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[Grief.exe]

Bioshock 2 is the best Bioshock. I just don't get the hate.

I'm having more fun than I did playing through Infinite right now.

The only two things Infinite had going for it were gorgeous location and story.

 

[scitek]

I'm having more fun than I did playing through Infinite right now.

The only two things Infinite had going for it were gorgeous location and story.

I think they nailed the combat in the second game, and Infinite failed in trying to mimic it. The Eve system works better for giving it a "1-2 punch" kinda feel.

 

[hwalker84]

Wait what.... Controller support finally??? Maybe I'll actually beat it now.

 

[phantomspiker]

Bioshock 2 is the best Bioshock. I just don't get the hate.

Yup.

Bioshock 2 just nails everything.

 

[Grief.exe]

Going to post this for the next page for those who only have 50 posts per page set. I would like to try to get these audio issues fixed so people can enjoy the game.

My Solution
Hey guys.. have you solved the problem already? it's quite a bit that you don't bump, yet i've seen no solutions

I've been tinkering with the audio settings and I've modified quite a bit of little things.. however the one which is the most noteworthy in my opinion is a place in the Realtek Audio HD Management (in the control panel) where it pretends synthesizing a Dolby effect out of your two speakers. Disabling that thing has completely worked for my case. Imagine that I couldn't even go past the intro scene where you knock on the hole for the Sister without it getting on my nerves. And now it works perfectly.

Many of the issues listed in this thread appear to be configuration woes either relating to physical speaker setup or driver settings. Please follow these steps, you’ll be listening to the exact same thing we hear.

Step 1: Check Speaker Set-up.

1. In Control Panels/Sound select your output device.

2. Choose ‘Configure’

3. Pick the correct speaker setup (stereo, 5.1, 7.1, etc.) for your system.

4. Use ‘Test’ to make sure the speakers are wired and placed correctly around your room.

5. Click ‘Next.’ Follow the instructions until finished.


*These instructions are for Windows Vista/7. XP has a similar set of controls.

Step 2: (If you have a Creative Labs card) Open the Creative Audio Control Panel.

1. Mode Tab: Choose ‘Audio Creation Mode’

2. Speaker Tab: Make sure the Speaker Configuration matches what you set in the Windows Sound control panel. This *should* set itself automatically. If not, do so yourself. Under ‘SVM’ select the ‘Off’ position.*

3. EAX Effects: Uncheck the ‘Enable EAX Effects’ box to turn EAX Effects off.

4. X-Fi Crystalizer: Uncheck the ‘Enable X-Fi’ Crystalizer’ box to turn the Crystalizer off.


Step 2.5: (If you are using Alchemy).
1. Remove or disable BioShock 2 from Alchemy. (I do not have it and cannot provide specific instructions. I believe you have to add games it yourself, so if you have done so I’ll assume you also know how to remove them.)


Step 3: In-Game settings.

1. Choose Options/Audio Options.

2. Choose ‘Default’ as the speaker mode. This should make Bioshock 2 mimic your Windows settings.

3. If you made changes, hit ‘Apply’ and restart the game.

4. If the in-game sound is still not correct, set the mode by hand. Note that if you chose 5.1 in Windows, you need to choose 5.1 in the game (Not ‘Surround’). Restart the game again.


If you’ve done everything correctly, you now have the same settings we use here at 2K Marin to develop the game. (We each have and listen through a Creative Labs X-Fi Fatality card with 6 discrete lines going to a level controller and then woofer/speakers). Hopefully this will take care of most of the issues we’ve been seeing throughout this thread.

For Dolby ProLogic II users: The game will encode a ProLogic II signal. To use this option you will need a device to decode the signal between your computer and speakers. Most A/V receivers and home theater systems will do this. Here are the proper settings:

1. Windows = Stereo.

2. Creative Console = Stereo.

3. BioShock 2 = ProLogic.

4. Make sure your receiver is set to ProLogic II. Many receivers will detect the signal type but some will not.


One final note. There is a setting in BioShock 2 called ‘Use Reverb.’ We included this so people with lower end systems have the option to disable reverb and get a performance boost. This option has nothing to do with EAX effects and only disables our software reverb. If your system is not able to fully handle BioShock 2 you can try disabling reverb to get a slight edge.

*SVM allows the sound card to decrease the difference between the loudest and softest portions of the game. Enabling this will help you have a better experience in many cases. If you play in a noisy environment and cannot hear the quieter sounds, try enabling this. Also, if your speakers are tinny, tiny, or otherwise of lower quality, this might help you hear more of what’s going on in the world.

Looking through the ini file I found an option for lowquality sound.
Could you set this to True to see if it makes any difference.

users/*username*/appdata/roaming/bioshock2/bioshock2sp.in

Go to C:Users*username*AppDataRoamingBioshock2 open BioShock2SP.ini and edit the lines

[FMODAudio.FMODAudioSubsystem]
MaxChannels=128
MaxStreams=8
StreamBufferSize=64

with values 32, 8, 64 and if this doesn't work with values 32, 4, 32
Grief Note: 24 channels is another possible value

http://forums.2kgames.com/showthread.php?56994-Bioshock-2-sound-cutting-out-with-Reltek[/QUOTE]

 

[angular graphics]

I never had these weird audio troubles people have in BS1&2. I wonder what causes them.

 

[void666]

My game crashed to desktop again. No error message.
I'm going to wait another patch or something. It's pretty frustrating.

 

[scitek]

I never had these weird audio troubles people have in BS1&2. I wonder what causes them.

You may have had them but not realized it. It's things like sounds from vending machines as you walk past them and stuff that I wouldn't have noticed had they not been pointed out here. So thanks, guys.

Spoiler

sarcasm

 

[Grief.exe]

I never had these weird audio troubles people have in BS1&2. I wonder what causes them.

From what I have been able to gather over my short research time this morning, it is because 2K used their own audio codecs and audio engine. Instead of using more commonly available systems, that would have given them greater compatibility, but cost them more money to implement.

My game crashed to desktop again. No error message.
I'm going to wait another patch or something. It's pretty frustrating.

Have you tried this?

• Create a shortcut to Bioshock2Launcher.exe somewhere convenient.
• Right click this shortcut, select Properties and add -dx9 in the target box after the quotation mark.
• Now launching the game from this shortcut will force the game to run in DirectX 9.
  http://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Bioshock_2#Crashing_Windows_7_and_8

Or this?

Another fix for the DX10 crashes, apparently it's caused by a windows update.

http://steamcommunity.com/app/8850/discussions/0/846966336225340804/

You may have had them but not realized it. It's things like sounds from vending machines as you walk past them and stuff that I wouldn't have noticed had they not been pointed out here. So thanks, guys.

Spoiler

sarcasm

From what I have been able to gather, it is actually more extensive then that.

Vending Machines not playing their sound, guns not going off, little sisters not talking, people starting their sentence, then the audio abruptly stops, audio logs not working, and atmospheric sounds and music not playing.

Its quite the laundry list, and difficult to replicate similar issues, which is why I think they are had so much trouble fixing it.

 

[phantomspiker]

The vending machine audio not playing isn't a bug, the devs just forgot to put the audio in the game. One of the developers said they would patch it but never did...pretty sure it's in Minerva's Den though.

 

[Grief.exe]

Now that I think about it, I've never actually heard vending machine audio. In the first Bioshock game they laughed at you, I will double check that pretty soon.

I actually thought those sounds were a bit ridiculous in the first place.

 

[natsuyasumi]

Any way to bind the FOV fix button to a button on a 360 controller without sacrificing an action?

Yes, just add it to the A button. I also added it to Start just for extra coverage. This is near the top of C:\Users\[name]\AppData\Roaming\Bioshock2Steam\User.ini:

XENON_A=Use | onRelease UseStopped | TopMovieFunction APressed | onHold PlayDiaryLog | LogsPlaybackButtonPressed | onHold LogsPlaybackButtonHeld | onRelease LogsPlaybackButtonReleased | SetFov 90

XENON_START=PauseGame | SetFov 90

A lot of people recommend putting SetFov on the move keys but that conflicts with iron sights.

 

[ashecitism]

Now that I think about it, I've never actually heard vending machine audio. In the first Bioshock game they laughed at you, I will double check that pretty soon.

I actually thought those sounds were a bit ridiculous in the first place.

yeah, it's: "Welcome to the Circus of Value! Ha-ha-ha-ha!"

it worked for me in all of them

 

[Ifrit]

Yes, just add it to the A button. I also added it to Start just for extra coverage. This is near the top of C:\Users\[name]\AppData\Roaming\Bioshock2Steam\User.ini:

XENON_A=Use | onRelease UseStopped | TopMovieFunction APressed | onHold PlayDiaryLog | LogsPlaybackButtonPressed | onHold LogsPlaybackButtonHeld | onRelease LogsPlaybackButtonReleased | SetFov 90

XENON_START=PauseGame | SetFov 90

A lot of people recommend putting SetFov on the move keys but that conflicts with iron sights.

Thank you very much kind lady. I'll give it a try

EDIT: fixed

 

[natsuyasumi]

Thank you very much kind sir. I'll give it a try

Ma'am, but sure.

 

[Grief.exe]

yeah, it's: "Welcome to the Circus of Value! Ha-ha-ha-ha!"

it worked for me in all of them

This is so ingrained into my brain from the first Bioshock.

 

[angular graphics]

You may have had them but not realized it. It's things like sounds from vending machines as you walk past them and stuff that I wouldn't have noticed had they not been pointed out here. So thanks, guys.

Spoiler

sarcasm

I can't say I've noticed anything weird other than..

The vending machine audio not playing isn't a bug, the devs just forgot to put the audio in the game. One of the developers said they would patch it but never did...pretty sure it's in Minerva's Den though.

..which is true.

This is so ingrained into my brain from the first Bioshock.

Fun fact: It's Ken Levine's voice.

 

[Ifrit]

Ma'am, but sure.

I stand corrected

 

[Grief.exe]

I feel like not adding trading cards to Bioshock 2 was a missed opportunity on 2K's part. Could have helped generate some revenue to cover the costs of development.

They could also be stuck in approval right now.

Fun fact: It's Ken Levine's voice.

That is very interesting, thanks for letting me know.

 

[phantomspiker]

Fun fact: It's Ken Levine's voice.

It makes them even better knowing that.

 

[Ifrit]

Fun fact: It's Ken Levine's voice.

That makes it even better

 

[dex3108]

What do you guys/girls think when we will see GTA IV removing GFWL?

 

[AJ_Wings]

Started another playthrough on Hard and I'm simply surprised at how better the overall experience is. Instead of exploring areas because I feel like it, now I need to explore to scrounge up more resources. I find that the resources deplete much faster due to the enemies being a little bit bullet spongier but I don't mind that simply because of the sheer amount of options, tactics and tools available in a given situation (Unlike Bioshock: Infinite, you can hold more than two weapons which helps a lot).

Makes an already good game even better.

 

[Echoplx]

What do you guys/girls think when we will see GTA IV removing GFWL?

I don't think there's been any official word on GTA4 but you can already remove it with xliveless, I played through GTA4 and the episodes a few weeks back with it and it worked great.

http://gtaforums.com/topic/388658-relgtaiv-xliveless/

 

[spacemonkeynation]

Going to post this for the next page for those who only have 50 posts per page set. I would like to try to get these audio issues fixed so people can enjoy the game.

Thanks, I'll check this out later

 

[dcx4610]

My game crashed to desktop again. No error message.
I'm going to wait another patch or something. It's pretty frustrating.

Same thing happened to me when I reached the Big Sister in the water at the beginning of the game. I quit and moved on to Infinite.

That's my big complaint with PC games. All of them seem so buggy. There are very few modern games I've played that haven't at least froze or crashed on me once and yes, my drivers are up to date, my RAM is fine and my PSU is up to snuff.

 

[Grief.exe]

What do you guys/girls think when we will see GTA IV removing GFWL?

Started another playthrough on Hard and I'm simply surprised at how better the overall experience is. Instead of exploring areas because I feel like it, now I need to explore to scrounge up more resources. I find that the resources deplete much faster due to the enemies being a little bit bullet spongier but I don't mind that simply because of the sheer amount of options, tactics and tools available in a given situation (Unlike Bioshock: Infinite, you can hold more than two weapons which helps a lot).

I already quite liked Bioshock 2 but increasing the difficulty helped it in elevating my already favorable opinion of it.

I forgot about the two weapon limit in Infinite, maybe that is why I like Bioshock 2 better. There are always more options for a particular situation.
2 weapon limit means I have to take one medium/long range and a short range counter. Leaving me very limited in both the choices I have to make, and the options I have in a particular encounter.

 

[JaseC]

This is so ingrained into my brain from the first Bioshock.

That and "Come back when you have some money, buddy!"

 

[Grief.exe]

Same thing happened to me when I reached the Big Sister in the water at the beginning of the game. I quit and moved on to Infinite.

That's my big complaint with PC games. All of them seem so buggy. There are very few modern games I've played that haven't at least froze or crashed on me once and yes, my drivers are up to date, my RAM is fine and my PSU is up to snuff.

Bioshock 2 is a horrible example to form an opinion on. The original release was a poor port and riddled with multiple forms of DRM.

Post-patch is still affected by some of these initial issues, but the vast majority have been alleviated. The common crashes we see now are actually entirely Microsoft related, and not much to do with the game.

In my case, I actually haven't experienced a crash in a game for quite a long time. I find that a periodic reformat tends to alleviate errors that we experience. I've noticed that people who do not know how to set up a PC, or keep it clean run into significantly more issues.

 

[Grief.exe]

Added in a new section to the OP

Crash Fixes

• Create a shortcut to Bioshock2Launcher.exe somewhere convenient.
• Right click this shortcut, select Properties and add -dx9 in the target box after the quotation mark.
• Now launching the game from this shortcut will force the game to run in DirectX 9.
  http://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Bioshock_2#Crashing_Windows_7_and_8

Another fix for the DX10 crashes, apparently it's caused by a windows update.

http://steamcommunity.com/app/8850/discussions/0/846966336225340804/

 

[Matchew]

Having played Bioshock and Infinite for some reason I skipped Bioshock 2, until now. This game is fantastic. I can't really remember the first Bioshock so maybe I should go back to that and check it out. But I can say I'm enjoying Bioshock 2 a lot more than Infinite and I'm a big fan of Infinite.

The multiple weapons and the atmosphere is just so much better than Infinite. Rapture is really a fun crazy place to play a game in. Can't wait to get to Minerva's Den since I heard nothing but good things.

 

[DodgyGeezerFella]

Sorry If I bring things up that have already been mentioned in the thread, I have only just managed to get around to downloading this since the update. No more GFWL/Securom ? Awesome ! I tried out single player, did they do something to the mouse aim ? Seems a lot nicer now. Multiplayer still has the jankyness to it, feels different to play compared to SP, especially the mouse sensitivity being ridiculous, even at lowest.

Think I am going to do a hard mode no vita run through to get all the achievements (again), then do Minerva's Den (never played it, sounds like I am in for a treat !). I hope they do something to the MP, as I feel there is a great game in there, but the jank .... the JANK.

 

[Grief.exe]

Sorry If I bring things up that have already been mentioned in the thread, I have only just managed to get around to downloading this since the update. No more GFWL/Securom ? Awesome ! I tried out single player, did they do something to the mouse aim ? Seems a lot nicer now. Multiplayer still has the jankyness to it, feels different to play compared to SP, especially the mouse sensitivity being ridiculous, even at lowest.

Think I am going to do a hard mode no vita run through to get all the achievements (again), then do Minerva's Den (never played it, sounds like I am in for a treat !). I hope they do something to the MP, as I feel there is a great game in there, but the jank .... the JANK.

I'm on a similar hard mode, no vita chamber run right now! Going to put those suckers on my profile under the achievement showcase.
I'm having a great time on the run and, as mentioned just above, the hard mode run makes the game much more tense and gives a reason to explore for more resources.

I've come to the conclusion that the multi-player is just unplayable right now. You cannot adjust the FOV, mouse acceleration, or sensitivity to an accurate degree.
Some unlocks like the grenade launcher make higher level players ridiculously overpowered.
If I am going to play it again, I will just plug in my 360 controller and play that way, not worth throwing off my muscle memory to try and make that playable.

Check the OP for some single player fixes. You can adjust the FOV, AF, and mouse acceleration through ini fixes.

Post screenshots and discussions here! This is kind of an LTTP thread for me since I have been waiting for this release for a long time now.

 

[phantomspiker]

Got these within a minute of each other while protecting a little sister.

sogoooood.jpg

 

[ashecitism]

I like the SS2 reference in that first achievement.

 

[Grief.exe]

I like the SS2 reference in that first achievement.

I feel like I am playing SS2 at times. With all the items in places that you can only reach with telekinesis and the, somewhat, non-linear progression.

 

[InfiniteNine]

Thanks for putting all the fixes in the OP I got mine all fixed up for playing later!

 

[Grief.exe]

Thanks for putting all the fixes in the OP I got mine all fixed up for playing later!

No problem. I like to put as much information into the OP as possible. I hate when I have to dig through threads for something I'm interested in.

This thread initially exploded so a lot of the usefull things myself and others posted were getting buried.

 

[DodgyGeezerFella]

MP ... ouch, brings back memories or horribly laggy games full of teleportation The new "ALL" option is nice, but really needed to be first on the list to be useful. The state of MP hurts mainly because when it does work, its a lot of fun.

Back to SP, ive completely lost my rhythm since originally playing it, fumbling my weapons and plasmids. Completely blagged it through the train station defend bit ! I will get my groove on sure enough ....

 

[Grief.exe]

Its unfortunate but, as I said earlier, the multiplayer is essentially broken at this point.
From a mouse and keyboard perspective at least. Its actually very playable with a controller and sitting on the couch.I found plenty of matches with great connections the other night when I was playing, only a couple laggy matches.

They actually spent the longest time updating and testing the multiplayer beta during the update process. I was hoping they would have fixed up the M/KB control, or at the very least, allowed us to edit the options in the ini file.

 

[Ifrit]

Ma'am, but sure.

It worked beautifully, nothing like enjoying comfy couch gaming on a PC

 

[Grief.exe]

It worked beautifully, nothing like enjoying comfy couch gaming on a PC

Soon we won't have to worry about controller compatibility.

 

[Marjar]

Welp just completed Minerva's Den.

Wow, that was really good. Like really fucking good. I honestly was not expecting that twist.

Makes me really excited to see what they have planned for Burial at Sea.

 

[Grief.exe]

Welp just completed Minerva's Den.

Wow, that was really good. Like really fucking good. I honestly was not expecting that twist.

Makes me really excited to see what they have planned for Burial at Sea.

How many hours did it take?

 

[Everdred]

So just realized this may resurrect the multiplayer. Has it? If there are people online, how hard is it to get a full game?

 

[Baron_Calamity]

So just realized this may resurrect the multiplayer. Has it? If there are people online, how hard is it to get a full game?

If the multiplayer works, I'm game.

 

[Marjar]

How many hours did it take?

I believe it was around 3 and a half hours.

 

[Grief.exe]

So just realized this may resurrect the multiplayer. Has it? If there are people online, how hard is it to get a full game?

If the multiplayer works, I'm game.

The net code works fine as long as the host is solid and, I assume, close to you geographically.
I played 5 or 6 games and only one was laggy.

The mouse options renders it almost unplayable. Bring a controller.

I believe it was around 3 and a half hours.

That's fairly short, I like that.

 

[AcceptableGhost]

I tried playing Minervas Den earlier today and got tons of audio bugs and crashes, hopefully those fixes mentioned above work.

 

[Grief.exe]

I tried playing Minervas Den earlier today and got tons of audio bugs and crashes, hopefully those fixes mentioned above work.

Let me know if any of those audio fixes I posted are working for you.