The Windows desktop may stop updating correctly after a Windows Vista-based computer has been running for an extended period of time: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/932406

I started having this problem a LOT lately. Not quite sure why. I’m installing this hotfix, maybe it’ll do the trick. I’m sharing the info. in case it helps others out..

With the ongoing BioShock saga…

On a whim, I stopped using my onboard RealTek 7.1 HD audio device, and put my Soundblaster X-Fi XtremeMusic back into my machine. I really hate Creative, and have had nothing but problems with their Vista drivers, but figured I might as well give this a shot. Setup the drivers, setup the new Creative ALchemy (to give EAX support under Vista), and fired up BioShock. Wow. 5.1 audio actually works, and sounds pretty decent.

I’m guessing that 2K Games never extensively tested the game with onboard audio devices. This doesn’t make much sense, seeing as over 50% of the users out there use onboard sound for their games. At least according to the last Valve hardware survey. And it also doesn’t make sense to me that every other game I often play (Counter Strike: Source, Oblivion, Command and Conquer 3, etc.) works fine in 5.1 mode with my onboard controller.

I’ve written before how I believe Creative/etc. are a dying breed, with their custom audio APIs and effects layers. This just proves my point a bit more.

Since I can now semi-play the game, I’ll give it a go and write my review a bit later on.

Update: After disabling my onboard sound card, and installing the X-Fi, Vista once again is forcing me to re-activate. What the f—k? I’m getting so tired of this crap.

From a post by 2k Elizabeth, a person who works for 2k Games:

hey guys,

first, let me say this. you DO NOT NEED TO USE THE INTERNET EVERY TIME YOU PLAY THIS GAME. it is only the first time.

second, you can uninstall and reinstall this game, and if, by chance, you have 2 computers you want to simultaneously play this game on, you also can do that.

if by some chance you are reinstalling this game without uninstalling it first, a lot, there is a chance you may have to call securom and get a key, or deactivate some older installations.

but if you upgrade your hardware next week, you'll still be able to play the game. if you revamp your system and need to reinstall bioshock, just uninstall it before you go through the overhaul, and then do your reinstall.

calling it "hardware fingerprinting" is a bit alarmist. we do not transmit any of your data to any companies.

really, the only people who will be concerned about any of these security measures are those who are rapidly putting bioshock on many pcs... if you use the game as you normally do, you won't notice this at all.

AWESOME!

I feel sorry for people who bought the game and don’t have an always-on internet connection. This protection means that the first time they go to play it, they’ll have to connect to the internet.

And I’ll now have to remember to uninstall the game next time I buy a new PC or rebuild my current one. And let’s hope the activation doesn’t fail randomly, because we know that never happens, especially on Windows Vista. Otherwise, I’ll be forced to call a third party (SecuROM) and plead my case. Wonderful!

And guess who doesn’t have to worry about any of these things? The people who pirated the game in the first place.

To top it off, she ends with basically saying if you aren’t doing anything wrong, you don’t have anything to worry about. Riiight. Since when is it up to game manufacturers to determine how many PCs I can install a game on?

You win, 2k Games! Truly you have conquered all video game pirating!

Update: Since people are wondering, here are my computer’s specs:

MSI P6N SLI Platinum Motherboard
Intel Q6600 Core2 Quad, 2.4GHz CPU
2 gigabytes of Muskin eXtreme Performance DDR2 1066 RAM
ATI Radeon X1900 XTX PCI-E 512mb video card
On-board RealTek (7.1 capable) Audio, analog mode

Bioshock was released today for PC and XBox 360, receiving a 97 out of 100 over at Metacritic. That’s a pretty excellent score. So of course I decided to purchase the game via Steam. When I went to play the game, that’s when things fell apart.

Firstly, the game’s SecuROM protection would not let the game start. It claimed the activation servers could not be found. Huh? You’re telling me SecuROM is dialing home to make sure my copy is legit? That’s a bit scary.

So I check the forums, and find that if you retry running the game three times, it eventually works (who knows why three is the magic number.) Whaddya know, I’m in! The Bioshock logo appears, my screen goes to black, appearing to load the game, then bam, back to my desktop. Huh? I check my taskbar— yep, the game’s still running. But why did it kick me back to the desktop? On a whim, I exit out of Vista’s sidebar, and I’m able to bring the game fullscreen again without a problem.

Okay, finally.. I’ll be able to play! I see the intro movies. First one shows a list of copyright mumbo jumbo for about 15 seconds. Can’t be skipped. Ugh. Second video is a short Unreal technology logo. Third one is an nVidia logo, also can’t be skipped. Finally, we’re shown a 2k games video, and we’re able to hit escape to skip it. Totally lame.

At the main menu, I go into options to fix my resolution (the game started up at 1024x768, my monitor is natively 1680x1050.) I change the resolution and apply the settings. I go into the sound settings, and change it from stereo to 5.1 audio. Says I’ll have to restart the game. No biggie, I guess. But that means sitting through those logos again.. so I bite the bullet and restart the game anyhow.

Back to the main menu, I finally choose new game. It starts to load, and I’m forced to watch a cutscene rendered by the engine. No hitting escape (can’t even get a button to go back to the main menu!), etc. The cutscene looks decent, but has a “fake” antialiased blur to it. This isn’t spoiling anything for you, but the main character (you) gets into a plane crash in this video. You wake up rising to the surface, surrounded by burning plane wreckage. Guess what problem I run into now?

There’s no surround sound. At all. And the sound coming out of my two front speakers is way out of wack with where I’m at in relation to the sound sources (the fire burning, the ocean, etc.) Huh? I double check my options. Yep, 5.1 sound is set. What gives?

I decide to keep on trucking, walking into a building in the middle of the ocean. Staircases lead me down in front of a bathysphere. There is some “art” on the walls, and banners and such, and they look great. The textures on the bathysphere and the rest of the walls, however, is absolute garbage. It’s like I’ve gone back in time to Quake III-era textures. I suspect that 2k Games made Bioshock to look/work best on the XBox 360 console, and not the PC.. Huh?

I give up and save my game, bailing out to Windows, and hopping on Steam’s forums as well as 2k Game’s forums, to search for solutions. There are none to be found, but plenty of other people having loads of problems. The last time I saw a game launch with this many technical problems, it was called Enter The Matrix. It was a total joke, and nearly unplayable. That’s just about how I feel about Bioshock right now.

I learn nothing from the forums, so I jump back in the game and load my save game. I wait for it to finish loading. La la la. When the save game is fully loaded, I see the screen come up, but all the textures are very very blurry. After a few seconds, they clear themselves up. What the heck? I’m not on a console! I’m on a PC more than capable of handling the game.

I should also chime in that I’m getting tired of Unreal engine based games completely sucking on the PC. They all suffer from the “mouse lag” problem, or 3d audio problems, or 3d video problems, etc… more than any other games I’ve had to install and run. They usually require you to get down to .INI hacking just to play the basic game. Dumb.

I recommend that everyone learn from my mistake: stay away from this stinker, unless 2k Games releases a major update to fix ALL of the problems.

A perfect example of just why I don’t care is his latest post, an insane rambling about how difficult it was to open the Office 2007 packaging. Come on, Joel. You really couldn’t figure it out? Of course Chris Pirillo jumps in with his two cents, basically rehashing what Joel says, and also point out how bad it is for one of the “world’s leading software developers states this” information. Gimme a break.

When I bought Office 2007 a month ago to install for a friend, opening the box was easy peezy. You just follow the little sticker’s instructions and you’re off. The instructions consist of basically peeling off a sticker and then pivoting open the box. Maybe Joel didn’t get a package with the sticker. I don’t know. But even the most basic student of engineering would figure out that it “pivots open” after one removes the sticker.

While I’m at it, I should point out this genius as well, who claims it took 30 minutes to open the box and took the time to document it on Flickr (no doubt that’s where the 30 minutes came from?) This seal, which they’re implying can only be opened with scissors or a sharp knife, easily tore for me when I pivoted open the box. It was already slightly perforated. Come on, guys. You’re telling me you’ve never encountered computer software packaging with TAPE or PLASTIC?

He also goes on to recommend that people get XP on newer computers, and suggests that Vista should not be used as someone’s primary operating system, due to compatibility headaches. Huh? Care you cite some examples? I can understand a company hesitating to upgrade, since they might need to test some custom software, etc. before doing the push.. but your typical family user(s) are not going to run into troubles. I have no problems recommending Vista to users purchasing a new Dell, Gateway, etc. today.

If you want something to rant about packaging-wise.. why not complain about the way CDs and DVDs are packaged, with the super-tight plastic wrap on the outside, and the one to three stickers found underneath that plastic wrap, which always seems to be stuck on with glue that is not meant for peeling, leaving a yucky substance all over your brand new cover? That’s really lame. If you’re a thief, you’re probably just using a EZ-CD opener or something to quickly rip the cover off and take the disc out.

I’m going to write up a full review of 300 soon enough, but in the meantime, here’s an awesome mockery of one of the film’s early scenes:

Can’t wait for this to come out! I had my misgivings about Heath Ledger playing The Joker, but looks like he’s pulling it off well. And of course Christian Bale fits perfectly as Batman.