BioShock Remastered

BioShock Remastered

Developers
Original game	Irrational Games
Remastered	Blind Squirrel Games
macOS (OS X)	Feral Interactive
Publishers
	2K Games
Engines
	Unreal Engine 2.5
Release dates
Windows	September 15, 2016
macOS (OS X)	August 22, 2017
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Microtransactions	None
Modes	Singleplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	First-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Shooter, Immersive sim
Art styles	Realistic, Stylized
Themes	Sci-fi, Horror, Steampunk
Series	BioShock

BioShock
BioShock	2007
BioShock 2	2010
BioShock Infinite	2013
BioShock Remastered	2016
BioShock 2 Remastered	2016

BioShock Remastered is a remastered release of the 2007 immersive sim BioShock. In addition, it includes the formerly PlayStation 3-exclusive Challenge Rooms DLC which includes new challenges, a museum, Survival difficulty and New Game+.

The game is available for free to prior owners of BioShock on Steam. Purchasing this version likewise gives a free copy of the original on Steam and GOG.com.

Compared to the original version, the remaster has downgraded audio quality, which can be manually restored along with a few downgraded visuals such as wet surfaces. Random crashes can occur when playing the remaster on CPUs with more than 4 cores. See Issues fixed.

General information

Official support knowledgebase

GOG.com Community Discussions for game series

GOG.com Support Page

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Developer website
Epic Games Store		Early release uses 2K Launcher but no longer required now as of 26 November 2024.
GOG.com		Includes the original BioShock.
Green Man Gaming
Humble Store
Steam		Includes the original BioShock.

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Launch the game with -nointro parameter

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	%APPDATA%\BioshockHD\Bioshock\*.ini
Epic Games Launcher	%APPDATA%\Bioshock Epic HD\Bioshock\*.ini[citation needed] %APPDATA%\My games\Bioshock Epic HD\Bioshock
macOS (OS X)	$HOME/Library/Application Support/Feral Interactive/BioShock Remastered/VFS/User/AppData/Roaming/BioshockHD/Bioshock/
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/409710/pfx/

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\BioshockHD\Bioshock\SaveGames\
Epic Games Launcher	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Bioshock Epic HD\Bioshock\<user-id>\SaveGames\
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/409710/pfx/

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Epic Games Launcher
GOG Galaxy
OneDrive		Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers.
Steam Cloud		Up to 128 save files (and no more than 512 MB) can be synced.

Video

Graphics settings.

Graphics feature	State	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen			Added in via patch. FOV is Vert- so it needs to be matched to 16:9 manually. Viewmodel scales correctly. The UI has a setting that can either be stretched or constrained within 16:9.
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)		Added in via patch. 75° to 130°. Default is 100°. Doesn't scale viewmodels.
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)		FXAA, toggle only
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS and 120+ FPS		No frame rate caps. First-person animations are locked at 60 fps.
High dynamic range display (HDR)		HDR experience can be improved using: Luma, RenoDX See Luma for HDR.
Color blind mode		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Input

Controllers need to be unplugged or disabled in game settings for mouse to work.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping		Two keys per action.
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse acceleration		Disabled post launch via patch.
Mouse input in menus
Keyboard and mouse prompts
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support		XInput only.
Full controller support		If controller is disabled in settings, requires keyboard or mouse to enable.
Controller remapping		Changeable in the config file.
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger support

DirectInput-compatible controllers

Nintendo controllers

Other controller(s)		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.

Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Input prompt override
Haptic feedback
Simultaneous controller+KB/M		Enabling controller disables mouse, but keyboard still works.

• 

  Controller settings.

• 

  Controller buttons.

• 

  Input settings.

• 

  Keyboard rebinding.

DualShock button prompts

Download and install the PlayStation version of A GUI Mod for BioShock Remastered v1.5

Replace toggle binds with hold binds

Instructions[citation needed]

It is strongly recommended to make a backup of the .ini file, because these tweaks can lead to some issues (see below) Go to the configuration file location. Open User.ini. Find the Alias section and add the following: Aliases[57]=(Command="ZoomCycle | onRelease ZoomCycle",Alias=ZoomHold) Aliases[58]=(Command="ToggleWalk | onRelease ToggleWalk",Alias=WalkHold) Aliases[59]=(Command="DuckKeyPressed | onRelease DuckKeyReleased | onRelease Jump",Alias=DuckHold) 4. Bind each alias to a key in the following sections: [Default] [GathererChoice] [ContainerUIActive] [MovementOnly] (can skip ZoomHold) [NoJump] [NoMovement] [OnlyMedHypoAndMovement] (can skip ZoomHold) [NoPlasmids] [EverythingExceptWeaponAndPlasmids] (can skip ZoomHold) [InResurrectionStation] Example: Find the key to be changed, for example zoom (Aiming Down Sights, Right Mouse Button in this case): Rightmouse=ZoomCycle And change it to: Rightmouse=ZoomHold Notes: If any Toggle key (Zoom, Crouch, Walk) is changed, issues like ADS reverting to Toggle or being stuck in Crouch or Walk mode may be encountered. Saving and reloading doesn't fix this. Save and go back to the main menu, then load the saved game to fix the issue. The in-game "Customize Binding" menu won't allow to rebind any key that has been changed from Toggle to Hold using this method. This can be fixed by adding a ReplaceableAction= for each in the sections that are relevant to them.

Pick individual items from containers

Pick individual items from containers[citation needed]

Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open User.ini. Scroll down to the [ContainerUIActive] section and bind CollectContainerItemInSlot 0, CollectContainerItemInSlot 1 and CollectContainerItemInSlot 2 to any unused keys. Can be bound over existing keys so long as they aren't used in the container interface (i.e. Hack and Reload). Note that, much like the hold binds, binding over other bind can make you unable to change them in the menus. the fix is to add the following ReplaceableAction= to the [ContainerUIActive] section: ReplaceableAction=CollectContainerItemInSlot 2 ReplaceableAction=CollectContainerItemInSlot 1 ReplaceableAction=CollectContainerItemInSlot 0

Add binds for cycling through the Map/Goals/Messages/Help menu and Map Zoom

Instructions[citation needed]

Go to the configuration file location. Open User.ini. Find the [InGameManualUIActive] section and bind the following (suggested keys, can obviously use whatever you want): RightMouse=TopMovieFunction UpLevel Space=AcceptOrSelect A=UIGenericLeft D=UIGenericRight 4. Find the [MapsUIActive] section and bind the following: A=UIGenericLeft D=UIGenericRight Z=AcceptOrSelect Explanation: Using the above binds, A and D will cycle left and right respectively through the different tabs in the menu. Spacebar will select the highlighted option (goal, message etc.) Right mouse button will go back to the previous screen without closing the whole menu and returning to game. The Z key will zoom the map in and out when on the map screen.

Audio

General settings.

Audio settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Master, effects, music and voice.
Surround sound		Added with patch up to 7.1
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Simplified Chinese				Added in PC Patch 3.
Czech				Fan translation; download.
French
German
Hungarian				Fan translation; download.
Italian
Japanese
Polish				Ported from BioShock. Available here.
Brazilian Portuguese				Fan translation by Tribo Gamer / Central de Traduções; download or download.
Russian				Ported from BioShock. Available here.
Spanish

Surround sound

The game, after being patched, now supports in-game options for Mono, Stereo, Quad, Surround, 5.1, 7.1. There is no in-game option for Dolby Pro Logic support.

Enable Dolby Pro Logic[citation needed]
Go to the configuration file location. Open Bioshock.ini. Change SpeakerMode= to SM_ProLogic.

Surround sound requires your output device to be set to 48 kHz, otherwise most audio will not play.

Set output device to 48 kHz[citation needed]
Right-click the speaker icon in your taskbar. Select playback devices. Double-click the entry that says "Default device". Change to the "Advanced" tab. Select a 48000 Hz format. Don't forget to save your changes.

Reverb and EAX Support

All reverb has been removed from the game, including the software OpenAL EFX-based reverb (for those without EAX hardware support). In standard OpenAL, the games would use EAX hardware support if a supported soundcard was detected and fallback to software EFX implementation of these effects if not. The reverb setting in the audio menu does nothing anymore because of this.
Even if bEAXEnabled=True and UseEAX=True Use3DSound=True is set in Bioshock.ini, it will not do anything as OpenAL appears to have been gutted from the game and only FMOD is used (the original game appeared to use a combination of FMOD the bulk of the sound engine and OpenAL for the EAX effects).
Furthermore, setting AudioDevice= to ALAudio.ALAudioSubsystem or D3DDrv.D3DAudioDevice in Default.ini and Bioshock.ini leads to no sound when the game level is loaded even when OpenAL32.dll from OpenAL-Soft is pasted in the same folder as the executable and with UseDefaultDriver=False (the game now stores audio banks in FMOD .fsb archives). Alchemy can be used just for backend (dsoundlog.txt is being generated), but it won't restore EAX (also DSOAL is incompatible) and don't lead to big sound changes. (DSOAL does nothing). The game is still 32-bit.

VR support

3D modes	State	Notes
vorpX		G3D, Z3D, DirectVR Officially supported game, see official vorpx game list.

Issues unresolved

Minor spoilers ahead.

Arcadia: Langford's Safe

In Arcadia, searching Langford's safe with the Scrounger tonic equipped will cause the safe's contents—including an essential quest item—to disappear.

Fort Frolic: Bathysphere

In Fort Frolic, leaving the area by using the bathysphere adjacent to the entry bathysphere causes the stage curtains to close upon returning to the area, rendering the Cohen's Masterpiece quest un-completeable, and preventing the player from accessing the exit bathysphere.

Fort Frolic: Rapture Records

Attempting to kill Silas Cobb using the Hypnotize plasmid will prevent a scripted task from triggering, thus trapping the player in Rapture Records. In order to fix this issue, you must kill yourself (e.g., through the use of the Incinerate! plasmid), or reload an older save.

Notes

If your saves do not go far back enough, then the first two issues are game-ending. Technically, modifying the save file or using a trainer would also fix the issue, but neither solution has been documented.

Neptune's Bounty

If you don't get the photograph of the first Spider Splicer in the interrogation room (the room where you first get the camera) there is no way to go back. You can jump down and photograph the two splicers down the left and right hallways, but you can't jump up and get that first splicer you missed.. If you were saving manually, try to use your previous save or shared ones before and after shooting the all photos (ghost mode/no clip may not let you find the first Splicer either - he's despawned from interrogation room at certain point later in the game). Also, one Spider Splicer might be in room 5 for 1 second before he despawns making the game unfinishable (equip with camera before entering). These bugs exist both in the original and remastered versions.

Issues fixed

Restore uncompressed FMV audio

The overall audio quality has been downgraded due to poor sound balance, lack of EAX support and proper reverb settings. Actual bitrate of audio files is much higher, but not for BIK video audio tracks, which were severely compressed.

Download and install this mod

Game crashes on CPUs with more than 4 cores

Sometimes when playing on CPUs with more than 4 cores, crashes can randomly occur during gameplay with no distinct pattern. Saving and loading can also crash the game, which then corrupts your save file and makes it unusable.

Automatically set CPU affinity to 4 cores with Steam

Navigate to your Steam library. Right-click on Bioshock Remastered, and click Properties... Paste cmd /c start /affinity f BioshockHD.exe at the beginning of the game's Launch Options. Paste %command% at the end. Launch the game. To see if this has worked, open Task Manager and go to Details, then right-click on BioshockHD.exe and click Set affinity. Only CPU 0, CPU 1, CPU 2, and CPU 3 should be checked. Notes: Easy, permanent solution. Make sure the parameters are pasted so anything else is in between cmd /c start /affinity f BioshockHD.exe and %command%. (for example, -nointro)

Manually set CPU affinity to 4 cores with Task Manager
Launch the game. Open Task Manager, and go to Details. Right-click BioshockHD.exe, and click Set affinity. Uncheck All Processors, then check CPU 0, CPU 1, CPU 2, and CPU 3. Notes: This method is required per-launch. Some automation programs like Process Lasso or Process Governor can be used to make the affinity permanent per application by doing steps similar to the above.

Game stutters/freezes when entering new area

Lower the texture detail in config file
Go to the configuration file location. Open Bioshock.ini. Go to section [Engine.RenderConfig]. In it change TextureDetail to either Medium or Low.

Game minimises itself when run in fullscreen

Run in borderless fullscreen windowed
This is not natively supported, but several workarounds exist..

Brightness adjustments have no effect (Windows 10/11)

Disable Fullscreen Optimizations
Locate BioshockHD.exe under <path-to-game>\Build\Final. Right Click on BioshockHD.exe and select Properties. Go to the Compatibility tab. Under Settings, select Disable fullscreen optimizations, and click OK to save the changes.

Very low resolution textures on Linux when using Proton

Turn off esync
Add PROTON_NO_ESYNC=1 %command% to the launch options in Steam

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	11
Metal support

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Physics	Havok Physics
Audio	FMOD	DSound as backend
Interface	Adobe Flash
Cutscenes	Bink Video, Flash

Performance tweak (Havok)

Improving Havok physics engine performance[citation needed]
Go to <path-to-game>\Build\Final\. Open Default.ini. Edit the line HavokNumThreads=2 to represent the number of cores in your machine's CPU. For example, if using a quad-core CPU, change the line to HavokNumThreads=4. Some systems may require doing the same with Bioshock.ini, located in %APPDATA%\BioshockHD\Bioshock\.

Improving Engine Memory usage[citation needed]
Go to <path-to-game>\Build\Final\. Open Default.ini. Search for [Engine.GameEngine] and increase the CacheSizeMegs value under it (maxes out at 512). Some systems may require doing the same with Bioshock.ini, located in %APPDATA%\BioshockHD\Bioshock\.

Modifications

Notes

Some mods, such as the Visual Fixes and Original Aesthetics mod, are required to be installed via TFC Installer.

TFC Installer

A tool that uses UPK Explorer to install texture packs and game patches for games using Unreal Engine 2 or 3.

A GUI Mod for BioShock: Remastered

This mod changes, restores, and fixes some of the mispositioned graphics in the graphic user interface. Download here.

Compatible with GOG.com, Steam, and Epic Games Store versions as of v1.5.

Adds support for French, German, Italian, and Spanish localizations as of v1.5.

Includes a version that replaces the Xbox controller prompts and relevant menu screens with PlayStation prompts.

BioShock Tweaker

Allows to change settings that are not normally adjustable from the options menu (i.e. custom resolution). Point the program at the game's configuration file location.

May increase the frequency and likelihood of crashes on some machines.

May cause mouse issues on DRM-free versions of the game such as those from GOG or Humble Bundle.

Allows access to ForceGlobalLighting, a setting left over from the original 2007 release that will cause the game to freeze in specific places if enabled. This is verifiable by examining the logs that can be found in the %APPDATA%\BioshockHD\Bioshock\ShaderErrors folder after at least one such crash occurs.

PlayStation Button Icons for BioShock Remastered

Replaces the Xbox Icons with PlayStation Icons.

Visual Fixes and Original Aesthetics for BioShock Remastered

Restores some of missing graphical effects from the original version like some wet surfaces, and fixes visual inconsistencies created during the remastering process. Also added in some content from the beta, mainly skyboxes and the death screen effect, while restoring original missing enemy AI behavior. Install via TFC Installer.

May cause issues and errors when installed before any other mod that involves changing the game's textures. It's recommended to install the Visual Fixes and Original Aesthetics mod last.

Luma HDR mod

An open-source mod that adds HDR support and other fixes.

Adds HDR support

System requirements

Windows

macOS (OS X)

Windows
	Minimum		Recommended
Operating system (OS)	7
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66 GHz AMD Athlon X2 2.7 GHz		3.0 GHz Quad Core
System memory (RAM)	4 GB		8 GB
Storage drive (HDD/SSD)	25 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce GTX 670 AMD Radeon HD 7770 2 GB of VRAM DirectX 11 compatible		Nvidia GeForce GTX 770 AMD Radeon HD 7970
Sound (audio device)	DirectX compatible

A 64-bit operating system is required.

Mobile chipsets and integrated/AGP graphics cards may be incompatible.

macOS (OS X)
	Minimum		Recommended
Operating system (OS)	10.12.5		10.12.6
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core i5 2.4 GHz
System memory (RAM)	8 GB		16 GB
Storage drive (HDD/SSD)	27 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce GTX 680MX AMD Radeon R9 M290X Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200 2 GB of VRAM

A 64-bit operating system is required.