BioShock Remastered

BioShock Remastered

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Bioshock Remastered 16:10 fix
By hexaae
Will let you play Bioshock Remastered with correct 16:9 aspect ratio on a 16:10 screen
   
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Bioshock Remastered 16:10 fix
WHAT'S THIS FOR?
This guide will let you play Bioshock Remastered in 16:10 with correct proportions: no longer vertically stretched.

The simple logic of my workaround-fix is: the game now plays in a centered forced borderless window (had no native option), with forced resolution which automatically adds top and bottom black borders to keep aspect ratio as any other 16:9-only game played on a 16:10 screen do (in my case for a 2560x1600 16:10 screen).

Since an image is better than thousand words here is a comparison (2560x1600 screen):
͏
BEFORE: (ugly, stretched vertically)

AFTER: (fixed, with black borders up and down and correct aspect ratio)

🖼️ click for a direct comparison[imgsli.com]

Look at the UI elements (crosshair, circles are now rounded, not oval)...

👎🏻 Downsides: performance could be a bit worse than fullscreen mode on some systems. Brightness adjustment option not working and greyed out.


HOW TO
Example for a 2560x1600 16:10 screen (tested on my ROG SCAR 18 G834JY, desktop in Optimus mode/Auto).
  1. Download* this sdb file[1drv.ms] from my OneDrive and import it with MS Application Compatibility Toolkit 32-bit (AKA Compatibility Administrator, AKA MS-ACT). Import (Open...) the .sdb patch. Save the SDB somewhere (e.g. C:\Windows\AppPatch\ ). Right mouse button (rmb) over the yellow database icon and choose: Install, to install it among installed applications (yes you'll find it in the usual Windows installed apps panel). MS-ACT is not required after you installed the .sdb patch (because the fixes will be added to the registry).

    👉🏻 This patch at default sets the screen to 2560x1440. You can change it once loaded in MS-ACT: right-clicking on the tree on the right area choose "Edit Application Fix...", go to the fixes page (press Next two times), find the selected fix ForceDisplayMode, and click on Parameters button... Yes, unfortunately you'll have to customize it for your HW specs if you use a different resolution.

    ⚠️ SDB files are generated by a Microsoft official tool, and are used by Admins to patch applications (same as when you set Properties/Compatibility modes), so some paranoid AV can report it's a dangerous file since can change app behavior: false positive, we perfectly know we're going to patch a broken game.
    For more details on how to use this tool please, have a look to my other guide for Max Payne.

    * if you already applied my other Bioshock 2 Remastered stability workaround-fix with a SDB file, just load this one from MS-ACT, and copy/paste the additional patches present in this fix: ForceDisplayMode (parameters: "2560,1440"), ForceSimpleWindow into the other .sdb.

  2. Edit %AppData%\BioshockHD\Bioshock\Bioshock.ini as follows (e.g. for a 2560x1600 16:10 screen):
    [WinDrv.WindowsClient] WindowedViewportX=2560 WindowedViewportY=1440 StartupFullscreen=False WindowedViewportYPosEditor=0 WindowedViewportXPosEditor=0 WindowedViewportYPos=0 WindowedViewportXPos=0
    and, if still starts in fullscreen, in-game select windowed mode, quit and relaunch the game.

Done!
2 Comments
hexaae  [author] Aug 26, 2024 @ 3:11pm 
Need help to find the correct resolution for your monitor adjusting 16:9 aspect ratio to 16:10 screen? Use these two online web apps:
https://bneijt.nl/pr/resolution-scale-calculator/
https://calculateaspectratio.com/
hexaae  [author] Aug 26, 2024 @ 1:50pm