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From Software The Dark Souls Discussion Thread

Teut Busnet

Cipher
Patron
Joined
Dec 31, 2016
Messages
972
Codex Year of the Donut
Blighttown is definitely one of or the best level in the series, that much is true.



A video game being gamey, shock horror. It's something that should be commendable in this decade, as the industry has forgotten they're supposed to be making fucking games.

No seriously, you still have a valid point. DS1 is better off because of the strong sense of place, atmosphere and immersion it creates, without it being detrimental to the game underneath. DS2 is better off because it has the best gameplay. Both are kings of the series, the rest fall short.
Could you please elaborate why you keep praising DS2 for it's gameplay?

The broken poise, enemies tracking you all the way of their attack (and a massive increase of having to fight multiple, heavily armored enemies at once, maybe that's just me) are annoying enough that DS2 should be disqualified from any 'Games with good gameplay' discussion. You were also limited to few weapons at the start, but maybe they fixed that with SotfS.
 

Ash

Arcane
Joined
Oct 16, 2015
Messages
7,055
Really? Two nitpicks of minor proportions ruins a complex web of good gameplay design for you? Also only some enemies attacks track. It was pretty rare. Adapt to it and git gud?

I praise the level design, enemy placement, environmental gameplay gimmicks per location (e.g curse pots in a maze in Shaded Woods. Watching your footing in the water at the Shrine. The pure fun gauntlet that was Earthen Peak). The level design became more gamey, and was fun as fuck. The bosses. The good pacing and balance (aside from life gems, though you do start with only one estus). The innovations such as the inclusion of three equipment slots per hand or diminishing max HP the more you die. Bonfire Incensing. Exchanging boss souls for weapons. Including PvE covenants like the Champions hardcore mode thingy. Dual-wielding. The inclusion of agility and luck (though they weren't great, but more build depth is always nice). Whips. Spell casting drains stamina. NG+ features new enemies. You can be invaded while hollow. Fun interactive MP battle arenas like the Doors of Pharros.
 

Ash

Arcane
Joined
Oct 16, 2015
Messages
7,055
And much of that was ditched in DS3. I was probably disappointed by the lack of new enemies in NG+ the most. It was small in DS2, but it helped keep the subsequent playthrough fresh.
 

L'Montes

Educated
Joined
May 6, 2018
Messages
160
In the Dark Souls 2 Network test, they had some extra mechanics that they decided not to put in the live/final release.

They altered standard spell-casting foci (sorcerer's at least) to be first-person aimable when two-handed like a bow. They also modified the R1/R2 to be somewhat similar mechanically to a melee weapon. R1 fired the spell, R2 fired the same spell... but slower and stronger, like a "heavy" version of the same spell with the same cost in charges - but it would leave you open longer.

It was interesting, and was an actual innovation of sorts on top of the "press button to fire X flavor of magic missile" approach they'd had to most of the magic gameplay. It also gave a pure caster a reason to be two-handing a staff.

For whatever reason, they decided "offhand binoculars" was preferable for the final release. Then of course, Dark Souls 3 rolled that back too.
 

Wunderbar

Arcane
Joined
Nov 15, 2015
Messages
8,825
I recently tried to do no-bonfire run in DaS2, and it shocked me with how meticulously this game is designed around that optional feature.

You can beat the whole game without sitting on bonfire. Yeah, everyone know that already, but just think about it. No other game was designed with "no bonfire" in mind. In DaS3 you even have to warp to the first proper location, it was like a big "fuck you" to interconnected world of the first game and no-bonfire-run design of the second game.
 

sullynathan

Arcane
Joined
Dec 22, 2015
Messages
6,473
Location
Not Europe
diminishing max HP the more you die
Demons souls had this
Really? Two nitpicks of minor proportions ruins a complex web of good gameplay design for you?
It's not a nitpick. It's very bad when you go to dark souls 2 directly from dark souls

The level design became more gamey, and was fun as fuck.
It wasn't more fun than dark souls levels. There's more shit content in souls 2 than souls 1.

For some reason I knew your crybaby ass would come and complain about Demon's Souls.
because demons souls sucks
 

Tancred

Learned
Joined
Jul 10, 2016
Messages
105
Anor Londo is pretty average design-wise but the vibe is fantastic. Vibe is super important in Souls, some of the all-time fan favorite zones like Dragon Aerie or Ash Lake are a joke design-wise but whenever I play them I can't stop being delighted.

I liked to visit Ash Lake just to listen to the soundtrack and look at the archtrees. Sure, virtually nothing to do there but it oozed atmosphere. I wonder if they ever had plans to do more with Ash Lake or if it was only ever intended as a brief glimpse into the bigger world/history of Lordran?
 

Arnust

Savant
Joined
Dec 22, 2016
Messages
680
Location
Spain
Captura_de_pantalla_41.png


Dunkey can't be possibly playing DSRemaster, they fixed enemy attacks clipping through walls!
 

DemonKing

Arcane
Joined
Dec 5, 2003
Messages
6,586
Finally fired this up last night on my PS4. I've had it on PC for years but never got around to finishing it due to lots of competing titles/lack of time. Also it felt pretty sluggish on that format even with the DSfix mod.

It seems I have managed to "git good" since the last time I played (I did manage to complete DS2 & 3 plus a fair bit of Bloodborne over the last few years) because I beat the Asylum Demon first time and the Taurus Demon on my 3rd attempt. I think that was the only time I died apart from once at the Undead Burg bonfire just after I was congratulating myself on not dying yet when I walked off a platform under no pressure whatsoever...

I don't know if it was the advantage of playing on the big screen or not but I found tons of little secrets in the Undead Burg that I'm sure I didn't find when I was playing on PC. I joined another player's game once but he was a dumbass who charged the black knight in the tower above the Undead Parish instead of letting his two summoned helpers go first and died before I even got to the top of the tower...

It's not bringing much new to the table but the gameplay is buttery smooth and it's nice to have well populated servers for multiplayer.
 

Villagkouras

Arcane
Joined
Jul 3, 2014
Messages
1,023
Location
Greece
They should fix the white fogs a bit, the effect is so long that some bosses attack before the fog clears from the screen and some enemies attack through it.

On the other hand, in this playthrough, I managed to pull off more parries than all my other DS1 playthroughs combined.
 

TheHeroOfTime

Arcane
Joined
Nov 3, 2014
Messages
2,966
Location
S-pain
I completed my run yesterday (Killing absolutely all bosses, twelve hours spent), on a pirate version in PC because after the treatment received with the original game of Steam I think they don’t deserve a fuckin euro in this platform. Overall is decent overhaul of the game, with minor faults like new bugs and some armors textures fucked up. But this is what we should have got six years ago, when they ported the game to PC. And now they’re charging 20€ for a fucking patch with basic and standart configuration features.

PD: Gwyn and Queelag are great looking on the remaster.
 

L'Montes

Educated
Joined
May 6, 2018
Messages
160
The game seems to have some added jank in various locations. It's unclear to me if it's holdover from some of the kinds of issues you'd get world-geometry-wise in the original when you increased the framerate in DSFix. Like, the obvious issues of firing through the floor like a rocket when sliding down some ladders was fixed of course, but there seem to be new/different geometry issues elsewhere in the game that weren't in the original. In short, it seems like there's more locations where you can get stuck on little bits of geometry?

Audio-wise, there also seems to be some issues. I'm not sure if it's just me, but it seems like many of the NPC voice-lines (Solaire, et al.) had some weird mixing done on their voice (possibly some sort of surround processing or something else?). It seems like there was more variance depending on camera position and other factors on how clear their voice was, even with voice volume tuned up higher than effects/etc. The voices seemed muffled somewhat. It was irritating, and not a problem I recall being present in the past.

Texture-wise, it seems hit and miss to me. Some textures/items look fantastic (like... the Crest Shield)... super shiny, glossy, and new. This can be odd in some other cases though, where old/torn-up gear and other elements has been given a texture/update that makes it look oddly super-HQ or shiny for its purported condition.

World textures seem haphazardly updated in some cases. You'll see where brick-work where it seems finely/subtly textures and higher definition than in the prior relese, but that texture will be tiled next to another texture that's a blurry mess and didn't apparently receive the same treatment.

On that note, one of the early standouts for "awkward HD" is the hair textures in character creation. There's visible huge squares and edges in the hairlines. Let's not kid ourselves, Dark Souls characters were never particularly attractive, but it feels like they increased the resolution of assets with no concern for how they'd fit together. I had to load up PtDE to check to make sure I wasn't mistaken about the old one, but no... the new version has these weirdly super-jagged textures in the head models for some reason.
 

newtmonkey

Arcane
Joined
Aug 22, 2013
Messages
1,384
Location
Goblin Lair
Audio-wise, there also seems to be some issues. I'm not sure if it's just me, but it seems like many of the NPC voice-lines (Solaire, et al.) had some weird mixing done on their voice (possibly some sort of surround processing or something else?). It seems like there was more variance depending on camera position and other factors on how clear their voice was, even with voice volume tuned up higher than effects/etc. The voices seemed muffled somewhat. It was irritating, and not a problem I recall being present in the past.

I'm glad someone else has noticed this, I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere else. There is something really weird with the audio, just as you explained. It's almost uncomfortable to listen to.
 

Arnust

Savant
Joined
Dec 22, 2016
Messages
680
Location
Spain
https://gamerant.com/from-software-shadows-die-twice-detail-leak/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

Several months ago, From Software offered up a teaser clip related to its forthcoming project that ended with the phrase “Shadows Die Twice” at the end of the footage, leaving many to wonder what exactly the developer has in store for gamers with its next title. Now, in order to satiate fans’ cravings for new information about the release, alleged details about the forthcoming game from the studio seem to have leaked online ahead of its formal reveal.

According to a post on 4chan’s /v/ forum, From Software‘s “Shadows Die Twice” project will be somewhat similar to Dark Souls “in gameplay and atmosphere”, but will differentiate itself from the company’s action-RPG trilogy by “being a lot more open” and “not having the clear level/Boss design” while also containing “a more directly told story.” Should the leak be accurate, then the studio’s next game will “draw inspiration from both Bloodborne and From Software’s old PS2 game Kuon” with gameplay being similar to the former, but being “more vicious and brutal.”





The leak goes on to suggest that From Software’s “Shadows Die Twice” project will have “skills” that include “different melee moves, passives, and magic,” but it “won’t have endless skill trees” that are “big flashy Diablo-style attacks”. What’s more is that “trick weapons” will supposedly make an appearance, with some having “3 forms, others [having] 2, and there are many weapons that are always 2-handed or 2-part”. Allegedly, the game will not feature “side arms or shields,” but players can utilize blocking and countering with their weapon, with each having a “unique counter ability.”

When it comes to the narrative in From Software’s “Shadows Die Twice” game, the leak details that its story focuses on “an ancient cult, that has been using farmers for their dark rituals since hundreds of years.” This sect is terrified of “the end of the world” and they “sacrifice people at their shrine of blood” while also carrying out experiments on them. Apparently, “many of the creatures will be the result of the experiments,” with these enemies often losing their limbs or heads in combat, leading to some spawning parasites “from their beheaded selves, somewhat like Resident Evil 4.”

As far as the main character in From Software’s next title is concerned, the leak claims that players will “start the game as a heavily maimed and disfigured person at the edge of death” who is then “saved by a mysterious leader who gives you a new face” that will prompt a character creatorfeature. The figure who saves the protagonist “replaces [their] missing arm” with a “multi-functional device” that operates as a prosthetic for the majority of the game, “but can also be used a some kind of grappling gun to reach higher levels.”




Evidently, “Shadows Die Twice” will exist within “a dark fantasy world” that resembles “ancient Japan”, it will mostly “take place in rural places, but there will be a bigger city to explore later.” Its size will be a lot “more open world than [From Software’s] previous titles, but not fully like Skyrim,” with the developer offering “multiple inter-connected levels, that are much larger with multiple possible paths”.

Finally, this particular rumor infers that From Software’s next game will have PvP elements, as one will be able to “enter the world of another player and take control of a monster” with the creature then getting “a slight upgrade”. What’s more is that the “Shadows Die Twice” project purportedly contains “dynamic weather” and a “day/night system for some areas”, with “night and rain” causing a higher rate of “stronger” enemies to appear.


Taking all of this into consideration, with these details relating to From Software’s “Shadows Die Twice” game having come from an anonymous source on 4chan’s /v/ forum, it’s best to remain highly skeptical in regards to their veracity. So, while the information from this leak is certainly intriguing, it’s best to wait until the studio gives the official word about the forthcoming release. Perhaps we will learn more at E3 2018.

From Software‘s “Shadows Die Twice” project is currently in development.

Source: 4chan

Hmm. Really unreliable, but the idea seems pretty cool in general.
 

Deflowerer

Arcane
Joined
May 22, 2013
Messages
2,078
Don't really get a Nioh vibe, with the exception of the superficially shared Japanese setting (which is retarded to compare, really).

I expect Bloodborne with Siren/Ku-on vibes based on this.

But because of this I also think the whole thing is fake news.
 

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