http://www.gog.com/

They were serious. I don't know how they did it, but they did.

You can now legally obtain the game for which I grossly overpaid on eBay.

Buy it. Ten United States dollars.

But this really isn't going to incite discussion, so let me make it a little helpful instead:

Step 1: Buy the game.

Step 2: Download SS2 Mod Manager.

Step 3: Download the Shock Texture Upgrade Pack. SHTUP, for short.

Step 4: Download the Rebirth Hi-Poly Model Pack. No nickname.

Step 5: Download the Shock Music Update. SHMUP, for short.

The following steps are optional, but strongly suggested.

Step 6: Download Vert's Hi-Res Space Textures. They be pretty.

Step 7: Download ACC's "Four Hundred" texture pack. Those environments look shiny.

The following steps are optional.

Step 8: Download Vert's System Shock 2 Goo textures. Vert: making goo gooier since... a while ago.

Step 9: Download the Tacticool Weapon Replacement Pack. The slide on the pistol actually moves!

Now, play the game, keeping in mind that other people should never hype anything for anyone else ever.

Tell you what, System Shock 2 is pretty good. I mean, it's decent.

OK, you're done? Now listen to this.

http://gambit.mit.edu/podcasts/lgs/podcast5_kevin_levine.mp3

Better yet, just listen to the whole series. It's only ten episodes, and it's all about the people who made it so the games you're playing now are not just bearable, but actually pretty good.

http://gambit.mit.edu/updates/audio/looking_glass_studios_podcast/

Cheers!

Thanks! I've bookmarked this for when I get around to playing the game, hopefully that's soon.

@mlarrabee: Use of the mod manager is ACTIVELY DISCOURAGED and there are some other complications with the GOG.com install, please see this thread on GOG.com.

@august: Thanks for the heads-up; I actually posted this while waiting for my GOG copy to download (which was about two seconds after I heard it was released, which was three hours after I reinstalled my own boxed copy). I'll have to double-check the reliability of some of that thread, though, because I'm currently using the 2.4 patch along with every mod I listed above on my CD-ROM install, so I know for a fact that Mod Manager is compatible with NewDark.

Mod Manager is also compatible with Four Hundred and Vert's space textures, again, with NewDark patch on a CD install since I haven't tried any mods with my GOG copy. The incompatibilities lie between SHTUP, ADaoB, and Vert's Biomatter texture.

I've got an old-ass CRT monitor in my closet. I should probably play System Shock 2 on it.