Dark Souls II Was "Unplayable" Before Graphics Downgrade

[Smooth Operator]

Why is this coming from a guy at Forbes talking to a source instead of the developers just saying it?

Because as a salesman you never ever go "And over here is a shit product that we also sell...", especially not when it's the hottest selling cookie and you are charging the same price as everything else.
You hype it up as long as people want to buy it and if things are put in question you do some apologies much later on, still going home with all the rupees plus good will on top.

Obviously they can't run the same game on all systems but not telling people what comes with their box (or rather what doesn't) is still dodgy business, as in bordering on illegal.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

I really hope this means that we will get all the goodies with the PC version.

I mean some people must understand that the downgrade was necessary for the game to even work. You can't really say that "oh no they are not giving respect to the game by scaling it down in graphical quality" and I tell you:

What do you expect? The last gen consoles are ancient 8year old machines with 512 RAM (that's how much I had on my computer in 2002 and it was considered "good") so stop being mad at the devs for not giving you top of the line graphic fidelity..only PC can offer you that.

 

[loa]

Good.
Nobody wants blighttown 2.0.

 

[Dandark]

I already have it on PS3 and was planning to get it on PC anyway so it doesn't matter too much to me. That said im glad that the PC version is actually going to look better rather than getting shafted like most PC games.

 

[josemlopes]

Sorry, but Konami themselfs did this trailer:

And for this case the same could have been done to inform everyone of what the product was actually going to be like instead of waiting for release day and go all "Oh wait, you thought THAT was on consoles? I know we let you play like that in the Betas and never made clear if the previews were from the PC or not but please, have some dignity"

 

[RejjeN]

I'm sure if they really spend sometime with the engine they would be able to do it, logic being there are games before it on these consoles that looks better and runs smoother there's no reason why they couldn't do it if they would apply themselves.

You'd be surprised by how much processing power dynamic lighting systems tend to use

 

[Austin93]

Well, it's always nice to see PC players not get screwed over. But I'm not a big fan of how people are just giving this a free pass because it's Dark Souls. Seems slightly biased to me.

I figured Dark Souls 2 gets a free pass because the graphical fidelity isn't one of it's major selling points, whereas something like Watch Dogs gets lambasted because they made a point of hyping up the graphics.

 

[GundamSentinel]

So how is this news O: ?
Pretty much EVERY multi plat game in the last 4-5 years was running on Low/Ultra Low settings on the PS3/360 at 28 fps and 690p.
That is worlds apart from the PC versions, hell even CoD looked much better on a PC then on a console. And they notice just now :O

True. For the past 5-6 years I've been mostly a console gamer and even I will not contest that. Yes, console versions of most games look considerably less pretty than their PC cousin. In other news, grass is green.

I wonder if they made this statement because of the whole Watch_Dogs bullshot nonsense.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Rather than a complete downgrade for everyone, they're keeping the better graphics for the PC? I... don't know what to say. As a PC gamer, I'm almost never given this much respect on multi-platform releases.

Wait until release and then see.

Given the Dark Soul's PC ports it's entirely possible that this could be marketing double speak for we got the PC version looking amazing but running at 20 fps on a good day, then we stopped developing and got back to work on the console version. Although hopefully not.

 

[4RM3D]

This is surprising news considering the devs kinda fucked up the PC release for Dark Souls 1. But now the PC version of DS2 is superior to the console version... Interesting. Well, I am always happy to see games not being limited to the console hardware.

 

[Scars Unseen]

Rather than a complete downgrade for everyone, they're keeping the better graphics for the PC? I... don't know what to say. As a PC gamer, I'm almost never given this much respect on multi-platform releases.

Wait until release and then see.

Given the Dark Soul's PC ports it's entirely possible that this could be marketing double speak for we got the PC version looking amazing but running at 20 fps on a good day, then we stopped developing and got back to work on the console version. Although hopefully not.

I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on this one. Dark Souls' PC version was literally an afterthought. They had no plans to port the game and only did so in response to PC gamer demand(first time I can recall an internet petition actually accomplishing anything). Dark Souls 2 was planned as a multiplatform release from the start. Sure, it's possible that it could be an incredibly lazy multiplatform release, but given the sort of statements the devs have given in regards to the PC version, a repeat of the last game's port would cause an internet backdraft of epic proportions(and yet still seem insignificant in comparison to the Mass Effect 3 debacle).

 

[Lovely Mixture]

While I don't agree with what From did, the moment I saw the previews for DaS2 I said to myself "on PS3/360... either those graphics are going to change, or the game is going to suffer." I do hate being right some time.

Well, it's always nice to see PC players not get screwed over. But I'm not a big fan of how people are just giving this a free pass because it's Dark Souls. Seems slightly biased to me.

I figured Dark Souls 2 gets a free pass because the graphical fidelity isn't one of it's major selling points, whereas something like Watch Dogs gets lambasted because they made a point of hyping up the graphics.

I think this sums it up. Watch_Dogs is billed as a next-gen experience, the preview was running on "A PC emulating PS4 hardware" yet it seems that something had to give.

 

[Not Lord Atkin]

it's refreshing to see them being up-front and frank about this. Not making excuses but explaining the issue straight away. Good for them

 

[Ham Blitz]

I was wondering why the torches seemed useless so far. I haven't gotten far, but places that gave you a fire to light your torch didn't seem to need them and I was fairly certain I was at a spot from the trailer.
I guess if I every get a good enough computer and buy the game again I will have to expect darkness as a new challenge.

On the other hand, I did just kill The Last Giant on NG+ while dual wielding Ladels.

And he was known to all from that day forward as the Soup Master, champion of the Ladle.
I won't lie, that sounds like an hilariously awesome way to try and beat the entire game.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

While I don't agree with what From did, the moment I saw the previews for DaS2 I said to myself "on PS3/360... either those graphics are going to change, or the game is going to suffer." I do hate being right some time.

Well, it's always nice to see PC players not get screwed over. But I'm not a big fan of how people are just giving this a free pass because it's Dark Souls. Seems slightly biased to me.

I figured Dark Souls 2 gets a free pass because the graphical fidelity isn't one of it's major selling points, whereas something like Watch Dogs gets lambasted because they made a point of hyping up the graphics.

I think this sums it up. Watch_Dogs is billed as a next-gen experience, the preview was running on "A PC emulating PS4 hardware" yet it seems that something had to give.

It wasn't emulating anything...Watch Dogs ran on a high end PC (I'm talking about the 2012 E3 demo).

On topic though, I really hope that all these boasting will actually pay off and not backstab us again like they did with the first game. I really want to play the game with mouse and keyboard for a change with rebindable keys, 60 fps and with graphic fidelity to fit the platform.

 

[Baresark]

Well, it's always nice to see PC players not get screwed over. But I'm not a big fan of how people are just giving this a free pass because it's Dark Souls. Seems slightly biased to me.

What exactly are they giving them a free pass on? Dark Souls 2 looks better than Dark Souls 1 and plays at a steady framerate. It's actually still a substantial step up from Dark Souls.

 

[Branindain]

For example, preview versions featured a lighting system that seemed to plunge the world of Drangleic into deep darkness, traversable only with the help of a trusty torch.

Well, that explains why I always found the torch useless (aside from puzzle solving) even though my TV traditionally does horribly as far as brightness goes. 'cause it was meant to be an important mechanic that was cut at the last moment. Huh.

On the other hand, I did just kill The Last Giant on NG+ while dual wielding Ladels. So I guess the graphical fidelity isn't as important to the fun as...everything else is.

Even though it wasn't forbiddingly dark, I found the torch system useful in the Gutter (why, oh why does every game have to have Demon's Souls' World 5 in it somewhere?) because by lighting every sconce in the zone I could keep tabs on which paths I had/hadn't explored.

 

[Eternal_Lament]

Honestly, considering the framerate of Blight Town in Dark Souls 1, I'd easily give up super fancy lighting for a much smoother experience.

Although I find this explanation interesting, in that I heard something fairly different. From what I remember, the Beta version that was released a few months ago kept the original lighting system, but Beta testers complained that it left the world feeling "too dark." It's still highly possible that this is simply an issue of hardware, but from what I hear it had less to do with framerate and more to do with how the system actually worked in a practical setting.

 

[TiberiusEsuriens]

Rather than a complete downgrade for everyone, they're keeping the better graphics for the PC? I... don't know what to say. As a PC gamer, I'm almost never given this much respect on multi-platform releases.

I'm really excited that so many companies have been choosing PC as the benchmark instead of consoles lately. It has been hurting them due to 'false advertising' issues like Watch_Dogs and Dark Souls, but it is tons better than last gen where a 256MB system was the target, instead of the 4-8GB PCs of the time. The companies have chosen baseline tech that will better support innovation. As the last of these 'last-gen' games are released, there will hopefully be less scaling down as PS4/XOne become the expected platform (I'm looking at you, WD).

something something PC Master Race blah blah

 

[misg]

Well, it's always nice to see PC players not get screwed over. But I'm not a big fan of how people are just giving this a free pass because it's Dark Souls. Seems slightly biased to me.

I honestly don't see this as a free pass. The xbox360 and Ps3, are old old tech, we have seen the difference between last and this gen of games for months now. Everyone of them is way better looking on current consoles. If you pick up a game on the last gen you should know out right the game isn't going to look as good, period. All I see here is a company that made sure last gen players still got a stable, playable game. I think they deserve props for going the extra mile to give their best to very system out there.