Dark Souls II - Graphics Comparison - PC Preview

You can tell the developers exactly why you're dissatisfied with their product so it's not like they'll suddenly say "oh, low sales, means nobody likes this franchise". That's only the case if you don't actively communicate with them. But according to many who opposed us in the original threads, sending a tweet to a developer expressing your views is a ridiculous thing to do.

People should absolutely communicate to the developers however they can that they are angry about the deception (whether it is willful or accidental). However, the devs have no way of correlating non-purchases with user complaints over twitter. I mean, you can't correlate non-purchases with any variable, but the point is that direct complaints don't serve to clarify the motivation for non-purchases.

They will know their sales figures (and how they compare to the other Souls games) and they will know that some people were unhappy about the downgrade, but they aren't going to be able to synthesize that information into something useful. Even if the game sells worse than its predecessors AND they have lots of complaints on Twitter, they cannot logically conclude that the complaints are a major reason for the sales decline. There are too many other variables.

In summary, do communicate your dissatisfaction, but carefully consider whether a non-purchase is sending the message you intend, or whether you're just screwing yourself out of an excellent game (and failing to vote for more excellent games in the future).
 
This is what I did less than 2 weeks after I got the game on release. Got all my money back.

The PC version is the definitive version of the game. Optimized, looks better, runs better; as a whole it performs sooo much better than consoles. Those who anxiously waited that extra month and a half will have their patience rewarded. 10 minutes into GiantBomb's Quick Look I already knew the PC port was going to be the only version to play from now on.

My suggestion:

Dark Souls 2 PC |OT| Graphics Horse ahead, therefore, are you ready!?

i did the same. got £25 back when i spent £30 initially, and pc version is £20 so i still come out spending less than full PC retail lol.
 
It's a dismissal because it doesn't add up to the evidence. If the problem was performance, how come the playable public demos looked great and ran perfectly on retail PS3s? Did they explain that the tech demo wasn't really the proper game? No. They also completely cut-off any possibility of further communication.

Those portions running on retail PS3's were only small sections of the game, the performance was probably horrible outside of those sections, especially in open portions.

It's really not outside the realm of possibility. Dynamic lighting is expensive and even the current-gen consoles are weak on the CPU front, let alone the last-gen.

Again, From has been eking out a profit on a smaller niche market for decades. They don't have the budget or resources to invest in graphical effects that would only reach ~30% of their consumer base.
 
As I said above, that's why you can communicate to them. Send them an tweet or an e-mail. If many people do it they get the point across.

Of course you can. As I originally said, the point was received and acknowledged by all. You and that other guy suggested that people buying the game would result in some dire consequences, which is what I take issue with.

It's a dismissal because it doesn't add up to the evidence. If the problem was performance, how come the playable public demos looked great and ran perfectly on retail PS3s? Did they explain that the tech demo wasn't really the proper game? No. They also completely cut-off any possibility of further communication.

If it had nothing to do with performance then why would they downgrade a game that you claim ran "perfectly fine" (Ive seen many others that say otherwise)? And how have they cut off "any possibility of further communication"? There is twitter, facebook, email, and an official forum.
 
Anyone still buying this deserves where this industry is headed. What a mess.

bLZnUrt.gif
 

They can if you tell them "I didn't buy this game because __________". They can also do market research and include surveys to understand the motive.


The biggest hit in the lighting department weren't the dynamic lights, it was the baked lighting and shadows. Also, if those areas already ran perfectly, why did they had to be so massively downgraded? It doesn't add up. The most likely explanation is that it was a tech demo developed separately from the actual game.

Of course you can. As I originally said, the point was received and acknowledged by all. You and that other guy suggested that people buying the game would result in some dire consequences, which is what I take issue with.
The industry is shaped by our purchasing decisions. There's no escaping that fact.

If it had nothing to do with performance then why would they downgrade a game that you claim ran "perfectly fine" (Ive seen many others that say otherwise)? And how have they cut off "any possibility of further communication"? There is twitter, facebook, email, and an official forum.
It's simple, when they talk about the performance issues, they speak of the internal main branch of development (of which the network test was part of), not the tech demo that they used to promote the game publicly, which by all the footage we have of, ran perfectly fine on PS3.

Also they did cut off further communication by stating that they considered the case closed as soon as they posted their half-assed response.
 
from what i have seen this is very dissapointing .

looks exactly like the ps3 version .

why was there even a wait on the pc version ???

also no one has shown a comparison of the ps3 vs 360 , is must be very similar
 
The biggest hit in the lighting department weren't the dynamic lights, it was the baked lighting and shadows. Also, if those areas already ran perfectly, why did they had to be so massively downgraded?

Stopped spending resources on those specific aspects early, needed to maintain consistency throughout the entire game.

It doesn't add up. The most likely explanation is that it was a tech demo developed separately from the actual game.

Yes. A proof of concept, target render, and a playable demo for the press.


So good

 
I'm actually quite surprised by the change in attitude people have had over this game. lol
I'm still in the camp that I think whatever they showed could have been done on consoles. lol
Ah well. Enjoy the game when it comes out though guys. :)
 
I didn't watch all of the Giant Bomb quick look of the PC edition but it did look like some of the ambient effects were in the game. Who knows at this point? I'm still pulling the trigger.
 
Pretty disappointed that they show one thing, then deliver another.

Probably will skip this until either a PS4 version, or the PC version drop to $10 on Steam.
 
Dark Souls 2 PC |OT| Give me smooth, Give me silky
I think that's really fitting.

I'd like to know this too. Maybe he could at least give us a heads up as to when to expect it.
It's not set in stone yet. If it can be published before release date (not 100% clear), then probably towards the end of the upcoming week.

I need to see this in motion. The difference seems so negligible that my untrained eye won't probably notice the difference while everything is in motion
I made a gif of that comparison earlier in the thread directly overlaying those, makes the difference easier to see. And I made it before getting access to the game, so no problem posting it again :P

compare9iszk.gif
 
DS2 Fans : You, you give us smooth" "Yes you, give us silky"

FROM drops Smough's armor

DS2 Fans : No , no Give us silky!!!!

FROM leaves away and don´t gives a fuck....



True story...
 
The industry is shaped by our purchasing decisions. There's no escaping that fact.

It sure does, but in very general terms. Buying this game doesn't say "Hey, I'm ok with deception!", all it says is "I'm interested in Dark Souls-like games." Likewise, not buying it or waiting on a sale says nothing about how you felt about the downgrade. If another publisher looks at this situation and thinks they can get away with shining up a turd... then I'm not going to give them my money, which will tell them that "I'm not interested in this crap-like game". Thats how voting with your wallet works.

It's simple, when they talk about the performance issues, they speak of the internal main branch of development (of which the network test was part of), not the tech demo that they used to promote the game publicly, which by all the footage we have of, ran perfectly fine on PS3.

Also they did cut off further communication by stating that they considered the case closed as soon as they posted their half-assed response.

I'm looking at the statement and all it says is that they have to balance play-ability with resource management. I don't see anything about specific builds. What other reason would they have for downgrading the game if it weren't performance issues? Despite all the downgrades, it sounds like the game still runs poorly on the consoles.
 
Im not a graphics whore. I just wanna play this jame, so good, give me now sweet dark souls 2 tasty juice, invade some modafukas and take their virginity and laugh a lot. That's gonna be sweet, but people have to complain because they are bitch, you know what happens to bitch? Bitch get slapped. No reason to be bitch, life is short, dark souls 2 is shorter, enjoy it while it last. Peace out.
 
Im not a graphics whore. I just wanna play this jame, so good, give me now sweet dark souls 2 tasty juice, invade some modafukas and take their virginity and laugh a lot. That's gonna be sweet, but people have to complain because they are bitch, you know what happens to bitch? Bitch get slapped. No reason to be bitch, life is short, dark souls 2 is shorter, enjoy it while it last. Peace out.

PREACH IT BROTHER
 
Im not a graphics whore. I just wanna play this jame, so good, give me now sweet dark souls 2 tasty juice, invade some modafukas and take their virginity and laugh a lot. That's gonna be sweet, but people have to complain because they are bitch, you know what happens to bitch? Bitch get slapped. No reason to be bitch, life is short, dark souls 2 is shorter, enjoy it while it last. Peace out.

Dark Sous 2 |OT| Smack my bitch up
 
Im not a graphics whore. I just wanna play this jame, so good, give me now sweet dark souls 2 tasty juice, invade some modafukas and take their virginity and laugh a lot. That's gonna be sweet, but people have to complain because they are bitch, you know what happens to bitch? Bitch get slapped. No reason to be bitch, life is short, dark souls 2 is shorter, enjoy it while it last. Peace out.

Dark Sous 2 |OT| Change my pitch up.
 
Im not a graphics whore. I just wanna play this jame, so good, give me now sweet dark souls 2 tasty juice, invade some modafukas and take their virginity and laugh a lot. That's gonna be sweet, but people have to complain because they are bitch, you know what happens to bitch? Bitch get slapped. No reason to be bitch, life is short, dark souls 2 is shorter, enjoy it while it last. Peace out.

- Assburger the righteous
 
Im not a graphics whore. I just wanna play this jame, so good, give me now sweet dark souls 2 tasty juice, invade some modafukas and take their virginity and laugh a lot. That's gonna be sweet, but people have to complain because they are bitch, you know what happens to bitch? Bitch get slapped. No reason to be bitch, life is short, dark souls 2 is shorter, enjoy it while it last. Peace out.

Upgrayedd is that you?
 
Stopped spending resources on those specific aspects early, needed to maintain consistency throughout the entire game.
They had to have spent extra resources on redesigning those areas.

I'm looking at the statement and all it says is that they have to balance play-ability with resource management. I don't see anything about specific builds. What other reason would they have for downgrading the game if it weren't performance issues? Despite all the downgrades, it sounds like the game still runs poorly on the consoles.
And yet, the TGS demos didn't run poorly, so what we were shown wasn't the actual game, but a tech demo. They should have just shown the real game from the beginning, like they did with DeS and DaS.
 
Im not a graphics whore. I just wanna play this jame, so good, give me now sweet dark souls 2 tasty juice, invade some modafukas and take their virginity and laugh a lot. That's gonna be sweet, but people have to complain because they are bitch, you know what happens to bitch? Bitch get slapped. No reason to be bitch, life is short, dark souls 2 is shorter, enjoy it while it last. Peace out.

I don't know why, but i read this with a Russian accent.
 
He's writing a comparison/analysis article for PC GAMER about DS2 PC compared to consoles. Made allusions to there definitely being more differences/improvements than certain naysayers in this thread think there is.

Thanks for the info!

Looking forward to it Durante!
 
Top Bottom