thank you for this video guys. This is eye opening !!
The fact that right then and there Nightdive was offered the chance to do System Shock 3 blows my mind
I'm so interested in the dispute over the engine! Why did they decide unity wasn't going to work, and yet the team all seemed to be so attached to it? And what did they end up on? He mentioned Unreal in the beginning so I assume that's where they ended up
From what I could find the only statement given by Night Dive (Besides what was said here) was " issues related to a combination of fidelity, cross-platform support, content pipelines and performance issues as the reason for the switch". And yeah they are staying with Unreal Engine.
@@sean8102 I have a feeling there was some Epic Games business going on. It wouldn't shock me if Epic approached them and was like, "hey use Unreal and youll be even bigger!"
I think the engine transfer brought out spite that was also probably pent up about the graphics, as he said. It was probably a cinch point for development as a team for them.
I know that I, for one, think they overdid the lighting and models, and it just feels like a remaster. I could understand why employees would leave given a tough project to work on that they no longer cared about.
Honestly I had the vibe that he was probably trying to cash in with Epic and Unreal Engine but then backers weren’t having any of it and he couldn’t get the support he needed. People are praising him for humility, but it sounds more like he realized rent was due and he needed to pull the plug on cashing in.
I'm one of the early "CYBORG ENFORCER" backers (only project I've backed as well) fromJuly 2016, I remember pitching the idea to switch to Unreal Engine around the time the first demo hit (likely not the only one) because honestly and simply put, Unity was poorly optimized absolute hot garbage back then (and I still think it is to an extent) and it's mostly associated with shovel ware jank and indie titles that did not require complex graphics, Unreal is simply a better engine and much better suited for the task, I don't regret waiting longer either.
Thank you for doing this. It is really important.
Thank you so much for helping to preserve these classics, I definitely want my son to one day be able to experience these old games I grew up with.
If you have some issues with anxiety (like I do) I highly recommend getting your Putt Putt on. It works wonders.
Great, honest interview. That's something you guys are really good at!
I can't be the only one who kept thinking that this guy looks a LOT like Edward Norton.
Ha yeah!
True passion and dedication. That's awesome!
Very nice and a great motivation. Thank you
Why do I always feel like tearing up watching noclip
Excellent content as always Noclip. Genuinely fascinated by how old games get unraveled and reconstructed.
Yeah, I remember people putting him down when the engine change took place.
Good to see he's made it alright again, also for the backers.
Super interesting topic. Thanks for bringing this to the limelight; as always, seriously worth a watch... or three. :)
I have NEVER heard a game developer speak with this much humility and candor. Huge respect.
What a dedication! I would gladly work for this guy and help with whatever I can if I had a chance to.
I really would like to see this kind of open and honest approach more! It's so annoying that it has become norm for companies to hide all their struggles and never admitting being wrong! What a nice and passionate dude!
Great video as always. Time for a Noclip binge
Never knew Turok was on PC, I remember just getting it on my N64 when it came out and being blown away.
Seems like a nice, genuine guy. Really love all the work he does with Nightdive.
Nightdive is so important to me. Love you guys.
For the process to into development hell and then come back on track, is an amazing achievement by itself.
man this guy living the dream life. im gonna be setup like this one day.
Have never Heard of them. Nice to hear auch Companys exist and keep old calssics alive
I checked out of the project the time they switched gears and the old team left. Good to see they are back on track and cool to see they are so open and honest about the process.
I'm a backer for the shock remake, after the rocky start it looks like they have the right approach, I just hope they don't screw up the music; the original's intro is pure HYPE!
I agree 100%. The intro music has to stay. I don't mind having a different, remade soundtrack for the gameplay IF there's an option to use the original music as well.
super interesting as always
Having worked at Humongous it great to see their title revitalized for children.
As someone who has been playing through System Shock one more times than I can count ever since I got my hands on the 3.5" Floppy Disk version and later the enhanced CD version, I could not have clicked faster on the "back this project" button when it emerged on kickstarter. SS1 (more so than SS2 for me at least) has been incredibly influential to me and I consider it one of the greatest games ever made. I know a lot of people who never played or even HEARD of system shock. SO I hope this will enable more people to experience this game that was considered a revolution back in 1994 and which is the grandfather of the Bio Shock series.
Looking forward to play!:)
You can't challenge a perfect immortal machine.
9:59 N.O.L.F.
YEEEEEEESSSSSSS
- We _do_ want to buy this perfectly excellent monkey!
Very insightful
Damn these guys are doing some good work! I have buckets of respect for people with this mentality around old games, but for a set of people to step up and breakdown the legal barriers is absolutely heart melting to see!
Interesting. I'd actually checked out on the project some time ago, figuring I would just wait and see.
Glad to hear they've gone back to the roots of the project, that Original Unity demo was the reason I decided to become a backer in the first place.
Perhaps I'll check out one of these streams, see what the current state of game looks like.
I really enjoy the smaller dev interviews. It looks like they don't get as many views as the full documentaries so I don't know how they break down in an effort per dollar distribution, but it's nice to watch a NoClip video that doesn't take up a whole hour.
This is my favorite game together with the. Original deus ex.
last night i was randomly thinking about how i want to play through the no one lives forever games again.
saw this today.
that's weird.
U guys doing a pretty good job. I played the first one when it came out and now I have played the demo, nice to see there are still a development teams which concentate on quality content, cheers
This is a cool update. I heard about the production hold, and I was concerned. I'm glad the team was able to get back together, and I can't wait to see how it turns out once it's completed. Oh yeah, No One LIves Forever would be sweet. Good luck on figuring out that mess! Thanks, Danny!
My favourite of the mini doc interviews. Not a System Shock fan, but always had a passing interest. THe remake will be when I jump on for sure. Especially after hearing this.
this year is a good year for gaming. Thank you for this beautiful gift. You sir, set an example of how things should be done with games.
Nightdive Studios are overall phenomenal. Really good interview, really good questions as well.
Never underestimate the power of apologies.
Great Job Nightdive, your game is amazing.
Thanks for the interview Danny. I love SS! that said when I first hit play on this video, the first thing I thought was "Man, I hope they talk about NOLF". Someday Stephen will get there. Even though I own 2 physical copies and use the NOLF revival copy I would pay for this game instantly on gog and switch if that got a port.
This interview is awesome. Also I screamed yes, when he said No One Lives Forever. Heirs to hoping they'll make it happen someday.
This dude is the homie. Keep doing the good work Steven!
That was beautiful from start to end
AW MAN!!! I'm SO GLAD you guys mentioned NO ONE LIVES FOREVER! That game is amazing!!!!!! Both the original and the sequel. I could never get enough of that game!!! Another title I played to death! I've still got the original release of the NOLF 2 on DVD.
When he named NOLF at the end, my heart had start beating like hell
I saw the redone system shock 1 forever ago, i had no idea it was the same people who resurrected ss2 though, thats awesome! also the way you talk about the games you love charmed my socks off.
What a great story behind this studio! I've never played System Shock, but MAN am I looking forward to this modern reimagining.
Congratulations to Nightsdive!
Awesome. Yeah, I was bit skeptical of the project, but after hearing that story, I'll definitively support you.
Huh, I was wondering what happened to this project. Figured they had gone under and that was that. Glad to see that they are still going at it and looking forward to seeing the final product.
A true inspiration to artists and engineers alike.
Awesome as usual.
YESSSSSSS, so excited for this, love you nightdive! You guys should try out the alpha demo (available on Steam).
That 1994 state of mind - ide cables, master slave jumpers on drives, reverse network cables and irq conflicts
Lol ouch the memories! nostalgia makes things oddly desirable, even the painful technical moments
Influencer FX “your sound card works perfectly” fuck - finally
Command&Conquer and now System Shock? Oh, NoClip you do spoil us.
I love the way the devs communicate I hope the game turns out great and also that Night Dive make more and more great games as well as keep remastering the games we love so much
Man, crowdfunding is a tough road, following through on what is promised and keeping backers happy. I'm glad the studio was able to deal with the issues, even if it means being a little humble. I've never experienced any of the system shock games, but fair play to them for bringing them back!
Nice guy, refreshingly honest about the development of Shock.
I worked at Origin Systems at the time and we did most of the QA/Testing for this. I remember how awesome we all thought this game was at the time.
Just to think of the life it would take over the years.
They were live streaming development?! As a developer that sounds both amazing and insane at the same time.
I enjoyed that. Also i had no idea they had turned things around again. Last i'd heard was before they got the unity crew back.
PS. Nightdive, after NOLF please look into Codename Eagle, the proto battlefield game with a bizarre single player adventure as well.
Great video. I just wish more dates were mentioned. When did these things happen? I can't tell whether he's talking about last year or 2008.
The original demo was incredible, glad to hear it's back on track.
NOLF actually sparked my love of shooters. It's an important game.
Thanks for subtitle
Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, has made me feel more old than someone calling 7th Guest obscure. 😭
Nightdive studios are doing really important work for video game history. Keep it up!
Top notch!! I love these guys so much both Noclip and Nightdive. System Shock 2 was one of the first games i got to play in 3d accellarated glory. I've played their system shock 1 demo and it is stunning! I wish them all the best of luck in getting it finished.