Originally Posted by Twist
1) How involved has Epic Games been in BioShock's development? Do they just pass you the engine technology or do they ever work with you more closely on specific technology implementations? Do they assist you in optimizing new features for the engine or is that entirely up to Irrational? Is it at all possible BioShock will directly benefit from some of the engine work Epic refined for Gears of War or did the technology development paths for these two games diverge too long ago? I guess I'm looking for more than a general "Epic has been very supportive" kind of answer, if it's at all possible.
2) Please, pretty PLEASE with a Cherry-Plasmid on top address this concern: Will at least PC players have the option of turning off the adaptive difficulty feature? Specifically, MANY of us are concerned with the following description from an IGN preview:
"Adding to the tension of BioShock is the actual gameplay system itself, which is much more dynamic than we're used to seeing in most other games. "We always want you to be two bullets away from a catastrophe," Joe told us. To achieve this, Irrational has built in an active gameplay system which reacts to your present situation and will change accordingly. For example, if you're carrying a lot of ammo, it will be difficult to find more in the environment. However, if you're low on ammo, the game will provide you with just enough to get by...if you're lucky.
This dynamic, reactive gameplay system carries over into the complexity of the game itself, in a structure that Irrational has termed an "adaptive difficulty" system."
This is from the following IGN article:
http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/728/728006p1.html
Many of us in the BioShock community fear this could become a polarizing controversy that could ruin this much-anticipated game for several otherwise-supportive individuals. We've seen what such community controversies can do to games like Thief: Deadly Shadows and Deus Ex: Invisible War. We would love it if you addressed our concerns.
Thanks!