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System Shock 2 - Alternate Start v1.00
by RoSoDude https://rosodudemods.wordpress.com/

This mod removes the character creation sequence from the game, instead starting the player with a blank slate and some cyber modules to spend for maximum character building flexibility. The amount of cyber modules is equal to the value of the lowest possible start (i.e. Navy: UNN Lucille -> UNN Pierce -> Marie-Curie Facility) on the chosen game difficulty. Each UNN military career comes with a unique mission summary that recounts how you spent the previous 3 years of your assignment. This mod is probably not recommended for first-time players.

Compatible with vanilla, SCP Beta 4, and probably every overhaul mod, but load above SS2-RSD if used together. Unavoidably overwrites some text with SCP edits. The Orbital Space Station map is briefly loaded before moving on to the Von Braun. Requires SS2 v2.48 patch or above.

Credits:
Lithium Flower for new character creation text

Wouldn't it make more sense to give CMs equivalent to the average CM value for the service the player chose? Also, does this still give the service-specific starting equipment?

The career choice is just flavor (since I can't remove it from earth.mis outside of just moving one of the triggers to the earlier hallway, which still means one of them shows up in the summary screen); I didn't intend for it to affect gameplay. No starting stats, skills, powers, or starting equipment -- you truly start from scratch.

The reason I went with the lowest number of CMs possible for any class is that I didn't want to make the mod start objectively better than any vanilla start. If the mod lets you make the exact same skill choices as that Navy route but with some modules left over, it's almost a no-brainer to go for the modded start over it every time. In actuality the modded start with the same skill choices (Default Strength 2 + Hack/Repair/Modify -> Maintenance -> Research) is slightly worse, as you don't get a free Maint tool in your starting inventory. Instead, I want this to be something where people exercise some creativity and make early character builds that were previously impossible. Rush Standard and Repair, or go all in on Hack + CYB, or focus purely on STR/END/AGI, etc.

If someone disagrees with my thought process, it's easy to tweak the cyber module counts in sq_scripts\rsdAlternateStart.nut

I wonder if there is any value to having a "pick a starter item" section of character creation, with choices for a maintenance tool, psi amp, repair tool (maybe a bit op) etc.

How strange, it's as if you can read my mind.. i was coming up requesting for exactly such mod for weeks, even made screenshots of the mission summary screens to suggest using them as 2D-replacement for the 3D-character generation.. The 3D character-generation of ss2 was always a huge immersion breaking point for me (similar to the Qbr-devices).

thank you, thank you


it would be cool if there was a 2D-character generation using an interface graphically based on the mission summary screens..


edit: oh. i've expected the earth level to be skipped too.. it would be cool to choose the skills via 2D-menu, and be immediately thrown right into the game..