Fucking awesome. This is pretty much my most anticipated title. I absolutely can't wait... thanks for posting this. The water looks pretty impressive, as does some of the lighting. Love those Big Daddies. Spooky stuff.
They both might regardless.I believe so, to.
I think STALKER is still striving to be *more* this way than Bioshock overall, so I think it can still be a contender if they just finish the damn thing.I'm guessing Bioshock will be more polished than STALKER.
No Multiplayer for BioShock [01:10 pm]
89 Comments - Chris Remo
One of the most anticipated upcoming single-player shooters will fairly expectedly omit multiplayer functionality, confirmed 2K Games community manager Elizabeth Tobey on the official community site for Irrational Games BioShock. "BioShock features a compelling storyline that revolves around the experiences of one man as he enters the decaying world of Rapture," reads the explanation. "Having a multiplayer component would have compromised the story we were trying to tell so we made the decision to keep this game as a single player experience." System Shock 2, the game to which BioShock is frequently referred by the team and its fans as a spiritual successor, featured a cooperative mode.
More interestingly, the Q&A indicates that the game will feature online content downloads of some kind, which with a lack of multiplayer may entail new story content. It notes that content on the Xbox 360 and PC platforms will be identical, suggesting that any downloads are also likely to be made available for both versions. Finally, it was stated that development is being led on the Xbox 360 platform, with "all decisions on HUD and gameplay situations" being made there before being implemented on PC, in order to avoid PC-to-console translation problems such as the team faced with Deus Ex 2: Invisible War.
Finally, it was stated that development is being led on the Xbox 360 platform, with "all decisions on HUD and gameplay situations" being made there before being implemented on PC, in order to avoid PC-to-console translation problems such as the team faced with Deus Ex 2: Invisible War.No, you stupid fucks! You got it backwards! Ugh....
Are there any lessons from Deus Ex 2 that the team has learned and is using when making BioShock?So it looks like things will mostly be based on the console version, but will be tweaked to be more "PC like" for the PC version as opposed to the game having consolitis.
Many development teams have learned important lessons from previous attempts to bring PC games to the console, though Deus Ex 2 is an infamous example. One of the main things we are doing differently is that we are leading our development efforts with the 360. Therefore all decisions on HUD and gameplay situations that are made on the 360 will be re-thought and optimized when brought over onto the PC.
That HUD and gameplay quote isnt quite right. Here it is from 2Ks site:As long as they re-vamp the PC version HUD and stuff to fit our PC style of gameplay and interfaces, we'll be okay....
So it looks like things will mostly be based on the console version, but will be tweaked to be more "PC like" for the PC version as opposed to the game having consolitis.
So it looks like things will mostly be based on the console version, but will be tweaked to be more "PC like" for the PC version as opposed to the game having consolitis.
BioShock System Specs Revealed
July 09, 2007 - BioShock's PR chick let us know that the PC specs for the game have been announced - does your system shape up?
Operating Systems:
# Windows XP (with Service Pack 2) or Windows Vista
Minimum System Requirements:
# CPU: Pentium 4 2.4GHz Single Core processor
# System RAM: 1GB
# Video Card: Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 128MB RAM (NVIDIA 6600 or better/ATI X1300 or better, excluding ATI X1550).
# Sound Card: 100% direct X 9.0c compatible sound card
# Hard disc space: 8GB free space
Recommended System Requirements:
# CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo processor
# System RAM: 2GB
# Video card: DX9: Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 512MB RAM (NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GT or better). DX10: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 or better
# Sound Card: Sound Blaster¿ X-Fi™ series (Optimized for use with Creative Labs EAX ADVANCED HD 4.0 or EAX ADVANCED HD 5.0 compatible sound cards)
# Important Note: Game requires Internet connection for activation.
This whole STEAM dealie is the only reason I didn't buy Lost Planet for the PC. Buh. I preordered Bioshock for PC already, so hopefully it's not true.Yeah, that's crap for the SP component.
They probably would have announced that by now were that the case. Still, this pisses me off either way. You don't have to fucking authenticate anything on the 360, why should I have to do it on my PC?Agreed.
I'm really getting tired of this shit. Not that big a deal to me anymore given that my only gaming PC has a dedicated connection, but what's the point? It isn't necessary. I buy the product, that's it. The end. I shouldn't have to do a damn thing more other than install it.Agreed.
* Inconceivably great plot.
* Tough, scary combat.
* Perfect location design.
* Stunning soundtrack and audio effects.
* Endless variety of weaponry.
The Score - 10
A rich and brilliant dystopia for everyone.
IT'S
* A horror game.
* A long game.
* A Shock game.
IT'S NOT
* Bugged.
* Demanding.
* About killing kids.
SUBLIME - 95%
Bioshock is a dark and disturbing masterpiece.
Even if you've soaked up every preview and trailer with relish, you haven't scratched the surface of how deep this unsettling meditation on hubris and insanity actually goes. If it were just a thrilling ride through a twisted and remarkable plot, Bioshock would eventually get old. But there's a physicality and openness to its richly systematic combat that suggests it'll stay fresh for a very long time.
... these are the big challenges developers have been struggling to master for decades: narrative, emergence, a sense of place. If another game did just one of these as well as Bioshock, it would immediately qualify as a classic. When a game comes along that does all three, we can only be baffled and thankful.
I spend my career, and my gaming life, waiting for a moment when a game just astonishes me, when I can't believe what I'm seeing, what I'm doing. Bioshock has five.
Irrational Games Becomes 2K Boston and 2K Australia [August 10, 2007, 3:40 pm ET] - 7 Comments
This press release announces a name change for Irrational Games, which will now be known as 2K Boston and 2K Australia. The changes are said to "symbolize the studios' further integration into the 2K Games family":
New York, NY - August 10, 2007 -Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), announced today the name change of industry leading development studio Irrational Games to 2K Boston and 2K Australia. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts and with offices in Canberra, Australia, Irrational Games is an internationally renowned developer of story-driven, genre-defining games with award-winning hits like System Shock 2, Freedom Force, Tribes: Vengeance, and SWAT 4. The name changes to 2K Boston and 2K Australia symbolize the studios' further integration into the 2K Games family following their outstanding performance on BioShock™, the upcoming blockbuster available exclusively for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system and Games For Windows on August 21, 2007 in North America and in Europe beginning August 24, 2007.
"Irrational Games is widely recognized as one of the most innovative development studios in the world," said Christoph Hartmann, President of 2K. "Following their incredible efforts in bringing BioShock to life, we are proud to make the newly renamed Irrational Games studios a cornerstone of our game development family."
Recognizing the exceptional talent and creative vision that have made Irrational Games one of the industry's premier developers, 2K Games has fostered the studio's growth by substantially investing in its people, allowing Irrational Games to almost double in size since the studio's acquisition by 2K in 2005. With the upcoming release of BioShock - one of the year's most hotly anticipated titles - 2K Boston and 2K Australia, with the backing of 2K Games, are raising the bar for forward-thinking game design.
"We're proud to be part of the 2K Games family and enjoy the new opportunities and artistic freedoms this strengthened relationship provides," said Ken Levine, President and Creative Director of 2K Boston. "The name change signifies our growing position as a central part of 2K Games, and we plan to ensure our future titles continue to set new standards of quality and innovation for the industry."
For more information, visit the 2K Boston and 2K Australia websites www.2kboston.com and www.2kaustralia.com.
Watched the stage demo a minute ago. And now I'm watching it again (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/bioshock/media.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=tabs&tag=tabs;videos)
*Drool*
I have a feeling I'm going to play through this a few times. It seems like there are so many things you can do with your character.
Bioshock takes the big-ass steel gauntlet and throws it the fuck down in front of any other game for game of the year. I'm saying it potentially will beat the shit out of everything else out there, yes, including Halo 3, yes, including Mass Effect.
Even if you just straight stream through it ignoring everything you could to get through it as fast as you can, it's going to take you easily, easily over 12 hours. It's well over 20 hours if you're playing the game and having fun with it. ... You're going to play it more than once.
Absolute showpiece for the 360. I can't tell you how many times I walked up to the edge of one of those aquarium-like connectors in the city, in this tunnel with Plexiglas, and just stood there and looked out the glass window at the city and was just like... the fuck, this is amazing.
Once you pick up the controller and go into Rapture, you will not want to put it down. -- Is it atmosphere? Is it controls? Pacing? -- Yes, yes. Yes. Let me tell you what, the pacing might be the best pacing in a first-person shooter ever. There's one stretch where people might say 'this is a little hokey', but outside of that... even that I don't think is bad... outside of that, every time you pick up the controller to play it, you're like, I wanna' do this, I wanna' do this, I wanna' do this. ... It handles the gunplay so incredibly well, and the AI of the enemies you play against is phenomenal. ... You feel like you're dancing around these environments fighting them in almost like a multiplayer game.
Best first person shooter ever, really? -- No, not the best first-person shooter ever. -- In terms of the way the story unfolds? -- Yeah. -- Better than Half-life or Half-life 2? -- Yes, absolutely. This is the imagination that has gone into this... this crazy, I'm gonna' be an industrialist and build this Utopian society, and then this examination of what happened inside. ... These guys really thought out the answer to why this utopia failed.
The conclusion on this game... not only is the conclusion satisfying, but the lead up to the conclusion brings everything home really, really well.
Best first person shooter ever, really? -- No, not the best first-person shooter ever. -- In terms of the way the story unfolds? -- Yeah. -- Better than Half-life or Half-life 2? -- Yes, absolutely. This is the imagination that has gone into this... this crazy, I'm gonna' be an industrialist and build this Utopian society, and then this examination of what happened inside. ... These guys really thought out the answer to why this utopia failed.I dunno, but I have a funny feeling Bioshock and STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl are going to be fighting for FPS Of The Year, for me. There really was something about STALKER's atmosphere and gameworld, in Russia/Chernobyl area -- and just how open that world was, to explore and all. STALKER was definitely one of those games, once I began, I couldn't put it the hell down. I dunno if I've played a better shooter in recent years than STALKER.
MyD, don't you dare respond to each quote, or I will strangle you with your own fucking intestines.
Haha Best line of the week.Hey, I always expect violent, merciless punchlines and soul-stealing ramblings from Que directed towards MysterD. :P
At least I also provide the funny (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/56072255/?q=bioshock&qh=boost%3Apopular+age_sigma%3A24h+age_scale%3A5&qo=31).
Known at first as the Vengeance engine 2, this was an enhanced version of the Vengeance engine, based on the Unreal Engine 2.5. As this engine was developed for the game Bioshock, the engine has become known as the "BioShock engine". Later, the BioShock engine was changed to use the Unreal Engine 3.0. but BioShock does not use all of Unreal Engine 3.0's features. As it only upgraded the Unreal Engine 3.0's Unreal Core System, file system framework and UnrealEd Toolsets.[2].
From Wikipedia:Heh, now that I think about it the Big Daddies walk kind of like the T:V heavies.
I didn't even know that. I thought it was still their own thing.
Also, there are several different big daddy designs, and they're all outfitted differently in terms of weapons loadout, etc.
"Ken (Levine) spent years pitching the game to publishers but no one was interested, incredible as that seems now. I joined Irrational in December 2004 and my first job was to get a publishing deal for the game (I worked as the Business Development Director for the first six months). I remember pitching the game to one publisher who later told a friend of mine that it was 'just another fucking PC FPS that's going to sell 250,000 units.'
So it looks like the PC limited edition, which was only available at EB/GS stores, has now sold out. If you look on the sites there aren't listings for them any longer, though you can still nab the 360 LE. I hope all you guys got your preorders in already (and I'm sure as hell glad that I got mine done a week or so ago).I pre-ordered the regular version. I have no interest in a figurine or a making-of DVD.
So it looks like the PC limited edition, which was only available at EB/GS stores, has now sold out. If you look on the sites there aren't listings for them any longer, though you can still nab the 360 LE. I hope all you guys got your preorders in already (and I'm sure as hell glad that I got mine done a week or so ago).I'm undecided on the Collector's or Reg Ed for the PC.
EDIT - Also, there was just a great, classic moment on the fan boards. Somebody made a thread about how Irrational must be racist because there aren't any black people in the game, to which he was immediately hit (and rightfully) with a bunch of replies like: "What, are you stupid? The game takes place before the bulk of civil rights victories in the mid to late sixties to begin with, and Rapture was created by a Utopian idealist in the nineteen forties. You see where your logic fails, right?"Oh boy.....
I'm surprised at the number of people choosing the 360 version. To me this game screams "PC game" through and through.
Well, I want to be able to play the game in the best possible environment. My PC has been having trouble booting up lately, I think it's the power supply but I haven't had time to investigate it, and after it does power up, it seems to be OK. And the second thing is the fact that I'm unsure of how well the game will run on a 7900GTX. I mean, it should run well, but I question whether or not it will run good at 1680x1050 with high detail settings.
On the 360, I don't have to worry about system requirements, but I do have to get used to the controls and stuff. But I mean I got an HDTV too, so it's bound to look amazing.
Everything about this game screams perfection, but there’s one element that might not sit well with you. Rather than dying in battle, players simply respawn at a vita-chamber. The damage dealt to an adversary remains even though the player didn’t succeed.So, there's like no major penalty or anything if you die???
You simply have to go back and clean up your mess to continue on. As intense as the gameplay is, knowing you really can’t fail takes some of the bite out of it. Yes, this system will allow gamers of all skill levels to complete the game – which is a developer’s dream – but it may alienate gamers who only turn to games for a challenge.I hope this game has a bunch of difficulty levels you can crank up and down, if you so choose.
This isn't new. The exact same thing was present in both System Shock and System Shock 2. If it works anything like those games (and I suspect it does), death simply robs you of the game's currency, which you pay in order to be respawned. It does make the game easier, perhaps, but not necessarily in as drastic a way as, say, PREY, which just respawned you and sent you back on your merry way almost instantly.I hope Bioshock goes the same route.
The difference is that in BioShock, the world is full of spawned AIs that randomly wander around getting in your way regardless of whether or not you think you've "cleared" a level.I been playing System Shock 2 -- there are monster planted in levels, but they don't respawn or anything then.
So if you're low on supplies and in a bad spot, don't think that getting reanimated is necessarily going to solve all your problems.This is true.
If you’re worrying about the dreaded taint of consolification, by the way, don’t. It’s clear that the PC team at Irrational are every bit as platform-snobbish as us. There’s a PC-only options menu that lets you turn off the quest compass guiding you to your next objective, disable the golden sheen on mission-critical items, and as for auto-aiming, it isn’t even an option unless you plug in a 360 pad.Sounds like they ain't botching this PC version one bit.
Also exclusive to this edition is a magnificently intricate PC-only quick-switch menu. Because you can have 19 different weapon ammo types on top of your six Plasmids at any given time, using the mouse wheel can get fiddly. So there’s also a key you can hold down to pause the game and pick any one of those 25 modes of attack with a single click.Sweet.
Hacking, too, has been designed differently for the PC to make best use of the mouse - it’s quicker, slicker and less frustrating than the sluggish Xbox controls.Good.
The final geekily gratifying thing about the PC version is how well it runs. It was dazzlingly beautiful and hitchlessly smooth on a machine with an Athlon X2 5200 and a single entry-level GeForce 8800 - running DirectX 9. And this was at 1600x900 on max settings.I wonder how it'll run on my current rig.... (see my specs in the sig).
If you aren't getting the CE (and unless you preordered it, chances are you won't be getting one), Circuit City next week will have Bioshock PC for $39.99.Oh, is this why the game requires an Internet Connection on the PC version basically -- b/c it's on STEAM???
Now I sit back and laugh at the morons preloading the game on Steam and paying $50 for their copy and not even getting a disc.
2K is just selling the game everywhere. Retail, Steam, and Direct2Drive are the ones I know of. None of the versions have anything to do with each other, so if you buy retail you don't have to use Steam (in fact, I don't think you can use your retail CD Key with Steam at all but thats not confirmed). However even retail will need to authenticate itself by connecting to 2Ks servers when you install.Good. I would like to try and avoid STEAM as much as possible! :P
And of course the 360 version doesnt have to deal with any of this bullshit. So I guess thats a plus in their column.Lucky bastards.
PS, PC demo to be released tomorrow.Oh, fuck yeah!!!
2K is just selling the game everywhere. Retail, Steam, and Direct2Drive are the ones I know of. None of the versions have anything to do with each other, so if you buy retail you don't have to use Steam (in fact, I don't think you can use your retail CD Key with Steam at all but thats not confirmed). However even retail will need to authenticate itself by connecting to 2Ks servers when you install.
And of course the 360 version doesnt have to deal with any of this bullshit. So I guess thats a plus in their column.
How did you juggle making this game for a System Shock 2 audience and a wider FPS crowd?
It wasn’t really a juggle. We thought SS2 was a great game, it just wasn’t a great shooter. So we kept everything that was great in SS2 and added the great shooter part. And we had way more time and way more money than we had when making SS2. BioShock is a game we would have liked to have made 10 years ago if we had the resources.
We talk about this a little in the latest podcast (which K-Man is on as well), so I won't say too much here. Just: I think the full version has more focus on variety. Most people seem to think this one has a pretty high amount of replay value.Always someone wants to spoil some of the endings -- heh.
Anyway... everyone be really, really careful of CultofRapture.com right now. Well, the boards at least. They're having a really hard time with people who got the game early posting spoilers. Several of these are intentional fuckwits posting the end of the game in thread titles and stuff. It's pretty bad. You see this with games in general I guess, but it's worse than usual over there right now. I'd just plain stay away. I already more or less had the ending spoiled for me, but fortunately that stuff doesn't really get to me very much, and on top of that I have no idea which of the two endings it is or how it relates to any of the characters (because I really don't know much about them). Most people would probably not be taking it as well as I, however, so... watch out!
If you're debating which version to get, the PC version handles better. In part it's because of the greater precision with the mouse and keyboard, but also with how the plasmids and weapons are selected. With the default settings RMB switches between the two, LMB fires, and you use the mouse wheel instead of a radial menu to select a specific plasmid or weapon. This keeps you rooted in the action to a greater degree than in the Xbox 360 version, since you don't have to keep pausing the game. By hitting Shift you can bring up a plasmid and weapon selection screen if you so desire, but the mouse wheel scrolled through fast enough to stay useful. Note that you can't set LMB to fire a weapon and RMB to fire a plasmid; there's only one fire function. We also noticed the option to bind the functions "switch and fire weapon" and "switch and fire plasmid," but when we tested it out these only switched from weapon to plasmid and back again, much like the RMB default function. All weapons and plasmids are also bound to the number and function keys, making it even easier to ensure you always have the ideal attack at the ready.Interesting control scheme.
The PC version definitely outclasses the Xbox 360, mostly because of the ability to crank the resolution to 1920 x 1200. If you've got a Vista rig with a DX10 card, you can expect some heightened particle effects, crisper real-time shadows, and more dynamic water, but the game looks gorgeous regardless. On our gaming PC running a Core 2 Quad processor with a GeForce 8800 GTX, and 4 GB of RAM, it ran very well, with only a few occasions of seemingly random framerate hitches. We also couldn't find an option to switch between DX10 and DX9 modes, the game just seems to default to what's in your system, unlike Lost Planet.I'm guessing MOST games should run well on an awesome system w/ a Core 2 Quad, GF 8800 GTX, and 4GB of RAM.
We talk about this a little in the latest podcast (which K-Man is on as well), so I won't say too much here. Just: I think the full version has more focus on variety. Most people seem to think this one has a pretty high amount of replay value.
Anyway... everyone be really, really careful of CultofRapture.com right now. Well, the boards at least. They're having a really hard time with people who got the game early posting spoilers. Several of these are intentional fuckwits posting the end of the game in thread titles and stuff. It's pretty bad. You see this with games in general I guess, but it's worse than usual over there right now. I'd just plain stay away. I already more or less had the ending spoiled for me, but fortunately that stuff doesn't really get to me very much, and on top of that I have no idea which of the two endings it is or how it relates to any of the characters (because I really don't know much about them). Most people would probably not be taking it as well as I, however, so... watch out!
My feeling is that the game will be good for a couple of replays at least. I'm very excited that the game is designed for single-player only. When's the last time a good single-player FPS came out?S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Well, just stay away from the forums. Visiting the actual Cult site isn't a bad idea. They've got a free art book up on there and some other goodies. They've actually been really, really good to the fans in terms of free stuff and giveaways and trying to keep everyone satisfied with up-to-date information. It's one of the best official, company-run fan site efforts I've ever seen.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
I think I can pretty much assure anyone with taste that this game is going to rip off the tiny balls of Halo 3 and shove them into its own eye sockets. Of course, I'm not a Halo fan, but... yeah.
I cannot argue w/ Que on this one.
Halo 3 will probably most definitely NOT be the (r)evolutionary FPS that Bioshock will be.
I cannot argue w/ Que on this one.
Halo 3 will probably most definitely NOT be the (r)evolutionary FPS that Bioshock will be.
The argument of which is worth the money, I think.
Who said Halo 3 was going to be revolutionary? Hmm... no one. And for that matter (while Bio stands to be a great game, and while I am a Halo fan I can see it being the better game) I fail to see how it's going to be revolutionary.I have the "R" in parenthesis for a reason -- b/c I think in one way, it's evolutionary. And in another way, it could be revolutionary to the FPS genre.
I've seen and read nothing to suggest anyhting of the sort, yeah it'll look pretty, but that doesn't mean it'll revolutionize FPS.I've already gave a few reasons. Here's more.
I've already gave a few reasons. Here's more.
I think what will come from Bioshock is we might see, in design, more open-ended FPS's w/ not just finding crazy ways to set traps, perform magic spell-like abilities -- and other ways to go kill things -- but also some different moral decisions that effect the game's final ending/outcome. We know the game will have multiple endings, based on your in-game actions. Often, this is an element found in RPG's. Usually, in FPS's, one pathway, one outcome -- like it or not; which has also been many of the problems w/ the lack of growth in the pure adventure gaming genre, as well.
Also, for an FPS, I dunno, but we don't see just about every object made to be interactive w/ in some sort of fashion -- usually, we see that element in RPG games.
Basically.
K-Man said he basically won't buy Bioshock basically b/c Halo 3 and Metroid Prime 3 -- all which are sequels and often sequels often don't innovate much to their very own series w/ the very next iteration -- around the corner.
Personally, I think Bioshock will be something truly special and (r)evolutionary for the actual FPS genre itself, whereas Halo 3 will just be "another f**king FPS" (that will sell millions of copies).
You know, it's really sad that b/c of franchised-series games like say Halo and many other FPS's that really do NOTHING new to the genre and not take too many risks, when Bioshock was pitched by their designers numerous times to publishers, one publisher thought of Bioshock as it'll be "another f**king FPS that will sell 250,000 units." (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=169973)
Wait.....was 250,000 the amount of copies System Shock 2 sold? Does anyone have a clue how many copies SS2 sold?
Thanks. I wanted to reply last night, but couldn't figure out a way to do it without the appearance of blind fanboyism, or at least getting tempers flared up. No need for that. Any sweeping comments disputing the press on the game are premature. About the only other thing I wanted to add is that Bioshock can't be directly compared to Halo 3. The focus is completely different. My bias is wholly against multiplayer shooters with shallow single-player campaigns. But even in the opposite case, or on neutral ground, we should all agree that it's akin to apples and oranges.
Official site says PC demo releases tomorrow, 7PM EST.
So...what the fuck is going on? Does Irrational or 2K hate PC gamers?
The first thing was the online auth servers aren't up. However, some stores have broken street date and are selling the game, and people buying it come home to find out they can't install the game since the auth servers aren't up. Sure, it wasn't supposed to be sold yet but why punish the customer and not the store? Of course if you can get the 360 version early you can just play it, so why don't they just get the auth servers online a little early to keep the players happy?
A MESSAGE FROM KEN
August 19, 2007
Ken Levine posted this to the 2K forums. I found his words wise, and decided to repost for you all:
If you're going to buy the game this week, I highly recommend you stay away from any forums that might have spoilers until you play the game through. Our goal in making the game was to thrill and, often, surprise you.
Please don't ruin other people's experience by revealing secrets in unmarked threads, and if you want to enjoy the game to its fullest, stay away from any threads that might ruin the fun for you. With a game like BioShock, it will really make a difference.
Best,
Ken
OFFICIAL BIG DADDY FIGURINE ANNOUNCEMENT
August 20, 2007
There have been some rumors about the Big Daddy figurines including in the BioShock Limited Edition being damaged. Here's the deal about them:
As often happens with large shipments, a small percentage of the Big Daddy units reached retailers damaged. Since it stinks to get a broken figurine on launch day, we're putting a plan into place if you do receive a damaged Big Daddy.
Go to www.2kgames.com/bioshock/busted and, later this week, enter your info if you have received a broken figurine. We will ship you a pre-paid box to send your damaged Big Daddy back to us. And since it will take some time to get your new Big Daddy to you, will will be shipping you a printed BioShock art book to help tide you over until your Big Daddy is back to you.
Death in BioShock is barely even a setback. When you die, you're reconstituted at the nearest vita-chamber and sent on your way with your inventory intact and most of your health.
This isn't a reload, so everything is as you left it, even the damage that you've already done to any surviving enemies. So you can wear down a big daddy by just running at it again and again with little or no care for your health. That, of course, can get tedious, but having that possibility is a blessing--and a curse. On one hand, you're free to try out new things, like plasmid and tonic combinations, with no penalty if you equip some bum techniques. On the other, there aren't any real gameplay consequences, so playing with skill isn't rewarded. You could fumble your way through the 15 or 20 hours it'll probably take to properly explore Rapture and still see everything there is to see.
This, along with three selectable difficulty settings, leaves you with the impression that the game was made to cater to a wide audience, but the hard difficulty setting doesn't actually impact things like artificial intelligence or force you to play any more skillfully to succeed. The enemies still mostly run at you mindlessly while attacking, occasionally getting into scraps with one another or breaking off to find a healing machine, but they take longer to kill and hurt you more when they hit.
I really miss Greg Kasavin.I do miss his reviews, too -- he was a really good game reviewer.
Can't wait. Finishing up Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged again tomorrow, which I'd been rereading for the occasion, so I'm all set.
Rand was twelve at the time of the Russian revolution of 1917, and her family life was disrupted by the rise of the Bolshevik party. Her father's pharmacy was confiscated by the Soviets, and the family fled to Crimea to recover financially. When Crimea fell to the Bolsheviks in 1921, Rand burned her diary, which contained vitriolic anti-Soviet writings.[5] Rand then returned to St. Petersburg ("Petrograd") to attend university.[7] She studied philosophy and history at the University of Petrograd. Her major literary discoveries were the works of Edmond Rostand, Friedrich Schiller and Fyodor Dostoevsky.
All of this is w/ the last WHQL Drivers, not them Beta Bioshock drivers. Sorry, but I think I'll pass on "Beta" drivers -- I'll install the next WHQL Drivers, if I have to. Right now, I'm happy w/ Bioshock as is.
No offense, but you're an idiot. "Beta" means nothing. Just get them! You're sacrificing performance for zero reason. Seriously. With your rig, you want to squeeze every drop you can get!
THE TRUTH ABOUT WIDESCREENMakes sense. Kinda. Though it would make me want to play in 4:3 more than widescreen.
August 22, 2007
We understand there has been some concern about the implementation of widescreen mode in BioShock. Hopefully, we can clarify how we’ve chosen to do this.
The first thing we want to make clear is the mode we developed the game on and the optimal mode for playing the game is the widescreen mode. 90% of our development stations were widescreen displays: artists, programmers and designers.
- BioShock was primarily developed and tuned for widescreen mode. Artists and designers worked with widescreen displays and chose a field of view (FOV) that best reflected their intentions with respect to the way the world is perceived, the perceived speed of movement of the player relative to the world and the amount of the world they wanted to be viewed for the best game-play experience. We went through dozens of iterations and finally settled upon a widescreen aspect ratio that best suited the gameplay experience.
- When playing in widescreen modes the game makes use of the full screen resolution, and does not crop or stretch a lower resolution image into a wide screen one. For example, at 720p the game renders natively to the full 1280x720 resolution.
- Once this FOV was established, we chose to keep exactly the same horizontal FOV for standard def displays, so as not to in any way alter the gameplay experience.
- Instead of cropping the FOV for 4:3 displays and making all 4:3 owners mad in doing so, we slightly extended the vertical FOV for standard def mode: we never wanted to have black bars on people’s displays. (This way, everybody is happy…) This does mean that people playing on a standard def display see slightly more vertical space, but, this does not significantly affect the game-play experience and, we felt that it best served our goal of keeping the game experience as close as possible to the original design and art vision on both types of displays. Reports of the widescreen FOV being a crop of the 4:3 FOV are completely false.
One thing we can assure you that all these decisions were made with the best interests of the game in mind. We didn’t save any money or development time by choosing this set of parameters. We did what we thought was the best thing for the game: developing and optimizing it for widescreen displays, and making the decision not to do the usual crop for 4:3 displays. As a consumer, you certainly have the right to disagree.
We understand that not all users might not be happy with these choices and we will be looking into options for allowing users to adjust FOV settings manually. But as we mentioned earlier, changes to video game code do not happen in minutes or hours. We appreciate your understanding.
K-Man if you are interested in selling it, then you have a customer. Send me a mail to pugnated@hotmail.com
I thought Pyro had it preordered?
Heh, so the activation thing and the 2 install limit seems...well, stupid. They say when you uninstall the game you get a "refund"...so you gain that install back. You just better remember to uninstall the game, and be online when you do.Well, that's quite kooky and foolish.
I just find it funny. Its supposed to stop pirates, but they'll just apply a crack and never worry about any of it. And legit customers that get fed up or get asked to call the company up for permission to install the game they already paid for will probably go lookng for a crack to avoid the hassle.I bet that'll happen, too.
PS3 BioShock trace uncovered in PC demo?
Source: A config file inside the PC BioShock demo.
What we heard: Though BioShock is currently only available for the Xbox 360 and PC, many Sony fans fervently believe it will eventually arrive on the PlayStation 3. The articles of their faith? First, the fact that Irrational Games originally announced BioShock as coming to "PCs and next-generation consoles." There's also the example set by publisher 2K Games when it promoted the popular role-playing game Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion as being PC/360 only...until it announced the RPG was PS3-bound too.
This week, a new indicator of a possible PS3 version of BioShock surfaced. Among the myriad files accompanying the just-released PC demo of the game is a configuration document (Program Files/2k Game/Bioshock demo/Content/config.ini) outlining the game-engine settings. A subheading of the document references specific console settings for "(XBox360 [and] PS3)."
The mere mention of the console has been taken by many to mean that, at the very least, a PS3 version of BioShock was considered at one point. It's a perfectly valid hypothesis. In 2005, several files referencing the "Xbox" were found inside the code for Sierra's then-PC-only shooter F.E.A.R. The following year, the game was ported to the Xbox 360. (It also arrived on the PS3 in 2007.) However, there's another completely reasonable explanation for the PS3 mention in the BioShock demo config file. The game uses the Unreal Engine 3, Epic Games' cross-platform game-development toolset, which is usedin making numerous games for the PC, 360, and PS3.
The official story: Reps for 2K Games had not returned requests for comment as of press time.
Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus that the mention of the PS3 in the BioShock PC demo code is hard evidence the game is headed to Sony's console. However, the fact BioShock is poised to be a hit after receiving one of the highest aggregate review scores in memory means that 2K would be foolish not to bring the game to the PS3...eventually.
idol does it really matter? For one, what gamer isn't on a cable or DSL line all the time now-a-days? Yes, I realize there are exceptions (like you), but I'd take a guess that at least 95% of people with the computers to play this game have some sort of 100% active, high-speed connection. "Being online" when you "remember" to uninstall isn't hard when you're always online. [This is true, but its still counter-intuitive that a singleplayer only title requires an internet connection for install *and* uninstall. -idol]Who cares? WHO CARES? Well, everyone that buys the game should care that they are required to jump through fucking hoops all in the name of anti-piracy that in the end won't do jack shit about stopping said piracy. I've got HUNDREDS of games and I don't have to call anyone to reinstall any single one of them whether in uninstalled them properly or not. For fucks sake, HDs crash...there goes an install. Windows fucks up and needs to be reinstalled, there goes an install. And are you honestly going to remember to uninstall the game proper before you reformat? Hell no, you're going to let the formatting process take care of it for you. There goes an install...and at some point in there you had to call the fucking company so you can play the game you paid $50 for? Fuck that. How can people not see this as a terrible thing to be moving towards?
Second, if you forget, who cares!? So you forgot to uninstall when your formatted twice and now you have to call 2k. So call them and you'll get a new key, or they'll reactivate your current one or whatever.
The bottom line is yeah, it's a mild inconvenience, but in the end it hardly affects anyone and even those it does affect are done with the problem in 5 minutes anyways. Woopdeedoo.
And idol, you aren't alone. The majority seem to be enraged about the copy protection over at the Cult site. You'll have more people to commiserate with over there.
Something I noticed about the demo, AVG says its a trojan? When I unzip the file it gives me an unzip error with the .exe file that I got from 3dGamers and FilePlanet. Looking into it on the forums this seems to be a problem for lots of people. It seems the only way I can install and maybe even play the demo or full game is to disable AVG because of the copy protection they used. I want to say it was called Securerom or something like that. Kind of shitty that I have to disable AVG just to play the demo.
But BioShock isn't without flaw. The game has been released with a host of technical issues, ranging from a total lack of audio on some machines to issues with the SecuROM online activation, which under normal circumstances is designed to prevent you from activating a retail copy on more than two machines. The game is also available through Steam, though all of the same audio stuttering and other issues that some players are experiencing in the disc-based version carry over to the digital version as well. While it's a sad truth that no game is ever released in a completely bug-free state for 100 percent of its users, these issues appear to be pretty widespread, and if you're at all skittish about waiting for a patch after you've purchased something, you might want to wait until at least one patch is released before buying BioShock. In our experience, we got the game running with some minor audio stuttering on a Windows XP PC, and can't get any audio at all on our Vista test machine. All of this makes the Xbox 360 version's stuttering issues (which seem to only happen on some consoles) pale in comparison.I'd like to note -- I have yet to have any stuttering issues of sound on my current PC....
Aside from having different technical problems, the differences between the Xbox 360 and PC versions of BioShock are fairly minor. The mouse and keyboard support works exactly as you'd expect, and using a mouse makes the combat a touch easier, since aiming for the head is usually easier with a mouse than with a gamepad. But if you're after that console-style gamepad experience, BioShock has full support for the wired Xbox 360 controller. If you're at a loss for which version to purchase, it comes down to the quality of your PC. If you're running a high-end DirectX 10 machine, the game looks better on the PC. It also has DirectX 9 support, and even running this way, it's possible for some facets of BioShock, like texture quality, to look sharper than the 360 version if your machine can handle it. But when you factor in the current bug list for each version, or if your PC isn't especially recent, the Xbox 360 version is a safer bet.
....
If you're the kind of player who just wants yet another action-packed shooter, BioShock probably isn't for you. Its weak link is its unsatisfying no-skill-required combat, which might aim this one just over the head of the average Halo fan. But if you want to get a little fancy, there's a lot of fun to be had with some of the game's more indirect fighting methods. It builds an amazing atmosphere by using terrific graphics and sound to set a creepy mood. But BioShock's real strengths are as a compelling work of interactive fiction, and as a unique ride through a warped world with some great payoff built into its mysterious plot. If that description has you even the least bit interested, you'll definitely find BioShock worth playing--but you still might want to hold off for a patch or two, just in case.
PC Gamer (http://www.pcgamer.com/) seems to have a little issue with the copy protection.
(I know all my posts are downers, but I can't play it to say anything good...heh)
ATI released two BioShock hotfixes for Windows XP and Windows Vista, adressing problems such as stuttering with preload, mnissing/black surfaces and/or display corruption (thanks Blues). The hotfixes also work for the 64-bit versions of these operating systems. For supported video cards check the readme. Enjoy!
Makes sense. Kinda. Though it would make me want to play in 4:3 more than widescreen.I think that quote you had in there is completely bogus. The author is just playing semantics. Whether or not the widescreen mode was came up with first or is "the optimal experience," the fact is that the 4:3 aspect ratio shows more than the 16:10 ratio does.
And there seems to be some hubub on the forums about the activation. You can only do it...twice?
Yeah, I'm selling it. Not going to blame the game though, with the universal appeal it has to be me.
The art direction is this game is awesome. I love how some of the weapons look like they were just thrown together with parts from junk lying around. Like the grenade launcher looks like some old tin cans and shit. It's dope.
With a swathe of announcements sure to send shockwaves reverberating throughout the BioShock internet community, publisher 2K Games has replaced BioShock's initial limit of two simultaneous PC installations with what community manager Elizabeth Tobey calls a "5 by 5 plan."
Under the new terms, users will be able to install the game on up to five computers, with the ability to reinstall the game on each computer up to five times. 2K will release a "revoke app" that should address issues resulting from the original limitations.
In a stunning reversal, 2K also announced plans to release a patch allowing PC users to adjust the game's FOV despite claiming the existing widescreen implementation was by design, as documented in our coverage of Aspect Ratiogate 07. An Xbox 360 patch is under consideration as well.
Prior to today's announcement, resourceful gamer Racer_S took matters into his own hands, applying a digital brand of widescreen vigilante justice and creating an unofficial patch. Tobey tipped her hat to the fan's efforts.
Along with the patch and policy changes, 2K is strengthening its tech support team, and has posted a technical FAQ addressing numerous concerns regarding SecuROM DRM and other issues. The company pledged a more streamlined experience with 2K and SecuROM tech support.
Finally, 2K has fixed its momentarily inactive activation server, allowing those previously unable to finish their game installs to do so.
2K appears to be proactively plugging holes, but Shacknews remains vigilant as Bioshockgate 07 continues to unfold. Stay tuned.
Glad to hear they're taking as good care of this one as they can, too. Honestly, Liz (Tobey) has been just great, and she's really done a lot as liaison between 2K and the community (which is, to some degree, her job). I give her tons of credit. But it's good to see that they're taking this all seriously. I've told people time and time again... stop bitching that you're going to resort to piracy, stop saying you won't buy the game. Support a great game that you *want* with your money, but DO feel free to pitch a fit. You don't *always* have to withhold money with every company. You can still enjoy this game and be proactive in your complaints. I bought it, I had no trouble with the install or anything else, but I'm still pissed off ideologically and I can still make a stink. I have, along with others, and it's getting results. Any company that has a history of paying attention to you (and with BioShock, that's all we've gotten is attention... these people have wanted to make us happy from day one) will listen to you if you speak up.Amen, Que -- I agree w/ you 100%.
Anyway, I think it's great and hope that it continues. I still think the whole authentication thing is stupid no matter how you look at it, but any acknowledgment of the issue is a good thing.I think it's stupid, too -- especially for a SP-based game.
As K-Man mentioned I got his copy and I plan to take the whole night to delve into it. Though Ive been out of my usual mood as of late, but I think this will help.
Did he uninstall the game while he was online to get you your "refund"? :P
No. All I had to do to get around the authentication BS was to press 'eject' on my Xbox 360 and place the game back in its case.
No. All I had to do to get around the authentication BS was to press 'eject' on my Xbox 360 and place the game back in its case.
Hahaha nice, we really need a rimshot smiley. Also Que, I am reading Atlas Shrugged, I'm about 130 pages in and enjoying it so far.
With this program (http://jerome.jouvie.free.fr/Fmod/Projects/Project1.php?evolution=true), you can get the rest of the music that wasn't included in the free released soundtrack (such as the licensed stuff). It's all in the FSB files in the game directory. Well, for PC users.
I think it's an issue because the widescreen people somehow feel like they should get the superior view, since their screens probably cost more money.Untrue. 4:3 movies are cropped versions of the widescreen originals. People think it should work the same for games.
Haha. Let's face it: you get more screen area with the same footprint at 4:3 than at 16:10 or 16:9. Why not use it to best advantage? There's a tech limitation in there too. If you show a lot more geometry at once, the frame rate may get killed.You act like the tech limitation is the reason that the widescreen version is the cropped version. Does this same limitation not apply to a 4:3 view that shows more at the top and bottom vs. a widescreen view that shows more on the sides?
Glad to hear it. It's a bit dry given the subject matter, but stick with it. Despite some of the sillier bits that require a little bit of a leap of faith, it's mostly a great read, especially towards the end.
EDIT - According to the Cult site, Liz is apparently considering giving the guy that made that unofficial widescreen patch an 8800. Fucking hell, how can people possibly be complaining about the way 2K treats them?
Of course I don't think that. They'd never do such a thing. That would be professionally irresponsible (unless they got somebody to review whatever he did and ensure it was great... but it's doubtful he went about it the best way possible).
Also, scott, people can expect whatever they want, nobody's obligated to give that to them. As a non-widescreen user, I find this perfectly jolly. Fuck everybody else.You are right, but missing the point at the same time. I'll restate what I said earlier. There is a longstanding understanding that 4:3 movies are cropped versions of the widescreen originals. It's just the way it is.
Untrue. 4:3 movies are cropped versions of the widescreen originals. People think it should work the same for games.
Basically there is an expectation that's not being fulfilled.
You act like the tech limitation is the reason that the widescreen version is the cropped version. Does this same limitation not apply to a 4:3 view that shows more at the top and bottom vs. a widescreen view that shows more on the sides?
Joystiq: Now, let's see if we can put this in the simplest terms, this screen thing has taken on a whole life of its own. The game was designed for widescreen. Instead of doing the normal thing and just chopping off the sides for full screen, you actually added more to the top and bottom so full screen people wouldn't lose anything from the sides -- a very nice thing to do actually. Thus, infuriating the PC owners and almost anyone else with widescreen because how dare you not give them more to see like they're used to. So, now this patch will add in the stuff to the side of the full screen. So, in essence, to use a visual term, this patch just zooms the camera out a little bit to appease PC widescreen owners to give the option of increased field of vision?
Levine: We started the game widescreen. We primarily designed it for widescreen. Then we had to ask, "How do we make it full screen." Your options are to put black bars at the top and bottom, keep same width perspective. Or you allow to ... add pixels to the top and the bottom if you can afford the frame rate -- we could. So the call was made to show those few more pixels. Now this is one of those things when you're making a game -- like I was making a game -- honestly, if somebody came from the future and told me this was an issue I would have laughed at them. I would have said, "Are you kidding me?" But that's what's interesting about gamers, they're an interesting and diverse group. Now that I know that there's this huge contingent out there that actually really cares about this, I wouldn't have laughed at them because they're stupid, I would have laughed because I couldn't have imagined that people are passionate about this. And now that we know they're passionate, we have a responsibility to respond to those people and give them what they want. It's their game, they paid money for it, they should be able to play in the way they want to play. We may disagree with them aesthetically, but sure, we'll make a patch and make if work for them.
We started the game widescreen. We primarily designed it for widescreen. Then we had to ask, "How do we make it full screen." Your options are to put black bars at the top and bottom, keep same width perspective. Or you allow to ... add pixels to the top and the bottom if you can afford the frame rate -- we could. So the call was made to show those few more pixels. Now this is one of those things when you're making a game -- like I was making a game -- honestly, if somebody came from the future and told me this was an issue I would have laughed at them. I would have said, "Are you kidding me?" But that's what's interesting about gamers, they're an interesting and diverse group. Now that I know that there's this huge contingent out there that actually really cares about this, I wouldn't have laughed at them because they're stupid, I would have laughed because I couldn't have imagined that people are passionate about this. And now that we know they're passionate, we have a responsibility to respond to those people and give them what they want. It's their game, they paid money for it, they should be able to play in the way they want to play. We may disagree with them aesthetically, but sure, we'll make a patch and make if work for them.
You know, he mentions eventually removing the DRM and online check in the future in that very interview.
As far as I'm concerned, they have NO OBLIGATION to put the game in both modes. Whether they choose widescreen or fullscreen, that's their decision. They made the damn game -- most games force you into either Wide of Full; end of story.
As far as I'm concerned, they have NO OBLIGATION to put the game in both modes. Whether they choose widescreen or fullscreen, that's their decision. They made the damn game -- most games force you into either Wide of Full; end of story.
I don't often use Widescreen for playing a game...
As far as I'm concerned, they have NO OBLIGATION to put the game in both modes. Whether they choose widescreen or fullscreen, that's their decision. They made the damn game -- most games force you into either Wide of Full; end of story.
This isn't a movie. It's a game. Games are traditionally developed in a 4:3 environment. I imagine Bioshock started out being developed in 4:3, then the big 16:10/16:9 revolution took place. I expect for the developers to make the best of the current technology, but their mindsets will get in the way, as do most people's.You missed the point of my post entirely. You said the reason that people were upset because they felt entitled to get the larger FOV because they paid more for their monitor. I was merely debunking that notion.
The Wizard of Oz once got a widescreen release. That movie is from the late 30s, so it was 4:3 to begin with. Guess what they did to make it widescreen. Yep. It's considered inferior to the 4:3 version now, of course.
You missed the point of my post entirely. You said the reason that people were upset because they felt entitled to get the larger FOV because they paid more for their monitor. I was merely debunking that notion.
Again, even though games and movies are different mediums that have been rendered to screen in very different ways until late, there is still an expected behavior. That is why people are upset. It has nothing to do with the cost of the monitor.
The list:
20thcenturyblues.wav
Academyaward.wav
Beimir.wav
Beimirbistduscho*.wav
Brothersparedime.wav
Cohenscherzo.wav Dannyboy.wav
Godblesschild.wav
Howmuchdoggy.wav
Ifididntcare.wav
Ithadtobeyou.wav
Itsbadforme.wav
Jitterbugwaltz.wav
Justwalkingrain.wav
Lamer Bigband.wav
Lamer.wav
Liza.wav
Nightday.wav
Papalovesmambo.wav
Pleasebekind.wav
Riserapturerise.wav
Thebestthi.wav
Thebestthingsinl@.wav
Thepartysover.wav
Waltzoftheflowe.wav
Waltzoftheflower.wav
Waltzoftheflower?.wav
Wildride.wav
Worldweary.wav
Wrapyourtroubles.wav
Yourethetop.wav
Another GSpot interview with Ken (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6177728.html?action=convert&om_clk=latestnews&tag=latestnews;title;0) where he talks about some of the recent happenings. It's worth a read.
Also, nobody at Valve can play BioShock until they finish product (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=170914). Gabe Newell wants to play it real bad, and all I can say is I hope he does and then learns why he hasn't been making the games he thinks he has. Maybe BioShock will teach him what the word "story" means and why a "plot" is not merely a sequence of events revolving around clustered gameplay gimmicks.
Board: Atlas Shrugged (2008)
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how much is this like the game Bioshock for Xbox 360? if its like that i
wanna read it, otherwise it might be boring. that sounded immature but
im 19 and i can take a decent book, but yeah is it like bioshock?
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yes!, where are the philosophical first person shooter games anyway?
Maybe they wouldn't sell at first, but think of possibilities! They
could pre-sell a book by releasing a movie AND an Xbox game at the same
time!
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Wow... I bet you only ever read strategy guides and the Halo "books,"
right?
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Bioshock (PC or 360) is based on the philosophy of objectivism, and not
the book "Atlas Shrugged". Since Atlas Shrugged is highly steeped in
objectivism, it will seem very much related to it, but not stoyline
wise. Since the world is rendered in pure art deco level design, you
could say it has more to do with The Fountainhead. As far as reading
Atlas Shrugged goes, it's very much a pain in the butt. The story is a
great concept, but it's VERY dry with tons and tons of pointless
descriptions. It's still worth reading at least once in your life, but
you'll find that Rand's books on objectivism are far eaiser to read (and
more enjoyable) than her fiction. Her fiction tends to be to dry, and
written more like a stage play then a novel. Just my two cents, but you
did ask.
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bioshock (PC or 360) is based on the philosophy of objectivism
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I'm not a gamer, so have had to rely on third party info (checked game
website and wiki). The game authors do not (and should not) make any
claim of basing Bioshock on Objectivism, although they referred to the
concept of using both utopian (AS) and dystopian (1984) societies in
creating their product - a far cry from any philosophical endeavor.
Atlas Shrugged is heavily plotted, actually quite well written, but does
contain much direct philosophizing that can deter even the most
determined readers. Rand was, of course, trying to make a point, and
didn't mind belaboring her points to get them to sink in. The result was
still a highly engaging and entertaining novel.
Bioshock is, first and foremost, a fast paced, first person shooter game
totally unrelated to Atlas Shrugged, except by its programmer's
curiosity in the concept of utopianism (one device used in Rand's
tapestry).
jt
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"I'm not a gamer, so have had to rely on third party info (checked game
website and wiki). The game authors do not (and should not) make any
claim of basing Bioshock on Objectivism" - jhtabbott
The entire game is based in an enviroment built on the precepts of
objectivism. You will simply have to play the game to see it. The game
storyline is not directly about objectivism. It's just part of the
backdrop used for atmosphere to immerse the players character into the
story. Do not get my previous comment confused with the thought that the
game story is based around objectivism. If you play it, you will see
just how the concept is intergrated (and masterfully so) into telling
the story. I can give no real details on it without giving spoilers and
as this isnt even a Bioshock forum, I'd rather not do that. Sufice it to
say, I'm very pleased with Rands influence over the games design. It
really helped make a standard action based FPS feel more like an
interactive story. Thats something that hasnt happened in games for a
number of years now.
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Kodai,
I'll have to take your word for it. My impression was that in the
pre-story for Bioshock, an Objectivist style "utopian" society (that
later went awry) was imagined.
Your comments do make me curious about the game, but while I've got
nothing against video games (although I believe those that glorify
violence are a vast dis-service to generations), I rarely have time and
see some games can be 'virtually' addictive. If you'd care to share some
more detail about the game using IMDB's private messaging, spoilers
wouldn't bother me - mainly, I'm just curious about the Objectivist
backdrop. Thanks.
jt
------------------------------------------------------------------------
It should also be noted that the game features characters with the names
"Atlas" and "Fontaine"; a not-too-subtle reference to Atlas Shrugged and
The Fountainhead.
Both great reads, by the way. And I don't even particularly agree with
Ayn Rand's philosophies. But both books are truly amazing.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Donbar22,
------------------------------------------------------------------------
It should also be noted that the game features characters with the
names "Atlas" and "Fontaine"; a not-too-subtle reference to Atlas
Shrugged and The Fountainhead.
Both great reads, by the way. And I don't even particularly agree
with Ayn Rand's philosophies. But both books are truly amazing.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fascinating.
I understand one of the main characters is named Andrew Ryan which is
easily (& I'm sure intentionally parsed:
ANDrew RYAN
AYN Drew RAN
AYN RAND /...rew
Rand didn't worry too much about subtlety herself, and had particular
fun in naming her villians.
jt
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bioshock captures the feel of it so well, that as soon as I saw the
intro movie I instantly placed it as drawing from Atlas Shrugged -
"I am Alexander Ryan, and I'm here to ask you a question. Is a man
entitled to the sweat of his brow? No - says the man in Washington, it
belongs to the poor! No - says the man in the Vatican, it belongs to
God! No - says the man in Moscow, it belongs to everyone! I rejected
those answers, I chose something different - I chose Rapture. A place
where the artists would not be silenced by the censors, a place where
the scientists would not be bound by petty morality, a place where the
great would not be constrained by the small. And with the sweat of your
brow, it can be your city too."
And playing it has born it out, there are references everywhere.
- "Who is John Galt?" is referenced
- "Wyatt's Torch" is referenced
- The setting, "Rapture" is meant to be analogous to "Galt's Gulch".
- The games main antagonist espouses a lot of Objectivist philosophy
throughout the game, and is a brilliant electrical engineer much like Galt.
- and others I won't spoil.
That said - how is it NOT like Bioshock... well.
- It doesn't take place underwater.
- The Objectivists, the people like Alexander Ryan, are the heroes - in
fact Alexander Ryan is meant to be analogous to John Galt, the hero of
the "Atlas Shrugged".
- There is very little action and nothing that deals with the
genetic-modification subplot. Bioshock may reference Atlas Shrugged, but
they are VERY different genres. The plots are totally and completely
different.
Basically Atlas Shrugged is a bloated novel that is at least 300 pages
longer than it needs to be, and is very philosophy heavy. It concerns
captains of industry that decide to rebel against a US government that
is quickly becoming more and more socialist. It is very dry and concerns
a lot of discussion of economics.
That said, it does have some brilliant and inspiring passages the whole
way through, and you will be pointing at the novel at times going "OH! I
remember that from Bioshock!"
Levine: BioShock Originally About Cult Deprogrammer Erasing Lesbian Tendencies
by Chris Remo Aug 30, 2007 4:49pm CST
Recently, posts spread around the internet detailing BioShock's former setting of an isolated tropical island inhabited by genetically experimental Nazis, demonstrating just how much a game can change from initial conception to final product. That's nothing on what the game was about before then, however: a cult deprogrammer hired by the parents of a woman involved in a lesbian relationship to kidnap the daughter and rewrite her brain to steer clear of what her parents perceive as deviant activity.
BioShock's creative director Ken Levine detailed the bizarre former premise to Shacknews during an extensive interview about BioShock, its world, and its fascinating and deranged denizens. The interview is packed with spoilers, however, so here are his remarks presented in a safe setting:
"There was another story before that about a cult deprogrammer," Levine explained. "I don't know if you know what a cult deprogrammer is; it's someone who goes to take people out of cults to deprogram them so they know longer believe in it. It's a weird thing, because they're basically kidnapping people."
The game's protagonist was one such fellow. "We had people who hired people to deprogram their daughter who had been in a lesbian relationship," he continued. "They kidnap her and reprogram her, and it was a really dark person, and that was the character that you were. It went through a lot of changes. That wasn't really fleshed out, we just needed something, and I said, 'Maybe I'll develop this, maybe I won't.'"
It may seem almost unbelievable that a game could undergo such drastic changes, but Levine emphasized that the development principle at Irrational Games (now 2K Boston and 2K Australia) has always put design first. "A lot of the game design elements stayed the same,
WARNING: Spoiler galore in here, if you ain't finished Bioshock yet. So, you've been warned.
10 things GamerDad HATES about Bioshock, FIVE things he loves about the game. (http://www.gamesanityblog.com/2007-08-31/10-things-i-hate-about-bioshock-five-i-love-two-goodies/#more-99)
It's nice to know that I identified several of those tracks he posted there at the end. It's gratifying to be part of something.I also liked the Research system, as well.
Anyway, I disagree with about half of his negatives.
1 - I liked the research system and felt no need for it to do anything above and beyond what it did.
2 - I HEARTILY disagree with the annoying little fucks, including this guy, who complain about the special edition. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it. People got what they voted for and then extra stuff was thrown in there for good measure. Not to mention we also got the orchestral soundtrack AND the art book (which people didn't vote for) for free, i.e. free for people who didn't even pay any extra money for the special edition. So anyone with the nerve to complain can go kiss a hornet's nest, IMO.I dunno, but even though I didn't buy the Special Edition, I side w/ Que -- it's not like they put in-game content in the Special Ed, either.
5 - Yes, it was weird to have the game just sort of cut off after the endings. I was expecting credits and such as well. This deserved something on par with Dawn of Mana's end/credits sequence, which was tailor-made for fans of the series.I don't mind NOT having The Credits roll, actually. Though, if they do that -- shouldn't it say on the screen like "Fin" or "End" or "Developed by 2K/Irrational" or some shit before the game cuts back to the main menu???
MyD, watch the spoilers, mate. There are people here who haven't even picked the game up yet. I edited your post, but do try to be more vigilant.
6. Interface Annoyances #1 - lack of inventory / player status. This hits on so many things, such as the inability to see bonuses gained from the camera system or from ‘Power to the People’ stations, amount of ammo and various tonics / plasmids, and so on.That would've been nice, but it's no big deal, honestly.
Still, it's a great read. I continue to assert that the game was just as fun after the big revelation as it was before it, but this is because I realize that a game can only provide choice and freedom to a certain degree, particularly where moral choices, character mindset, and overall outcome are concerned.I agree -- b/c if there is to really be a sequel to Bioshock, the designers are gonna' have to basically "pick an ending" as the "True" Ending of the game, so they can set-up one exact point where Bioshock 2 begins -- especially since you have a "Good" And "Evil" ending here in Bioshock, in which I'm guessing the two endings will probably conflict w/ each other. So, they'll probably pick one ending from Bioshock 1 to actually begin Bioshock 2, if they want the same lead character to return.
So yeah, give it a read and discuss. We could use more game journalism like this. Somebody should give the man a medal.Hell of a read -- I agree w/ that.
Bwahahaha!! (Ow, my sides hurt.) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IBkT0Oi97E) Not that I agree with the whole thing, but it's hilarious.
That's bloody brilliant. I agree with 90% of what he said, but in the end I think it all sort of works to the game's advantage. I mean, there are things that could be improved, and I definitely have gripes and stuff, but... yeah, anyway. Great stuff.Zero Punctuation has some funny reviews, to say the least -- from their Psychonauts review (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/zeropunctuation/1368-Zero-Punctuation-Psychonauts) to his take on The Darkness Demo. (http://youtube.com/watch?v=eWS9_nrKOPA)
I'm working on a full review now which I should have available for people shortly.Ooooh, I can't wait!
That's pretty much what it looks like on the 360, at 1280x720 anyway.
"Andrew Ryan is Ayn Rand meets Howard Hughes," explains Levine.
You lost me.(click to show/hide)
(click to show/hide)
**SPOILERS in link below**Awww, they took it down!
Bwahahaha!! (Ow, my sides hurt.) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IBkT0Oi97E) Not that I agree with the whole thing, but it's hilarious.
Awww, they took it down!Haha again hilarious :P
Edit: Nevermind, found it (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/zeropunctuation/1394-Zero-Punctuation-BioShock).
And no, D, I doubt anyone would be daft enough to waste their fucking time counting such a thing, let alone admit to anyone else that they were stupid enough to do so.
Funny Bioshock review.Uh that's the one Scottws posted :D
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/zeropunctuation/1394-Zero-Punctuation-BioShock
I've hit an issue where I save my progress but when I load that saved game it didn't actually save my progress?? I've lost 2 hours on this thinking I had saved my progress but the game just isn't updating the saved file?! Has anyone heard about this or encountered it? I googled it and didn't find much other than one post with no replied. I'm apply the update hope it fixes the problem :(
Did you get disconnected from Live? If you do, the date on your system might revert to 2005 or something, placing your saves at the bottom of the list, so when you "continue", you're really going back to an old save. Set the date/time on your system while disconnected from Live. That seems to solve the problem.
Edit: Oh, and if I'm right, you should be able to load up the saves with the old dates. (Bottom of the list.) I'm also assuming you're playing on the 360, of course. For PC, I wouldn't know.
Oh, and as for Rapture itself... yeah, I think most of us had to deal with the fact that it's rather conceptually impossible from the start.
It's just a neat place to set a videogame, and while a little farfetched, I don't see it as any worse than crazy space stations or the underworld or whatever other fantasy setting you might come across.I agree -- Bioshock wasn't out to re-create the real world, to some degree. It's pure fantasy.
At least it's pretty and has enough inspiration behind it to generate discussions about social ideologies, which is more than you can say for many games.Agreed.
Oh sweet, I put it back on Live to get the Sonic game and usre enough the saved games were there at the bottom of the list. Cheers man.
Just remember that Objectivism isn't communism, it's basically the polar opposite to the nth degree. It's *supposed* to be about earning your own way and keeping what you earn, giving nothing to anyone but yourself for the simple reason that life works better when everyone can take pride in what they do and can motivate their own progression through the reward that naturally comes from hard work and talent. Maybe a little more prior knowledge on the subject would be more helpful than I thought initially, I dunno'.
Oh, and as for Rapture itself... yeah, I think most of us had to deal with the fact that it's rather conceptually impossible from the start. It's just a neat place to set a videogame, and while a little farfetched, I don't see it as any worse than crazy space stations or the underworld or whatever other fantasy setting you might come across. At least it's pretty and has enough inspiration behind it to generate discussions about social ideologies, which is more than you can say for many games.
Bioshock is hands down my game of the year. That's right, I said it. I was looking forward to coming home from work and firing this bad boy up throughout the entire experience. Last time that happened was RE4 and God of War(s.) I'm not just saying this because it uses our technology or because I'm friends with some of the team members, no, it is in fact a phenomenal blend of well paced horror, narrative, action and meta RPG moments.I think so far, it's b/t Bioshock and STALKER for me, for GOTY.....so far....
The best part about the game is the fact that the majority of the narrative is what I like to call, simply "passive narrative." There's a recording on a desk, there's a painting or a picture on the wall - you want to ignore them as a gamer, fine, you won't get any story. But you know what? Few people would ignore them and if a person is that determined to undermine the coolness of their interactive experience they're going to find a way. Hell you can walk out of a movie or eject a DVD if you don't want to find out what happens in a film.Yeah, so if you just want to kill stuff and ignore the narrative, go right ahead.....which is sweet.
No you just e-mail them with a pic of your game with the cd key and they replenish your token. Many have claimed that it has been done in 24 hours.That's still retarded though. It's not even a multiplayer game! (or is it?)
Personally I'd say go for it. If you lose a 'token', just e-mail them while you have the use of the other four 'tokens'.
Ken Levine, Lead Designer for BioShock, has revealed that the game’s copy protection will be removed at some point in the future.
“We will unset the online activation at some point in the future – we’re not talking about when,” said Levine, in an interview with Joystiq. “This activation is for the early period of the game when it’s really hot and there are people really trying to find ways to play the game without buying it.”
Later in the interview, he admitted that 2K had made a mistake with the number of installations allowed and that the number of installs will be increased. “Basically the copy protection, everything about how it works is exactly what you'll see in other titles like Splinter Cell: Double Agent, Rainbow Six: Vegas, Tomb Raider: Anniversary, Command & Conquer 3, and Harry Potter.
“The only thing we have is online activation now. But that just does a check with a server and validates the installation. Right now we have a set number of installs and, frankly, it’s too low. We screwed up. We analysed where we were and we’ll up the number of installs.”
He understands gamers’ frustrations when they were unable to activate their legitimate copies of the game. “People can't activate their key, I dig that people are pissed off, and I understand it. Here we are day one of the European launch and day four of the American and we're working every single day working on these issues. I believe people deserve to play the game.”
Levine also acknowledged that there were concerns about the anti-piracy measures 2K Games had taken, but reassured gamers that “there’s nothing wacky going on there, at some point we’ll move back from online activation. If people want to play BioShock ten years from now, they’ll be able to play it. We have a commitment from 2K that that is going to happen and we'll hold them to that commitment and they're serious about it, we'll make that happen.”
Ken said from the beginning that they'll remove it eventually, but he said they couldn't say when. And it really isn't that bad. Do you *really* think you're going to use up all those installs anyway? Logically, most people won't come anywhere near it. I've played the fuck out of the game and have used up a whopping one install. And if you're the unluckiest son of a bitch in the world and your system crashes 5 times and leaves you out in the cold, the support people are supposedly fine with giving you extra unlocks. I haven't even heard of them requiring anything other than a phone call. What Pug said I think was a special circumstance, at least as I recall. Wasn't that what a PCG guy had to do? But I think most people that have actually needed to get the keys refreshed or whatever just called them.It's true that it's not as 'severe' as Steam. Honestly more than anything else I was just worried that this would somewhere along the way become a standard; eventually becoming something like "retail allows 2 installs, while the collector's edition allows 5 installs!" or some such gimmicks.
Anyway, it isn't that bad. Yes it sucks as a method of protection, and ideologically I hate it, but like most ideological issues, it really isn't bad. This is no Steam.
That's still retarded though. It's not even a multiplayer game! (or is it?)
There seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel:
BioShock activation will be removed in the future (http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2007/08/26/bioshock_activation_will_be_removed/1)
“We will unset the online activation at some point in the future – we’re not talking about when,” said Levine, in an interview with Joystiq. “This activation is for the early period of the game when it’s really hot and there are people really trying to find ways to play the game without buying it.”
I haven't even heard of them requiring anything other than a phone call. What Pug said I think was a special circumstance, at least as I recall. Wasn't that what a PCG guy had to do?
I'm just worried that it's going to turn into something like "This game is good for 2 years. If you want to play it after that you have to buy it again."
It's true that it's not as 'severe' as Steam. Honestly more than anything else I was just worried that this would somewhere along the way become a standard; eventually becoming something like "retail allows 2 installs, while the collector's edition allows 5 installs!" or some such gimmicks.First day, I put my code in to activate it. Didn't work. Three tries w/ the same code, then it finally went through -- all w/ the same code, too. So, yeah -- I'm guessin' everyone was hittin' the server at once, trying to activate it. That was annoying as hell.
First day, I put my code in to activate it. Didn't work. Three tries w/ the same code, then it finally went through -- all w/ the same code, too. So, yeah -- I'm guessin' everyone was hittin' the server at once, trying to activate it. That was annoying as hell.Ah so kinda like how Windows XP started out?
It is very annoying, that the original number of installs was 2 installs; it was ridiculous and silly. Especially if you lose an install b/c your PC crashes on some bullshit.
5 installs makes more sense. Some people have multiple machines -- some will install it on their PC desktop and their laptop. Maybe even transfer their save files b/t PC's, so they can play it at home and on the go.
To gain an install number back and get a "refund" b/c you "uninstall the game", I have to uninstall it WHILE I'm ONLINE, too. Annoying -- but at least I can get a "Refund" on my number of installs by uninstalling.
I just hope that they live up to the promise to remove the "activation" when sales drop in the game.
I just hope Activation don't get any worse....Two Worlds has some activation procedures, as well....And it's annoying, as well...I'll put it in one of my Two Worlds threads....They do theirs a little different....it doesn't do install number checks, it checks for number of hardware changes...
This is incredible... of all the times your system had to crash, why now?No idea man. As far as I can discern it's not a hardware problem. Safe mode won't even work. Apparently the only solution available (according to tech forums) is format and reinstall Windows.
Ah so kinda like how Windows XP started out?
New WHQL NVidia drivers 163.71 for Win XP users -- basically, meant for Bioshock, Quake Wars: ET, HG: London, Crysis, and World In Conflict. (http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_163.71.html)Sweet I've been using 163.71 beta, so I'm sure the WHQL will fix a few things.
I love how they mention games that ain't even out yet are supported by this driver; heh! I think that's the first time I've seen that!It's good to show the initiative. I've seen it before though, it's just much more common since DirectX 10 was announced.
Xessive do what I did! Dual boot. It is a very simple process. :)I'm contemplating it, but I'd rather just have one OS. Either way I'm just gonna wait until SP1 before I even consider Vista.
I have a two games installed on Vista, and they run faster and more stable than on XP. Well the main reason I had to install them on Vista was that they were giving me headaches on XP.Which games, might I ask?
Which games, might I ask?
Hehe man, now that I've played a good chunk of BioShock I can totally see Warren Spector losing his frickin' mind! hahaha "What?! This is exactly what I was trying to do with DX:IW!!" It is a major slap in DX:IW's face :D
Xessive they are both sports titles. :P
Xessive they are both sports titles. :PHaha FIFA 07 and FIFA 08? :P Actually wait.. I'm betting one of them's gotta be a Brian Lara game! hehe I know how you love cricket! Git yer shin-guards on!
YEah, that's true MyD. I'm just picturing him going mad trying to rediscover the formula for a successful System Shock genre game. Speaking of which, what is the official name of the genre?All of those games have FPS elements (obviously), action elements (melee combat and shooting), and RPG (building up your character's abilities/skills) elements....
Xessive one is Top Spin 2 and the other is Virtua Tennis 3.You tennis freak you! Hehe actually I'm playing VT3 too ;D It's like the most elaborate version of Pong ever! :P
You tennis freak you! Hehe actually I'm playing VT3 too ;D It's like the most elaborate version of Pong ever! :P
EDIT:
In response to the FPS/RPG discussion:
I'd argue that all of these games are pretty much Role-playing games, given that you play the role of a character in each. So in a philosophical sense they're all RPG's with FPS gameplay elements added in. Equally I'd say Monkey Island or Syberia are RPG's with mysteries and puzzles. Of course, I could just be taking the term Role-playing game too literally, but that's just how I distinguish "dice/pen&paper" originating games from others.
That's also why I'm really looking forward to The Witcher! From what I understand so far it will take the P&P style and mix in some action gameplay elements.Yeah, I'm looking forward to The Witcher.
Back to BioShock: Lovin' it. I consider it an interactive action-thriller novel!Bioshock's flat-out awesome.
Every critic calls Bioshock 100% a shooter tough.Hehe I think the lack of an inventory is the main reason :P It's true that it is quite action-packed though!
For anybody that would like to help on the music front, here's the list of filenames that need to be identified (a few are duplicates) and the list of what's identified that's currently standing over at the Cult site.
What's identified:
* Nutcracker (Waltz of the Flowers) - Peter Illyich Tchaikovsky
* The Party's Over - Judy Holliday
* Please Be Kind - Frank Sinatra
* Beyond the Sea - Bobby Darin
* Papa Loves Mambo - Perry Como
* Jitterbug Waltz - Fats Waller
* Night and Day - Cole Porter
* It Had to Be You - (Priscilla Lane, Danny Thomas, or Dolley Wilson?)
* The Best Things in Life are Free - Buddy De Sylva/Lew Brown
* Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams - Bing Crosby
* Brother Can You Spare A Dime - Bing Crosby
* Oh Danny Boy - Bing Crosby
* You're the Top - Cole Porter
* It's Bad For Me - Cole Porter
* 20th Century Blues - Noel Coward
* World Weary - Noel Coward
* How Much Is That Doggie In The Windows - Patti Page
* Bei Mir Bist Du Schon - The Andrews Sisters
* God Bless The Child - Billie Holiday
* Just Walking In The Rain - Johnnie Ray
* If I Didn't Care - The Inkspots
EDIT - Just finished compiling my own version of the soundtrack. 66 tracks (though that's deceiving, a fair number of those are recordings/PSAs/ads from the game thrown in for flavor) and pretty well thought out if I do say so myself. Just over 2 hours of music. I'm a happy man.
We've talked about this before, somewhere. What is an RPG? MysterD took a crack at it. I would definitely call SS 1 and 2 first-person real-time RPGs. I would not call Bioshock one. I know there will be those who disagree in all 3 cases.
Fort Frolic is a fun level, Xessive. Welcome to an evening with Sander Cohen.
I had no idea where those plastered bodies in Fort Frolic came from, until I watched the last half hour or so of Bucket of Blood last night. What a horrible movie.Completely unrelated to Bioshock, but I just wanted to point out that I love when stuff like that happens. A recent Wired issue piqued my interest in the movie Blade Runner so I started watching it. I immediately saw where the old game Syndicate got idea for those flying propaganda blimps with the big screens on the side that you see in between missions.
Ken Levine on BioShock DLC
Creator wants to more replayability, not new narrative.
By Patrick Klepek, 10/16/2007
BioShock isn't exactly the kind of game you expect downloadable content for. There's no multiplayer and the storyline doesn't lend itself to simply dropping in additional "levels." At the same time, unless you're interested in unlocking all the achievements, there isn't much motivation to play through the game a second or third time -- but creator Ken Levine of Irrational Games 2K Boston envisions that as how he'll approach the game's DLC.
"Diablo II, to me, was a great model for an expansion, because it enhanced the original game, but also extended the game, too. I'm not a really big fan of expanding things just by linearly adding to the experience, adding a new campaign, as much as I am of enhancing the original experience and adding replayability to that experience," said Levine in a post-release interview in the latest issue of Games for Windows Magazine. "I think that certainly BioShock's combat experience is great, but it could be broader. I'm a little more confused as far as how to expand the narrative experience."
Levine says "a lot of plasmids got cut" during development, so you can imagine where his team might start mining for ideas on extending the BioShock experience in the months to come. There's no news on when we'll see the fruits of their efforts, but it's good to know they haven't forgotten those still enamored with Rapture.
The November 2007 issue of Games For Windows Magazine, featuring Gearbox Software's Borderlands and Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway on the cover, arrives in subscriber's hands starting today and on newsstands October 30.
I'm definitely going to go through this again. I was doing so, but I think I'm going to just stop, wait, and do it again in a few months, maybe once some DLC has come out.
Yeah, actually I installed new drivers right before playing Bioshock as well, and having just tried out Gears of War I think it has something to do with the new drivers (good for Crysis = bad for UE3 games I guess). I'll roll back and see how that works. One day.I think the driver that were listed as "good for Crysis" is the 169.09 beta. I've got them on now and GoW and Bioshock are fine.
I highly doubt that anything even approaching that would ever happen. In fact, I find the thought rather ludicrous.Yeah, but considering how retarded much of the world is getting I firmly believe that anything, no matter how horrific, is possible.
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.
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.
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?
All I know is that guy made a pretty wicked game.
Patch and free Plasmid DLC coming next week (http://www.shacknews.com/laryn.x?story=50153).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 playOooh, that'll be good -- especially for veterans of the game!
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...
I guess they will be easier to avoid with the patch, so that's good.
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).
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
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.
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??!?!
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.
Yea I gave it a go, and there is a massive difference. I can see what people were ticked.
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!
It's funny how everyone has different opinions. I used telekinesis more than anything, I think.
I think chameleon could be that one plasmid that makes you invisible to the enemy until you start attacking.
Ken Levine Talks BioShockI liked the third act, though. Basically, it....
The VGA acceptance speech we didn't hear and more!
By Garnett Lee, 12/21/2007
As Sam commented on, an ill-conceived publicity stunt by GameCock (for which they did apologize) at the Spike VGA's threw the show off and left Ken Levine without a chance to say anything as he accepted the award for Game of the Year given to BioShock. While he's off enjoying some well-deserved vacation time, he took a few minutes out to give us his acceptance speech and answer a few questions looking back at BioShock.
1UP: It's been a good amount of time now since BioShock's release. Two million copies sold and heaps of awards are proof-positive people loved the game. Looking back, what do you consider BioShock's greatest weakness, and what might you have done differently?
Ken Levine: In short, I underestimated how much people would care about the story. The 3rd act of the game is the weakest part. I just never realized how much people were going to invest in the climactic Andrew Ryan scene, and I think the remainder of the game can not equal that.
1UP: The moral choice presented with the Little Sisters forced people to pick a side pretty early on -- but still have a chance to change. When you play BioShock, how do you approach the dilemma of whether to save or harvest the girls?ROFL!
KL: a total wimp. I (outside of testing) have never harvested. My favorite story comes from a journalist whose fiancée caught him harvesting. He apparently had to spend a night or two sleeping on the couch.
1UP: Tell us something we may not know about BioShock or its development.Interesting.
KL: The twistcame fairly late in development. I'm way more focused on gameplay early on than I am on the story. Most of the best BioShock story stuff came in the final months.(click to show/hide)
1UP: If 2K Marin is working on BioShock 2, what's going on at 2K Boston...development on another new IP?Hmmmm....
KL: Sorry, can't comment on rumors or speculation.
1UP: Going forward, what are going to be the biggest challenges to continuing the franchise with a BioShock sequel?Interesting.
KL: The first game set a pretty high bar. Sequels are always going to be a challenge because expectations are way up there.
1UP: The Northeast ain't exactly the hotbed of game development. Where are you finding your talent?
KL: Having a hit game makes recruitment a lot easier. I remember the early days of recruiting on System Shock 2, we'd get some pretty depressing resumes. But we're extremely selective. It took us ten years to build the team that made BioShock.
1UP: Which game are you most looking forward to playing in 2008, and what was your GOTY for 2007?Portal ruled -- agreed.
KL: I may disappoint some people with this, but the game I'm looking forward to in 2008 is Smash Bros. Now that I finally managed to crack my way into Outland, I'm now psyched for the next WOW expansion. In terms of Best of '07; that's a tough one.
My friend Andrew Mayer, who's also a game designer, said that '07 was kind of like 1939 in Hollywood, when the nominees included Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and a bunch of other all-time classics. So, I'm gonna stay away from the traditional favorites here and go with J'eanne D'Arc on the PSP. That said, Portal was amazing, as was Rock Band, Galaxy and too many others to mention. What an insanely great year.
1UP: During E3, we caught you walking the streets of Santa Monica reading comic books-so we figure you're at least something of a fan. If you could turn any comic book into a videogame, which one would it be and how would you do it?Heh!
KL: I'd love to make a tactical RPG out of last summer's Marvel Civil War. I totally fanboi'd out on that one.
1UP: What was going through your head during the Gamecock incident at the VGAs? Since the incident, Gamecock has publicly apologized, but still, that must've been a bummer for you and your team.*sarcasm*
KL: All I really gave a crap about was that the judges (who were all top journalists) chose us from the field. The rest is kind of gravy.
1UP: Still, it must have been a pretty exciting moment. What were you hoping to have a chance to say?
KL: I had a tireless, amazing team who was on a mission to make BioShock great. We didn't have 300 people or five years. We had an insane amount of passion. I'd like to thank the people who made it with me, the families that patiently waited while we did our thing, the publisher with the guts not to make us change it, and the fans who showed that gamers have a much broader range of interest and intellect than anybody in certain parts of the media or the political space is comfortable giving them credit for.
1UP: Grilling aside, what're your plans for the holidays?Cool.
KL: More Galaxy, more Rock Band, cracking open my newly arrived signed copy of Mass Effect (Thanks Ray and Greg!), more WOW, more Uncharted, more Call of Duty, more sleep.
Who the fuck is Gamecock?
They're a game studio.
GamePro: You already made a few references to these earlier versions of BioShock and I find it really interesting just because - and I think a lot of people do to - the game as it is, is so polished. The word I have heard, and it is used a lot, is BioShock has fine craftsmanship- and that is not something you hear very often about video games. This begs this sort of intrigue about the development process of the game. I have read a few other interviews where you spoke on the earlier versions of the game. I have heard at one point, and I don't know if this came up in an interview with you or if you had said this specifically, but there was one story that it was originally involving Nazis and they there was this other one that you were this D-programmer; so what is the real story there, are all they true? And how did the game end up evolving into its current state?
Ken Levine: They are all true. We went through a lot of different stages on the story. Much to the chagrin of everyone around me they happened fairly late in development process, but I think that was because I was waiting for the game to tell me what the story was. I didn't go in there with a story axe to grind; like I needed to tell a story and didn't care what the game was. The game comes first for me, and it wasn't really until mid 2005 when the World of Rapture started to speak to me and I started to understand what it was... and then I had to convince everybody else.
I don't blame anybody for having doubts because it is not something that tricks off the tongue in terms of a place for a video game to take place. I Sort of had to sell it to myself first, then sell it internally, then to 2K and then sell it to the public. Each step of the way got a little easier because I had support of the people. Once I sold it to the team and they bought into it, my life got a lot easier. Amazing artists, animators, and designers built out this world. The vision I had in my head just got taken over by amazing games that these guys are creating everyday.
KL: That said, I think you never know for sure whether it is going to work. I have told this story before but I remember when we were working on Shock 2 and the head of Looking Glass asked me, "So, is this game going to be scary?" I honestly didn't know., and it was the same with BioShock. I am doing all the things and turning the gears in all the right directions to make that happen... pressing the right buttons to make that happen, I think, but that is just my gut. At the end of the day, who knows if it is going to be scary; who knows if it is going to be fun. You just have to have an internal sensor for that and that sensor may be unreliable. Even the best directors and writers screw up. I have screwed up. The danger of that is sometimes you start doubting yourself, and let me tell you there are a million things that people blabbered on BioShock all along the way, that if I got panicked over, I would have done something stupid like there is a fairly large movement within the company to cut the Big Daddies at one point.I dunno what Bioshock would've been like, w/out the Big Daddies. I mean, they were such a big part of the game, in the story and in the actual gameplay...
GP: Wow! Of all the things. That is very interesting. What was the concern?
KL: I guess it didn't work, like we couldn't get them to work properly. It was really complicated and you have to use your gut. Quite often we cut things out that were very smart to cut. In another universe the Big Daddies may have been smart to cut, but I had an attachment to them... maybe even an irrational attachment to them. I was in a position where I could say "No, we are not cutting this," though just because I run the company that doesn't mean I can do whatever I want. At the end of the day there are really talented guys and they can go wherever they want to go and do whatever the hell they want to do. I have to make sure they believe in me and what I am doing in the project. So you have to listen very carefully and sometimes people are right and sometimes people are wrong. I think the difference between a good game developer and a bad game developer is to know when to hold them and know when to fold them.
GP: This sounds really open-ended, but in a nutshell what do you think game designers are doing right, and what do you think they are doing wrong?Interesting. Yes, freedom can be a good thing; very good thing, when done right. I dunno', but it depends on the game, really. Elder Scrolls games were amazing b/c they know how to make the game so open-ended and keep you wanting to keep at the actual game. The game was great. The story was good, but yeah -- it's obviously no Witcher or PS:T, when it comes to story and game characters.
KL: In a nutshell they are giving gamers more freedom and they are not spoon-feeding them their stories with walkthroughs. They are opening things up for the gamer and that is the future of games; it is freedom. I think what we are doing is a lot more right, than what we've been wrong
I really have to track down FF XII and my PS2's composite cable (hopefully in the PS2 box). The Witcher I think would take more new hardware than I can handle right now.
BioShock Prequel in the Works?
By Tom Ivan Print | Send to a friend | Email the editor
BLOG - Rumors indicate that the follow-up to one of last year’s top games, BioShock, will be a prequel focusing on the fall of the original game’s setting, the atmospheric and beautifully detailed underwater city Rapture.
According to internet murmurings, a BioShock follow-up is currently in pre-production and set for a 2009 release, backing up Take-Two’s previous comments that the title could develop into a franchise that sees a new release every two years.
Graphic design and plot are reportedly 2K’s primary focuses at the moment, and the story will likely be set before the events that took place in the original game, telling of how Rapture, a 1940s underwater utopian society, fell prey to greed and vice.
Another rumor based around Take-Two job postings suggests the title will primarily be developed at the publisher’s recently formed 2K Marin studio, while it has also been speculated that BioShock creator and director Ken Levine will not be involved in the project.
Levine spoke to Next-Gen last year about BioShock’s launch and the possibility of sequels.
Next-Gen's Blog is reserved for opinion pieces, quirky news stories and general news detritus. We welcome your comments on this article.
Ken Levine Clears up the F****d up Story Thing
Apr 03, 2008 at 12:46 AM - Robert "Apache" Howarth - 36 Comments
2K Boston's Ken "She Looked 18 to Me" Levine sent in a clarification about his earlier comments regarding the plot has to be really f***ing stupid for people to keep up with it post. Here's the dirt:
I did a presentation on this at GDC.
I talked about how the very basic plot of your game has to be very, very simple so people who are not inclined to care about your story can follow it. In BioShock it’s
Act 1: Get to the sub
Act 2: Kill X
Act 3: Kill Y [edited out the names in case you haven't played it yet]
However, once people are attached to those primal threads, they can, IF THEY CHOOSE, go deeper. That’s where in BioShock all the other storytelling devices kick in: the diaries, the public service announcements, the posters, the thousands of little scenes in the world of Rapture that tell the story of what happened there. But I like to assume there’s going to be some part of the audience that doesn’t care about that, and those people can opt out of it. But for the people who do care, they can choose to opt in and get a fairly complex story (and a VERY complex story relative to other console first person shooters).
However, it’s also a question of training the audience. Shock 2 sold 200k units. Deus Ex maybe sold a couple hundred thousand more than that. So there’s simply not a lot of people out there who have experience with narrative oriented shooters. The broad shooter audience is just not that accustomed to complicated story. However, I think BioShock (and other games this year such as Portal) demonstrates that audience is ready for more. Just like FPS added more gameplay elements over time (the move to full 3d, vehicles, objective based stuff like in Battlefield) the story telling space can become more complex as the audience gets comfortable receiving story in game rather than in pre- rendered cutscenes. In short, the next game we do can be more complex, and the one after that can be more complex still.
Storytelling in games has long been a sticking point around these parts.
Activation limits removed on BioShock for the PC
Good news! As promised, all activation restrictions, including install limits, have been removed from BioShock PC as of today. You don’t have to patch or install anything for this to go into effect for your copy of BioShock – it’s already done!
Enjoy your time in Rapture, and thank you for supporting BioShock and the 2K teams.
...
Our other methods of copy protection remain. You will still have to activate your copy, and you will still need to keep the disc in the drive. SecuROM has not been removed -- just the activation limits on number of installs and number of computers you can install BioShock on simultaneously.
As I promised that the activation limits would go away, I can promise that if we ever stop supporting BioShock in the ways you speak of, we will release a patch so that the game is still playable. I believe, as you seem to, that BioShock will be the kind of game we will want to revisit 5, 10, 15 or more years from now. I want my copy to be playable, just as you do, and so does 2K.
June 23, 2008Wow, a 2 year break.
Paris GDC: 2K's Kline On Why BioShock Should Have Failed
Paris GDC: 2K's Kline On Why BioShock Should Have Failed At his Paris GDC session exploring the development of 2K's critical success BioShock, lead programmer Chris Kline started off by saying his main point would be that "BioShock should’ve failed."
"In fact," he continued, "it did fail a lot, over the course of time. A series of big mistakes and corrections and slipped ship dates, but all of these helped make it a good game.”
Initial Shock
In early 2002, realizing that the team needed to make a big budget title, then-Irrational Games decided: “Here was our idea: Let’s just make System Shock 2. This was easy because we’d already made System Shock 2. We knew it was a critical success, and we thought we knew all the things that kept it from being financially successful.”
“I said this was going to be about failure," said Kline, "and the very first failure was that we wanted to base this whole thing on System Shock 2.”
Irrational decided that the two main areas where the game needed to innovate were on narrative and AI -- specifically, an AI ecology that was not singularly focused on attacking the player -- but development abruptly stopped on the game at that point, for the next two years.
When they returned to the game, there was some concern about the fact that they were trying to sell to publishers a sequel to an unsuccessful game, so the developers "faked it," said Kline, by giving GameSpot an exclusive on the game alongside a planned System Shock 2 retrospective for its five year anniversary.Interesting...
“The design team’s core assumption was that Shock 2 was a near-perfect game design. And we could just fix a few flaws. So what did we keep? Resource scarcity, the customization of the character through different systems, and we wanted the player to be cautious about moving through the world,” Kline explained.All of the things that make SS2 great.
Ecologies and EvolutionsInteresting.
Irrational went for the concept of life existing around you but without you, but found that the AI ecology - why the enemies would fight each other - made no sense. “The world needs to revolve around the player,” Kline said.
“Another mistake we made on the art side was focusing too much on the monster models," he continued. "The real problem at this time was that we didn’t know what the main focus of the visuals was. What we now know is that it’s not the monsters, but the city of Rapture.”
He continued by saying in designing the 'gatherers' -- what would become the Little Sisters but began as designs as varied as insects, a frog with a bottle, and a dog in a wheelchair -- nobody was focusing on what the end user experience was, and everyone was moving in different directions.
That changed for the E3 2006 demo, where everyone had to pull together and really make it work. “In order to show we could create a compelling user experience, we had to change how we were thinking about the game. We had to start thinking about what the player was really going to feel in this game,” Kline said.More or less, Bioshock turned out to me more of a shooter than anything. I relied on that both times through, probably more so than the "magic" abilities/spells.
Shoot For Success
Following the demo, though, he said that while it was getting critical acclaim, it wasn't actually gaining much interest from users, so they changed marketing to say that it was a shooter – and then found they had to prove it.
“What’s interesting is that even though it was the same game," Kline said, "when we presented it as a shooter people started getting more excited about it. Even the team.”
“We were actually so focused on the big details that we actually forgot how important the little details are,” he said, so they changed the game to make it more exciting, but still found that there was a lot they weren’t paying attention to.
The harvest or save mechanics weren't implemented yet, the money versus Adam mechanics, how to encourage plasmid use, balancing, framerate, even the script -- "There were a lot of problems," Kline sighed.
In the end, though, he confessed, “Some people think that constantly messing up, and pushing dates isn’t a good way to make a game, but as far as I’m concerned it’s the only way to make a good game.”
Developers need to doubt everything and listen to everyone, Kline concluded. “Always remember that you might be totally screwing everything up.”
That was actually kind of interesting, but to be perfectly honest I think a large part of the game's mass success has to do with timing and the use of the new Unreal engine. Not to take away the accomplishments of the developers (it's a great game in many aspects) but I think all the eye candy is what brought a lot of people in who otherwise wouldn't give a crap about anything to do with System Shock.
BioShock Creator Talks New 'Crazy Ambitious' Game, Levine 'Not Substantially' Involved in BioShock 2
by Chris Faylor Jul 30, 2008 12:05pm CST tags: BioShock 2, 2K Boston, 2K Australia, Ken Levine
Irrational Games co-founder and BioShock creator Ken Levine today began teasing details of his next project, which is separate from the 2K Marin-developed BioShock 2.
"It's going to be pretty crazy ambitious," he told videogaming247, adding that project is "not in the blue-sky period any more" and that the studio is "actually building design elements and building it out."
"It's important to us that whatever we do has the same impact on the gamer that BioShock did. And so, I think that the company's position on us and what we do is that we're going to be breaking down barriers and breaking down doors."
Rumors have long circulated that a revival of the UFO-centric X-COM action-strategy series is being developed at 2K Boston and 2K Australia, a collective formerly known as Irrational Games.
As for BioShock 2, Levine stated that he was "not substantially" involved in the sequel. Publisher Take-Two had previously confirmed his participation, but offered no details on his role. "I'm doing my thing and making my game," he said.
However, he did touch on rumors that he was difficult to work with and that this had caused many 2K Boston staffers to transfer to 2K Marin.
"It's not something I can respond to, there's no point in it," he responded when videogaming247 broached the subject. "Look at the BioShock credit list and see how true that rumor is. My personality? I don't know. Maybe I am an asshole."
BioShock rescued shooters, says Levine
News by Rob Fahey
Today 09:36
2K's Ken Levine has told Eurogamer he reckons BioShock has rescued the shooter genre by opening up a brand new market.
"I can pretty much guarantee to you that if BioShock wasn't successful, there never would have been another game like this," Levine told us in an exclusive interview. "I don't even know how we convinced people to pay for BioShock. These games had never made any money - everybody told us when we were pitching BioShock, sounds like a great idea, you'll sell 150,000 units - next!"
Levine was responding to a question about the player response to BioShock - in particular, the criticism from some players that the game was less complex or challenging than they'd hoped. He doesn't agree with that assertion, and thinks hardcore fans of the genre should focus on the positives.
"Honestly, really deep down, we wanted to popularise this kind of gameplay that we've been attached to for so long," he explained. "If the first iteration of it was a tiny bit simpler than System Shock 2... Look, how many of these type of games do you think are going to be made now, compared to how many were going to be made before? It took us how many years to get this game green-lit?
"Now, future games, competitors' games, our games... We can build upon millions of people's knowledge of the genre. How many people had played these kind of games before? 300,000, 400,000 - maybe? Now millions of people, because of this game, have played this type of game."
Levine reckons this situation is similar to RTS games - arguably a relatively obscure genre which has become a bankable, solid performer thanks to a large audience familiar with its conventions and appeal.
"Go back and play Dune 2, and now look at them," he said. "They have build queues, all the complexity that you can have in games like Company of Heroes, with cover and stuff like that... It's because a system was popularised and people were willing to invest in it with confidence that there was going to be an audience.
"Before, as great as System Shock 2 and Deus Ex were, nobody bought them. We wanted to crack that. I think now, the sky's the limit for how deep these games can go."
Im not sure what you mean by the combat being repetitious since I think its more dynamic than most games, but Im glad your finally getting into it.
Yeah, so your complaint is not about the actual combat itself.
It's about the lack of variety of enemies.
Point taken.
Well, I think the shock+wrench complaint lies more in the combat department, but lack of variety is definitely the larger complaintI think as the game gets along further and further, you'll have more abilities and combos to pull off for weapons and magic, which is really when the game can get quite dynamic in combat. Not only that, but you'll get more and more upgrading for weapons and other things, once you move along.
That's exactly what I thought after playing, too. I think I'd really enjoy an adventure game or some such set in a fully-functional Rapture, though obviously that will never happen in a thousand years. But yeah, I'd love to just spend a day or two there with the place intact. That would be fascinating.
2K Boston head talks about growing up geeky and coming to terms with his nerdy nature during packed Penny Arcade Expo keynote.
SEATTLE, Washington--The 2008 Penny Arcade Expo conference program wasted no time in hitting top speed, as organizers scheduled the Ken Levine keynote address on the first afternoon of the three-day gaming convention. The creative director of 2K Boston and public face of BioShock has been making the convention rounds since the sci-fi first-person shooter shipped last year, keynoting the Develop Conference in the UK earlier this year and telling a packed crowd of his peers how to get audiences to care about their stupid stories in a Game Developers Conference address.
Unlike those events, the crowd for Levine's address was filled with the enthusiastic open-to-the-public PAX brand of rank-and-file gamers. Attendees sported Half-Life headcrab hats proudly as they filed into the cavernous Washington State Convention Center's main theatre. Even the pre-presentation buzz was different, as the crowd chit-chat was accompanied by commercials for Brawndo (The Thirst Mutilator), the Entertainment Consumers Association, and a variety of new and upcoming games.
Levine took the stage half an hour into his one-hour keynote slot, launching straight into his presentation as he talked about growing up a nerd.
"When my parents rolled my character, they didn't get any 18s," Levine joked.
In the late '70s, Levine noticed the kids around him in the seventh grade were into hockey, Rush, drug experimentation, and even gotten to second base. Meanwhile, he was into Spider-Man comics. While the other kids were into Lennon and McCartney, he was into Claremont and Byrne.
Regaling the crowd with is love for comics, Levine said he most appreciated the way the illustrated books dealt with the adult world. Spider-Man had to make ends meet. Iron Man had to deal with alcoholism. The X-Men faced up to racism. Despite the array of issues our there, one took precedence in Levine's mind: women.
"In short, I wanted to **** the Scarlet Witch," Levine said, explaining the intersection of his two primary pre-teen interests.
Levine talked a bit about his nerdly shame, noting the deepening ostracism as he got into games with an Atari 2600 and Dungeons & Dragons.
"I didn't want to like the **** I liked," Levine said, saying he wanted to fit in, to like sports, smoke cigarettes, and be normal.
By the time he got to high school, he said he had given up and kept his nerdy nature a secret. And then one day he overheard some kids on the bus talking openly about saving throws, Owlbears, and other such nerdy D&D fare with no negative repercussions.
Levine hooked up with the kids for a bit of role-playing one night, and found a group of about 10 kids that were part of a group. Through that group, he got into Dr. Who, The Prisoner, Monty Python, and still more geek reference points. Levine said after 14 years of searching, he'd finally found his tribe.
By 1982, Levine said things had started to change. There were new faces in the regular adventuring party. Female faces. Levine warned that the days of any D&D group are numbered when members start "inappropriately buffing" or doling out primo loot drops to undeserving members named Heather, Kelly, or Pam.
With no girlfriend of his own, Levine's surprise and confusion gave way to a sense of betrayal. He understands now that his friends were just ahead of him on the road to adulthood and college.
With the tribe petering out, Levine needed something where he could put his improvisation skills to use. He found the drama club, "bad Shakespeare, 'Greased Lightning,' and jazz hands."
After college, Levine said his life was taking off. He was a writer sharing an apartment with Marisa Tomei's brother, one of the Goonies, and the guy from Leprechaun 2. He was also trying to pitch an ultra-violent vampire movie. While the vampire movie didn't make the cut, he was offered a gig writing a frothy romantic comedy.
The new crowd Levine was hanging with thought "fantasy role-playing" was something done with a very expensive prostitute, and that Dr. Who was their kid's ophthalmologist. Still wanting to leave behind his nerdy nature, Levine threw himself into the romantic comedy project.
"And then, in what should be a surprise to nobody, my romantic comedy ended up sucking," Levine said.
He was out of a screenwriter gig and he bounced around doing odd jobs for the next decade, all supporting his gaming habit. Levine name-checked Metroid, Zelda, Herzog Zwei, and Ultima Underworld, saying he'd go home every night and numb himself with games like a lush with a flask.
Eventually, Levine realized that people got paid to make games. He picked up a copy of the now-defunct Next-Gen magazine and found an ad listing for a game designer at Looking Glass Studios. He applied, and a little over a month later, he was on his way to Boston.
Upon arriving, Levine expected a cubicle farm with salarymen working a 9-to-5. What he actually witnessed was a group of gamers yelling over Soulcalibur and Magic: The Gathering, people making popcorn for a screening of Bladerunner, more than a dozen happy nerds--his new tribe.
"After so many years of running from the very things I loved, it's amazing for a guy like me to come here and see what Gabe and Tycho and the volunteers have built here," Levine said. "We're united by a common element...What brings us all together at PAX is we're a giant bunch of f****** nerds."
Levine wrapped up by telling the crowd to enjoy PAX, and thanking them for welcoming him into their tribe.
That works well at an emotional level, but I'm not sure why. It shows next to nothing. Is it the song? The girl bringing up memories of the first game? The foreboding?All of the above.
Now I need to find a direct recording of that.Plus, with Rapture it looks like turning into what looks to be graveyards -- and with the girl standing on the beach at the ocean, I think she might be one of the survivors (or maybe only survivors) of Rapture?
2K Marin's very own Charles Shechbeck confirms that Bioshock 2 will be both a prequel and sequel to the original Bioshock game. (http://www.destructoid.com/rapturous-confusion-bioshock-2-is-called-sequel-and-prequel--108150.phtml)Cool.
Well considering that you find it to be must-see stuff, and the second is better, how come you haven't seen it? :PI found the original Godfather to be must-see stuff, yes.
Exclusive PS3 BioShock DLC Releasing on November 20
Self-contained "Challenge Rooms" to be available for download next month.
By Kris Pigna, 10/19/2008
Sure, by the time BioShock releases on the PlayStation 3 this Tuesday, Xbox 360 and PC gamers will have been able to play it for 14 months. But don't fret, Sony fans -- 2K Games is giving you something special for your patience. They've announced that a DLC pack with new gameplay exclusive to the PS3 version will be released on November 20.
The DLC pack will add new "Challenge Rooms" for players to tackle, which will be self-contained areas that require you to use everything you've learned in the main game to clear a series of puzzles (kind of sounds like the BioShock version of Portal, in a way). No pricing details were given, so it's unclear how much people will have to pay to add the extra content to their games. Hopefully it won't cost too much... considering this DLC is coming only a month after the game's release, it probably won't go down well with consumers if they have to pay a premium price for features that could, in theory, have been included in the game to begin with.
Heh, I suppose we can stop it there. I can't remember what thread it was in, but I do believe my belief in the superiority of the PS3 controller is well documented, as are the opinions (which outweigh mine) that the 360 pad is better. Still, I haven't noticed any difference in anything I've tried, and I suspect whatever issue he's having is with the game, not the controller. He seems to be saying that the guns themselves aren't accurate, not that he's having trouble aiming them.I definitely preferred the Xbox gamepad over the PS2's Dualshock 2.. The subtle changes in the SIXAXIS and Dualshock 3 have won me over though. I like its triggers, button sensitivities, and the d-pad. Special features aside (i.e. SIXAXIS motion sensing) I feel it's more comfortable and superior to the X360 pad.
He seems to be saying that the guns themselves aren't accurate, not that he's having trouble aiming them.
Also, fuck SIXAXIS and every game that uses it. I hate that bullshit.So far the only game I actually like the SIXAXIS motion in is Folklore. It's a very simple implementation but I think it was done just right. It's only used when you're trying to absorb a Folk's id (suck a baddy's soul). I didn't mind it much in Heavenly Sword either as it was only used to manually guide thrown objects or in very few combat recovery situations.
Yeah, I've come to realize I actually don't like vibration much. I haven't bothered to get a DS3 for that reason. It basically just annoys me and distracts me, and I feel much more immersed without it. It can be cool when done right, but it's too often a throwaway feature, and even when it's cool it isn't that cool.I think the only game I liked the vibration in is MGS4 and even then not all the time, just in the cinematic set ups.
I'm having difficulty killing the big daddies without dying. Even with two health upgrades and an armor upgrade, they still kill me in two hits. I inevitably die a couple of times when fighting one in close quarters. Shock + shotgun works well until I run out of ammo, and then it's run-and-gun with the rest of the weapons. Anyone got any tips on killing these guys?Shock & shotgun is the ebst way I think. When he dashes at you try strafing out of the way, it'll buy you a few secs to reload or land a few more hits on him. They're tough bastards. With no ammo I tried shock and wrench (be sure to have the Wrench-Jockey plasmid), it took longer and I had to evade very quickly after hitting him.
That works well at an emotional level, but I'm not sure why. It shows next to nothing. Is it the song? The girl bringing up memories of the first game? The foreboding? Now I need to find a direct recording of that.
BioShock Artbook Version 2.0 Now On Sale
by Nick Breckon Mar 17, 2009 7:32pm CST tags: BioShock
2K Games community manager Elizabeth Tobey today revealed an impressive special edition of the BioShock art book, now available for preorder on the Take-Two store.
Titled "Breaking the Mold: Developer's Edition," the book offers 174 pages of concept art and developer commentary on the making of the acclaimed shooter.