Dark Souls II - Editorial @ PC Gamer

Couchpotato

Part-Time News-bot
Joined
October 1, 2010
Messages
36,185
Location
Spudlandia
PC Gamer has a new article with Peter "Durante" Thoman the man who made the DSfix mod where he talks about the ports of Dark Souls I & II.

Dark Souls 2 PC port: mod god Durante's verdict

In 2012, Peter "Durante" Thoman wrote the popular mod DSfix for Dark Souls: Prepare to Die on PC, fixing its locked 1024x720 resolution and other issues. In 2013, he released a similar fix for Deadly Premonition. We asked Durante to analyze the PC port of Dark Souls 2 in a series of articles.

After an initial outing on PC which was barely serviceable—rendering at 1024x720, locked at 30 FPS with unusable mouse controls—From Software and Namco Bandai have a lot to prove with this sequel. For Dark Souls 2, PC was reportedly considered a major target platform from the start. In this article, I'll first investigate the technical quality of the port compared to Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition and the console versions of Dark Souls 2. Then I'll have a closer look at the options included in the game and analyze their impact.

A Good Port

Dark Souls 2 on PC is a massively improved effort compared to its predecessor. It renders at any resolution a given system supports, its framerate varies smoothly up to 60 FPS, it performs well even on modest systems—more on that topic later—and it comes with a wealth of graphical options. The following table summarizes most of the improvement
comparison-chart1.png
More information.
 
Joined
Oct 1, 2010
Messages
36,185
Location
Spudlandia
As I said before all I care about it k&M support. (which it seems they have covered.)

I didn't have a problem with the graphics in the first one so these will be more than fine.

My only problem with the game is it's release date. It's right at the beginning of my busiest time at work.:mad:
 
I am happy to see the last point. It used to irritate me that in order to properly quit DS you had to watch the Intro Logos again. If you just used Alt-F4 to quit it would nag you that you didn't shut down properly the next time you started.
 
Joined
Jan 14, 2010
Messages
586
Location
Tennessee, United States
I'm gonna play the PC port because my useless doorstop of an Xbox has decided it can't connect to my router properly. Oh it connects enough to show ads, but suddenly, after having zero problems for a year and a half, it's just not good enough for online play.

Going PC and PS4 this generation.
 
Joined
Jan 26, 2010
Messages
1,561
Location
Downtown Chicago, IL
The article makes for somewhat reassuring reading, though I suspect I'll be saving a week or so in the next batch of school holidays to finally get my teeth into this highly anticipated game. I think I'll wait a little longer before purchasing; maybe catch a cheaper collectors edition somewhere online.

@ Ovenall
Did you finally beat the Anor Londo Archers in the first game? Maybe the 'Watch could create a guild of players to help others get through some of the more troublesome segments of the game.

I've been dipping into NG+ with a friend of mine recently. We've been helping each other wherever we run into difficulties and I must say that it's as grandly fun as when I first played it, if not more so from the greater knowledge gained.

The game still carries its deeply mysterious and compelling aura even a year and half after beating it for the first time. I'm doing my best however, to contain my expectations for the sequel.
 
Joined
Jul 12, 2009
Messages
1,974
Location
Australia
I doubt I'll be able to give a definite judgement on the game until I am done for the first time. (I am still discovering new stuff and different experiences on #1 after finishing 3 times ;) )

I do hear a lot of disappointment but I also hear a lot of people liking it more than #1 and more than a few that were a bit sour in the start but the apparent eveness of the overall quality and some very good late game areas turned them around. A lot of people seem to agree that while not quite as good as #1 it is a next best thing sort of deal. Hardly a catastrophe :)

TLDR: Definitely a game to make your own mind about after a very comprehensive playthrough ;)
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
1,734
Back
Top Bottom