SS2 technical questions

[6667f32fa29e5chris]

Love the game, and I just found your site.  Without your ss2 FAQ here, I would have lost one of my favorite games of all time!  THANK YOU!

[6667f32fa2b4cLustvig]

I will echo Chris's kudos above.

BIG QUESTION: I launched a new game but noticed a lot of the mods were incompatible with each other. Is there any chance you could make a sticky of recommended mod combinations with commentary on how gameplay is?

For example, I like the sound of the SecMod, but it says it is incompatible with all other mods. Does that include the Anomolies mod?

Any suggestions are appreciate!

[6667f32fa2dddKolya]

That's what the Modmanager is for. It checks mod incompatibilities for you based on what files the mod tries to replace. Sometimes you can ignore it's warning but then you should know what you're doing.

Basically, if mods contain files with the extension MIS or GAM they are most likely not compatible with each other and everyone has to have the same mods of this type in a multiplayer game. MIS files are the mission (level) files, GAM files make up the gameplay.

All other mods, not containing files of these types, are considered "cosmetical" and can be mixed quite freely and used in MP games, regardless of who has what.
For in depth information see SS2 Modding mechanics & compatibilities.

[6667f32fa2ee2Antibody]

Thanks Koyla for the links and modding guide, without this I probably wouldn't have attempted to run SSE2 in XP.

[6667f32fa3005Digital Hitman]

okay Koyla but there is one thing,
i'm useing a downloaded SS2...

shameful me 

[6667f32fa3180Kolya]

Okay Digital H, I suggest you use the downloadable version from HOTU if you don't have it already.
Notice how I haven't told you what "HOTU" is, nor spoon-fed you a link. That's because I have faith in your search fu. Use the force, young Skywalker!

Now when you have the HOTU version (disregard any others), you'll have to read their Readme file, PRICK-EARED! Follow what they say, or this whole joint will go up in flames! Good.
Finally when the young hero returns home from his journey, he'll find that the battle isn't over yet. But you made mighty friends. The SS2Tool has outlined a plan for you, a procedure just made for a HOTU version of SS2. From then on it'll be a piece of cake and you'll even get the girl in the end. It'll be so good, you'll probably need tranquilizers just to play the game.

[6667f32fa3277Digital Hitman]

allright...I got it working

[6667f32fa3377Omar]

Okay, I've been doing everything you said to do, Kolya. I set the extension to ".ss2mod" and it goes back to the page where you unzip it. I think I have the same problem as the guy above me. I did what Voice said to do, the thing where you uncheck the box for hidden files? Well, I went there and it was already unchecked! What do I do?

[6667f32fa34a2Kolya]

Hi Omar, it sounds like the ss2mod file extension isn't registered with the Modmanager for whatever reason. Go to the Modmanager's menu ->Options ->Rebind ss2mod filetype.
Then try to doubleclick your mod (with ss2mod extension) again. The Modmanager should recognise and load it then. After that you can delete the mod if you want to, as it's been saved to the Modmanager directory.

If none of this works you can still load mods via the the Modmanager's File menu.

[6667f32fa3624sparklingdark]

Hello Kolya!

I'd just like to say that your dedication to the revival of this game is amazing and very much appreciated.  This is my first time playing System Shock 2 and judging from the first twenty minutes of it I think it will instantly become one of my favorite games.

It took me about three hours to get it to work on my computer, but now even longer to try and decide which modifications to use.

So far I have:
SHTUP
SHMUP
Complemented Rebirth

Now, there are several other ones which modify the enemy/weapon models.  Before I play, I'd like to have the game as completely high res as possible.  I'm not sure if Rebirth has all of the enemy models complete so I was wondering which mods should I use to accompany rebirth?  And how would I go about doing that?  I have the mod manager.

Along with those questions, I'd like to ask you personally which other modifications do you prefer?  And which do you think I should use as a first time player?

[6667f32fa3754RedSwirl]

I have a very specific question about the game.  I got the HOTU version and got everything running fine on Vista, but for some reason robots are invisible.  The training robots from the tutorial weren't there but when I shot where they were supposed to be they still seemed to be there physically, I just couldn't see them.

Just now as I got out of R&D there was what sounded like a robot at the door to maintenance but I couldn't see it until after I killed it and it's pieces suddenly appeared.  Could this have something to do with the rebirth mod?

[6667f32fa384cM.E.H.]

I got a similar problem with the HOTU installation, only I can't see any vehicles, people, items on the ground or enemies. I know something's there only when my cursor highlights it. Any ideas what I might have done wrong? I'm running on Windows XP, in case it helps.

[6667f32fa3968Kolya]

RedSwirl, Rebirth doesn't replace the robots. In both of your cases it sounds like resources are missing which would be a setup problem not a mod problem. Since you both use the HOTU version... Did you follow the procedure for the HOTU version outlined in the SS2Tool thread?

[6667f32fa3a3dFaust]

Is their a way to turn off the framerate indicator? I find it annoying.

[6667f32fa3bd9miracle.flame]

If you see some framerate indicator that's OSD output of some other application that you're using... probably Fraps or Rivatuner or ATI Tray Tools or something.
And yes it can be turned off in the settings of that particular application of yours.

[6667f32fa3cf6homiJ15]

Ight, i bought a legit copy of SS2, it runs fine on my XP BUT the CD is getting old. Somebody on the TTLG forum said your SS2Tool v2.6 would allow me to play it without using the CD. I tried it and it worked the first time but when i tried to play the game again i keep getting the error: "Your video hardware is not supported by System Shock 2". Any help much appreciated and your awesome for helping keep this awesome game alive. 

[6667f32fa3dedKolya]

So what changes did you make after playing the first time?
Also check that you have the line "safe_texture_manager" in cam.cfg.

[6667f32fa3f1dsarnac]

Hello,

First off thanks a lot Koyla and others for your work on SS2. With the info and tools on this site I was able to get it working on Vista 64.

Just one thing though, on your FAQ you say that using Compatibility modes won't help but in fact if I install ddfix (which I did as part of using your tool, but had to edit the exe manually since the gui won't launch even if I have a compatible .NET), then the game will only launch if I set compatibility to a previous OS such as XP Service Pack 2. If I don't install ddfix, I don't need to do this.

Anyhow, thanks again for the awesomeness of this site.

[6667f32fa402d123]

> If it runs too fast, turn on v-sync.
Could you please explain what this means. I installed the game, applied all the fixes from SS2Tool, but the game runs in a triple speed mode... besides there is a bug with textures: for example, when I come closely to the wall, its surface seems to be distorted. I didn't find anything in the game options that could help this matter...

[6667f32fa4119Kolya]

V-Sync, usually it can be set in your graphics driver options.

[6667f32fa41fb123]

Thanks, Kolya. It helped...

[6667f32fa42c2Kolya]

Thanks to you. I updated the FAQ for that point.

[6667f32fa4390Kolya]

Complete rewrite & update of the SS2 Technical FAQ (see first post).

[6667f32fa44a4Loz]

If you cannot see the menu but hear it humming, disable your secondary monitor.

I have this problem but I don't have a secondary monitor.  What can I do to fix it?  When I alt-tab, I see the menu screen as the window is minimizing but when I maximize it again it goes right back to being an invisible window.