Dark Souls II on PC

Yskonyn · April 28, 2014, 12:14:33 AM

Quote from: Nefaro on April 27, 2014, 07:53:38 PM
Quote from: Yskonyn on April 27, 2014, 12:15:00 PM
The whole combat system of DS revolves around tightness and making your controller an extension of your hands.
It has been like this from Demon Souls.
Playing these games with anything other than a controller would be masochistic.

I tried the original Dark Souls with an Xbox controller. Wasn't impressed at all. I thought, "why would I bother playing this over something like Skyrim?". The controls felt touchy and imprecise to me. The graphics looked bad and the FOV screwy. Even on an LED 1080p TV from a distance. After playing through the intro part, I couldn't bring myself to continue. Too many console-ish negatives for my taste. :-\

I never played it on Pc, but I have read that it suffered from issues that the console version did not have. DS2's port is much better according to various articles.
But aside from the possible sluggishness of the original port the reason why your Controls might have felt imprecise might be because you were playing a tanky character or using a weapon he could
Not wield properly.
Combat is stamina based in these games and if it felt sluggish then either the game itself ran crap or your character wasn't decked out properly.
One thing that the series is famous for is its super tight and fair (but hard) combat system.

JudgeDredd · April 28, 2014, 12:58:23 AM

Is it just me, or does it look terrible? It's no Skyrim, that's for sure.

I'm not talking about the first video either - I'm going on the second one posted by W8aminute - the Norwegian ;)

Nefaro · April 28, 2014, 03:55:52 AM

Quote from: Great Ajax on April 27, 2014, 09:32:21 PM
Great article about the appeal of Dark Souls.

kotaku.com/5874599/what-dark-souls-is-really-all-about/1476048242

Trey

I can't agree with difficulty for difficulty's sake, and it's resultant replaying of the exact same situation over & over. Along with the "feel like a feral cat" similes. The description of what the author calls a "semi-open world", by describing the two ways you can travel in the beginning, is just making excuses for a branching campaign.

Perhaps I expected Dark Souls to be more than what it was but I still don't think it's near as good as the hype I had heard about it. The thing turned me off very quickly.. before I even hit difficult encounters that I would have had to repeat over & over. There are plenty difficult games out there to be had.

Gusington · April 28, 2014, 08:58:14 AM

I just couldn't get beyond the first couple of hours of the original Dark Souls on pc...I can only handle having my arse handed to me so many times and still trying to have fun.

Jarhead0331 · April 28, 2014, 09:33:00 AM

Quote from: Gusington on April 28, 2014, 08:58:14 AM
I just couldn't get beyond the first couple of hours of the original Dark Souls on pc...I can only handle having my arse handed to me so many times and still trying to have fun.

Not only that, but in DSII, every time you die, your health gets lower. I don't see the value in punishing the player like that.

Gusington · April 28, 2014, 09:36:45 AM

^Sounds very unfun. I too shall pass. Learned my lesson the first time and the lowered health is not going to change things.

Yskonyn · April 28, 2014, 09:39:50 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on April 28, 2014, 09:33:00 AM
Quote from: Gusington on April 28, 2014, 08:58:14 AM
I just couldn't get beyond the first couple of hours of the original Dark Souls on pc...I can only handle having my arse handed to me so many times and still trying to have fun.

Not only that, but in DSII, every time you die, your health gets lower. I don't see the value in punishing the player like that.

As long as you remain undead, yes. That's what Human Effigies are for; return your humanity and your health.

The game has many intricacies like that, but does keep you in the dark about most things.
I like this kind of exploration, but I understand it is certainly not for everyone.

Gusington · April 28, 2014, 09:55:29 AM

Is there a manual that comes with the game? Mechanics like that shouldn't remain a hidden secret!

W8taminute · April 28, 2014, 10:32:33 AM

Very interesting discussion so far. I totally understand your points about why this game is not really appealing to a lot of people. The reason I understand is that I feel the same way as you do about FPS games. I suck royally at them and although I've now figured out how to handle myself in combat somewhat I'm still a loser when it comes to playing shooters. Yet I enjoy them non the less.

When it comes to Dark Souls we westerners must unlearn what we've learned about RPGs. If you know a little bit about Japanese culture you'll understand why Dark Souls is made the way it is. Dark Souls, while not a traditional JRPG, is geared more towards its Japanese audience than it is towards westerners. Once you get the cultural preferences down you can decide if you're willing to modify your thinking or not with the game.

Another point about the Dark Souls games which I'm attracted to is its brutal treatment of the player. Yes in DS2 you lose some of your health each time you die up to a limit of 50% of your total HP. The game is designed to punish you for acting brash or impatient. Unlearn what you have learned young padawan. You will have to repeat certain areas over and over again until you succeed but when you do succeed the feeling of gratification you get is unmatched. IOW think of Dark Souls as a boot camp drill sergeant and you the player are the new recruit. You are nothing and you are worthless and Dark Souls is going to totally dismantle your pride and hubris. You will either be reduced to a sniveling idiot crying home for mama or the experience will forge a hardened killing machine out of you if you're man enough. Just like boot camp does or at least is meant to do.

Yes DS2 is not as visually stunning as Skyrim is. The game is meant for a console after all but it is fun provided that it is your cup of tea. I think it's interesting hearing the opinions from both sides of the fence and I respect both of those sides. ;)

Yskonyn · April 28, 2014, 10:33:51 AM

Not really, but thats intentional. (To Gus)
The game tells you these things in various ways. In DS2 more clearly than in DS1, where you would need to take note of item descriptions most of the time. In DS2 however, the various NPC's you meet tell you all kinds of tips. Do make sure you keep talking to them until they keep repeating the same stuff.

This is a game where stuff doesn't get handed to you on a silver platter. You need to think, practise, explore and pay attention.
And all this is intentional. And therefore not for everyone.

W8taminute · April 28, 2014, 10:35:50 AM

Quote from: Yskonyn on April 28, 2014, 10:33:51 AM
This is a game where stuff doesn't get handed to you on a silver platter. You need to think, practise, explore and pay attention.
And all this is intentional. And therefore not for everyone.

Yes yes this! Don't play the game if you want everything served to you with step by step instructions. This is probably one of the major reasons why the game does not appeal to a lot of people and that's ok.

Gusington · April 28, 2014, 10:59:07 AM

I don't need everything served on a silver platter. Platinum will suffice.

I wanted to like the first Dark Souls port to pc...got it thinking "OK time for my punishment, I've been naughty." Even got a controller to go along with it as that was recommended at the time. Proceeded to get the crap kicked out of me over the course of several hours. Didn't go back.

I get why people like it because I don't like hand holding in games either, but Dark Souls takes it to the other end of the spectrum...ass kicking and then a lack of any guidance at all. There is a nice in-between...like Skyrim.

Great Ajax · April 28, 2014, 11:43:06 AM

When I play DS, I get frustrated like anyone else with the numerous deaths. When you finally figure it out and beat t. Boss, you feel on top of the world. After awhile, I started getting better at timing and I could execute backstabs and parries and rolls and things got easier but never easy.

In my current game in DS2, I am at the beginning and stuck as usual and I notice curious things that I crave answers for. For example, there is this old broken down tower that has several zombie guards on the ground and an archer sniper on the upper level. I take all of these down but then there is this white knight sitting with his back to a tree with arrows sticking out of his helmet and chest. I have all of these questions. Why is he sitting there? Why don't the zombies attack him? Why doesnt he just attack me? Why wont he speak? So I end up attacking him and I get close on several occasions of taking him down. Now my weapons have started to break and I am down to a mace as one of my last weapons. What happens when that one breaks? Where is the stupid blacksmith's key so I can get him working on repairs?

Trey

WYBaugh · April 28, 2014, 01:51:20 PM

nm

Yskonyn · April 28, 2014, 02:01:15 PM

I am pretty sure he wasn't asking for answers, just indicating that these curious things are part of what makes the game so interesting.
Please be careful about posting spoilers. The key to the blacksmith being one of those things. :)

Oh and Gus, I do believe that DS1's port to PC got some criticism for it having pretty bad performance even on high end machines. There have been some mods or workarounds posted that I've seen claiming to alleviate the problem.
Bottomline is that a game like DS really suffer if the game isn't run at good performance. The combat system relies on fluidity and timing.

The DS2 post is touted to be much better. And its the better game to start with in any case if you're new to the series I find.