Yea, it's bizarre how last minute this change seems to be. This isn't like wall running not being in the final version of Revengeance, you can clearly see vestigial elements where the lighting system was supposed to be all over the place.
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Dark Souls 2 Lighting changes/Downgrade
- Thread starter Moral Panic
- Start date
Yea, it's bizarre how last minute this change seems to be. This isn't like wall running not being in the final version of Revengeance, you can clearly see vestigial elements where the lighting system was supposed to be all over the place.
Vaati's apparently reading the thread now, he agrees it looks worse, but says he hasn't gotten far enough to see any downgrade that bad.
Krusenstern
Banned
Look at these shots more carefully. Not only does it look like the lighting engine has been downgraded, but also textures changed (changed, not only lower resolution), removed light sources such as torches on the wall. Atmosphere in the retail build look so bland in comparison. Even a lack of geometry/reduced amount of objects in the world (look at the hallway pictures. Retail build is missing torture instruments and lots of furniture).
It doesn't look like they simply changed colors.
Lighting went partially missing.
It doesn't look like they simply changed colors.
Lighting went partially missing.
FunkyMunkey
Banned
This is embarrassing and bordering on false-advertisement. I don't give a shit about some size-2 font at the bottom about how "the final product may look different." BE HONEST about the game and how it looks! Your (generally) hardcore audience are not the type of people to try to deceive. That's the part that irks me, it's absolutely shady and bullshit.
Looks like I'm waiting a while after the PC version releases to pick-up. If it's not at least close to the previews, fuck it.
Looks like I'm waiting a while after the PC version releases to pick-up. If it's not at least close to the previews, fuck it.
That's just depressing.
MoonLightWave
Member
That Dragon mansion, did not expect that much of a downgrade.
UnrealEck
Member
He's a massive fan of the series. He's probably going to find it hard to admit the truth.
It's actually quite funny, no one really expected DS2 to have fancy graphics until they touted it being so. They would probably be going through less flack (it seems like most people aren't getting angry at them over this, though) if they had just shown what would've been in the final product, but in the end it doesn't matter because the fake stuff pushed pre-orders.
Yeah, it's so weird. And since the texture and object differences are in the final game, I assume that 100% confirms no chance of a lighting update for the game on 360/PS3. So it's what it is there.
Yeah, it's so weird. And since the texture and object differences are in the final game, I assume that 100% confirms no chance of a lighting update for the game on 360/PS3. So it's what it is there.
Garcia
Member
This games keeps surprising me every time I reach a new location by how contrasting it is. The tutorial level was a complete mess, then you're presented to that beautiful sunglare and gorgeous visuals of
Majula
TheCongressman1
Member
Yep, exactly right. Most sorely missing are the specular maps. Nothing has a shine, it's all flat and awful looking. Honestly the Mansion looks much worse compared to the first DS because of details just gone missing.
Metalingus5150
Member
I'm just going to put this out there.
I just have a feeling that this game has an identity crisis. Whether to be full AAA or niche. It has been caught in the middle. Just how I feel.
I just have a feeling that this game has an identity crisis. Whether to be full AAA or niche. It has been caught in the middle. Just how I feel.
Garcia
Member
I LOL'd.
CountAntonius
Member
I think what happened was the (now) ugly parts are areas that were supposed to be mostly dark but because of either negative feedback(a lot of people hated how dark the game was and needing to use a torch a lot) and the consoles hardware they removed the lighting and left things that were probably never made to be seen in that light. If this was the case I wonder when the decision to remove the torch mechanic and lighting was made and why they didn't catch it soon enough to give these other places something to make them look less bland.
Right, but even if they had to downgrade it a bit for performance sake, they didn't have to go so far in completely stripping color away. They could have left the patterned floor and some baked lighting at no extra performance cost.
Sgt.Pepper
Banned
There are mid tier games. And asnfar as I know, AAA refers to budget which I doubt it was even half of the normal AAA game.
This isn't a good argument at all because anybody who expected this would have had no evidence or good reason to back up the theory going by literally everything we'd seen up to this point, which looked good.
I think we all expected a catch, but not this.
Krusenstern
Banned
Does the word not mean what I think it means or why do you lol? Correct me if I'm wrong.
wow that looks bland as hell, what were they thinking, and its not like that stuff from the demo wasnt impossible to do on ps3/360, its not like it was this graphical showcase, this isnt just a lighting issue and FROM needs to get some people that know how to optimise this stuff instead of just removing assets in order to preserve framerate, this is completely freaking ridiculous, FROM has amazing art direction and seeing the game being gutted like this is so disappointing, its pratically two different games
I'm still getting the game, because i need my Dark Souls fix, but goddamn
I'm still getting the game, because i need my Dark Souls fix, but goddamn
Found footage of the mansion of the dragons. There's no way anybody anywhere can't claim this game hasn't been completely gutted. Just look at this shit, LOOK AT THIS SHIT:
LOOK AT THE PLAYER'S SHADOW
I'm crying.
gaming journalism is shit. yesterday we got a "journalist" saying it's a normal thing that happens all the time (just because he like the series and do videos playing it) instead of writing an article on this. pretty fucking sad.
which is crazy, since this is almost as bad case of false advertising and downgrade as Aliens: Colonial Marines.
Metalingus5150
Member
I guess I didn't write it that well. lol
I guess I meant, whether to stick to their niche or go for that AAA audience.
I think they took out the darkness because it would have been too hard for the mass market, but since it is a souls game they couldn't make it too easy. I think they tried to put things to make it more accessible but since it's a souls game, they couldn't abandon their fanbase, so they kept the difficulty.
SneakyStephan
Banned
it kinda reminds me of those tech demos where they turn off parts of the rendering and you're just left with the grey untextured and unlit models
like in this nvidia demo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3XXJ89-g1I
Garcia
Member
I'm sorry, I thought you were being sarcastic by using the term "partially" when the differences are abysmal. My bad.
I agree, this wouldn't go down very well if it was any other game.
Look at the meltdowns Titanfall caused over texture quality and resolution, yet many people here are just like "oh, it's a change, but it doesn't ruin the game". In comparison to something like Titanfall or Watch Dogs fiasco (which I agree is worst than this), this doesn't seem to be given too much attention. And maybe that's just because everyone's in the honeymoon period with the game, maybe not.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Going by those mansion shots, it looks like they gutted the full real time lighting/shadow system cast by/onto the environment, or at least downscaled it so significantly that simpler, baked lighting has replaced it. A lot of the projected lighting is nowhere to be found, giving the overall image a flatter, simplier look. Like in the old build there's clearly full real time lighting cascading through windows and holes in the mansion, shadow casting appropriately wrapped around the environment. Almost all of that is gone now, or at least heavily simplified.
Krusenstern
Banned
CountAntonius
Member
As a big dark souls guy I am glad they removed the torch being a big deal. Tomb of The Giants was something that was good for one part of the game no more. That being said I think they could have made things look better regardless of the torchlight(going by pics since I've yet to play).
It is obvious the removal of lighting systems and darkness wasn't a gameplay decision. If they wanted to remove the torch mechanic last minute, they could've just put more friggen lit torches in the environments, which would've looked good too.
Clearly they had to strip it last minute because their staff are incompetent and the frame rate was all over the place.
Garcia
Member
Metalingus5150
Member
That's the thing though. The torches are still a big deal. They're all over the game itself, yet they hardly do anything. From didn't take out the torches being a big deal, they just made the whole game brighter so the torches are practically useless now. I'm thinking that they changed it at the VERY last minute because well, why else would torches still be featured in the game?
TheCongressman1
Member
I think a night day cycle would have been much better, it's easier at day, but at dark more souls can be found. That or when you
burn whatever it is you use to make the area harder
Either way, you're right, they shouldn't have left it looking so awful. But I'm sure the changes weren't because they didn't like the torches.
CountAntonius
Member
I think this is the first time they lead with PC development? Making a new engine that probably didn't scale as well as they have hoped and decided to dial back the lighting for performance purposes. Giantbomb guys kept saying how much better the console version ran than the previews so it was probably a decision of gameplay over graphics.
Because there was no point in removing them I guess? It still makes the game a bit brighter and scares away certain types of monsters. Yeah it definitely seems like a last minute decision to keep the game running better and it seems that it has paid of for them. Most people playing the game seem to enjoy it even with the worse lighting if they had kept it in and it made the frame rate even more unstable then it is now so that the game was not very playable the reception would have been a lot worse. Their mistake was showing people something they ended up not being able to deliver on. Had nobody seen the previews I doubt people would be complaining.
Feeroper
Member
Yeah I have to agree here. I'm having fun with it, but goddamn can it look ugly, and that frame rate is pretty terrible.
Looking at all these comparison screens, there was no way that it was looking and running that good before on PS3/360. This is a pretty disappointing thing to do. If the difference wasn't so pronounced, if they had shown something closer to reality from the get go I don't think this would be a big talking point. I know pretty well every game doctors up their Pre-release screens and footage, but this really is on the Aliens: Colonial Marines level of deception.
The game does have some nice looking stuff, but the expectation they set has shot them in the foot in this regard.
However like I said, I am having fun with it, it's just a little disheartening.
Told you guys that the Dragon Mansion and the Painting Hallway were completely gutted.
It's so incredibly bad, unbelievable.
I described the Painting Hallway as an unrecognizable grey corridor that turns into some kind of red light district when you active the lights. Pretty much what those screens look like
It's so incredibly bad, unbelievable.
I described the Painting Hallway as an unrecognizable grey corridor that turns into some kind of red light district when you active the lights. Pretty much what those screens look like
Well... it IS the lead platform...
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/04/19/pc-version-of-dark-souls-ii-aint-no-port/
and 60 fps confirmed?
Told you guys that the Dragon Mansion and the Painting Hallway were completely gutted.
It's so incredibly bad, unbelievable.
I described the Painting Hallway as an unrecognizable grey corridor that turns into some kind of red light district when you active the lights. Pretty much what those screens look like
The thing is, Painting Hallways looked so atmospheric and fun to be in/discover. It's exactly the sort of stuff that makes Dark Souls great, visually. How many other places like this did they kill off?
SneakyStephan
Banned
Imagine how salty the guy is who worked on setting up the lighting before it got axed
I think people would still be complaining because the atmosphere is still disappointing in the indoor areas compared to the other souls games. More like there'd be a whole lot more guessing going on, and eventually someone would correctly guess that the weird grey areas were originally meant to be dark or have some sort of dynamic lighting effect that got removed. The other Souls games seem less stripped down - like the Devs knew what they were working with back then, so visually we got at least most of the original whole package. If not, they did a much better job at hiding the cuts, which is of course part of their job too.
It's obvious something is off with this game and that in itself is bad not even mentioning our fortunate information of the cuts themselves.
exactly, it looked so good, nw i want to know how the PC version is gonna look, and i'm worried if its even gonna look like what we've been seeing all these months
Thank you based FROM! I'll never forget that you brought us these graphics.
Keeping in mind that it was released in the mid-90s, I'd say that King's Field III looked ok for being a fully open-world + full 3D RPG with no load times on PS1. It was certainly a step up from King's Field II at least.
TheFNEffecT
Member
60 fps has been confirmed for some time now, seriously I need to know how it looks on PC now.
CountAntonius
Member
Part of me wants to believe that the reason it was delayed on PC was because they didn't want the simultaneous release of the far better looking PC version hamper peoples enthusiasm for the consoles version that had to be stripped down.
EatinOlives
Member
Still no answers from anyone about this. We need to start bombarding some Twitter accounts if we expect this to get any traction. The last batch of comparison images posted are infuriating.
What the FUCK happened to this game. I want answers.
What the FUCK happened to this game. I want answers.
Garcia
Member
Despite the hideous framerate of King's Field II, I take my hat off to FROM for running that game without any loading times at all. That's an achievement on its own.
CountAntonius
Member
Hell I did it to play the first one at1080p/60 fps lol. even with GFWL and a barebones port it was well worth it.
seriously this, does anyone know the relevant twitters for this