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[Finalow]

oh well, i'll have it friday.

grrrr for you too.

 

[Canova]

can't believe some retailers in japan has already broken street date and people are playin' this. grrrrr.

oh well, i'll have it friday.

you have it by Friday and still complain, while we still have to wait for another 2.5 weeks. grrrr

 

[Vistrix]

I had one of these freebie cut out paper craft things from the GameFest event over the weekend...

 

[Orayn]

Hahaha, is that a SHRINE for your copy of the game? That's rather appropriate for most people in this thread, actually. If someone's scanned theirs and put it online, I'll print it on cardstock and make one of my own.

 

[Canova]

I just learned that there's a third kind of phantom, an avenging phantom, so basically you can hunt down the black phantom that killed you, is this true?

 

[fr4nz]

http://www.desktopgremlins.com/darksouls.html

 

[DenogginizerOS]

Is the strategy guide that comes with it full? or is it one of those first area walkthrough things

I have been told that the mini-strategy guide is just excerpts from the complete hardcover version that Future Press is doing.

 

[ironcreed]

http://www.desktopgremlins.com/darksouls.html

Thank you, sir. Although, I suppose staring at it will just make me want the game more.

 

[Foffy]

http://www.desktopgremlins.com/darksouls.html

You have a heart of gold. <3

 

[Orayn]

I just learned that there's a third kind of phantom, an avenging phantom, so basically you can hunt down the black phantom that killed you, is this true?

Might wanna slap some spoilers on that post, but yeah, that's been mentioned by various sources.

Spoiler

Apparently this involves the Book of the Guilty. One of the covenants allows you to call hit-phantoms on people.

 

[Carbonox]

Might wanna slap some spoilers on that post, but yeah, that's been mentioned by various sources.

Spoiler

Apparently this involves the Book of the Guilty. One of the covenants allows you to call hit-phantoms on people.

All of this is going over my head. All I know about Dark Souls is that it will be brutally hard and that you can pick from a variety of classes, plus level up your character and use weapons. I guess that's the best way to go in completely in the dark? :lol

 

[Canova]

Might wanna slap some spoilers on that post, but yeah, that's been mentioned by various sources.

Spoiler

Apparently this involves the Book of the Guilty. One of the covenants allows you to call hit-phantoms on people.

GOD. DAMN!

just how much more awesome this game can get, you can summon a fucking hit-man phantom to hunt down the black phantom

 

[SCHUEY F1]

I have been told that the mini-strategy guide is just excerpts from the complete hardcover version that Future Press is doing.

Just pre-ordered the guide today.

 

[Orayn]

All of this is going over my head. All I know about Dark Souls is that it will be brutally hard and that you can pick from a variety of classes, plus level up your character and use weapons. I guess that's the best way to go in completely in the dark? :lol

Works well enough, yeah. The game is still a dungeon-crawly hack-n-slashy action RPG at heart, and most of the more arcane game mechanics can be figured out with a little trial and error.

To paraphrase my earlier spoiler...

Spoiler

Black phantoms are players who use a consumably item to invade your game for the purpose of killing you and stealing some of your humanity. There's a system in place that lets you call upon other other players to hunt down and kill black phantoms who were jerks to you.

 

[Carbonox]

Works well enough, yeah. The game is still a dungeon-crawly hack-n-slashy action RPG at heart, and most of the more arcane game mechanics can be figured out with a little trial and error.

To paraphrase my earlier spoiler...

Spoiler

Black phantoms are players who use a consumably item to invade your game for the purpose of killing you and stealing some of your humanity. There's a system in place that lets you call upon other other players to hunt down and kill black phantoms who were jerks to you.

All this criss-crossing sounds pretty cool actually. Though I'm sure it will annoy the fuck out of me at times.

What's this about humanity? A brief description would be brilliant if possible.

 

[Orayn]

All this criss-crossing sounds pretty cool actually. Though I'm sure it will annoy the fuck out of me at times.

What's this about humanity? A brief description would be brilliant if possible.

Your character is cursed and literally cannot stay dead. Whenever you get killed in-game, you come back as a "hollow," a type of zombie.

Spoiler

Being a hollow affects your appearance, and (presumably) stats, and will likely stop you from getting through certain levels. Humanity is something that can be found in the world or acquired by killing bosses, and spending a point of it lets you go back to human form and stop being a hollow. Amassing humanity will also have an effect on the game's story at various points, including the ending.

 

[Carbonox]

Your character is cursed and literally cannot stay dead. Whenever you get killed in-game, you come back as a "hollow," a type of zombie.

Spoiler

Being a hollow affects your appearance, and (presumably) stats, and will likely stop you from getting through certain levels. Humanity is something that can be found in the world or acquired by killing bosses, and spending a point of it lets you go back to human form and stop being a hollow. Amassing humanity will also have an effect on the game's story at various points, including the ending.

Sounds awesome.

Spoiler

I take it being a hollow is 100% bad, without any benefits? What if you keep dying without going back to being a human?

 

[Brandon F]

Any early word on how the 360 port is shaping up? Pre-ordered that version, but am debating switching if problems are already aware.

 

[Orayn]

Sounds awesome.

Spoiler

I take it being a hollow is 100% bad, without any benefits? What if you keep dying without going back to being a human?

No idea what happens if you die a bunch as a hollow, just that being in hollow form will prevent you from progressing through the game in some fashion.

We do know that it will be possible to buddy up with other players to help them kill a boss, then return to your own world with some bonus humanity from the kill.

 

[Carbonox]

No idea what happens if you die a bunch as a hollow, just that being in hollow form will prevent you from progressing through the game in some faction.

We do know that it will be possible to buddy up with other players to help them kill a boss, then return to your own world with some bonus humanity from the kill.

Some really unique ideas going in to this game's multiplayer. At least from my perspective (dunno if other titles have done these things). Can't wait!

 

[Orayn]

Any early word on how the 360 port is shaping up? Pre-ordered that version, but am debating switching if problems are already aware.

Grahics and framerate seem fine. One demo showed the game having 30+ second load times between deaths, but it was probably a non-final build that wasn't installed on the hard drive.
Attack and block are on RB and LB, and controls don't seem to be configurable. :/

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

So I took the liberty of writing a 2 step tutorial for Dark Souls.

1) Be prepared....

2) to die.

Follow them one at time.

 

[Totalriot]

No idea what happens if you die a bunch as a hollow, just that being in hollow form will prevent you from progressing through the game in some fashion.

We do know that it will be possible to buddy up with other players to help them kill a boss, then return to your own world with some bonus humanity from the kill.

On the plus side, being in hollow form prevents black phantoms from entering your game. So if you want to play without PVP distraction, hollow is the way to go.

In Demon's Souls in some playthroughs I was almost exclusively in ghost form as I don't want to mess with the tendencies. Luckily they are gone in Dark Souls.

 

[Foffy]

No idea what happens if you die a bunch as a hollow, just that being in hollow form will prevent you from progressing through the game in some fashion.

We do know that it will be possible to buddy up with other players to help them kill a boss, then return to your own world with some bonus humanity from the kill.

I don't see how being in Hollow form gimps you from progressing. I figure it could relate to hidden items and areas, but I would hope From wouldn't do that again. It was pretty tedious trying to do things exclusive to PWWT and PBWT in one run.

 

[Zeal]

I don't see how being in Hollow form gimps you from progressing. I figure it could relate to hidden items and areas, but I would hope From wouldn't do that again. It was pretty tedious trying to do things exclusive to PWWT and PBWT in one run.

this is not really a spoiler at all, so i'll just throw it out there:

the penalty for being hollowed is that you cannot use souls to level yourself at bonfires. once you have enough humanity, you can use it to un-hollow yourself and then proceed to level up by assigning your character stats, just like DS.

you eventually hollow if you die too many times. hence in the videos you'll sometimes see "You Died" or "You Hollowed".

 

[Orayn]

I don't see how being in Hollow form gimps you from progressing. I figure it could relate to hidden items and areas, but I would hope From wouldn't do that again. It was pretty tedious trying to do things exclusive to PWWT and PBWT in one run.

I'm kind of assuming that some parts of the game need to be completed in human form to clear them for real. I could be wrong, it just seems likely.

EDIT: @Zeal: Oh God, I can imagine the "100% hollowed run" challenge videos on YouTube already.

 

[Foffy]

this is not really a spoiler at all, so i'll just throw it out there:

being hollowed does not allow you to use souls at bonfires to level up. i am assume this is the penalty. once you have enough humanity, you can use it to un-hollow yourself and then proceed to level up by assigning your character stats, just like DS.

Wha? I could have sworn in all of the footage I've seen, you can still level up..it's everything else at bonfires that requires Humanity.

 

[Zeal]

Wha? I could have sworn in all of the footage I've seen, you can still level up..it's everything else at bonfires that requires Humanity.

the gametrailers playthrough video shows a scene where it says "cannot assign blah blah while hollowed". once he unhollowed, he proceeded to level.

 

[johntown]

On the plus side, being in hollow form prevents black phantoms from entering your game. So if you want to play without PVP distraction, hollow is the way to go.

In Demon's Souls in some playthroughs I was almost exclusively in ghost form as I don't want to mess with the tendencies. Luckily they are gone in Dark Souls.

Or just play offline if your scared of PVP (not saying you are just generalizing) but PVP makes the game fun. Invading other peoples games and killing them is fun..........expect to see my name in the Book of the Guilty!

 

[Foffy]

the gametrailers playthrough video shows a scene where it says "cannot assign blah blah while hollowed". once he unhollowed, he proceeded to level.

Do you mean this? He can clearly still access the level up screen, it's the other things that require Humanity. I would assume if he was barred from using it while in Hollow form, they'd prevent even going to that screen.

 

[Fratkabula]

Grahics and framerate seem fine. One demo showed the game having 30+ second load times between deaths, but it was probably a non-final build that wasn't installed on the hard drive.
Attack and block are on RB and LB, and controls don't seem to be configurable. :/

I hate that control setup. I might switch to the ps3 version now.

 

[Totalriot]

Or just play offline if your scared of PVP (not saying you are just generalizing) but PVP makes the game fun. Invading other peoples games and killing them is fun..........expect to see my name in the Book of the Guilty!

As I said, the downsides of PVP were the changes of the tendencies. Other than that, I love my PVP.

But simply playing offline is missing out a lot of great features like seeing the ghosts of other players and the messages, so playing in hollow form is kind of the best of both worlds for those who don't want to PVP (and I know there are lots of players who don't).

 

[Zeal]

Do you mean this? He can clearly still access the level up screen, it's the other things that require Humanity. I would assume if he was barred from using it while in Hollow form, they'd prevent even going to that screen.

you're right, i completely read the text on the video wrong -- my bad. he cannot kindle the flame while hollowed. i also read somewhere that you get your souls back when reclaiming your bloodstain, but not your humanity. if that's true, this is gonna be pretty brutal.

which is awesome...

 

[Orayn]

I hate that control setup. I might switch to the ps3 version now.

Yeah, seems iffy to me as well. I just sent a tweet to a Namco Bandai rep about 360 Dark Souls fans wanting the option to swap those, asking him to pass it along to From Software for a future patch. With any luck, he'll tweet back!

 

[johntown]

As I said, the downsides of PVP were the changes of the tendencies. Other than that, I love my PVP.

But simply playing offline is missing out a lot of great features like seeing the ghosts of other players and the messages, so playing in hollow form is kind of the best of both worlds for those who don't want to PVP (and I know there are lots of players who don't).

Well sometimes when enough is enough you have to play offline. I know I was playing one time in 1-3 and I was invaded like 4 times.......after I would kill one BP with 2 minutes another one would invade.......after the 4th one (I forget if I died or not) I just unplugged it because it can be an annoyance when you just really want to beat a level and move on.

 

[Dunan]

Yeah, seems iffy to me as well. I just sent a tweet to a Namco Bandai rep about 360 Dark Souls fans wanting the option to swap those, asking him to pass it along to From Software for a future patch. With any luck, he'll tweet back!

Beating a dead horse, I know, but if you've got a hotline to Namco/From, tell them to let us have left-handed controls too! (L1 to attack, R1 to block; triangle attacks with the weapon no matter which hand it's in)

Really all games should have customizable controls, if only because occasionally controllers get one button that doesn't register properly or whatever, and it's handy to be able to substitute something in its place until a new controller can be had.

 

[Max]

So the industry might be mended, so the industry might be mended.

Miss her already

 

[Cloudius12]

Hahaha, is that a SHRINE for your copy of the game? That's rather appropriate for most people in this thread, actually. If someone's scanned theirs and put it online, I'll print it on cardstock and make one of my own.

http://www.desktopgremlins.com/pdf_papersculptures/DesktopGremlinsTM_DARK-SOULS.pdf

edit: ahh beaten

 

[Evolved1]

Just paid for my LE... now I wait. :/

 

[mooglesoft]

honestly i doubt that skyrim is going to be able to hold a candle to this game. gameplay looks much more improved from demons souls, the bosses look way crazier, the game is harder, and the new concepts introduced are a breath of fresh air in a genre full of boring predictable encounters in a horribly unrealized world.

DAY ONE.

 

[Orayn]

Beating a dead horse, I know, but if you've got a hotline to Namco/From, tell them to let us have left-handed controls too! (L1 to attack, R1 to block; triangle attacks with the weapon no matter which hand it's in)

Really all games should have customizable controls, if only because occasionally controllers get one button that doesn't register properly or whatever, and it's handy to be able to substitute something in its place until a new controller can be had.

It's not a direct hotline, just @filthierich on Twitter. He's a Namco-Bandai community rep, and seems pretty active.

 

[The Xtortionist]

Maybe heavy attack has to be on the trigger because of some sort of analog functionality? Just a thought.

 

[mattp]

Maybe heavy attack has to be on the trigger because of some sort of analog functionality? Just a thought.

they werent analog in demons souls
seems more like they just straight "ported" the controls from ps3 without really thinking about it

 

[The Xtortionist]

they werent analog in demons souls

this aint demons souls

 

[Orayn]

Maybe heavy attack has to be on the trigger because of some sort of analog functionality? Just a thought.

That would be justified, I guess. Either way, fully remappable controls would be a dream come true. Cloned Monster Hunter control scheme, here I come!

 

[mattp]

this aint demons souls

yeah, but the point is everyone has said the controls are basically the same in this game as they were in demon's souls

 

[indigo-cyclops]

That would be justified, I guess. Either way, fully remappable controls would be a dream come true. Cloned Monster Hunter control scheme, here I come!

It would be awesome, for sure.

I sort of like the R1 button as attack though...

 

[kayos90]

Absolutely loving the new title for the thread. Hilarious.

 

[Totalriot]

Well sometimes when enough is enough you have to play offline. I know I was playing one time in 1-3 and I was invaded like 4 times.......after I would kill one BP with 2 minutes another one would invade.......after the 4th one (I forget if I died or not) I just unplugged it because it can be an annoyance when you just really want to beat a level and move on.

Sounds like you killed them all or else you could just have stayed in ghost form ;-)

 

[The Xtortionist]

yeah, but the point is everyone has said the controls are basically the same in this game as they were in demon's souls

Halo 3's plasma pistol had analog functionality when Halo 2's didn't. It wouldn't be that farfetched.

There's no reason why they couldn't add more depth to heavy attacks by adding an analog option for some effect. Press the trigger halfway for a different attack or something. idk. It's From Software. They're out of their minds to begin with.