So Dead Space was once System Shock 3. (Only one possible Spoiler).

rian carnarvon · 2008-11-02T15:24:56

Just finished playing the game, and when it was revealed that it was in fact NOT SS3, i was actually quite surprised. The whole time through, i was getting a pretty heavy SS2 vibe, and could not quite explain why. (The whispers of "Make us whole again" in the earlier chapters a vibe of the Many, anyone?) A little bit of Wiki'ing revealed that SS3 was in development at Redwood Shores, by the Godfather team, as of 2006. Fast forward to 2007, and the Godfather team at Redwood Shores announces Dead Space. You can take a look see here and here for your own curiosity: http://www.joystiq.com/2006/08/07/ea-does-give-a-sh-t-about-system-shock-3-says-pc-gamer-uk/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_shock_3#System_Shock_3 I can only suppose that they changed the IP due to the development and release of Bioshock, to prevent any correlations by people who don't remember the original SS1 & 2 and called it "Bioshock in outer space" or something ridiculous. Dead Space is a freaking amazing game, and i love every minute of it. Knowing that at one point in its development it was the child of one of my favorite series's only makes the game that little bit more savory. [Edited by - rian carnarvon on October 27, 2008 9:40:44 PM]

Koen

713

October 28, 2008 06:02 PM

Quote:Original post by rian carnarvon
I have been hearing that all round its better to just plug a gamepad into your PC though, the controls were ported that badly.

Quote:Original post by capn_midnight
Yeah, the PC mouse+keyboard controls suck donkey balls. I'll have to try the gamepad idea.

Damnit! I was hoping someone would say "No worries, pc controls are fine!" :) I guess I'll have to try the 360 version then.

curtmax_0

100

October 29, 2008 05:08 PM

Quote:Original post by rian carnarvon
Quote:Original post by Koen
Since the comparisons with System Shock, I've been very interested in this game. I was planning on getting the pc version, but then people started complaining about the controls. So now it's no longer easy to choose between pc and xbox :) If you played it on pc, would you care to comment on the controls?

I've only played it on the 360, sadly. Friend bought it and his 360 is at my house, so it was a better idea than buying it again. I have been hearing that all round its better to just plug a gamepad into your PC though, the controls were ported that badly.

I was planning on buying this. But having use a controller is a killer for me. I hate gamepads. Guess I'll just play Fallout 3 some more...

Moe

1,256

October 29, 2008 05:39 PM

Quote:Original post by frob
Quote:Original post by binchawpz
All in all Dead Space is amazing and I think anyone that likes (sci-fi) survival horror should give it a whirl. Just remember to play it alone at night with the lights out and your 5.1 surround sound up all the way.

I was once doing this with another game, and then, completely unexpectedly, my cat jumped up onto my lap.

I do not recommend the experience.

[lol]

Quote:Original post by capn_midnight
Yeah, the PC mouse+keyboard controls suck donkey balls. I'll have to try the gamepad idea.

What made it so bad? Can you not configure the controls, or are they laggy or something?

Moe's blog/devlog

InvalidPointer

1,842

October 29, 2008 09:52 PM

Quote:Original post by Koen
Quote:Original post by rian carnarvon
I have been hearing that all round its better to just plug a gamepad into your PC though, the controls were ported that badly.

Quote:Original post by capn_midnight
Yeah, the PC mouse+keyboard controls suck donkey balls. I'll have to try the gamepad idea.

Damnit! I was hoping someone would say "No worries, pc controls are fine!" :) I guess I'll have to try the 360 version then.

No worries, PC controls are fine. You just need to jack up the sensitivity. Certainly more well thought-out than RE4 for PC. *shudder* I have a decent set of keybindings made and would be willing to post them should anyone be interested.

Gawd I loved the alt fire on the machinegun. It was so useless but it looked so awesome. That and the shotgun was a beast once you fully upgraded it. The effects needed moar refraction, though.

[spoiler]

SPACE GIRLFRIEND WAS A LIE!

[/spoiler]

clb: At the end of 2012, the positions of jupiter, saturn, mercury, and deimos are aligned so as to cause a denormalized flush-to-zero bug when computing earth's gravitational force, slinging it to the sun.

curtmax_0

100

October 30, 2008 12:11 PM

Quote:Original post by InvalidPointer
[spoiler]

SPACE GIRLFRIEND WAS A LIE!

[/spoiler]

NOOEEEESSSSSSSSSSS (vader style)

Could you post the keybinds?

InvalidPointer

1,842

October 30, 2008 03:57 PM

Quote:Original post by curtmax_0
Quote:Original post by InvalidPointer
[spoiler]

SPACE GIRLFRIEND WAS A LIE!

[/spoiler]

NOOEEEESSSSSSSSSSS (vader style)

Could you post the keybinds?

I did manage to find the actual file but it's in an odd place and I don't know where it would be in XP. Next best thing-- writing them down.

'Basic' controls
-----------------
Movement- WASD
R.I.G.- Tab
Use/Activate- 'E'
Sprint- Shift/R. Shift
Punch to the FACE- LMB
Curbstomp o' Dismemberment- 'Q'
Breadcrumbs - 'B'/Ctrl
I NED MEDKIT NAO KTHX- 'Z'

'Aim mode' controls
------------------
Activate aim mode- (hold) RMB
CHARGE n FIRE YER LAZER(S)- LMB (shouting the classic "I'M CHARGIN' MAH LAZER! while using the Contact Rifle is just... beyond awesome. BEEEEEWWM!)
Reload- 'R'
HOW DO I SHOT SECONDARY- Space
Gravitah gun- 'F' (note that this is a toggle, helpful tip)
U SLOW DOWN NAO KTHX- 'Q'
Zero G Jump- Ctrl/R. Ctrl

Some of those are defaults, and a few aren't mentioned-- I just left them as-is. Overall it works pretty well, I just beat the game for the second time and haven't had any instances of 'I wanted to do this, dammit! Not that!' Hopefully you can decode my silliness :P

And perhaps space girlfriend was more a half-truth rather than an *outright* lie.

clb: At the end of 2012, the positions of jupiter, saturn, mercury, and deimos are aligned so as to cause a denormalized flush-to-zero bug when computing earth's gravitational force, slinging it to the sun.

Hnefi

386

November 01, 2008 02:37 AM

The problem with the controls is that they are extremely sluggish. Even with sensitivity turned to max, it took me several mousepad-lengths of moving just to turn around. In aiming mode, it's extreme; the sensitivity is so low that in the parts where you have to carry items with the kinesis module and turn around corners, it's faster to drop the object, drop out of aiming mode, walk around to a different angle, turn, enter aiming mode and pick up the object again rather than just turn around.

That said, it's an excellent game. It's so similar to SS2 I'm tempted to call it a ripoff; the story is extremely similar except there is no SHODAN; the shop and upgrade system is almost identical; the enemies are similar to the annelids; the story is given the same way (logs and the occasional radio transmission); the whole ghost deal is very similar... it's basically the same game without SHODAN and with interesting zero-g puzzles. So how could it be anything but excellent?

-------------Please rate this post if it was useful.

KulSeran

3,272

November 01, 2008 03:52 AM

This game took for-ev-er to get running on my PC. (finally figured out I had to unplug my saitek joystick to make it run, no thanks at all to EA support)
And OH did i make a fuss about that, game shoulda dumped a log, or had an error box or something to point me in some direction.

The game was almost perfect. The gameplay was great. All the weapons were cool, and the 'strategic dismemberment' was an awesome mechanic. The controls were great. The scares were great. Had a much better feel than, say Doom3 and all the repeated action that you could predict at every corner.
My only real gripe with the game is the stupid tutorial stuff that happens even in replay mode, and the slow beginning.
I didn't have any of those mouse sensitivity issues, but I also use a logitec trackman trackball with high sensitivity settings.

Oh man, and I had a lot of fun just dying a lot. They put so much effort into all the unique ways that your character can die in the game, it was fun to see them all at least once. (new meaning to the word facehugger anyone?)

My Blog

rian carnarvon

107

Author

November 01, 2008 01:47 PM

Quote:Original post by Hnefi
That said, it's an excellent game. It's so similar to SS2 I'm tempted to call it a ripoff; the story is extremely similar except there is no SHODAN; the shop and upgrade system is almost identical; the enemies are similar to the annelids; the story is given the same way (logs and the occasional radio transmission); the whole ghost deal is very similar... it's basically the same game without SHODAN and with interesting zero-g puzzles. So how could it be anything but excellent?

Yup, thats what i was getting at before. All the evidence points to it at one time being the SS3 project, and its by the same team that was doing SS3 as well. Makes sense that it would have more than a passing resemblance to the series it was once tied into.

[Spoiler]
Thought that space girlfriend would actually be SHODAN right up until the very end, actually, was praying that EA was being sneaky and having a massive plot twist that would leave us all shocked and amazed.

Alas, twas not to be.

InvalidPointer

1,842

November 02, 2008 09:57 AM

Quote:Original post by KulSeran
This game took for-ev-er to get running on my PC. (finally figured out I had to unplug my saitek joystick to make it run, no thanks at all to EA support)
And OH did i make a fuss about that, game shoulda dumped a log, or had an error box or something to point me in some direction.

The game was almost perfect. The gameplay was great. All the weapons were cool, and the 'strategic dismemberment' was an awesome mechanic. The controls were great. The scares were great. Had a much better feel than, say Doom3 and all the repeated action that you could predict at every corner.
My only real gripe with the game is the stupid tutorial stuff that happens even in replay mode, and the slow beginning.
I didn't have any of those mouse sensitivity issues, but I also use a logitec trackman trackball with high sensitivity settings.

Oh man, and I had a lot of fun just dying a lot. They put so much effort into all the unique ways that your character can die in the game, it was fun to see them all at least once. (new meaning to the word facehugger anyone?)

I just love the baby punt. It's soo over the top!

clb: At the end of 2012, the positions of jupiter, saturn, mercury, and deimos are aligned so as to cause a denormalized flush-to-zero bug when computing earth's gravitational force, slinging it to the sun.

So Dead Space was once System Shock 3. (Only one possible Spoiler).

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So Dead Space was once System Shock 3. (Only one possible Spoiler).

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