However, if you are running this game on a 486 spec machine, 320x400 is the best resolution/performance option you will likely achieve. Even 320x400 is better than the default 320x200. The first thing you should do is to hit the Space Bar key, then the Esc key, go to Video and increase the resolution to 640x400 or 640x480. Even though the game will play fine on my machine, once I click on the checkbox to get rid of the window, it will crash my system hard.įor a good challenge, start the game with the default '2' settings for each category, and when you enter the game you will immediately be presented with a screen full of stuff and information boxes. You then start the game with the MS-DOS shortcut. Under the memory tab, put all the memory value for Conventional at 600 and the DPMI Memory at 16384. Right click on CDSHOCK.BAT and go to Properties, then the Memory tab. If you want to run it within Windows, it can be done. You can always run it in real mode DOS, but that requires you to exit Windows and load mouse and CD drivers and maybe sound drivers. Running the game in Windows 9x is a bit more tricky. If sound or music is not working, try the manual setup. Even if you only have the built-in General MIDI capabilities of Windows, the music is still better than Adlib. Installation is straightforward, and I recommend choosing the Roland SCC-1 for music and the Sound Blaster 16 for digital audio. After you mount the CD, the game is installed with ORIGIN.BAT (not INSTALL.EXE) on the root directory of the CD. That will save many a headache trying to figure out why the game is not loading. For any system, I highly recommend that the CD-ROM drive is D.

I am assuming you are using the Enhanced CD-ROM version, most people do over the inferior (but original) floppy version.

Getting the game running in DOS or DOSBox is no particular chore. In the spirit of the times, I offer this guide to get the most out of the game. I have beaten the game multiple times and really love it. While it has been unavailable legitimately for many years outside of eBay, GoG is now offering System Shock Enhanced Edition, which includes the original CD-ROM Enhanced version as well as a Windows executable to run the game on modern systems. However, once you get a feel for the game, you should be able to appreciate what it was trying to do.

If you are used to DOOM and its simple controls, you are in for quite the learning curve. System Shock is a classic from the DOS gaming era, but trying to play it can be, well, something of a shock.

System shock 1 music level 1