Space station mission

During the development of Deus Ex, a space station mission was created but was cut from the game.

Development history

In the plot concept for Shooter: Majestic Revelations, the final mission was set on a space station called "Helios." The mission would have JC Denton confront a rogue Majestic 12 AI named "Adam," to the outcome of either merging with Adam or destroying Adam entirely along with the space station.

Later during development, the original space station concept was modified into a pair of space stations, one of which was modeled after the international space station, and the other being a resort hotel (see "Plot" section below for more details). Additionally, the Adam AI was replaced by Ada, an AI located on the moon instead of a space station. A moon base mission then became the final endgame location, while the space station mission served as the penultimate segment prior to the moon base.

The space station mission was later cut from the game. The endgame was then consolidated into just the moon base, until the moon base was also cut (and replaced by Area 51).

According to Deus Ex developer Scott Martin, the development team intended for the mission to unofficially tie into the System Shock universe. However, when Irrational Games acquired the rights to System Shock, the team decided to scrap the mission.

“

In the final levels of Deus Ex, we were going to drop little hints that the space station was actually Citadel Station, and [Deus Ex's] rogue AI was a precursor to SHODAN, making Deus Ex an unofficial prequel to System Shock.

To our surprise, early in development, we learned that Irrational Games had acquired the rights to System Shock and was making a sequel, so we scrapped the idea.

— Scott Martin, 2020

The released game contains no explicit mention of any space station. However, the concept of a luxury space station was later reused for the Heaven space station, which is mentioned in Deus Ex: Human Revolution as being a "resort paradise."

Plot

According to multiple developer accounts, the mission would have involved two separate space stations. The first space station would have been a "derelict" space station that was a fictionalized version of the real-world International Space Station (ISS), while the second station would have been a "luxury" space station constructed by Majestic 12.

According to 2007 Harvey Smith interview, the protagonist would first travel to an "international space-station" via a rocket, and then to a second space station, known as the "luxury space-station," via a shuttle:

“

You were going to use the rocket to get to the international space-station (which in our fiction was just sagging and falling apart and barely held together), and from there you were going to use a shuttle to get to a luxury space-station which was going to be like the Titanic.

From there, you were going to go to the moonbase, where the game was going to end

— Harvey Smith, 2007

Steve Powers provided the following details of the mission, along with a cut character named Jerry Wildman:

“

Another character I hated to see cut was Jerry Wildman. A NASA astronaut who was stranded in orbit when the space program fell apart. Years of living alone on a derelict station in zero G made him a unique character, and JC would have a chance to recruit him to help infiltrate a second space station that was to be the "Titanic" of space, a massive luxury station where the most elite could live out of international law's reach. Jerry Wildman had been in orbit on a tub leaking air and falling apart while MJ12 constructed this super station just out of his reach, ignoring him all the while. Needless to say he was bitter.

— Steve Powers, c. 2011

Derelict space station

In an earlier interview in 2000, Warren Spector gave a description of what appears to have been the "international space-station" mentioned by Harvey Smith. Spector described a space station modeled after the real-world International Space Station (ISS). However, since Deus Ex is set in the future, the space station would appear outdated and decommissioned. The space station would feel much like the original System Shock:

“

There was this whole subplot where you were going to go exploring the International Space Station (built from blueprints of the real, soon-to-be-built thing, of course). This being the future, the ISS was going to be a dangerous, decommissioned, outdated hulk. It all sounded cool enough, but as we started thinking about it, the whole scenario started to feel, well, not to put too fine a point on it, too much like the original System Shock.

— Warren Spector, 2000

Luxury space station

Deus Ex design document v. 13.12 suggests that the other space station (the "luxury space-station") apparently retained the name "Helios" that was used in the Majestic Revelations concept. The design document includes the following description: "Helios, is due to open soon, a safe haven for the wealthy and a getaway for adventurous travelers with good connections and LOTS of money." This document also mentions "two relatively large orbiting space stations," consistent with the developer accounts that there would have been two space stations.

The Deus Ex Bible similarly refers to two space stations, one of which having a "mega-expensive resort hotel [that] opened recently." However, the name "Helios" is no longer mentioned, since the name had been given to the final AI character in the released game.

TITAN.utx texture package

The original release of Deus Ex includes an entirely-unused texture package with the filename "TITAN.utx". The textures in this package are believed to relate to the rocket that would have been used to reach the first space station, since the textures names mention "Rckt" (i.e., rocket) (see also "Trivia" section below). This texture package was removed from the game files in the Game of the Year Edition of Deus Ex.

ClenGreyHmoon

ClenLtledippr_A

ClenRcktCkpit_A

ClenRcktCkpit_B

ClenRcktCkpit_D

ClenRcktCpsle_D

RedLight_A1

Concept art

Concept art of Jerry Wildman, character written for this mission

Trivia

• The real-world Titan II was a rocket designed to deliver payloads into space. It was launched from the (real-world) Vandenberg Air Force Base, from a silo similar to the in-game MJ12 Missile Silo.