I'm not sure why 2K seems so confused about this widescreen fix.
I did not read the prior 7 pages aside from the first few posts.
I'm going to explain the behavior of the game after the first two patches.
With an unpatched version of BioShock 2, widescreen users felt they were getting the shaft because 4:3 could see more than they could. The game was essentially locked to a horizontal FOV instead of a vertical FOV (like it was supposed to be).
The problem is that it wasn't the widescreen users who were getting shafted, it was actually the 4:3 users who were getting more than they were supposed to. Basically, 4:3 users were getting a vertical FOV that was higher than 75. This is not what they had intended.
The only correct view from the release of the game was 16:9--the very same view people were complaining about.
Because of the complaints, they looked into it and posted their findings
in this announcement. Whoever drew these rectangles and labels is pretty terrible. The rectangles look like they quickly just dragged them rather than accurately positioned them. They also mixed up the 16:9 and 16:10 label. Those two should be reversed.
Anyway, if you look at the first image posted, take note of how much taller the 4:3 image is compared to the widescreen rectangles.
They released a first patch which had no mention of fixing widescreen. However, it actually did fix it so it worked as intended. They apparently fixed it without knowing it.
I took these three screenshots after the first patch was released:
http://imk.cx/screenshots/pc_games/bioshock_2/4-3.png
http://imk.cx/screenshots/pc_games/bioshock_2/16-10.png
http://imk.cx/screenshots/pc_games/bioshock_2/16-9.png
If you recall the 4:3 shot previously, you'll now notice that 4:3 actually sees less horizontally and vertically. This is because it's now locked to a vertical FOV of 75 instead, and this is lower than what 4:3 was getting before. 16:10 loses viewing area, as well... and 16:9 looks exactly the same as it did prior to the patch because 16:9 was already at a vertical FOV of 75.
Now they just released a second patch which supposedly fixes widescreen... but it's the exact same thing that was fixed in the first patch. I wonder if they even know what they're doing anymore.
I took these three shots after the second patch:
http://imk.cx/screenshots/pc_games/bioshock_2/2_4-3.png
http://imk.cx/screenshots/pc_games/b..._2/2_16-10.png
http://imk.cx/screenshots/pc_games/b...k_2/2_16-9.png
Everything is identical to the first patch.
So to summarize, the FOV
does scale horizontally now instead of vertically. It was fixed in the first patch, and the second patch does nothing.
People who played the game at 16:9 before will notice absolutely nothing different because they've always seen the game correctly. 4:3 and 16:10 users will now see less because than before. This may sound bad, but this is actually the correct behavior.
The patch notes say widescreen will see more. This is incorrect since anything below 16:9 will see less. Those that use eyefinity or triplehead2go will now see more horizontally than before.
A separate issue regarding 16:10, and other aspect-ratios that are not 4:3 or 16:9, is that HUD elements are stretched/squished, and that the helmet does not appear.