🔧BioShock 1&2 Remastered - Random crashes and freezes workaround-fix

The most comprehensive workaround-fix for frequent crashes and freezes for Bioshock 1 and 2 Remastered.

Introduction

You know the problem: Bioshock 2 Remastered (1.0.122864) or Bioshock Remastered (1.0.122872) crash or freeze so often while playing*, with every possible config (Win7, Win10, Intel+NVidia, AMD Ryzen, AMD gpus)...

Editing the INI file to tweak havok threads, textures memory limit etc. as many guides suggest on the Internet, does literally nothing and be sure the game will still crash randomly sooner or later: they are not the cause of instability and just placebo fixes.

...So here is a WORKING fix for these games, enjoy!

Same procedure here for Bioshock 2 Remastered applies to Bioshock Remastered.

Small donations 💰 to buy and fix some more games are welcome from my profile page.

*📢
this is NOT a fix for corrupt savegames/loading errors and crashes or black screen issues at launch... If you can't launch the game, Load a previous savegame, and you're looking for a fix try this other thread: https://steamcommunity.com/app/409720/discussions/0/1318835718932171502/

New fix (June 2019)

It seems my old "Core fix" (removed) wasn't "resolutive" and the game still kept crashing sometimes...
So here is a new fix which seems to 99.99% work, even though is recommanded to restart a new game in case you still have crashes: it has been tested from beginning to 3/4 of the game a couple of times including crazy fights against Big Daddies and Big Sisters (even two at once!), moreover Minerva's Den DLC was completed twice without a single crash anymore, starting from a new game.

Please, notice this is the result of literally YEARS (!) struggling for a stable fix for these great games, unfortunately plagued by frequent crashes (shame on 2K Games)!

YOU HAVE TO APPLY THE WHOLE FIX (ALL 3 STEPS)
First of all remove any compatibily mode you may have set on the game exe, then follow ALL 3 steps below to apply this new fix (tested under Windows 10 1809 and 1903, 1909).

1/3) NVidia Profile Inspector

Download latest NVidia Profile Inspector[github.com].
Please notice you have to apply it to

• Bioshock Remastered
  
• Bioshock 2 Remastered

profiles from the list of NVidia Profile Inspector! Not to the default system profile "_GLOBAL_DRIVER_PROFILE (Base Profile)"!

2 - Sync and Refresh
Maximum pre-rendered frames = 3
Prefered Refreshrate = Use the 3D application setting















N.B.
If still crashes for you after the whole fix, as a last resort you may try in addition to force also:
Frame Rate Limiter = 60 or 90 through NVidia Profile Inspector.

... optionally, in case the game is choppy after recent NVidia drivers 460+Windows 10 2004 update you can try to remove the above framerate limit and set:
Vertical Sync = 1/2 Frame Rate
So, for example, if you have a 144Hz display framerate will be 72fps perfectly smooth.

AMD gfx user: I don't know if 1/3 equivalent options exist but you should try setting something similar.

2/3) Edit your INI files

RESET your INI files to be sure you start from clean settings: delete INI and relaunch the game once. Edited INI files with modified havok, texture memory limit etc. can invalidate the whole workaround/fix. You have been warned!

For Bioshock 2 Remastered edit %APPDATA%\BioshockHD\Bioshock2\Bioshock2SP.ini as follows:
(in particular VSync and Multithreaded settings marked with italic...).

BIOSHOCK 2 REMASTERED:

...
[Havok]
HavokNumThreads=2
RebuildMoppWhenMissingOrOld=1

[Engine.RenderConfig]
HDRSceneExpBias=-3
MaxSkeletalProjectorsPerActor=6
OffsetSkeletalProjectorRearFrustrumPlane=10.000000
UseSoftwareAntiAliasing=True
EdgeDetectCutoff=0.002000
EdgeBlurSize=0.500000
StreamingVisibleWeight=10.000000
StreamingDiffuseWeight=1.000000
StreamingBSPWeight=1.000000
StreamingEmissiveWeight=7.000000
StreamingLightmapWeight=5.000000
StreamingNormalmapWeight=4.000000
StreamingDynamicLoadedWeight=10.000000
StreamingDistanceScale=1000.000000
HighDetailShaders=True
Shadows=True
RealTimeReflection=True
PostProcessing=True
HardwareOcclusion=True
UseRippleSystem=True
UseSpecCubeMap=True
UseDistortion=True
HorizontalFOVLock=True;
HorizontalFOVLockPS4=True;
HorizontalFOVLockXB1=True;
LevelOfAnisotropy=8
UseVSync = False;
UseFxaa = True;
UseMultithreadedRendering = True;
EnableStereoVision=False
ForceGlobalLighting=False
CascadingWaterSimulationVelocity=10.000000
UseHighDetailPostProcEffects=True
BloomStar=True
UseHighDetailSoftParticles=True
UseMultithreading=False
DisableExtraAntiPortalClip=True
TextureDetail=High
FluidSurfaceDetail=High
DynamicShadowDetail=High
TextureStreamingMemoryLimit=2048.000000
TextureStreamingDistanceLimit=30000.000000
UseMultithreadedRendering=0
UseVSync=1
UseFxaa=1

[RunningUser]
UserName=

[ShockGame.ShockUserSettings]
HasPlasmidPack1=False
NeedToShowPlasmidAnnouncement=False
Vibration=True
MasterVolume=100
SFXVolume=60
MusicVolume=100
VoVolume=50
ArtSubtitles=False
DialogSubtitles=False
AdaptiveTraining=True
Sensitivity=50
QuestArrow=True
DisableVitaChamber=False
Brightness=0.434924
Contrast=0.500000
Gamma=1.200000
VSync=False
ShouldAlwaysShowHelmet=True
LockHorizontalFOV=False
InvertYAxis=False
ProtectorTrialsProgression=,LD;000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
CurrentInputContextModifier=
MouseSensitivity=4.000000
MouseAcceleration=False
MouseSmoothing=True
SpeakerMode=SM_ProLogic
SpeakerModeValue=7
bReverb=False
bEAXEnabled=False
bShowShimmer=True
bHighlightFocussedItems=True
LevelCompletionMask=0
TrialsCompletionMask=0
ControlSensitivity=CS_MEDIUM
GameDifficulty=GD_MEDIUM
MovementStick=MS_RIGHTTHUMBSTICK
AutoAim=True
AutoCenter=False
bGameWasFinished=True
bUseXBoxController=True
bHorizontalFOVLock=False
bHasSaves=True
bMaintainUIScale=False
MouseIconScale=10
HorizontalFOV=100
...

The INI for Bioshock Remastered is %APPDATA%\BioshockHD\Bioshock\Bioshock.ini
BIOSHOCK REMASTERED:

...
[D3DDrv11.D3DRenderDevice11]
UseShaderConstantChecking=True
AvoidHitches=True
...
[Engine.RenderConfig]
UseVSync=1
UseMultithreadedRendering=0
...
[ShockGame.ShockUserSettings]
Contrast=500
Gamma=1
VSync=True
...

Please, include duplicated settings (e.g. UseVsync=False; and UseVsync=1 and VSync=False) and don't ask me why are redundant (were all set by the game itself and not manually edited so please LEAVE THEM AS THEY ARE!). Remember the engine was a CUSTOMIZED Unreal Engine 3.x so it's possible some settings are just ignored.

AS A GENERAL RULE FOR BIOSHOCK REMASTERED 1 AND 2, BE SURE YOU'RE PLAYING WITH: full screen mode, vsync ON (even if you have g-sync).

The games unfortunately often wrongly start in window or full-window mode so be sure to modify Options > Graphics Options > Windowed mode = Off, then press Return twice to confirm changes

3/3) Windows Compatibility Administrator tool

Windows Compatibility Administrator tool:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/whats-new/whats-new-windows-10-version-1909
Windows Assessment and Deployment Toolkit (ADK)
A new Windows ADK will NOT be released for Windows 10, version 1909. You can use the Windows ADK for Windows 10, version 1903 to deploy Windows 10, version 1909.

Win 10 link: https://docs.microsoft.com/windows-hardware/get-started/adk-install

Download Windows Compatibility Administrator tool... or read my other guide:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1934864423
and set the following Compatibility modes and Compatibility fixes as shown on the right for Bioshock2 Remastered exe:















Old pic. To simplify things, here are the .sdb files you can Open in MS ACT 32bit:
Bioshock Remastered 2: https://1drv.ms/u/s!ApMUGr0cuN39geN-4o1HkNMa4KO92Q?e=GrlQl8
Bioshock Remastered 1: https://1drv.ms/u/s!ApMUGr0cuN39geZ1PtibrX76URSfvg?e=h2aFCS

Remember to 'Save' the DB, and then 'Install' it (click RMB over the DB) to apply the fixes. Just saving it is not enough. You will find the newly created MS ACT patch in the usual list of installed programs in Windows.

Final thoughts:

Yes I know, it may seem a bit too complicated and a long procedure but it's not (about 5-10 mins) and once done this fix will also work in case you will uninstall and re-install the game in the future.
Not sure 2/3 is really required, but that's my settings and it works like a charm.

This solution works fine under Win 10, with older Windows versions may or may not work...

🆘 Official thread 🆘

For those few users still having random crashes while playing after the fix, write here in the "official" thread: https://steamcommunity.com/app/409720/discussions/0/3203652426718809619/
and specify your HW/SW including Windows version, screen mode, Hz, G-Sync/Freesync, controller type.

If everything fails...

You can try in addition these other things:

1) edit Bioshock ini and set for every instance of "UseMultithreading... =True" -> False and "UseMultithreadedRendering=0"... Do the same from NVidia control panel and set Threaded Optimization=Off for these games.

2) depending on the version of the Bioshock games you use, you can also try to patch the game exe for >2GB RAM with tools like https://ntcore.com/?page_id=371 (remastered versions should be already compiled for >2GB)

3) with NVidia Profile Inspector or from NVidia driver control panel, change Threaded Optimization = Off as mentioned also in point 1

4) change your Windows audio settings to 48KHz max

5) there is also another "experimental" method to try:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/409720/discussions/0/3203652426718809619/?ctp=10#c3425564314034183045

Choppy gfx issue?

31 Dec 2020
I've recently reinstalled Bioshock 1 Remastered on Windows 10 20H2 (19042.685) + NVidia driver 460.89 and noticed some ugly jittering (even with v-sync on it looks like is off) when the MS-ACT compatibility mode "DisableDXMaximizedWindowedMode" is also enabled as suggested by this guide (3/3)! Moreover full screen tried to open 5 times before it succeeded which is suspiciously wrong...

Removing it brings back butter-smooth video rendering but I can't grant the game stability, for which this workaround guide has been successfully created, will still work!
Please let me know in case, it must be some new MS/Nvidia bug... sigh...

FYI
It seems NVidia + MS ♥♥♥**d up framerate limiter + g-sync.
Perfectly smooth Bioshock 1 or 2 Remastered, capped at 90 or 60fps with pre-R460 NVidia drivers worked like a charm on a g-synced screen with butter-smooth rendering and refresh rate.
Now, it seems the only solution to cap smoothly the framerate is to use half-vsync (e.g. for a 144Hz screen = 72fps). Don't get me wrong: it's still smooth if you don't cap it at all (e.g. keep 144fps/Hz native screen res) but it's a regression to me (I used to play it at 90fps smoothly capped).
In R460 NVidia completely removed the old FrameRateLimiter in favour of the new FrameRateLimiterV3 ONLY, which doesn't work so good (461.72 currently) with g-sync for capped games like this.


3 July 2021
This seems to have been fixed in recent Windows 10/11 + latest NVidia driver updates: "DisableDXMaximizedWindowedMode" won't cause choppy movements anymore.

20 Sep 2021
MS reintroduced this problem with 'DisableDXMaximizedWindowedMode' again (you'll notice the Bioshock Remastered screen takes many seconds to open after many attempts)...
Just open the fix with MS-ACT and remove 'DisableDXMaximizedWindowedMode' shim only, save and install as usual. Please, read the section "Important notes (June 2022)".

Important notes (June 2022)

SCREEN BRIGHTNESS
At point 3/3 (the MS-ACT fix) it's important to note that only when using Compatibility Modes: DisableDXMaximizedWindowedMode (and not DXMaximizedWindowdMode) you can adjust in-game Options brightness!
This is literally the same fix when you activate the well known compatibility fix named "Disable fullscreen optimizations" per exe as Windows applies the same exact shim.

MSVCP110.dll ERROR AT LAUNCH OR NOTHING HAPPENING
This happened to me too today 02-June-2022, after installing also (!) the Epic version (where I've found they use a more recent exe build 1.0.127355 BTW... worth testing if this is more stable or nothing changes!) that forcibly silently reinstalled vcredist_x86.exe and vcredist_x64.exe (Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 Redistributable (x64 and x86) 11.0.61030.0).

How did I fix it and made Steam version work again:

• removed from Installed Apps of Windows 10: all Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 Redistributable I've found (I've found double copies too!) both x86 and x64
  
• reinstalled x86 and x64 versions from official MS site: https://www.microsoft.com/it-IT/download/details.aspx?id=30679 (Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2012 Update 4). You'll always find latest MS Visual C++ redistributables at: https://docs.microsoft.com/it-it/cpp/windows/latest-supported-vc-redist

This fixed the strange DLL dependency hell case. Don't ask me why same versions 11.0.61030.0 re-installed before by Epic were no more compatibile (???)...

2K Launcher cancer

To bypass 2K Launcher at launch, you can add from Properties as launch options for Bio 1 Remastered, 2 Remastered, Infinite:
(example for Bioshock Remastered)

"<Your full path to the game>\BioShock Remastered\Build\Final\BioshockHD.exe" -<any insult you may think against 2K> %command%

e.g.:
"D:\Steam\steamapps\common\BioShock Remastered\Build\Final\BioshockHD.exe" -badword2k %command%

Thanks to H3llF1re for the hint.
(Still working as of 31-Aug-2022)

History

1.0 - first release
1.1 - second release using only main 4 cores (0, 2, 4, 6) (moved to OneDrive because Google bots flagged my perfectly safe file as malware!)
1.2 - added New Fix (from top). Hidden old Core fix.
1.3 - removed old unreliable so called "Core fix" section
1.4 - added Frame Rate Limiter hint and highlited the "update your drivers first" and "be sure you removed compatibility settings from the exe"
1.5 - (06-Feb-2020) cleaned up a bit the guide. Added Frame Rate Limiter V3 notice (unnecessary and removed)
1.6 - changed guide link example on how to set-up and use Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit. Added .sdb patch file in section 3/3
1.7 - (17-Jul-2020) added Bioshock 1 Remastered SDB file in section 3/3
1.8 - (11-Mar-2021) added half-vsync hint after recent NVidia drivers and Win 10 2004 updates... grrr...
1.9 - (02-Jul-2021) added a newer fix in section 3/3 for Win 10/11 and latest NVidia drivers (NEW:...)
1.10 - (03-Jul-2021) reworked the guide a bit, updated new .sdb file for Win 10 and latest NVidia drivers to fix not working brightness adjustment. Now, in full screen mode only (Windowed mode=Off), it should be finally possible to change brightness.
1.11 - (03-Jul-2021) reverted an MS-ACT fix that seems to have worsen situation: should be more stable now as in the first versions. Re-download the file.
1.12 - (16-Sep-2021) added "If everything fails..." section
1.13 - (20-Sep-2021) added note for 'DisableDXMaximizedWindowedMode' in 'Choppy gfx issue?' section...
1.14 - (02-June-2022) added new section "Important notes (June 2022)"
1.15 - (14-June-2022) added method 5 to "If everything fails..."
1.16 - (15-June-2022) updated .sdb files for both Bio 1 & 2 Remastered in section 3/3 to fix fullscreen at launch not always working
1.17 - (20-June-2022) updated .sdb files for both Bio 1 & 2 Remastered again for better compatibility when opening fullscreen on current Win10 21H1+ and modern NVidia drivers (512.xx)
1.18 - (17-August-2022) added warning note at the beginning of 2/3: YOU HAVE TO START FROM A CLEAN DEFAULT INI FILE
1.19 - (31-August-2022) added section how to bypass 2K Cancer

[Gobb]

2k launcher is removed now. Finally.

[🌙♰MidnightWinter❄⚜]

Unfortunately in 2024 still having some issues, I've done all of these fixes and its odd as the game only crashing on loading a new level for more but usually its fine if I save right before. Currently there is no way however to progress to Apollo Square, anytime I load into that level it goes to loading screen then immediately crashes every single time.

[Laykan]

[Whisperfell]

I tried the last link you posted and it did resolve it for a little bit BUT when it does crash it is instant instead of the lagging followed by the crash. Submitted a ticket on their Github and will update if I remember.

[hexaae]

📢 A new "real fix to the code" is available, especially for those that still had crashes after they applied this guide:
https://www.nexusmods.com/bioshock2/mods/28

[hexaae]

👉🏻 16:10 PROPORTION FIXES
Bioshock Remastered: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3317816715
Bioshock 2 Remastered: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3317903577

[hexaae]

🚨 BRIGHTNESS NOT WORKING WITH BIOSHOCK REMASTERED:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2164609634

[Septentrion]

Worked for me! Shame on 2K for this mess, ruining a really good game.

[Frsotika]

Solved the crashing issue for me. Thank you!

[Tsukino Mito]

Did all this including setting CPU affinity which was another "fix", but once I reached Siren Alley it just crashed at every bigger fight.
I have Windows 11 but I don't think that's the issue. This fix just doesn't work for everyone.