Editing System Shock (section)

== Gameplay ==
[[File:SHOCK001.GIF|thumb|left|The [[player character]] looks at the door below while wielding a lead pipe. The character's health and energy are displayed at the top right; manipulable readouts to the left of them determine the character's posture and view angle. The three "multi-function display" windows at the bottom depict weapon information, the inventory and an [[automap]], respectively.<!--<ref name="Pelit">{{cite |last=Salminen |first=Tapio |language=fi |date=issue 7, 1994 |title=[[Pelit]] |pages=18–20}}</ref>-->]]
''System Shock'' takes place from a [[first-person perspective]] in a [[3D computer graphics|three-dimensional]] (3D) graphical environment.<ref name="ttlg" /> The game is set inside a large, multi-level space station, in which players explore, combat enemies and solve puzzles.<ref name="ttlg" /><ref name="gamespy" /> Progress is largely non-linear, and the game is designed to allow for [[emergent gameplay]].<ref name="gamedesigntheory" /> As in ''[[Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss|Ultima Underworld]]'',<ref name="cgw2">{{cite magazine |author=Paul C. Schuytema |date=December 1994 |title=SHODAN at the Cyberspace Corral |magazine=[[Computer Gaming World]] |issue=125 |pages=250, 252, 254}}</ref> the player uses a [[point-and-click|freely movable mouse cursor]] to aim weapons, to interact with objects and to manipulate the [[HUD (video gaming)|heads-up display]] (HUD) interface.<ref name="ssmanual">{{cite book |author1=Frase, Tuesday |author2=Smith, Harvey |author3=Moreno, Al |author4=Close, Rachel |author5=Staff |title=System Shock Terminal Access manual |year=1994 |publisher=[[Origin Systems]]}}</ref> View and posture controls on the HUD allow the player to lean left or right, look up or down, crouch, and crawl. Practical uses for these actions include taking [[cover system (gaming)|cover]], retrieving items from beneath the player character and navigating small passages, respectively. The HUD also features three "multi-function displays", which may be configured to display information such as weapon readouts, an [[automap]] and an inventory.<ref name="ssmanual" />

The player advances the plot by acquiring log discs and e-mails: the game contains no [[non-player characters]] with which to converse.<ref name="ssmanual" /><ref name="icebreaker" /><ref name="gamasutra" /> Throughout the game, an evil [[artificial intelligence]] called [[SHODAN]] hinders the player's progress with traps and blocked pathways.<ref name="grossman" /> Specific computer terminals allow the player to temporarily enter Cyberspace; inside, the player moves weightlessly through a [[Wire-frame model|wire-frame]] 3D environment, while collecting data and fighting SHODAN's security programs. Actions in Cyberspace sometimes cause events in the game's physical world; for example, certain locked doors may only be opened in Cyberspace.<ref name="ssmanual" /> Outside of Cyberspace, the player uses the game's sixteen weapons, of which a maximum of seven may be carried at one time, to combat robots, cyborgs and mutants controlled by SHODAN. Projectile weapons often have selectable ammunition types with varying effects; for example, the "dart pistol" may fire either explosive needles or tranquilizers.<ref name="ssmanual" /><ref name="icebreaker" /> Energy weapons and several types of explosives may also be found, with the latter ranging from [[Hand grenade#Concussion|concussion grenades]] to land mines.<ref name="ssmanual" />

Along with weapons, the player collects items such as dermal patches and first-aid kits. Dermal patches provide the character with beneficial effects—such as regeneration or increased melee attack power—but can cause detrimental side-effects, such as fatigue and distorted color perception.<ref name="ssmanual" /><ref name="icebreaker" /> Attachable "hardware" may also be found, including [[Force shield|energy shields]] and head-mounted lanterns. Increasingly advanced versions of this hardware may be obtained as the game progresses. When activated, most hardware drains from a main energy reserve, which necessitates economization.<ref name="ssmanual" /> Certain hardware displays the effectiveness of attacks when active, with messages such as "Normal damage".<ref name="ssmanual" /><ref name="icebreaker" /> When an enemy is attacked, the damage is calculated by armor absorption, vulnerabilities, [[critical hit]]s and a degree of randomness.<ref name="icebreaker">{{cite book |author=Frase, Tuesday |title=System Shock I.C.E. Breaker |year=1994 |publisher=[[Origin Systems]]}}</ref> Weapons and munitions deal specific kinds of damage, and certain enemies are immune, or more vulnerable, to particular types. For example, [[electromagnetic pulse]] weapons heavily damage robots, but do not affect mutants. Conversely, gas grenades are effective against mutants, but do not damage robots.<ref name="icebreaker" />