Stuck at Level 4, Bulkhead 4.1 Polito office with Shodan?

[664a20beaafeeBob]

I was stuck here, after Shodan showed herself and gloated about Polito.
This is when running latest GOG SS2 "setup_system_shocktm_2_2.48_(31077).exe" from within Linux/Wine.  Installation and mods applied as per this site on 25th July 2020.

I searched the forum for similar threads and the recommendation was to replace and old beta allobjs file with the latest.  Since I already have the latest when following the recommended mods installation instruction, this did not help me.

The way I fixed it was to load my save (which was autosave) before the entry door to Polito's office, run to the corpse and open the inventory screen and press M to display the map interface (which shows that no map is currently available).  Then to wait for the scripted sequence to begin where the walls and ceiling are taken away by Shodan.  During this sequence, she also takes away your HUD and current weapon.

It appears that the pre-condition of having the inventory + map open fixed this issue.

Before I did this, what would happen is that I would continue to be stuck with Shodan who would remain silent after the initial speil.  I would not be able to equip anything, I could only walk around Polito in an invisible box.

After I did the inv+map trick, she continued after the initial speil and showed me the ejection from the citadel and the rest of her monologue, eventually completing and allowing me to continue with gameplay.

Perhaps this will help out someone else who is stuck in a similar position.

[664a20beab241voodoo47]

it would be fairly interesting to know whether this can be replicated at will, meaning will you always get stuck when entering the sequence from a particular save unless you have the map open?

[664a20beab3dbBob]

Actually, after reinstating all the "before fixed" save files and loading the autosave, it seems intermittent.  At one point, starting with the autosave, I was able to reproduce the fix.  But then I tried with my unaltered quicksave which is also just before the office and could not fix it.  Then I switched back to the same autosave which was unchanged, and now I could not reproduce the fix.  I restarted the game many times and also my PC, but now I cannot reproduce the fix and am stuck again with those "before fixed" save files.  I have reinstated my "after fixed" save files and can continue with the game now.  But I don't know what is going on and how to get to something 100% reproduceable in terms of fixing it.  Do you want me to upload some saves or logs?

[664a20beab4c0voodoo47]

I doubt I will be able to reproduce, but sure, why not - maybe add a save made while being stuck if you can.

[664a20beab5b6Bob]

Ok here is a save file "save_5.7z" with which the game will trap me with Shodan in Polito's office:

mega#Dot#nz/file/rMZGDSBQ#CN2pX4oXx_dGrj7sFyyJB77HJX9Ut_L81F4Mk3ils8s

[664a20beab69dBob]

Re my above post, just put in the scheme for http secure in front and replace "#Dot#" with ".".  Guests cannot post the l-word apparently

[664a20beab832voodoo47]

yeah, guests are not allowed to post clickable links, for obvious reasons. anyway, as expected, no issues with that save on my machine, so I don't think anything can be done here.

generally, reloading an earlier save and trying to go through a sequence again will fix it, so as always, making a good use of all the 12 save slots is recommended, whether you are running the game on linux or not.

[664a20beab9d7Bob]

Ok thanks for checking.  Strange how it works for you.  Was initially wondering if this was a bug or some kind of weird anti copy protection as its mid game.

Kinda cool game though which I have never had a chance to play due to backlog etc.  You can definitely see the reused Thief2 animations such as the robots and when the mutants enter their "searching" pattern.  Straight from T2.  Not sure if I will be able to stomach the level design in SS1 as that (from a review) appears to be similar level maddening/crazy maze design as from Thief1.

[664a20beabb0dvoodoo47]

that level is a giant knot of scripts/events, and things sometimes go wrong, even on a windows machine. and running via wine probably isn't making things more stable.

yeah, SS2 is a Dark game, no doubt about that - iirc, an original dev has mentioned that until one point of development, the game was literally just Thief1 running new (SS2) resources.