Bioshock : Detailed Report

Gabbo · Post by **Gabbo** » 22 Aug 2007, 03:05

==Game Information==
Bioshock is Ken Levine's vision of a paradise lost. This first person shooter is considered the spiritual successor to the System Shock series. The game takes place in the underwater utopian city Rapture as it is in a state of impending collapse. You must survive the horrors that await.

==Version==

US Retail Version 1.0

The game natively supports widescreen resolutions but is VERT-, so our friend Racer_S has supplied an FOV hack to allow you to change your FOV setting manually. (Thanks Racer_S, you did it again!)

You can obtain this hack here:
http://dl.tocaedit.com/bioshockdFOV.zip
UPDATE:As of version 1.2, the hack SUPPORTS DX10.

==Method 1 Native== VERT-

You can simply choose your resolution from the Graphics Options.

==Method 2 Hack== HOR+

1. Run the hack.

2. Set your desired "Width FOV" and "Height FOV"
(Please refer to the readme.txt that came with the hack for more details)

3. Run the Game.

4. Press the "*" to activate the FOV settings once in game.

If you like the hack, please consider donating to the creator.
http://www.tocaedit.com/donate

I found that 16:9 users should set it to:
Width FOV: 0.75
Height FOV: 0.75

16:10 users:
Width FOV: 0.84
Height FOV: 0.84

(these looked almost perfect when overlapped with the standard 4:3 screenshot)

==Screen change Using the FOV Hack==

16:9 Hack (0.75 + 0.75)

16:10 Hack (0.84 + 0.84)

4:3 Normal

The rest of this detailed report reflects the standard game without the hack.

==Screen change==

16:9 Gameplay

16:10 Gameplay

4:3 Gameplay

5:4 Gameplay

Gameplay is VERT-

The menus are formatted in 16:9 and will letterbox accordingly.

16:9 Menu

16:10 Menu

4:3 Menu

5:4 Menu

Cutscenes display correctly at all aspect ratios. The movies are formatted in 16:9 and will letterbox accordingly.

16:9 Cutscenes

16:10 Cutscenes

4:3 Cutscenes

5:4 Cutscenes

Loading screens stretch to fit the desired screen format. The background photo appears to be formatted in 16:9 and does not stretch. It remains constant across all aspect ratios.

16:9 Loading Screens

16:10 Loading Screens

4:3 Loading Screens

5:4 Loading Screens

==Supported resolutions==

Note: This is only a list of what resolutions are available to me. I can add resolutions if requested/confirmed.

640x480
720x480
720x576
800x600
848x480
960x600
1024x768
1152x864
1280x720
1280x768
1280x800
1280x960
1280x1024
1360x768
1440x900
1440x1050 (Thanks Dazza360)
1680x1050
1920x1080
1920x1200

List of resolutions that were not tested/confirmed:

1600x1200
2560x1600

List of widescreen resolutions the game fails to run at:

None that I can test.

==Singleplayer anomalies==

None.

==Multiplayer support==

There is no multiplayer component in this game. Singleplayer only.

==Aspect ratio support==

The game automatically adjusts the aspect ratio (as shown in the above screenshots).

==HUD stretch==

Update: The HUD displays correctly at 16:9 and 4:3 resolutions, however the 16:10 and 5:4 resolutions introduce a slight vertical stretch. It is a very subtle stretch, but it is there nonetheless.

Notice the center circular reticule. I appears as a perfect circle in both 16:9 and 4:3 resolutions. They appear slightly oval vertically in both 16:10 and 5:4 resolutions. It looks like they stretched the 16:9 HUD elements to fit the 16:10 resolutions, and stretched the 4:3 HUD elements to fit the 5:4 resolutions.

16:9 HUD Elements

16:10 HUD Elements

4:3 HUD Elements

5:4 HUD Elements

==Summary==

Native, but rather disappointing implementation of widescreen support. VERT-. This can be overcome however, with the use of the Racer_S FOV hack as detailed above.

== Grading ==

Calculated grade: D+

Major unresolved issues: None
Minor unresolved issues: None

Summary of widescreen-related flaws:
Fanmade hack required for hor +

packerfan · Post by **packerfan** » 22 Aug 2007, 03:53

I would like to note and I figured this out earlier with the help of Elios

The Loading screens are rendered in 16:9, cropped for 4:3 when selected..

And for both 16:10 and 5:4 they appear to be squished from 16:9 and 4:3 respecitvely

So this is how it appears to be:
4:3 can be called the baseline
16:9 is a hor+ version of 4:3
16:10 is a squished version of 16:9 (it gets squished horizontally but not vertically, or so it seems.)
5:4 is a squished version of 4:3 once again horizontally

This only applies to loading screens... (or at least I know that it applies to loading screens but I am not sure about anything else)

Post by **The_cranky_hermit** » 22 Aug 2007, 04:06

FYI, the policy on screenshots has been updated since your last report. Now you're supposed to use the full screenshot resolution. The forum code will auto-resize everything appropriately.

Just one question. Are the cut-scenes rendered ingame or FMV? I'm guessing rendered ingame. Also:

==Singleplayer anomalies==

This doesn't sound at all like an issue with the game. Even if it is, it isn't related to widescreen, it's just a bug that affects changing resolutions, and I'm sure no one would encounter it twice if they weren't testing multiple resolutions for the purpose of a detailed report. Half-Life 2 has a bug that manifests when you switch resolutions without restarting, and it got a perfect score.

Another thing I noticed, though this has absolutely no bearing on the game's grade. There appear to be two loading screen formats; a 16:9 one and a 4:3 one. If you compare the 16:9 and 4:3 loading screens, the 16:9 is perfectly hor +. The 16:10 shot is crunched from 16:9, and the 5:4 shot is crunched from 4:3.

== Grading ==

Calculated grade: C+

Major unresolved issues: None
Minor unresolved issues: None

Summary of widescreen-related flaws:
Vert - gameplay

Cranky's coverage estimate: 100%

Sweetz · Post by **Sweetz** » 22 Aug 2007, 04:27

Just one question. Are the cut-scenes rendered ingame or FMV? I'm guessing rendered ingame.

The cutscene displayed in his post his FMV, though it looks like they used the game engine to make it, hence it looks similar.

There's at least one short in-game cutscene where you remain in 1st person perspective, but the game takes over control of your view. The screen goes letterboxed for all aspects ratios for this scene, presumably as a means of indicating to the player they no longer have control.

Post by **The_cranky_hermit** » 22 Aug 2007, 06:54

There's at least one short in-game cutscene where you remain in 1st person perspective, but the game takes over control of your view. The screen goes letterboxed for all aspects ratios for this scene, presumably as a means of indicating to the player they no longer have control.

I'd like to get comparison screenshots of that cut-scene, to see if it's anamorphic or vert -. The coverage estimate is now 99% (but the grade remains at C+).

P-Storm · Post by **P-Storm** » 22 Aug 2007, 09:52

Probably there is coming an official fix for this, now i know that racer_S has a fix for the demo :roll:

Gabbo · Post by **Gabbo** » 22 Aug 2007, 15:27

I'll edit the report to reflect the new Racer_S tool and will perhaps change the pics to full res.

This will have to wait as I am at work right now.

I haven't even gotten to actually play Bioshock yet. :cry:

Post by **The_cranky_hermit** » 22 Aug 2007, 16:12

I'll edit the report to reflect the new Racer_S tool and will perhaps change the pics to full res.

Is there one for the full version?

Post by **Paddy the Wak** » 22 Aug 2007, 16:17

Yes ... http://dl.tocaedit.com/bioshockdFOV.zip

For some it works in Vista and others it doesn't but Racer_S is working on it.

In Vista 64bit DX9 it works for me ...
The thing is don't just run the game and disable the DX10 stuff in the game ...
Right click the game shortcut and run it in DX9 with the DX10 stuff turned off in the game ... and it works ... :D

Dazza360 · Post by **Dazza360** » 22 Aug 2007, 23:40

Here's the game on my PC running @ 1400*1050 so you can add that to your list :)

Googlestater · Post by **Googlestater** » 23 Aug 2007, 00:03

It looks like they actually maintain a constant 75 degrees FOV regardless of the widescreen or full screen. In addition, if you look in the movies folder:
2K GamesBioShockContentBinkMovies
They actually have separate 4:3 and widescreen versions of a couple of game videos.

Post by **The_cranky_hermit** » 23 Aug 2007, 03:43

And with this hack replacing the native solution, the game gets a worse grade.

== Grading ==

Calculated grade: D
Potential grade: D+

Major unresolved issues:
None

Minor unresolved issues:
Are 1280x720, 1280x768, 1280x800, 1440x900, and 1920x1200 supported with this hack?
How are the FMVs and ingame cut-scenes affected when the hack is used?

Summary of widescreen-related flaws:
Fanmade hack required for hor +
DX10 effects are broken

Cranky's coverage estimate: 97.5%

Googlestater · Post by **Googlestater** » 23 Aug 2007, 12:08

And with this hack replacing the native solution, the game gets a worse grade.

== Grading ==

Calculated grade: D
Potential grade: D+

Major unresolved issues:
None

Minor unresolved issues:
Are 1280x720, 1280x768, 1280x800, 1440x900, and 1920x1200 supported with this hack?
How are the FMVs and ingame cut-scenes affected when the hack is used?

Summary of widescreen-related flaws:
Fanmade hack required for hor +
DX10 effects are broken

Cranky's coverage estimate: 97.5%

All resolutions are supported, you just slide the sliders based on your aspect ratio. 16:9, 16:10, 5:4, etc, resolution doesn't matter.
FMV doesn't matter either, they have a few of them done in both 16:9 and 4:3 in the movie folder, so they are aware of that. Others just letterbox on BOTH top/bottom and left/right, and this is regardless of if you use the hack. If you want to test this out, you can enable/disable the hack on the fly with the / and * keys, you can see it won't affect the video.

And yeah, it DOES affect the in-game cut scenes, but since those are also subject to the whack 2k zoom/crop widescreen crap, the hack merely restores them to what they SHOULD look like.

Post by **The_cranky_hermit** » 23 Aug 2007, 17:17

For the resolutions, we need someone to test them with the hack enabled, just to be completely sure that they all work.

For the FMVs and cut-scenes, we need comparison screenshots, with the hack enabled on the widescreen shots.

Also, I have one question. If the FMVs come in 4:3 versions and 16:9 versions, then why is Gabbo's 4:3 FMV shot letterboxed?

Gabbo · Post by **Gabbo** » 23 Aug 2007, 17:24

For the resolutions, we need someone to test them with the hack enabled, just to be completely sure that they all work.

For the FMVs and cut-scenes, we need comparison screenshots, with the hack enabled on the widescreen shots.

Also, I have one question. If the FMVs come in 4:3 versions and 16:9 versions, then why is Gabbo's 4:3 FMV shot letterboxed?

I have tested most of them with the hack. The hack doesn't have any effect on the available resolutions. Just the FOV of the aspect ratios.

The FMV movies that I have seen so far are unaffected by the hack as the hack only effects the rendered in-game elements. Any "in-game" cut-scenes will exhibit the exact same screen method as the gameplay (HOR+).

Don't know what to say about the different movies. I personally have only seen 16:9 formatted movies that adjust accordingly.

Post by **The_cranky_hermit** » 23 Aug 2007, 17:27

Testing the resolutions is enough to bump the grade up to 99%. But I still need to see cut-scene comparison screenshots before I can call the coverage 100%.

== Grading ==

Calculated grade: D+

Major unresolved issues: None
Minor unresolved issues: None

Summary of widescreen-related flaws:
Fanmade hack required for hor +
DX10 effects are broken

Cranky's coverage estimate: 99%

Gabbo · Post by **Gabbo** » 23 Aug 2007, 17:46

When you say that DX10 effects are broken, are you referring to the hack not working in DX10? Because technically, the DX10 effects are fine albeit very subtle and not worth the price of admission... but I digress...

Post by **The_cranky_hermit** » 23 Aug 2007, 18:09

When you say that DX10 effects are broken, are you referring to the hack not working in DX10?

Yes, that's what I mean.

Paddywak Edit ... when I split the non info stuff I missed this ... sorry ...

Racer_S reportedly fixed DX10 support in his hack. The lack of DX10 support can be removed from the list of flaws.

Post by **Paddy the Wak** » 24 Aug 2007, 10:38

Please keep this thread on topic ... i.e. info for the report.
Any more posts other than that will be removed.

Thank you ... 8)

Discussion of other things such as ... how do I ... or ... the grading system can be posted else where ...

All posts not specifically info for the report have been moved here ... http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11912

keithhenry · Post by **keithhenry** » 11 Sep 2007, 10:21

I'm sure this hack works great in the demo, but in a later level (Point Prometheus and on 11, 12 & 13) I think it might break.

There is a visual effect used in these later levels, but I don't want to spoil the plot for anyone.

What happens with this hack on those levels?

Widescreen Gaming Forum