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Dark Souls II - Graphics Comparison - PC Preview

BennyBlanco

aka IMurRIVAL69
Shit that was fast

did i just get rekt? i'm too tired for this
ygOU032.png
 

UnrealEck

Member
Yup, the framerate is unlocked on consoles this time. Dark Souls 1 on PC feels really weird to me at 60fps, no matter how hard I tried to get used to it. I think it will feel much better this time considering it's not locked out of the box, and it seems that way from the previews.

You can always cap it at 25 FPS if you want to play it like the PS3 version.
 

tengiants

Member
The
Black Gulch

Good thing is
you can run through it to the boss gate in 30 seconds
, but it's still some of the worst level design I've ever seen in my many years of gaming.

Black Gulch
is awesome.
Patience and using fire on the oil slicks
is what you need.
 

Azar

Member
Yup, the framerate is unlocked on consoles this time. Dark Souls 1 on PC feels really weird to me at 60fps, no matter how hard I tried to get used to it. I think it will feel much better this time considering it's not locked out of the box, and it seems that way from the previews.

I asked PC gamer on twitter if they managed to get above 60fps, didn't get an answer.
Sorry guys, been busy and forgot to respond. The game runs at a locked 60 fps by default. There aren't in-game framerate settings, as you've seen from the screenshots of the graphics settings. I don't know if framerate will be tweakable outside of those settings, but that's something we'll definitely look into.
 
Sorry guys, been busy and forgot to respond. The game runs at a locked 60 fps by default. There aren't in-game framerate settings, as you've seen from the screenshots of the graphics settings. I don't know if framerate will be tweakable outside of those settings, but that's something we'll definitely look into.

What is it about the Souls series where animation is tied to framerate and funny things happen when they run at framerates they aren't intended to? Is this only for souls games?

btw locked at 60 is fine with me juts wondering.
 

Gammacide

Member
Wow. Somehow I went from desperately craving the PS3 version during the wait for the PC version to not really wanting the PS3 version and barely wanting the PC version and that only when it is on sale. :(
 

Tain

Member
What is it about the Souls series where animation is tied to framerate and funny things happen when they run at framerates they aren't intended to? Is this only for souls games?

This is the majority of Japanese game development. Devs that have been working on very fixed hardware since the dawn of time, unlike Western devs where seemingly everybody knows how Quake works.

It makes sense, but it leads to some surprising situations when it comes to PC ports.
 
The
Black Gulch

Good thing is
you can run through it to the boss gate in 30 seconds
, but it's still some of the worst level design I've ever seen in my many years of gaming.

Oh word okay. Yea man that place blows. God damn poison. I don't think its necessarily poor design as it feel like the back end of
The Gutter
. Length wise, yes, way too short, but at least Izalith had a connection back to Demon Ruins.

Overall, most areas in Dark Souls 2 are really just connections to other areas. They feel way too short when compared to DS1. But then again, there are more areas in 2 than 1, so I guess it makes up for it?
 

Nags

Banned
So, what did all the crying in the #YOULIED campaign amount to?
Did you guys get the version of Dark Souls 2 you wanted out of it for PC?
 
The
Black Gulch

Good thing is
you can run through it to the boss gate in 30 seconds
, but it's still some of the worst level design I've ever seen in my many years of gaming.

Black Gulch succeeded in being exactly what it set out to be: a mad dash for the boss fog through a perilous gauntlet. It wasn't meant to be a playable level in the traditional sense of the word, unlike Lost Izalith which just failed on every level.
 

Nags

Banned
Yes and no. Everything is good but the missing lighting.

Some people are content some are still angry.

Once people start messing around with modding for dynamic light sources, I think we are going to see why From left most of it out.

People say they want all that dynamic lighting, but in practice, with the shadows of yourself, as well as enemies and objects.... in confined spaces, often curving around walls.... and ceilings... some of those areas would look like shit. Plus, it totally would effect gameplay.

Nevermind performance, I'm talking like big distracting shadows bouncing all over the place, clipping into geometry or appearing somewhere else entirely. There is just way too much to account for in a game like Dark Souls. I can see why the concessions were made in favor of a higher fidelity experience.
Besides, has anyone seen Dark Souls 2 from start to finish with the previous lighting? Like every area with all the bonfres and sconces lit? I bet they ran into more than a few problems with that implementation.
 
Once people start messing around with modding for dynamic light sources, I think we are going to see why From left most of it out.

People say they want all that dynamic lighting, but in practice, with the shadows of yourself, as well as enemies and objects.... in confined spaces, often curving around walls.... and ceilings... some of those areas would look like shit. Plus, it totally would effect gameplay.

Nevermind performance, I'm talking like big distracting shadows bouncing all over the place, clipping into geometry or appearing somewhere else entirely. There is just way too much to account for in a game like Dark Souls. I can see why the concessions were made in favor of a higher fidelity experience.
Besides, has anyone seen Dark Souls 2 from start to finish with the previous lighting? Like every area with all the bonfres and sconces lit? I bet they ran into more than a few problems with that implementation.

Yeah, who knows. I moved past that stage a long time ago. I just want to play and I'm glad it looks clean run smooth and no longer has GFWL.
 

Sullichin

Member
So, what did all the crying in the #YOULIED campaign amount to?
Did you guys get the version of Dark Souls 2 you wanted out of it for PC?

Nothing except stir up some discussion, and once the old Steam screens were brought to Namco's Community Manager's attention, they were removed. That's basically it.

Sorry guys, been busy and forgot to respond. The game runs at a locked 60 fps by default. There aren't in-game framerate settings, as you've seen from the screenshots of the graphics settings. I don't know if framerate will be tweakable outside of those settings, but that's something we'll definitely look into.
Thanks for the clarification!
 
Once people start messing around with modding for dynamic light sources, I think we are going to see why From left most of it out.

People say they want all that dynamic lighting, but in practice, with the shadows of yourself, as well as enemies and objects.... in confined spaces, often curving around walls.... and ceilings... some of those areas would look like shit. Plus, it totally would effect gameplay.

Nevermind performance, I'm talking like big distracting shadows bouncing all over the place, clipping into geometry or appearing somewhere else entirely. There is just way too much to account for in a game like Dark Souls. I can see why the concessions were made in favor of a higher fidelity experience.
Besides, has anyone seen Dark Souls 2 from start to finish with the previous lighting? Like every area with all the bonfres and sconces lit? I bet they ran into more than a few problems with that implementation.

I've never been distracted by lighting effects like that, but I hear some people are. If that actually was the main concern, then I think it should have at least been an option. That or they could have used more subtle lighting, not just gutting areas completely. So, I'm thinking there was probably more to it than that.

The good thing with modding it in is that not everyone will have to use it, and I'm sure a lot of people would opt for it.
 

Smash88

Banned
Pretty sure its 60 FPS

I'll need to check again, then.

The game is 60fps. It would make no sense for a action game that was 60 on consoles to be locked to 30 on PC.

I also have no idea why you think terrible textures means it's a bad PC port. It's just an ugly game.

3JKp3K7.gif


Dark Souls proved that to the contrary.

Where are you getting this from? It has already been confirmed that resolutions beyond 1080p are supported and the game is running at 60 frames per second. It is a solid port.

Go through the thread or check the OP before drawing conclusions like that. What else is on your list?

Actually no. It does not scale beyond 1080p.

Smash88
bottom-tier poster :mad:

Har har har.
 
People keep talking about dynamic lighting while in reality what took the biggest hit was the static lighting. Simple lightmapped lights that cast no shadows on the environment. It's truly pathetic for a 2014 game.
 
Q

Queen of Hunting

Unconfirmed Member
If the game uses vac there will be hardly any hacked saves right?
 

impact

Banned
Black Gulch succeeded in being exactly what it set out to be: a mad dash for the boss fog through a perilous gauntlet. It wasn't meant to be a playable level in the traditional sense of the word, unlike Lost Izalith which just failed on every level.

Call it whatever you want. I call it garbage level design.
 

z1ggy

Member
I don´t understand why people say Souls games are ugly. I really love their art style, specially the atmosphere in Demons Souls (i really wish i could play this at 60fps1080p).

Anon Londo in Dark souls is specially nice looking,

Having these games at 1080p60fps is a bless.
 

B-Genius

Unconfirmed Member
Anyone know what the Japanese reaction has been?

I would hope at the very least the Japanese gaming press would bring this up in interviews in the future.

I am with many others in that I now accept the game for what it is but damn if I dont want them to make next gen souls a reality damn soon.

This was the last game that I wanted to see suffer in the transition to the new generation

From what I've seen, the Japanese reaction has only been what it usually is: re-reporting stories from overseas. Comment sections are filled with the same flippant back-and-forth as on here, but actual news outlets do not bat an eyelid. Maybe it's because From communicated their goals and milestones for the various builds throughout development, and were clear with the Japanese audience what was pre-release and what would be in retail.

I can tell you that From themselves were not savvy to the backlash overseas. They are not the kind of dev that keeps an ear to the ground and an eye on Twitter 24/7.

I can also tell you that you will most likely be happy when you see their first next-gen offering. The only way DS2 is part of that transition is seeing what tools and authoring they need with their proprietary engine in order to keep graphical fidelity up to par. Bear in mind that their tech has always been a little behind the times; they are not the kind of studio that can simply buy a new engine, dump all their assets in and hey-presto. They are in the process of warming up for their next-gen debut, and I trust you will be pleased with what you see.

We got a few articles here and there, like this one on forbes, reporting about the lack of pre-release lighting and geometry in the PC build.

I hope FraudSoftware and Scamco don't get out of this too easily.

He was asking for Japanese press, not for the same stories and blog posts to be regurgitated for the umpteenth time.

Good lord, where do you get off calling them names like that?

Admitting they fucked up.

I see. Some of you are taking all this way too personally, and then you are surprised when you receive a personal retort/attack. This isn't about you and the company. If you feel it should be, then get in touch with the people that matter rather than boasting about your boycotting parties and spreading more misinformation.

It's a shame how this thread for the PC version details (a substantial improvement over their last performance on PC) has devolved into another thread bickering about the marketing "controversy". Just face it, some of you were never going to be satisfied with the results because you felt jaded from what happened with the console version.
 
Good lord, where do you get off calling them names like that?



I see. Some of you are taking all this way too personally, and then you are surprised when you receive a personal retort/attack. This isn't about you and the company. If you feel it should be, then get in touch with the people that matter rather than boasting about your boycotting parties and spreading more misinformation.

It's a shame how this thread for the PC version details (a substantial improvement over their last performance on PC) has devolved into another thread bickering about the marketing "controversy". Just face it, some of you were never going to be satisfied with the results because you felt jaded from what happened with the console version.

Thank you for seeing reason here.

As much as I would have loved to see From's original vision in the PC version I'm more than satisfied with what sounds like an excellent PC port.
 

Gvaz

Banned
One way or another, expecting a 1:1 from a video of code that is always fuckin old as your grandma to be what you get when you pop in the dvd is completely unrealistic, based on the fact that almost never happens in practice with other devs. I think the issue is thinking that From was different simply because they made dark souls.

Now...I could see them going "well we've developed the code for the pc, lets fork it to the ps4/xbone, and do all the stuff we couldn't before" and not releasing it for the pc because "why would we? the pc version was already released" because that's what developers seem to think is the appropriate response. That would make me mad.

Regardless, instead of complaining here, complain about all this here:

http://www.fromsoftware.jp/en/inquiry/

If enough of you who feel upset and frustrated do this, I guarantee they will do at least something.
 

B-Genius

Unconfirmed Member
As much as I would have loved to see From's original vision in the PC version I'm more than satisfied with what sounds like an excellent PC port.

As would we all. We will just have to hope their next-gen efforts aren't going to waste.
Hope you enjoy the game.

If enough of you who feel upset and frustrated do this, I guarantee they will do at least something.

I appreciate the effort to direct peoples' claims, but I don't think a bunch of upset/frustrated English messages in their inquiry box is going to solve anything. At best I would expect a similar message about overall build quality, possibly pointing you towards BN if it concerns happenings on foreign shores. At worst, you'll just push them further into their shell and they'll continue to work on their current projects in peace.
 
As would we all. We will just have to hope their next-gen efforts aren't going to waste.
Hope you enjoy the game.



I appreciate the effort to direct peoples' claims, but I don't think a bunch of upset/frustrated English messages in their inquiry box is going to solve anything. At best I would expect a similar message about overall build quality, possibly pointing you towards BN if it concerns happenings on foreign shores. At worst, you'll just push them further into their shell and they'll continue to work on their current projects in peace.

Thanks for your thoughtful and level headed commentary in this thread. Hopefully From can realize their vision on the next game where the hardware won't be an inhibiting factor. I just wish it wasn't going to be such a long wait since we were already teased with what could have been.
 
I really hate the mode of argument. Someone posts a legit gripe, and they get Ike Turner'd. "You like it anyway baby!"

Some people have willpower. Some consider that a dealbreaker etc. Deal.
I wasn't arguing with him. I was being sarcastic. He's been pretty negative towards the games for awhile now so I decided to be a smart ass.
 

Shinjica

Member
Thanks for your thoughtful and level headed commentary in this thread. Hopefully From can realize their vision on the next game where the hardware won't be an inhibiting factor. I just wish it wasn't going to be such a long wait since we were already teased with what could have been.

PC isnt a inhibting factor. Even if you consider their "PC is our lead platform" phrase
 
PC isnt a inhibting factor. Even if you consider their "PC is our lead platform" phrase

I should have clarified that the consoles were the inhibiting factor. The PC is just unfortunately relegated to a direct port despite earlier claims of it being a "lead platform". They aren't going to realistically maintain two separate builds with drastically different feature sets.
 
The new lighting system they showed off was supposed to be a major selling point of the game, and it's not in the game. That is wrong, period. There is no defending it. From's marketing people should be fired. Now.
There is a new lighting system in the game, and it looks great. The lie is not the new lighting system, but the fact that certain locations don't look like the same areas in the early footage and in the trailer.

Stop saying that there's no new lighting system in the game: going around with the torch in dark areas, other than being actually useful, is great to look at.
The
Black Gulch

Good thing is
you can run through it to the boss gate in 30 seconds
, but it's still some of the worst level design I've ever seen in my many years of gaming.
What's wrong with that level design? Have you found
the second bonfire
?
 

Shinjica

Member
There is a new lighting system in the game, and it looks great. The lie is not the new lighting system, but the fact that certain locations don't look like the same areas in the early footage and in the trailer.

Stop saying that there's no new lighting system in the game: going around with the torch in dark areas, other than being actually useful, is great to look at.


What's wrong with that level design? Have you found
the second bonfire
?

Are you serious about your word?

 
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