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Dark Souls 3 announced (Early 2016, PC/PS4/XB1, Miyazaki Directing)

“There are slightly less maps than Dark Souls II, but each of the maps are on a much larger scale.”

Good.

I'm replaying DS2 and I was surprised at how small Earthen Peak was. I was done with the place in 30 minutes.
 
Durante said:
One of the most unique and interesting boss fights in Souls and one of my overall favorites is also one of the most generally derided ones: the Cave of the Dead group.

From that I learned that my taste in bosses differs significantly from most Souls fandom -- or at least the most outspoken part of it :P
Click to expand...
Yeah but you're cooping everything, right? That boss is fun to coop, but trudgingly painful to solo.

Ideally, a boss should be fun to both solo or coop. That's fairly rare though, since coop trivializes almost every boss, and one of the exception is Ancient Dragon which sucks regardless. The other DSII DLC bosses were still tough even in coop, so that was pretty great.

Oh, forgot more obvious "dudes in armours" that are in the Best Bosses category: S&O, and Ruin Sentinels. Also both are fun to coop and solo.

Shengar said:
I don't remember Sif, Manus, Kalameet, Queelag, and Maneater being humanoid dude with melee weapon.
Click to expand...
Sif was a great boss, but mostly because of its visual design and the lore (and the feels, of course), not because it was that great to fight. Still more exciting than, say, Dirty Colossus or Gaping Dragon, at least (which also looked cool but was a bit zzz). Manus and Kalameet, agreed. Quelaag was OK, and the Maneaters were honestly really annoying because of how they kept flying off and their AI was erratic as shit, and they had some cheap moves (but they can also be completely cheesed by fire magic).

Anyway, sure, there are non-humanoid bosses that are great too. One of my favourites are Sinh and Executioner Chariot. And I'd love if they made the "monster" type bosses more like those and less like Gaping. But I just don't get the "so sick of humanoid bosses" complaints. At all.

Ferr986 said:
There ya go. The ones who rekindled the fire are the Lord of Cinders, I guess.
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I bet if this weren't Miyazaki, people would be bitching about "rehashing" or "recycling" ideas... xD
 
Blobbers said:
I'm convinced Miyazaki was not that involved in this game. I think they just plastered his name there to get people excited.

Why do I think this? The CG trailer tells the tale. In the trailer, we see a Giant King with a hole for a face. This is a DIRECT connection to Dark Souls 2, a game Miyazaki had nothing to do with, which shows.
Miyazaki is a genius, a visionary. Demon's, Dark and Bloodborne all have a distinct Miyazaki touch, something Dark Souls 2 lacks.

The point is, if Miyazaki was directing this game, he would never borrow from a lesser entry like DS2. He would never borrow from the "lesser vision" of his subordinates. Because,as I said, he is a visionary, one of the greats. It makes no sense for him to stoop to such low levels. It's beneath him, if you will.

The giant in the trailer gives it away. Miyazaki is not directing. And the reason is simple: Miyazaki doesn't need help from the lesser minds.

...The mere notion of Miyazaki actually using anything from the clusterfuck of the lore that is DS2...
Preposterous.
Click to expand...
Bloodborne took the ideas of a single +10 upgrade path, the ability to use multiple consumables at once and the ability to warp between every checkpoint from Dark Souls 2. Guess Miyazaki didn't direct Bloodborne either. Damn, we've been conned.
 
Palocca said:
I was lucky enough to be in the first showing of Dark Souls III, and here are my impressions:
Click to expand...

Thanks for the great write-up :)
(See the whole thing on p.26)

I'd like to add the following for anyone who's curious:

New weapon "arts" are initiated with L2.
- This means that technically, parry with a regular shield is considered an "art" (with the classic follow-up R1 critical attack).

- Melee weapons held in right hand. Triangle to wield two-handed/dual-wield.

- While two-handing the Straight Sword, hold L2 to go into "ready" stance. From this, use R1 for a slow but strong upward swing (breaks guard), or R2 for a powerful long range lunge.

- While two-handing the Ultra Greatsword, press L2 to "step in". From this, use R1 for a strong long range thrust (which kind of ducks under attacks), or R2 for a massive uppercut swing that sends most enemies flying. NOTE: You have "poise" during this attack, meaning you take damage but don't flinch. You can also follow up with nothing and use step-in as a kind of "feint" (should be interesting in PvP).

- While dual-wielding the Twin Blades, press L2 for a quick "spin attack". Follow up with R1 for an extra spin attack, or R2 for a downward flourish.

- You can use R1/R2 attacks while two-handing/dual-wielding as before, except now you can charge R2 attacks. You can follow up one charge attack with another if you have enough stamina (the animation flows really nicely, and this is really satisfying to pull off.)

Bow breakdown
- Short Bow held in the left hand. L1 to "equip" the bow like before.

- Hold L1 to aim first-person and hold R1 to nock an arrow (release to shoot).

- Hold L2 to go into "ready" stance. From this stance, arrows can be fired using R1/R2 (standard/poison) at a faster rate.

- Backstep/roll and then R1 to pull off a quick kneeling shot. Really nice to use while you're on the backfoot.

- Can obviously lock on with R3 while doing all this (except first-person aim).

Items breakdown
- Aside from good old Sunny D, Throwing Knives and Firebombs were available.

- With Throwing Knife selected, press Square after an attack or roll to deliver a "quick throw". This costs a bit of stamina, but is a great new feature and will feel great for people who like agile ninja-esque builds. I hope they keep it.

- Firebombs didn't use the same quick-throw feature, but they did seem quite good. They seemed useful for taking down the mini-boss (who seemed like a pretty chilled dude).

If you have any other questions feel free to ask and I'll see what I can remember!
 
- While two-handing the Ultra Greatsword, press L2 to "step in". From this, use R1 for a strong long range thrust, or R2 for a massive uppercut swing that sends most enemies flying. NOTE: You have "poise" during this attack, meaning you take damage but don't flinch. You can also follow up with nothing and use step-in as a kind of "feint" (should be interesting in PvP).
Click to expand...

Oh good, hopefully avoiding interrupts is more dependent on exploiting hyperarmor instead of stacking poise or a poiselike stat.
 
Dresden said:
Oh good, hopefully avoiding interrupts is more dependent on exploiting hyperarmor instead of stacking poise or a poiselike stat.
Click to expand...

No idea what poise mechanic they're using this time around but i thought the way bloodborne handled it was really good coming from someone who hated Dark Souls 2 version and had a love/hate relationship with Dark Souls 1 poise(insane poise stacking flippers)
 
BY2K said:
That kind of proves his point. The game is set to release in Early 2016 yet it isn't far enough in development to let the public see it?
Click to expand...

You had to wait to see a bloodborne gameplay vid since only a cgi trailer was released for E3. Besides if he wants it delayed why the rush to see something?
 
BY2K said:
That kind of proves his point. The game is set to release in Early 2016 yet it isn't far enough in development to let the public see it?
Click to expand...

Given the firestorm they went through after the last game had to be downgraded graphically, I wouldn't show it off to the public yet either.
 
Manu said:
“There are slightly less maps than Dark Souls II, but each of the maps are on a much larger scale.”

Good.

I'm replaying DS2 and I was surprised at how small Earthen Peak was. I was done with the place in 30 minutes.
Click to expand...

Yeah a lot of Dark Souls II felt like quantity over quality. Could have done with a lot less of the locations and even less of the bosses. Something more focused and tightly designed will be welcome.
 
Jombie said:
What were your impressions of the boss at the end?
Click to expand...

If you were talking to me:
- Nice, sleek design. Reminiscent of the "withered beauty" Miyazaki mentioned in an interview.
- Wields a flaming sword that resembles a scimitar. As it slices around the room the wooden supports and draping cloth catch fire, adding to the ambience.
- Intimidating, yet graceful animations and moveset. Worthy of the name "Dancer".
- Seems to have a lot of openings, but will punish you for getting greedy.
- Minor gameplay spoiler:
At half health, the boss plunges a fist into the floor, and pulls out a second dark, "cursed" sword. This seemed to result in more varied attacks and increased attack power.
- Moderate lore spoiler:
Just before the boss room was a grave that had something written on it about a soul being banished from their land and haunted by a black sun.

It definitely left an impression overall.
Minor choreography spoiler:
The way it enters, "squirming" through an apparent "portal" of dark, and similarly how it conjures its second sword, is interesting.

If you weren't talking to me:
- Shut up, me.
 
B-Genius said:
If you were talking to me:
- Nice, sleek design. Reminiscent of the "withered beauty" Miyazaki mentioned in an interview.
- Wields a flaming sword that resembles a scimitar. As it slices around the room the wooden supports and draping cloth catch fire, adding to the ambience.
- Intimidating, yet graceful animations and moveset. Worthy of the name "Dancer".
- Seems to have a lot of openings, but will punish you for getting greedy.
- Minor gameplay spoiler:
At half health, the boss plunges a fist into the floor, and pulls out a second dark, "cursed" sword. This seemed to result in more varied attacks and increased attack power.
- Moderate lore spoiler:
Just before the boss room was a grave that had something written on it about a soul being banished from their land and haunted by a black sun.

It definitely left an impression overall.
Minor choreography spoiler:
The way it enters, "squirming" through an apparent "portal" of dark, and similarly how it conjures its second sword, is interesting.

If you weren't talking to me:
- Shut up, me.
Click to expand...

Sounds amazing. Thanks for taking the time.

Some interesting lore, story implications in there.
 
Wow this game is sounding more and more amazing as the details come out


Effing From are masters of building and iterating

This might be the most technically interesting game in the series
 
It would be interesting to see one of these games set at the height of a world/civilization rather than the smoldering ruins. Perhaps at the point it was about to fall. The dark and oppressing theme has been great for several iterations now, but I would be interested in Miyazaki's take on a world that's still 'alive'.
 
Persona7 said:
Dark Souls doesn't.

I literally can not play Bloodborne because of the heavy chromatic aberration. It makes me feel like I have motion sickness. I think it is the CA combined with the lack of anti-aliasing.
Click to expand...

The CA seems to be more noticeable in some areas as well, the CA in Hidden Village is horrendous.
 
Grief.exe said:
I don't remember CA being used in Souls 1 or 2.

Was there CA in Bloodborne? I don't have a PS4.
Click to expand...

There was. Wasn't as bad as it was in Lords of the Fallen, but it was definitely noticeable. Were they still using Phyre Engine for Bloodborne? As you say, CA wasn't an issue in Demon's or DSI & II so the only reason I see for it suddenly appearing in Bloodborne is From using a new engine.
 
B-Genius said:
- Moderate lore spoiler:
Just before the boss room was a grave that had something written on it about a soul being banished from their land and haunted by a black sun.
Click to expand...
Wait a fucking second...this could be
Gwyn's Firstborn Son
?!?
B-Genius said:
Thanks for the great write-up :)
(See the whole thing on p.26)

I'd like to add the following for anyone who's curious:

New weapon "arts" are initiated with L2.
- This means that technically, parry with a regular shield is considered an "art" (with the classic follow-up R1 critical attack).

- Melee weapons held in right hand. Triangle to wield two-handed/dual-wield.

- While two-handing the Straight Sword, hold L2 to go into "ready" stance. From this, use R1 for a slow but strong upward swing (breaks guard), or R2 for a powerful long range lunge.

- While two-handing the Ultra Greatsword, press L2 to "step in". From this, use R1 for a strong long range thrust (which kind of ducks under attacks), or R2 for a massive uppercut swing that sends most enemies flying. NOTE: You have "poise" during this attack, meaning you take damage but don't flinch. You can also follow up with nothing and use step-in as a kind of "feint" (should be interesting in PvP).

- While dual-wielding the Twin Blades, press L2 for a quick "spin attack". Follow up with R1 for an extra spin attack, or R2 for a downward flourish.

- You can use R1/R2 attacks while two-handing/dual-wielding as before, except now you can charge R2 attacks. You can follow up one charge attack with another if you have enough stamina (the animation flows really nicely, and this is really satisfying to pull off.)

Bow breakdown
- Short Bow held in the left hand. L1 to "equip" the bow like before.

- Hold L1 to aim first-person and hold R1 to nock an arrow (release to shoot).

- Hold L2 to go into "ready" stance. From this stance, arrows can be fired using R1/R2 (standard/poison) at a faster rate.

- Backstep/roll and then R1 to pull off a quick kneeling shot. Really nice to use while you're on the backfoot.

- Can obviously lock on with R3 while doing all this (except first-person aim).

Items breakdown
- Aside from good old Sunny D, Throwing Knives and Firebombs were available.

- With Throwing Knife selected, press Square after an attack or roll to deliver a "quick throw". This costs a bit of stamina, but is a great new feature and will feel great for people who like agile ninja-esque builds. I hope they keep it.

- Firebombs didn't use the same quick-throw feature, but they did seem quite good. They seemed useful for taking down the mini-boss (who seemed like a pretty chilled dude).

If you have any other questions feel free to ask and I'll see what I can remember!
Click to expand...

Also thanks very much for this.
 
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