BioShock

BioShock

Developer(s)	2K Boston Mac OS X Feral Interactive
Publisher(s)	2K Games Mac OS X Feral Interactive
Engine	Unreal Engine 2.5
First release date	Windows August 21, 2007 Mac OS X October 7, 2009

BioShock

BioShock	2007
BioShock 2	2010
BioShock Infinite	2013

General information

Official Forum

Steam Community Discussions.

Steam Users' Forum for game series

Availability

Source(s)	Store unlock	Notes
Retail
Steam		Windows Only
OnLive
Games For Windows Live
GamersGate (Windows)
GamersGate (Mac)
Amazon (Windows)
Amazon (Mac)

For the Retail, GamersGate (Windows), and Amazon (Windows) versions of BioShock, SecuROM DRM is enabled. However, as of June 19 2008 you are allowed unlimited activations. You require an internet connection to install the game.

There is no Mac version on Steam.

Improvements

Patches

Patch is currently at Version 1.1. It is heavily recommended to patch to the latest version, as the un-patched game can become unbeatable at one point. If purchased or activated from Steam, the game is automatically patched to the latest version.

Skip Introduction Logos in Steam

Set -nointro property • Link Find BioShock in your Steam Library Right click it Press Properties Press Set Launch Options Input -nointro

Skip Introduction Logos in Windows

Set -nointro property • Link Right click the shortcut for BioShock Press Properties Target: C:\...\*.exe -nointro

Game data

Save game location

	Location
Windows (non-Steam)	%HOMEPATH%\My Documents\Bioshock\SaveGames

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Steam Cloud
GameSave Manager		In the database.

Video settings

Graphics settings.

Graphics option	Native	Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor
Field of view (FOV)		See Field of view (FOV).
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Vertical sync (Vsync)

Field of view (FOV)

This fix does not work with the German censored version of the game.

Changing the FOV • Link Go to %APPDATA%\Bioshock Open User.ini. Scroll down to the controls and search for NumPad0= or use Ctrl+F to use the find function to search for NumPad0=. You do not have to choose "Numpad0", you can also choose to use another key. Add exec command.txt to the end of it. It should now look like this: NumPad0=exec command.txt. Save and set as "Read Only". Create a text document, name it command.txt and save in C:\Program Files (x86)\2K Games\Bioshock\Content\System\ Open the document and write SetFov 100, the value does not have to be 100, it can be anything you want. Save the file. When in-game, press the 0 on your numpad to change the FOV. Certain events will reset the FOV (for example zooming with any of the weapons). In this case just press 0 on your numpad again.

Input settings

Input Settings	Native	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration		Enabled by default, see Mouse acceleration to learn how to disable it.
Controller support		Most menus become hidden when gamepad controls are enabled. so make sure to set all options before switching to gamepad mode.

Mouse acceleration

There are two configuration files that you will need to modify. They are located at C:\Program Files (x86)\2K games\BioShock\Builds\Release\DefUser.ini and %APPDATA%\Bioshock\User.ini.

Open up both files and make the following changes to each one:

1) Add this to the end of each file:

[Engine.PlayerInput]
MouseSmoothingMode=0
MouseAccelThreshold=0.0

2) Find the section of the file with the key bindings. It will look like this:

A=StrafeLeft
B=AmmoSelectionDown
C=Duck
D=etcetera

Change one of the binds to J=set Engine.PlayerInput MouseAccelThreshold 0.0 | set Engine.PlayerInput MouseSmoothingMode 0, with J being replaced with the key of your choice.

3) Do a search and replace on both files, replacing every instance of Speed=2500 with Speed=500if you are a lower sensitivity player, or maybe "Speed=1000" if you like higher sensitivity.

4) With all of that, everything should be fixed. Not quite. Each time you start a new game the mouse will be screwed up until you press that key that you bound to "set Engine.PlayerInput MouseAccelThreshold 0.0 | set Engine.PlayerInput MouseSmoothingMode 0". So, press that each time you start a new game or level or spawn or whatever.

5) Disable Vertical Sync in the graphics options to reduce mouse lag. This will cause graphical tearing, so it's up to you which one is more important.

Issues and Fixes

TweakGuides has created a comprehensive guide for fixing issues in this game. It can be found here.

Game-Breaking Issues

Extremely minor spoilers follow, but they detail glitches that should be avoided. In order of possible encounter:

In Arcadia (the fifth level), do not have the Scrounger tonic equipped around the time you search Langford's Safe. The safe holds a required quest item. To fix this issue, you must reload an earlier save and remove the tonic by visiting a Gene Bank. Once you have the item from the safe, you can safely use the Scrounger tonic for the rest of the game.

In Fort Frolic, do not leave the level using the Bathysphere that you begin the level next to. If you do leave Fort Frolic using that Bathysphere then when you return to Fort Frolic the curtain that needs to be open to perform the "Cohen's Masterpiece" quest will be permanently closed. If this happens then you cannot get to the Fort Frolic exit Bathysphere to progress to the next level. Source

In Fort Frolic, it is possible to get trapped in Rapture Records. When trying to kill Silas Cobb, don't use the Hypnotize plasmid. If you do and the Big Daddy kills Cobb before he's able to perform a scripted task, you must return to the main map by killing yourself. (The Incinerate! plasmid at your feet works well.) Reloading an old save is also an option. Source

If your saves to do not go far enough back then the first two are game-ending issues. Technically, modifying the save file or using a trainer would also fix the issue, but neither solution has been documented.

Excessive Screen Tearing

If you are noticing excessive tearing on Nvidia cards, Go to the control panel, 3D settings, add the Bioshock.exe to the list, and under options enable both FXAA and Vsync. This forces the stay at your refresh rate and fixes the somewhat broken MLAA that caused tearing.

Field of View

Options - Graphics Options - Horizontal FOV Lock - Off

This is vital for users on widescreen monitors. Otherwise, what's visible on-screen will be less than what you'd get from a 4:3 resolution.

Can't Change Resolution From 1024x768

Can't Change Resolution From 1024x768 • Link Locate Default.ini in C:\Program Files (x86)\2K Games\Bioshock\Builds\Release\ Edit with Notepad. Scroll down 2/3rds down to the [WinDrv.WindowsClient] section (or Ctrl-F to search for "Fullscreen", no quotes). Edit the FullscreenViewportX and FullscreenViewportY values to desired resolution then save the file. Update Graphics Card drivers from AMD or NVIDIA.

Alt-Tabbing

If you run at a different resolution than your desktop resolution, BioShock will not be fullscreen when you return to it. To fix this, change the resolution to anything other than its original resolution, and press cancel when it asks you to confirm. Alternatively on Windows, hit Alt + Enter.

Audio

No Sound

Plugging in a microphone • Link Try plugging something into your computer's microphone port. It could even be headphones or speakers. Compatibility Mode for Windows XP SP2 • Link Locate Default.ini in C:\Program Files (x86)\2K Games\BioShock\Builds\Release\Default.ini Edit with Notepad. Scroll down to [FMODAudio.FMODAudioSubsystem] or Ctrl+F to use the find function to search for MaxChannels. Change the MaxChannels=128 line to MaxChannels=64 and save the File. Locate and right click Bioshock.exe in C:\Program Files (x86)\2K Games\Bioshock\Builds\Release\ Select "Properties" and change compatibility mode to Windows XP (Service Pack 2). Fix for Realtek HD • Link If your motherboard uses a Realtek HD audio device do the following: Open your control panel and choose Sound Click the Recording tab Right-click and tick Show Disabled Devices A device called Stereo Mix should appear, right-click and enable Stereo Mix.

Crash on startup in Windows 7 64-bit

With some Windows 7 installations, Bioshock will crash on startup due to a bug with how OpenAL is implemented. To fix this:

Run in Compatibility Mode • Link Go to the main game folder. Go to Builds\Release\ Right-click on Bioshock.exe Choose Properties. Go to the Compatibility tab. Check Run this program in compatibility mode for and choose Windows Vista. Click Apply. Start the game normally.

Alternatively, uninstalling OpenAL and/or Rapture3D can resolve the issue:

Uninstall Rapture3D and/or OpenAL • Link Click "Start" Click "Control Panel" Click "Uninstall a program" or "Programs and Features", if not in category view Find and right click on OpenAL Click "Uninstall" Repeat for Rapture3D if also found

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	Windows XP	Windows 7
Processor (CPU)	2.4 GHz	Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon 64 x2
System memory (RAM)	1 GB	2 GB
Video card (GPU)	DirectX 9.0c, Shader Model 3.0	nVidia GeForce 7900 GT (DirectX 9.0c) nVidia GeForce 8600 (DirectX 10) 512 MB of VRAM
Hard disk drive (HDD)	8 GB	8 GB

Mac
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	Mac OS X 10.5.8	Mac OS X 10.5.8
Processor (CPU)	1.4 GHz	1.4 GHz
System memory (RAM)	1.5 GB	1.5 GB
Video card (GPU)	128 MB of VRAM (Note: Requires an Intel processor. The game does not support Intel GMA integrated video chipsets (older Mac minis and MacBooks), but does run on GeForce 9400M graphics cards or better.)	128 MB of VRAM (Note: Requires an Intel processor. The game does not support Intel GMA integrated video chipsets (older Mac minis and MacBooks), but does run on GeForce 9400M graphics cards or better.)
Hard disk drive (HDD)	8 GB	8 GB