From Software Elden Ring - From Software's new game with writing by GRRM

[Damned Registrations]

they can also be weaved into the gameplay to great effect

Great detrimental effect, perhaps. The fucking glory kills used in so many action games (including backstabs and ripostes in souls games) are fucking cancer and if I had a time machine and two bullets they both get used on the guy that invented them. Seeing someone do the exact same lengthy animation over and over again isn't thrilling, it's fucking comical and boring. It's as bad as giving voice overs to enemies and hearing the exact same fucking voice line from a hundred different fucking bandits.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

Great beneficial effect actually
I was thinking more in lines of cinematography when I said that - how the camera can be used to exert control over the player

But your complaint about longer animations is superficial
Longer animations are a very effective way to balance more powerful moves and introduce some much good risk/reward
Longer animations are also needed to portray more complex body movements, which in turn can be used to add greater depth to the combat - we're talking about parries, grapples and super moves, if you had your way and these things didn't exist then all of the best brawlers ever made would lose an too much mechanical depth and ultimately fun
Since you also specifically mentioned "glory kills" I know thinking about the nuDoom brand of canned animation, which is a silly complaint as the animations are all fairly quick and have an essential gameplay function in the combat - "uh but classic doom didn't need that shit", nuDoom is intentionally going for a distinct gameplay experience, comparing it to what classic Doom is going for is just inherently fallacious and kinda stupid
Finally when tastefully applied they emphasize the action rather than interrupt it, plus spectacle and good game feel IS a big part of the appeal of action games
This is even a big reason why From games are so benevoled for their combat despite the fact that mechanically they're aren't anything special (Sekiro is a particular proof of this)

As for voice-overs
Complex stealth games literally wouldn't be as immersive without them
Not to mention they do indisputably add to a game's atmosphere and charm you N'wah

 

[Barbarian]

The aesthetics in this game are superb, even the voice acting turned out fine for some reason(I'm sure there was very little direction in that regard).

That more than helps with the impact of a sparse lore or even inconsistent lore. Like I said this game pulls you in in a way that none of the TES games could.

Would text dumps Improve the game? I don't think so. Would long winded monologues and dialogue trees instead of the sparse conversations with npcs make for better exposition? I don't think so.

The dlc will likely add a lot of content to the existing quests and characters if bloodborne dlc is anything to go by. Maybe some of the problems discussed in this thread will be fixed.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

That more than helps with the impact of a sparse lore or even inconsistent lore.

Perhaps, but I wasn't disputting that
Rather I am saying that not only were the aesthetics designed to complement the lore, they were also "guided" by the lore during their design
As such they wouldn't be possible without said lore

Like I said this game pulls you in in a way that none of the TES games could.

Says you
I say Morrowind still btfo of ER in allure
Further more, I doubt this game will as well remembered in 20 years as Morrowind is
Besides ER is still objectively inferior in atmosphere, aesthetics, music and narrative to its progenitor - Demon's Souls

Would text dumps Improve the game? I don't think so. Would long winded monologues and dialogue trees instead of the sparse conversations with npcs make for better exposition? I don't think so.

Those charateristics wouldn't improve ER, because ER is not the type of game experience that would benefit from them - it's a combat focused jRPG with a limited degree of open-endedness to it's open-world, which in it's essence seeks to present a challenging action heavy high-fantasy adventure
While TES from the very beginning was conceived as exploration heavy RPG sandbox (the latter implying focus on a high degree of interactivity, reactivity and near total open-endedness), which above all other qualities seeks to virtually simulate a high-fantasy world from it's more "tangible" elements (the physical world itself and it's inhabitants) and the all way up to its more abstract elements (such as history, cultures and philosophies)

And that's why complex dialogues systems work in TES, but wouldn't work in ER

 

[Barbarian]

I liked Morrowind, but I think this did "enter and explore this original alien fantasy world" much better in most regards. That includes the sparse lore - or "make shit up as you go along" lore as some here call Miyazaki's "storytelling" antics.

There is a technological bias being that this is literal latest gen AAA gaming, but it is what it is.

It is a better walking simulator and the actual gameplay is better, ITT.

 

[Barbarian]

And that's why complex dialogues systems work in TES, but wouldn't work in ER

Sorry, but what complex dialogue? I remember sneaking around that fag elf to find his hidden stash and not much else.

Most morrowind npcs had either info dumps or straight up nonsense.

 

[Barbarian]

 

[Silva]

Like I said this game pulls you in in a way that none of the TES games could.

It's your modern gfx bias speaking. Not even in dreams this has better ambience than Morrowind.

 

[Talby]

Elden Ring's lore fell mostly flat for me, I never felt connected to any of the characters like I did when I played Dark Souls and Bloodborne. With all the similar names it's annoying just to keep track of who's who. A bad design choice IMO, to have a "theme" of characters mirroring eachother in ways, but it just makes them forgettable.

 

[Silva]

Almost finishing it and I must say the game grew on me. The narrative picked up in the final third with cutscenes/dialogues moving the NPCs arcs forward and building to a nice climax while leaving behind the felling of directionless that plagues the early/midgame, the levels got even better (Haligtree is beautiful), and the bosses get really nice. Oh, and the game keeps raining new gear & stuff at you that's useful or fun to use. The amount of possible combos and builds here vast and fun in itself. Kudos for from.

That said, I still think this setting is too bloated for it's own sake and the Arthurian + Cosmic themes hardly mesh. That and the game is still poorly balanced with overly abuseable items and mechanics. The constant estus recharge in the open world makes exploration piss easy (as do the overly mobile horse), some ashes, skills and spells trivialize enemies, the ability to teleport out of any situation is terrible (it should be forbiden on legacy dungeons), etc.

Also, anybody else misses the references to lands outside the game area proper? It gave another dimension to the world of Dark Souls looking to the horizon from Lordran and wondering where Astora, Thorolund, Catarina, etc are out there. There's nothing of the sorts here and so the game world end up feeling small, restrict, in some way. But then there's so much cruft already inside the setting that maybe it's for the better.

So I stand corrected and the game is great even with it's problems. Still not on par with From créme that is DS1 and BB though, and I'm skeptical the DLC could change that.

Elden Ring's lore fell mostly flat for me, I never felt connected to any of the characters like I did when I played Dark Souls and Bloodborne. With all the similar names it's annoying just to keep track of who's who. A bad design choice IMO, to have a "theme" of characters mirroring eachother in ways, but it just makes them forgettable.

I agree. Not only the Tarnished motivations are the weakest among all From's protagonists, the crew of NPCs in Roundtable, which are supposed to help propelling you in said narrative, is extremelly unlikeable/unrelatable. I mean, Dung Eater? That and there are too many actors in the royal family drama to keep track of.

 

[Melmoth]

elden ring is a vibe riff on ds. in contrast to the berserk style brutality desperation and improvising with materials while chased by gruesome demons from worlds beyond ken, it has expanded systems of no consequence and ethereal lore and imagery with little gravity. its picturesque oneirism, soothing soundtrack and weather effects make it appropriate for sleep time play with some nice honey chamomile. ive stretched my elden ring playthrough to literally hundreds of hours by continually falling asleep without quitting to desktop. there is no point of traction here for a waking mind and so i prefer it in many ways.

in the fructose basin the withered lamps beach themselves on the cusp of gratuity again and again. i dodge the flung platitude like a ceiling mounted landmine

 

[Child of Malkav]

In a recent 4chan post there was a From financial report or something (apparently it's public) and in it there was mention of DLC being in development but they're not ready to announce a release date yet. So probably nothing happens in February.
What the fuck kind of DLC they're working on for 2 years now? I'm starting to believe that leak about the shadow world. It would explain why it takes so long.
Edit 1: it's the Kadokawa report. Whatever that is.

 

[Barbarian]

In a recent 4chan post there was a From financial report or something (apparently it's public) and in it there was mention of DLC being in development but they're not ready to announce a release date yet. So probably nothing happens in February.
What the fuck kind of DLC they're working on for 2 years now? I'm starting to believe that leak about the shadow world. It would explain why it takes so long.
Edit 1: it's the Kadokawa report. Whatever that is.

I agree it is a very big dlc. Game is already massive so it is kind of hard to fathom.

I also think they will go the way of "old hunters" and add a lot to existing areas, character quests and maybe fix inconsistencies.

Makes me regret buying the official guidebook in a way.

 

[Silverfish]

What the fuck kind of DLC they're working on for 2 years now?

They're replacing the entire open world with a poison swamp.

 

[oldbonebrown]

hopefully Martin is too busy with not writing books to fill the DLC with mythobabble

 

[Goldschmidt]

How many cocks were sucked and pussies licked to get this game a 10/10 rating?

For a gamer who grew up on the pc, this game is complete shovelware. Pirated this shit to see what the fuss is about. Completely uninstalled immediately because of crap controls. How low has the pc gamer fallen to play such trash.

 

[Silva]

Something interesting about the spirit ashes is that their AI is different to match their themes. Some are defensive, others aggressive, others are more mobile and dodge often, others slow, etc.

Btw, any favorites? My favorite is the Black Knife girl as she's very aggressive and mobile, plus the destined death effect is great. I also like Latena as sniper on the back when the arena is big, and the headless armored for tank. I still haven't tried the different soldiers but I will. I'm a fan of those Radhan troops facing the rot with flame, hope theyre good as summons too.

 

[Child of Malkav]

I only tried a few. Tiche is very good. Mimic tear is my favorite but they made him stupid. Still, Bullgoat + that giant slab shield + hoarfrost stomp or moghwyn trident for that bleed ash of war results in some pretty cool moments, gangbanging bosses from different sides. Plus night comet so the bosses don't dodge the projectile, erdtree heal, sleep pots etc. Hilarious times.

 

[Child of Malkav]

For a gamer who grew up on the pc

I did too, 100% PC. Master race, it is what it is.

this game is complete shovelware

If you played previous From titles (Demon's Souls (2009), Dark Souls 1 (2011)/2(2014)/3(2016), Bloodborne(2015)) and liked them to some degree this game is the same, but bigger. Of course, plenty of changes and improvements here and there, plenty of cons and issues but won't go into details. My main issues are with the boss fights and open world but whatever. At the very least it's not a movie game, which in this day and age, it matters.

uninstalled immediately because of crap controls

I mean, if this is your criteria of whether a game is good or not, you haven't played games with actual shit controls. Also, only starting with Sekiro (2019) the PC version has keyboard and mouse icons and everything. Kinda sad really that it took them 10 years but eh.

Edit 1: btw, in the settings menu there is an option to show PC device onscreen prompts. That was the first thing I did really before starting to play.

 

[Silverfish]

Btw, any favorites?

I initially hated the hollow sorcerer (low health, low damage, infrequent attacks), but when I discovered he could headshot and stagger large targets, he became a staple for me.

 

[Skinwalker]

What the fuck kind of DLC they're working on for 2 years now?

The kind that gets branched out into a sequel with a release date in 2018.

 

[Skinwalker]

I had completely forgotten that at the end of the Nameless Eternal City area there's a portal that takes you straight to Leyndell, bypassing the entire Altus plateau. Kind of crazy, if you think about it. Working your way up to Leyndell is kind of an important feat of game progression, and they just cut you out of it if you're not wise enough to turn back and not use that teleporter.

I don't even see the point of it. To continue Fia's quest you need the cursemark from Ranni's dead body, but there's nothing in Leyndell that would help you get it.

Who was that one retarded person who broke into the FromSoftware development server and injected a bunch of random teleporters everywhere?

 

[DJOGamer PT]

Sorry, but what complex dialogue?

complex dialogues systems

 

[Skinwalker]

Moronwind had dialogue systems? I don't think walking wikipedia articles counts as dialogue.

Elden Ring, otoh, has all the azn weirdness/autism of FS games, with slightly more effort put into coherent and expansive questlines. It's not really the dialogue system that's at fault here. It's the "dialogue".

They even managed to break a fundamental rule of dialogue responses, by sometimes putting an NPC response into what should be the PC response.

 

[JarlFrank]

That and there are too many actors in the royal family drama to keep track of.

This is how you know GRRM was involved in the writing.