Bioshock - News Roundup

Dhruin

SasqWatch
Joined
August 30, 2006
Messages
11,842
Location
Sydney, Australia
Anyone who hasn't noticed Bioshock has been released in some territories can check out the official press release - or read just about any gaming site, of course.
Next, Blue's is pointing out a furore on the official forums about a widescreen issue with the game, where apparently the field of view is exactly the same - meaning widescreen users actually see less on both the PC and Xbox360.
Acleacius writes about a work in progress via the official forums to get Bioshock to work with SM2.0 cards.
On to some reviews:
More information.
 
Joined
Aug 30, 2006
Messages
11,842
Location
Sydney, Australia
I like this tale from Kotaku:

BioShock Killed My Computer

I was about 15 minutes into it, having very much enjoyed what I had seen so far, when I came upon the first Big Daddy encounter. I watch in rapt attention as he charges a splicer when suddenly BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM. It sounds as though a string of firecrackers has been detonated in my computer case, as well as each BOOM being punctuated with a bright blue flash coming through the case window.

For about half a second I sit there stunned. The first thought in my mind is "Holy Fucking Shit, that is the greatest effect I've ever seen. They should have given this game an 11." Immediately following this a sickening realization dawns on me as I look over at my tower. Blue Smoke! The magic blue smoke that makes electronics work is escaping from my PC.

What follows is a 30 second vaudeville act of me simultaneously cursing, falling as I try to leap out of my chair, and finally ripping the power cord from the wall. But the blue smoke was already out, and the smell of ozone in the air told me the bitter truth. Bioshock had fried my computer from the inside and blown the capacitors.

http://kotaku.com/gaming/pc-gaming/

Comes with pic, great stuff.
 
Joined
Oct 26, 2006
Messages
2,080
Location
UK
Yeah, chances are that guys rig already had issues - the game is demanding and therefore generates plenty of heat.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
14,932
Oh ofc, I work with silicon so I have a fair idea of the technical side.

Its just that "greatest effect" bit gets me.
 
Joined
Oct 26, 2006
Messages
2,080
Location
UK
At least the guy has a sense of humor--hated to laugh at him but that was a funny as hell post. :D
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
7,834
Ive seen fireballs-sorts of stuff coming out of a harddrive. It can happen especially if your power supply has somkind of failure (do not buy cheap power suplys and always shield your computer with external protectors *they are cheap* from outside current spikes like lightning etc). I know two friends whose whole computers have fried up completly. Both due to power supply break down - possibly from a current spike.
 
Joined
Dec 28, 2006
Messages
3,160
Location
Europa Universalis
What a great story! Thanks for that, woges.

This is dark humor, I know, but wouldn't it have been even better if he'd have been electrocuted (you know, just a little!)? Big Daddy's everywhere would have been proud!

So Bioshock fries meager computers? Wow!
 
Joined
Nov 11, 2006
Messages
1,807
Location
Orange County, California
One I fell afoul of last night: AVG Antivirus is giving false positives for a trojan horse in the BioShock PC installer (both retail and demo). In order to install the game at all, it appears you have to temporarily uninstall the virus scanner.

I found this out after spending two hours running a virus scan...
 
Joined
Feb 3, 2007
Messages
57
In order to install the game at all, it appears you have to temporarily uninstall the virus scanner.
It is funny that most apps recommend doing that before installing, I almost never do and most apps install just fine with virus scanners active.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
14,932
It got 10/10 in the Australian PCPP. I think they've only given three 10s ever before this. HL2, Psychonauts, and Civ4.
 
Joined
Jul 26, 2007
Messages
473
Location
Australia
Apparently that's only a problem if you're activating it across different computers simultaneously. If you're only installing it on one computer at a time then it's ok.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
1,877
nope that is incorrect. I am reading reports of multiple installs on the same machine not working, including multiple operating systems.

--

On the SM 2.0 problem - how cheap is a SM 3.0 card? Its $40 w/ a $20 rebate at my nearest Fry's for an nVidia 6200. However, that's what I have right now and you have to turn the video down to half to get it to run it at all.

I'm sorry, but I have no sympathy for anyone trying to run it on a Shader 2 card. I can only imagine what they are turning down on those to get them to work.

-2k Responds finally

2K Elizabeth 2K Elizabeth is online now
Administrator

Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New York City
Posts: 394
Default
hey guys,

first, let me say this. you DO NOT NEED TO USE THE INTERNET EVERY TIME YOU PLAY THIS GAME. it is only the first time.

second, you can uninstall and reinstall this game, and if, by chance, you have 2 computers you want to simultaneously play this game on, you also can do that.

if by some chance you are reinstalling this game without uninstalling it first, a lot, there is a chance you may have to call securom and get a key, or deactivate some older installations.

but if you upgrade your hardware next week, you'll still be able to play the game. if you revamp your system and need to reinstall bioshock, just uninstall it before you go through the overhaul, and then do your reinstall.

calling it "hardware fingerprinting" is a bit alarmist. we do not transmit any of your data to any companies.

really, the only people who will be concerned about any of these security measures are those who are rapidly putting bioshock on many pcs... if you use the game as you normally do, you won't notice this at all.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Oct 19, 2006
Messages
5,212
Location
The Uncanny Valley
I'm sorry, but I have no sympathy for anyone trying to run it on a Shader 2 card. I can only imagine what they are turning down on those to get them to work.

Well, if that hack removes all the shader 3.0 stuff then there's a good chance that people with a decent shader 2.0 card (like an X800/X850) won't have to turn down their settings all that much. A shader 3.0 card is not automatically superior. An X850XT is approximately twice as fast in 3D Mark06 (1280x1024) as a 7300GT (which is again a little faster than a 6200) when only shader 2.0 effects are used. I don't know what exactly that Bioshock SM2.0 hack removes but in theory, people with an X850 card will get a visually much richer experience than someone with a 6200 card simply because they can leave a lot of the non-SM3.0 dependent stuff on high.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
3,201
I played the demo and I don't get it. Beyond super fancy graphics what does this game offer that seems to be so appealing to everyone? Especially to people that post on a rpg site?

Who knows, maybe I'm just old, but I expect more bank for my buck than fancy smancy graphics.
 
It's not just graphics, it's the detail of the environment. It's alive. It's also the gameplay apparently, but you don't get into that very much in the demo. But I can see it already, the whole background, the story and characters and how they are realized are extremely well done in this game. That's why it's getting good scores, I imagine.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
2,915
Location
The Netherlands
Unpaid beta testers!

I will never understand the appeal of being an unpaid beta tester. Let's see...

1). Buggy & confusing installation process.
2). Widescreen / normal screen fiasco
3). SM 3.0 issues.

If you wait 6-8 months, here's what's going to happen -

1). Outcry will probably remove installation crashware in some later patch.
2). A whole variety of bugs / crashes in gameplay will be firmly resolved.
3). SDK will be released.
4). Expansion will be announced; Price drop of original game by about $10-20 dollars.

I'm waiting until the game is stable & respectful to the paying consumer; Right now, it isn't.
 
Yours is a valid approach but not everyone sees it the same way.

1) Didn't affect me - I Steamed it.
2) Doesn't affect me - don't have a widescreen
3) What issues? You mean you require SM 3.0? This was always a requirement. It isn't uncommon for SM 3.0 games to be hacked to support SM 2.0 but that doesn't make it an "issue".
 
Joined
Aug 30, 2006
Messages
11,842
Location
Sydney, Australia
The Game has Issues

I didn't say that everyone should see it my way, only that I can't see being an unpaid beta tester.

1). Even if you d/l it from Steam, it still comes with the SecuROM fiasco (which is apparently causing problems in some anti-virus software like AVG as well as those who wish to play their copy of the game over multiple computers).

2). If you don't have widescreen, then you're affected - The game was intended for widescreen & supposedly stretched to accommodate a "normal" screen.

3). I don't require SM 3.0, the game does & that's affecting a lot of people.

Really, from my understanding of the situation, the pirates have already taken care of the SecuROM issue in their copies. So, the copy protection problems are once again only hurting the valid consumer.

I'm glad that you don't have any issues with the game but not everyone has had the luxury of sharing your flawless experience.

Yours is a valid approach but not everyone sees it the same way.

1) Didn't affect me - I Steamed it.
2) Doesn't affect me - don't have a widescreen
3) What issues? You mean you require SM 3.0? This was always a requirement. It isn't uncommon for SM 3.0 games to be hacked to support SM 2.0 but that doesn't make it an "issue".
 
I didn't say that everyone should see it my way, only that I can't see being an unpaid beta tester.
Then honestly you must *never* buy a game less than 6 months after release. If that is true, fine. If not, you're full of crap - Bioshock is one of the most polished PC game releases in memory. Most of the issues are as much about 'internet mega-whine' as they are about reality.

1). Even if you d/l it from Steam, it still comes with the SecuROM fiasco (which is apparently causing problems in some anti-virus software like AVG as well as those who wish to play their copy of the game over multiple computers).
All programs tell you to disable antivirus checkers before install. I had no problem with either of the top 2 AV's - Symantic and Macafee.

Also, the program will let you have 2 simultaneous installs active within a given time frame. Since it was released yesterday that tends to tell me that the people having this issue were sharing one copy with multiple friends. Or they are testing the system - neither reflects normal reality. I installed on both my game laptops without an issue.
2). If you don't have widescreen, then you're affected - The game was intended for widescreen & supposedly stretched to accommodate a "normal" screen.
Other way around - 1024 x 768 sees more than any widescreen. I normally use 1900 x 1200 and when I tried 1024 x 768 I could see more.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
14,932
Back
Top Bottom