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As promised the System Shock Pre-Alpha Demo is now available on Linux due to demand for it and closing in on the Linux + Mac stretch goal.

They are doing it for Linux first as it has seen much more demand over a Mac version. As always, we are a very loud bunch.

See their announcement on it here. They say you need to install some audio library manually, but it worked for me without it.

At the time of writing they are about $63,670 away from hitting the Linux + Mac stretch goal. According to Kicktraq, at the current pledging level they will hit around $1.6 million so it looks like they will easily hit the goal.

I tested the Demo and it does seem to run fine on my PC, and wow it really does look good! It does have one issue where the sound will screw up and be distorted if you try to alt+tab. A minor issue considering this is really early stuff.

You can download the demo on Steam (scroll down to the download image/button), but it looks like the Linux demo is not up on GOG or Humble Store yet.

See the Kickstarter here.

Considering how good it looks and feels, I'm even tempted to help fund it. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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32 comments
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Beamboom Jul 16, 2016
lol: "As always, we are a very loud bunch." - true dat. :)
Downloading now!


Last edited by Beamboom on 16 July 2016 at 7:12 pm UTC
Zelox Jul 16, 2016
A bit Dull and clunky. But it is an alpha demo, so I didnt expect anything else.
It runs very good in Linux, even in triple screen.


Last edited by Zelox on 16 July 2016 at 7:12 pm UTC
edo Jul 16, 2016
QuoteNote: The Wwise Unity Integration for Linux needs libSDL2 installed on the machine to work. Without this, a "DLLNotFoundException" message is displayed when launching the game. To install libSDL2 for Ubuntu 12.04, do the following:
Are they even using the steam-runtime?
Beamboom Jul 16, 2016
Worked without installing anything on my machine. And wow - I think it's about time for me to reconsider the Unity engine. This was smooth sailing - and looking real good.

I had to crank down the resolution on my 680gtx to get a decent framerate, but this is pre-alpha so I can live with that. This looks extremely promising. This is a game I can see myself playing.

We need this game on Linux. I'm heading over to Kickstarter to throw money at it! Not gonna be fun if I only end up with a Windows game but f*ck it - yolo.


Last edited by Beamboom on 16 July 2016 at 7:42 pm UTC
ElectricPrism Jul 16, 2016
Quoting: Beamboomlol: "As always, we are a very loud bunch." - true dat. :)
Downloading now!

Correct
Tinche Jul 16, 2016
Maybe the missing library is only the case for Ubuntu 12.04, like they mention in the update?

A little weird they mention a workaround for an Ubuntu release over 4 years old (there have been two LTS releases since). Also a little weird they wouldn't just package up the library themselves and just give it to us alongside the game?

The most likely scenario is they just don't have anyone particularly knowledgeable about Linux on hand yet, and that's totally fine at this point. If any Nightdive devs are reading this, even if you're doing an in-house Linux port, I'd still suggest putting away a tiny amount of money and paying an experienced porter (like Ryan or Ethan?) just for consultations and getting some best-practices advice.

P.S. I'm a backer, looking forward to playing this on Linux (if they hit the stretch goal, which they will) ;)
mrdeathjr Jul 16, 2016
In my test works buts is very heavy still with minimum details

View video on youtube.com

^_^


Last edited by mrdeathjr on 16 July 2016 at 10:05 pm UTC
johndoe86x Jul 16, 2016
Quoting: TincheA little weird they mention a workaround for an Ubuntu release over 4 years old (there have been two LTS releases since)

My guess is that it's the official Linux distribution supported by Steam if I recall correctly.

I'm primarily a Windows gamer for the sake of selection, but I'm really rooting for Linux and Vulkan!
natewardawg Jul 17, 2016
This has to be one of the best looking games I've played out of Unity.
Comandante Ñoñardo Jul 17, 2016
Quoting: mrdeathjrIn my test works buts is very heavy still with minimum details

View video on youtube.com

^_^

Well... I have an average of 40FPS with a GTX 960 and a core i5 4690K at 1080p on Ubuntu 14.04.3 64bit...
Very bad optimized game...

The game even close by itself..

Any one of You know if there are log files?
Shmerl Jul 17, 2016
Will GOG add the Linux demo as well? I'll back them when they'll reach the stretch goal.

Why exactly do they propose building SDL from source? SDL2 is commonly packaged in all distros. And especially doing make install is a bad idea. If you need to build it that way, place it locally. Never do make install.


Last edited by Shmerl on 17 July 2016 at 4:08 am UTC
TheGZeus Jul 17, 2016
Quoting: Comandante oardo
Quoting: mrdeathjrIn my test works buts is very heavy still with minimum details

View video on youtube.com

^_^

Well... I have an average of 40FPS with a GTX 960 and a core i5 4690K at 1080p on Ubuntu 14.04.3 64bit...
Very bad optimized game...

The game even close by itself..

Any one of You know if there are log files?
Premature optimisation is always a mistake.
This is a pre-alpha demo for a game that's just past the conceptual phase.
jo3fis Jul 17, 2016
Played to hell out of System Shock 2, can't wait to play this!
Feist Jul 17, 2016
Works great! This is really a dream come true. I bought the original game twice, once on 3.5 disks and once on cd and this feels just like I remember it, with all the modernizations fitting perfectly with all my idealized memories of how impressive it was when originally released.
mcphail Jul 17, 2016
Quoting: ShmerlWill GOG add the Linux demo as well? I'll back them when they'll reach the stretch goal.

Why exactly do they propose building SDL from source? SDL2 is commonly packaged in all distros. And especially doing make install is a bad idea. If you need to build it that way, place it locally. Never do make install.

The SDL2 default configuration will install under the /usr/local prefix, so should not clash with package manager installed packages on any sane distribution. It has had several important fixes over the past couple of years, so historic versions in old distributions may not cut the mustard.
Gobo Jul 17, 2016
Quoting: Comandante oardoWell... I have an average of 40FPS with a GTX 960 and a core i5 4690K at 1080p on Ubuntu 14.04.3 64bit...
Very bad optimized game...

The game even close by itself..

Any one of You know if there are log files?

It crashed to desktop for me too, both times when entering the dark area after picking up the energy weapon. Digging for logs now myself.

[Edit] Found a bunch of guys on the Steam discussions having the very same crash happening to them across multiple configurations and operating systems in roughly the same area.

But I like the style and hope stability improves after the alpha. I played System Shock 2 extensively, but the first one never managed to hold my attention for more than a few hours, so I am looking forward to experience Citadel Station this time.


Last edited by Gobo on 17 July 2016 at 7:49 am UTC
Nasra Jul 17, 2016
45-75 FPS for my AMD FX8350, GTX970 at 1080p on Elementary OS 0.3 (based on 14.04.3). I'm not sure if it is bad optimised but it is stable and playable :)


Last edited by Nasra on 17 July 2016 at 9:03 am UTC
Uncleivan Jul 17, 2016
Game runs ok a bit clunky but nice for a early dev demo and it has the feel of system shock :)
leillo1975 Jul 17, 2016
Quoting: GuestThe demo works well here on Gentoo 64 bit but I need to go down to 1280×800 to get a good framerate (~60 FPS) on my GTX 660.

Small issues:
- accented keys can’t be bound
- crackling sound from time to time
- small pauses from time to time
- the objects description text in the inventory is too small, especially in 1280×800
- as usual with Unity 3D games, I get an error that it can’t open the web browser. Why can’t they use xdg-open?

In a GTX950_2GB runs at 30-40 fps in my system (i5-2500, 16GBRAM). It's not great, but is playable. I suppose that this performance will be fixed. In my first run yesterday the sound was crackling, but today the sound runs ok
Ehvis Jul 17, 2016
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For a game in confined spaces, the just below 60 fps average I got is quite low indeed. Not a problem for a pre-alpha though. Also, Vulkan should be coming this year, so than alone should help it by the time this is released. Which I expect will be well into 2018 (haven't seen an accurate release date yet).
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