Dark Souls - PC Details @ VG247

VG247 sheds more light on the Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition after talking to From Software producer, Hidetaka Miyazaki, at the recent Namco Bandai Global Gamer’s Day in Las Vegas. Many will be disappointed in the details - it seems this will be a straight port with little effort to take advantage of the PC platform:

First up, support for a keyboard and mouse will be included but minimal, with Miyazaki recommending use of a game pad and confirming that the menu and inventory screens will remain unaltered. Graphic options will be similarly sparse, which Miyazaki attributes to Namco Bandai requesting that the game be a “straight port”; this may even rule out optimisation in areas such as Blighttown and New Londo Ruins where the developer’s technical achievements on console were not able to quite match that of their artistic vision, resulting in frame-rate issues.
Sadly, a PC port also brings with it the inevitable rise in the threat of piracy. With seemingly little being done to deliver a PC version that takes full advantage of the host platform’s strengths, the threat of piracy will not be combated by enticing potential pirates to pay to receive added value extras and so Namco Bandai will have to instead rely on DRM measures.

In related news, Edge Online reports the decision to use GFWL is not final.
More information.

Great, almost a straight port: they can keep it.

I'm sure those pirates will be horribly inconvenienced by downloading a crack which removes the DRM within a day or release.

The rest of who PAY for the game of course are the ones who suffer through the DRM. When will they learn?

Bah, if you need a controller to play it properly, they can shove it.

I'll buy it. As far as piracy goes - the PC community should reap what they sow. I can't blame the publisher for being wary.

Insisting they not enhance/optomize it for the new release (even across all platforms perhaps along the lines of The Witcher 2) just seems like shooting yourself in the foot. Why bother releasing it at all if you (the publisher in this case) insists you do as little as possible to even smooth over the transition to the other platform by say… more fully supporting the control interface most availible on that platform?

What can I say after this short paragraph from the developer/publisher: arrogant and ignorant idiots - why then bother porting it with this attitude!

It looks like there are some people here with a sense of entitlement.

They're porting it to PC so that people who don't own a PS3 won't have to spend $300 to play it.

Originally Posted by JDR13
It seems there are some people here with a sense of entitlement.

This reads like a vague and smug insult directed at everyone who commented negatively about this. I don't think that attitude is warranted at all.

I find this news bit to be perplexing more than anything. This line, in response to why the bare minumum would be done to support the PC as a platform, is what had be going "huh."

Miyazaki attributes to Namco Bandai requesting that the game be a “straight port"

So it wasn't "we want to maintain the same experience as much as possible" it wasn't "the resources at our disposal are for this porting project are insufficient" it was "the publisher said not to." To me that seemed to suggest the publisher was not really for doing it in the first place. It's almost as though Miyazaki got them to agree to do a port despite their strong desire not to, so they said "ok, but don't make it a very good one." The sentiment "why bother" and "this seems stupid" comes from the perception that the publisher or the developer is expressing disinterest in even really doing it in the first place.

Just spend $50 on a controller, instead. Well maybe one day. I have enough
to play without using a controller…

I don't think that a request for properly and fully supported keyboard and mouse control is entitled, it's logical as that is the main control setup for the majority of PC gamers.

If it isn't properly implemented they are shooting themselves in the foot, as people like me will wait until the game hits bargain bin prices before they bother buying it.

Originally Posted by jhwisner
This reads like a vague and smug insult directed at everyone who commented negatively about this. I don't think that attitude is warranted at all.

Then maybe you should learn how to read. If I wanted to insult you, it wouldn't be vague in the least.

I just find it humorous that some people are acting entitled to extras that were never promised or even hinted at.

Originally Posted by JDR13
Then maybe you should learn how to read.

Oh come on, really? This isn't supposed to sound like 4-chan here.

Originally Posted by JDR13
If I wanted to insult you, it wouldn't be vague in the least.

You were insulting someone and being vague about it and being insulting even still. If you are going to take such an insulting and condescending tone then be specific or accept that you're going to come off like that.

Originally Posted by jhwisner
You're insulting someone and being vague about it and being insulting even still. If you are going to take such an insulting and condescending tone then be specific or accept that you're going to come off like an ass.

I think you feel insulted because you realize my entitlement comment hit the nail on the head. It was just an observation and wasn't aimed at anyone in particular. Sorry if that bothers you, but you can feel free to ignore me.

Originally Posted by Sin
I don't think that a request for properly and fully supported keyboard and mouse control is entitled, it's logical as that is the main control setup for the majority of PC gamers.

If it isn't properly implemented they are shooting themselves in the foot, as people like me will wait until the game hits bargain bin prices before they bother buying it.

This. I was thinking of picking it up for my 360 soon, but heard they were going to do a PC launch of it. Now I think I might as well just get the 360 version used at the flea market if they're saying I'd be wanting to buy the adapter for my 360's controller if I did. I would have paid a bit more since I like having all my games on my PC rather than my old noisy xbox360 with its original 20gb hard-drive.

With this though it seems that they might not be aggressively trying to make a profit even on the minimum expense involved with porting - a non trivial thing which makes me wonder if it makes financial sense to do this in the first place. It's not about getting "moar", I just wonder why they don't seem to be agressively or excitedly taking advantage of getting a second launch of their product. It almost sounds like they're discouraging purchasing what will be a higher priced release with new costs over just buying the now lower-priced console version.

I would have replayed this game on the pc at some point, had it been ported over properly. One future sale lost.


-Carn

OK, sounds like this isn't going to be all it could be. I'll stay tuned, though, to see if what it turns out to be is any good.

Originally Posted by JDR13
Then maybe you should learn how to read. If I wanted to insult you, it wouldn't be vague in the least.

I just find it humerous that some people are acting entitled to extras that were never promised or even hinted at.

Honestly, it's you that needs to learn how to read. I looked at each of the posts prior to your statement interpreting those prior posts as reflecting a "sense of entitlement". Not a single one of those posts, not a one, said or implied in any way that the poster was "entitled".

Some posts did say they wouldn't buy the game because it didn't include features the posters wanted.

Is it true every time you don't buy a product, your decision not to buy is because of your sense of entitlement? If so, you must have a huge sense of entitlement. If not, why would you believe that to be true of others?

One poster said that a port with minimal modifications for the pc was arrogant and ignorant. I will assume that you must be aware that the game wasn't originally designed for the pc, since after all it is a port. Therefore you must be aware that there will be difficulties playing the game on the pc without modifications beyond the minimal modifications listed.

It is IMO quite reasonable to characterize a manufacturer as arrogant and ignorant when the manufacturer introduces a product into a new market without adapting the product to the new market (beyond minimal). Good manufacturers know this. Good business people know this. This isn't a question of "entitlement". Its just a matter of good business.

Regards.

__

Originally Posted by RPGFool
Honestly, it's you that needs to learn how to read. I looked at each of the posts prior to your statement interpreting those prior posts as reflecting a "sense of entitlement". Not a single one of those posts, not a one, said or implied in any way that the poster was "entitled".

Your username suits you well. If you can't see what I was talking about then I can't help you.

Originally Posted by RPGFool
One poster said that a port with minimal modifications for the pc was arrogant and ignorant. I will assume that you must be aware that the game wasn't originally designed for the pc, since after all it is a port. Therefore you must be aware that there will be difficulties playing the game on the pc without modifications beyond the minimal modifications listed.

And what difficulties would those be? Acquiring a gamepad is not a "modification".

Originally Posted by JDR13
Your username suits you well. If you can't see what I was talking about then I can't help you.

I definitely did see what you were talking about; however, I said something entirely different than I didn't see what you were talking about. What I said was your statements, summarized below, were wrong:

(i) that the prior posts implied "a sense of entitlement"; and
(ii) that others needed to learn how to read.

It's not surprising that you cannot help me (understand what you were talking about) since there was no logical or factual basis for your statements. Instead, it is you who needs help, but that's your problem.

Originally Posted by JDR13
And what difficulties would those be? Acquiring a gamepad is not a "modification".

Well since I never said or implied that "acquiring a gamepad" is a "modification", you once again demonstrate that it is you who does not read (or cannot understand what you do read). But I'll be happy to explain. Gameplay that is specifically adapted for a gamepad controller includes adaptations to allow different parts of the controller pad to send control signals to the game (thereby allowing controlled user interaction). However, PCs do not normally include gamepad controllers. Therefore playing a game adapted for a controller, on a standard pc that has no gamepad controller, requires that gamepad signals must be modified so that they can be sent by a mouse or by a keyboard.

Adding a gamepad controller to a PC that does not have one would qualify as modifying the pc, btw. Since you probably don't understand this either, I'll try to explain it to you, as follows. A standard PC doesn't originally include a gamepad controller. When a gamepad controller is added to the PC. the PC is different than it was before the gamepad controller was added. Therefore the PC was "modified", as compared to its original non-gamepad-controller condition.

Do you understand now?

If not I'll try to help you.

__