BioShock in for a bumpy release

Brother None

Brother None

This ghoul has seen it all
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BioShock is now released in the USA, for those that missed it. But it's hit a few bumps.

Kotaku reports on widescreen problems, showing that rather than having the promised anamorphic widescreen, BioShock simply crops. Ken Levine replies:
<center></center><blockquote>Sorry about all the conflict. IG development people (specifically Chris and Rowan who are both on vacation) were trying to take a day off today (we've been working about six months 6-7 days a week). I'm trying to see what everybody's concerns are and consult with the staff.

I know people are frustrated, but we are dealing with internet time here. It wasn't until 7 pm EST that I was able to even talk to anybody in our Australian studio, which is open today (9 AM their time).

I hear you that not everybody was thrilled with the PC launch. And I'm trying to collect information and see what the facts are. PC game development does not function in a matter of seconds or hours, especially when most of the team is on vacation. But I hear you, and we're looking into the issue. I'll only ask you have a bit of understanding as to the time scale that software development issues must occur in.</blockquote>Meanwhile, the PC demo is under heavy scrutiny individually, for overall high bug density. Gamernode reports:<blockquote>So far users have listed problems ranging from, but not limited to:

* Muddy textures
* Missing video sequences for plasmid upgrades
* Zero floor textures (i.e. solid black floors...creepy)
* Demo crashing during load sequences
* Failing to launch altogether

I know that pleasing the hardcore fans is a thing that most developers take very seriously, but realistically, what was the point of this? Why release a bastardized version of your game to your fans a day before the official release?</blockquote>Harsh. A slightly bumpy start, let's hope it clears up soon.

It certainly won't be the reviews making the ride bumpy. Metacritic aggregates BioShock's 360 reviews at 97/100 from 30 reviews (which is still the 360's highest above Oblivion/Gears of War 94/100), with the lowest reviews being 90/100 from Gamespot and MS XBox World. On the other side, exactly 50% (15) of the reviews score it a 100/100.

ADDENDUM: additionally, Sisay pointed us to a thread where the problems of BioShock's online registration are discussed, as it apparently only allows you to activate the game twice through the internet, and on the third install it'll block you. View the thread here.

In slightly better news, Gamebanshee reports that the people of the Widescreen Gaming Forum rushed to make a widescreen gaming patch, which should help PC gamers play this game in widescreen. A decent holdover until 2K games fixes the problems.
 
I'm almost glad it doesn't seem to run at the moment on my rig... I'm afraid I wont like what I see! hah

Edit: What really worries me... Is all the countless threads about a potential "virus" on the Bioshock game itself. Too bad the forums there at 2K games are so bogged down they for the most part dont work!
 
i've personally found by trying to help people run the demo, that most problems are actually their own damn fault...

now, i doubt everything is ok, but much of this might actually be driver problems, dx problems and even requirement problems that couldve been solved if people had done as adviced by the readme...
 
when will game companies realize that first impressions are huge. while it is possible for a company to fix them and eventually have a class A game, if its a C when released it can cause a lot of problems and distrust for the future.

then again this does seem to be a problem for the past like 5-8 years... i guess this is why few games really have large releases for PC games while consoles continually have great releases more so than PC games.

many a gamer rarely buys a game at release anymore and waits 1-3 months for all the initial bugs to be fixxed, buys the game when its $30 and then spends 2-3 hrs downloading all the patches with high-speed internet.

or you could just buy a console and not really have to worry about it.

it really makes me sad. it really does.
 
classic pc problem .. most problems arise from : sub par specs, bad drivers, bad windows setup.

i had no problem with it whatsoever but i can see how with the hype surrounding it a lot of people jump for it and then whine ...
i feel sad for the game that this is happening .. poor performance would have been better :P

the problem is .. peolpe dont blame it on themselves or check the settings and such and just blame it on the game ... and discard it alltogether ...

luckily for the game the 360 version has no such problems since its a common platform
 
I'd imagine the copy protection scheme will be the most controversial part of the Bioshock fuck-ups. The game requires internet activation during install, and you can only do this twice. E.g. suppose you install the game on a PC with XP/Vista dual boot for both OS's, and upgrade your hardware a couple of months down the road. Now your legally bought Bioshock copy is as good as a coaster. There is no official reply from 2k games as of now. Securom's reply to the issue:

"Hello.

Thank you for your email.

You´ve activated your game too often. Please contact 2K Games regarding this issue.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.


Best regards,

SecuROM Support Team"

An internet connection is listed as a requirement for product activation on the box, but the 2 activation limit is not mentioned anywhere. A fun surprise when you've already opened the box and can't return the actual game anymore. I'd honestly stay the fuck away from the PC version of Bioshock, Steam or boxed, until they get this sorted.

Activation screen
No Bioshock for you!
Original thread
Securom's reply
 
Demo ran great on me rig on high details, even though it's an older machine (AMD FX-55).
 
Sisay said:
*snip*
Click to expand...
that's kinda typical. the publisher/distributor decides on that, not the devs. i'm pretty sure Levine wouldnt stand for this (seeing as he's an avid pc gamer).

and Securom happens to be the devil. ive had trouble with their cd/dvd check for years.

as for the limit, i'm betting you can do it more by manual activation, like with WinXP you know? just have to activate it manually and say why etc. it's a hassle ofc.

i hope 2K sorts their shit out, because with the problems reported, i can imagine a lot of people reinstalling their stuff.
 
I just find it amazing how all the people that were sucking them off a few days ago are turning on 2K like rabid animals.

So much for fan loyalty. I mean, give them a few days to get a handle on it, and get it fixed.
 
Tru that.

I mean those who ordererd the special edition, and came with damaged figurines will be getting free shippinng to return the damaged goods, a replacement, and a printed art book. I think that's going above and beyond. Taking responsibility for shipping damage, that's class IMO.

http://www.2kgames.com/cultofrapture/home.html

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.
Click to expand...
 
Grrrrrrrrrr.........
My PC is 3 years old, with the newest drivers, a decent video card, and about 1.5g RAM. Game runs great. I find that peopld that don't take care of their end seem to make it seem like it's someone else's fault when things don't work out. I have close to minimum specs here, and it really runs great.

Getting that out of the way....

WOW. This game is incredible. Please Stand By....
 
I'm really tempted to post a "Where the hell is your loyalty now" message, but I figure I'll get flamed into oblivion.
 
I was having some trouble until I updated my drivers. Runs smooth, even the load times are much improved.


It's an amazing game. It kind of reminds me of DX:IW or Theif 3, but that's partially because they are both descendants of Looking Glass and they are all based on Unreal 2, though BioShock is insanely pretty.

Some of the stuff in here is honestly creepy. I had a nightmare about the Houdini Splicers last night.
 
in a time like this you come to appreciate publishers like THQ :)

they seem to support a no-protection policy or at least low protection policy

2 things i have from them are like this and i'm willing to bet more so...

Supreme Commander removed all of its protection after the first patch ...
And i believe Dark Crusade doesnt have any ...

i find this smart of them because they know protection will only annoy some people while the rest will find ways to bypass it ...
there are solutions out there even for securom images and theyve gotten real easy to use.
 
Meh, a lot of it seems like nit picking to me. Hell, the game was just released, and I haven't had a single flaky texture, crash, or blown up PS. I've played for about 10-12 hours, I only got 4 hours of sleep before my classes today.
It isn't Fallout. It isn't System Shock 2. The hacking mini game is extremely repetitive. That's about all I can muster up to complain about. Also, the engine runs a lot better than other multi-platform games such as Rainbow Six: Vegas.
As a single-player FPS - this game is definitely the best. As a RPG - it's better than about 80% of games now-a-days that claim they're of the RPG genre.
 
radnan said:
in a time like this you come to appreciate publishers like THQ :)

they seem to support a no-protection policy or at least low protection policy

2 things i have from them are like this and i'm willing to bet more so...
Click to expand...
So, they dropped the net activation? Does it mean that I can stop hating them and start regretting that my comp won't run it :) ?
 
* Muddy textures
* Missing video sequences for plasmid upgrades
* Zero floor textures (i.e. solid black floors...creepy)
* Demo crashing during load sequences
* Failing to launch altogether
Click to expand...

Just download the beta ATI or NVidia drivers for Bioshock, it fixes everything except the widescreen problem, which is a really awful problem, since they promised it wouldn't happen.
 
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