InkyBlackness

InkyBlackness is an open-source project for creating modding tools for System Shock (1994 and compatible).

The main products of this project are:


 * HackEd, a graphical editor for level editing and modding
 * ss-specs, the unofficial System Shock specifications

InkyBlackness was created by an ex-member, named "firefreak", of the The System Shock Hack Project, under the new handle of "dertseha".

InkyBlackness started as a hobby project to tinker with the resource files. The first publicly available homepage of the project in 2015 stated:"The current focus is on the data files and the capability to properly load and save them"later this became refined to the current statement:"InkyBlackness is an open-source project for creating modding tools for System Shock (1994 and compatible). Any useful by-products are happily created, and not the main goal otherwise."

ss-specs
ss-specs was one of the first repositories to be publicly maintained by InkyBlackness, which was intended as a replacement and updated version of the original ss-specs document from TSSHP.

The repository achieved obsolescence of the original specifications on 19th of March, 2016.

Since the release of the source code of the original game in 2018, the specifications are continuously refined, corrected, and extended to match the actual names as they were represented in the code.

Deck package
deck package is the first set of editing tools from InkyBlackness that allowed to modify the resources, and included a first graphical editor. First preview release was on March 26, 2016, and release of version 1.0.0 was on August 19, 2017. This set of tools became obsolete with the release of HackEd, as it incorporated all the necessary details into one graphical editor.

The tools of deck package were used in tandem to verify and/or update the specifications (ss-specs) through reverse engineering of the resource files before the source release.

The fan mission System Shock: ReWired, reported as first fan mission for the game, was created with this toolset.

HackEd
HackEd was created shortly after the source code release of the original game. Reasons for starting with a fresh editor were a bad codebase within deck package, a limiting UI library, as well as the new realizations as per the source code release.

Release of version 1.0.0 was on July 28, 2018 and has since received irregular updates.

Notable fan missions and add-ons created with InkyBlackness

 * Cortex Reaver Challenge, released May 8, 2017
 * System Shock: ReWired, released 2018
 * System Shock: Ruby Station, released December 23, 2018
 * Lazarus Decλy
 * System Shock: Female Hacker, released April 21, 2020
 * System Shock: ReWired 2 (coming soon)