Topic: Dark Souls II

[MysterD]

NEW --> 6-28-2014:
Eurogamer -> Kadokawa buys From Software


OLD:
PC Gamer -> For those w/ Dark Souls 2 PC issues of launching the game at all + DLC extras ain't showing up - check this.
PC Gamer -> Durante mods-up Dark Souls 2 PC; created a program called GeDoSaTo; wants program to work w/ ANY 3D Game.
PC Gamer -> Modder Durante's verdict on the technical aspect of the PC port of Dark Souls 2.
IGN -> Graphics Comparison - PC vs. PS3
PC Gamer -> On Graphics and Control Options for PC version.
Kotaku -> PC Version Settings
GameSpot -> Kevin Van Ord on technical aspect of Dark Souls 2 PC version.
PC version coming April 25th - will include increased texture resolution, KB/mouse control support + enhanced framerates.
GameTrailers -> "Difficulty & Enemy AI" Interview w/ Brian Hong of Namco Bandai America from E3 2013.
Rev3Games -> Game Demo Preview & Interview w/ Yui Tanimura (Game Director).
Youtube -> "E3 2013" Gameplay Trailer.
Destructoid -> Dark Souls II info.Kotaku -> Looks like Dark Souls II is planned for March 2014, as the sign at E3's upcoming venue states...
IGN on Youtube -> 12 minute gameplay reveal demoGameBanshee -> First details from Edge Magazine listed.
Forbes -> Erik Kain - 'Dark Souls 2' And The Fine Line Between Challenge And Accessibility.
Edge -> Issue 249 will have Dark Souls II for its cover story.
Kotaku -> Dark Souls II - VGA 2012 Trailer (Debut Trailer).

[MysterD]

GameBanshee -> First details from Edge Magazine listed.

- Edge says they were shown a 10 minute playthrough of Dark Souls 2, and it is a huge step forward graphically. It looks on par with Watch Dogs and Star Wars 1313 in terms of "next-gen"-ness, or so they claim.
- Miyazaki is not working on the development of Dark Souls 2. He is not a director or producer, and is merely a "supervisor".
- Even as a supervisor, he isn't making any development decisions. He only tried to reinforce the team's commitment to releasing things on time, because of the bad experience they had with the patches in Dark Souls, and he also recommended the return to server-based gameplay ala Demon's Souls.
- The new directors, Tomohiro Shibuya and Yui Tanimura, are indeed the From Software staff who previously directed the Another Century's Episode series. The decision to have the two directors replace Miyazaki was a company decision made by both From Software and Namco Bandai Games to help move the series forward in a fresh direction.
- Miyazaki is working full time on directing a new game. He will not disclose if it is a new IP or a sequel to something else.
- Darks Souls 2 will be a direct sequel, and have an open world of about the same size, but more dense with content.
- It does not take place on Lordran. The name of the world is the key of the story, they will reveal it at a later date.
- One thing Shibuya wants to enhance is the action in the game. He feels that he can contribute because of his experience working on action games in the past.
- Shibuya says he wants to make things like the Covenant system clearer and more accessible, and he wants to make the story and messaging less subtle.
- He promises there will still be "hidden" elements in the story and world which can be missed.
- Development started in September last year, and was done in parallel with some of the Dark Souls patches and DLC content.
- The game is 25% complete, and the team is substantially larger than Dark Souls. The world creation internal staff for the sequel is nearly double that of the first game.
- The game might not make it for 2013.
- They showed a fat grotesque creature, which Shibuya said was the result of the fusing of different creatures by a mad scientist character in the game, like Frankenstein.
- Another new enemy is a Nazgul-like black rider, who apparently serves as an executioner of evil doers. Shibuya confirms there is some sort of morality system in the game.
Edit: - They are also exploring vehicles for the game, and the potential of players controlling them. By vehicles, think things like chariots and boats instead of cars.

[Quemaqua]

Interesting. Sounds good on some levels, and while there's certainly the potential to fuck up the formula, I won't worry about that unless there seems to be good reason. A denser, prettier world sounds good to me, though, and more clarity with the covenants.

[idolminds]

FOOTAGE! TORCHES! JAPANESE GUYS!

[TheOtherBelmont]

Holy crap, that looks awesome!  Can't wait...must have game now.

[MysterD]

Oh, man...I love that if you're skilled enough, you can deflect weapons that are thrown at you!

EDIT:
Nice @ different death variantions/types.
This surely looks pretty good.

I guess this means I should try harder & play more Dark Souls 1....

EDIT 2:
I really like the whole "enemies can bust through walls" (destructible environments) thing for Dark Souls II, too.

[K-man]

Nut up and get it done, D.  Embrace the death.

[Quemaqua]

Fuck yeah! I got all excited after like 2 seconds. I still haven't played the DLC stuff for DS either. Damn it.

[K-man]

I wish I could spam-beg them to include a transparency option on the HUD.

[idolminds]

[MysterD]

Forbes -> Box Art revealed.

[idolminds]

They need to release that without the words and labels so I can use it as wallpaper on my ipod.

[K-man]

just use this one: 

[Quemaqua]

Sexy trailer, and dig the artwork. Wonder what the CE will be for this. I didn't get it for DS though I did for Demon's. And even though it was a bit jacked for DS, I still sort of wish I'd gotten it anyway.

[K-man]

I don't regret not getting the US CE of Dark, but I'm pretty glad I ponied up for the UK "Prepare to Die" edition.  It's really neat.

Demon's was nice because I used the shit out of that strategy guide.

[MysterD]

Kotaku -> Looks like Dark Souls II is planned for March 2014, as this is the sign at E3's upcoming venue

[MysterD]

GameTrailers -> "Difficulty & Enemy AI" Interview w/ Brian Hong of Namco Bandai America from E3 2013.

[K-man]

Details emerged today in the new trailer:

There will be a "preorder" version, which is similar to the Collector's Edition of Dark Souls, and an actual collector's edition:

DARK SOULS II Black Armour Pre-Order Edition, available as supplies last is a preorder upgrade including the metal metal case that contains both the game disc and the official game soundtrack.

The DARK SOULS II Collector’s Edition will feature:
- a premium quality Warrior Knight figurine measuring in at 12 inches / 30 cm in height and weighing in at nearly 16 ounces / 450 grams.
- an exclusive hardbound art-book filled with never-before-seen images.
- a full-colour fabric map of the DARK SOULS II game world that can only be had within the Collector’s Edition.
- a metal game case from the DARK SOULS II Black Armour Edition which will contain both the game disc and the official game soundtrack composed by famed Japanese composer Motoi Sakuraba.

I finished Dark Souls last week.  Screw anything next-gen, this sits firmly at the top of my "most wanted" list.

[idolminds]

Info

Gonna copypaste cliff notes from gaf:

    -Possible to be invaded while hollow.
    -Humanity scrapped, replaced with a single item like Stone of Ephemeral Eyes.
    -Repeated deaths while hollow decrease max HP up to 50%.
    -White phantoms now have a limited duration, may have to leave sooner if they do too much work for the host player.
    -More visible blood stains and messages thanks to being server-based instead of P2P, messages no longer require an item to write.
    -Way of Blue covenant summons a player phantom to help defend if you get invaded.
    -3 item slots per hand, 10 consumable item slots. UI is much denser and more detailed, less scrolling necessary.
    -Agility stat that increases movement and dodge speed. Existing stats being retooled, such as Dexterity making bleeding/poison more effective.

[TheOtherBelmont]

Must have. I will be pre-ordering that collector's edition for sure.

[K-man]

Everyone else is pussing out about getting it at launch.  I'll be your sunbro, Belmont.

As far as the CE goes...it really depends on how much it costs.  99 I can probably justify.  150 as with Skyrim?  no way.

[sirean_syan]

I at least want the preorder edition if it comes with a metal case and soundtrack. While not shown in the picture, the trailer showed a PC collectors edition which I would totally consider. I'll likely pick this up at PC launch.

[Quemaqua]

I'm likely going to hold off. This is a game I'd like to be able to consistently devote time to, and buying it at launch would probably mean minimal play time at maximum price tag. GTAV was my blow off steam and make myself feel better purchase, so this will probably be something I wait on. I will miss being able to participate in the ongoing thread, though. That'll kind of suck.

[K-man]

You realize that every time you've said that about a game you bought it the week of release, right?

[Quemaqua]

I definitely don't do as well as I'd like... sometimes I say this kind of shit as verbal reinforcement to try and stay on the straight and narrow. But it's pretty far from every time. GTAV is the only big game I've purchased in a good while, and I wouldn't have picked it up even on the impulse if I had to pay all my bills this month (I basically don't have to pay rent). I've got probably 20 games on my wishlist right now that I will likely never play. Skyrim and Diablo 3 were the big ones I really thought I was going to resist but couldn't. I have zero regrets for Skyrim, a little peeved that I let myself cave on D3. Though both of those were before I'd restricted myself to tracking every cent every month. Everything else I've picked up has been way older or during a significant sale. And there are still several of those I regret just because while I wanted them, I should have known I wasn't realistically going to have enough time to invest... but there's that damned sales impulse where it's so cheap you feel like you should jump on it just so it's there when you want it. I'm getting better about that.

[K-man]

I won't look down on you if(when) you buy it at release.  Solaire and I both want you to.

[K-man]

I have preordered the "Black Armor" edition.  $119's a bit much for the CE.  I'm sure the figure makes up the bulk of the extra cost, and it's what I'm interested the least in having. 

The (presumably?) steelbook and the soundtrack are the best parts anyway.  Wanted the cloth map, but not that much.

[MysterD]

Anyone wanna go to Dark Souls Cafe?

http://www.polygon.com/2014/1/11/5298330/dark-souls-cafe-opens-in-japan

[K-man]

Prepare to dine

[Xessive]

Does every cup of coffee come with a side of misery? Do you have to struggle to sip your cup and die repeatedly before you can get to the front of the line?

[K-man]

We are officially 3 weeks from release!

[K-man]

I haven't looked forward to a game as much as this in years. 

Less than two weeks away!

[Pugnate]

I have preordered the "Black Armor" edition.  $119's a bit much for the CE.  I'm sure the figure makes up the bulk of the extra cost, and it's what I'm interested the least in having. 

The (presumably?) steelbook and the soundtrack are the best parts anyway.  Wanted the cloth map, but not that much.

hahaha what happened to living with basic needs?

[K-man]

?

I preordered the regular edition which is automatically upgraded to the "Black Armor" edition.

[Pugnate]

Oh apologies. I thought you ordered the collector's edition, and I remember you made a thread about how you don't want to buy CEs anymore because they don't make sense. I haven't actually bought a physical game in a long time.

I want this game though. Maybe I can ask my mag to give it for a review. Never played the first Dark Souls but I did play Demon Souls. Should I jump straight into this or play the first one first?

[K-man]

If you played Demon's Souls then I'd say you have a pretty fair grasp of what the game will entail.  Dark Souls is worth playing regardless because it's a great game.  Imagine Demon's Souls in a completely open world.

[K-man]

So looks like this is going to be the K-Man show for a bit.

Officially one week from release.  I am excite.

[TheOtherBelmont]

[K-man]

5 days!!!!

[MysterD]

PC version coming April 25th - will include increased texture resolution, KB/mouse control support + enhanced framerates.