2K addresses BioShock widescreen issue

While widescreen "cropping" probably won't affect anybody's enjoyment, this seems like the worst possible response 2K could have made. Did they hire PR flacks from Sony?

"It's not broken (stupid), it's advanced!"

Or how people eat PR bullshit , then thanks and ask for glass of piss.

PRs clearly LIE - the FOV would be different if widescreen/4:3 would be implemented properly.
In widescreen game is 'zoomed in' - and it shouldn't be.

How it shoul look like:
http://wsgfmedia.com/uploads/paddywak/screenshots/bioshock/Bio-1-T.jpg

from fix for PC version
http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=108586#108586

I agree. This seems more like something for people who don't own the game to complain about. The reviewers that gave the game perfect scores didn't know about the issue, and they still thought the game was amazing.

Face it. If people hadn't put 2 and 2 together, you all never would have known and you'd be going on and on about how amazing Bioshock is. This does not effect gameplay, therefore it does not effect the game. End of story.

The people bitching the most probably don't even own the game. Happens everytime a highly rated game comes out. Most obvious being with Twilight Princess.

It amazes me that people still think this is some made-up problem that people are just complaining about for the sake of complaining.

So let's get the facts straight: Irrational games says "no no, guys, we didn't crop widescreen, we made fullscreen taller!"

Now, just stop and think about that statement for a second. Is widescreen cropped? Yes. Half-full, half-empty, no matter which way you slice it, they admit that in relation to fullscreen, widescreen is cropped.

What they also admit is that the WIDEscreen ratio does not have a WIDER field of view than full screen.

That means that either full screen users or wide screen users are not recieving a horizontal field of view that is correct for their aspect ratio.

Based on that fact that the character's arms and tattoo (which is relevant to the story) are not shown in widescreen mode, and based on the fact that widescreen feels "zoomed-in", it's pretty clear who is not getting the correct FOV.

None of us widescreen gamers are claiming the game is bad, but you have to remember, for a widescreen owner we are in the minority, and we constantly have to educate people as to what the issues are, and what the correct way to implement widescreen is, since a lot of companies (*cough EA*) feel it is acceptable to implement widescreen in such a manner that we get a worse experience than fullscreen users.

And with forums like this, you practically have to have a PHD in mathematics in order to explain what should be a simple situation without somebody claiming that you're a chronic complainer.

I guarantee if fullscreen users were getting short-sided they'd be just as upset as widescreen users are now. Ignorance may be bliss, but a little bit of education on the issue might help before you go making statements about situations you have no understanding about.

I was worried so I rented it, but now that I see its just like the Demo, I dont care.. Its not stretched to fit the screen which I hate, so Im gunna buy the game now..
Im Loving It..

*and no its not McD's*

I agree but this method is still retarded. I won't bitch but I will moan.

No, it means people with 16:9 and 16:10 screens see less than people with 4:3 screens.

I agree. This is a shitty excuse.

BUT, this game is so awesome. 9.9/10

-.1 for lazy widescreen

Funny you mention text.. Thats the only beef Ive had with the game, and its not really the text itself, but the Subtitles for the VoiceOvers just doesnt match up.. Many times you read the text b4 its even spoken..

Thats my ONLY beef..

That's exactly the case! and when you show more at once, you will always trade off with the details being shrunk.

The preconception that one way is "right" is really annoying to me!

The only difference between 4:3 and widescreen should just be that widescreen fits the whole image across the entire screen. The two sizes should show exactly the same thing.

People seem to think widescreen views should equate in the game-world to extra perhipheral vision. 2k didn't want that, period. In an exploratory shooter like this it would be game breaking to give some players extra peripheral vision, whereas extra height just allows you to see more of the floor and ceiling as you walk around. 2k didn't mind showing you the floor in front of your feet, they wanted to avoid revealing the mob of splicers trying to flank you in the shadows...

You're exactly wrong.

It's see taller or not. There is no wider.

That's the issue, wide screen should be wider.

It's not called short screen, idiots.

They're not playing the game if they're on here.

Pulling the camera back (a dolly movement) doesn't increase the FOV. The simple fact is that 2K said that "widescreen users would see more" and they don't - they see less. It is a feature that was not delivered on.

It's not so much laziness as it is an oversight. Dead Rising and Lost Planet had near illegible text in standard definition screens. They underestimated the demand from people with standard def TVs. 2K chose to make the widescreen the default position and chose to add vertical height to standard def. That's been misinterpreted to mean wide is being chopped off unfairly for being the better model usually. 2K's response confounds us. We misinterpreted them to say standard is getting a small bonus not that wide got shafted. That's why I said they were lazy or it was an oversight.

No, it doesn't...

http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/wiki/index.php/Comparison_of_dolly_and_zoom

Dolly, zoom, and FOV are all three distinct things...

@Ibrin
That's a really informative article. Thanks. And it completely explains the issue that people are getting justifiably upset over. Anyone who doesn't understand this issue doesn't understand the concept of cropping. It's (essentially) similar to watching a film originally produced in widescreen format after being reformatted (or cropped) for 4:3 screens (you end up missing out on the bigger picture, the complete experience).

But if you don't understand it by now, you won't any time soon.