Dark Souls II Devs Release New Dark and Dingy Screenshots

StewShearerOld

Geekdad News Writer
Jan 5, 2013
5,449
0
0
Dark Souls II Devs Release New Dark and Dingy Screenshots



A new batch of Dark Souls II screens have us ready to die and die and die again.

As of the moment, it's looking like Dark Souls II is destined to be a game grounded in the last console generation. Just yesterday, we learned that From Software revealed that the studio <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/131392-Dark-Souls-II-Director-Hasnt-Thought-About-PS4-or-Xbox-One-Ports>hasn't even "put any thought" into versions for the PS4 and Xbox One. When you really get down to it, there's not anything wrong with that, of course. Aged as they may be the PS3 and Xbox 360 (and PC, of course) are still fine machines with large player bases that will likely enjoy the new game quite thoroughly.

That said, it's still hard not to hope that From Software and Namco will eventually decide to bring Dark Souls II to next-gen machines. Just look at the recently released <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/131342-Namco-Releases-Dark-Souls-II-Cursed-Trailer>"Cursed" trailer, for instance. As good as that looks already, imagine how much spiffier it could be with the extra power of the Xbox One and PS4.

[gallery=2024]

If that isn't enough, just check out this newly released gallery of screenshots. Do these already look grim, gritty and atmospheric? Yes. Even so, that extra bit of processing power could be all it takes to transform Dark Souls II from a game that looks great to a genuine jaw-dropper. We'll be looking forward to Dark Souls II regardless of where it lands, of course. That said, we're putting it out there that we, and many other RPG fans, would likely make it worth Namco and From Software's while to invest in spruced up editions for the PS4 and Xbox One.

Permalink
 

Fat Hippo

Prepare to be Gnomed
Legacy
May 29, 2009
1,991
57
33
Gender
Gnomekin
I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually release it bundled with some addon content they develop a year or so down the road, similar to the way they did with the Dark Souls PC port. It makes a lot of sense to do so, anyway.
 

Church185

New member
Apr 15, 2009
609
0
0
Is it just me, or are all of these characters wearing the starter gear from Dark Souls? I'm interested to see what starting classes will be available.

EDIT: If they end up bringing this game to PS4 I'll probably buy it again. I own Dark Souls for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Don't see any reason not to keep that crazy trend going.
 

Mahorfeus

New member
Feb 21, 2011
996
0
0
Can't wait to go through this as a dual swordsman. It's going to be positively grueling.
 

Eternal_Lament

New member
Sep 23, 2010
559
0
0
Fat_Hippo said:
I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually release it bundled with some addon content they develop a year or so down the road, similar to the way they did with the Dark Souls PC port. It makes a lot of sense to do so, anyway.
Probably not. With Dark Souls, it was well known that a lot of content was scrapped, and the DLC was originally supposed to be in the game, but time constraints meant it had to be dropped. With Dark Souls 2, apparently the studio was given the go ahead to take as much time as they needed, and therefore everything in game is everything the studio actually wants to have. Plus, the creative director has gone on record saying they aren't planning for any big DLC, if any DLC for that matter
 

hazydawn

New member
Jan 11, 2013
237
0
0
The textures look horrible D:
Those are just some bad screens, right?
Or pictures from the console version and the PC version will look much better. &#12541;&#65288;&#12444;&#12525;&#12444;&#65307;&#65289;&#12494;
 

Shadow-Phoenix

New member
Mar 22, 2010
2,289
0
0
hazydawn said:
The textures look horrible D:
Those are just some bad screens, right?
Or pictures from the console version and the PC version will look much better. &#12541;&#65288;&#12444;&#12525;&#12444;&#65307;&#65289;&#12494;
They look fine to me, I'm not seeing what the problem is here.
 

hazydawn

New member
Jan 11, 2013
237
0
0
Shadow-Phoenix said:
They look fine to me, I'm not seeing what the problem is here.
The last one (15) looks the most horrible to me. Basically every texture. The enemy's cape and bandages, the shield, the ground, the stone textures. Even the pommel at the end of the sword looks out of place and awful. If you can't see it then I envy you :p
 

Shadow-Phoenix

New member
Mar 22, 2010
2,289
0
0
hazydawn said:
Shadow-Phoenix said:
They look fine to me, I'm not seeing what the problem is here.
The last one (15) looks the most horrible to me. Basically every texture. The enemy's cape and bandages, the shield, the ground, the stone textures. Even the pommel at the end of the sword looks out of place and awful. If you can't see it then I envy you :p
I don't notice it because I don't see it, I'm not an overly heavy graphics whore when it comes to games, I'm more of gmeplay and story are far more important over graphics, to me DS isn't meant to be heavily realistic since it's chock full of fantasy elements.

And I'm sure there's no doubt some fancy whimsical graphic modders will no doubt come up with a mod =P.
 

Afro Man

New member
Feb 3, 2011
10
0
0
Shadow-Phoenix said:
hazydawn said:
Shadow-Phoenix said:
They look fine to me, I'm not seeing what the problem is here.
The last one (15) looks the most horrible to me. Basically every texture. The enemy's cape and bandages, the shield, the ground, the stone textures. Even the pommel at the end of the sword looks out of place and awful. If you can't see it then I envy you :p
I don't notice it because I don't see it, I'm not an overly heavy graphics whore when it comes to games, I'm more of gmeplay and story are far more important over graphics, to me DS isn't meant to be heavily realistic since it's chock full of fantasy elements.

And I'm sure there's no doubt some fancy whimsical graphic modders will no doubt come up with a mod =P.
hazydawn said:
Shadow-Phoenix said:
They look fine to me, I'm not seeing what the problem is here.
The last one (15) looks the most horrible to me. Basically every texture. The enemy's cape and bandages, the shield, the ground, the stone textures. Even the pommel at the end of the sword looks out of place and awful. If you can't see it then I envy you :p
Maybe you should go a help them fix their mistakes, I'm sure professionals such as them would love your input.
 

matrix3509

New member
Sep 24, 2008
1,372
0
0
I really hope nobody makes games for this so-called next-gen. I'd love to see the "lol haz no gaems" stamp stay on the PS4 and Xbone for a while longer.
 

Ickorus

New member
Mar 9, 2009
2,887
0
0
I'd rather they not develop a port for next-gen and instead focus their efforts on making the next game in the series the best it can possibly be.
 

A-D.

New member
Jan 23, 2008
637
0
0
hazydawn said:
Shadow-Phoenix said:
They look fine to me, I'm not seeing what the problem is here.
The last one (15) looks the most horrible to me. Basically every texture. The enemy's cape and bandages, the shield, the ground, the stone textures. Even the pommel at the end of the sword looks out of place and awful. If you can't see it then I envy you :p
All i see is relatively low resolution textures, but they are fine for what they are. Doesnt have to be HD-HiRez-NextGen-MeltYourPc Graphics, in fact that can hurt a game if all you have is shiny graphics but nothing else, cause then you dont have a game, you got a tech-demo.

That being said, the game aint even out yet and truth be told, how often do we see pre-rendered screens that make the game look better than what we actually get at the end? I find it rather refreshing that those screenshots dont look pre-rendered or photoshopped to look better, which means that right now, it looks like that, therefore there is room to improve til release.
 

Church185

New member
Apr 15, 2009
609
0
0
hazydawn said:
The textures look horrible D:
Those are just some bad screens, right?
Or pictures from the console version and the PC version will look much better. &#12541;&#65288;&#12444;&#12525;&#12444;&#65307;&#65289;&#12494;
Eh, it looks slightly better than the last one. As long as the gameplay is tight, that's all I can really ask for. I doubt From Software would take the time to make a bunch of hi res textures that the console versions wouldn't end up using. They aren't a very big company and can't afford to waste resources making one look better than the other. It's the same reason the original games port sucked so much. They don't have much experience making PC games, and didn't want to make a PC port, but fans begged for it so they released it with the disclaimer that it would suck.

If you plan on playing it on PC, I would be happy with a stable framerate and KB+M controls that actually work. Expecting anything beyond that from this company is silly.

CAPTCHA: high horse

Wow captcha, you know me so well.
 

ThePuzzldPirate

New member
Oct 4, 2009
495
0
0
hazydawn said:
Shadow-Phoenix said:
They look fine to me, I'm not seeing what the problem is here.
The last one (15) looks the most horrible to me. Basically every texture. The enemy's cape and bandages, the shield, the ground, the stone textures. Even the pommel at the end of the sword looks out of place and awful. If you can't see it then I envy you :p
These are most likley console shots and bad ones at that. I have seen enough beta play(being in and on youtube.) People seem to forget that Dark Souls was never a pretty game, just competent. This game looks a lot better in motion and in gameplay cause you can't get these angles.

Want to be safe? Go with the PC version, the higher resolutions brought out a lot of detail that you couldn't see before with Dark Souls.

Church185 said:
hazydawn said:
The textures look horrible D:
Those are just some bad screens, right?
Or pictures from the console version and the PC version will look much better. &#12541;&#65288;&#12444;&#12525;&#12444;&#65307;&#65289;&#12494;
Eh, it looks slightly better than the last one. As long as the gameplay is tight, that's all I can really ask for. I doubt From Software would take the time to make a bunch of hi res textures that the console versions wouldn't end up using. They aren't a very big company and can't afford to waste resources making one look better than the other. It's the same reason the original games port sucked so much. They don't have much experience making PC games, and didn't want to make a PC port, but fans begged for it so they released it with the disclaimer that it would suck.

If you plan on playing it on PC, I would be happy with a stable framerate and KB+M controls that actually work. Expecting anything beyond that from this company is silly.

CAPTCHA: high horse

Wow captcha, you know me so well.
It isn't so much that they will make PC exclusive textures but more on getting rid of compression. Designers always make their art at far higher resolutions than what it actually get set as. Dark Souls, a bad port that it is cleaned up nicely cause of this. Give it the real-estate and the textures come out quite nicely.
 

hazydawn

New member
Jan 11, 2013
237
0
0
Afro Man said:
Maybe you should go a help them fix their mistakes, I'm sure professionals such as them would love your input.
Don't tell me that's the old "if you're not and expert or can't make it better don't criticize" argument? :p

ThePuzzldPirate said:
These are most likley console shots and bad ones at that. I have seen enough beta play(being in and on youtube.) People seem to forget that Dark Souls was never a pretty game, just competent. This game looks a lot better in motion and in gameplay cause you can't get these angles.
Yeah, to me they just seemed even worse than the textures from the first. But maybe you're right. And as others have written maybe they'll be better on the Pc and modders might make texture packs again.