Dark Souls - PC Details @ VG247

[sakichop]

There are a lot of gamers who would like to play Dark Souls who don't own a PS3 or Xbox. That's why they're making it.

Valid point. We have no way of knowing how many people are buying for that reason and how many would be buying because they just prefer to play on a pc.

Also if they don't own an xbox or ps3 would they want to play with a controller anyway?

It's entirely possible that I'm out of touch with how many pc gamers play their pc games with controllers but I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that minimal K&M support for a pc game is a good idea.

If you thought Demon's Souls was frustrating with a controller, what makes you think Dark Souls would be better with K&M?

I'm extremely good with K&M and suck with a controller. That's got to count for something, right?

Besides if i'm going to die repeatedly, I'd like to do it my way.

 

[CountChocula]

It means crummy support for M&B. At least that's how I read it. What it translates more precisely to is TBD.

What kind of "keyboard support" do we really need?

As long as I can set my own keybindings, I'm good to go.

 

[MasterKromm]

As long as I can set my own keybindings, I'm good to go.

I don't have anything concrete, but I spotted the following bit of info over on the RPS forums:

From the scans of PC Powerplay:

Page 1:
graphics will be the same as that of the console version
gamepad can be used
key binding can not be changed

 

[CountChocula]

I don't have anything concrete, but I spotted the following bit of info over on the RPS forums:

Damn!

I guess I'm not good to go anymore

How much freaking harder would it have been to make them adjustable, at least using a config.xml file or something?

 

[MasterKromm]

Damn!

I guess I'm not good to go anymore

How much freaking harder would it have been to make them adjustable, at least using a config.xml file or something?

Not sure if this matters to you:

http://www.dsogaming.com/news/namco...own-game-dark-souls-pc-to-be-locked-on-30fps/

“Yes, It’s basically a faithful port. There’s no change to the resolution.
The frame rate won’t be 60 FPS.”

Does no change in resolution mean it's locked @ 720P(isn't that a console limitation - don't hold me to it as I don't game on consoles aside from when I visit my brother)?

Also, frame rate appears to be locked at 30FPS(another console limitation AFAICT).

I'm not sure if it should even be ported, sounds like it would be best to buy it for the console and play it at a family member's or friend's house that has said console…

Hopefully the above is wrong and something was merely lost in translation from Miyazaki's interview.

 

[JDR13]

key binding can not be changed

That's really only a minor annoyance to anyone who's computer savvy. You can reconfigure any hard-coded control scheme within minutes using a keymapper program.

I do find the statement about the resolution disturbing though. We'll have to wait and see what they mean exactly, but I would be extremely disappointed if it was indeed locked at the PS3/Xbox resolution.

 

[jhwisner]

That's really only a minor annoyance to anyone who's computer savvy. You can reconfigure any hard-coded control scheme within minutes using a keymapper program.

I do find the statement about the resolution disturbing though. We'll have to wait and see what they mean exactly, but I would be extremely disappointed if it was indeed locked at the PS3/Xbox resolution.

Well yeah each of them alone is a minor thing to some degree. Many PC gamers will be fine with 720p resolution. A lot of us have controllers (not nescessarily xbox 360 controllers with pc connector). We can of course get around the key mapping issue if we want. Plenty of us will also be fine with 30 fps. Each is probably not a huge hurdle for most players alone.

Looking back through the thread though, it seems though that most of us dislike (to significantly varying degrees) at least one of those things. It's like that list comes from a ven diagram showing how a short list of minor items could make your port at least slightly less appealing to the widest possible number of PC gamers. They also don't seem like issues that would cost much to adress to at least some degree - compared to the base costs associated with creating a stable port. Basically it seems like they're making it less appealing to the PC market than it seems to make sense for it to be if they're going to spend the far larger ammount of money porting it in the first place.

I don't see this as evil or disrespectful personally. I just find it to be a strange set of self-hindering decisions that I don't think needed to be made. Combined I'll agree that probably fewer of them should have been made this way for the sake of appealing to the market - even if its one that's not an issue for me.

 

[CountChocula]

Not sure if this matters to you:

http://www.dsogaming.com/news/namco...own-game-dark-souls-pc-to-be-locked-on-30fps/



Does no change in resolution mean it's locked @ 720P(isn't that a console limitation - don't hold me to it as I don't game on consoles aside from when I visit my brother)?

Also, frame rate appears to be locked at 30FPS(another console limitation AFAICT).

I'm not sure if it should even be ported, sounds like it would be best to buy it for the console and play it at a family member's or friend's house that has said console…

Hopefully the above is wrong and something was merely lost in translation from Miyazaki's interview.

What in the name of Astora is going on here?

Locked at 30fps? What is the point of that?

Locked at 1280x720? They have forgotten the faces of their fathers.

Most PC gamers will be fine with 720p resolution.

That is the most inaccurate statement I've ever seen on this forum. (And I've seen a few.)

 

[Couchpotato]

I'm guessing no one here played the assassin creed games. They are meant to be played with a controller also. They have minimal k+m support also.

 

[CountChocula]

I'm guessing no one here played the assassin creed games. They are meant to be played with a controller also. They have minimal k+m support also.

I've never played any, but do you mean to say that there is no way to customize keybinding and they are locked at the abysmal 1280x720 resolution?

It's bad enough when you have to use config files to customize keybindings, like for Risen and DXHR, but to not even have that means the game is completely useless for anyone who uses a keypad.

 

[jhwisner]

I've never played any, but do you mean to say that there is no way to customize keybinding and they are locked at the abysmal 1280x720 resolution?

It's bad enough when you have to use config files to customize keybindings, like for Risen and DXHR, but to not even have that means the game is completely useless for anyone who uses a keypad.

No you could use a wide range of resolutions and the FPS weren't locked at 30.

What in the name of Astora is going on here?
That is the most inaccurate statement I've ever seen on this forum. (And I've seen a few.)

Oh come on, my point was that none of those issues alone is nearly as effective at turning people off than adding them all together. I wasn't trying to make an absolute statement regarding the relative unattractiveness of each. It's not about which of these items turns off more people than this other feature - it's that they seem to have managed to hit on a set of features that manage to be unappealing to the most people while saving relatively little money.

 

[JDR13]

That framerate is not an issue for this type of game, and I'm not even sure why it keeps getting mentioned. 30fps is fine for a 3rd-person action-RPG.

 

[jhwisner]

That framerate is not an issue for this type of game, and I'm not even sure why it keeps getting mentioned. 30fps is fine for a 3rd-person action-RPG.

Well my desktop monitor (and some 27" and 30" widescreen monitors including some of the Apple HD display series) likes to go black when vsync is set below 58 fps at resolutions lower than 1920x1080. Luckily my TV doesn't have that problem, but I guess my point is that either or the combination of both might be worse than neither. I mean most people don't have multiple different model displays to chose from for their PC gaming.

 

[Couchpotato]

I've never played any, but do you mean to say that there is no way to customize keybinding and they are locked at the abysmal 1280x720 resolution?

It's bad enough when you have to use config files to customize keybindings, like for Risen and DXHR, but to not even have that means the game is completely useless for anyone who uses a keypad.

No you could map your keys but they were not reflected in the game. It still used xbox 360 buttons and you had to remember what you used for the keys. This is from the first two as I didn't care enough to play the expansions.

As said before you can change the resolutions at least.

 

[CountChocula]

I suppose 1280x720 might acceptable for anyone playing on a 1366x768 monitor / laptop, or perhaps for someone who is already a massive die-hard fan of the game, but for the vast majority of us, one of the main reasons we game on PC instead of console is because games are simply much more enjoyable at 1600x900, 1920x1080 (or higher) resolutions.

 

[gargar]

So many people here are spoiled and seems to have no clue of how things go in the PC market today. I really don't understand where the problem is, they want to earn money (which is perfectly fine, you would have wanted the same for your company) and they don't believe the game will sell enough to justify investment in more then a straight port. Which they may be right about. If Skyrim PC sales are about 14 Percent of the total sales of the game then we are lucky that they even brings the game to the PC. especially with how much it cost to create a modern looking game.

So instead of shooting the whole idea and Namco Bandai on the way we should actually be thankful for them actually taking the risk. Face it, piracy is hurting the PC market. That's how it is.

And an Xbox 360 controller for the PC will cost you less then an Xbox 360 console. think about it like that. And it's fantastic for Assassin's Creed games

 

[Couchpotato]

So many people here are spoiled and seems to have no clue of how things go in the PC market today. I really don't understand where the problem is, they want to earn money (which is perfectly fine, you would have wanted the same for your company) and they don't believe the game will sell enough to justify investment in more then a straight port. Which they may be right about. If Skyrim PC sales are about 14 Percent of the total sales of the game then we are lucky that they even brings the game to the PC. especially with how much it cost to create a modern looking game.

So instead of shooting the whole idea and Namco Bandai on the way we should actually be thankful for them actually taking the risk. Face it, piracy is hurting the PC market. That's how it is.

And an Xbox 360 controller for the PC will cost you less then an Xbox 360 console. think about it like that. And it's fantastic for Assassin's Creed games

I understand it's a straight port but we should not be grateful just because they still make pc games. I shouldn't be grateful for anything its called standards. If you or anybody else is fine with being treated as a second class gamer more power to you.

Just because your game sells like shit on the pc it's always because of piracy right? It's becoming the cry wolf slogan of the industry. It's everywhere it's always been there and it's never going away.

 

[gargar]

I understand it's a straight port but we should not be grateful just because they still make pc games. I shouldn't be grateful for anything its called standards. If you or anybody else is fine with being treated as a second class gamer more power to you.

Just because your game sells like shit on the pc it's always because of piracy right? Its becoming the cry wolf slogan of the industry. It's everywhere it's always been there and it's never going away.

First of all, yes, we should be grateful for even straight ports. every time someone open his wallet to make something we may be interested we should be grateful. He's taking the chances. and he probably know better then us how risky it is.

Ok, A quick look at one torrent site, oooh, 7000 Seeders for Skyrim. and That is months after the release. there were probably million of leechers and seeders for this game throughout the months. of this game. After all, the tens of million around the world who buy Radeon and Nvidia cards wanna play something on it, right?

I wonder what Skyrim sales would have been If even 10% of these million bought the game.

Yes, piracy was always there. But in the 80s and 90s games cost less to make. It's a simply fact. and when a game cost less to make piracy has a lesser effect, as even the small percentage of people who buy it is enough. But when a game cost tens of million to make then piracy turns out to be a bigger problem.

 

[tolknaz]

If Skyrim PC sales are about 14 Percent of the total sales of the game then we are lucky that they even brings the game to the PC.

Don't forget, that this data doesn't include digital sales at all. I'd wager it sold at least as much, if not more on steam as it did in retail.

 

[CountChocula]

If they really and truly have no budget or capacity to make a PC port scalable beyond 1280x720 resolution, they should not even bother attempting. It's a farce.

If Skyrim PC sales are about 14 Percent of the total sales of the game then we are lucky that they even brings the game to the PC. especially with how much it cost to create a modern looking game.

Skyrim has already sold over 2.13 million PC retail copies, in comparison to 3.64m PS3 copies and 5.79m Xbox copies.

When you add in the PC digital download sales, which are not published, although it bears mentioning that, according to Valve's Dir. of Business Development, Skyrim is the fastest selling title ever in Steam's history, and when you look at the extent to which digital PC game sales are dwarfing retail PC game sales, it would be very conservative to estimate that Skyrim has sold at least as many digital download copies as packaged retail PC copies.

As a result it seems extremely likely that the total PC copies sold is significantly higher than the total PS3 copies sold.