Nightdive reveals better-than-expected progress on its troubled System Shock remake

Developer Nightdive has offered backers of its beleaguered System Shock remake a fresh look at the progress being made toward the project's big September milestone, dubbed the Adventure Alpha.

Nightdive's September milestone was originally mooted in April, when the studio laid out plans to get its System Shock remake back on track. This came after the project was put on temporary hiatus at the start of the year, following massive feature creep and increasing concern from Kickstarter funders, who pledged over $1.3 million USD in 2016.

As part of its revised roadmap, Nightdive said that it expected to have a version of its System Shock remake, one that was fully playable "from start to finish" - minus the majority of art, ready for September. And now, in its latest Kickstarter post, the studio has offered a promising progress report on its highly anticipated September milestone.

The Adventure Alpha, as its known, looks to be coming along well, and "will be reminiscent of the original game with the difficulty set to zero". Nightdive explains that its September build will enable players to "freely traverse Citadel Station without the presence of enemies, pick up items, listen to audio logs, read emails and complete the game's objectives from start to finish."

However, there's one notable difference compared to the studio's original plan: instead of the textureless build it was expecting to deliver, Nightdive has managed to add in (as a temporary measure) textures from Looking Glass Technologies' original 1994 game, giving a much clearer visual indication of how the remake is shaping up.

And it looks surprisingly atmospheric, despite using textures that are now over 20 years old. "Not only will it make the Adventure Alpha more interesting," Nightdive explained, "but it will provide the team with a blueprint of how to approach updated art, lighting, level design, etc."

Some of that new art is also showcased in the studio's latest Kickstarter post, which highlights a few of the common items and elements found throughout the station - such as doors, lifts, and dermal patches - currently being revamped by the art team.

All this certainly suggests that good progress is now finally being made on the project, despite its many set-backs. And while Nightdive's System Shock remake is well past its originally anticipated 2017 release date, hopefully all goes well as it closes in on its revised 2020 launch.