Windows

* See also Undersea_Windows
* See also Construction (Rapture's)
* See also Real_World and Real Physics
* See also Seascape View Around Rapture
* See also TechnicalDrawings (Diagrams)
* See also Real_Physics#LightAbsorption
Windows were an Important Element in The BioShock Rapture Games - Those Pretty External Views of the City of Rapture. 
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Lots of Windows :
Rapture's Prefabricate Construction, even with assuming a game-logic 'cover story' for having 'Ahead of Its Time' deep-sea drilling rigs and such Tech, would be used to make the skyscrapers with the multitudes of windows ( typically shown in the game's skyboxes ). Perhaps what we see is just more 'Show', with many fake lighted windows just for architectural looks ( and having far lower cost/complications ). The multitude of small windows seen ARE problematic to have to exist within the buildings' ~8 foot thick concrete walls. 
Yes, the book author creates and mentions Ryanium ( Scotty's Transparent Aluminum ?? ) which probably would be needed ( in its transparent form ) for all the big windows ... Maybe it being something like earlier-than-real-world Polycarbonate. Structurally, windows are Best if curved, which few windows we saw in-game were. Smaller windows maybe could be thick Pyrex -- or the equivalent of Gorilla Glass. 
Helpful would be Technologies that Ryan's billionaire-sized industrial empire might be base upon ( high energy electrical processing / whatever, undersea construction, etc ... ) - Especially for plausibility having many years head start before Rapture.
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The massively built Prefabricated components (with Windows) possibly look suspicious for whatever 'cover story' about Sea Construction, or Post-WW2 Reconstructions they are meant for ??? But then, there would be all kinds of cover-up tactics Ryan's organization could think up.
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 "Small Windows Are Good" - Bill McDonagh ( when not drunk Remember, Ken Levine years later (2015) TOUTS his 'Authentic Diversity' themes and avoidance of Stereotypes ... ( While trying to get a new gig as a game producer after RockStar/2K dumped him after his Infinite BS flop. ) ) : 
The Pressure outside at typical Rapture depth ( my practical Sci-Fi estimate is 600 feet Depth for the inhabited parts of Rapture ) is around 280 PSI ( force in pounds per square inch ). 
DO the Math : A 3 foot by 5 foot window has : 36 x 60 inches = 2160 square inches Times 280 pounds for each square inch = 302 TONs pressing on its full flat surface. ( Do you wonder any more why MY extended level diagrams have such massively thick walls ? ) Such a window needs to withstand THAT IMMENSE REAL WATER PRESSURE. 
Think about those windows you saw in Neptunes Bounty - being 30 feet wide - How much force THOSE have pressing on them !!! Quite absurd, and the 'Infinitized' DLC BaSx Rapture showing some even LARGER windows. (( Sometimes 'artists license' turns into pure terrible/incompetent Fantasy - which is bad for a game which was originally supposed to be Sci-Fi based. ))
So, for a design which works : Many small panes, of thick 'glass' ( Thick AND requiring to be made of something MUCH stronger than glass ), AND with very sturdy framing, with lots of support for those many small window panes, AND use of 'compression curves' (arch construction) used 'as much as possible'. AND use of small windows where big ones really are not needed - like those in the Neptunes Bounty industrial complex ).
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Proper Structurally Built Windows :
We might be assuming some horrendously strong clear material had been developed ( the Ryanium mentioned in the Novel ) to be used for all those windows. Glass would literally have to be feet thick to withstand the water pressure forces involved, and the eventual first crack means catastrophic failure - So properties that stop defects growing is a critical attribute if those vulnerable windows are to stay intact.
The windows in the game ( all seen from the inside where it is hard to notice ) don't actually have any thickness they are a simple '3D' surface/effect ) but should really structurally be many inches thick. No windows I've seen in the game are crystal clear/clean anyway, so distortions (because of thickness) are not significantly unrealistic.
The typical window sized surface (area) at 600 feet of depth ( with 280 psi pressure upon it ) could be secured ( if properly supported ) by a plate of steel about 1 inch thick ( like what's used by the Bathyspheres ). Ryanium panes several inches thick in the same situation would not have to be too extraordinarily (or impossibly) strong ( just odd that a transparent material would have that kind of shear strength ). There is no evidence that ScottyStar_Trek_IV:_The_Voyage_Home - Transparent Aluminum visited Ryan in 1945.
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Curved windows convert shear stress into compression, which is usually easier for various materials/structures to withstand ( So curved windows should be preferred ).
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Assume that the thickness of the material would have to be great enough to not just meet the minimum requirements, but to survive abuse for decades, to withstanding corrosion, thermal stress and other forces ( us smashing it and hurling bombs and explosives/fires at it from the inside ).
The HUGE flat windows we saw in Neptunes Bounty -- Their dimensions WOULD have greatly multiplied the external force against their center ( leverage on such a large span greatly increases stress in the unsupported center ) that it would require the Ryanium window slab to be several feet thick ( which would likely have significant optical distortion as well as be extremely expensive for such a venue ). MMORPG would redo those ones with much smaller panels at an industrial location that wouldn't warrant such a huge window -- big picture windows on mansions and tourist views and upscale shopping malls and company offices.
The fairly bulky window frames as portrayed in the games could easily hold a many-inch-thick Ryanium 'glass' slab.
The window structure withstands massive forces of ocean water pressure ( in all directions/sides -- Not just holding UP against gravity ) and those forces have to be transmitted to the primary building structure ( which is designed braced to keep from collapsing inward ).
Structural Walls/entire building support the window's pressure force ( window frame anchored into wall ) :
* Wall Structure made of Ryanium/Ryanium-composites ( expensive, but more 'gracile' - with thinner walls/features in a few places )
* Buildings/Structure Made of thick reinforced Concrete ( Cheap but bulky -- Steel Rebar reinforced, many many feet thick, Ryanium Rebar is possible )
* Interiors Made of self-supporting solid rock ( with a few skylights/windows for Tunnels/Caverns ) - well anchored/force pushing against thick solid mass of rock.
Multi-paned windows have to have substantial between-pane framing so as to transmit the force to the wall, or they are subjected to greater local forces ( like in a large solid single-pane window ). Many of the windows we see in the game had narrow metal strips between the panes, which would provide insufficient support ( They should be widened/bulked up in the MMORPG ).
The long-term plan for the city allowed for its expansion (increasing population), and additional construction. Somewhere there would be stockpiles of additional windows (panes/frames/bolts), and some more for expected replacements. Some possible expansion like Tunnels in the Sea Mount's bedrock would not have windows.
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Window Seals :
The Window "Glass" is framed in Metal, which is the set into the Concrete Walls. That is two interfaces which must be sealed in a flexible manner, while 'standing up to' the great pressures involved in the depths Rapture exists in.
The pressure pressing in on the window has to be transmitted through the Seal materials.
The seal mechanism must be low maintenance and able to remain intact for the expected lifetime of Rapture.
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Magic Glass ( Note - It Is Needed For The Shoot-fest Type Game ) :
I noticed that in some places the internal (non sea-facing) 'glass' is that unbreakable stuff -- The product of certain game level (terrain) NEEDING interior windows to be 'breakable'/shatterable ( instead of that generic 'cracked pattern' used on all the UNBREAKABLE external windows ). Destructible windows do require more game level graphics/scripting resources to implement (( Note : the game IS designed for a median graphics capacity of their customers computers, so a line had to be drawn at a fairly low bar )).
Elsewhere on this WIKI there is a explanation of why the external windows might be unbreakable. Unfortunate reality is : given enough explosives (Real World), you can destroy just about anything, and YOU KNOW some MMORPG Players WILL attempt that ( Perhaps handled by : "Sorry You Drowned and your Corpse was Unrecoverable - Please start a new Game/Account." ) Being more careful where you fling ordinance MIGHT HAVE made the game more challenging ( having a "GAME OVER" would force restarting a 'Saved' game ). Keeping the NPCs from doing the same would require FAR MORE 'smarts' to the NPC AI programming ( Yet another prohibition due to on limited Player computer resources ).
That brings up the issue for the MMORPG, where much more of the Game World's "terrain" would be modifiable/destructible, instead of 'static' ( which most games have to have for their 'levels' -- It is a Game Engine issue ). Most window glass would (in the MMORPG) be breakable. External windows ARE a special case because they have to be ultra-strong anyway to hold out that 280 lb/sq in Ocean Water Pressure - that Ryanium stuff AND some judicious level corrections -- To NOT have ridiculously large panes of it. Perhaps they can merely Crack, and then your friendly neighborhood Big Daddy will come around and fix it - and the Perp doing the damage will suffer the inhabitant's Ire for endangering them all. 
In the Rapture Reborn MMORGP, you might want to save panes of ordinary glass you find ( including large shards which might be cut into smaller windows ). Useful MMORPG Tool - Glass Cutter ( to facilitate cutting out nice sections and later fitting them where they would be used ).
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A Few Things to 'Correct' - Those Impossible Windows :
* Flat plate 'glass' in Neptunes Bounty is ~10 inches thick (of those 18 ft x 30 ft panes - My estimate by visual inspection) - 9 + 15 / 2 = a 12 foot span (moment arm) average Shear Force at its supported edge.
* At 600 ft depth and 281.315 psi ocean pressure ( pressure linearly increases with Depth ) THAT IS 10925.28 Tons of Force upon that window's entire 12 foot surface ( by comparison, an entire fully loaded Saturn 5 Apollo rocket weighs 3050 tons ).
* Recommendation - Smaller span of windows where 'impressive view' is less needed ( or no windows at all ).
* The book mentions how expensive the materials for the windows were, and an industrial site like Neptune's Bounty would NOT have money wasted on it, especially for huge windows that don't actually look out on much. Small port-holes would have been sufficient, though they would NOT have looked as impressive in the game.
* If large windows are required for aesthetics, then break them up into smaller panes with more of the thick metal framing to distribute the forces.
* Recommendation - Curved windows, so arch converts shear force to compression force (to use the materials strength).
* Recommendation - Thicker windows 'glass' when a large pane is needed ( unfortunately causes more distortion of view - more expense to make it transparently clear ).
* I suppose you could also have Neptunes Bounty be alot 'higher' in Rapture ( like on the side of Mt Ryan, or one of the 'ridges') with depth something like 100-200 feet (most fish are normally closer to the ocean surface anyway ... )
* Scotty hasn't Time Traveled Backward In Time and given Ryan Industries the formula for 'Transparent Aluminum' yet ( besides that use in the movie was not subjected to the pressure forces in Rapture at 600 feet depth anyway ).
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Windows, Lots of Pretty Windows :
Many of the 'Art Deco' buildings built in the late-1920s/30s/postwar-40s tried to maximize their windows because Air Conditioning was still new and expensive ( for cooling, when Steam Heat was more developed and used for systematic building heating - Steam was even provided from nearby utility company plants in Cities, which is still done ). H-shaped structures, setbacks, internal courts, and small profile towers were frequently used to achieve a greater window availability/access ( versus monolithic modern building where windows don't open at all ).
In Rapture, windows are a liability and add great expense ( because they have to be built strong enough to hold out that extreme water pressure ). The buildings seen in the distance, in the outside views, have far too many windows ( usually are far too Tall also ) - row after row of repeated floors, covered in windows -- Which does not reflect the design of *ANY* of the buildings we actually are inside of in any of the Rapture games. )
The MMORPG Rapture will be a bit more conservative - How is a Tall building 'special' when ALL the buildings are also Tall ?? SO Lots more squat buildings ( they are cheaper to build ), so that the 'tall' buildings (with 20 stories now being 'tall') will be special. Windows will be fewer and better spaced and positioned in accordance to the required structural thickness of walls.
So straight off - FEWER FLOORS - FEWER WINDOWS.
We might even get into some of those taller buildings where the interiors have regular windows in the walls like all those building we are shown out there.
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A Cityscape With Lots Of (As In WAY TOO MANY) Windows :
Windows still have to be backed by thick concrete - the city CANNOT be made of too much metal (too expensive), or it would have looked quite different ( some of the Concept pictures showed that ). Rapture's concrete construction still causes lots of differences from the typical 1930s/40s era real world skyscrapers ( the in-game outside views ) portrayed.
Those Caricature Windows ...
The standard taller-than-wide building covered with numerous fairly-small closely-spaced windows - We see row after row of those on building facings (skyscraper style) off in the distance out in the ocean - usually many many floors of them. WHERE did we EVER in the game look out any such small windows like THOSE ???? Only a few interiors we were inside had stacked near-identical floors ( and those comprising only half a dozen floors at most ).
We look out through porthole windows ( and bigger oblong portal windows ), long multi-paned (often curved) ones, some ridiculously huge walls-sized windows -- AND many buildings we WERE in had exterior walls devoid of any windows (( Even though looking back from a Viaduct, that same building was shown covered in windows --- Not actually critical to the gameplay, but inconsistent and disconcerting. ))
Windows are a potential weak point in any underwater structure, and costly to make properly safe. Rapture walls have to be thick and strong to handle the outside pressure, and anchoring windows into them has limited solutions. Windows located near corners are most problematic - requiring special very-expensive construction ( masses of metal to be 'thin' enough and still support properly ). Art Deco wrap-around-corner type window are even more of a problem - We see them in some prime real estate, but they wouldn't likely be used systematically in less 'ritzy' locales.
Fewer windows would be 'the rule' ( as compared to an above-water city skyscraper ). Those huge walls of small windows on every building in the skyline just would not be practical ($$$) to allow Rapture to have been built with the money available.
I've even suggested that many of THOSE views are of FAKE windows done for effect ( particularly on the thinning top 'towers' - as much as 1/3rd the buildings height -- again those Being For Effect ). With the way water rapidly absorbs light, those distant buildings all have to be closer than what those views imply anyway.
So they would be Caricatures after all.
MMORPG - fewer floors, fewer windows ( see my level maps for examples - usually of 'adjacent buildings' and missing floors you never got to go to in the building you WERE in ).
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You Can't Open Windows To Let In Fresh Air :
You certainly can't open them to the Ocean in Rapture to get fresh air. Interiors in only a few places have windows into larger (but still limited) interior spaces. So strong/disagreeable/toxic smells/fumes have to be taken away by the ventilation system. Industrial venting is a must so not to poison inhabited air environments. There even has to be careful use of things like cleaning chemicals, which can foul large volumes of air very quickly. Ordinances would have to exist to enforce strict guidelines of such things.
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Bullet Proof Windows : 
Game can't have Players dooming Rapture to drowning everywhere they go ( by design or accident ) and the windows are the building structure's weakest spots.
First, it needs to be a material that can withstand the great force of the seawater pushing against it from the outside, with large areas supported only at the edges ( Why I make fun of those HUGE ABSURD Window Panes in Neptune Bounty ).
Second, as used, the window material is quite thick ( likely a 600% engineering margin by glaziers who wouldn't want the lawsuits/infamy for being responsible for drowning parts of Rapture thru negligence ). The distorted outside views we see indicate this, but real it is still pretty clear for 'glass' over a foot thick.
Third, a double glazing ( it is what you see shatter/crack ) used as insulation, with the stronger main pane structure behind it ( and apparently unbreakable by our weapons ).
You might have some weirdness about self healing glazing glass being used ( watch the marred spots disappear after a time ...) Some plastics can do that ( self cleaning ones would be even better ).
Big Sisters seem able to break the Window 'glass' ( their usual attitude should have had them wanting to fight you - but that one in Adonis Luxury Resort didn't even stick around to kill you, which seemed to be its orders - Probably got a haranguing from Sofia for that oversight ).
This magic Ryanium stuff was invented in the Novel to explain how this might work, as normal glass ( Even with much more realist small windows ) cannot do what is shown, but some plastics might ( as long as whatever explosions are thrown at them are kept relatively weak - and the inner glazing acting as a spacer might help a little there ).
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Buildings used in the outside window (sea) views are scaled a bit wrong ( undersized -- estimates based on (Cheat Code) "ghost'ing" around comparing to the viaduct structures -- which are normal sized ) -- Those windows are too small, too close together ( vertically too close together for them to be part of a realistic floor separation spacing. ) That is nothing new in modeling/staging a remotely seen background view ( though in some places in the game there are correctly scaled viaducts next to the undersized buildings ). Other windows are oddly offset half a floor for some reason. They look 'good enough' for what they were supposed to represent. I am trying to figure out how far apart building should be for the MMORPG ( the light fading issue, and we still want the pretty signs and building views ).
Many buildings are 40+ stories tall are seen/represented in some of the views ( like from the Adonis Luxury Resort in BS2 ) that would be hard to match even in downtown Manhattan ( that view is overdone 'a little', especially for a city of only ~20000 people ). I don't think the Wales Brothers would have faked building them. As architects they would want to make their impressive building 'real'. So mark it down to game developer's "artists license".
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Burial At Sea MORONICALLY LARGE WINDOW and Scene Absurdly large BaSx windows OUTDO the huge ones in BS1 - DLC are often rushed and half-assed CASH-in attempts. Things in BaSx leads one to recognize it as being typical of so many sloppy/careless/thoughtless DLCs. '''
BaS Wonderous Huge Flat Windows - FIX !!! :
		
Reuse of scenes from the Previous Games will be likely. Some things will need a bit of fixing ... 
Any idiot can make stupendously huge windows to offer a wondrous view, but that is not Sci-Fi compatible in Rapture. The windows NEED NOT be so large to still offer the same view of the City.
Example - the one seen in the walkabout part of BaS1 on Market Street. They have at least 8000 tons of water pressure pressing against them (each pane). Super Magic Glass doesn't exist in Sci-Fi Rapture ( and even the Novel's Ryanium material cannot be safely strong enough without being 5 feet thick, and THAT would be too optically-warping for such a nice clear view - pointless for a window ). So, the Market/High Street redo in the MMORPG will be a little more realistic ( made with much smaller, multi-paned and WELL supported windows, down at the floor level AND some proper decoration above to fill the wall space ).
Note to Lazy Game Designers : The Ocean at that depth is COMPLETELY DARK, and light fades VERY FAST ( like sunlight intensity completely to black in a few hundred feet through the clearest of water ), and is MURKY and Obscured in the lesser distance. Unfortunately that reality conflicts with those pretty views you liked showing. It can be fixed ...
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The Massive Pressure Of Deep Water Requires Proper Construction Design :
Curved Windows - The Arch Design Helps ( Distributing/Spreading The Force Into the Buildings Structure. )
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