• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Dark Souls |OT| So the industry might be mended

Status
Not open for further replies.
T

Totalriot

Member
Do we have any more info about how the covenant system works?

Covenants - When exploring the game world, specific opportunities will allow the player to ally with a specific person/object. This oath/allegiance system is called a Covenant. It's a new, unique feature to the Dark Souls online experience which adds immersion and anticipation. Covenants could potentially align your character with other players, or create tension and competition as enemies. This system is dissimilar to an "MMO guild", but will allow the game to create a unique gaming experience for each player. Known covenants: Way of White, Gravelord Servant, Chaos Servant, (Blades of the Darkmoon, and Darkwraiths.
Gravelord - Think Demon's Souls was hard? Gravelord intensifies the experience of online gameplay and invasion through sabtoage. Invoking the power of Gravelord ups the difficulty of a random player's world when in a given area. To remove the curse, the affected player must find the Gravelord markings, allowing him/her to invade then kill the caster. The tension this creates will no doubt enhance the challenge of the game.
Click to expand...

I understand that I can join one of these covenants in game and other players can do the same and then what? Will it be easier to invite players from my covenant into my game? Can I only invite these players? Will I be able to invade only players from another covenant? Seriously, that would be awesome!
 
S

Snapshot King

Member
I wouldn't worry bout those load times. I doubt the build they brought to TGS is final, and loading optimization and all that seems to usually come together at the last minute. Even then, eh, it's no big deal. Worthy trade for the open world. You'd be trading in between level load times and death load times.
 
O

Orayn

Member
Totalriot said:
Do we have any more info about how the covenant system works?

I understand that I can join one of these covenants in game and other players can do the same and then what? Will it be easier to invite players from my covenant into my game? Can I only invite these players? Will I be able to invade only players from another covenant? Seriously, that would be awesome!
Click to expand...
They're super-factions that grant you various powers and change how you'll interact with other players. MODERATE SPOILERS AHEAD!

Note: The Book of the Guilty is a system that lets you "report" someone who invaded and killed you. Putting someone in the book has no effect on its own, but...

The "Knights of White" are followers of Gwyn, Lord of Sunlight. You get light and lightning magic and are encouraged to hunt down rogue players out of the Book of the Guilty and come to the aid of people who are being invaded.

The "Chaos Servants" are followers of Izlith, Witch of Chaos. You get fire and nature based powers, and take out contracts on players in the Book of the Guilty, rewarding other players for tracking down and killing certain people.

The "Gravelord Servant" are followers of Nito, First of the Dead. The Gravelord spell is a systematic griefing/PvP ability that places a Gravelord symbol in not one, but THREE random players' worlds. These symbols spawn enemies, but also serve as a backdoor into your game. If someone finds the symbol, invades you, and kills you, the remaining symbols disappear. It is possible to have all three players re-invade you at once.
macuser1of5 said:
40 second loading... not good; hopefully the ps3 version does not have this problem
Click to expand...
I'll definitely be doing a hard drive install on my 360 version.
 
L

luka

Loves Robotech S1
Oh my, it's so close. So close...

So much to do before the 22nd. This game will swallow my life.
 
S

stalker

Member
Very nice OP, informative and nice but clean and simple. This is one of the few non-Nintendo games to be released in the next monmths/year that I really can't wait to play (The Last Guardian, Ni No Kuni PS3 if translated).
 
K

Kyoufu

Member
Uhh, is there intentional slowdown on the 360 version in that video or does the game drop fps when an enemy dies? Its so... bad...
 
A

Americanmushroom

Banned
Hi, haven't been following this topic or any other topic of Dark souls to be sure not to be spoiled.. but can anyone explain the title to me? I don't get it at all lol.
 
C

Canova

Banned
macuser1of5 said:
40 second loading... not good; hopefully the ps3 version does not have this problem
Click to expand...

PS3 version doesn't have load problem, there's already tons of PS3 demo/gameplay footages. PS3 version was in E3 floor/ booth demos
 
T

Totalriot

Member
Canova said:
PS3 version doesn't have load problem, there's already tons of PS3 demo/gameplay footages. PS3 version was in E3 floor/ booth demos
Click to expand...

Then it's confirmed that the 360 version is for the hardcore players, as the punishment for death is much more severe.
 
O

Orayn

Member
Kyoufu said:
Uhh, is there intentional slowdown on the 360 version in that video or does the game drop fps when an enemy dies? Its so... bad...
Click to expand...
I didn't really notice much of one in the Deprived footage. I dunno, it's only cam'd, so I wouldn't be surprise if the drop was an artifact of that.
 
Auto_aim1

Auto_aim1

MeisaMcCaffrey
Spanish Wrath said:
BR has longer loads than DVD, doesn't it?
Click to expand...
Generally, no. The PS3's drive specifically is slower than the DVD because its just 2x speed. With redundant data on the disc, you can cut down loading times, and it also depends on the streaming technique. So far, based on the footage I have seen for the PS3 version, it doesn't seem to have this issue.
 
mocolostrocolos

mocolostrocolos

Member
Meisadragon said:
Generally, no. The PS3's drive specifically is slower than the DVD because its just 2x speed. With redundant data on the disc, you can cut down loading times, and it also depends on the streaming technique. So far, based on the footage I have seen for the PS3 version, it doesn't seem to have this issue.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I thought it was due to the format, not the platform.
 
K

KenOD

a kinder, gentler sort of Scrooge
I still don't know what I'm going to pick for my first run through, but I'm sure going to do a Deprived play through the second time around and it shall be hilarious.
 
N

NBtoaster

Member
Efficient placement of assets on the disc for optimal loads happens very late in development, the final version could load faster.
 
Vasili2K38

Vasili2K38

Member
The Covenant system sounds so good.. I'm becoming a Black Phantom hunter!
Or a griefing bastard, we'll see MUHAHAHA
 
R

Raide

Member
Looking forward to the EU release of Dark Souls but I won't be playing it till Dec 5th. :( Best of luck for everything that plays it before and I hope its as awesome as everyone hopes it is.
 
Z

Zeliard

Member
Orayn said:
They're super-factions that grant you various powers and change how you'll interact with other players. MODERATE SPOILERS AHEAD!

Note: The Book of the Guilty is a system that lets you "report" someone who invaded and killed you. Putting someone in the book has no effect on its own, but...

The "Knights of White" are followers of Gwyn, Lord of Sunlight. You get light and lightning magic and are encouraged to hunt down rogue players out of the Book of the Guilty and come to the aid of people who are being invaded.

The "Chaos Servants" are followers of Izlith, Witch of Chaos. You get fire and nature based powers, and take out contracts on players in the Book of the Guilty, rewarding other players for tracking down and killing certain people.

The "Gravelord Servant" are followers of Nito, First of the Dead. The Gravelord spell is a systematic griefing/PvP ability that places a Gravelord symbol in not one, but THREE random players' worlds. These symbols spawn enemies, but also serve as a backdoor into your game. If someone finds the symbol, invades you, and kills you, the remaining symbols disappear. It is possible to have all three players re-invade you at once.
Click to expand...

Haha, holy shit.
 
indigo-cyclops

indigo-cyclops

Member
Speedymanic said:
40 second load times whenever you die? O_O
Click to expand...

Actually just saw that last night when watching more of the videos...

Was definitely a long load. But, if the worlds are seamless, a longer load time may be necessary and acceptable.

Replicant said:
Does anyone know if NA's metal case is steelbook or just a crappy tin case?
Click to expand...

All that's been released so far is "custom designed metal case"
 
F

Feindflug

Member
I think I'll cancel my 360 pre-order - long loading times and having the normal attack and block at RB & LB doesn't sound good to me...looks like a rushed port. :(

So I'll just get the PS3 version, wait for impressions on the 360 version and if it's decent I may double dip.
 
H

hawt

Member
Those super factions look insane! It's gonna be hard for me to choose. Shoot, I'm still having trouble on picking a class. D:
 
A

Angst

Member
Orayn said:
They're super-factions that grant you various powers and change how you'll interact with other players. MODERATE SPOILERS AHEAD!

Note: The Book of the Guilty is a system that lets you "report" someone who invaded and killed you. Putting someone in the book has no effect on its own, but...

The "Knights of White" are followers of Gwyn, Lord of Sunlight. You get light and lightning magic and are encouraged to hunt down rogue players out of the Book of the Guilty and come to the aid of people who are being invaded.

The "Chaos Servants" are followers of Izlith, Witch of Chaos. You get fire and nature based powers, and take out contracts on players in the Book of the Guilty, rewarding other players for tracking down and killing certain people.

The "Gravelord Servant" are followers of Nito, First of the Dead. The Gravelord spell is a systematic griefing/PvP ability that places a Gravelord symbol in not one, but THREE random players' worlds. These symbols spawn enemies, but also serve as a backdoor into your game. If someone finds the symbol, invades you, and kills you, the remaining symbols disappear. It is possible to have all three players re-invade you at once.

I'll definitely be doing a hard drive install on my 360 version.
Click to expand...
That is fucking awesome! This game is blowing my mind
 
Windom Earle

Windom Earle

Member
Feindflug said:
I think I'll cancel my 360 pre-order - long loading times and having the normal attack and block at RB & LB doesn't sound good to me...looks like a rushed port. :(

So I'll just get the PS3 version, wait for impressions on the 360 version and if it's decent I may double dip.
Click to expand...

+ Compressed videos and slowdown when dying (?) on 360. PS3 seems to be the way to go for this game.
 
C

Canova

Banned
40 seconds load for 360 version is no good, considering you might break your 'total number of death in a game' record
 
F

Foffy

Banned
Orayn said:
They're super-factions that grant you various powers and change how you'll interact with other players. MODERATE SPOILERS AHEAD!

Note: The Book of the Guilty is a system that lets you "report" someone who invaded and killed you. Putting someone in the book has no effect on its own, but...

The "Knights of White" are followers of Gwyn, Lord of Sunlight. You get light and lightning magic and are encouraged to hunt down rogue players out of the Book of the Guilty and come to the aid of people who are being invaded.

The "Chaos Servants" are followers of Izlith, Witch of Chaos. You get fire and nature based powers, and take out contracts on players in the Book of the Guilty, rewarding other players for tracking down and killing certain people.

The "Gravelord Servant" are followers of Nito, First of the Dead. The Gravelord spell is a systematic griefing/PvP ability that places a Gravelord symbol in not one, but THREE random players' worlds. These symbols spawn enemies, but also serve as a backdoor into your game. If someone finds the symbol, invades you, and kills you, the remaining symbols disappear. It is possible to have all three players re-invade you at once.

I'll definitely be doing a hard drive install on my 360 version.
Click to expand...


So...in other words, it's the following:

Knights of White = Blue Phantoms/"Good" servants.
Chaos Servants = Black Phantoms/"Bad" servants.
Gravelord Servant = Troll other players.

Is that how it is? I intend for my character to be a noble good character on the first run, and two of those three specifically sound
like evil choices
.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Alone in the Dark | Review Thread
Analysis Review 2 3
136
9K
Alan Wake replied
Coming soon to PS VR2 – Zombie Army VR, Little Cities: Bigger!, Wanderer: The Fragments of Fate, The Wizards – Dark Times: Brotherhood, and more
News Platform
7
738
darthvargi replied
Enotria: The Last Song launches August 21 on PC and PS5 | Xbox Series version will be published at a later date
2
53
4K
nikolino840 replied
Aliens: Dark Descent - Gameplay Overview Trailer Released
News Trailer
2
653
DirtyBast8rd replied
Final Fantasy XIV on Xbox introduces "FFXIV Coins" microtransactions so that Microsoft can get a cut
46
4K
kikii replied
Top Bottom