Path: ...!Xl.tags.giganews.com!local-4.nntp.ord.giganews.com!news.giganews.com.POSTED!not-for-mail
NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2025 14:44:49 +0000
From: Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action
Subject: Re: It's coming...System Shock 2 Remaster
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2025 10:44:32 -0400
Message-ID: <7ar2ujp01e3ssggqiht67a3hfln40fs427@4ax.com>
References: <a9ertjh4bum3211htufologkl0vm9d2nte@4ax.com> <3un2uj14rkura2apmabm498jtbc7c6mtbg@4ax.com>
X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 2.0/32.652
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Lines: 41
X-Usenet-Provider: http://www.giganews.com
X-Trace: sv3-bCM0D4jWrTUPQpAMbHudWdTz75OXWNykfG5oMPgs0oEdbkUIJzgSZguQs8qXtmtA22Q12ftS/M0BNSg!z5pBE1CaAAPLNEuzE3a5AQfdNh/k2bwzzPCwY8A2I/NP9ymCtd/mAp8vLh4UMTE2qHxY/e8J
X-Complaints-To: abuse@giganews.com
X-DMCA-Notifications: http://www.giganews.com/info/dmca.html
X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Please be sure to forward a copy of ALL headers
X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Otherwise we will be unable to process your complaint properly
X-Postfilter: 1.3.40
Bytes: 3029

On Mon, 24 Mar 2025 08:43:06 -0500, Zaghadka <zaghadka@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>On Fri, 21 Mar 2025 15:19:14 -0400, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
>Spalls Hurgenson wrote: 
>
>>(actually, I wouldn't be surprised if the underlying engine is
>>replaced by developer Nightdive Studio's own Kexx engine, but this
>>hasn't been clarified one way or the other. But the game will largely
>>look and play exactly like the 1999 game). 
>
>How would that happen? SS2 (1999) uses the Thief "Dark" engine. 
>
>Kexx can replace that? I had no idea it was that flexible.
>
>That said, with the improved Dark engine that I have on my drive (with
>bloom and widescreen support) and all the texture packs, I think I'll
>pass. I know from the trailer that the nurses in the remaster look worse
>than a modded original install with the high res fan patch (shtup).
>
>Especially if they go with Kexx.

(note: apparently it's Kex Engine, with one 'x'. I always thought it
had a double-X, so apologies for my earlier errors)

Anyway, the real work isn't so much the underlying engine as much as
it is decompiling all the scripting that makes the quests and
mechanics work. After all, there have been many attempts to update
older games to unreal (or other engines) and the place those fan-mods
usually crash to the stop is /not/ porting over the graphics and level
data, but translating the game-logic, because that's the bit that
requires a lot of savvy and effort.

But Kex is quite capable in that regard. It's been used in most of
Nightdive's more recent releases, including "System Shock Enhanced",
"Quake II  (2021)", "Powerslave", "Dark Forces", "The Thing
Remastered" and even their remake of the 1997 "Blade Runner" game. Kex
Engine might not have the capability to pump out highest-quality
visuals, but it was purpose built to be able to interface or emulate
the game-logic of older titles.