Dark Souls 2 PC - April 25, 2014

the only major issue with this remaster is they're going to split the community by separating the DX9 and DX11 multiplayer...I'm not sure most players (even those who loved the game) will be buying and playing both versions regularly...they'll choose 1...and with so many high level characters already created with their current game I'm wondering if people are going to grind through leveling up another character(s) just for the DX11 version
 
polonyc2 said:
the only major issue with this remaster is they're going to split the community by separating the DX9 and DX11 multiplayer...I'm not sure most players (even those who loved the game) will be buying and playing both versions regularly...they'll choose 1...and with so many high level characters already created with their current game I'm wondering if people are going to grind through leveling up another character(s) just for the DX11 version
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I see this as a positive. The DX11 version's PvP will be a breath of fresh air for a while precisely because it re-levels the playing field with everyone starting over, instead of what we have now with so many people running around with high level min/max'd cookie cutter builds with all the best gear.
 
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Re: shortcuts. Yeah in the twitch stream they mentioned there being extra petrified figures now in new places they didn't exist before, that once unpetrified will open new pathways. And there will be extra Fragrant Branches of Yore scattered around for them as well.

Also: The Pursuer will be popping up in more places (pursuing you), enemies will chase you further (won't stop at artificial boundaries) - though i think was already mentioned in this thread, more NPC's can be summoned to help, more NPC phantom invasions.

And this one is interesting: the teleport screen that shows the other areas while you're at a bonfire will now have a faint outline to indicate areas that have greater numbers of other players (meaning increased chance of multiplayer encounters).
 
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I don't see the Steam page for Scholar of the First Sin...I'm going to get this for $20...if the DLC wasn't so good I might have been tempted to pass...the new enemy placement, enemy count, map shortcuts and increased multiplayer seems worth $20...the graphics 'upgrade' is just a bonus
 
Looks like my Havel Gear and Clubs/Dragon's Tooth are among the only things unaffected. Go figure.
 
Annnnnd.. Still no SotFS store page on Steam. Guess they're not going to release until day-of (tomorrow)
 
I'm going to buy for $19.99 but I'm curious to read some reviews on the new PC version's graphics...the next-gen console videos released looked worse then the original PC release as they made everything too bright which gave it a washed out look
 
The lighting is... different. They're using an adaptive exposure filter which looks better in most cases, but causes shadows in some areas to be washed out (mostly Majula). DSR works fine and is highly recommended.

Anyway here's a few screenshots of my new playthough. Started out lucky, took a strange lump as my starting item and got this from the birds
http://cloud-4.steamusercontent.com...DB72C339D69F51428BB98C/2048x1151.resizedimage

Part of the tutorial area is blocked off by a statue now... hope you didn't need that part of it. I'm assuming it's a shortcut to somewhere.
http://cloud-4.steamusercontent.com...FD375677D7CD913C43F3DA/2048x1151.resizedimage

This ogre was hanging out at the beginning of the forest area, didn't seem hostile though (I didn't get close to find out!)
http://cloud-4.steamusercontent.com...FD80168E0C0B7B05FE3DD9/2048x1151.resizedimage

The Heide knight at the beginning of the forest of fallen giants with the lightning sword was no where to be found... instead there's a bunch of them hanging out here:
http://cloud-4.steamusercontent.com...9956DE789D64CDA87108FA/2048x1151.resizedimage
They don't seem to drop special weapons anymore... at least these don't.

From what I've seen so far, if you were a fan of the original and want to play through with different enemy / special item placement I'd say go for it. Graphically it's not that much different. I think there's more trees / random objects in the environment now though. Haven't bothered to compare directly against the original. For example in the ogre screenshot I'm pretty sure those trees by the stream weren't there before.

Summoned some guy to help kill the forest boss that already had full Havels + dual shield set + the red eye ring. I'm assuming he figured out how to import his save.
 
wait till you kill the boss. those knights won't be sitting around anymore. they respawn also.
 
Drakenfeng said:
Graphically it's not that much different. I think there's more trees / random objects in the environment now though. Haven't bothered to compare directly against the original. For example in the ogre screenshot I'm pretty sure those trees by the stream weren't there before.
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I don't think there were any refinements or little additions like that, to geometry assets. I'm not saying there aren't ANY. But from what I have seen, there hasn't been any sign of added object density to some areas, or something like that. Those trees are in the original version and use the exact same models.

They did add some shortcuts around the game world. So there should be some little changes in those immediate areas. But I don't think they have a huge impact on the overall impression of an area.
 
Too many other games hitting right now for me to take the plunge. I'll probably grab this at some point during the slow summer season, but I don't really see the point (on the PC) right now.
 
Domingo said:
Too many other games hitting right now for me to take the plunge. I'll probably grab this at some point during the slow summer season, but I don't really see the point (on the PC) right now.
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I agree! Like the damn floodgates opened all of a sudden. GTA V, Elite Dangerous, Pillars of Eternity, Project Cars, Assetto Corsa Dream Pack 1, Cities Skylines, and now this. Quite sure that I missed something really good too.
 
They still haven't fixed the 60fps durability,dodge and attack bug from the original DX9 version?

So fail.
 
Bloodborne has taken all my time.

I was on my way to finish DLC3 before it came out. Got stuck at the Chaos area anyway. DS2 is on the backburner for now. Probably for a while. I'm in love with BB...
 
H-street said:
Is it the old lighting ? Has anyone run it?
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Nope. And I've seen some people at other forums assume "couldn't you get the same effect with ENB or SweetFX" but that's incorrect since those hacks can't apply their effects on a room by room basis.

Example the game now adjusts brightness when you enter marked "dark" areas. It's not a simple filter that makes the game darker. There is a little transition and suddenly it goes pitch black.

Really enjoying the reboot, the new enemies really freshen things. The lighting and the better HDR is doing wonders for the look of the game.
 
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LeviathanZERO said:
Bloodborne has taken all my time.

I was on my way to finish DLC3 before it came out. Got stuck at the Chaos area anyway. DS2 is on the backburner for now. Probably for a while. I'm in love with BB...
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Yeah I played a little bit earlier on the PC and after playing BloodBorne I just can't go back to the slower combat. The improvements they made in BB really do speak volumes when you go back and play previous FS titles. I remember when DS2 came out and I thought how much of an improvement the combat was compared to DS1. BloodBorne has ruined SOTFS for me.

The mechanics and combat feel so sterile in comparison.
 
LeviathanZERO said:
Bloodborne has taken all my time.

I was on my way to finish DLC3 before it came out. Got stuck at the Chaos area anyway. DS2 is on the backburner for now. Probably for a while. I'm in love with BB...
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me too...I'll get around to this after I wear myself out playing Bloodborne and also 'The Last of Us' which came for free with the PS4...I'm glad the $19.99 upgrade price is permanent and not some stupid pre-order only price...I definitely want to play the revamped Dark Souls 2 mainly for the new enemy placement, multiplayer etc...as far as the graphics I just hope they didn't downgrade the graphics...a good example of this was Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition where the graphics looked slightly worse in the remaster (although the free DLC etc made up for it)

can anyone confirm that the DLC areas also received new enemy placement??...also are the DX11 multiplayer servers filled with new players?
 
naticus said:
BloodBorne has ruined SOTFS for me.

The mechanics and combat feel so sterile in comparison.
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I've gone back and forth between both games today, and I love both but I can't say BB has diminished the DS2 experience. The instant loadtimes and 60FPS are the first things that really hit you like fresh air when coming from a BB session. The increased variety of weapons, the more diverse locations in DS2 are also welcome after you've been looking at the same dark monotone victorian streets and interiors for hours in BB.

But on the other hand BB does so many things better and smarter since its an evolution of the souls lineage, which will no doubt carry over into Dark Souls 3 in terms of FROM continuing to refine the formula, finally dropping the 360/PS3 and delivering a true nextgen Souls game for PC. Though with Miyazaki being president of FROM now, who knows, he might say "fuck it we're done with medieval fantasy for a while" and go in another direction. Let's just hope that direction isn't an MMO :)
 
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DARKBORNE

Miyazaki doesn't seem to make sequels. I bet we get a totally new take on the formula. What if B-team has already been tasked with Bloodborne 2? Hmmmmmm...
 
LeviathanZERO said:
DARKBORNE

Miyazaki doesn't seem to make sequels. I bet we get a totally new take on the formula. What if B-team has already been tasked with Bloodborne 2? Hmmmmmm...
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Eh? From has a long history of sequels, Miyazaki included. Souls games included. The reason he didn't do Dark Souls 2 is that Sony offered them a great deal to develop an exclusive IP and he was part of the terms. Sony has public statements expressing regret with not raising high the torch for Demon's Souls. They let that one slip away and third parties were able to snatch it up. Sony came back and ensured they'd get some of that pie back.

There are even leaked quotes of them referring to Bloodborne internally, as a successor or sequel to Demon's Souls. It was all very deliberate. Miyazaki's absence from Dark Souls 2, I don't think that was a personal choice by him.
 
I can see it in the designs that they went more demons souls than dArk souls. To help they need to make a. Hd of demons souls so I can retire my PS3 :)
 
H-street said:
I can see it in the designs that they went more demons souls than dArk souls. To help they need to make a. Hd of demons souls so I can retire my PS3 :)
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Don't give Namco any ideas! As much as we love the classics, there's a point where all of the remakes and HD remakes and Director's Cuts go too far... :D
 
Lol I forgot this game had telegraphed enemy attacks. That is so fail. Should have stuck with the DS1 formula on this. Even with 110 AGL at 14iFrames, I still get hit by TG hits. BB and DS1 do it so much better. You can really tell the F Software "B-Team" made DS2. I assumed this was fixed in the DX11 version but nope. The 60fps durability and combat bug is also still present -- so don't forget to lock your game at 30 fps or you are at a huge disadvantage in PVE.

Why can From not fix these glaring issues? So bush league.

Edit: Did they change the AGL and iframes in the DX11 version? It seems like it.
 
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I like difficult games but.. this one is bad.. every death, which is stupid easy, takes 15 mins to get back to where I was.. sigh..
 
Voxata said:
I like difficult games but.. this one is bad.. every death, which is stupid easy, takes 15 mins to get back to where I was.. sigh..
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Bondfires are pretty abundant...I can't think of a single stretch that would take that long to reach.

Maybe you shouldn't die so much :p
 
The bonfire pacing is WAY more generous in Dark Souls than Demon's Souls. If you're having to walk back 15 minutes it means you either missed a bonfire, or didn't open a shortcut. DS2 even hides less of the bonfires than DS1 did.

Demon's Souls you easily could go 15-20 minutes without a bonfire, with a boss at the end of that. Die and you have to re-clear that entire portion over again. The swamp level and the cavern / pit / demon boss run stand out the most in my mind. Though admittedly I may have just missed the bonfires there too...
 
Drakenfeng said:
Demon's Souls you easily could go 15-20 minutes without a bonfire, with a boss at the end of that. Die and you have to re-clear that entire portion over again
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with Dark Souls 1 and 2 you don't really have to clear areas over and over...once you die you can just sprint through that area avoiding most if not all enemies to get back to the boss
 
polonyc2 said:
with Dark Souls 1 and 2 you don't really have to clear areas over and over...once you die you can just sprint through that area avoiding most if not all enemies to get back to the boss
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Exactly...I am currently playing demon souls for the first time. I honestly thought it'd be harder, I do like the fact that the war points are fewer between...makes me more cautious.

The game feels a lot shorter than Dark Souls and Dark Souls II, maybe because I can go through areas much quicker because I have the hang of things? The bosses, while very cool, are too damn easy for me. I have yet to die and I died all the time in Dark Souls boss fights.
 
can anyone comment with some details on less talked about additions?

I'm hearing things about additional light sources/dynamic lighting and some areas with additional props added to the rooms. Any examples of stuff like this which you notice is definitely new, would be appreciated.

Something I am particulalry interested in are spell effects. Do spells light the environment?

and based on videos, it seems like they added an affect which is similar to the "bloom" effect from GeDoSaTo. The one where really bright stuff like armor in sunlight, spells, etc. glint/flash in your eye. With GeDoSaTo, fighting a spell caster was a lot more thrilling, due to the light show from the added effect. Does SotFS equal that?
 
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Ihavetheelderscrolls said:
The game feels a lot shorter than Dark Souls and Dark Souls II, maybe because I can go through areas much quicker because I have the hang of things? The bosses, while very cool, are too damn easy for me. I have yet to die and I died all the time in Dark Souls boss fights.
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DS2:SOTFS is the biggest souls game by far. The DLC additions are absolutely massive. I'm still not done with DLC3, and I've been going at it since last summer, but I do tons of co-op so I progress slower than most people. 273 Hours as of today. You have a long way to go.
 
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