Game News Dark Souls III Coming in Early 2016, Directed by Miyazaki

[Lambinou]

I've played the sunken crown and ivory crown DLC, I assume the Iron one is as good ?

I think i like DS2 as much as the first 1, but then again i wasn't as amazed as most people by the 1st.

Especially the storytelling bit. Am i the only one not that impressed by the whole "collect items and then make guesses that will never be confirmed or denied" approach of dark souls 1 ?

Having less narrow ledges was a good thing, I actually liked the slightly less dark tone, the bonfire placement seemed better, and ofc, the technical aspects were better.

OTOH, it had many of the things i didn't like that much in dark souls 1: many gimmicky or easy bosses once you know what you're doing, covenants that are more about farming than adding interesting things to the story, meh imput system, camera and lock on problems...

 

[bminorkey]

Joined: Today

 

[Lambinou]

Joined: Today

yep, is there something special i should do because of it ?

I've been reading the forum for a while before joining.

 

[bminorkey]

Joined: Today

yep, is there something special i should do because of it ?

I've been reading the forum for a while before joining.

Nope. Was just quoting your join date because I noticed a surge of elegant, insightful comments from new users lately.

 

[Eyestabber]

Miyazaki cult is utter nonsense. As far as CORE GAMEPLAY goes, DaS2 is an improvement over DaS1 on pretty much everything. From actual dual wielding, to magic speed NOT scaling from dexterity (lulz, ninja mage is best mage!!!1), STR builds being more viable, PvP having more build variety, magic being more viable in PvP yet no longer being a PvE easy mode. The list goes on and on. Sure, the plot took a hit, but DaS1 emo sad shit is not as good as people make it out to be.

The FUN in the Souls series consists on cooping with people (sunbro), dueling people (BoB) and invading and murdering people. The satisfaction of ruining someone's run through a tough area of the game is something you CANNOT find in other games. Non-consensual PvP should become a thing, all those death threats I got after pwning some haveln00b...ah good times. :D

 

[Lucky]

That good, huh? I haven't even touched the DLC, kept meaning to do a NG+ with the DLC and DX11 patch before they announced that saves would be incompatible. Now I'm loath to start from scratch after all the time I've sunk into the game. I even farmed that godforsaken cellar with the respawning guards over and over until they stopped respawning. Don't suppose there's a way to import/haxx your char into the EE?

They are the best part of the game by a significant margin. Out of all the Souls games, the Dark Souls 2 DLC is where I've had the most fun so far (though I have yet to play Bloodbourne). Iron King has the best bosses of the game, Sunken King plays like an amazing D&D adventure and Ivory King makes for a great finale to Dark Souls 2 as a whole. They really show what the B-team is capable of and how much of a shame it is that circumstances kept them from bringing that level of design to the main game.

Yes, I agree, DS2 was less "twisty turny" and paths frequently just led to another bonfire rather than back around on itself.

We were talking about this at work, and a couple of people at work said they preferred the level design of Bloodborne, DS, and DS1 to DS2 because they like that "twisty turny" level layout.
One buddy said that his observation is that fans of the genre are very polarized over DS1 versus DS2 - and he said it is almost entirely based on level layout... almost.

I also agree with Murk , the DLC for DS2 was really, really good.

Also, if you like slumming in consoles, Darks Souls 2, Sins of the First Scholar runs at a cool 60 fps with improved textures... of course, it also does this on non-potato PC machines too.





Anyway, I don't know about DS3 yet... I have hopes that they will combine what they have learned from all of them.

A big factor also seems to be which of the games people played first, so that everything still felt fresh and new to them. I like both of them a lot and only got to play them after I got so thoroughly spoiled that there was little to explore, so I never had that sense of wonder while playing them. Bloodborne I've only seen the village and first boss of and a picture of the main character standing beneath a moon, which I'm really hoping won't turn out to be a big spoiler, so I'm curious whether I'll get my magical moment when playing that game. Unless Dark Souls 3 beats it to the punch by getting released before we get a Bloodbourne PC port.

 

[bminorkey]

Explain to me what makes the DS2 DLC better than the original game pls. (Asking seriously, I didn't like the core content very much compared to Des/Das)

 

[Zep Zepo]

The FUN in the Souls series consists on cooping with people (sunbro), dueling people (BoB) and invading and murdering people. The satisfaction of ruining someone's run through a tough area of the game is something you CANNOT find in other games.

Ultima Online - 1997. Try harder, new fag.

Zep--

 

[Eyestabber]

* other recent games.

Nice catch, angry troll.

 

[Lucky]

Explain to me what makes the DS2 DLC better than the original game pls. (Asking seriously, I didn't like the core content very much compared to Des/Das)

It's hard to give examples without spoilers (and you really don't want to get spoiled on this), but in general they really benefit from being self-contained and not having to rely on getting the player from one point to the next. As a result, they're paced much better than the core content of the game and spread their content more evenly, meaning that actual build-up takes place with bosses serving as the climax, rather than just stop-gaps between different areas. Bosses that are also fun to fight and satisfying to beat (particularly the two Iron King bosses).
The level design, art design and sound design are all great. Good enemy placement, traps that make sense and both enhance and fit the atmosphere, appropriate sound effects, good use of space, fun exploration, visual diversity, interesting weapons to play with, great atmosphere, good visual storytelling, loopy Dark Souls 1 paths, internally consistent architecture, beautiful environments, etc. Also, the NPC invasions are actually made to be interesting encounters and not just dudes you whack for a bit before moving on.

I like Dark Souls 2, but the DLC is definitely what the main game should have been. Like, the Sunken King is superior in every way to the Harvest Valley and the Iron Keep doesn't hold a candle to the Iron King. It's kind of ridiculous how much better they are, really.

 

[Machocruz]

I hate the running animation in DS2. Male characters look like they have a turtle head creeping out.

It was pretty bad in DS1 too, but not quite as downs. Still, pingeon-toed motherfucker.

 

[Zep Zepo]

* other recent games.

Nice catch, angry troll.

Nice FAIL attempt at wrong faggot post recovery.

Zep--

 

[made]

They really show what the B-team is capable of and how much of a shame it is that circumstances kept them from bringing that level of design to the main game.

What circumstances would that be?

Also, it seems the DX11 GFX upgrade was barely noticeable so I think I'll skip that and just grab the DLC. Need to finish TW3 first tho.

 

[Lambinou]

Explain to me what makes the DS2 DLC better than the original game pls. (Asking seriously, I didn't like the core content very much compared to Des/Das)

It's hard to give examples without spoilers (and you really don't want to get spoiled on this), but in general they really benefit from being self-contained and not having to rely on getting the player from one point to the next. As a result, they're paced much better than the core content of the game and spread their content more evenly, meaning that actual build-up takes place with bosses serving as the climax, rather than just stop-gaps between different areas. Bosses that are also fun to fight and satisfying to beat (particularly the two Iron King bosses).
The level design, art design and sound design are all great. Good enemy placement, traps that make sense and both enhance and fit the atmosphere, appropriate sound effects, good use of space, fun exploration, visual diversity, interesting weapons to play with, great atmosphere, good visual storytelling, loopy Dark Souls 1 paths, internally consistent architecture, beautiful environments, etc. Also, the NPC invasions are actually made to be interesting encounters and not just dudes you whack for a bit before moving on.

I like Dark Souls 2, but the DLC is definitely what the main game should have been. Like, the Sunken King is superior in every way to the Harvest Valley and the Iron Keep doesn't hold a candle to the Iron King. It's kind of ridiculous how much better they are, really.

that being said, i thought sunken king had 1 overly long and hard boss fight, which was thankfully avoidable,

and Ivory king had a very frustrating avoidable area

 

[Lucky]

What circumstances would that be?

Also, it seems the DX11 GFX upgrade was barely noticeable so I think I'll skip that and just grab the DLC. Need to finish TW3 first tho.

It’s not entirely clear why, but what seems to have happened is that they needed to redo the game halfway into development. Lots of designs got reused or repurposed in some way rather than starting from the beginning, which isn’t that unusual for development, but the scale of it here seems to have backfired. Especially when you compare the main game to the DLC, which they did not start on until after the main game was finished and which was made from scratch, with no old designs being involved.

They talk about for a bit in this interview: http://peterbarnard1984.tumblr.com/post/113163062955/dark-souls-2-design-works-translation
There are spoilers on the DLC, though, particularly in the fourth part.

 

[Dreaad]

Explain to me what makes the DS2 DLC better than the original game pls. (Asking seriously, I didn't like the core content very much compared to Des/Das)

It's hard to give examples without spoilers (and you really don't want to get spoiled on this), but in general they really benefit from being self-contained and not having to rely on getting the player from one point to the next. As a result, they're paced much better than the core content of the game and spread their content more evenly, meaning that actual build-up takes place with bosses serving as the climax, rather than just stop-gaps between different areas. Bosses that are also fun to fight and satisfying to beat (particularly the two Iron King bosses).
The level design, art design and sound design are all great. Good enemy placement, traps that make sense and both enhance and fit the atmosphere, appropriate sound effects, good use of space, fun exploration, visual diversity, interesting weapons to play with, great atmosphere, good visual storytelling, loopy Dark Souls 1 paths, internally consistent architecture, beautiful environments, etc. Also, the NPC invasions are actually made to be interesting encounters and not just dudes you whack for a bit before moving on.

I like Dark Souls 2, but the DLC is definitely what the main game should have been. Like, the Sunken King is superior in every way to the Harvest Valley and the Iron Keep doesn't hold a candle to the Iron King. It's kind of ridiculous how much better they are, really.

Yeah I would say the only real weakness of all the DLC's was how they all shared that high poise basic enemy type who were really boring and annoying to fight. I would also say the armor sets were pretty lackluster but DS2 already had so many that it's not really an issue.

 

[Obama Phone 3]

Yay! Another crappy arcade game to add to top 50 RPGs!

R
P
G

CODEX
Motherfucker!!!

 

[DawnrazorDCLXVI]

Not playing the DLC is not a crime. I had a pre-order edition, and want to pick up the full version at a price drop.

I have heard the same as you have stated about the DLCs.

It's not, I'm just saying that if you want to see how GOOD DS2 can be, you should experience the DLCs. Also, they're just good games -- so putting this ds 1 v ds 2 crap aside, it's an enjoyable experience (well, 3 enjoyable experiences.)

That said, in regards to snagging, it would be better if enemies weapons bounced off walls, too. Just for consistency... It is a glaring error in game design, and lends an unfair advantage to the AI. Dumber? Yes. But consistency is key.

Can't say I have a problem with this, I'm used to single player enemies having 'different mechanics' than the player so it never bothered me. Just made me pay more attention to my environment and to not spam attack anywhere/everywhere.

You'll have to forgive me if that's too opaque an excuse for ignoring glaring design errors.

I am certain I will pick up all the DLCs on the complete edition as soon as there is a sale.

 

[DawnrazorDCLXVI]

Explain to me what makes the DS2 DLC better than the original game pls. (Asking seriously, I didn't like the core content very much compared to Des/Das)

It's hard to give examples without spoilers (and you really don't want to get spoiled on this), but in general they really benefit from being self-contained and not having to rely on getting the player from one point to the next. As a result, they're paced much better than the core content of the game and spread their content more evenly, meaning that actual build-up takes place with bosses serving as the climax, rather than just stop-gaps between different areas. Bosses that are also fun to fight and satisfying to beat (particularly the two Iron King bosses).
The level design, art design and sound design are all great. Good enemy placement, traps that make sense and both enhance and fit the atmosphere, appropriate sound effects, good use of space, fun exploration, visual diversity, interesting weapons to play with, great atmosphere, good visual storytelling, loopy Dark Souls 1 paths, internally consistent architecture, beautiful environments, etc. Also, the NPC invasions are actually made to be interesting encounters and not just dudes you whack for a bit before moving on.

I like Dark Souls 2, but the DLC is definitely what the main game should have been. Like, the Sunken King is superior in every way to the Harvest Valley and the Iron Keep doesn't hold a candle to the Iron King. It's kind of ridiculous how much better they are, really.

I wonder if they could put B-team on the DLCs.

 

[Murk]

You'll have to forgive me if that's too opaque an excuse for ignoring glaring design errors.
.

It's not an excuse -- I have no horse in that race. If it's a problem for you then... well, sorry m8. I hope you enjoy the other parts that aren't problematic.

 

[Metro]

I'll take an arcade game over RTwP shit any day of the week.

 

[Ivan]

Did you guys think the snowball shortcut was goofy? I felt it was like an Indiana Jones bit.

 

[Dreaad]

What I wonder is how many people died trying to run down after that snowball rendering the entire shortcut pointless. That goddam slope locked like you could slide down it

 

[Murk]

What I wonder is how many people died trying to run down after that snowball rendering the entire shortcut pointless. That goddam slope locked like you could slide down it

I did and survived it twice, died once. It depends how many times you 'hit the ground' and if you have any fall reduction gear on.

 

[Black_Willow]

I'll take an arcade game over RTwP shit any day of the week.

Yeah, we already know you prefer popamole crap over RPGs.