Bioshock

[Methais]

All the reviews I've read say this game is gold, and I have no doubts it is, but I'd really rather get the PC version instead of the 360 version for the mouse/keyboard option. Which is another thing that pisses me off....why won't these consoles offer a mouse/keyboard option these days, when they are more than capable of supporting it? Assholes.

Anyway, my main concern is the system requirements. I'm running a P4 3.0 GHz with 2GB of RAM, and an ATI Radeon x1950 Pro (256MB I'm pretty sure, don't see whre I can pull up the info on that though but I'm 99% sure it's 256).

The recommended specs are this:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo processor;
System RAM: 2GB;
Video Card: DX 9 - Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 512 MB RAM (NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GT or better),
DX 10 - NVIDIA GeForce 8600 or better;
Sound Card: SoundBlaster(r) X-Fi(tm) series (optimized foruse with Creative Labs EAX ADVANCED HD 4.0 or EAX ADVANCED HD 5.0 compatible sound cards);

Based on that, I should be able to run the game smoothly, but just won't be able to max everything out (but should be able to turn them up enough to where it'll still look good), right? I'm hesitant to buy the PC version not knowing how it'll run, but I really don't want to play it with a gay console controller unless I really have to.

[Celephais]

You're above the Min specs... so yes it'll run, if you're worried about the experience you'll have; download the demo.

[Asha]

isn't a 256 mb GC a bit weak for this game?

[Methais]

You're above the Min specs... so yes it'll run, if you're worried about the experience you'll have; download the demo.

Yeah I'm downloading the demo right now. I don't mind not being able to max everything out, I just don't want to end up having to run it with everything turned way down is all. Demo's at 72% now so I'll find out soon.


isn't a 256 mb GC a bit weak for this game?

That's my main concern.

Which reminds me....how do I check if I have a 256 or 512 card without opening up my PC and looking at the card? I tossed the box a while back like a nub :(

[Celephais]

Which reminds me....how do I check if I have a 256 or 512 card without opening up my PC and looking at the card? I tossed the box a while back like a nub :(

Right click your desktop/properties, go to settings, click "advanced" select the "adapter" tab. It'll say memory size.

If you're concerned about the memory size, if bioshock had granular graphic tweaking, start by tweaking down textures.

[Methais]

Thanks, it's 256MB like I thought.

I have no idea if Bioshock has granular graphic tweaking. I'm going to assume that the demo will be an accurate representation of how the game will run on my system though, so I'll post soon about how it runs.

[Asha]

Unless you can down tweak the graphics to something that might ruin the feel of the game anyway, you're going to have trouble getting a good frame rate out of this. If any.

[Celephais]

Unless you can down tweak the graphics to something that might ruin the feel of the game anyway, you're going to have trouble getting a good frame rate out of this. If any.

Min Req states a 128MB card... I think he'll be okay. Memory usage on graphics cards really starts to chug with textures... the Radeon x1950 Pro should be able to handle the shaders and other aspects of the graphics pretty well.

[Guarrin]

[QUOTE=Methais;616519]All the reviews I've read say this game is gold, and I have no doubts it is, but I'd really rather get the PC version instead of the 360 version for the mouse/keyboard option. Which is another thing that pisses me off....why won't these consoles offer a mouse/keyboard option these days, when they are more than capable of supporting it? Assholes.

QUOTE]

http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/22/team-xtenders-xfps-360-in-action/

You might want to consider this addon. I've never tried it, but, it looks good.

Also, I've seen a few other 3rd party gear that offer a mouse (but no keyboard)

I'm not going to pick up Bioshock today, but, I played the demo and enjoyed it.

[LazyBard]

I know the 360 has a USB port that you can plug a keyboard into. I used it for Final Fantasy not sure how other games will react with keyboard interface though

[Methais]

Demo seemed to run fine on my system. Only weird thing was the FMV sequence after the demo was through that showed bits of the rest of the game ran really choppy for some reason. The game itself and the FMV bits in the beginning were fine though. I'll have to check out that 360 addon thing too. I couldn't tell in the video if it enables you to get that super fast movement that you can get with a mouse or if it just maxes out at whatever speed each game goes to when you turn the sensitivity way up.

EDIT: User comment on that addon:

I currently own a brand new xfps 360, it is very well designed except for two crippling flaws. It has no deadzone compensation as many had feared before. Do research on what happened to the last adapter that didnt come with deadzone compensation before you buy this product. Also, from what i can tell this adapter only supports Microsoft explorer mice, i have 2 logitech the mx500 and a G5 and they are both incompatible. Since they are both my favorite mice its quite a pain to use the IE6.0 mouse. I have yet to test the Razer series of mice. I pray every day that a patch is released for this ALMOST perfect product.

[Celephais]

If you buy bioshock, don't forget to upgrade your DirectX drivers... there was a new hotfix released specifically for some bugs found by bioshock.

[Numbers]

I'm debating whether to get it for my PC or my Xbox. I haven't tried the demo on my PC yet... my specs are roughly equivalent to yours, so it should run fine. Not to mention that the PC version would be less expensive (coughtorrentcough). Then there's the added benefit of mouse/keyboard control.

But on the 360 I'd be able to play it in HD on my 61", and not have to worry about framerate drops. But I'd have to put up with the console controls.

[Drew]

I downloaded the demo for the 360, I'd heard about it but I wasn't expecting that much. I was very pleasantly surprised, this game looks awesome.

[Bobmuhthol]

Good 256 MB video cards outperform the like-priced 512 MB video cards because the 512 take a hit in memory bandwidth. A lot of people immediately say, "Wow, a 512 MB card for $150?! Why buy the 256 MB for the same price, LOL!?!?!?" but they tend to have less pixel pipelines, lower bit rating, etc. A 256 MB card with 256 bit memory is so much better than 512 MB 128 bit, and a lot of the 512 MB cards are GDDR2 while same-price 256 MB cards are GDDR3. It's like saying 2 GB of PC 100 is better than 512 MB of PC 6400: wrong.

[Numbers]

It chugged on my PC. Looks like it's the 360 version for me.

[Khariz]

Just FYI Methais, I've been playing it all day on a rather mid-end comp with some budget parts (Like a shitty 8500 GTS).

It runs with everything on high on upper end resolutions. 2 gigs of ram, 7200 rpm HDD.

I'm impressed. Great fucking game too. I'm shitting my pants with glee half the time.

[Ignot]

Let me know how this game is.

[Methais]

Let me know how this game is.

The demo rocks pretty hard I can say that much.


I downloaded the demo for the 360, I'd heard about it but I wasn't expecting that much. I was very pleasantly surprised, this game looks awesome.

How is it with the 360 controller? I'd DL it myself but my XBox Live account is down right now because I need to update my credit card and I'm too lazy to do it at the moment.


Not to mention that the PC version would be less expensive (coughtorrentcough).

I'm gonna sound like a nub for this one, but how do I go about getting stuff with torrents? I don't know the first thing about it. Is there a "Torrents for Dummies" guide posted anywhere around here?

[Numbers]

Download a torrent client such as uTorrent. Go to a tracker site, demonoid.com is good. Make sure you configure your router/firewall/torrent client to forward the right ports. A good tutorial can be found at portforward.com. Search for the torrent you want, the more seeds the better, download the torrent file, open it with your client.

Apparently BioShock has turned out to be very buggy on the PC. It also apparently caused someones computer to asplode, literally. Blue smoke and everything.

[Stunseed]

I DL'd the demo on the 360. It's pretty suave.

[Bobmuhthol]

Good luck finding it, since there are no cracks yet.

[Celephais]

It also apparently caused someones computer to asplode, literally. Blue smoke and everything.

Right, that was bioshocks fault...

[Celephais]

So I picked this up and played it a bit last night, I didn't get very far as I didn't have much time to play (only two or three hours) but I do love it so far, it's a great game.

I read a review of it today and it mentioned the XBox vs PC issue...


While the Xbox 360 controls are solid, you're forced to leave the game screen and use a tree menu to select your weapons and Plasmids, which can provide some clunky interruptions in the game's action. For a more seamless experience (not to mention better graphics), the PC version is definitely the way to go.

The game world definatly makes me think of Fallout and the gameplay reminds me a lot of Half-life. Again I'm not very far in, but I've had a lot of fun with it.

[Khariz]

Someone else PM me when you finish the game. The plot twists are awesome. Not gonna spoil anything.

Damn this has been a great game. Gonna start a second play through tonight on Hard.

[kheldarin]

The demo ran perfectly on my AMD X2 4200+, 2 gigs of ram, and ATI X1900 512MB machine.

I got excited for it, bought the game, and it won't even fuckin' finish installing. Turns out that once you install it, it tries to download a patch to "activate" the game. The fucking bar to download the patch doesn't even move. Turns out lots of other people are experiencing the same thing. So yep, 2 days and 40 bucks later, I still can't get the game to fucking run.

[Khariz]

The demo ran perfectly on my AMD X2 4200+, 2 gigs of ram, and ATI X1900 512MB machine.

I got excited for it, bought the game, and it won't even fuckin' finish installing. Turns out that once you install it, it tries to download a patch to "activate" the game. The fucking bar to download the patch doesn't even move. Turns out lots of other people are experiencing the same thing. So yep, 2 days and 40 bucks later, I still can't get the game to fucking run.

I guess I got lucky. Had no problem with the validator/patcher.

[kheldarin]

Heh, I forgot to add:

BUYER BEWARE!!!!

When they finally do crack the game, I'm just going to torrent it.

Fucking bastards.

[Bobmuhthol]

The server is/was down.

[Celephais]

The server is/was down.

First attempt at accessing the server for me Kapersky's SSL middleman thingie fucked up the connection... I just told it not to mess w/ connections from the program and it worked fine...

So if you're still having problems when it is up then make sure AV isn't f'n with you.

[grapedog]

I haven't had a problem with my copy of Bioshock...except that my graphics card sucks and I need a new one...but I don't really have $270 to throw away right now on one of those what, 8800GTS's I think...the 640mb version.

Game is fun as hell, but it's disappointing that it go so far away from what it was originally intended to be. Slowly over time, they talked less about character creation and more about first person shooting...which is unfortunate. For all the talk about this being the spiritual successor to System Shock...I'll hold my tongue for now. A number of people who've already beaten it said it took them around 10-12 hours...thats pathetic.

I hate the fucking console trend of better graphics, less fucking gameplay, more expensive.

[Khariz]

Finished it last night. Seeing as how it has such and awesome storyline, I should post spoilers in here and piss everyone off. But I won't.

It's just too good.

[grapedog]

Finished it last night. Seeing as how it has such and awesome storyline, I should post spoilers in here and piss everyone off. But I won't.

It's just too good.

played time?

[Khariz]

played time?


17ish hours on medium. I did SOME extra exploring but not near enough to hear more storyline reels. I think I'm gonna load my savegame before the final boss and go back and explore each realm for about an additional hour apiece to find everything.

It actually feels worth it.

[Celephais]

Anybody else playing with a DX10 card? I had a crash at a point yesterday and I'm not sure if it was the DX10 drivers fault or my anti-virus getting in the way at the wrong time (right after it crashed I had one of those popups for Kapersky... I recently installed it so it's still "learning")

[Khariz]

Anybody else playing with a DX10 card? I had a crash at a point yesterday and I'm not sure if it was the DX10 drivers fault or my anti-virus getting in the way at the wrong time (right after it crashed I had one of those popups for Kapersky... I recently installed it so it's still "learning")

I'm playing on a DX10 card. I had three crashes from the beginning to the end of the game. Each time was due to my video adapter stopping functioning for 30 seconds.

Nvidia card, newest drivers. Only interrupted my overall gameplay by about 30 mins total. Still pissed me off.

[Bobmuhthol]

Doesn't your card automatically reset itself when it hits an error?!

[Khariz]

Yeah, but in the time it takes to do that, Bioshock freezes up and even though the program is still running as a process, you cant' recover and keep playing. At least I can't.

[Bobmuhthol]

Huh. I've never had a game do that, it just resets and continues playing.

[Celephais]

I'm playing on a DX10 card. I had three crashes from the beginning to the end of the game. Each time was due to my video adapter stopping functioning for 30 seconds.

Nvidia card, newest drivers. Only interrupted my overall gameplay by about 30 mins total. Still pissed me off.

Sounds exactly like what I had, okay that must be it.


Doesn't your card automatically reset itself when it hits an error?!

This is actually dependant on the program, most games should be able to recover from a "device lost" event, because it fires the same event for a resized screen as it does for a normal error with the card (So if a game can't handle being alt-tabbed out of it wouldn't reset), but I know bioshock can handle being alt-tabbed out of/back into... this error seemed quite a bit different then normal DX errors, and with all the stories I've heard about immature DX10 drivers I imagine this was more then a simple device lost.

[Donquix]

just a note: bioshock installs a rootkit on your computer that imbeds into IE, similar to the one sony used with the extra media portion of their music CDs.

[Bobmuhthol]

Explorer, not Internet Explorer.

And that's fucking stupid of them.

ps. It's not a rootkit, it's retarded SecuROM registry values.

[Celephais]

just a note: bioshock installs a rootkit on your computer that imbeds into IE, similar to the one sony used with the extra media portion of their music CDs.

SecureRom removal:
http://www.overclock.net/pc-games/229024-bioshock-root-kit-how-get-off.html

I'm not sure if you can do this and still play the game... but at least do this after you uninstall (and I guess you get the rootkit by just running the demo... I fucking hate sony).

[Donquix]

ps. It's not a rootkit, it's retarded SecuROM registry values.

it's not a fully blown remote control service, but it's a set of protocols that allow processes to be run arbitrarily with root access.