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Dark Souls II - Graphics Comparison - PC Preview

I bet the same discussion will happen when Watch Dogs hits and people will be surprised to see that it really doesn't look anything like previous demos.. even on PC.
 

mario_O

Member
It's almost like gamers slept through English class and can only use limited set of extremes superlatives :D

Disgusted
Fucking Disgrace
Slap to the face
Terribad
Atrocious

Well if they end up releasing Dark Souls 2 on PS4/XB1 with that "missing" engine, that would be very veeery *insert extreme superlative*.
 

nbthedude

Member
It's almost like gamers slept through English class and can only use limited set of extremes superlatives :D

Disgusted
Fucking Disgrace
Slap to the face
Terribad
Atrocious

I think the bolded are my favorite. They are a good signal that you don't really have to take what a person is saying serously.

I am thoroughly disgusted at the atrocious state of gamers terribad language. It's a fucking disgrace and a slap to the face of to English teachers everywhere who must be appalled at how atrocious and butchered the language has become.

Note: You forgot appalled and butchered.
 

AmyS

Member
Forbes did a pretty in-depth preview.

Dark Souls II' PC Preview: Here's What To Expect

choice parts:

Dark Souls II has been the subject of some controversy since its release on Xbox 360 and PS3. A surprising graphics downgrade left many confused—why did From Software and Bandai Namco show off such a different looking game than the one that was eventually released?

A source close to the game told Forbes that the downgrade was due to performance issues. The game was playable, but only barely, with the pre-release graphics.

The question then became whether the PC version, launching April 25th, would show off the earlier, prettier graphics or go with the downgraded look we saw on consoles.

The answer is a bit of a mixed bag.

I’ve been playing a preview version of Dark Souls II on my PC for the past few days. And while I believe it looks much prettier than its last-gen counterparts, the original assets and lighting we saw in earlier builds of the game are nowhere to be found.

The torch looks prettier, and there’s nice effects like sparks drifting all around the player. Textures are more detailed, and some environments—grass, for instance—are much nicer to look at. Lighting is generally more robust, but there’s never the deep dark we saw in the previews of the game.

Like the console version, the PC version surrounds your character with their own glow-bubble, making torches more of an aesthetic touch than an essential tool. (Admittedly, there are still areas that look better or are slightly more traversable with a torch or lit sconces. And water areas in particular can be very useful with a torch, which helps illuminate secret—and often treacherous—paths.)

There’s not a ton of customization here, but we are given options for model detail, resolution, shadow quality, antialiasing, and more. This leads to a very smooth looking game right off the bat.

Better still, it runs at a brisk 60 frames-per-second, making the entire experience much more fluid on PC than on consoles. Load times are also faster.

It’s a shame that the PC version didn’t adopt the earlier build of the game, both in terms of assets and lighting. I’m still not sure I’d like to constantly be swathed in darkness in this game, and I’m not even sure that the much higher-contrast lighting effects are the right way to go, but there’s no doubt PCs could handle this.

The assets themselves raise a bigger question. In the video below, you can see some doorways that are framed in intricate stonework in the original footage, replaced by a simple wooden frame in the release build. This is the case also in the PC release, though certainly PC could have handled the higher-quality assets without issue.

As you can see, the game looks quite pretty still, but it’s absolutely the downgraded version with some higher fidelity video options. It plays great, it runs smooth, and there’s lots of little details that you don’t get to appreciate in the console version, from details on armor and in the level design, to the light shining off the coast of Majula, but this is still a very different looking game from the one we first saw.

I’m not sure that modders could really bring back the high-contrast lighting effects from earlier builds, but I imagine we could see some neat things done with textures.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2014/04/08/dark-souls-ii-pc-preview-heres-what-to-expect/
 
523399_467527213320328_123338009_n.jpg


SEzPzzi.png



The textures and geometry are worse than the reveal, this is not the same game they showed, at all.

This fucking shit has to stop. That looks completely different. Jesus, what game were they showing before??.
 

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
It wont if they make it... look at Tomb raider definitive edition, its not like that's coming to pc...

Squeenix has stayed mum on that front, which in Publisher Land means it's coming. I suspect it'll be announced in the near future and its release will be handled similarly to that of the DE:HR Director's Cut (i.e. a separate game, as far as Steam is concerned, for which those who own Tomb Raider vanilla will receive a loyalty discount).
 

Grief.exe

Member
They weren't going to make two separate games. Lighting engine changes more than just graphics. It's done.

We have seen what the engine is capable of, we can hope that these effects show up in Miyazaki's secret project or the inevitable DSIII.

Those titles will most likely be targeting PC/PS4/XBO.
 

Persona7

Banned
There's no excuse for this. PC's could easily handle the upgraded engine.

Is anyone actually debating whether or not a PC could handle it?

The problem lies with supporting two completely versions of the game at the same time. You need a lot of money and time to do that.
 

Gvaz

Banned
The long and short is that they don't have the resources for it. Anything more is asking too much from From.
 

AmyS

Member
It's not as if the original version of Dark Souls II they showed was CG, almost nobody does that anymore.

Was clearly PC footage that did not even need a modern highend GPU. Just hardware that's somewhat better than what's inside the 360/PS3 which is a roughly decade old, more or less.
 

AmyS

Member
Question is, will there be a definitive edition for PS4/XBone or do we have to wait a few years for the next game.

I have this feeling deep down we'll just have to wait for Dark Souls III.
 
It's not as if the original version of Dark Souls II they showed was CG, almost nobody does that anymore.

Was clearly PC footage that did not even need a modern highend GPU. Just hardware that's somewhat better than what's inside the 360/PS3 which is a roughly decade old, more or less.

They weren't going to make a PC version and a console version. They were gonna make a crossplatform title that looked and ran best on PC. That's what they did. Consoles could not handle what they were doing on the PC hardware and the roadmap to a less impressive game was probably chosen when they realized this.

Old consoles held it back. They released what they could given their resources and deadline(they aren't going to wait another 6 months to put out a last gen game.) PC suffered as a result.
 

Persona7

Banned
Question is, will there be a definitive edition for PS4/XBone or do we have to wait a few years for the next game.

I have this feeling deep down we'll just have to wait for Dark Souls III.

I doubt we will see a PS4/Xbone release.

They need to get on that Dark Souls 3. I am guessing they are going to take a break for a while. Maybe a new IP, Armored Core or something else.
 
It's not as if the original version of Dark Souls II they showed was CG, almost nobody does that anymore.

It was just a version to use for conventions and shows. A lot of devs do that. FarCry 3, Forza and co.

Just the difference isnt that clear on first glance, but with DS2 everyone can see the difference is far too big.
From made a Demo for shows with a great lighting engine to show off their Game...
The whole Game, I guess, was never looking like that.
 

Rambone

Member
I wasn't expecting much more than better resolution and textures but the lighting being cut out of the PC version is still depressing.
 

impact

Banned
Game looks awesome, and if someone comes out with a HD texture pack or something it will look amazing!

Wow this does look great.

Getting hyped all over again even after 100 hours of the crummy PS3 version. I just hope the online scene is active unlike DS PTDE since co-op is the definitive way to earn souls now.
 
Question is, will there be a definitive edition for PS4/XBone or do we have to wait a few years for the next game.

I have this feeling deep down we'll just have to wait for Dark Souls III.

This is just sad. When DS3 is shown, you'll be posting tons about how that's not what it will look like and the cycle will repeat...

So the company had plans to implement new gameplay elements using darkness and lighting, but had to cut it due to resources and last gen technology... This is what happens when PCs are the primary development platform. Things get cut in games all the time. And people that were somehow expecting the PC version to be this completely different looking game were just grasping for straws.

If a PS4/XO version comes out and looks more like the preview built, it wasn't cause FROM had some master plan. It was because they had a commitment to release the PC version as close as possible to the console version. They didn't want to let the fans on the PC platform down... and they didn't. The released what looks to be a great version of Dark Souls 2. The best version in fact.
 
This is just sad. When DS3 is shown, you'll be posting tons about how that's not what it will look like and the cycle will repeat...

So the company had plans to implement new gameplay elements using darkness and lighting, but had to cut it due to resources and last gen technology... This is what happens when PCs are the primary development platform. Things get cut in games all the time. And people that were somehow expecting the PC version to be this completely different looking game were just grasping for straws.

If a PS4/XO version comes out and looks more like the preview built, it wasn't cause FROM had some master plan. It was because they had a commitment to release the PC version as close as possible to the console version. They didn't want to let the fans on the PC platform down... and they didn't. The released what looks to be a great version of Dark Souls 2. The best version in fact.

Great post. Damn Tomb Raider for causing this paranoia.


Then they should have never advertised the new lighting engine as a major feature. They fucked up. BAD.

That they did. They aimed high and got shot down by old hardware.
 

Agnosia

Neo Member
I've been following GAF just for some months and I was very pleased to find a very intelligent community, informed hardcore gamers and even developers, talking with such care and passion about the game industry, and getting a feeling that they wouldn't let this industry go down into a shit hole, at least to the extent of their capacity, that when something wrong happened they would call it out and stand for the gamers, even if casual gamers were the bigger share of the market and had the most impact with their wallets.

So reading a lot of comments in this thread saying they are OK and nothing bad happened is very disheartening. Please let's not go down to that level of cynicism, to the "because most people do some shitty practice then it's OK if someone else does it" kind of argument, that all marketing from all industries lie so it's normal practice, etc. Because if not even hardcore gamers care when these things happen then who will? I think it's very dangerous for customers to give companies such a wide field to do as they please. It keeps setting a bad precedent until suddenly one day there's no going back.

The problem is not the downgrade itself, shit happens during development. The problem is the attitude towards this situation. I don't know if either From, Namco or both deceived the customers on purpose or if it was a legit involuntary error, but I think it deserved at least an apology anyway. There's no shame in apologizing for such thing, even if it wasn't their fault. The point is not to admit incompetence or whatever but to acknowledge the issue and let their fans know that they care, that there was some shit messed up and they feel sorry about it. I'm not a devoted fan of them to follow every communication channel but judging by the reactions and the news I've read I take they haven't apologized, and whether they are to blame or not it's a disappointing attitude nonetheless, because they are just correcting the error in silence and pretending nothing happened.
 
Great post. Damn Tomb Raider for causing this paranoia.




That they did. They aimed high and got shot down by old hardware.

Yep. I'm sure they tried their best to make it work, but it's probably better that they made THIS game work for last gen consoles, and implement these new features in a TRUE next gen Dark Souls game, instead of giving us a terrible version trying to bite off more than it can chew this time.

If anything, the preview builds have shown us that they have the ability to make the NEXT next Dark Souls a freaking amazing looking masterpiece. B)
 

nbthedude

Member
They weren't going to make a PC version and a console version. They were gonna make a crossplatform title that looked and ran best on PC. That's what they did. Consoles could not handle what they were doing on the PC hardware and the roadmap to a less impressive game was probably chosen when they realized this.

Old consoles held it back. They released what they could given their resources and deadline(they aren't going to wait another 6 months to put out a last gen game.) PC suffered as a result.

This seems to be the most reasonable assumption as to what happened and why. And I just want to add that it's pretty unfortunate that we've gone from demanding a competant PC version from From, which it seems they've certainly delivered, to expecting them to make a completely different build of the game developed strictly for the PC platform. And in the process, the work they did put into this version goes underappreciated.
 

Havel

Member
I've been following GAF just for some months and I was very pleased to find a very intelligent community, informed hardcore gamers and even developers, talking with such care and passion about the game industry, and getting a feeling that they wouldn't let this industry go down into a shit hole, at least to the extent of their capacity, that when something wrong happened they would call it out and stand for the gamers, even if casual gamers were the bigger share of the market and had the most impact with their wallets.

So reading a lot of comments in this thread saying they are OK and nothing bad happened is very disheartening. Please let's not go down to that level of cynicism, to the "because most people do some shitty practice then it's OK if someone else does it" kind of argument, that all marketing from all industries lie so it's normal practice, etc. Because if not even hardcore gamers care when these things happen then who will? I think it's very dangerous for customers to give companies such a wide field to do as they please. It keeps setting a bad precedent until suddenly one day there's no going back.

The problem is not the downgrade itself, shit happens during development. The problem is the attitude towards this situation. I don't know if either From, Namco or both deceived the customers on purpose or if it was a legit involuntary error, but I think it deserved at least an apology anyway. There's no shame in apologizing for such thing, even if it wasn't their fault. The point is not to admit incompetence or whatever but to acknowledge the issue and let their fans know that they care, that there was some shit messed up and they feel sorry about it. I'm not a devoted fan of them to follow every communication channel but judging by the reactions and the news I've read I take they haven't apologized, and whether they are to blame or not it's a disappointing attitude nonetheless, because they are just correcting the error in silence and pretending nothing happened.

Hey, welcome to GAF.

I agree with everything you have said. I think a lot of people though are just happy that they can finally play a competent PC Dark Souls game, regardless of the lighting.
 

B-Genius

Unconfirmed Member
No, again with more presumptions. First off there is the language barrier. Second, this is a private company developing a product. There isn't a bevvy of reporters clamoring at their door asking them burning questions nor do regular interviews. Treating this as if it's some sort of political scandal because some people on some message boards noticed some discrepancy between different builds of the game.

And I think it's pretty presumptuous for someone who doesn't know anything about game development to start talking about people who are in game development making "misteps" in their game development. Criticizing shit you no nothing about and making assumptions about it is poor form.

Just wanted to say thanks for these posts. I'm glad there are at least some people who don't necessarily claim to understand the inner workings of game development, but do understand and sympathise with things like the language barrier and varying corporate situations.

It's not about giving From the "benefit of the doubt" or a "free pass". It's about supporting and playing the games you want. Of course, if you feel something has violated your principles in this case, you're free to spend your money (or not) as you please. Perhaps Bandai Namco could have been clearer on the communication front (as they are responsible for all overseas PR), and even pressed From for more information on behalf of those concerned (as From themselves were oblivious to the "controversy"). Regardless, speculation about "missing engines" or "lighting switches" is unecessary, and only serves to make one's argument harder to stomach.
 
No, again with more presumptions. First off there is the language barrier. Second, this is a private company developing a product. There isn't a bevvy of reporters clamoring at their door asking them burning questions nor do regular interviews. Treating this as if it's some sort of political scandal because some people on some message boards noticed some discrepancy between different builds of the game.

Absolutely. I'm not asking people to burn their houses down or anything. I would just like an answer, and if not, then they can expect that I won't be buying their product. It's that simple.

I've been following GAF just for some months and I was very pleased to find a very intelligent community, informed hardcore gamers and even developers, talking with such care and passion about the game industry, and getting a feeling that they wouldn't let this industry go down into a shit hole, at least to the extent of their capacity, that when something wrong happened they would call it out and stand for the gamers, even if casual gamers were the bigger share of the market and had the most impact with their wallets.

So reading a lot of comments in this thread saying they are OK and nothing bad happened is very disheartening. Please let's not go down to that level of cynicism, to the "because most people do some shitty practice then it's OK if someone else does it" kind of argument, that all marketing from all industries lie so it's normal practice, etc. Because if not even hardcore gamers care when these things happen then who will? I think it's very dangerous for customers to give companies such a wide field to do as they please. It keeps setting a bad precedent until suddenly one day there's no going back.

The problem is not the downgrade itself, shit happens during development. The problem is the attitude towards this situation. I don't know if either From, Namco or both deceived the customers on purpose or if it was a legit involuntary error, but I think it deserved at least an apology anyway. There's no shame in apologizing for such thing, even if it wasn't their fault. The point is not to admit incompetence or whatever but to acknowledge the issue and let their fans know that they care, that there was some shit messed up and they feel sorry about it. I'm not a devoted fan of them to follow every communication channel but judging by the reactions and the news I've read I take they haven't apologized, and whether they are to blame or not it's a disappointing attitude nonetheless, because they are just correcting the error in silence and pretending nothing happened.

Fantastic post. I agree wholeheartedly.
 

AmyS

Member
This is just sad. When DS3 is shown, you'll be posting tons about how that's not what it will look like and the cycle will repeat...

So the company had plans to implement new gameplay elements using darkness and lighting, but had to cut it due to resources and last gen technology... This is what happens when PCs are the primary development platform. Things get cut in games all the time. And people that were somehow expecting the PC version to be this completely different looking game were just grasping for straws.

It's not going to stop me from getting this version of DSII that now exists for PC, releasing this month, but for me it will have to be later this year when I have something more than just Intel HD graphics.

It's just that we all wish we could play the game as originally shown, myself included, but it is not as if I won't buy DSII at all because From didn't upgrade the assets & lighting of the releasing PC version up to the level of the original showing.

If a PS4/XO version comes out and looks more like the preview built, it wasn't cause FROM had some master plan. It was because they had a commitment to release the PC version as close as possible to the console version. They didn't want to let the fans on the PC platform down... and they didn't. The released what looks to be a great version of Dark Souls 2. The best version in fact.

This is all true.

The 60fps framerate alone is really enough for me, not to mention slightly more than twice the native resolution of the PS360 version, as well as prettier shaders here and there. ,,,Let alone the inevitable texture mods that people will come up with.
 
The only disappointment to me is the fact that fires lit with the torch don't cast any dynamic shadow: only the torch does, and I can understand the lack of that on PS3/XBOX, but not on PC.
 
This seems to be the most reasonable assumption as to what happened and why. And I just want to add that it's pretty unfortunate that we've gone from demanding a competant PC version from From, which it seems they've certainly delivered, to expecting them to make a completely different build of the game developed strictly for the PC platform. And in the process, the work they did put into this version goes underappreciated.

That's the sad thing about this whole thing. FROM took the criticisms for the DS1 port to heart. They wanted to make the PC version of DS2 the lead platform, and in the process overreached their boundaries. They had to scale back drastically for the old consoles and the PC version, because as was already said, developing 2 very different versions of the same game was out of the cards. Thus they release a PC version up to higher standards and all that work to make PC gamers feel they get a competent port gets lost in the fuss from fans that still feel they were cut short.

I think it's a sad thing. I'm not saying they didn't make a mistake. They did. But my whole attitude about it is that the PC version looks awesome and is what I expected as last gen console game on PC. I'm extremely happy about that. But I also learned from it. Don't always expect games will end up as we are shown. As a gamer, I have the ability to wait and see how the product is before I spend my money. I could have done that here. But as a fan, I had the game pre-ordered on PS3 and PC as soon as it started. I knew that it would atleast be Dark Souls 1. And as a fan, that was enough to warrant the purchase. And I was not let down.
 
Absolutely. I'm not asking people to burn their houses down or anything. I would just like an answer, and if not, then they can expect that I won't be buying their product. It's that simple.

They did answer. It's not only most likely the truth but the most obvious answer as well.
"Throughout the game development process, a game is constantly being balanced not only in game playability, but also in the realm of resource management,”

It will never be enough because people want what they now can't have. So there needs to be some overly elaborate conspiracy to explain the screw job by these lazy group of b team developers looking to #lie to it's fanbase and mislead them to capitalize on an unannounced "Definitive Edition" for next gen consoles.
 

nbthedude

Member
They did answer. It's not only most likely the truth but the most obvious answer as well.


It will never be enough because people want what they now can't have. So there needs to be some overly elaborate conspiracy to explain the screw job by these lazy group of b team developers looking to #lie to it's fanbase and mislead them to capitalize on an unannounced "Definitive Edition" for next gen consoles.

I really wouldn't mind so much if it were just a few people voicing such unreasonable perspectives but the fact that it's like half the post in this thread is pretty discouraging.
 

Kintaro

Worships the porcelain goddess
With all of the stuff surrounding this game, I really don't think I can trust this port until the retail version is in customer's hands (not previewers) for awhile and it hits a good sale.

Pretty disappointed all around with both Bandai Namco and FROM here. All they had to do was come out and acknowledge the issue and own up to it. Going from a garbage PC port (DaS1) to misleading downgrades (DaS2) continues to make me wary of this port (lead platform my ass).
 
They did answer. It's not only most likely the truth but the most obvious answer as well.


It will never be enough because people want what they now can't have. So there needs to be some overly elaborate conspiracy to explain the screw job by these lazy group of b team developers looking to #lie to it's fanbase and mislead them to capitalize on an unannounced "Definitive Edition" for next gen consoles.

It's true. I mean, look at Ubisoft with Watch Dogs. The game was shown on a beefed up PC and looked amazing. People couldn't believe how good it looked. This was way before the PS4/XO were even close to being complete. Game looks amazing, everyone says this is next gen. Ubi is happy people are impressed by what they can do... then BAM... the next time the game is shown, it looks like Watch Dogs, but different.. worse. These games (and most PS4/XO games released so far) were developed on PCs or dev kits that weren't finished. It must be a hard thing to have to start developing a game on theoretical hardware, then have to peel things away layer by layer until it becomes something that can work for everything. I'm sure it's not just disheartening for fans of said games, but moreso the developers... who would probably LOVE to implement and be able to do all these things, but can't due to time/resources.

Watch Dogs on PS4/XO/PC is a cross gen game, but that simply means last gen game with layers put on instead of peeled off. When the last of the few cross gen games release and we completely in the 'next gen' development, then we have a good reason to complain if some version doesn't meet our expectations.
 
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