Topic: The Official BioShock thread.

[Cobra951]

The point of consoles is not to have to fuck with any of that.  If it's bad, it's bad for everyone, and there will be hell to pay.  They'll fix it, or they'll disappear.  It won't be a minority of people who chose an unlucky hardware and software configuration, and who have no clout or hope of getting a fix in the near future.  There's good and there's bad on every platform.  Compatibility is where consoles shine.

[MysterD]

Yeah, but considering how retarded much of the world is getting I firmly believe that anything, no matter how horrific, is possible.

The whole point of PC hardware being developed the way it is to avoid such a driver hell. Hopefully we won't reach that level of redundancy. Drivers are meant to make hardware more versatile.

Back to Bioshock; has there been any word on a patch? Not that the game is buggy, I'm just curious, but maybe something for the Widescreen cropping issue.

Last time I heard word of a patch was when Levine said they'd work on a patch to fix that issue.
And that was like RIGHT after Bioshock PC first came out!

I'm still waiting on more info on upcoming Bioshock DLC stuff.

[Cobra951]

Isn't the FOV angle changeable in the PC game's console, or config?  I thought a patch for this was only necessary on the console version.

[Xessive]

Isn't the FOV angle changeable in the PC game's console, or config?  I thought a patch for this was only necessary on the console version.

I remember in any Unreal engine game setting the FOV was a simple console command, in fact some of them even have it as a menu option. I think in Bioshock because the console is more difficult to access, regardless I believe the problem is more than just the FOV. It has to do with setting the cropping in reference to the resolution.

[MysterD]

Okay, rumor time. Take it for what it's worth.

If it's true, damn -- that's some crazy news.

Surfer Girl, the mysterious prophet who has become the gamer's Oracle of choice, today shares with us gossip from 2K Boston concerning the development of BioShock 2. After pointing to a Gamasutra job posting that stated the BioShock creators were setting up a new studio in the Bay area, the Surfing woman of mystery delved deeper into the story behind this relocation:

    "2K Boston is still recovering - a good chunk of the BioShock team did not want to work with Ken ever again, and 2K definitely understood the sentiment and let them set up a new studio so that they can make Bioshock 2, leaving Ken with Project X. A good chunk of the other senior 2K Boston people who were sick of Ken but didn't move to San Francisco ended up scattering to other AAA developers instead. In Quincy, they're essentially rebuilding a team from almost scratch again."

As ever, this is all conjecture until something rock-solid is seen, but since everything Surfer Girl says seems to cause a stir, it's worth at least taking on board. If it's true, Ken Levine is not a popular man and clearly didn't win over any friends during the development of BioShock. Also, what would a new team bring to a franchise that Ken seemed to have his hands all over?

EDIT:
Well, word gets around quick -- looks like it's possible a good deal of this might be true...

[Quemaqua]

That's pretty crazy.  I never heard anything bad about Ken pretty much ever, and when I've talked to him he's always been a really nice dude.  Granted you don't generally hear people go around badmouthing the boss, but usually big personalities that cause problems end up sort of showing themselves for what they are at some point.  I'd be pretty sad if that were actually true.  I hope it isn't.

[MysterD]

I really hope not too, Que.

[gpw11]

All I know is that guy made a pretty wicked game. 

[MysterD]

All I know is that guy made a pretty wicked game. 

Hard to argue that.

I wonder if Levine is a perfectionist...

[Xessive]

I get the feeling he is kind of a perfectionist, and perhaps he pushed a few people in order to get things done his way. Regardless, the game came out successfully and earned a lot of acclamation.

I have the 'Making of' DVD with the interviews and stuff, and I've noticed a little thing with several development teams when they're being interviewed: they almost always seem like they just came out of ordeal, like they're being interviewed on the Discovery Channel about their experience after the vicious bear attack. Y'know when they have that silent moment before answering a question and you can almost see a tear drop escape from an eye and roll down the face. The two teams I've really seen this with are these guys and Lionhead.

[MysterD]

Hmmmm...we know Molyneux is a perfectionist, wants things his way, and has this ridiculously huge scope and bar he sets for his games -- whether he makes it there, that can be another story.

Hmmm...maybe Levine is a lot like Molyneux, in that regard...?

[idolminds]

Patch and free Plasmid DLC coming next week.

[MysterD]

Patch and free Plasmid DLC coming next week.

Yay!!!

The patches will also address the game's field-of-vision perspective, following an intense bout of controversy over the way BioShock handles its widescreen display.

Finally.

2K community manager Elizabeth Tobey tells Shacknews that the DLC will at least include extra plasmids for players to mess around with,

Cool.

A way to disable Vita-Chambers for hardcore play

Oooh, that'll be good -- especially for veterans of the game!
Especially on HARD.

[Cobra951]

I doubt the 360 DLC will be free, but I'll probably end up getting it anyway.  I don't much care about anything in the patch.  I stopped using the vita chambers early on.  I guess they will be easier to avoid with the patch, so that's good.  I never had a problem with the FOV on my wide screen, and if widening the view cone impacts performance, I flat-out don't want it.

[MysterD]

I doubt the 360 DLC will be free, but I'll probably end up getting it anyway.  I don't much care about anything in the patch.  I stopped using the vita chambers early on.

Yes, you could avoid it by loading your last save, of course...


Vita Chamber Disabling/Enabling

I guess they will be easier to avoid with the patch, so that's good.

I think it's a great idea to have gamers be able to have a HardCore Mode that'll disable the usage of Vita Chambers if they want, since using the Vita Chamber doesn't reset the health of your enemies that you actually did damage on.

I think if the game did reset the health of enemies you injured when you go forced back to a Vita chamber, it'd be okay -- plus, you avoid a "load screen" and "load times" entirely by using a Vita Chamber.

[Quemaqua]

Sounds like a great package to me.  I won't be grabbing it since I don't have the game installed currently, but I will most certainly grab it before I play the game again (which will be right after I somehow magically get myself a new video card).

[MysterD]

Sounds like a great package to me.  I won't be grabbing it since I don't have the game installed currently, but I will most certainly grab it before I play the game again (which will be right after I somehow magically get myself a new video card).

The patch has been a long time coming -- and it looks like it'll address, more or less, close to every concern people have had w/ the game; the Vita-Chamber concerns and the concerns of the Widescreen.

Plus, new Plasmid DLC's sound good to me!

All we need now is for them to rid of that horrid Securom CP....

[MysterD]

EDIT, Monday 12/3:

From Cult of Rapture
Here's your list of fixes and changes w/ the new patch.

Patch is due out at MIDNIGHT Tonight, PST.

BIOSHOCK PC PATCH, XBOX 360 TITLE UPDATE AND DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT
December 3, 2007


PC PATCH UPDATES, FIXES, AND FEATURES

- Added the following plasmids and gene tonics: Sonic Boom, Sonic Boom 2, Eve   Saver, Machine Buster, Machine - Buster 2, Vending Expert, Vending Expert 2
- Added an Option to disable the Vita-Chambers for added difficulty
- Added support for a walk toggle keybind
- Added Horizontal FOV Lock option
- Fixed mouse acceleration issues
- Fixed reserved keys not functioning properly when keys are unbound
- Fixed multiple cases of keys not allowing a rebind
- Re-added the Human Inferno tonic
- Changed behavior of subtitles so that inappropriate queuing does not occur
- Changed functionality of keybinding lookup to only search in the current input context when finding bindings for in-game display
- Added rendering support for TripleHead2Go
- Atlas VO volume increased for German releases
- Fixed issue of subtitles not clearing correctly occasionally
- Fixed issue causing long hitches or hangs when accessing certain interface screens, machines, and the hacking minigame
- Fix for a potential situation in Recreation where taking a picture of Cobb is impossible if his body gets stuck behind a fallen pillar
- Fixed subtitle timings to more accurately match the on screen audio
- Fixed issue causing stuttering audio when using Windows Vista
- Fixed issue with characters squirming and wiggling after death
- Fixed blood decals and other projectors not showing up on ATI hardware
- The "Enable EAX" option is now greyed out when EAX-capable hardware is not present
- Fixed audio issues stemming from having a Speaker Setting in Windows that was invalid for the current sound card
- Removed erroneous "Reload" binding in a no-weapons context
- Fixed incorrect Training Message concerning bots who are friendly to enemy AIs
- Fixed incorrect Training Message when shooting a Mimic
- Fixed refresh rate being locked at 60hz in DX10 mode
- Fixed VSync disabling in DX10 mode


XBOX 360 TITLE UPDATE FIXES AND FEATURES

- Added widescreen option: Horizontal FOV
- Fix for rare case where a partial cache is not cleared
- Increased Atlas’ volume in German
- Fix for GUI sounds not playing during heavy action
- Fix for not being able to take picture of Cobb in Rec
- Possible fix for pauses or hangs when opening flash bink movies
- Fix for switching difficulty breaking achievement
- Fix for small texture streaming bug
- Fix for rare hang when a lot of things are going on at once


XBOX 360 DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT

- Added Disable Vita Chamber option
- Plasmid Pack is included in this DLC (Machine Buster 1 & 2, Vending Expert 1 & 2, Sonic Boom 1 & 2, EVE Saver)
- 100 point achievement for beating game without Vita Chamber called "Brass Balls"
  How to do it:
        Must beat game on Hard
        Must not use a Vita Chamber (you can always roll back to an earlier save)
        The Vita Chamber Disabled option can be on or off as long as you don’t resurrect

[Quemaqua]

Holy crap.  That's one hell of a patch.  It sucks that the game needed one at all (though I guess it was in pretty good shape for the most part), but at least they truly delivered.  That's a great list of improvements to a game that wasn't really even broken.  Plus free DLC stuff?  That's awesome all around.  Kudos to Irrational.

It's not quite Sacrifice Patch 3 quality, but it's pretty close.

[MysterD]

Holy crap.  That's one hell of a patch.

No shit!

It sucks that the game needed one at all (though I guess it was in pretty good shape for the most part), but at least they truly delivered.

Sounds like it, yes.

And it's not like there were many issues out the box, either.

That's a great list of improvements to a game that wasn't really even broken.

Yes.

Plus free DLC stuff?  That's awesome all around.  Kudos to Irrational.

Amen.

It's not quite Sacrifice Patch 3 quality, but it's pretty close.

Shit, was the patch that good??!?!

[Pugnate]

While the patch offers major improvements, from what little I played, the game seemed to run very well anyway.

[Cobra951]

Yay more Bioshock!

I'll try a wider FOV, but I was fine with it already.  The cache problem is well known.  Yep, GUI sounds sometimes went bye bye.  Bink?  *Shudder*  Did notice popping textures, but I assumed this was necessary to prevent a worse problem: hitching, or momentary freezes while loading new stuff.  And the game did hang on me a couple of times.  Not bad for playing through about 10 times, but it's still a huge mortal sin.

[Pugnate]

OK so I've been playing Bioshock today, and man do I love it. I am at the end of the Medical Pavilion level where I was instructed to attack the "Big Daddy" in order to harvest. When I finally killed him, the little sister just ran towards him screaming,"NOOOO MR.BUBBLES!", and then just started to sob in her demonic voice.

I felt so guilty...

The game started really slowly. While the narrative was always strong, the action was slow and slightly disappointing. The problem was that I wasn't using the plasmid powers, because I was worried that if I used them too much, I'd turn into some sort of a splicer at the end. I guess was reading too much into the roleplaying.

So yea, while on a pure shooter level the game isn't too strong, with the plasmid stuff in combination, it is simply awesome. I am loving this game. There seems to be so much hard work put into it.

[MysterD]

Bioshock was awesome, Pug.
It's in My Personal Top 10 Games of All Time.

[Pugnate]

Hey so I haven't been following this Bioshock stuff. Do I leave the FOV lock in the patch on?

[MysterD]

Hey so I haven't been following this Bioshock stuff. Do I leave the FOV lock in the patch on?

The Horizontal FOV lock is meant for those w/ WIDESCREEN monitors.

[Pugnate]

Yea I gave it a go, and there is a massive difference. I can see what people were ticked.

[MysterD]

Yea I gave it a go, and there is a massive difference. I can see what people were ticked.

Glad you like their fix!

Enjoy the game, bro!

[gpw11]

Yeah, I've been playing a fair amount of this as well.  The action is pretty weak except for the Big Daddy fights, but it really make up for it with the environment and all that. Essentially, I've just been shocking people/shooting them with bees and then clubbing them with my wrench.  I'm fairly certain I can get through the game doing so, especially because every time someone tries to physically hit me they get shocked pretty much to death.

I've also been saving all the little sisters since it doesn't seem like Adam shortages are a huge problem.  But I think that the radio diaries are by far my favorite part. Hearing about the interactions between Fontaine, Ryan, and Atlas' people is pretty interesting.

[Pugnate]

I agree. The radio diaries -- while nothing new in gaming -- add a lot to the atmosphere, and I look forward to finding them. And yes, without the plasmid powers, the combat would be really weak.

I am just not particularly challenged, even by the Big Daddies.

[gpw11]

That's the thing, you're a bit over powered.  With the right plasmids and ammo you can easily take down the tougher Bid Daddies without worrying about being hit.

[Pugnate]

I think that's probably the average gamer wasn't as enamored by Bioshock as the critics. While most writers and people like us find the storyline and atmosphere a good pay off, Gamer Joe doesn't care about that really.

While critical scores average around 9.5, most gamers rate this between 7.5 and 8.0.

I suppose that's because people care more about run and gun shooting than anything else.

Still it shows how much power critics have, and why all these publishers are desperate for higher scores. While fans seem to rate this as merely an above average title, the game has sold enormously well. The first week sales were apparently amazing.

 

[Ghandi]

It was heavily marketed as well. I saw many ads on television for it. I'm sure that contributed more than the good reviews.

[Pugnate]

Yes, probably. It was also one of the few "AAA" titles at the time of its release.

[PyroMenace]

Argh... never did finish it. Its really burning me too... this one and Okami... and God of War. Those are like the big 3.

[Cobra951]

Difficulty ramps up a great deal later on.  You face the same kinds of enemies, but they are much stronger.  My favorite combination was freezing + shattering with the wrench.

[Xessive]

So far the most useful plasmids to me are the shock and chameleon. Thank God for chameleon!

[Quemaqua]

It's funny how everyone has different opinions.  I used telekinesis more than anything, I think.

[Xessive]

It's funny how everyone has different opinions.  I used telekinesis more than anything, I think.

I think that's one of many strengths of the game The game is simplelistic and fairly linear, but the variety of plasmids really changes the way you play!

Telekinesis is pretty handy, and throwing objects can do some serious damage as I've noticed!

I like electro-shock coz it has several uses; it can stun enemies, severely shock (instant-kill sometimes) a group in water, and it can open certain doors.

Anyway, that's the beauty of the game; the variety really makes it.

[scottws]

Chameleon?  What the heck is that.