Re: Bioshock looks fantastic

**TheFatKidDeath** · 08-23-2007, 10:09 PM

Originally Posted by UnDeaD77

I know rainbow 6 vegas required you to have it, in order to install it I believe. It may just be the UE3 engine that does not support 2.0. So they may not have a fix for it.

If that's the case it's just absurd. Hard for me to believe they would design a game that is incapable of running on a fair percentage of PC's. I've never had an issue with any other game. Most games default even to older systems and mine is around two years old. So we will see.

I'm fearing Crysis.

**BaneII** · 08-23-2007, 11:25 PM

Originally Posted by TheFatKidDeath

If that's the case it's just absurd. Hard for me to believe they would design a game that is incapable of running on a fair percentage of PC's. I've never had an issue with any other game. Most games default even to older systems and mine is around two years old. So we will see.

I'm fearing Crysis.

Shader 3.0 video cards came out years ago, Nvidia 6xxx being the first compatible series I believe. I'm not sure about ATI's compatibility with Shader 3.0. Nvidia is now two generations up, currently into the 8xxx series. There is no good reason to support hardware more than three generations old, that type of hardware is called obsolete. Latest and greatest games are always gonna push the boundaries meaning technology within the past two years.

**Evil Koala** · 08-23-2007, 11:34 PM

I really like BioShock. Its fun to play and it plays great. My only gripe is that they've dumbed down the interface quite a bit and limited what you can do relative to all the Shock series games. I'm guessing it has to do with the fact that it was designed from the ground up to be cross platform compatible with both console controllers and PCs. But I sure miss having an RPG style inventory, collecting body parts from fallen foes and scavenging through the numerous chemical stores to find the right chemicals needed to research them.. The little mini-games.. And most of all, the persistant, eerily quiet environments.

I love BioShock but its just not as creepy.. Too much going on to be creeped out. From the player avatar you play as knocking everything over as you walk by objects, to the enemies that respawn behind you in a matter of seconds..

Its still overall a fantastic game. And thats why I've entitled this picture "The best games ever."

**TheFatKidDeath** · 08-24-2007, 12:16 AM

Originally Posted by BaneII

Shader 3.0 video cards came out years ago, Nvidia 6xxx being the first compatible series I believe. I'm not sure about ATI's compatibility with Shader 3.0. Nvidia is now two generations up, currently into the 8xxx series. There is no good reason to support hardware more than three generations old, that type of hardware is called obsolete. Latest and greatest games are always gonna push the boundaries meaning technology within the past two years.

If I can run Crysis on my PC there should be no reason that BioShock cannot be played. Both games are next generation. Two or three year old hardware is not obsolete.

Game developers would put themselves out of business if their games cannot be played on technology that is three years old. A siginificant number of PC's in households would be considered obsolete if we use that time measurement. From a business viewpoint, alienating that large of a consumer base to buy your product is not a wise decision.

Now I don't know the business model of the publisher of BioShock. Perhaps they wanted to sell less games and only to those with the latest hardware. I'd find that hard to believe. The more likely explantation is that they were unaware of the problem until after it shipped and like many game developers try and fix the issues with a patch.

**UnDeaD** · 08-24-2007, 12:49 AM

FatKid, try downloading the Medal of Honor demo, and see if that gives you the same errors. Its the same engine, so give it a whirl.

**BaneII** · 08-24-2007, 01:01 AM

Originally Posted by TheFatKidDeath

If I can run Crysis on my PC there should be no reason that BioShock cannot be played. Both games are next generation. Two or three year old hardware is not obsolete.

Game developers would put themselves out of business if their games cannot be played on technology that is three years old. A siginificant number of PC's in households would be considered obsolete if we use that time measurement. From a business viewpoint, alienating that large of a consumer base to buy your product is not a wise decision.

Now I don't know the business model of the publisher of BioShock. Perhaps they wanted to sell less games and only to those with the latest hardware. I'd find that hard to believe. The more likely explantation is that they were unaware of the problem until after it shipped and like many game developers try and fix the issues with a patch.

It's a simple thing to read the minimum system requirements before you buy a game. And yeah, if you have two+ years old hardware, it would be a good habit to get into. It says ATI X1300 or better as well as DirectX 9.0c compliant (which is Shader 3.0). So it sounds like you are the one who is overlooking, not 2K. This game is targeted to people with the hardware who can run it, which is why they publish the minimum specs. If your hardware is incapable of doing that, then you are not Bioshock's target audience.

secret.squirrul · 08-24-2007, 12:09 PM

Originally Posted by Evil Koala

Is that a Holy Trinity I see here?

secret.squirrul · 08-24-2007, 12:17 PM

Alright, gonna need some opinions here. I see a lot of crap about the game not working/not installing and such, so here's my setup as it stands now:

Creative SoundBlaster SE, GeForce 8800GTS (320mb), Vista, Intel Core 2 4400 each at 2ghz, 2 gigs ram

Will it work?

**dawolf** · 08-24-2007, 12:37 PM

Originally Posted by secret.squirrul

Alright, gonna need some opinions here. I see a lot of crap about the game not working/not installing and such, so here's my setup as it stands now:

Creative SoundBlaster SE, GeForce 8800GTS (320mb), Vista, Intel Core 2 4400 each at 2ghz, 2 gigs ram

Will it work?

It should run well using that setup.
If it will work is an entirely different question

**UnDeaD** · 08-24-2007, 03:29 PM

Originally Posted by secret.squirrul

Alright, gonna need some opinions here. I see a lot of crap about the game not working/not installing and such, so here's my setup as it stands now:

Creative SoundBlaster SE, GeForce 8800GTS (320mb), Vista, Intel Core 2 4400 each at 2ghz, 2 gigs ram

Will it work?

I'm going to say yes, since I'm on a similar setup 8800GTS 320MB on my end, you should get around 40-50fps average, and 30 in some parts. Well thats for me anyway, because I'm running at 1680x1050 res, if your running anything less, like 1280x or something, add 5-7fps to that.

**UnDeaD** · 08-24-2007, 03:46 PM

The game is built on a modified version of Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 game engine and as such, requires a shader model 3.0 graphics card or better in order to run. This means you’ll need a GeForce 6 series card or better, ATI’s Radeon X800/X700/X600 utilize shader model 2.0b and are incompatible with the game. The game’s code is also multi-threaded, so you’ll want a dual-core processor or better for optimal performance.

There it is.

**TheFatKidDeath** · 08-25-2007, 10:40 PM

Originally Posted by BaneII

It's a simple thing to read the minimum system requirements before you buy a game. And yeah, if you have two+ years old hardware, it would be a good habit to get into. It says ATI X1300 or better as well as DirectX 9.0c compliant (which is Shader 3.0). So it sounds like you are the one who is overlooking, not 2K. This game is targeted to people with the hardware who can run it, which is why they publish the minimum specs. If your hardware is incapable of doing that, then you are not Bioshock's target audience.

I did read the requirements and based on my system I was certain my rig would run the game. Unbeknowst to me, the game requires a 3.0 shader. No where did it indicate a shader needed on the system requirements and honestly I don't even know the difference between a 2 and 3 or video cards even have shaders!

So your right, it looks like from this point on I'll get out the microscope on every single piece of PC hardware I own before I make a purchase.

**=Sarc=** · 08-26-2007, 01:52 AM

Originally Posted by TheFatKidDeath

I did read the requirements and based on my system I was certain my rig would run the game. Unbeknowst to me, the game requires a 3.0 shader. No where did it indicate a shader needed on the system requirements and honestly I don't even know the difference between a 2 and 3 or video cards even have shaders!

So your right, it looks like from this point on I'll get out the microscope on every single piece of PC hardware I own before I make a purchase.

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest

That's a good place to test game system requirements. The Bioshock system requirements test does check for Shader 3.0.

I looked at the requirements listed for Bioshock in Steam (I bought it there so I don't have the box) doesn't put Shader 3.0 in the requirements. However, it requires a GeForce 6600 or better/ATI X1300 or better. So even though Shader 3.0 isn't in the requirements, the X800 would not meet minimum spec. It's a bit tricky since some may think they can get away without meeting minimum spec and not realize that some of the listed requirements are not negotiable.

**Silas Ender** · 08-26-2007, 07:56 AM

Originally Posted by =Sarc=

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest

That's a good place to test game system requirements. The Bioshock system requirements test does check for Shader 3.0.

I looked at the requirements listed for Bioshock in Steam (I bought it there so I don't have the box) doesn't put Shader 3.0 in the requirements. However, it requires a GeForce 6600 or better/ATI X1300 or better. So even though Shader 3.0 isn't in the requirements, the X800 would not meet minimum spec. It's a bit tricky since some may think they can get away without meeting minimum spec and not realize that some of the listed requirements are not negotiable.

The fact remains that anything less is NOT up to system requirements, so you can't complain when the game doesn't work for you.

**TheFatKidDeath** · 08-26-2007, 11:38 AM

Originally Posted by =Sarc=

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest

That's a good place to test game system requirements. The Bioshock system requirements test does check for Shader 3.0.

I looked at the requirements listed for Bioshock in Steam (I bought it there so I don't have the box) doesn't put Shader 3.0 in the requirements. However, it requires a GeForce 6600 or better/ATI X1300 or better. So even though Shader 3.0 isn't in the requirements, the X800 would not meet minimum spec. It's a bit tricky since some may think they can get away without meeting minimum spec and not realize that some of the listed requirements are not negotiable.

Thanks - that site is handy. I'll use it from now on.