Bioshock Remastered is stretched vertically in 16:10. How do I force the correct aspect ratio?

Question

Does someone know how to make BioShock Remastered not look stretched vertically on a 16:10 screen? Even a letterbox 16:9 solution (with black borders up and down) will be fine...

My monitor is 18" 16:10 (and supports 2560x1600 and below resolutions). The fact is that the game, even when I choose 1920x1080, keeps the same stretched viewport enlarged vertically to the whole screen. Other games, when running in 16:9 resolutions, run in letterbox with black bars up and down, hence keeping aspect ratio correctly.

In my graphics drivers, scaling under "Desktop size and position" is set as usual to "Aspect ratio" and can't be changed per-game (unfortunately) anyway... And BioShock Remastered is the only game with this behavior, enlarging always any viewport size/screen res to full screen without keeping aspect ratio.

Just to clarify: other games when running at 16:9 res on this 16:10 gaming laptop screen (NE180QDM-NZ2) run with letterbox (i.e., will add black borders up and down) to keep the correct aspect ratio in the middle of the screen vertically.

This game only enlarges its viewport to the whole screen vertically, hence it looks ugly and stretched vertically with any res (e.g., 2560x1600 16:10, 2560x1440 16:9, 1920x1200 16:10, 1920x1080 16:9...).

Since this DX11 game doesn't natively support 16:10 screens, what I'm looking for are good hacks/hints like using dgVoodoo2 (which supports up to DX9) etc. to be able to force correct aspect ratio, not vertically stretched where squares become rectangles, circles to ovals etc.

Answer 1

Ok, I've found a workaround using Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit forcing windowed mode borderless + forced resolution...

I created a detailed guide on Steam, for both Bioshock Remastered and Bioshock 2 Remastered.

🖼️ Bioshock Remastered, Before/After (pic comparison)

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

HOW TO

Note: please, since is a bit complex topic involving how to use a specific Microsoft admins (free) tool, refer to my Steam Guide containing full links to some of my other fixes where I explain in details how to install and use this tool to fix games: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3317816715

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).

1. I used MS Application Compatibility Toolkit 32-bit (AKA Compatibility Administrator, AKA MS-ACT) from Windows ADK (just 12MB)... In particular the two shims (Fixes):

• ForceDisplayMode (with Parameters: 2560,1440 which is the 16:9 screen res being forced with the correct aspect ratio)
• ForceSimpleWindow

2. Edited %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

(Note: if still starts in fullscreen, from game video options select windowed mode, quit, and relaunch the game).

Answer 2

I've not personally played bioshock but perhaps one of the generic answers happens to work.

Edit the INI file

• Navigate to the games .ini file location (for Windows usually in %APPDATA%\BioshockHD\Bioshock*.ini)

• Edit the Bioshock.ini file

• Set the FullscreenViewPortX and Y to a 16:9 resolution that your monitor can support, like:

FullscreenViewportX=1920

FullscreenViewportY=1080

• Add the following lines to enforce the aspect ratio

[Engine.LocalPlayer]

AspectRatioAxisConstraint=AspectRatio_MaintainYFOV

Save the file and launch the game

Custom Resolution Untility (CRU) tool

"One of the key features of CRU is its EDID editing capability, which focuses on custom resolutions. This function allows you to see how your monitor defines resolutions and other capabilities, providing you with the flexibility to modify them according to your needs. With CRU, you can add new resolutions, eliminate unwanted ones, and even adjust FreeSync ranges, enhancing your display’s performance and compatibility."

Flawless Widescreen

Does not list Bioshock remastered but does list Bioshock and Bioshock 2, perhaps you could force an aspect ratio from a similar game.