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[puke]

Well, the invisible guys were more transluscent, I assumed some sort of electro chromic thing like squids have. 

Anti gravity was already established technology, see the station its self.. replacing the technology with organic equivalents shouldn't be that hard, especially for a godlike AI.

And the energy bolts could have just been bioelectric, mixed with a little bit of cyber.  a little far fetched, but not entirely the same as magic.  Artificial gravity might as well be magic, but it is such an entrenched sci-fi trope it is hard to get rid of.

I'm probably in the minority, but I just dont like wizards in my sci-fi. 

Any technological explanation for the kinds of psi powers that were in SS2 would have had repercussions that would transform human civilization into something unrecognizable as human.  I had the same problem with Mass Effect, that stuff just takes me out of the story.

[Majestic7]

Mass market thinks wizards are cool, so they want wizards. That is the explanation why Mass Effect has wizards, even if they are called techno-something. Psionic forces are sort of an ugly stepchild of science fiction, tho. Psionic things were seriously researched in the sixties and the seventies, so it was reflected in scifi of the time. Most of the basic stuff regarding PSI came from Alfred Bester, who actually wrote a couple of great books.

Unfortunately, the ideas were so good they got sort of nailed into science fiction genre and thus persist in pseudoscience and stuff, instead of being forgotten when the serious research disproved all the psionic mumbojumbo.

I could see hackers being sort of psionic characters in some distant future, tho - considering the amount of private information people dump online even now, being able to access and analyze that information quickly would give advantages somewhat like telepathy and clairvoyance and stuff. Especially if combined with an AI or at least sophisticated programming crunching through the trends and so forth.

[puke]

I could see hackers being sort of psionic characters in some distant future,

the 'Mindjammer' tabletop RPG is a pretty good example of this -- ubiquitous networking, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and nanotech.  It's basically Banks 'Culture' setting with the serial numbers filed off.

Hacking is more like spell casting, as human brains and artificial minds interact with the network as naturally as breathing.

As with any transhuman sort of sci-fi, the only reason you have anything as recognizable as human is by plot fiat. 

And when you start talking about tech that can negate entropy, create reactionles energy, negate mass, etc.. you're talking about civilization transforming things.  trivial planet killers, the end of energy economies, etc.

[Neonivek]

Unfortunately, the ideas were so good they got sort of nailed into science fiction genre and thus persist in pseudoscience and stuff, instead of being forgotten when the serious research disproved all the psionic mumbojumbo.

Yes because psionics are the only fantastic element common to sci-fi

Now if you will excuse me, I am going to eat a burrito from this machine that rearranges individual atoms.

But then again given how much people hate sci-fi now adays... I can more then handle "I hate psionics"

[Majestic7]

Well, there is science fiction and then there is future/space fantasy. Unfortunately everything that is set in the future or space has become to be called science fiction, so yeah. I don't think all scifi needs to be about hard science, tho. Scifi exploring social developments or the effect of technology on societies is just as interesting...but this is a topic that has nothing to do with SShock so I'll stop rambling.

[Neonivek]

Well, there is science fiction and then there is future/space fantasy. Unfortunately everything that is set in the future or space has become to be called science fiction, so yeah. I don't think all scifi needs to be about hard science, tho. Scifi exploring social developments or the effect of technology on societies is just as interesting...but this is a topic that has nothing to do with SShock so I'll stop rambling.

It has everything to do with SShock.

Though I doubt that will be obvious to anyone until after the third game comes out.

[GiglameshDespair]

Well, the invisible guys were more transluscent, I assumed some sort of electro chromic thing like squids have. 

Anti gravity was already established technology, see the station its self.. replacing the technology with organic equivalents shouldn't be that hard, especially for a godlike AI.

And the energy bolts could have just been bioelectric, mixed with a little bit of cyber.  a little far fetched, but not entirely the same as magic.  Artificial gravity might as well be magic, but it is such an entrenched sci-fi trope it is hard to get rid of.

I'm probably in the minority, but I just dont like wizards in my sci-fi. 

Any technological explanation for the kinds of psi powers that were in SS2 would have had repercussions that would transform human civilization into something unrecognizable as human.  I had the same problem with Mass Effect, that stuff just takes me out of the story.

You can find an audio log of a guy turning into an invisible mutant who talks about how he can see through his arm, which would suggest invisibility over cuttlefish-style colour change. None of the mutants seem to have cybernetics, at least visibly when dead or alive. The cyborgs have those, and they're talked about seperately ("We're trapped between the cyborgs and the mutants".)
I mean, sure, you could imagine some kind of biological anti-grav... but it's working on such sufficiently-advanced means it might as well be psi. You dislike psi as space magic, but anti-grav itself is pretty much magic, as you say, so that seems it'd come down to an argument over semantics, in the end.

Ultimately it doesn't really matter, I guess. Psi is a thing in the SS universe.

[TempAcc]

Since there's no elements in the original SS to indicate that those powers result from some sort of special technology, psionics are prob the cause of it. I mean, mutants+psionics or technologically enhanced psionics are a huge theme in SS2, so much that it didn't feel like it was tacked onto the series. Its established that shodan was doing weird mutation experiments in the first game which eventualy became The Many in SS2, and the many eschew technology, so it makes sense that SS1 mutants actualy use psionics.

I was actualy sort of sad The Many got destroyed in SS2, they were an interesting side villain, and who knows the kind of stuff they could've done if left alone, altough their way of achieving godhood was clearly inferior to Shodan's plan of literally hacking reality.

[Rince Wind]

Of course, they were on a planet when first encountert. So there might still be a lot of them left down there. And who knows what becomes of poor Tommy Suarez (that was his name, right?) when SHODAN uses his girlfriends body as an avatar. She might, in her arrogance, repeat her mistakes by telling herself that not her plans were at fault, it was just that the test subjects were inadequate and she needs a bigger sample than just one space stations worth of crew.
All the while the leftover many could send some sort of psionic signal for help to try and ambush more humans.

[puke]

Since there's no elements in the original SS to indicate that those powers result from some sort of special technology, psionics are prob the cause of it.

See, it is this sort of default assumption that is the problem with popular sci-fi.  No reasonable technology, so: magic?  Technology is special but hocus-pocus isn't?

You guys don't have to worry though, your interests will be catered to just fine.

[TempAcc]

Uh, no? Its the general assumption because this is the System Shock universe, in which psionics are pretty much stablished to be a thing, employed by Shodan's minions and the player.

When did this thread turn into nerds sperging out about science fiction?

[Neonivek]

Uh, no? Its the general assumption because this is the System Shock universe, in which psionics are pretty much stablished to be a thing, employed by Shodan's minions and the player.

When did this thread turn into nerds sperging out about science fiction?

I remember a long time ago when fantasy and sci-fi shared ideas and concepts and not only did people not care they outright embraced it making some of the greatest pieces of fiction known to man.

Now people are starting to become REALLY polarized against sci-fi... So the anti-psionic sentiment is likely a way to "legitimize Sci-fi" because it is too fantastical.

Mind you I don't mind the whole psionics thing since to me psionics is just another form of technology... and what is more sci-fi then a device that allows you to control stuff with your own mind?

[jocan2003]

Uh, no? Its the general assumption because this is the System Shock universe, in which psionics are pretty much stablished to be a thing, employed by Shodan's minions and the player.

When did this thread turn into nerds sperging out about science fiction?

I remember a long time ago when fantasy and sci-fi shared ideas and concepts and not only did people not care they outright embraced it making some of the greatest pieces of fiction known to man.

Now people are starting to become REALLY polarized against sci-fi... So the anti-psionic sentiment is likely a way to "legitimize Sci-fi" because it is too fantastical.

Mind you I don't mind the whole psionics thing since to me psionics is just another form of technology... and what is more sci-fi then a device that allows you to control stuff with your own mind?

Thats exactly what i am thinking too. Im seeing it pretty much like they explained it in mass effect tho, using implants and so on.

[puke]

When did this thread turn into nerds sperging out about science fiction?

About one page back. 

Since there's no SS3 yet, or any solid news about what it might hypothetically contain, feel free to sperge on about whatever tangentially related topic you like.

[Krevsin]

Mass market thinks wizards are cool, so they want wizards. That is the explanation why Mass Effect has wizards, even if they are called techno-something. Psionic forces are sort of an ugly stepchild of science fiction, tho. Psionic things were seriously researched in the sixties and the seventies, so it was reflected in scifi of the time. Most of the basic stuff regarding PSI came from Alfred Bester, who actually wrote a couple of great books.

Unfortunately, the ideas were so good they got sort of nailed into science fiction genre and thus persist in pseudoscience and stuff, instead of being forgotten when the serious research disproved all the psionic mumbojumbo.

I could see hackers being sort of psionic characters in some distant future, tho - considering the amount of private information people dump online even now, being able to access and analyze that information quickly would give advantages somewhat like telepathy and clairvoyance and stuff. Especially if combined with an AI or at least sophisticated programming crunching through the trends and so forth.

I disagree and say that the reason why some sci-fi has techno-wizards is because the authors think it's cool.