This page is for the original version. For the 2015 remaster, see System Shock: Enhanced Edition. For the 2023 remake, see System Shock (2023).
General information
- GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
- GOG.com Support Page
- Steam Community Discussions
- SystemShock.org, the biggest forum about the game.
- SHODANPEDIA - A wiki for the System Shock series
Availability
Version differences
- The classic Mac OS version was substantially improved during the porting process. It features high-res (640x480 vs DOS's 320x200) menus, fonts & UI elements. It also had 3 studio quality bonus tracks.[4] It was used as the basis for the Source Port Update of the Enhanced Edition.
Demo
- A demo is available for the floppy version.
Essential improvements
Run in DOSBox
To improve DOSBox performance make the following changes to the DOSBox configuration file:
- Change
output=surface
to output=opengl
- Change
memsize=16
to memsize=32
- Change
core=normal
to core=dynamic
- Change
aspect=false
to aspect=true
- Change
fullresolution=original
to fullresolution=desktop
Gigaquad's Enhanced log texts mod
- Gigaquad's Enhanced log texts mod matches the audio and text dialogue.
DOS32A is a more advanced extender and open source replacement to DOS4GW. It can improve both performance and stability of System Shock.
- System Shock has DOS4GW bound to each of its executables. Use the command
sb /r sshock.exe
or cdshock.exe
to replace it.
A useful tool for those who don't own Enhanced Edition. Was formerly a community made abandonware package of the full game, though this was later changed to require the user to provide the game data after the game was released on GOG.
- Easy to use configuration utility.
- Provides all the above mods already in the package.
- Has an installer that can easily find cd data.
- Requires Windows, does not work on Mac nor Linux. Config files and mod components can still be used.
- Still not native, unlike the Enhanced Edition. Also included DOSBox components may be out of date.
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
- Some data is stored within the save files.
Save game data location
Video
Input
Audio
Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
Separate volume controls |
|
Music, Digital FX, Audio Message Volume. |
Surround sound |
|
|
Subtitles |
|
Toggle Messages setting under Audio Options. Words are not exact representations of audio. Fix available in the from of Gigaquad's Enhanced log texts mod. |
Closed captions |
|
|
Mute on focus lost |
|
For DOSBox change the priority background value in the DOSBox configuration file. |
Royalty free audio |
|
|
General MIDI audio |
|
|
Localizations
Language |
UI |
Audio |
Sub |
Notes |
English |
|
|
|
Voiceovers only available on the Enhanced CD version |
French |
|
|
|
Voiceovers only available on the Enhanced CD version |
German |
|
|
|
Voiceovers only available on the Enhanced CD version |
Russian |
|
|
|
Fan translation by «Dark Fate Team» |
VR support
VR support
Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
DOS video modes |
VGA, SVGA |
Allows MCGA but for low-res cutscenes only. 256 Colors only. |
- Utilizes DOS4GW for extended memory & 32-bit support.
Middleware
|
Middleware |
Notes |
Physics |
Emetic Dynamics Modeling System |
Developed by Looking Glass's Seamus Blackley.[6] |
Audio |
Miles Sound System |
Original/floppy uses 2.0, Enhanced CD version uses 3.0. |
- Support for the Gravis Ultrasound was removed in the transition to the CD version due to the inclusion of the Miles AIL3 audio library. A patch to re-enable it can be found here.
Enable custom patches with AIL3[citation needed]
|
- To enable the custom gus patches included with System Shock (located in the \Gravis directory), edit the "CUSTOM.GUS" file included with the drivers above and add the following lines:
[Ultrasound]
PatchDir=SOUND\GRAVIS
[Melodic Patches]
73=ssflute
28=ssmutgtr
29=ssodgtr
39=sssynba2
80=sssqrwav
30=ssdisgtr
107=sskoto
84=sscharng
87=ssbasled
109=ssbagpip
[Drum Patches]
35=sskick2
36=sskick1
38=sssnar1
|
Source Ports
- The source code for the Mac OS version is publicly available.
System requirements
DOS | Windows | Mac OS (Classic) |
DOS |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
MS-DOS 5.0 or compatible | |
Processor (CPU) |
486DX/33 MHz
| 486DX2/66 MHz |
System memory (RAM) |
4 MB |
8 MB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
20 MB | |
Video card (GPU) |
256-color VGA
| SVGA |
Mac OS |
|
Minimum |
Operating system (OS) |
System 7.1 |
Processor (CPU) |
PowerPC 601 80 MHz |
System memory (RAM) |
8 MB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
22 MB |
Video card (GPU) |
256 Colors |
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
7, 8, 10 (runs in DOSBox) | |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Core i3 1.5 GHz | |
System memory (RAM) |
128 MB |
256 MB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
| |
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 File/folder structure within the installation folder reflects the path(s) listed for DOS game data.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
References