Version History (System Shock 2)

The following is a list of all current patches and updates for System Shock 2.

Original[]

Initial V1.07 CD-ROM Demo - October 1999[]

Initial Demo of the Game on CD-ROM
CD-ROM versions only works on windows 9x bases systems and not any NT bases systems

Initial V1.12/V1.15 CD-ROM Release - August 1999[]

Initial Release of the Game on CD-ROM
CD-ROM versions only works on windows 9x bases systems and not any NT bases systems

Version 2.03 - September 1999[]

V2.03 only works on windows 9x bases systems and not any NT bases systems
The classics version of the System Shock 2 CD-ROM has v2.03 on the disc
4 player LAN multiplayer added
Monster spawning and weapon degradation settings
Fixes several bugs
Updates shock2.exe from 1.15-->2.03

Bugs Fixed[]

Invisible Monsters: The bug which caused invisible monsters to occasionally spawn is fixed. The fix also renders visible any invisible monsters in a savegame.
A potential crash bug when making a level transition while on a ladder has been fixed.
If you make a level transition while in interface mode with an object on your cursor, it no longer turns that object into a different, random object when you throw it into the world.
The corpses of your slain enemies now fade out only when off-screen.
Monsters now only spawn when you're not looking their way.
If you die with the psi-power Remote Item Detection active, the circle now goes away properly.
A bug was fixed where binding certain keys in the options panel would only bind them in "shoot" mode, not in "use mode." The keypad keys are definitely affected by this, but other keys may be as well. If you have this problem, it will be fixed the next time you go to the options panel in the patched version.
The annoying desk in Hydro that was causing difficulties getting through a window into a room with two locked doors has been fixed.
The tram in Command had a bug with the call button at the second tram stop which when pressed while the tram was at that stop caused the tram never to move again. Now fixed.
Many Boss Brain: In certain cases, at the end of the Body of the Many, one of the three spinning star-shaped thingies orbiting the Many's brain would disappear. As it is necessary to destroy all 3 of the spinning star thingies to destroy the brain, the result of this bug is that the game gets in an unwinnable state. The patch fixes both the case in which the bug happens and savegames that are already in the bad state.

Version 2.43 - February 2015[]

Fixed various smaller issues that could potentially affect stability.
Fixed light radius from dynamic lights on other objects so it matches light radius on terrain (instead of infinite).
Fixed (or at least reduced) issue where on rare occasions it could turn AIs .invulnerable and non-collidable after loading or level transition (fix may not apply to existing savegames where this already happened).
Fixed bug with archive extraction failure not being detected properly in FMSel, at least for archives with unsupported compression method (like old zips using "Implode").
Fixed some bugs in FMSel with localization, paths containing umlauts and other special characters, and added OGG to WAV conversion option.
Fixed DML parsing bug with link IDs.
Fixed bug with "d3d_disp_enable_atoc 1" on nVidia where it ended up using SSAA (if available) instead of ATOC.
Fixed bug where filtering was applied to even pixel scaled UI in DX9 on most resolutions even when it shouldn't have.
Added subtitle support.
Added support for mission DMLs to include so called fingerprints, data that can link a DML to a particular mission (because mission filenames are often the same for different OMs/FMs).
Added support for mission DMLs to be bundled in dbmods sub-directories.
Added support for DMLs to request additional OSMs and to reference objects by name.
Removed GOG EULA.txt.

Version 2.44 - August 2015[]

General[]

Fixed render state bug that could randomly disable texture filtering on something if DXT1 distant art was present in the mission
Fixed an occasional memory corrupting bug.
Fixed mouse wheel even generating false left button double click events in some situations.
Changed material override rules so a material file is required to be at the same path level or higher priority than the loaded image, in order to be considered.
Enabled simple show_stats command for game exe (fps and pos).
Documented the previously undocumented "small_portal_repel" config var (helps reduce jitter when walking across portals).
Added "highlight_level" and "head_focus_speed_tol" config vars (which previously were only available in DromEd).
Added support for mouse buttons 4 and 5.
Added support for raw mouse input.
Added config var for setting custom speaker config (if supported by device/system).
Added support for adding/removing meta properties via DML.
Added subtitles_max_dist options (to allow skipping of subtitles for sounds that are beyond a certain distance).
Included a Large Address Aware patcher (EnableLAA) for convenience.
Updated various documentation

Other[]

Windows - OpenAL 2.0.7.0 is now downloaded and installed upon first running the game. This will allow users to chose the 'OpenAL' Hardware Acceleration setting from the Audio menu.

Version 2.45 - March 2016[]

General[]

Fixed broken "sun_runtime_obj_shadows" (worked in DromEd but not the game exe).
Fixed path priority order bug with subtitle files (was accidentally reversed).
Reduced risk of the door drifting bug that can happen in some occasional FMs (door-based objects that should rotate but instead of rotating just float away into infinity).
Added "no_unload_fmsel" option to cam_mod.ini (can be useful if experiencing crash with FMSel, especially on Windows 10).

DromEd[]

Fixed DXT related crash (when running editor in HW mode).
Fixed crash accidentally re-introduced in the previous version when loading (old) missions with bad door objects (objects internally flagged as doors despite not being doors).
Fixed ambient sounds disappearing after playing in-game movie.
Fixed link data for certain link types (AIWatchObj) getting reset when reordering them (in link list dialog).
Fixed original glitch in vhot evaluation that could under some circumstances affect "show_vhots", coronas and particle attachment links using vhots.
Fixed DML syntax error bug when working with links that have no data set.
Fixed missing field indexing in DML export (for properties that contain multiple fields with the same name).
Fixed a bug that could occur under certain circumstances with StimSource and Receptron commands in DMLs.
Fixed a few crashes that could happen in rare situations.
Fixed buggy transform for vhot and subobj detail attachment links when parent object is scaled.
Added mono warning for ObjTxtReplace properties with textures that couldn't be found/loaded.
Added "spew_stimulations" command to toggle mono output for stim events.

Version 2.46 - September 2017[]

1[]

The EXE has been renamed from Shock2.exe to SS2.exe to avoid old Windows compatibilities being applied on game launch. You will need to restart Steam for the launcher to point to the new executable.
Fixed the problem with battery not fully charging items sometimes.
Partially fixed the problem with Pyro field glow effect never going away after saving and loading while active.
The Recycler will no longer recycle equipped implants, preventing issues.
Fixed many miscellaneous problems on doors, lights, and eggs.
Fixed many upside down or badly rotated objects.
Fixed many cases of rogue props on objects.
Fixed quite a few cases of script duplication.
Fixed a few extreme cases of objects floating off walls and floor.
Fixed the almost completely broken 'Find Delacroix' quest.
Fixed a couple of quests that were starting up or completing in a slightly buggy way.
Fixed all the broken piles of worms in the last few levels.
Some tweaks to various existing setups to make them work smoother.
Disruption grenades now actually deadly as per their description.
Rick turrets now corpse normally.
Grenade Hybrids now launch grenades from their hands instead of their abdomens.
The starting controls now use WASD.
The default music volume level has been lowered slightly.
Enhanced Precision disabled by default as having it enabled was causing issues with Steam Overlay and Windows 10.
The default resolution when starting the game is now 800x600.
The in-game UI is now set at a fixed resolution, and will scale better at high (1920x1080 and above) resolutions. If you wish to disable this change, open cam_ext.cfg in NotePad, and add a semicolon to the beginning of the line 'd3d_disp_scaled_2d_overlay 800 600'.

2[]

Windows, MacOS[]

The EXE has been renamed from Shock2.exe to SS2.exe to avoid old Windows compatibilities being applied on game launch. You will need to restart Steam for the launcher to point to the new executable,
Fixed the problem with battery not fully charging items sometimes,
Partially fixed the problem with Pyro field glow effect never going away after saving and loading while active,
The Recycler will no longer recycle equipped implants, preventing issues,
Fixed many miscellaneous problems on doors, lights, and eggs,
Fixed many upside down or badly rotated objects,
Fixed many cases of rogue props on objects,
Fixed quite a few cases of script duplication,
Fixed a few extreme cases of objects floating off walls and floor,
Fixed the almost completely broken 'Find Delacroix' quest,
Fixed a couple of quests that were starting up or completing in a slightly buggy way
Fixed all the broken piles of worms in the last few levels,
Some tweaks to various existing setups to make them work smoother (explore the DML files if interested in details),
Disruption grenades now actually deadly as per their description,
Rick turrets now corpse normally,
Grenade Hybrids now launch grenades from their hands instead of their abdomens,
The starting controls now use WASD,
The default music volume level has been lowered slightly,
Enhanced Precision disabled by default as having it enabled was causing issues with Steam Overlay and Windows 10,
The default resolution when starting the game is now 800x600,
Fixed the Rick1 torpedo radiation area so it is not possible to progress without purging the radiation, as that could result the game getting into an unwinnable state,
Few Rick1 areas were made less prone to unintentional falls,
Restored the broken MedSci2 sub-armory code PDA note,
Fixed some AIs failing to perform their scripted event under certain circumstances,
Ops2 red assassin will trigger properly even when approached from the other side,
Fixed some AIs not being affected by the Stasis Field Generator,
Simplified the MEDSci broken door fix,
A few membranes were moved a bit in the Many level,
The Shotgun now has a muzzle flash,
Navigation markers now properly identified by HUD, and can also be deleted by selecting,
A few more fixes to some improper objects.
The in-game UI is now set at a fixed resolution, and will scale better at high (1920x1080 and above) resolutions. If you wish to disable this change, open cam_ext.cfg in NotePad, and add a semicolon to the beginning of the line 'd3d_disp_scaled_2d_overlay 800 600'

MacOS Only[]

Fixed Wineskin locking on MacOS High Sierra,
Updated Wine version from 1.8.1 to 2.16,
If you are experiencing random crashes on MacOS, first back up the folders that contain your save games in 'System Shock 2 (dot) app/Contents/Resources/drive_c/Program Files/System Shock 2/save_*/', Uninstall System Shock 2, making sure that the dotapp file has been removed, and then reinstall the game. Put your save game folders back in 'System Shock 2 (dot) app/Contents/Resources/drive_c/Games/SS2/'.

Version 2.48 - July 2019[]

A new update for System Shock 2 is available now for Windows and MacOS that brings the game up to version 2.48.

The update fixes a few in-game issues as well as restoring a previously unheard e-mail from SHODAN. It's in Ops. Can you find it?

Steam configs have been updated on Windows so now that when verifying the Steam Cache, files essential to mod configuration should no longer be downloaded again if changes are found. They will be redownloaded if they are missing.

The MacOS version of the game has been completely redone. Gone is WineSkin 2.8.2 and Wine 2.12, and in its place is WineSkin 2.9.0.2 and Wine 4.11. This should allow the game to run much better on more modern Mac computers. I've tested this extensively on my MacBook 15-inch, 2018 model with Mojave 10.14.5 installed as found no issues.

Because of this MacOS update, the base system requirements for this game have to be changed as I can no longer support the old MacOS operating systems reliably. Mojave 10.14 is now the base OS requirement for this game.

MAC OS Update - July 2020[]

As you may be aware, Apple dropped support for 32-bit applications in its Catalina operating system. The latest update for System Shock 2 has been updated to run on these platforms using an updated compatibility layer. Many thanks to Gcenx and the Mac Porting Team community for their constant work on Wineskin Winery and their binaries.