Author Topic: Dark Souls (Read 207574 times)

Smooth Groove · « **Reply #60 on:** February 05, 2011, 07:44:37 PM »

What's the best use of souls? I haven't upgraded anything at all for fear of not having enough souls further down the road.

The hit detection and controls are so janky in this game. I almost think you guys are kidding about loving it so much.

Shaka Khan · « **Reply #61 on:** February 05, 2011, 07:51:13 PM »

You use souls to level up your stats and buy items and equipments from vendors.

And yes, from a technical standpoint it can get very janky. If you can't tolerate some of the technical shortcomings and enjoy the core game, then it might not be for you.

iconoclast · « **Reply #62 on:** February 05, 2011, 07:53:55 PM »

Best use of souls = leveling. I don't upgrade any weapons until I get the weapon that I want to take all the way to max rank. And I only buy arrows from merchants.

The hit detection and controls are perfectly fine too. The only time I ever had a problem with it was when I went to lock-on to an enemy that was directly in front of me on a bridge, but instead it locked on to a gargoyle that was flying around to the side. It turned the camera 90 degrees, causing me to walk right off the side of the bridge and fall to my death.

But other than that, the melee combat is pretty much perfect for an ARPG.

Shaka Khan · « **Reply #63 on:** February 05, 2011, 07:58:08 PM »

Sometimes it can get a bit messy if you melee bosses, but other than that I never ran into any major issues too.

Quote from: iconoclast on February 05, 2011, 07:53:55 PM

Best use of souls = leveling. I don't upgrade any weapons until I get the weapon that I want to take all the way to max rank. And I only buy arrows from merchants.

This is exactly what I did too. I ignored upgrades completely until I was a couple of bosses away from the end-game event.

Smooth Groove · « **Reply #64 on:** February 05, 2011, 08:01:27 PM »

I find the controls to be completely useless when I'm not in lock-on mode. My hits keep going to the side regardless of how carefully I'm pointing with the stick.

Where can I upgrade my level?

Shaka Khan · « **Reply #65 on:** February 05, 2011, 08:04:29 PM »

You HAVE to rely on lock mode, can't remember slaying anything without it.

And you level up at the Nexus, talk to the Maiden in Black after finishing 1-1.

demi · « **Reply #66 on:** February 05, 2011, 08:06:05 PM »

Oh yea - is there any bonus for beating the Vanguard in the Tutorial?

Yes I am too lazy to look at that Wiki.

Shaka Khan · « **Reply #67 on:** February 05, 2011, 08:15:35 PM »

4 Full Moon Grass, 3 Renowned Soldier's Souls, 3 Shard of Hardstone, and 3 Shard of Sharpstone in addition to a Grey Demon's Soul and a cutscene of you getting a beatdown.

None of those are that important, save for the Grey Demon's Soul, which you'll get a chance of collecting later when you meet the Vanguard again in 4-1.

iconoclast · « **Reply #68 on:** February 05, 2011, 08:16:55 PM »

You get his soul, get some additional loot in the next area, and get another cutscene.

demi · « **Reply #69 on:** February 05, 2011, 08:27:55 PM »

From what I played it was pretty good. I finished up 3D Heroes so I'll be dedicating a lot to this game next.

Shaka Khan · « **Reply #70 on:** February 05, 2011, 08:32:45 PM »

What did you think of 3D Heroes? never got a chance of picking it up.

Smooth Groove · « **Reply #71 on:** February 05, 2011, 08:34:08 PM »

I'm playing offline because I don't wanna upgrade my firmware. So far, it doesn't feel like I'm missing anything. Last time I played it online but I just wasted time looking at tips that weren't very useful.

Shaka Khan · « **Reply #72 on:** February 05, 2011, 08:39:37 PM »

Yeah, offline is especially good when you want to stop the servers from shifting your world tendencies from pure black or white, on the other hand online can be pretty useful when you decide to neutralize a world's tendency.

demi · « **Reply #73 on:** February 05, 2011, 08:58:05 PM »

Quote from: Shah Rukh Khan on February 05, 2011, 08:32:45 PM

What did you think of 3D Heroes? never got a chance of picking it up.

It was fun. Very short and easy though. I definitely wouldnt have paid the $40 or some odd dollar sthey charged.

Shaka Khan · « **Reply #74 on:** February 05, 2011, 09:12:24 PM »

Good, I'm gonna borrow it instead and save my money. 2011 is gonna be a very busy year.

Shaka Khan · « **Reply #75 on:** February 05, 2011, 09:43:09 PM »

An obvious, but necessary, piece of advice for all newcomers: Don't consume boss' souls, you'll need them to purchase advanced spells/miracles and to forge unique weapons.

iconoclast · « **Reply #76 on:** February 05, 2011, 10:17:15 PM »

Quote from: iconoclast on February 05, 2011, 07:53:55 PM

Best use of souls = leveling. I don't upgrade any weapons until I get the weapon that I want to take all the way to max rank. And I only buy arrows from merchants.

actually I almost forgot, but I buy tons of stones from that dirty old man as well.

The best merchant

Diunx · « **Reply #77 on:** February 06, 2011, 09:33:23 AM »

Spend last night getting my ass kicked in Demon's Souls

also last night I actually discovered that this game has a lock on

Quote from: Smooth Groove on February 02, 2011, 08:21:47 PM

Looks just like a typical medium-budget PC game. They should just do a little bit of extra work and port it over to the PC, along with a level editor.

Yep, I was talking to my friends last night about how awesome a pc port of this would be.

Don Flamenco · « **Reply #78 on:** February 06, 2011, 01:42:21 PM »

I don't want them to noobify this game, but I do hope it's a little less opaque.

Smooth Groove · « **Reply #79 on:** February 06, 2011, 03:55:23 PM »

Much of Demon's Souls is unnecessarily obtuse and tedious. It's why I don't think it's GOTY material or AAA, even though there are plenty of things that it does well, like having a stunningly atmospheric world, lots of customization options and deep, visceral combat.

I'm liking it much more the 2nd time around but I'm still only gonna play it intermittently. I just don't have the time or patience to keep replaying 10-15 min sections just because of a tiny mistake or research every little thing because the game hardly tells you anything. There are strong reasons why modern games have added conventions like checkpoints and multiple saves in games like this. Most grownup gamers have limited gaming time which preferably would be used as efficiently as possible. Unfortunately, Demon's Souls equate hardcore with the unemployed or high school kids who can spent the whole day playing a game. For me, the commitment required to enjoy this game is just not worth it. I don't need more chores in my already busy life.

demi · « **Reply #80 on:** February 06, 2011, 04:09:26 PM »

I do agree with most of that, I was disheartened to have to start all over because my character clumsily clipped off the edge, so I just shut it off.

naff · « **Reply #81 on:** February 06, 2011, 04:48:46 PM »

Quote from: iconoclast on February 05, 2011, 10:17:15 PM

Quote from: iconoclast on February 05, 2011, 07:53:55 PM
Best use of souls = leveling. I don't upgrade any weapons until I get the weapon that I want to take all the way to max rank. And I only buy arrows from merchants.

actually I almost forgot, but I buy tons of stones from that dirty old man as well.

The best merchant

I was leveling weapons before NG+ buying stones from the dirty old man and those flaming bugs ambushed me so I swiped at them and I clipped the merchant at the same time. Insta hostile

had to kill the bastard. So hard to level weapons without that guy

Smooth Groove · « **Reply #82 on:** February 06, 2011, 04:59:55 PM »

Would the merchant's attitude change if you had reset immediately? Stuff like this is why a rigid saving system is so distinguished mentally-challenged.

Shaka Khan · « **Reply #83 on:** February 06, 2011, 05:10:48 PM »

Having to start over a level can be sometimes disheartening, but since the exploration of a level relies heavily on trial and error redoing any level can literally take a minute or two since you already familiarized yourself with the layout of the level and can ignore any detour that takes you to a treasure you already picked as well as opening up shortcuts, which almost every level has. Don't take my word for it, check out the maps.

Shaka Khan · « **Reply #84 on:** February 06, 2011, 05:13:59 PM »

Quote from: Smooth Groove on February 06, 2011, 04:59:55 PM

Would the merchant's attitude change if you had reset immediately? Stuff like this is why a rigid saving system is so distinguished mentally-challenged.

The game auto saves every few steps, so you probably cannot. NPCs don't turn hostile right away, and it rarely happens by mistake (I'm on my third playthrough and it never happened to me). The option to turn against them is there because there are several side quests that require it once if you choose to go through the black character tendency route, they're not really there to piss you off.

demi · « **Reply #85 on:** February 06, 2011, 05:21:35 PM »

Can you "store" souls so they dont get lost? Or is it like, die, then grab the souls you had on your body - accumulate more - die, grab those, repeat.

naff · « **Reply #86 on:** February 06, 2011, 05:29:57 PM »

Quote from: Smooth Groove on February 06, 2011, 04:59:55 PM

Would the merchant's attitude change if you had reset immediately? Stuff like this is why a rigid saving system is so distinguished mentally-challenged.

Yeah, it probably would. The game saves intermittently, and there are a few exploits with things like dropping weapons then resetting immediately and your weapons are in your inventory while also having been dropped in the previous instance, so I imagine the same thing would apply with NPC states, but you'd have to do it withing a couple seconds of it happening.

I think with the persistent online world a traditional save system would've been silly and allowed for more exploits, the no holds barred mentality FROM took when developing the game is after all one of the things that makes it so good, it would be nice if they thought about things like how easy it is to kill/make hostile an important NPC. They should allow you to appeal to them with souls once you make them hostile, which I imagine will be something they implement in dark souls.

Quote from: Smooth Groove on February 05, 2011, 08:34:08 PM

I'm playing offline because I don't wanna upgrade my firmware. So far, it doesn't feel like I'm missing anything. Last time I played it online but I just wasted time looking at tips that weren't very useful.

Quote from: Smooth Groove on February 05, 2011, 08:01:27 PM

I find the controls to be completely useless when I'm not in lock-on mode. My hits keep going to the side regardless of how carefully I'm pointing with the stick.

Where can I upgrade my level?

You need weapons with a wider arc if you want to hack and slash your way without lock on, if you're using a rapier it's natural you're missing without lock-on. For instance I think you would really like the Uchigatana, easily one of the best weapons in the game once upgraded properly (if you're a Royal and pumping magic as well I'd recommend a moon/crescent upgrade path) and available relatively early (right at the beginning of 4-1 'Shrine Of Storms' after you kill vanguard, which is easy with arrows/soul arrow.)

Shaka Khan · « **Reply #87 on:** February 06, 2011, 05:32:49 PM »

Quote from: demi on February 06, 2011, 05:21:35 PM

Can you "store" souls so they dont get lost? Or is it like, die, then grab the souls you had on your body - accumulate more - die, grab those, repeat.

Store? no.

That's why it's highly recommended to level up as soon as possible and never leave your character roaming around with lots of souls. If you're a few souls short of leveling up spend use some of the soldier/hero/legend/etc soul items. Those will really help you level up early on.

If you always find yourself far into a level with lots of souls enough to level you up a few times, and you're afraid of losing them then purchase the "evacuate" miracle as soon as possible. It's the only way of leaving a level with all the souls intact (nexus ring will take you back with 0 souls). You need a talisman to cast miracles, the first one can be easily found at the beginning of 4-1 before the first fog door.

Smooth Groove · « **Reply #88 on:** February 06, 2011, 06:08:53 PM »

Quote from: Shah Rukh Khan on February 06, 2011, 05:10:48 PM

Having to start over a level can be sometimes disheartening, but since the exploration of a level relies heavily on trial and error redoing any level can literally take a minute or two since you already familiarized yourself with the layout of the level and can ignore any detour that takes you to a treasure you already picked as well as opening up shortcuts, which almost every level has. Don't take my word for it, check out the maps.

No shortcuts so far in the dragon guarded bridges beyond the first boss. It's kinda frustrating because it's almost random whether I make it across the bridge or not. Am I even supposed to be playing in this section right now?

Quote from: quietID on February 06, 2011, 05:29:57 PM

Quote from: Smooth Groove on February 06, 2011, 04:59:55 PM
Would the merchant's attitude change if you had reset immediately? Stuff like this is why a rigid saving system is so distinguished mentally-challenged.

Yeah, it probably would. The game saves intermittently, and there are a few exploits with things like dropping weapons then resetting immediately and your weapons are in your inventory while also having been dropped in the previous instance, so I imagine the same thing would apply with NPC states, but you'd have to do it withing a couple seconds of it happening.

I think with the persistent online world a traditional save system would've been silly and allowed for more exploits, the no holds barred mentality FROM took when developing the game is after all one of the things that makes it so good, it would be nice if they thought about things like how easy it is to kill/make hostile an important NPC. They should allow you to appeal to them with souls once you make them hostile, which I imagine will be something they implement in dark souls.

Quote from: Smooth Groove on February 05, 2011, 08:34:08 PM
I'm playing offline because I don't wanna upgrade my firmware. So far, it doesn't feel like I'm missing anything. Last time I played it online but I just wasted time looking at tips that weren't very useful.

Quote from: Smooth Groove on February 05, 2011, 08:01:27 PM
I find the controls to be completely useless when I'm not in lock-on mode. My hits keep going to the side regardless of how carefully I'm pointing with the stick.

Where can I upgrade my level?

You need weapons with a wider arc if you want to hack and slash your way without lock on, if you're using a rapier it's natural you're missing without lock-on. For instance I think you would really like the Uchigatana, easily one of the best weapons in the game once upgraded properly (if you're a Royal and pumping magic as well I'd recommend a moon/crescent upgrade path) and available relatively early (right at the beginning of 4-1 'Shrine Of Storms' after you kill vanguard, which is easy with arrows/soul arrow.)

I just accidentally hurt a merchant myself.

It's the orcish looking guy under the bridge. Sucks because I had wanted to buy some turpentine off him.

I restarted with a knight even though I made it pass 1-1 with the royal. Shooting soul arrows just got too boring and was useless against the first boss anyways. I destroyed the first boss with my knight by using fire bombs and then finishing it off with turpentine + long sword. Knight seems to be more suitable for my playing style except for those long runs across the aforementioned bridges for which he seems to be too slow for.

Shaka Khan · « **Reply #89 on:** February 06, 2011, 06:19:49 PM »

Quote from: Smooth Groove on February 06, 2011, 06:08:53 PM

Quote from: Shah Rukh Khan on February 06, 2011, 05:10:48 PM
Having to start over a level can be sometimes disheartening, but since the exploration of a level relies heavily on trial and error redoing any level can literally take a minute or two since you already familiarized yourself with the layout of the level and can ignore any detour that takes you to a treasure you already picked as well as opening up shortcuts, which almost every level has. Don't take my word for it, check out the maps.

No shortcuts so far in the dragon guarded bridges beyond the first boss. It's kinda frustrating because it's almost random whether I make it across the bridge or not. Am I even supposed to be playing in this section right now?

That entire level is comprised of that bridge, and broken into three short parts; you take a few steps forward during the first part and you let the dragon fry the soldiers then start running right after him, when you reach the first tower you continue forward through the underground passage safe from his attacks.

I'm not sure if the underground path takes you all the way to end of the level or not though, but I'm sure it lets you skip the second part, so if it doesn't you may have to repeat the same tactic for the third part too. Either way, I didn't approach the level that way, because I decided to slay the dragon after I reached the first tower. It takes time, lots of arrows and patience, but it was worth it if only for the Red Dragon Demon Soul. However I'm not sure whether he'll still be there after completing the level or not.

By the way: large/unique enemies, like the dragon for instance, don't respawn.

iconoclast · « **Reply #90 on:** February 06, 2011, 06:35:52 PM »

Losing souls isn't even that big a deal, which is one of the oversights in this game. I am all for punishing the player's mistakes, but they make it too easy to gain souls with the unbalanced drop-rates. The most I ever lost was like 120,000, but that was on like new game++++ so it's not as much as it seems.

Shaka Khan · « **Reply #91 on:** February 06, 2011, 06:44:28 PM »

The most I lost was 90k souls during the Flamelurker fight in 2-2, however by that time I had access to 4-2 and abused the black skeleton at the beginning of level with arrows (takes 4 arrows) which nets 12k souls per kill (24k in NG+) if you meet the requirements of: pure black tendency + avarice ring + soul thirst spell. So losing souls at that point wasn't a big of a deal since I can make 100k in less than 5 minutes.

Smooth Groove · « **Reply #92 on:** February 06, 2011, 07:10:54 PM »

I just looked at IGN's walkthrough which makes no mention of the part with the dragon and bridges. So I'm guessing it's not really necessary to go through those sections.

What is the bare minimum for beating the game? Defeating the boss on each world?

iconoclast · « **Reply #93 on:** February 06, 2011, 07:14:52 PM »

You need to beat every level + boss to beat the game.

1-2 isn't that bad and it's actually pretty short. Just sprint behind the dragon as he passes by with his flame attack and you'll get to the next safe spot before your endurance runs out.

You can even kill the dragon if you want if you grab a shit ton of arrows. Just get on top of one of the mini towers along the road and shoot him in the face as he passes by. It takes like half an hour but you get his souls + a trophy.

Smooth Groove · « **Reply #94 on:** February 06, 2011, 07:16:12 PM »

What are the requirements of beating a level? Reach every archstone?

iconoclast · « **Reply #95 on:** February 06, 2011, 07:17:14 PM »

Yeah, pretty much. Get to the end of the stage, kill the boss, and get his soul from the archstone.

Smooth Groove · « **Reply #96 on:** February 06, 2011, 07:19:40 PM »

Isn't Phalanx the only boss of the first world?

iconoclast · « **Reply #97 on:** February 06, 2011, 07:23:02 PM »

No, Phalanx is the boss of 1-1. There are 3 more bosses on the first world - one at the end of every level.

Don't try to do them all in order though, go try the first stages of the other worlds if you like. My stage order is usually something like:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

1-1, 1-2, 2-1, 4-1, 3-1, 2-2, 5-1, etc

[close]

Smooth Groove · « **Reply #98 on:** February 06, 2011, 07:30:12 PM »

Good idea. I don't really have the patience to cheese the dragon to death.

iconoclast · « **Reply #99 on:** February 07, 2011, 01:47:11 AM »

Just spent almost 2 hours getting destroyed by the Maneaters. Went after them way too early since I was still using my crescent falchion, so I was doing 38 damage per hit against them.

Finally got sick of it and went to upgrade my Uchigatana to +7 and came back for revenge. I almost forgot how annoying those fuckers can be.

Smooth Groove · « **Reply #100 on:** February 07, 2011, 02:07:00 AM »

What's the best way to deal with those damn dogs? Fucking dogs. Why can't they just stick to ruining shooters?

Also, is parrying worth mastering? Those 1 hit riposte kills look hot but sometimes the timing seems off. It's almost like Uncharted 1's melee when I never knew if I were going to pull off an awesome combo or get destroyed.

iconoclast · « **Reply #101 on:** February 07, 2011, 02:20:28 AM »

Best way to deal with the dogs is to pull them with the bow one at a time. They're fairly rare though - I only remember them being a pain in the ass on 1-2 on the alt path, and the ones at the start of 2-1 are kinda annoying.

The parry riposte is really good, but 90% of the time I just roll and attack. If you mess up the timing you'll wind up losing a good chunk of health, and that's the last thing you want to happen. Better safe than sorry.

naff · « **Reply #102 on:** February 07, 2011, 05:49:35 PM »

Quote from: Smooth Groove on February 06, 2011, 06:08:53 PM

I restarted with a knight even though I made it pass 1-1 with the royal. Shooting soul arrows just got too boring and was useless against the first boss anyways. I destroyed the first boss with my knight by using fire bombs and then finishing it off with turpentine + long sword. Knight seems to be more suitable for my playing style except for those long runs across the aforementioned bridges for which he seems to be too slow for.

If you want your knight to be able to run past the dragon on the bridge in 1-2 you might need to equip lighter armour, If you have armour which puts you > half of your total equip burden it makes you run slower. You should always have armour/weapons equipped <= half your equip burden otherwise you're a tank which kinda sucks as being nimble is the only way to really avoid being slaughtered. I just cheesed him out because even if you do make it through at the end there's a blue knight and a bunch of other fools which I couldn't take out easily with the dragon behind me as soul arrow was the only good attack I had at that point. Though later once you get an Uchi or other good weapon that group won't pose a problem in the slightest.

Smooth Groove · « **Reply #103 on:** February 08, 2011, 01:33:57 AM »

I don't have any lighter armor though and the game won't let me unequip what I've got. LOL This game is so ridiculous. I don't think so many of its quirks would have been overlooked if they were in a Bethesda game instead. But DS gets a free pass because it's teh hardcore. I'm still enjoying DS but it's pretty nuts that so many of its fans vehemently defend it for not being cheap when it's blatantly so.

Anyways, where is the easiest way to get a catalyst for my still low level character? I wasted some souls buying spells and boosting magic specs until I realize that my knight can't cast a spell without a catalyst. Also, is it better to invest in miracles or magic?

iconoclast · « **Reply #104 on:** February 08, 2011, 02:25:33 AM »

You can unequip your armor. You can run around naked if you want. I don't remember how to do it though, just look on the equipment screen and it should show a button that says unequip (triangle?). But yeah, never ever ever have more than 50% equip burden. You'll run slower, but far more importantly, it'll make your roll borderline worthless. Your roll will be slower, it will take longer to recover, and it'll have less invincibility.

You can get a wooden catalyst on 1-2, on top of the first tower on the bridge. There's another one in one of the jail cells on 3-1, and also on 3-1, you can get a silver catalyst right before the boss.

Generally, magic spells are more offensive, while faith spells are for support. Just depends what you want. I always play melee characters, so I only get the low rank spells in magic (like soul arrow and fireball) while I try to get as much as I can out of faith (heal, dispel, weapon echantments, maybe the spell that resurrects you upon death),

iconoclast · « **Reply #105 on:** February 08, 2011, 05:03:41 AM »

More Dark Souls info:

Quote

Dark Souls in Dengeki

Dengeki has its first report on Demon's Souls spiritual successor Dark Souls this week. Here's a bit of what's shared in the magazine:

* The game will have magic which can change you into "objects." When other players come attacking, you'll want to change into object form to hide.
* The game will not have voice chat or free chatting, as these features would be minuses as they can potentially take you away from feeling like you're in the story.
* You'll find that the various weapons have very precise differences in motion. If you get a powerful weapon, the motion will be different from your current weapon, which could take some getting used to. Because of this, they expect that some players will continue to use the weaker weapons that they've gotten used to, and so they're adjusting the game balance so that these players will be able to clear the game.

Quote

A few more bits from Dengeki's interview with Dark Souls' director Hidetaka Miyazaki:

* It's been two years since development started. The individual data elements have been completed, and from here on out, they will be improving the quality of the play experience. This is the main part, says Miyazaki.
* They're taking care to make sure the game design isn't just reactive. They want players to observe, learn, invent and strategize.
* Miyazaki assures that the game won't go gold until he, someone who's not all that great at action games, can clear it.

http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2011/02/08/flying_get_mega/

Content complete, no voice chat, and completable with crap weapons (which should mean level 1 runs should be possible, like in DS).

Hopefully they're done polishing by early fall. Get it out by September/October before all the mega franchises hit, just like Demon's Souls.

Shaka Khan · « **Reply #106 on:** February 08, 2011, 06:25:02 AM »

Quote from: Smooth Groove on February 08, 2011, 01:33:57 AM

I don't have any lighter armor though and the game won't let me unequip what I've got. LOL This game is so ridiculous. I don't think so many of its quirks would have been overlooked if they were in a Bethesda game instead. But DS gets a free pass because it's teh hardcore. I'm still enjoying DS but it's pretty nuts that so many of its fans vehemently defend it for not being cheap when it's blatantly so.

Anyways, where is the easiest way to get a catalyst for my still low level character? I wasted some souls buying spells and boosting magic specs until I realize that my knight can't cast a spell without a catalyst. Also, is it better to invest in miracles or magic?

- You can unequip any piece of armor at any time by highlighting it and pressing square in the start menu. You don't have to run naked, just remove whatever gets you below 50% of your burden.

- You can find a wooden catalyst in 1-2 (the place you're in right now) at the top of one of small towers (the first, iirc)

- Stop sucking at this game, no really.

The game has issues, the biggest being that it doesn't tell you anything and you either have to discover them for yourself or consult people online, but some of the things you complain about are kinda silly and easy to work around lol.

naff · « **Reply #107 on:** February 08, 2011, 07:16:29 AM »

demonssouls.wikidot.com

Everything you need to read here. Based on the official faq with lots of info on crafting, boss strategies, level strategies and other helpful yet obtuse aspects of the game

demi · « **Reply #108 on:** February 08, 2011, 08:07:37 AM »

You can still Private/Party Chat on 360. They're referring to PS3's antique software that still doesnt support cross-game chat.

iconoclast · « **Reply #109 on:** February 08, 2011, 08:17:37 AM »

I am glad that it won't have in-game voice chat. I hope they keep the style of Demon's Souls as much as possible.

And here's ANOTHER Dark Souls interview, translated by duckroll: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=25838223&postcount=1

A few interesting tidbits:

Quote

- 4Gamer also quizzed the director on whether being a fully seamless world, that Dark Souls would be an open world game like Oblivion. Miyazaki says that the style of the game is very different from Oblivion, and it won't be the sort of open filler exploration world. Instead the concept is to create fully integrated dungeons and to link them to each other in a seamless way. In other words, it will be no different from how Demon's Souls have various stages and parts of stages, but this time they will all be connection seamlessly instead.

- Miyazaki outright admits that he feels that the weapon customization/upgrade system in Demon's Souls was somewhat of a failure. He says that while Japanese players seemed to be okay with the complexity and vagueness of the system, overseas players sent maybe feedback letters which suggested that the system was too complicated and obscure for its own good. This is bad because players cannot fully utilize the system due to their failure to properly explain things. It will be improved in Dark Souls and they are considering this aspect very carefully.

- He also confirms that Dark Souls is not just a worldwide game in terms of release, but also in the the online space. He was disappointed that they could not implement an online system for Demon's Souls where all players could play together, and it's a pity because the online system was specifically designed such that it did not require direct interaction between languages. For Dark Souls you will be able to play with players all over the world.

I am so glad that this won't have a shitty filler open world. God damn.

I really liked how vague Demon's Souls was. They just dumped you into the world, gave you a sword and shield, and said GO. As long as there's no hand-holding in Dark Souls, I am okay with this change.

cool breeze · « **Reply #110 on:** February 08, 2011, 08:33:36 AM »

they should have kept Dark Race

Smooth Groove · « **Reply #111 on:** February 08, 2011, 11:28:02 AM »

Quote from: Shah Rukh Khan on February 08, 2011, 06:25:02 AM

Quote from: Smooth Groove on February 08, 2011, 01:33:57 AM
I don't have any lighter armor though and the game won't let me unequip what I've got. LOL This game is so ridiculous. I don't think so many of its quirks would have been overlooked if they were in a Bethesda game instead. But DS gets a free pass because it's teh hardcore. I'm still enjoying DS but it's pretty nuts that so many of its fans vehemently defend it for not being cheap when it's blatantly so.

Anyways, where is the easiest way to get a catalyst for my still low level character? I wasted some souls buying spells and boosting magic specs until I realize that my knight can't cast a spell without a catalyst. Also, is it better to invest in miracles or magic?

- You can unequip any piece of armor at any time by highlighting it and pressing square in the start menu. You don't have to run naked, just remove whatever gets you below 50% of your burden.

- You can find a wooden catalyst in 1-2 (the place you're in right now) at the top of one of small towers (the first, iirc)

- Stop sucking at this game, no really. The game has issues, the biggest being that it doesn't tell you anything and you either have to discover them for yourself or consult people online, but some of the things you complain about are kinda silly and easy to work around lol.

I got confused about the unequipping part because you can just click on an empty box for weapons.

Generally, I'm doing alright. After going through a section once, I don't usually die unless I'm really impatient to run through and make it to the next part. The game is definitely cheap as hell though, like a magician can shoot at me from 500 feet away but then I can't shoot back with arrows because of the stupid targeting. That just kills the internal realism that the game is going for.

Shaka Khan · « **Reply #112 on:** February 08, 2011, 11:47:37 AM »

I think you can shoot far-away targets and deal good damage if you equip something like a composite long bow and use the manual targeting then zoom all the way (raise the bow with R1, manual target with L1, zoom with d-pad) don't forget to use arrows that can travel far while retaining their damage (light or white arrows).

This way you can snipe anyone targeting you, magicians and archers included.

brob · « **Reply #113 on:** February 08, 2011, 06:04:19 PM »

manual targeting can cheese the shit out of most enemies as they don't agro proper if you're too far away. This goes for ranged magic attacks too, with poison cloud being the absolute pinnacle.

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naff · « **Reply #114 on:** February 09, 2011, 06:50:18 AM »

Quote from: Smooth Groove on February 08, 2011, 11:28:02 AM

The game is definitely cheap as hell though, like a magician can shoot at me from 500 feet away

Octopus guards in Latria? Their Homing Soul Arrows can be crushing ( I can't think of other enemies that use ranged magic right now apart from the phantoms in 5-2). You got the thief and cling rings in 1-1 right? Very helpful accessories, use stealth to catch those pesky guards off-guard. Also if you play online, cheap deaths from pitfalls in dark stages can be avoided easier as people always lay signs next to them.

I'd agree aspects of DS could be termed cheap but I prefer unforgiving, DS challenges your human tendency to rush things and have lapses in concentration, making you check yourself at every new turn and keep on your toes otherwise you're faced with death. Hell, the first time I ever picked up the game I'd read so many impressions I was incredibly cautious while playing, and I'd only died a handful of times by the time I'd finished 2-3, I played in order; 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, bet Flamelurker first pop solo

and the giant dragon is cake. I couldn't have done that all in my first sitting, not to mention so cleanly, if the game was cheap.

iconoclast · « **Reply #115 on:** February 09, 2011, 07:46:18 AM »

Nothing in DS is cheap; everything has a logical counter. Especially since the game is so methodically paced. Every enemy has a ton of wind-up before they actually execute any of their attacks, it's not like Ninja Gaiden or something where you need really fast reflexes.

I think after I'm done with my current character, I'm gonna create a low-level cool young dude and invade the early stages as a black phantom. :trollface

Smooth Groove · « **Reply #116 on:** February 09, 2011, 10:16:01 AM »

No cheap deaths, my ass. How's even the best player supposed to know about the dragon on the first time across the bridge? DS is a good game but the fans that keep chirping about how there are no cheap deaths are just plain ridiculous. If a player has no chance, other than pure luck, from avoiding a death then it's a cheap one. There are plenty of those in DS. Yes, if you keep playing then they are avoidable but that doesn't change the fact that they were cheap the first time around.

Shaka Khan · « **Reply #117 on:** February 09, 2011, 10:31:52 AM »

I'm not gonna argue cheapness, but you're supposed to learn how to avoid the red dragon from your 1-1 encounter. In 1-2 he comes from a different direction and sweep a longer section, but that's about it.

If that's too hard you can always kill him, that's the only spot you where you can do it at that point and the game generously rewards you, so it's not an exploit.

If you don't have the time for cheesing him with arrow spam, you can always raise your fire resistance and cast water veil, that should help you survive (at least) a single fire attack in your current level.

None of this require luck since the AI is almost non existent and follows a fixed set of patterns, time your sprint right and you should be fine. Trial and error is integral to the design and experience, if you learn how to avoid a situation once by dying or otherwise you can literally continue avoiding it every single time. There aren't any variables int this game.

Now whether you're a fan of that model or not is for another discussion.

Smooth Groove · « **Reply #118 on:** February 09, 2011, 10:39:24 AM »

Also, the game seems to be quite unbalanced in favor of magic. I don't know how it plays out in the long term but it doesn't seem fair that a melee character can only swing a weapon 3-4 times before tiring out while a magic character can already use 2 much more damaging spells in the same interval. Wouldn't it make more sense to give more delay to spells instead of making already weaker physical attacks harder to pull off?

Shaka Khan · « **Reply #119 on:** February 09, 2011, 10:57:29 AM »

Magic will serve you really well in the first half of the game, but won't be as much of help later (eg: in order to deal decent damage you'll have to rely on advanced spells that drain your entire MP in a few casts, while spells that are effective against bosses will drain it after one or two).

You won't tell the difference however unless you try both at any given time and by having the build and equipment to back you up.

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