Dark Soul's: Prepare to Die Edition (PC)

Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition Hints & Tips + General Disscussion **THREAD**

I'm sure a lot of people have heard about this, and personally I believe it to be the best news on PC all year, the amazing console title Dark Souls; the spiritual successor of the Playstation 3 exclusive Demon's souls is coming to PC, with all new content!

Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition will include an untold chapter in the world of Lordran where the player must stop the spread of darkness at all costs by facing and defeating the Dark Knight Artorias.

New Bosses – Including Artorias of Abyss, Chimera of Tomb, and more
PVP Online Matchmaking System – Quick matching for co-op or PVP
New Areas – Including Oolacile Tomb, Old Ruins and more
New Enemies – Including Abyss Guard, Chained Prisoner and more
New NPCs – Including Hawkeye Gough and more
New Weapons and Armor – Equip some from the new bosses, enemies, and NPCs

Artorias!? I can remember playing on the Xbox 360 and getting the Greatshield and Greatsword of Artorias and wondering who the hell Artorias was (and using them at the same time, a bloody Zweihander and a Greatshield at the same time, this is one of a million reasons why this game is amazing). At first I thought it was a City or a Nation but its pretty damn cool its a Dark Knight, maybe it has something to do with that giant Wolf Sif (awesome boss fight).

I can actually remember last year waiting for Skyrim, I got this to hold me over until it came out, funnily enough after a week of playing Skyrim I was straight back to Dark Souls . The multiplayer is bloody amazing too (when it worked) and no doubt that the PC platform will have far superior connectivity than the consoles has, so hopefully there wont be any of that 'failed to summon' bullplop. There is something about that game when another player invades your world that just made me feel, well I don't even know, but the only other time I've ever had a similar feeling was playing DayZ and bumping into another player for the first time. I did play Demon's Souls on the Playstation 3 (only had the console a year, was so glad I owned it when it came out) and was kinda disappointed with how much easier Dark Souls was, but this new content looks solid. I honestly have no idea how you can easily deal with the Chimera for example, or the tentacle monster thing, whereas all of the Dark Souls vanilla bosses were really underwhelmingly easy the second time around. Fighting the Red Kite on the bridge straight after the first Minotaur Demon was also extremely disappointing the first time around due to being so easy (I took it on in melee, didn't use the archery glitch).

Am I the only one looking forward to this!? The only problem is that From Software (the developers) have admitted they are useless at PC and have no idea how to port, and its also using some weird 'technology' on the PC where if your framerate drops below 30 it locks your game up until it goes back up or something, the latter could be completely different, I can't remember the exacts but it was something to do with framerate falling to a certain level and then some kind of lockup or extreme framerate drop.

That sounds like a horrible combination, if it isn't ported very well mixed with that frame requirement thing, it could be one of the worst PC titles in history (performance wise).

Eurogamer said:

Dark Souls developer From Software is having a torrid time getting its beloved action RPG up and running on PC and has confirmed it isn't including any optimisations for desktop gamers.
Producer Daisuke Uchiyama told Eurogamer that it had underestimated how tough it would be to port the game across.
"To be completely honest, we're having a tough time doing it due to our lack of experience and knowledge in terms of porting to PC. First we thought it would be a breeze, but it's turned out not to be the case. We're still developing right now - we're crunching right now.
"In Japan there's not much of a PC market and we haven't really taken into consideration that audience before. That's one of the reasons why we haven't been able to step up on the PC platform until now."
Uchiyama went on to confirm that it hasn't fixed the frame rate problems that had hobbled certain parts of the game on consoles.
"In terms of the frame rate for say, Blighttown, From Software sincerely apologises for that happening [in the console version]," he said.
"In terms of the PC version, the quick answer is no, [we won't be fixing the frame rate problems]. Because we wanted to get the PC version out as soon as possible, it's more strictly a port from the console version. We haven't been able to step up into doing any specific optimisation for PC.
"However, in exchange for that, we have prioritised adding new content for both original players and new players."
Happily, that new content appears to be very substantial. Uchiyama estimated that it should take a reasonably skilled player around 10 hours to get through the new areas.
What's more, it'll be fully integrated into the game rather than siphoned off from the main menu. Console gamers who buy it as DLC will be able to use their existing character, though they'll need to have progressed quite a way through the story before they can access the extra areas.
"We have three new venues, four new bosses and additional weapons," he explained.
"Accessing the new content is a little bit complicated. Depending on where you are in the storyline it may differ in terms of how it's integrated.
"There will be a certain point in the game that you'll have to surpass to access the new content. It won't be right from the beginning - the new content will be accessible more in the later half of the game."
The added narrative focuses on the character Artorias, referenced throughout the original release but never seen.
"In the console version only the name of Artorias has been brought up, but in the new content you'll actually see him as a character," revealed Uchiyama.
"The story itself is going to take place in the past. The player will be dragged into the past, 300 years back when Artorias was not a legend but actually existed."
Finally, Uchiyama touched on the future of the franchise, insisting that there are currently no plans for ports to other platforms or a full sequel.
"We are fully concentrating on delivering the PC version and DLC. There has not been any discussion about anything past that. So there's nothing in the works right now," he said.
"Speaking from the developer's perspective, even considering the new Wii U features or the Vita, because they are so specific to those platforms, if we were able to do something on those systems the game would be designed to fit those platforms rather than just be a port from the PS3 or 360."
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition launches for PC on 31st August, with the new content the landing on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 as DLC towards the end of the year.

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For people who have never heard of this game (wtf are you doing?) I'll smash some gameplay videos and screenshots below.

Gameplay (combat) wise its incredibly similar to the newer Zelda titles.

Official Prepare to Die Trailer

Official Dark Souls Xbox 360 & Playstation 3 Trailer (awesome music!)

Random gameplay video

I was looking forward to this.
But it's looking like a carbon copy of the console variant, limited frame rate etc, so it won't be a buy at normal prices, rather when it drops ; 5 quid or something.
Also I've no idea what lock up you're referring to, it's just capped to 30 FPS.
The game locking up would be utterly retarded.

Waiting for reviews on the PC version before I buy.

Kamwah said:

Waiting for reviews on the PC version before I buy.

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Well gameplay wise it will be amazing I promise on my soul. Just abit iffy about performance really.

Martini1991 said:

I was looking forward to this.
But it's looking like a carbon copy of the console variant, limited frame rate etc, so it won't be a buy at normal prices, rather when it drops ; 5 quid or something.
Also I've no idea what lock up you're referring to, it's just capped to 30 FPS.
The game locking up would be utterly retarded.

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I heard about the framerate thing from a friend who usually know what he's talking about so he most likely told me about the frame limit and I probably chinese whispered the info i my own head.

As for it being a carbon copy, there's nothing bad about that at all, I wouldn't want it be any different! They were never gonna bring it to PC anyway, they were just gonna release an expansion for the consoles but decided to hit the PC market with the game after a few petitions, so really the whole game itself is just a huge bonus that we might of lost out on!

If they haven't done anything to textures etc, it's going to look weird ugly when you run it at 1920x1080 etc.

From aren't lazy, they'll definitely boost the resolution of the textures and no doubt throw in a ton of DX11 features. (I'm especially hoping lighting, the lighting on consoles was amazingly good)

The only bad thing is they most likely won't be doing anything but them, it'd be nice if they added in an actual moving jaw for speaking characters! Although to be fair, it does give a pretty nice atmosphere that they don't actually appear to talk physically, makes it feel like your all just souls floating around and communicate without physical interaction.

All accounts say they're not doing anything of the soft.
It's a plain port, they're porting the 360 version to the PC.

You're kidding yourself wishing for DX11 features..

Martini1991 said:

All accounts say they're not doing anything of the soft.
It's a plain port, they're porting the 360 version to the PC.

You're kidding yourself wishing for DX11 features..

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Please don't say this is actually confirmed?

Meh, at least it should run well then!

Omaeka said:

Please don't say this is actually confirmed?

Meh, at least it should run well then!

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That's still unknown.
The console variants have some horrible frame rate issues, who knows if that'll trickle down to the PC variant.

Although, with its 30 FPS cap, why not just play the console variant, likely cheaper.

Martini1991 said:

That's still unknown.
The console variants have some horrible frame rate issues, who knows if that'll trickle down to the PC variant.

Although, with its 30 FPS cap, why not just play the console variant, likely cheaper.

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Well the framerate slowdown in the consoles was actually due to lack of hardware (except in the Great Forest, that was just a draw distance bug) so the PC should be up to it. From just need to crack down and port it well. As for playing it on console; don't have one!

Omaeka said:

Well the framerate slowdown in the consoles was actually due to lack of hardware (except in the Great Forest, that was just a draw distance bug) so the PC should be up to it. From just need to crack down and port it well. As for playing it on console; don't have one!

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Is there a confirmation of that? Or rather a guess, because consoles have "weak" hardware?

From are aware of the frame rate issues and have been asked on a few occasions but haven't been able to comment due to it still being in development on the PC at the time.

However I imagine they will fix it to some degree, what degree that is remains to be seen.

I will probably end up buying it on the PC one day, however I have had in on the PS3 since day1 so I don't see any reason to switch now.

In terms of looks, Darks Souls and Demon Souls before it derives beauty from world design and atmosphere rather than snazzy textures and fancy lighting, this may have been a limitation of consoles however it still worked, I doubt they will change it much for PC and honestly I doubt it will look much worse after the transition.

I'm actually rather looking forward to finding out about possible cross platform PvP, if so prepare to have your days utterly ruined.

Omaeka said:

Well gameplay wise it will be amazing I promise on my soul. Just abit iffy about performance really.



I heard about the framerate thing from a friend who usually know what he's talking about so he most likely told me about the frame limit and I probably chinese whispered the info i my own head.

As for it being a carbon copy, there's nothing bad about that at all, I wouldn't want it be any different! They were never gonna bring it to PC anyway, they were just gonna release an expansion for the consoles but decided to hit the PC market with the game after a few petitions, so really the whole game itself is just a huge bonus that we might of lost out on!

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Well I played it a bit on PS3 and loved it but if the graphics aren't optimized slightly for higher resolutions and better hardware then I don't have much hope for it.

Some great shots there, hope it all turns out to be worthwhile.

A constant 30fps is my bare minimum, I can live with it. The console versions of Dark Souls got as low as 10fps at points, so I never bothered with it, that's not fit for sale.

Omaeka said:

Please don't say this is actually confirmed?

Meh, at least it should run well then!

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http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/06/07/d...c-“strictly-a-port-from-the-console-version”/

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...ing-dark-souls-to-pc-frame-rate-issues-remain

Martini1991 said:

All accounts say they're not doing anything of the soft.
It's a plain port, they're porting the 360 version to the PC.

You're kidding yourself wishing for DX11 features..

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I thought this was a PS3 exclusive? Wasn't it Demon's Souls that was released on the Xbox?

I'm glad this is coming to PC as I've only played the second.

Barry_H said:

...articles...

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After reading those I'm not sure about it at all. All I wanted was decent frames per second, nothing fancy.

privateeye0 said:

I thought this was a PS3 exclusive? Wasn't it Demon's Souls that was released on the Xbox?

I'm glad this is coming to PC as I've only played the second.

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Other way around.

privateeye0 said:

I thought this was a PS3 exclusive? Wasn't it Demon's Souls that was released on the Xbox?

I'm glad this is coming to PC as I've only played the second.

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Nay. It was Demon's Souls (PS3) > Dark Souls (PS3/X360) > Prepare to Die DLC (PC/PS3/X360).

If it runs about as well as the console versions do, it'll still be playable, I just have no idea how they can justify, and I quote;

"In terms of the PC version, the quick answer is no, [we won't be fixing the frame rate problems]. Because we wanted to get the PC version out as soon as possible, it's more strictly a port from the console version. We haven't been able to step up into doing any specific optimisation for PC.

What!? How can they possibly think its okay to do that? It could have just been fixed secretly and then people would have actually believed it was the outdated hardware causing the issues, but now they are not only solidifying the fact it was just dumb coding, they are also refusing to fix it.

I'm pretty annoyed, I was really really looking forward to this, I guess I still am but man...

privateeye0 said:

I thought this was a PS3 exclusive? Wasn't it Demon's Souls that was released on the Xbox?

I'm glad this is coming to PC as I've only played the second.

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Other way around.
Demon souls was the PS3 exclusive, dark souls was on PS3 and Xbox 360.

EDIT : See, when Alan Wake got a PC release, Remedy did that properly, bar a few low textures I could forgive it was perfect for me, a very good game, nice graphically etc.
But this? Urgh.

Remedy did everything right, From are doing everything wrong.