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Author Topic: BioShock Demo Shock!  (Read 9761 times)

lanux128

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BioShock Demo Shock!
« on: October 04, 2007, 09:53 PM »
knowing full well that i won't have enough time to play BioShock, i downloaded the 1GB+ demo.. after installing, i had attached a hard drive from another PC for trouble-shooting and the next time i tried to launch the demo, there was the standard warning from SecureROM and since i'm disinclined to find out more about this "protection" & how to disable it, i'm just going to take a deep breath & uninstall the demo without even playing.. ah, the irony!

bio-demo-shock!.JPG
btw, the image came from this thread..


Ralf Maximus

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Re: BioShock Demo Shock!
« Reply #1 on: October 04, 2007, 10:37 PM »
PLEASE give it a chance. BioShock is an *amazing* experience.  I usually don't get into FPS games anymore, but this one's incredible.  The atmosphere alone is worth playing on "easy" just for the tourist experience.

The SecurRom error popped up on my system too.  In my case it was due to the SysInternals Process Explorer I keep running mostly all the time.  SecurRom (BioShock anti-piracy crap) detects certain debugging & disassembly tools and won't run.  Process Explorer is one of them.

The deal is, PE leaves a driver behind in memory after it runs, even if you shut it down.  BioShock sees the driver and won't boot.  For the rest of the session.  *groan*

Solution(s):

1. Reboot Windows and don't start PE.  Bioshock loads just fine for me this way.

2. Upgrade PE to the latest version from SysInternals -- Mark R. has recompiled a new build that avoids SecurRom's paranoia.

If you're not using Process Explorer, then check what else is running in the background.  SecurRom is touchy about debugging tools.

HTH,
Ralf

lanux128

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Re: BioShock Demo Shock!
« Reply #2 on: October 04, 2007, 11:25 PM »
thanks for the suggestions, Ralf but i'm sure that i wasn't running Process Explorer in the background but anyway as i'm already playing Gothic 3 at the moment, maybe i'll take a 2nd look when the dust settles.. :)

lanux128

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Re: BioShock Demo Shock!
« Reply #3 on: October 05, 2007, 01:20 AM »
yes, you're right.. if i had started PE then i have to reboot the PC, just closing the program won't do.. >:(

SecuROMâ„¢ has determined that a Process Explorer program is running in the background.

    * Please close this program and reboot your machine before you start the application.

nudone

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Re: BioShock Demo Shock!
« Reply #4 on: October 05, 2007, 02:03 AM »
i seem to be the only person on the planet that doesn't like Bioshock. i've played to about half way through the game and i have to say the 'action' is very repetitive.

it's now uninstalled and i'll be selling it on ebay from sunday. i've never done that before with a game so that pretty much sums up how much i don't care for the game.

f0dder

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Re: BioShock Demo Shock!
« Reply #5 on: October 05, 2007, 05:17 AM »
lanux128: grab a crack and avoid the securom shit... will probably work just fine with the demo. I do that for all the games I purchase, except those from STEAM since they don't tend to have as obnoxious and obtrusive protections schemes.
- carpe noctem

Ralf Maximus

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Re: BioShock Demo Shock!
« Reply #6 on: October 05, 2007, 08:01 AM »
lanux128: Grab the latest PE from SysInternals and rock on.  SecurRom can't see the newest version, even when running in the background.

nudone: Rest assured, there are plenty of hardcore FPSers out there who think BioShock is lame.  I've read a lot of reviews citing the repetition and its unfavorable comparison to System Shock.

And unless you're really into retro/steampunky/literature sort of stuff the game's environment won't impress you.  How many Ann Rynd freaks play games, anyway?

But in my case the experience is very nice.  The world is fully realized, the backstory intriguing, the sound and voice talent *spectacular*, and who doesn't love the idea of buying ammo from vending machines?

After playing it for 15+ hours, I've come to think of it more as an interactive novel where I get to blow shit up occasionally.  I want to see how it ends.  I haven't felt that way about a game since HL or Deus Ex.

My only complaint: horsepower requirements.  HOLY MOTHER OF DOG you better have some serious iron to get above single-digit framerates.  The reviews kind of mention this, but in my case I had to crank it down to 800x600 and turn off most of the bling to make it playable.  I think professional reviewers should be forced to use the minimum requirements as per the box; too many of these guys have water-cooled dual SLI machines overclocked to within a few milliseconds of exploding.  The rest of us with two-year-old nVidia cards are kind of hosed.

iphigenie

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Re: BioShock Demo Shock!
« Reply #7 on: October 05, 2007, 08:05 AM »
I think that is the weakness of bioshock - it builds this very atmospheric place, but then puts a rather standard shooter in it. So the first encounters are great, but before you know it you are just doing the same thing over and over and it rather means that the whole atmosphere ends up wasted.

A slightly more involving gameplay would have made it an absolute perfect game

iphigenie

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Re: BioShock Demo Shock!
« Reply #8 on: October 05, 2007, 08:10 AM »
System Shock 2 was a perfect game in many ways. I played it again last year and it still managed to grip me.

p3lb0x

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Re: BioShock Demo Shock!
« Reply #9 on: October 05, 2007, 08:11 AM »
the short amount of time i played the demo at the lowest settings with a horrible framerate i found it quite good, i am looking forward to playing it some day
Stop mousering people so much - Mouser

nudone

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Re: BioShock Demo Shock!
« Reply #10 on: October 05, 2007, 10:00 AM »
ah right, i admit i haven't read that many reviews about the game - the one's i saw before i bought the game just set me up for a big fall i think - i should have looked around a bit more and read a few other reviews. or you might be right about the steampunk theme, Ralf - i love sci-fi, but probably not steampunk imagery.

Lashiec

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Re: BioShock Demo Shock!
« Reply #11 on: October 05, 2007, 10:36 AM »
And unless you're really into retro/steampunky/literature sort of stuff the game's environment won't impress you.  How many Ann Rynd freaks play games, anyway?

2112 ;D

And don't worry, you don't need a water cooled SLI machine to run the game. It runs perfectly fine on relative cheap hardware (no, a GeForce 6200 Turbo Cache is not one of those ;))

p3lb0x

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Re: BioShock Demo Shock!
« Reply #12 on: October 05, 2007, 02:43 PM »
doesnt run very well on a 6600 either :)
Stop mousering people so much - Mouser

lanux128

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Re: BioShock Demo Shock!
« Reply #13 on: October 07, 2007, 07:03 PM »
i've grabbed the latest PE which promises to hide itself from SecureROM but i reckon it'll be some time before i try out the demo as i blew another weekend playing Gothic 3.. :)

on another note, all the googling brought results to the latest patch that cracks SecureROM but no official work-around from SecureROM itself. i guess this highlights the angst it brings on to the gamers..