Why Bioshock is seven shades of awesome

[Jari]

NOTE: LIST CONTAINS HUEG (LIKE XBOX) SPOILERS AND BECAUSE OF THAT HAS BEEN ENCRYPTED WITH ROT13 (since the spoiler tags are not working). You can use this page to decrypt it, in case your browser can't do that for you. And like I said, spoilers. So, if you haven't finished it, beware.

Oh, I don't actually think that these are the important things that make Bioshock great, these are just little details and moments in the game that I thought were really cool.

• Ng gur irel ortvaavat jura fbzrbar trgf xvyyrq ol n fcyvpre orsber lbh pna trg bhg bs gur ongulfcurer. Naq gura gung fcyvpre cebprrqf gb fznfu hc gur onglfcurer vgfrys. Gurer jnf n fprar irel zhpu yvxr guvf va Flfgrz Fubpx 2, gbb. Va trareny gur ragver svefg 30 zvahgrf be fb ner ybg yvxr gur svefg 30 zvahgrf bs Flfgrz Fubpx 2.
• Gur svefg gvzr lbh fcyvpr. Gur rssrpgf jrer ovg zber qenzngvp guna V rkcrpgrq. Cyhf gur phgfprar lbh trg gb jngpu juvyr vapncnpvgngrq.
• Ovt Qnqqvrf. :-D Naq gur fbhaqf gurl znxr. Ntnva, fbhaq unf nyjnlf orra n znwbe cneg bs tnzrf znqr ol Veengvbany. Naq gurer'f n Flfgrz Fubpx 2 ersrerapr; Ovt Qnqqvrf ner ybg yvxr gur ynetre obgf (gur lryybj barf) va Flfgrz Fubpx 2. Nygubhtu gur obgf jrer arire guvf vzcerffvir.
• Gur srznyr fcyvpre arne gur ortvaavat, gur bar jub gubhtug fur fgvyy unq ure onol va gur cenz. Gung jnf fb gentvp. :/ Gbb onq gurer'f ab jnl bs trggvat nebhaq ure jvgubhg univat ure nggnpx lbh. Ng yrnfg V qba'g guvax gurer vf...
• Yvggyr Fvfgref. Rfcrpvnyyl gur guvatf gurl fnl naq fvat. BZT. Naq ubj gurl trg fnq jura lbh xvyy gur Ovt Qnqql. Gung'f fb... jebat naq lrg fb njrfbzr ng gur fnzr gvzr. Yvxrjvfr, gur fprar jurer Ngynf fubjf sbe gur svefg gvzr jung Yvggyr Fvfgref ner naq jung gurl qb vf rkgerzryl vzcerffvir.
• Gur svefg gvzr gurl qb gur "Bbbcf, fbzrbar ghearq gur yvtugf bss. V urne fbhaqf... Nnnetu!" ba lbh. V guvax vg jnf ba gur zrqvpny 'yriry', va gur ebbz gung unf bar cbbe fbq fcernq nyy bire gur sybbe naq anvyrq gb vg jvgu fhetvpny fpvffbef. Lrf, vg'f na rkgerzryl purnc gevpx gung vf ng yrnfg nf byq nf Haerny (vg unq qlanzvp yvtugvat naq V erzrzore vg qbvat gur "BZT, fbzrbar ghearq gur yvtugf bss... *Jung* vf gung guvat?!?" arne gur fgneg), ohg vg qbrf jbex, nf ybat nf lbh qba'g qb vg nyy gur gvzr.
• Irel fvzvyne purnc gevpx fbba nsgre gung, ng gur qragvfg'f bssvpr. Lbh xabj, gur bar jurer gur bssvpr ng svefg svyyf jvgu fbzr xvaq bs incbe, ceriragvat lbh sebz frrvat nalguvat naq jura lbh ghea nebhaq gurer'f n fcyvpre fgnaqvat evtug oruvaq lbh. V qhaab vs vg jnf qvssrerag sbe zr, ohg va zl tnzr gur bssvpr tbg nyy incberq hc bapr... naq abguvat unccrarq. Gur fcyvpre nccrnerq ba gur frpbaq gvzr. Juvpu jbexrq irel jryy, nf V gubhtug gung abguvat jnf tbvat gb unccra.
• Gur nhqvb ybt bs gur bcrengvba jurer gur tbbq qbpgbe qrpvqrq gur 'vzcebir' gur cngvrag yvggyr ovg zber. Lbh xabj, gur bar jurer ahefr fpernzf uvz gb fgbc phggvat. Qbpgbe Fgrvazna (jvgu uvf Ncuebqvgr), V guvax.
• Svefg gvzr lbh rapbhagre n fcvqre fcyvpre. Lbh xabj ubj vg sbyybjf lbh nebhaq gur yriry sbe fbzr gvzr, zbivat ba gur prvyvat fb gung lbh pna'g dhvgr frr vg be xabj jung vg vf, ohg ng gur fnzr gvzr fcevaxyvat sybjre crgnyf (ng yrnfg V guvax gurl jrer sybjre crgnyf) ba lbh, juvyr znxvat engure qvfgheovat fbhaqf. Gung jnf dhvgr perrcl.
• Naq gur frpbaq gvzr lbh rapbhagre n fcvqre fcyvpre. Ng yrnfg sbe zr vg jnf va gur vagreebtngvba pryy, jura lbh trg gur erfrnepu pnzren sbe gur svefg gvzr. Gung jnf nyfb gur svefg gvzr V urneq n fcyvpre erpvgvat gur "Wrfhf ybirf zr! Guvf V xabj, Sbe gur Ovoyr gryyf zr fb. Yvggyr barf gb Uvz orybat; Gurl ner jrnx, ohg Ur vf fgebat."-ahefrel eulzr. Be cbrz. Be ulza. Gnxr lbhe cvpx, vg vf znal guvatf. Ohg zbfg bs nyy, vg'f ernyyl perrcl jura lbh urne vg sbe gur svefg gvzr, erpvgrq ol fbzrbar jub nccrnef gb or engure vafnar (yvxr nyy fcyvpref).
• Fnaqre Pbura, negvfg rkgenbeqvanver. Bu, guvf qhqr vf n trahvar sbhagnva bs perrcl naq jbaqreshy. Uvf fgnghrf gung pbzr gb yvsr - jryy, *fbzr* bs gurz qb - jura lbh trg pybfr rabhtu, uvf svefg fubj naq gur hasbeghangr sryybj jub unq gur yrnq va vg, naq uvf uvynevbhfyl bire gur gbc pryroengvba jura lbh svavfu uvf znfgrecvrpr.
• Ebbz bs gung qrnq fgevccre, jungfureanzr. Naq rfcrpvnyyl gur nhqvb ybt gurer. Gentvp. Rira zber fb, pbafvqrevat nyy guvatf...
• Nyy bs gur iraqvat znpuvarf. Gur gbgnyyl perrcl Tngurere'f Tneqra, uvynevbhf Ry Nzzb Onaqvgb naq ng gur fnzr gvzr uvynevbhf naq perrcl Pvephf bs Inyhr. V org fbzrbar jvgu n srne bs pybjaf (lrf, gurer fhccbfrqyl vf fhpu n guvat) jbhyq ybir vg.
• Gur Unibx ohtf. Ng yrnfg V guvax gung gur gjvgpuvat pbecfrf vf npghnyyl n oht, fvapr Unibx frrzf gb qb ybg bs fgenatr fuvg va gur tnzr, ohg vg svgf ernyyl jryy, bapr ntnva ybbxvat irel perrcl vs lbh ner yhpxl. Be whfg fvyyl vs lbh ner abg dhvgr fb yhpxl.
• Gur abg-dhvgr-qrnq fcyvpref lbh zrrg sbe gur svefg gvzr va Urcunrfghf. Va n ybat ebbz naq jura lbh fgneg gb jnyx npebff vg gur yvtugf tb bhg naq gurer ner fbzr engure qvfgheovat fbhaqf. Ohg abguvat unccraf naq gur yvtugf pbzr onpx. Gura gur fnzr guvat unccraf ntnva (vg'f n *ybat* ebbz). Naq whfg jura lbh ner nobhg gur ernpu gur qbbe, gur "qrnq" fcyvpref whzc hc naq nggnpx lbh. Gung fpnerq zr, gunax lbh irel zhpu.
• Svanyyl zrrgvat Elna uvzfrys, naq rfcrpvnyyl gur raq bs gung zrrgvat. Vg jnf fb oehgny gung vg jnf irel bss-chggvat sbe zr. "Jbhyq lbh xvaqyl..." ...naq Yvggyr Fvfgref pbzvat gb erfphr lbh sebz Elna'f bssvpr.
• Zrrgvat gur Yvggyr Fvfgref, ng yrnfg vs lbh fnirq gurz yvxr V qvq. Gung jnf irel avpr. Naq pbby.
• Gur snzvyl juvpu unq boivbhfyl cresbezrq n znff fhvpvqr. Va gur ncnegzrag pbzcyrk ng Ncbyyb Fdhner, V guvax. Lbh xabj, gur jubyr snzvyl qrnq va sebag bs gur GI, obggyr bs cvyyf ba gur gnoyr, obggyr bs obbmr naq gur fgbir jnf frg gb eryrnfr tnf vagb gur ncnegzrag nf jryy, V oryvrir.
• Gur Yvggyr Fvfgre 'rqhpngvba pragre' naq gur ebbz bs bar Yvggyr Fvfgre, jurer gur qhqr vf fvggvat, anvyrq gb gur sybbe jvgu gur flevatrf. Rire fb fyvtugyl qvfgheovat.
• Raqvat. Gur tbbq bar. Vg jnf cerggl qnea fjrrg. V unir frra gur bgure gjb raqvatf nf jryy, nygubhtu whfg nf ivqrbf... nf V qba'g guvax gung V pbhyq unir cynlrq vg va gur jnl gung vf erdhverq gb trg gurz.

I'm sure that there were lots more, but I just can't remember them.


PS. If this post is showing graphical smileys (regardless of the setting I used), they'll get fucked up in the ROT13-conversion (as SMF renders them as text), but it's no biggie.

 

[Kashmir]

I didn't find it to be anywhere near as good as system shock 2 gameplay wise... i was just impressed by the gfx, animation & so on.

Also the plot was terrible imo.

 

[Jari]

I didn't find it to be anywhere near as good as system shock 2 gameplay wise... i was just impressed by the gfx, animation & so on.

So, what's wrong with it, then?

It does seem to be somewhat more simplified and faster paced - moved further towards FPS, I think - than System Shock 2, and possibly little bit easier at least on the default difficulty, but other than that I haven't found any major differences.

Certainly it seems to retain much more of SS2's depth than for example Deus Ex: Invisible War did in regards to its godlike predecessor.

Also the plot was terrible imo.

Please explain.

 

[Kashmir]

gameplay
- unlimited respawns sucks, you'd think in rapture it would at lease cost money.
- all rpgs elements from ss2 were dumbed down to appeal to the action gamer (im a thief fan, not a action gamer)
- to many enemies, too many enemies respawning
- to much ammo
- no weapon health system (gun jams/breaking & so on..)
- hack game waste to much time considering just how many things there is to hack, old ss2 hacking system was better, simple & quick
... and just many other stuff that bugs me

plot
- too predictable
- too similar to ss2 (replace shodan & execzis with ryan & fontain)
- totally uninteresting characters, ( except for the artist, that section was good. )
... & some other stuff that annoys me, when i played final fantasy 7 i kepted rushing through to reveal the story quicker because it was interesting, whereas in this i just couldn't care and just went about searching everywhere.

I hope somebody makes a ss2 mod for it.

 

[Jari]

gameplay
- unlimited respawns sucks, you'd think in rapture it would at lease cost money.

LOL, good point. Although you don't have to use the Vita-Chambers. I don't really like the idea either, and I just loaded a save, should I die. I don't remember for sure about System Shock 2, but the first System Shock had a counterpart for the chambers, I just don't remember the name anymore - actually that's probably where the idea came from. I didn't use it back then either, for that matter.

- all rpgs elements from ss2 were dumbed down to appeal to the action gamer (im a thief fan, not a action gamer)

Yes, but to hope otherwise would have been self deception of the worst kind. Same thing happened with DX: Invisible War. Actually, that was even worse, with the unified ammo and stuff. And it will happen for every game that gets consoled for the mainstream. While I'd prefer SS2 kind of approach, immersion is the most important thing for me and the dumbing down - at least this amount of dumbing down - didn't really affect that for me.

- to many enemies, too many enemies respawning
- to much ammo
- no weapon health system (gun jams/breaking & so on..)

Actually I think that these balance each other out. If you remember, both SS1 and SS2 had respawning enemies, which while possibly unrealistic (then again, this game has lots of unrealistic things) does work pretty well to keep you on your toes. You can't just stroll around in places you think you have cleared once already.

I don't know if it had too much ammo in regard with the amount of enemies, I certainly did manage to run pretty low on couple of occasions.

And while I like the abnormally fragile guns of System Shock 2, one couldn't certainly implement as is into Bioshock, without reducing the amount of enemies. It would get bit too difficult otherwise.

Yeah, I wouldn't mind if all those things were changed, but they are tied to each other and I find the current balance quite acceptable. It is clearly aimed more at a twitch gamer than SS2, but that's once again something you probably have to do, if you plan to actually sell the game these days. And again, it didn't really bother my immersion.

If you want something that is really questionable from the point of view of game balance, it's the Super Wrench(tm) from System Shock 2. With appropriate plasmids... why would you need anything else?

- hack game waste to much time considering just how many things there is to hack, old ss2 hacking system was better, simple & quick

No particular complaints, I can live with either of the hacking systems. Or the one from SS1. NOt a big deal to me.

plot
- too predictable

I dunno. It certainly drops hints and the things are not so unpredictable that they'd be impossible to guess - especially since the general structure of the plot bears some resemblance to SS2, but while I for example suspected the twist in the game, I wasn't sure of it until moments before it was spelled out. It's in a league of its own, if you compare it to traditional FPS plot (...what plot?), however.

Maybe I'm just too dumb to figure these out. :-D

- too similar to ss2 (replace shodan & execzis with ryan & fontain)

Bah. Like I said, there are similarities in the general structure, but a) they are hardly identical b) SS2 is 8 years old by now, and it was never a major hit - most people who get Bioshock have never played it.

- totally uninteresting characters, ( except for the artist, that section was good. )

Are not! Especially Ryan is an interesting take on a person who totally subscribes to Objectivism. In a way he goes even further when he starts to break his own rules of libertarianism to take care of Fontaine. After all, one of the principles of Objectivism is that your own self-interest should rule supreme... and what's closer to that than destroying the paradise - or "paradise" - you have built just for your own benefit?

Rest are more standard stuff, but hardly bad or uninteresting.

I hope somebody makes a ss2 mod for it.

Yes please! They could start with SS1 mod, though.




EDIT: No edits to the post, just something to add.

Something from a forum.

Something very, very wrong.

And yet so funny.

Oh man, just saw this one gamefaqs.com and nearly died.... too bad the topic is gone:
Topic name:
So when the big daddy is banging a little sisters hole...
Post:
do the little sisters always come? Because one time I was watching a big daddy (the one with the huge drill) bang a little sister's hole and she didn't come and he just walked away.

What, you perverts? That is an accurate description of totally innocent events in the game, get your mind out of the gutter! :-(

:-D

 

[Alhexx]

- Edit - 2007-09-10 -
Thanx to julian and Mantrid for mailing the file I requested to me.

- Original Post -

I also have played Bioshock, and I must say I enjoyed it...and I'm sure I'll enjoy it even more as soon as my new graphics card arrives this weeks...

And now I'm enjoying decoding Bioshock's game archive format

Although this is a bit off-topic:
Does anyone in here have the Bioshock demo installed...?
I am asking because there is something I need to verify with the game archive format, however, I only have the retail version of the game, and I need a file from the demo for comparison.
The file I need is called "Catalog.bdc" and is located in the "Content\BulkContent" folder. The file's total size is ~200KB. (If you compress it, it should be even ~20KB)

So, if someone has got the demo installed, would you kindly mail it to me...?
(mail: [username]@[username].com)

Thanks

 - Alhexx

 - Edit -
I decided to provide some closer information for those who are interested what I'm going to do with that file...

The .bdc file is the TOC (table-of-contents) for the game archives (those with the .blk ending).
The .bdc file holds all the interesting information as filenames, file sizes and file offsets, however, it does not (directly) contain the number of files that are stored in a .blk file. The Bioshock developers have "encrypted" this information.
I have been working for over 4 hours to decode the algorithm that decrypts that information and calculates the number of files.

I'll post a small table here...
Code: [Select]

Filename                     Data  Files  Algo----------------------------------------------0-lighthouseLevel.blk        1395    372   3721-medicalLevel.blk           3141    774   7741-welcomeLevel.blk           2671    688   6882-fisheriesLevel.blk         2905    730   7302-subbayLevel.blk             603    156   1563-arcadiaLevel.blk           3144    777   7773-marketLevel.blk            2128    529   5294-recreationLevel.blk        3197    830   8305-hephaestusLevel.blk        1906    499   4995-ryanLevel.blk              1116    285   2856-resiLevel.blk              2923    748   7486-slumsLevel.blk             2669    686   6867-bossfightLevel.blk          639    192   1927-GauntletLevel.blk          1636    421   4217-scienceLevel.blk           2900    725   725DynamicBulkFileTextures.blk  8011   1996  1900

In the first column, you see the filenames of the archive files. The second column contains the encrypted file counts, the third one contains the real file counts. And in column four, you see the results decoded by my algorithm.

As you can see, my algorithm works correct for all files except "DynamicBulkFileTextures.blk"...
The file from the demo version has less files than the one in the retail version, therefore I might have a chance to fix the problem, but I will need the TOC file from the demo version...

By the way, before anyone says I could download the demo by myself:
I've got a internet connection with a traffic limit of 3GB/month, and all I need from the 1.8GB Demo is a 200KB file...

 

[Kashmir]

What, you perverts? That is an accurate description of totally innocent events in the game, get your mind out of the gutter! :-(

:-D

lol, i always call them big robots in conversation... saying to someone that "those big daddies move hard & fast" in conversation doesn't give the greatest impression.