From Software The Dark Souls Discussion Thread

[UndetectedButthurt]

I've found that the best way to play this game is with FPS unlocked and set to 30 in dsfix. It gets rid of the stupid 15 fps dips and you don't get any of the 60 fps glitches. "As intended".

 

[Athelas]

Unlocking the fps results in an immediate crash on startup for me.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Apparently, i didn't solve shit. The game goes back to sub 20 fps after a while and the only way to fix it is to restart windows. God damn it.

You overclocked. The CPU is probably hitting its thermal threshold and throttling itself on the hardware level.

The thermal threshold on old athlon CPUs is pretty low, you would be surprised what is "safe" for them. You start to run into trouble around 60C, which is considered a cool and breezy temp for GPUs.

In summary, your CPU is really, really old. Get a new one if you want to play modern games without performance issues. (Though Dark Souls 1 IS a bad port, you shouldn't be having issues with games from that era.)

Nope, its the GPU. My CPU is always at a solid 45 degrees, even after the hefty overclock i've done to it (i've bought an expensive cooler for it because the standard one was too loud, but i'm now appreciating its cooling power), but my GPU starts around at 38 and gets to 50+ after ten minutes or so. I just tried rebooting the computer and play something else for a while until i got to that temperature, than loaded up Dark Souls and sure enough i'm getting sub 30 FPS right away.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Unlocking the fps results in an immediate crash on startup for me.

What version of the game are you running? The latest DSfix only works for the new patch. Earlier versions of the game want earlier versions of the program.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Quit this game after losing vs. the Capra Demon literally...60 times in a row?

Haven't looked back.

Git gud scrub.


















































Just got raped multiple times by a bunch of skeletons right after the starting area.

 

[Jasede]

Glorious day, Lyric Suite playing an actual video game! Maybe the Codex can be saved.

 

[Zeriel]

Apparently, i didn't solve shit. The game goes back to sub 20 fps after a while and the only way to fix it is to restart windows. God damn it.

You overclocked. The CPU is probably hitting its thermal threshold and throttling itself on the hardware level.

The thermal threshold on old athlon CPUs is pretty low, you would be surprised what is "safe" for them. You start to run into trouble around 60C, which is considered a cool and breezy temp for GPUs.

In summary, your CPU is really, really old. Get a new one if you want to play modern games without performance issues. (Though Dark Souls 1 IS a bad port, you shouldn't be having issues with games from that era.)

Nope, its the GPU. My CPU is always at a solid 45 degrees, even after the hefty overclock i've done to it (i've bought an expensive cooler for it because the standard one was too loud, but i'm now appreciating its cooling power), but my GPU starts around at 38 and gets to 50+ after ten minutes or so. I just tried rebooting the computer and play something else for a while until i got to that temperature, than loaded up Dark Souls and sure enough i'm getting sub 30 FPS right away.

That's weird, my GPUs have always been able to handle going really high (like 90c) without problem. Anyway, if all else fails, just blame it on Dark Souls 1 I suppose.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Maybe it is the game that thinks the GPU is running too hot and needlessly slows itself down. I certainly have no problem running any other game, 50+ degrees or not. It has to be some kind of bullshit like that.

 

[Gregz]

Quit this game after losing vs. the Capra Demon literally...60 times in a row?

Haven't looked back.

Did you try getting rid of the dogs first?

Yep, even watched the youtube vids and all that degrading shit.

My bandit had no speed (I put it into mostly health str) and I was too encumbered to be able to get a fucking move in. Made it to the stairs a few times, even managed to kill both dogs a few times, *shrug*. Anyway, I'm a lot happier now that I'm not playing it. It might have been fine when I was 15, or 20, or even 30, but at 40 I can't do twitch games anymore.

"Dark Souls is not for everyone"

 

[Gozma]

Wolf ring bro

 

[Lyric Suite]

Nevermind, other games are slowed down too.

So basically the game is overheating my GPU. I just touched the back of my card and it was actually hot. Now that i rebooted my computer its cool again. This shit is too much.

Glorious day, Lyric Suite playing an actual video game! Maybe the Codex can be saved.

Yeah, and i had to pick the game that doesn't fucking work.

 

[Multidirectional]

Just kite Capra up those stairs and firebomb (or fireball if you have pyro) his ass, once he gets close, jump down and repeat. 60 times.

Just got raped multiple times by a bunch of skeletons right after the starting area.

If you mean skeletons at the cemetery - you really shouldn't be going there yet. Undead Burg is the best place to clear first.

 

[Jasede]

Serves you right for trying to play Dark Souls on a PC. What's next, will you try to play Starcraft on the N64?

 

[Gozma]

Best part of playing Demon Souls on PS3 was getting a slideshow in that game's version of Blighttown too and realizing they just didn't give a fuck

 

[Lyric Suite]

Just kite Capra up those stairs and firebomb (or fireball if you have pyro) his ass, once he gets close, jump down and repeat. 60 times.

Just got raped multiple times by a bunch of skeletons right after the starting area.

If you mean skeletons at the cemetery - you really shouldn't be going there yet. Undead Burg is the best place to clear first.

Well, i learned how to beat the skeletons. It was pretty cool actually because i had to learn their dynamic and weakness. Basically, you can loot a morning star on your way to the cemetery, which knocks the skellies down. You can also knock the big ones using the jump attack. Once they are down you can jump attack again and than roll back. With a bit of care its actually easy, but one mistake and you are in trouble.

Is there actually anything in the cemetery anyway? I mean, does it go somewhere or is it a self contained area?

Too bad the damn game wants to fry my GPU. I may possibly get one of those case GPU fans to see if it helps.

 

[Raghar]

Quit this game after losing vs. the Capra Demon literally...60 times in a row?

Haven't looked back.

Did you try getting rid of the dogs first?

My bandit had no speed (I put it into mostly health str) and I was too encumbered to be able to get a fucking move in. Made it to the stairs a few times, even managed to kill both dogs a few times, *shrug*. Anyway, I'm a lot happier now that I'm not playing it. It might have been fine when I was 15, or 20, or even 30, but at 40 I can't do twitch games anymore.

"Dark Souls is not for everyone"

When you kill both dogs, you nearly won. Just evade attack and it needs your hands not shaking too much.

 

[dnf]

I have an inferior PC(Core2duo e6750 2.66 ghz, Gayforce Gt 640) and have no probs running Dark souls. Maybe you should try to set CPU affinity to one core?

 

[Multidirectional]

Is there actually anything in the cemetery anyway? I mean, does it go somewhere or is it a self contained area?

Too bad the damn game wants to fry my GPU. I may possibly get one of those case GPU fans to see if it helps.

There are Catacombs past the cemetery, an area that is really too much for a starting char, especially on first playthrough. Also, in Cemetery you can find one of the best weapons in game - Zweihander. It has a high STR requirement (you can wield it for half the STR requirement while two handing though) and is slow, but its strong attack is extremely useful because it knocks down a lot of enemies.

Your GPU temp problems are weird, I've never had that with my inferior GTX460, and I played this game with 4xMSAA forced with Nvidia Inspector on top of using fairly high DSFix settings. You might wanna try lowering SSAO and DOF resolution settings a bit, as those in my experience are the most demanding.

 

[Grimlorn]

Apparently, i didn't solve shit. The game goes back to sub 20 fps after a while and the only way to fix it is to restart windows. God damn it.

You overclocked. The CPU is probably hitting its thermal threshold and throttling itself on the hardware level.

The thermal threshold on old athlon CPUs is pretty low, you would be surprised what is "safe" for them. You start to run into trouble around 60C, which is considered a cool and breezy temp for GPUs.

In summary, your CPU is really, really old. Get a new one if you want to play modern games without performance issues. (Though Dark Souls 1 IS a bad port, you shouldn't be having issues with games from that era.)

Nope, its the GPU. My CPU is always at a solid 45 degrees, even after the hefty overclock i've done to it (i've bought an expensive cooler for it because the standard one was too loud, but i'm now appreciating its cooling power), but my GPU starts around at 38 and gets to 50+ after ten minutes or so. I just tried rebooting the computer and play something else for a while until i got to that temperature, than loaded up Dark Souls and sure enough i'm getting sub 30 FPS right away.

Do the 660s overheat at lower temps? I think my 460 goes to about 70 before overheating. Seems odd I can play the game fine without problems with a worse card, but yours overheats when trying to play it with a better card with the same *60s

 

[Raghar]

Actually I have correct data for GTX 660, because I did research. Aka using my GTX 660 and rising temperature and lowering voltages and do other stuff.
Idle temp 33C, burn 68 after half hour of Furmark and CPU at max.
It WILL reduce frequency by one notch and reduce voltage when it crosses 72C. That's hardwired into the chip. I should look at unlocked bioses, but I think they managed to get around power target. GTX 560, and previous, had some breakdowns because users played with voltage and clock without brain, and NVidia was paranoid and locked nearly everything. (You can solder wire to it and get a voltage mod.) GTX 980 is actually less restricted.

But under 73 C it's actually without any problems, and it can work without problems on 80 C as well.

I'd update drivers and look into programs on startup to check for problems. And I assume there was nothing interesting in administrative logs.

Is there actually anything in the cemetery anyway? I mean, does it go somewhere or is it a self contained area?

Not much, these skeletons are bit warning that a person should explore around more.

 

[ghostdog]

While playing DS2 and using the enhanced graphics of gedosato it seems that my GPU overheated in some demanding areas too. Opening the case from the side fixed my problems.

The awesome thing about DS1 is that the areas are seamlessly connected with each other and one place always leads to another and even if the areas are different they make sense. Exploration is very satisfying, you see a castle on the top of a hill in the distance and you'll eventually get there.

 

[Grimlorn]

While playing DS2 and using the enhanced graphics of gedosato it seems that my GPU overheated in some demanding areas too. Opening the case from the side fixed my problems.

The awesome thing about DS1 is that the areas are seamlessly connected with each other and one place always leads to another and even if the areas are different they make sense. Exploration is very satisfying, you see a castle on the top of a hill in the distance and you'll eventually get there.

My 460 couldn't even handle the downsampling at higher resolutions. Framerate slowed to a crawl. I still couldn't tell a difference in graphic quality at Majula. Maybe the textures aren't good enough.

Turned DoF and Bloom off (bad options imo), but kept Postprocessing and SSAO enabled. Those options make things a bit sharper and darker in the game. Turned AA off as well because didn't notice a difference and I think it slowed down the game a bit.

 

[Lyric Suite]

Actually I have correct data for GTX 660, because I did research. Aka using my GTX 660 and rising temperature and lowering voltages and do other stuff.
Idle temp 33C, burn 68 after half hour of Furmark and CPU at max.
It WILL reduce frequency by one notch and reduce voltage when it crosses 72C. That's hardwired into the chip. I should look at unlocked bioses, but I think they managed to get around power target. GTX 560, and previous, had some breakdowns because users played with voltage and clock without brain, and NVidia was paranoid and locked nearly everything. (You can solder wire to it and get a voltage mod.) GTX 980 is actually less restricted.

But under 73 C it's actually without any problems, and it can work without problems on 80 C as well.

I'd update drivers and look into programs on startup to check for problems. And I assume there was nothing interesting in administrative logs.

Well, it seems that it is the video card that is broke. I don't know if it happened now or if i just didn't notice before. It has been a while since i played a graphically intensive game. But i guess this solves the mystery of this game.

This time i tried playing a different game right after boot and it did the same thing. So basically, for some reason, going a little over 50 degrees makes my card slow down. One strange thing is that the card starts at idle and then goes to full speed by itself, and this slowly gets it to "overheat", so to speak, even when not playing any game. Now i used the Asus Turbo EVO shit to overclock my CPU because i'm a lazy bum but i wonder if that shitty program did something to the video card settings too. I'm going to reset my motherboard and see if that does anything.

[EDIT] Actually, now the core frequency is going over the default. Its at 1163 MHz where default is 1033/1098. WTF is going on. Memory clock is at 6010 and voltage is at 1.162. This is a Gigabyte card, which i think is OC by default, but i think those values seem a bit high even for that.

 

[Raghar]

Uninstall Asus EVO and overclock CPU in BIOS. This looks like unstable GFX overclock caused hiccup in driver.

 

[praetor]

it really does sound like your GPU is borked... i remember my old one was so broken at a point that it overheated watching youtube vids@720p

btw still DaS1 seems to be a really weird engine. that same old, not overclocked GPU (before it broke), an ATI HD4750 (or 4770? can't remember the exact 3rd digit ), for some reason ran the game better than my current HD7850 (even unlocking and capping at 30FPS and enabling/disabling all the extra stuff is making it run worse than it did on that ancient piece of hardware. f.e. in New Londo the game is now very choppy at the bottom, while previously it was smooth 30FPS). it's just weird and DaS2 is waaay more consistent and just all around a better port