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BioShock 2 PC Draws Protest over Lack of Official Gamepad Support
by Chris Faylor, Feb 10, 2010 8:35am PSTWhile it had been previously disclosed that BioShock 2 PC would forgo any sort of official gamepad support in favor of getting "the mouse and keyboard control absolutely right," the exclusion has now drawn ire from those that bought the game unaware.
A 2K Forums thread on the matter has exploded since the underwater shooter sequel was officially released yesterday, including mentions of buyers remorse, an unofficial workaround, demands for a patch, and links to the inevitable petition.
"Not supporting the controller was not a decision that we made lightly," community manager 2K Elizabeth responded, with the company having explained:
We made quite a number of significant changes to UI / HUD for the PC version of the game. 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. 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 favor of a custom created Weapons Selection Strip which more accurately reflects the keyboard layout.
Central to the complaints is the fact that the original BioShock PC supported gamepads in addition to mouse and keyboard, complete with a UI for either control scheme.
As one would expect, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the sequel use the console's respective controller, but can not be played with mouse and keyboard.
The release of BioShock 2 also brought with it complaints that the PC version doesn't properly support widescreen resolutions, though a fix is already on the way.
Thanks to Chris (not the one who wrote this article) for the heads up.
Comments
BUT, there is no fucking reason whatsoever to EXPECT it. I don't care one bit that it was in the first one, this is a PC FPS people. People buy FPS games on PC to avoid the controller on the xbox or ps3. I repeat, when comparing a PC version against a console version FPS, getting away from the controller is the reason people pick the PC version.
It would be a safer assumption that the game LACKED support for the control scheme people are buying the game on PC to avoid. So again, while the complaint has merit, the OUTRAGE does not.
This type of shit is KILLING PC gaming people. Think about it from the devs point of view. The "PC gamers" might view the console gamers as the unwashed masses who will buy anything, but THEY WILL BUY ANYTHING. PC gamers will piss and moan about feature X, Y, or Z either being included or being removed. THERE IS NO PLEASING YOU GUYS, and I don't see how you can't realize that it makes developers not care about PC.
Why bother? Why make a game for PC when:
1. It's going to be pirated. Fuck DRM, it could require a DNA sample, will still be pirated.
2. There will be numerous complaints where gamers feel shafted for something that is their own fault, or just something the dev never could have predicted.
3. There will be a backlash for SOMETHING, whether warranted or not, if you make a PC game, your shit will get drug through the mud no matter how hard you try. Case in point, people talk shit on Valve, the BEST PC dev there is.
When you make a console game, if it's any good at all, it sells. And it sells better than PC. So the main reason to develop PC games is because of a love for the platform, and how can they keep loving such an angry beehive?
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sincerley,
comiekazie
Hey guys,
I talked to the dev team about controller support for BioShock 2, and I want to let you know that we won’t be adding this into the game in a patch. The decision not to support the controller was not made lightly, and to add it now would take a complete re-envisioning of the UI that the team worked so hard to create.
I’m sorry for those of you who are disappointed, and I want you to know that your comments and concerns have been heard and will be taken in to account when we are planning in the future.
Thanks,
-Elizabeth
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http://www.2kgames.com/cultofrapture/article/widescreenannouncement
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Please refrain from personal attacks, ad hominem, and unnecessarily inflammatory posts. Keep the conversation in here civil. People who disagree with you are not necessarily idiots, noobs, or whatever else you would like to call them.
Failure to be civil will result in nuked posts and banned users. Several nukes and bans have already been handed out.
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there i said it.
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The second bone-headed move is to fuck support for widescreen resolutions. The original Bioshock had the same fucking problem, didn't they learn their lesson?
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What I can't understand is the backlash on this forum. Oh no, someone on the internet likes to play games differently than you do. Let's get all up in arms about it.
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Let me tell you why.
- Fact, the first BioShock had Xbox 360 game pad support.
- Fact, BioShock 2 is EXACTLY the same engine as 1 and is basically a mod expansion what ever you want to call it, they just added new content, story etc.
So ask your self if you already wrote the code for the Xbox 360 game controller why the freeking cheez nutz would you remove that code and make it keyboard and mouse only? That code was not hurting anyone, it was a nice option to have.
Fact, PC gamers like to mod change and play their games in weird and different ways that is best sutied for them. Do NOT limit what we can do with our games.
I know the majority of you PC gamers on Shack play with K/M but like my self I am a hardcore dedicated pad guy, and recently almost all new PC releases are excluding the pad which is sad.
Will I cry like a babby? No.
Its called Xpadder and I endorse it, it will fix all your Xbox 360 game pad blues:
http://xpadder.com/
Still no one can argue considering the above facts its mental they removed the support, whats the point?
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The reason people are complaining (other than just wanting to use a gamepad on a PC) is that it is confusing to them since BioShock supported gamepads.
All the hemming and hawing about "WE WANT OPTIONS!!!" ignores the realities of game development.
The bit where BioShock used a controller when it was plugged in was probably a nightmare to implement and maintain, and added to the development, QA and support costs. Only to probably discover that most people never used it.
As much as people on that forum thread are complaining, they're probably acceptable losses. Especially since many PC gamers have demonstrated that when things don't go their way they'll migrate to consoles anyway.
Personally, I sort of dig that they're making the PC version with keyboard/mouse in mind. As opposed to id Software which is making RAGE with a gamepad in mind.
Don't get me wrong, I own a 360 gamepad and break it out when I play Street Fighter IV or racing games or others when it's appropriate. It's not appropriate for an FPS and it never will be.
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Unless the HUD or interactive elements need cursor support, I don't see why they can't support it.
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It makes me very sad to think pc gamers will never get great games like we used to, just retooled, buggy console ports.
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Consoler(s) get to gloat about sitting in front of their 50" LCD and use their wireless remotes and walkie talkies while the PC community gets to gloat about customization and better performance, visuals and controls based on their hardware.
I've got a 50" Samsung LCD with a PC Port as my second monitor and I use a Blue Tooth Mouse and Keyboard but prefer my Wireless XBox controller using the Microsoft wireless hub for my PC when friends and/or drinking is involved. This is of course while the whole thing is piped through my 5.1 Surround Sound.
This gives you the best of both worlds. Sure sometimes I'll sit at the workstation monitor for hardcore stat based TF2 or MW2 - but Bioshock 2 is pretty enough to watch with friends and not be so hung up on accuracy. This coupled with the fact that they had a working setup with the last Bioshock and are using the same engine really makes this a no-brainer to me. Icing on the cake? Most people are using the XBox gamepads anyways (my opinion, anyone I know does) - you would think since this was made for XBox this wouldn't be such hard thing to do.
But maybe that is why I'm into networking and not programming. ;)
It's all about options, or in this case the lack thereof.
http://xpadder.com/
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I can't believe that I'm griping about lack of gamepad support. I've been a mouse and keyboarder for 15 years. But using the gamepad in the first game made it play so much better. Every game UI element was very easy to get to with a gamepad. It was efficient. Using the mouse and keyboard doesn't feel as efficient. And it hit me in the face with that every 2 or 3 minutes when I was playing it last night.
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Also, HOW, HOW, HOW could there still be widescreen resolution issues? Did they NOT have to go through this with the first release?
I will give the developers the benefit of the doubt but it's hard not to take this as a purposeful slap to the face. All I know is that I'm glad I didn't shell out $50 for this, and I wish others would wait and see before they pulled the trigger.
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No seriously , more options in a game are always welcome but few nerds that have trouble using the kb/mouse controls do not represent the PC community. Here is a quote from the petition: I an terrible at this game without my 360 gamepad. Im not enjoying this game because of this problem.
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