BioShock 2 PC widescreen and pad issues

By Tom Bramwell Published 11 February, 2010

Patch on way for WS, latter a design choice.

2K Games has revealed that BioShock 2 PC's widescreen mode is a clipped version of 4:3 and that the game deliberately doesn't support gamepads.

Widescreen fans may remember that the original BioShock chopped the top and bottom off a 4:3 image in order to display 16:9 or 16:10 aspect ratios. BioShock 2 does the same thing.

However, according to a post on the Cult of Rapture website yesterday, this was because of a "last minute bug fix" and will be changed so that widescreen users see more left and right rather than less above and below.

"We feel rather silly about this, and agree that horizontal expansion is much more awesome, and that you'll have it very soon," a 2K rep wrote.

As for gamepads, the word about those comes in a FAQ discovered on the official site following the game's worldwide launch on Tuesday (thanks Kotaku).

"The decision was made early on not to support controllers at all in order to ensure that we got the mouse and keyboard control absolutely right," the FAQ noted.

"This of course required a redesign of large parts of the UI and the player HUD. For example, we removed the Weapons and Plasmid Selection Radials in favour of a custom created Weapons Selection Strip which more accurately reflects the keyboard layout."

Check out our BioShock 2 review to read why these things are worth putting up with. Look out for a Digital Foundry triple-format face-off soon.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (44) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • EvilBob_leeds #1 2 years ago

    Who the fuck would use a game pad to play an FPS on the PC? The only reason I can think of is that you're wearing handcuffs.
    Edited by 1 at 11/02/10 @ 08:57

  • bad09 #2 2 years ago

    LOL I was wondering if EG would pick up on these, some of the guys on the 2k forum are really going for the pad issue splashing it everywhere and starting petitions (which, as I predicted is angering the more insecure K&M people).

    Apparently 2K are discussing the pad issue for anyone interested, so there is hope for us weird oddball lowlife scum who merely have a control preference.
    Edited by 1 at 11/02/10 @ 09:08

  • Shakey_Jake33 #3 2 years ago

    I wonder how many of the people complaining about the lack of pad support actually want to use pad? That said, I did think 360 controller support was a requirement of carrying the 'Games for Windows' branding.

  • bad09 #4 2 years ago

    @ Shakey_Jake33

    A lot of people thought that which is why this is blowing up, but if a game has no support at all it's OK not to support the windows controller on GFWL game.

  • redneon Verified Programmer, SUMO Digital #5 2 years ago

    "Who the fuck would use a game pad to play an FPS on the PC?"

    It's funny. I feel exactly the same way about people who use pads to play fighters.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #6 2 years ago

    The pad issue sounds a bit stupid. I mean, the 360 version has pad control so how hard would it have been to port that over to the PC version? I doubt this would have delayed the game for months or screwed up k&m controls - especially since the latter shouldn't be a problem anymore after about a billion FPS games released in the last 15 years. It's not exactly rocket science anymore.

  • beep #7 2 years ago

    er... so does that mean the console versions of Bioshock 2, when viewed at a 16:9 ratio, are also clipped 4:3?

  • glottis0 #8 2 years ago

    The reason a lot of people use the pad with PC is that they have their PC plugged into a TV in the living room. You can get better (true 1080p) visuals and 7.1 surround, and that console experience on the sofa. Also if you build your PC right it'll be silent too.

    I actually think using a pad for a shooter is still a bit clunky compared to the mouse, but I do wish I had some rumble for that drill :S

  • Shakey_Jake33 #9 2 years ago

    My mate just pointed out an interesting scenario to me. He actually has a gaming PC set up next to the TV in the living room, he uses it a bit like a console, except he can max out the graphics and run everything in a much higher resolution. It's a 42" TV, and he plays games from the couch. In this scenario, it's just much simpler for him to play games using a wireless 360 pad than have a keyboard/mouse on his lap.

    Just something maybe worth bearing in mind, not all PC players play games on a 15" screen at a desk.

    EDIT - ooh glottis0 beat me to it!
    Edited by 1 at 11/02/10 @ 09:28

  • Eraysor #10 2 years ago

    /is confused

    There's a toggle option for controllers in the game's option screen, not that I've used a controller.

  • Byblos1 #11 2 years ago

    About the pad support:

    Yes, the keyboard and mouse is usually a more precise way to play, but for a game that doesn't require absolute precision like BioShock 2, it's nice to be able to sit back in your chair and play with a pad. The first BioShock had pad support so it's silly that this one doesn't.

    In addition, BioShock 2 has really poor mouse control. The sensitivity is way too high, even at the lowest setting. To get it at a comfortable level you have to delve into the game files and start editing stuff.

  • bad09 #12 2 years ago

    @ Shakey_Jake33

    TBH from what I can see pretty much everyone complaining (including me) has that set up. Higher res, better FPS, better textures PC makes perfect sense over a console (and has done for many years now). Also a pad allows analogue movement, to many that's more important than twitching for a headshot.

    TBH it would be a complete non-issue if 2K done their job properly. No one had problems on games like Crysis, Far Cry 2 or even next weeks AvP.

  • FinalBillybong #13 2 years ago

    Honestly I hadn't noticed. Still if they are actuving working to improve the game then that's fine by me. :-)

  • kangarootoo #14 2 years ago

    On the widescreen front, its nice to see them ebing open and a tad humble about it. They obviously had some issue that they couldn't delay shipping the game over, so they cut the top and bottom off as a fix. If they say they will sort it, I'm sure they will.


    The control pad ommision does seem odd. Its not the big deal some would suggest (petitions indeed, will our generation be remembered as the one that called "online petition" at the first hint of not getting everything our own way?), but given that the 360 version obviously has complete pad support, why couldn't they just have a big "mouse & keyboard / control pad" option. All the chat about radial weapon selection being preferable and so on is bizarre, given that both systems already exist. I'm not sure how giving the player the pad control system from the 360 version would have made the M&K option an6y less effective than it is right now.


    My money is on the "we ran out of time" option. A rough solution to wide screen, a strange pad control ommision, and reportedly poor mouse control. This all suggests to me that the 360 was the primary platform, the PC version was a port, and time ran short near the end of development.


    Regardless, I'm sure these issues will have barely any effect on anyone's enjoyment of the game.

  • Floppy #15 2 years ago

    @beep. The original Bioshock 360 had clipped 4:3 to make a widescreen view, until they rectified this with a game patch a few months after release.

  • ignatiusjreilly #16 2 years ago

    Far Cry 2 had the exact same widescreen problem.

    I know things are never as simple as they seem, especially with programming, but I can't help thinking that mouse/pad controls and widescreen resolutions are so basic, so fundamental to making games for years now that I find it difficult to understand why these problems arise.

  • bluem4gic #17 2 years ago

    @ glottis0 The reason a lot of people use the pad with PC is that they have their PC plugged into a TV in the living room. You can get better (true 1080p) visuals and 7.1 surround, and that console experience on the sofa. Also if you build your PC right it'll be silent too.



    Haha I laugh at that comment

    Any decent 24 inch monitor can do 1080p. (1920 x1080) Please know what your talking about before you comment idiot
    Edited by 3 at 11/02/10 @ 09:48

  • space_ace #18 2 years ago

    i played "prince of persia: warrior within" (or whatever it was called) on pc with pad and it was sweet

  • bad09 #19 2 years ago

    @ bluem4gic

    He means over the "HD" consoles. Think before you call people idiots, you just made yourself look like one..

  • Machetazo #20 2 years ago

    If you want to play the game with a pad, you ought to be able to. The decision has no implications to other users. It's either laziness, or a misunderstanding of the audience, (or, yes, time constraint) that's caused the 'disconnect'.
    /waits for the community to do what the designers could not. The punchline being, that they'll receive no monetary reward for doing the job the designers ought to have.
    If the device is reasonably believed to be compatible, people will want support for it. If enough people do, it should be included out-of-the-box.

  • neems #21 2 years ago

    Strangely enough, Mass Effect 2 did exactly the same thing with the gamepad. I just assumed it would support the 360 controller, given that it's primarily an Xbox game, but no joy :-(

    Also, why do so many people seem to think that if you have a pc, you are only allowed to use k/m? Check out the steam forums for some real controller hatred.
    Edited by 1 at 11/02/10 @ 10:06

  • Machetazo #22 2 years ago

    @neems
    I do find it funny, that even on the platform perceived to be the most open, you still encounter things like that.

  • ignatiusjreilly #23 2 years ago

    Also, why do so many people seem to think that if you have a pc, you are only allowed to use k/m?

    It's a fanboy thing - after years of bashing console users for an inferior control scheme, they're feeling a little embarassed that fellow PC gamers are using the pads out of choice.

    The only sensible answer is that you use the control system that suits you best. I'll use a pad if I'm playing on the sofa or a game that benefits from stick control like a racer or platformer, but if I'm playing an FPS on the monitor upstairs I'll stick with M+K.

    PC is all about choice, and although people like 2K can forget that, clearly some players forget it too.

  • bad09 #24 2 years ago

    "It's a fanboy thing - after years of bashing console users for an inferior control scheme, they're feeling a little embarassed that fellow PC gamers are using the pads out of choice."

    LOL! That irony has never occurred to me!

  • FogHeart #25 2 years ago

    Puts hand up as another PC player who uses TV and 360 controller. Although keyboard and mouse are much more positive and precise, you can't sit on the couch. If I play online (eg L4D) I must use a keyboard and mouse so it's off the couch and over to the secondary monitor. Sadly, the great compromise afforded by nunchuck+wiimote hasn't made its way over to the PC.

    I'm now teetering on whether to get this. I don't want to go through the single player campaign without pad/couch/telly. The secondary monitor is only 15 inches so as not to have two huge screens in the living room!

  • roz123 #26 2 years ago

    I have my pc plugged into a HDTV and play from my sofa, but i still use the mouse and keyboard for most games. I have a couple of gamepads for fighters, pes, racing and other multiplayer games but playing an fps with a pad really makes me a worse player (its obvious from how well i do online). I have a leather sofa and a wireless decent mouse so i dont have a problem using it lying or sitting on the sofa as leathers a decent surface. If i set it up in my other room with a hdtv i would need to get a magazine, tray or mouse mat cause the sofas not leather but that would still work better for me then using a gamepad.

  • UncleLou #27 2 years ago

    They have a point with the interface though, the UI definitely feels a lot more like a PC game UI this time around.

    They would have had to compromise or integrate two different UIs to properly support pads and kb/m with, which like almost everything, probably was simply a time/money issue.
    Edited by 1 at 11/02/10 @ 11:23

  • hiddenranbir #28 2 years ago

    "The decision was made early on not to support controllers at all in order to ensure that we got the mouse and keyboard control absolutely right," the FAQ noted.

    Like how Bioware did for ME2...which ended up shit anyway.


    Sort it out, Bioshock.

  • StooMonster #29 2 years ago

    "BioShock 2 PC's widescreen mode is a clipped version of 4:3"

    Floppy: The original Bioshock 360 had clipped 4:3 to make a widescreen view, until they rectified this with a game patch a few months after release.

    I am amazed that they didn't learn from last time, why on earth would they do badly a second time?

    I didn't buy Bioshock until this was fixed, and am now glad I've held off on this version for the time being.

  • Caimbeul #30 2 years ago

    The omission of pad support is surprising considering that most games support it these days and it is not that big a deal to support it, although i would not use my 360 pad for an FPS on the PC it is certainly good when playing GRID, and other racing games if i cannot be bothered to extricate my Steering wheel from the drawer.

    The more important issue for me would be the aspect ratio clipping...I cannot believe that a modern game does not support widescreen resolutions. How can this be a last minute bug? Doesnt say much for their PC QA/Testing testing team. At least it will be resolved (hopefully very soon). I have just installed it but will not play it until this is fixed.

  • ignatiusjreilly #31 2 years ago

    Hmm... 42-inch tv screen from the sofa or 24-inch monitor at a desk... I still know which I'd prefer to look at in 1080p.

    The answer isn't so obvious - I actually prefer the monitor, where the resolution and detail isn't lost in the distance between you and the TV, and the screen takes up a large part of your field of vision. But people are different, and it's nice to have the choice.
    Edited by 1 at 11/02/10 @ 12:35

  • IneptPercy #32 2 years ago

    If this the pad issue isn't sort by the time I buy i will just get pinnacle gamer profiler on it, I truely love that program. Got full pad support in FEAR2 and Half-Life 2 using it.

    As a PC gamer I prefer the pad and only ever sit up to my monitor (23" 1080P) when playing games like settlers or C&C, everything else straight to the TV (40" 1080p) and the wireless 360 controller.

    I don't care what people think is better or worse if I want to sit back with a game controller then that is my choice and really this game should support it.

    As for the widescreen issue, after the fuss last time I find it hard to believe they have done it again.

  • Caimbeul #33 2 years ago

    "They would have had to compromise or integrate two different UIs to properly support pads and kb/m with, which like almost everything, probably was simply a time/money issue" True but when you consider the money side of things its not like this might not sell extremely well.

  • IneptPercy #34 2 years ago

    Forgot to ask, does it support AA this time?

  • oceanclub #35 2 years ago

    ""The decision was made early on not to support controllers at all in order to ensure that we got the mouse and keyboard control absolutely right"

    If that's true, then yay. Give me 1 properly working control system rather than 2 half-working ones. (I personally hate using gamepads for FPSs).

    No proper widescreen = BIG FAIL, but good to hear they are working on it. I do hope the rush out a patch with it ASAP (before my copy arrives would be nice).

    P.

  • Ryboy #36 2 years ago

    Sigh. I don't give a fuck to be honest.

  • Darren #37 2 years ago

    2K got a lot of flak for the widescreen implementation in the first game but redeemed themselves by patching it for both the 360 and PC versions. That they did not include it in the sequel is ridiculous really.

    As for the PC version, the controls are bugged. Reassigning the F (use/open) key to mouse button 5 on my PC allows me to pick up individual items fine but if I open a cabinet or corpse (yuck!) then the list of items is displayed but pressing the mouse button again has no effect. Instead I have to press F on the keyboard. So knowing that this was glitched, I decided to reassign E as the Use/Open key since it's easier to reach than F but, lo and behold, despite the on-screen prompt correctly displaying E, Mouse Button 5 as the controls to collect the contents of corpses and cabinets, etc., only the default F works!!!

    As for the lack of controller support for the 360 version: the excuse they give that they wanted to perfect the mouse and keyboard controls comes across as weak when you consider the issue I've described above!!! Many other developers include both keyboard/mouse and controller support in their PC games without compromising either. Also the first BioShock supported the 360 controller beautifully so it would only have required minor tweaking to have included it in the sequel.

    Finally the console version: the 360 one I've also been playing too has froze my console completely twice in the hour or so I played it. It's possible that I have a defective disc but I'm playing the game from the hard drive (which has 22 GB free) and I didn't get any errors when I installed it so it seems more likely to be an issue with the game IMO.

    This game really could have done with a few more weeks play-testing.

  • Darren #38 2 years ago

    @Eraysor - There's no controller toggle in the PC version I'm playing! :?

    Are you sure you're not getting confused with the first game which DID support the 360 controller on the PC and DID include such a toggle option?

  • 5h1nj1 #39 2 years ago

    2IneptPercy: No, it also repeats the AA problem from the first game. Doesn't have any form of AA integrated. It's hard to force AA into the game externally. Someone is lucky with nhancer, I wasn't. Looks very dated.

  • photoboy #40 2 years ago

    Arrgh, I hate it when I see claims that a widescreen mode is a clipped 4:3 mode as if games are like films. The widescreen mode will be how they developed the game and 4:3 is just an afterthought where they widen the vertical field of view. This is the standard way the Unreal 3 engine handles 4:3.

    A good example is the first Bioshock, which when switched to 4:3 would show splicers mouths not moving because they were supposed to be off the top of the frame when they were talking (you weren't supposed to see their faces at that point). You could also see the glowing eyes of a Little Sisters before the big reveal later in the level because of this too. Just because a 4:3 mode shows more vertical information, it doesn't mean it's how it's supposed to be played.

    Let's just start some more controversy and point out that PC Mass Effect 2's 4:3 mode also shows more vertical information than the 16:9/10 mode. I still play it in 16:9 mode though because that is the ratio the developers will have tuned all the cut-scenes and levels to be in.

  • IneptPercy #41 2 years ago

    What annoys me with the AA issue is its due to DX9 holding it back, fair enough no AA in DX9 mode, but DX10 can handle it so let me have it!

    Anyway of forcing supersampling? yes its quite intensive but I am sure my 5850 will cope.

  • ckyman2 #42 2 years ago

    The Witcher and FEAR 2 are both games for windows that dont support the controller, if your that bothered about playing pc games with a controller and i ask why didn't you just save your money and buy a console then and a good TV lol? why not use xpadder (http://xpadder.awardsp ace.com/) and set up yours self, its soo easy, *huffffffffffffffffff....

  • Varsity #43 2 years ago

    I preferred playing Bioshock on the 360 controller: the lack of precision made the game tenser and more claustrophobic.

  • bad09 #44 2 years ago

    2K have confirmed the official "go f**k yourselves pad users" over on the forums.