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Dark Souls PC: Both GFWL...and Steamworks/key?

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Grief.exe said:
I'm not too worried about the graphical options since we can usually use a 3rd party program like nvidia inspector to get things like msaa, AF, etc.
Speaking of, are there any profiles on there that use the same engine as dark souls? I'm away from my computer now and can't look.
Click to expand...

Race Driver GRID and the DIRT series all run on Phyre Engine and they look very nice on PC.

Grief.exe said:
What I am worried about is going through gfwl means patching the game is going to be a joke. From has to pay Microsoft a huge upfront cost just to put the patch through, then it takes a month or so to get it approved.
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Dark Souls hasn't gotten patched since November, so I wouldn't exactly expect frequent, expensive patches to be a huge problem. Also, I don't think they necessarily have the same cert process on PC.
 
The GFWL patch approval process is rock solid. There was a patch for Blacklight: Tango Down which just dumped its load into your C drive instead of the game's directory, completely failing to install.
 
I shouldn't have but at $29.50 I couldn't resist anymore.

Greenman gamig $39.99 - 25%off - $0.50 trade in for Divine Divinity (free game they gave out) = $29.50
 
I think my bigger problem is with sub-30 FPS, and quite a few games (Dragon's Dogma included) are hitting that. It's like we're back to the 32-bit days or something with this crap.
 
Orayn said:
Game manual is now available through Steam's servers.

http://cdn.steampowered.com/Manuals/211420/DARKSOULS_PC_MANUAL_ANZ.pdf?t=1344010093
Click to expand...

To prevent latency issues and frequent disconnections, there is a
low FPS feature implemented where if your FPS drops below 15
for 30 seconds, your game will automatically be disconnected
from the online session and will return to the title screen. To avoid
this, please refer to the minimum/recommended specifi cations
to have a better confi guration.
Click to expand...

Oh boy. Blight Town is going to be fun
 
Orayn said:
Yeah, there's nothing too surprising, but it's an interesting read nonetheless. PC controls look pretty reasonable.
Click to expand...
And are customizable, so I could swap something like action with use item. Though I'd just use the PS3 controller via MotionInJoy anyway, but it's still nice the controls weren't phoned in as catastrophically as that Olympic game.

EDIT: Yikes, hope this game lets you play offline like the console versions if it's going to disconnect you for that. Hopefully decent enough computers can just curbstomp Blighttown.
 
Orayn said:
Game manual is now available through Steam's servers.

http://cdn.steampowered.com/Manuals/211420/DARKSOULS_PC_MANUAL_ANZ.pdf?t=1344010093
Click to expand...
"To prevent latency issues and frequent disconnections, there is a low FPS feature implemented where if your FPS drops below 15 for 30 seconds, your game will automatically be disconnected from the online session and will return to the title screen. To avoid this, please refer to the minimum/recommended specifications to have a better configuration.
Click to expand...
Huh. Well, if my framerate was below 15 I probably wasn't enjoying the game anyway. :P
 
Orayn said:
Yeah, there's nothing too surprising, but it's an interesting read nonetheless. PC controls look pretty reasonable.
Click to expand...

Controls do seem like it was handled by someone who's actually touched a computer before (not always a given with some of these Japan PC games).

Think you can pretty much rule out any graphical settings though. Not only do they not mention what those menu items would control (if they existed), but when they talk about latency control and booting players who drop below 15fps for more than 30 seconds, they don't tell you to turn down settings. It sounds like they're telling you to look at the minimum/recommended specs and upgrade to recommended if you're having issues (although some will probably disagree with my interpretation on that).
 
☑ No 720p resolution lock
☑ Customizable keybindings (though of course it'll likely work better with a gamepad)
☐ Locked at 30 fps?
 
Scavenger said:
Oh boy. Blight Town is going to be fun
Click to expand...

Pray a silent prayer to the optimization gods. Even if it's not a great port, modern PCs should still be able to manage better performance than PS360 out of brute hardware power alone.

And yeah, there's little difference between the game being "literally unplayable" and "virtually unplayable" at <15 FPS.
 
would be nice with some actual high res screens... guess I'll have to wait for guinea pig gaf to jump aboard and test the game for the rest of us :I
 
Eideka said:
I have a bad feeling about this, I would not be surprised if this port turns out to be the worst we have ever seen.

I'm worried as to how good this is going to look on PC, to be honest I'm not impressed by the visuals at all (laughable texture work and animation, bad character models, nothing to brag about really), and I doubt IQ can do miracles in that regard.
1080p and AA will sure make things better that's for sure, yet this won't be a stunner on PC.

I hope Namco will prove me wrong.
Click to expand...

If it looks exactly like the console versions but runs at 1080p, 60fps, with AA, and 360 controller support I'm down. But it had better at least hit that bar since it already has gfwl going against it.
 
DTKT said:
The 30 FPS lock is really what is holding me back :(
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Far as I recall that's been completely disproven.

Even if it were true though, fuck it, if Blighttown were consistent with the rest of the game performance-wise it'd arguably be worth it anyway.
 
wutwutwut said:
&#9745; No 720p resolution lock
&#9745; Customizable keybindings (though of course it'll likely work better with a gamepad)
&#9744; Locked at 30 fps?
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Put a cross in that last box please please please! Btw, silly question, but was Dark Souls for PS3 locked at a specific framerate? I have the game on PS3 and it felt like it was 30, but not too sure.
 
Herb said:
Put a cross in that last box please please please! Btw, silly question, but was Dark Souls for PS3 locked at a specific framerate? I have the game on PS3 and it felt like it was 30, but not too sure.
Click to expand...

I'd bet it averaged somewhere around 24fps, but it went WAY lower at times, like half that in the worst areas. Locked 30fps would be a huge improvement over what we got.
 
Snuggler said:
I'd bet it averaged somewhere around 24fps, but it went WAY lower at times, like half that in the worst areas. Locked 30fps would be a huge improvement over what we got.
Click to expand...

Yeah it did seem to feel laggy in certain places at random (and Blight Town of course). For the most part though it didn't feel tremendously bad, compared with Demon's Souls. I blame Havok more than anything for the framerate dips, especially in places with tons of breakable items. I suppose that is why Anor Londo feels pretty good compared with everywhere else.
 
Some interesting bits that you guys haven't noticed:

  • The game has an .ini file
  • The game uses Lua to script stuff, this could mean we could fix stuff, like in the Vampire games.

Thoughts?
 
PixelHorror said:
Some interesting bits that you guys haven't noticed:

  • The game has an .ini file
  • The game uses Lua to script stuff, this could mean we could fix stuff, like in the Vampire games.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
If it's possible I definitely want a mod that swaps out the button prompts for Playstation ones, so long as it doesn't ban me from online play.
 
PixelHorror said:
Some interesting bits that you guys haven't noticed:

  • The game has an .ini file
  • The game uses Lua to script stuff, this could mean we could fix stuff, like in the Vampire games.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

the first mod that makes the game easier will cause the internet to shit kittens guaranteed
 
PixelHorror said:
Some interesting bits that you guys haven't noticed:

  • The game has an .ini file
  • The game uses Lua to script stuff, this could mean we could fix stuff, like in the Vampire games.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Interesting, but given it uses GFWL that shit's gonna be encrypted.

That, or people will abuse the hell out of it and make some weird shit with PvP.

I'm a pessimist aren't I?
 
gdt said:
As far as we know, Amazon has been the only retailer with the ability to sell steam keys for non-steamworks games. This would be a first for GMG.
Click to expand...
Nope, not a first for GMG. They sold steam keys for Alpha Protocol a while back and it's not a Steamworks game.
 
EatinOlives said:
Interesting, but given it uses GFWL that shit's gonna be encrypted.

That, or people will abuse the hell out of it and make some weird shit with PvP.

I'm a pessimist aren't I?
Click to expand...

This is the part I'm most worried about with the port. The 360 version's PvP could be ruined entirely by save hackers. The PS3 could have big problems with invading due to dragon head glitchers. Will the PC version have some crippling exploit?
 
Menu navigation to be keyboard only?
Code: 
Menu controls
up arrow................................................................................ Select up
Down arrow......................................................................Select down
Left arrow.............................................................................. Select left
Right arrow.........................................................................Select right
Enter......................................................................................... Confirm
Backspace.................................................................................. Cancel
insert..................................................................................... Function 1
Delete................................................................................... Function 2
Page up............................................... Change Menu Item (Forward)
Page down................................................ Change Menu Item (Next)

Hrm... and no mention of PvP in the manual?
 
Firehead said:
Menu navigation to be keyboard only?
Code: 
Menu controls
up arrow................................................................................ Select up
Down arrow......................................................................Select down
Left arrow.............................................................................. Select left
Right arrow.........................................................................Select right
Enter......................................................................................... Confirm
Backspace.................................................................................. Cancel
insert..................................................................................... Function 1
Delete................................................................................... Function 2
Page up............................................... Change Menu Item (Forward)
Page down................................................ Change Menu Item (Next)

Hrm... and no mention of PvP in the manual?
Click to expand...

Mouse is *always* controlling the camera and WASD is *always* controlling movement, so yeah, I guess. A bit inconvenient, but not a huge surprise given how the game doesn't pause when opening menus.
 
tokkun said:
This is the part I'm most worried about with the port. The 360 version's PvP could be ruined entirely by save hackers. The PS3 could have big problems with invading due to dragon head glitchers. Will the PC version have some crippling exploit?
Click to expand...

I thought the PS3 version had a people messing with saves as well.
 
I'm confused...did the manual go back to what the story was before the game came out?

"You are thrown into a world of darkness, a world of demons. It’s a
place where humans with the Dark Ring are sent to succumb and
transform into the living dead. You are soulless at the beginning
of the adventure, and in order to regain your soul, you must
emerge from the abyss to reach the land of the living. "

Isn't this the Darksign in the final build of the game?
 
jim-jam bongs said:
the first mod that makes the game easier will cause the internet to shit kittens guaranteed
Click to expand...

I will be the first one in line to have a litter.

Seriously reading threads about this game's PC release I've definitely noticed a few people who seem to think they are getting into an Elder Scrolls-like experience. Gameplay-affecting mods would totally defeat the purpose even if they weren't used to cheat or grief people online (and they will, if it can happen on Xbox it can definitely happen here).

Even if you just played offline in your own little sandbox...you're missing a big part of the game. I don't personally do this but I can kind of understand why someone would play Skyrim and mod his character to have the Badass Looking Armor of Invincibility with a flaming sword that instakills everything right from the get go. Make your own fun, and all that. But to me the Souls games are not an individual experience both inside and out. I don't want to go into a thread, see someone relating his personal horror story of curse frogs in the depths, and then see people say 'oh just download xX420sniperXx's no cursefrog mod, it totally improves the game'. Obviously a silly example but it's just my line of thinking. Even if there were mods in the vein of super-hard romhacks I still don't think it'd be worth giving up the online functionality unless they got popular enough to develop their own community following.

But whatever, enough speculation. Who knows what'll happen, maybe the port will be so bad that we'll need mods to save us, or maybe there will be rigid anti-cheat measures that somehow weren't in place in the console versions.
 
Mupod said:
I will be the first one in line to have a litter.

Seriously reading threads about this game's PC release I've definitely noticed a few people who seem to think they are getting into an Elder Scrolls-like experience. Gameplay-affecting mods would totally defeat the purpose even if they weren't used to cheat or grief people online (and they will, if it can happen on Xbox it can definitely happen here).

Even if you just played offline in your own little sandbox...you're missing a big part of the game. I don't personally do this but I can kind of understand why someone would play Skyrim and mod his character to have the Badass Looking Armor of Invincibility with a flaming sword that instakills everything right from the get go. Make your own fun, and all that. But to me the Souls games are not an individual experience both inside and out. I don't want to go into a thread, see someone relating his personal horror story of curse frogs in the depths, and then see people say 'oh just download xX420sniperXx's no cursefrog mod, it totally improves the game'. Obviously a silly example but it's just my line of thinking. Even if there were mods in the vein of super-hard romhacks I still don't think it'd be worth giving up the online functionality unless they got popular enough to develop their own community following.

But whatever, enough speculation. Who knows what'll happen, maybe the port will be so bad that we'll need mods to save us, or maybe there will be rigid anti-cheat measures that somehow weren't in place in the console versions.
Click to expand...

Sad day indeed.
 
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