Frequently Asked Questions for Bioshock (Please read before posting)

[Newbeing]

This thread is designed to organize and keep track of answers to questions that have been asked multiple times. Please feel free to inform me of any that have been missed so that I or another moderator can add them. Comments on inconsistencies, errors, or layout are also welcome.


When is BioShock going to be released?

BioShock's street date is August 21st of 2007. European Street date is August 24th.

What systems will BioShock be on?

BioShock is currently an exclusive for Xbox 360 as well as Windows XP and Vista based PC's.

But I heard it may be released for Sony's PS3 ( playstation 3) in the future. Is this true?

There have been no announcements from 2K or Irrational Games that BioShock will be ported to other systems.

Is this a Sandbox game?

Yes. As described by Chris Kline (Lead Programmer at Irrational),

In Bioshock you can move freely back and forth through sections you've already visited, and indeed you must do so for many of the quests.

Are there any load times? If so how long are they?
Answered by Chris Kline (Lead Programmer at Irrational)

Load times in Bioshock are reasonably short (20-40 seconds, depending on whether or not you are re-visiting an area you went to before, due to autosaves). In addition, they are few and far between -- only when you are making a transition to a major new area.

As a rough guess, once you get past the initial introductory areas, I expect that you might experience one load for every 1-3 hours of gameplay.

Are there any aiming crosshairs in this game?
Answered by Ken Levine (Irrational's General Manager and Creative Director)

There is a reticle, and there are iron sights/zoom for most weapons as well.

Does BioShock have Multiplayer gameplay?
BioShock was designed to focus on a unique and exciting singleplayer experience only. To discuss more about this subject please see this thread: Multiplayer?

Will there be a playable demo before the games release?
A playable demo for Xbox 360 is available at Xbox Live. A PC demo is about to come. The developers try to make it available before release.

Hey! Why was the Plasmi-Quik changed to GeneBank?
Answered by Ken Levine (Irrational's General Manager and Creative Director)

You can blame me and Jon Chey for this one- the fault lies right at the top! Our testing indicated that people saw a Plasmi-Quik machine and said "What the hell is that?" and never used it. Once we renamed it, people started getting it almost right away.

Weird, but true. I love the old name, but I also like when, you know, people use the character growth system...

I heard you can kill the Little Sisters? Is that true?
You can't physically harm the little sisters by means of weapons (which will be explained in the game). The actions you have toward the Little Sisters are either harvesting 'Adam' from them or rescuing them. Harvesting the Adam from them can cause them to die.

Are Little Sisters the only source of Adam?
As of now (and it's far too late to change again!) Little Sisters are the *only* source of ADAM.

I heard there will be a BioShock Limited Edition. What does that entail?
Answered by Elizabeth Tobey of 2k Games:

Available on August 21st (the same day as the regular BioShock edition), the LE will include a Big Daddy figurine, a “Making Of” DVD, and a soundtrack CD. The LE packaging will also be an embossed graphic designed by the winner of the Cover Art Contest going on now at www.cultofrapture.com.

The BioShock Limited Edition will be available to US and Canada exclusively at GameStop and EB for US$59.99 (PC LE) and US$69.99 (Xbox 360™ LE). The Limited Edition will also be available in other territories and details about ordering a copy will be coming soon.
The Collector's Edition will be available at selected retailers in Australia and New Zealand as well as most European countries including:
Austria
Belgium
Denmark
France
Germany
Italy
Netherlands
Norway
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
UK

Is Bioshock gonna be region free?
Answered by Lead Programmer Chris Kline

The main version that supports EFIGS (english, french, italian, german, spanish) will be a worldwide release, so that version will run on machines worldwide. This version, however, is Unrated for Germany and will not be sold in Germany.

The special version that will be sold in Germany has a different rating and supports German and English languages only.

Is BioShock compatible with DX10?
Answered by Elizabeth Tobey of 2k Games:

Many of you have been asking if BioShock would utilize DX10 feature set. The official answer is that yes, BioShock will be utilizing DX10. However, for those of you who won't be upgrading by August, don't worry. BioShock will also run with DX9.

Will there be subtitles for Bioshock?
Answered by Chris Kline (Lead Programmer) in this thread:

Yes, there will be subtitles available if you want them. They can be disabled if you prefer not to see them.

-Chris Kline, Lead Programmer, Bioshock

Do I need the game DVD in my computer to run Bioshock?
- Yes


Can I use my Xbox 360 controller with the PC version?
- Yes, you can.



For more news and general information related to BioShock and the city of Rapture please head to www.cultofrapture.com

[2K Elizabeth]

This is awesome, Newbeing. Thank you.

[Epik]

Very useful, thanks

[splicer]

Great to have all the relevant stuff in one place.

[Raveness]

Very useful, and thanks for the effort being put forth Newbeing. If you haven't already thought of it, you can search the posts of all Irrational staff members to extract confirmed morsels of info:

ckline
Irrational Oddey
Irrational-Alingis
IrrationalJoe
IrrationalKeith
irrationallevine
Irrational_Alexb
Irrational_Alexx


I'll see about getting together some Q&A responses to contribute.

[Newbeing]

Originally Posted by Raveness

Very useful, and thanks for the effort being put forth Newbeing. If you haven't already thought of it, you can search the posts of all Irrational staff members to extract confirmed morsels of info:

ckline
Irrational Oddey
Irrational-Alingis
IrrationalJoe
IrrationalKeith
irrationallevine
Irrational_Alexb
Irrational_Alexx


I'll see about getting together some Q&A responses to contribute.

That would be great. Any help will of course be accredited to those who provide the information.

And yes, the name search is extremely useful.

[borgdrone89]

Originally Posted by Newbeing

That would be great. Any help will of course be accredited to those who provide the information.

And yes, the name search is extremely useful.

and don't forget: 2k Elizabeth

she's like, WOAH!

[Corgano]

Originally Posted by borgdrone89

and don't forget: 2k Elizabeth she's like, WOAH!

LOL! True, true... AND Great Job Newbeing!

[borgdrone89]

definitely. someone's on the ball!

[Raveness]

Gotta get to work on this stuff. No more asking if Little Sister is the only source of Adam...