For more information and downloads, please see the systemshock.org forum thread: Systemshock.org
SS2 Randomiser v1.1
by Sarge945
This mod aims to add more variety to System Shock 2, as well as reinforcing the importance of exploration and situational awareness. It does so by randomising the locations of all the enemies, goodies and loot, as well as most quest items (such as the dead powercell in medsci1). It is designed to feel "natural", as if the items were placed by hand with care in each playthrough, and a lot of work has gone into making the mod feel seamless.
Great care has been taken to ensure there are no possible failure states. All progression-related items should be available when required.
While It was specifically designed for long-term players who already have pre-established mental models of where items are, and who instinctively know to check or ignore certain areas, it should be a lot of fun for newer players as well. Speed and exploration are especially important in a game like System Shock 2 with respawning enemies, and a lot of the difficulty can be mitigated by experienced players essentially speeding through the maps without taking the time to explore or look for items.
Features
The mod was made with a focus on maintaining balance while keeping the game fresh, and as such, generally follows these rules:
- Designed for SCP and compatible with almost all DML mods, some may require patches but they aren't difficult to make
- Only existing items are moved, no new items are added
- Enemies are randomised to similar ones, new strategies may be required! Care has been made to make sure the lore is followed.
- Most items can appear anywhere
- Care has been taken to ensure item placements make sense and maintain consistency with the original game - body bags will only contain hypos, bars and kitchens will be stocked with food and beverages, etc.
- Some items are not moved at all to maintain consistency with the world and logs, such as the shotgun outside the fluidics control room
- "Reward items" and such are also unchanged, such as the French-Epstein device at the end of the cargo bays, which is designed to reward the player after a grueling challenge
- Security Crates will randomise their contents with other security crates, but not with the general map items. You will still need to hack security crates to get the items they contain.
- Weapons and other "high value" or rare items will only appear in their given area. The shotgun in R&D for instance will only appear in R&D, it will not appear elsewhere in the Science sector.
- Items that require hacking (such as the medsci1 cryo closet) or skills to access (such as psi pull items) are completely unchanged.
- Randomisers will try to keep roughly the same overall item distribution. If a closet had 3-4 items in the original game, it will likely have a similar amount. Don't expect closets overflowing with items or large stretches of empty areas. Some adjustments have been made to item distribution however to even out certain parts that had too many or too few items.
- Annelid Eggs can be replaced with eggs of any type relevant to the deck. Goo eggs may be replaced by swarmer eggs, worm eggs etc
Downloads
To download the mod, please visit: Systemshock.org
New releases are posted there, and it's much easier to only have to manage mod files on one site.
Screenshots and Videos
