Nightdive Studios Makes Good on Six-Year-Old Promise with System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster

Nightdive Studios and Sony have announced a trailer and release date for System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster, a remastered version of the classic Looking Glass game. The game will be available on June 26th for PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 4 and 5 consoles.

What to Expect from the Remastered Version

The remastered version will feature light visual updates, including sharpened graphics and enemy models, but it will maintain the feel of a 25-year-old game. The trailer and screenshots show off these updates, which include visible hands holding weapons and other small improvements. The game’s original RPG overlay look is still included, and cross-play support is available for the game’s cooperative multiplayer mode.

Improved Controls and Mod Support

The remastered version will also include updated controls, including DualSense support and a quickbar for weapons and abilities. The game will also come with some of the original’s existing community mods, as well as broader mod support. According to Nightdive’s website and a moderator in the studio’s Discord server, the game will ship with the SS2 Community Patch or SCP, which rebalances some frustrating features, among other patches.

Release Date and Platforms

The System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster will be released on June 26th for PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 4 and 5 consoles.

Conclusion

The System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster is a great opportunity for fans of the original game to relive the experience with improved graphics and controls. The inclusion of community mods and broader mod support is also a significant bonus for fans of the game.

FAQs

Q: When is the System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster releasing?

A: The game will be released on June 26th for PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 4 and 5 consoles.

Q: What platforms will the game be available on?

A: The game will be available on PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 4 and 5 consoles.

Q: What kind of visual updates can I expect from the remastered version?

A: The remastered version will feature light visual updates, including sharpened graphics and enemy models, but it will maintain the feel of a 25-year-old game.

Q: Will the game have mod support?

A: Yes, the game will come with some of the original’s existing community mods, as well as broader mod support. The game will also ship with the SS2 Community Patch or SCP, which rebalances some frustrating features, among other patches.

The SeaPerch underwater robot is a popular educational tool for students in grades 5 to 12.  Building and piloting SeaPerch, a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), involves a variety of hand fabrication processes, electronics techniques, and STEM concepts. Through the SeaPerch program, educators and students explore structures, electronics, and underwater dynamics.  

“SeaPerch has had a tremendous impact on the fields of ocean science and engineering,” says Andrew Bennett ’85, PhD ’97, MIT SeaGrant education administrator and senior lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering (MechE).

The original SeaPerch project was launched by MIT Sea Grant in 2003. In the decades that followed, it quickly spread across the country and overseas, creating a vibrant community of builders. Now under the leadership of RoboNation, SeaPerch continues to thrive with competitions around the world. These competitions introduce challenging real-world problems to foster creative solutions. Some recent topics have included deep sea mining and collecting data on hydrothermal vents.

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An underwater robot with a mission
Video: Department of Mechanical Engineering

SeaPerch II, which has been in development at MIT Sea Grant since 2021, builds on the original program by adding robotics and elements of marine and climate science. It remains a “do-it-yourself” maker project with objectives that are achievable by middle and high school students. Bennett says he hopes SeaPerch II will enable an even greater impact by providing an approachable path to learning more about sensors, robotics, climate science, and more.

“What I think is most valuable about it is that it uses hardware store components that need to be cut, waterproofed, connected, soldered, or somehow processed before becoming part of the robot or controller,” says Diane Brancazio ME ’90, K-12 maker team leader for the MIT Edgerton Center, who co-leads the MIT SeaPerch initiative with Bennett. “[It’s] kind of like making a cake from scratch, instead of from a mix — you see what goes into the final product and how it all comes together.”

SeaPerch II is a family of modules that allow students and educators to create educational adventures tailored to their particular wants or requirements. Offerings include a pressure and temperature sensing module that can be used on its own; an autonomy module that the students can use to construct a closed-loop automatic depth control system for their SeaPerch; and a lesson module for soft robotic “fingers” that can be configured into grippers, distance sensors, and bump sensors.

The basic SeaPerch is a PVC pipe structure with three motors and a tether to a switch box. Through the building process, students learn about buoyancy, structural design, hand fabrication, and electric circuits. SeaPerch II leverages technologies that are more advanced, less expensive, and more accessible than they were when SeaPerch was first conceived. Bennett says SeaPerch II is meant to extend the original SeaPerch program without invalidating any of the existing system.

Teagan Sullivan, a third-year student in mechanical engineering, first became involved with the project in January 2023 through an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program project with MIT Sea Grant. Initially, she continued development of the soft robotics portion of the project, before switching to a more general focus where she worked on frame design for SeaPerch II, making sure components could fit and that stability could be maintained. Later she helped run outreach programs, taking feedback from the students she worked with to help modify designs and make them “more robust and kid-friendly.”

“I have been able to see the impact of SeaPerch II on a small scale by working directly with students,” Sullivan says. “I have seen how it encourages creativity, and how it has taught kids that collaboration is the best road to success. SeaPerch II teaches the basics of electronics, coding, and manufacturing, but its best strength is the ability to challenge the way people think and encourage critical thinking.”

The team’s vision is to create opportunities for young people to engage in authentic science investigations and engineering challenges, developing a passion for engineering, science, and the aquatic environment. MIT Sea Grant is continuing to develop new SeaPerch II modules, including incorporating land-water communication, salinity and dissolved oxygen sensors, and fluorometers.

Sullivan says she hopes the program will reach more students and inspire them to take an interest in engineering while teaching the skills they need to be the next generation of problem-solvers. Brancazio says she hopes this project inspires and prepares young people to work on climate change issues.

“Robots are supposed to help people do things they couldn’t otherwise do,” Brancazio says. “SeaPerch is a robot with a mission.”

Got You Covered

T-Mobile recently partnered with Starlink to provide connectivity to customers in reception dead zones. Starlink on T-Mobile, Sag says, is an example of this satellite technology being implemented in a simple and effective way. If you go out of the range of a terrestrial T-Mobile reception tower, your phone can connect to Starlink passively, without having to fiddle with changing networks yourself.

Seamless Connectivity

“They worked extremely closely with Google and Apple to make sure that this was a super, super easy experience,” Sag says. “You don’t need an app and you don’t have to click any buttons. It just works.”

Satellite Internet: The Next Frontier

Terrestrial wireless connections already have that sort of interoperability built in. If you’re traveling and lose connection with a cell tower, there’s probably another one close by that your device will automatically connect to. Satellite internet provides that same unbroken experience even when there are no cell towers to connect to—for phones, trackers, and a litany of connected gadgets.

The Global Constellation

Of course, Starlink’s satellites are not the only ones on the launchpad. The same day T-Mobile first announced its partnership with Starlink, the European Commission also announced it had signed a contract to put a constellation of 290 satellites into orbit as part of its own Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite (IRIS²) program.

Amazon’s Project Kuiper already has prototypes in the sky, and is aiming to get more than 3,000 satellites into orbit to provide broadband internet service. Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has spun off its own satellite provider named Taara to better compete in the field. Three Chinese firms have joined the fray, which also includes players like Lynk Global and Eutelsat OneWeb.

AT&T and Verizon are both working with the Texas satellite company AST Space Mobile to expand their coverage areas. (Verizon has also been working with Project Kuiper since 2021.) Apple has invested $1.5 billion into the satellite company Globalstar with the goal of building out its own constellation that can enable Apple devices to use features like Emergency SOS and car crash detection in remote areas without a cell signal.

Platform-Agnostic or Not?

The way that ease of interoperability could go awry, Christensen cautions, is if devices themselves are locked to proprietary satellite systems. So if Globalstar satellites only worked on Apple phones or vice versa, there could be some gaps in the constellation of coverage. That doesn’t seem like the plan for the companies involved, however. A more likely evolution of this globe-spanning network, Christensen says, is that satellites become platform-agnostic, much the way land-based telecom operations are.

Conclusion

The future of satellite internet is looking bright, with multiple companies investing heavily in the technology. With the potential to provide seamless connectivity even in areas with no cell towers, satellite internet has the potential to revolutionize the way we stay connected.

FAQs

Q: What is Starlink on T-Mobile?

A: Starlink on T-Mobile is a partnership between T-Mobile and Starlink to provide connectivity to customers in reception dead zones.

Q: What is the goal of the European Commission’s IRIS² program?

A: The goal of the European Commission’s IRIS² program is to put a constellation of 290 satellites into orbit to provide broadband internet service.

Q: Which companies are investing in satellite technology?

A: T-Mobile, Amazon, Google, Apple, AT&T, Verizon, and several Chinese firms are all investing in satellite technology.

Q: What is the potential for satellite internet to revolutionize connectivity?

A: Satellite internet has the potential to provide seamless connectivity even in areas with no cell towers, making it a game-changer for remote communities and individuals.