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Dark Souls Path Tracing mod, yay or nay?

Do you prefer the original or the path tracing mod?

  • The original looks better

    Votes: 8 17.0%
  • The path tracing mod looks better

    Votes: 29 61.7%
  • Path tracing just looks different, not necessarily better

    Votes: 10 21.3%

  • Total voters
    47
Dark Souls 2 was and is butt ugly. This looks way better. But nothing can fix the terrible level design in this game.

dark-souls-2-earthen-peak.gif


Even Team Ninja would've been like wow this is dumb.
 
Can someone make one of these path tracing mods that are actually close enough to the original game's art direction? Feels like every time someone does this it looks like generic lighting #14353456254.
I know these things can be tweaked so fucking tweak them
Just wait until we run these classics through DLSS5
 
i cannot even open the embedded link, it's missing in my browser

edit, i saw it on reddit.
it's kinda different artstyle, not necessery better, but i don't think it could salvage what is good in overall experience. DS2 is the only DS I never finished.
I'd use reshade if I want to enhance the graphic, easier and lightweight.
 
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Is this even path tracing? All the new shadows just look like new shadow maps. Not seeing any soft shadows or penumbra anywhere. And so much looks... different, like the grass, the mountains in the backdrop etc. I think it's just some mod with an updated lighting model, RTGI and some reworked art/assets that they are claiming to be path traced...


d0Rh0nE2GIo1DCWq.png
 
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It looks great. That being said, Dark Souls 2 gameplay will always be mid for me. I hate the hit boxes and I dont know, I just don't enjoy that much that game
I liked it strictly for the pace the action took and the whip builds - but that game never fixed the tracking even with SOTFS
 
Is this even path tracing? All the new shadows just look like new shadow maps. Not seeing any soft shadows or penumbra anywhere. And so much looks... different, like the grass, the mountains in the backdrop etc. I think it's just some mod with an updated lighting model, RTGI and some reworked art/assets that they are claiming to be path traced...


d0Rh0nE2GIo1DCWq.png
This is what the modding team calls it. Maybe check their tweets and find more info about the method.

 
wow is this available?

The original was meant to have GI - but it was cut and looks like shit because of it. The early demos looked more like the ray traced mod
 
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Looks great, but I would adjust the color temperature, the light seems to be a little bit too yellow/orange most of the time.
It's because in those scenes where there is blue light reflecting off of surfaces in the original, take a second look and you'll see there were just basic torches placed around those areas. So in the path tracing mod that lighting is being sourced from those torches.

So the original lighting in some regards technically makes no sense at all, which weirdly fits with a lot of the game's nonsensical level design (and this comment is coming from someone who adores Dark Souls 2 more than 3 and 1).

What the author of the mod should do is modify some torches to have blue flames to account for this.

The mod project is still ongoing and the youtube channel behind it was posted above. He responds quite regularly to suggestions in the comment section of his videos if anyone here wants to leave feedback.
 
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This is what the modding team calls it. Maybe check their tweets and find more info about the method.


Ok. Image on twitter looks path traced and the method is legit. The elanalistabits video doesn't demonstrate it though. I think they are up to some shenanigans again.

The video shows RTGI and may be RT reflections. Not seeing the path tracing. When PT goes on, the difference is always obvious as all the shadow maps would disappear and you get realistic shadows instead.

Tell me this looks path traced... Lol.

tV0vfoqkspQwKFnn.png





This looks path traced (most of the time). Seeing areas where it's completely failing, but at least seems legit:

 
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Its a mixed bag. Some zones look better, others worse because the game was not designed with path tracing in mind so the light sorces the PT works with sometimes dont do the intended, resulting in some areas to have too much light, and other areas too dark. Cyberpunk had the same problem in zome areas and that PT was tweeked by the devs.

This is worse than blaming DLSS5 cuz its changes the artistic vision.
 
The art direction in Dark Souls II is shit and it's no small part due to them butchering the lighting so the game could run on PS360 consoles. By far From's ugliest game. I looks way better.
I have no doubt you look better than Dark Souls 2. But do you look better than Dark Souls 1 ? Fight the real fight man !
 
Ok. Image on twitter looks path traced and the method is legit. The elanalistabits video doesn't demonstrate it though. I think they are up to some shenanigans again.

The video shows RTGI and may be RT reflections. Not seeing the path tracing. When PT goes on, the difference is always obvious as all the shadow maps would disappear and you get realistic shadows instead.

Tell me this looks path traced... Lol.

tV0vfoqkspQwKFnn.png





This looks path traced (most of the time). Seeing areas where it's completely failing, but at least seems legit:


It's a WIP, so I think perhaps the youtuber didn't know what parts are path traced and what are not. They haven't done the whole game yet. The RTGI mod has been available for a while if I'm not mistaken.
 
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