Elden SoulsBorne: Felyne Village - the FROM thread

It's interesting how From and Miyazaki are looking at DSIII as the final chapter of the Souls series. I suppose I didn't really believe them when they first spoke about it, considering how IPs usually stick around well after their sell-by date to the point of staleness and I expected Souls to do the same.

Also, I can't imagine a Miyazaki directed Elder Scrolls game in the slightest.

Aye that's wee bit hard to picture though Soul Reaver was a great shout from Tamoor, I loved that game on Dreamcast & would actually love to see a remaster of that from anyone.

Interesting read. I hope From stick to their word; I want the Souls series to stay pure and I want to see what they do next.

Elder Scrolls is a weird one for him to bring up; that and Dark Souls are at polar opp pair end of the spectrum. TES is huge but shallow, whereas Should is focused but with boundless depth.

Speaking of Souls games...

I started Dark Souls II today!

I haven't played a huge amount yet. I worked a weird shift today, with all morning in work,a few hours in the afternoon then back to work this evening. Also, I decided to kill the Cyclops before I entered Drangleic then spent quite a while exploring every nook and cranny before I moved towards the tower of flame.

I'm trying to play it with an open mind, ignoring all the things I've heard about the game lacking the vision of Dark Souls, Drangleic feeling disjointed after Lordran and it otherwise being generally less good.

Similarly, I know almost nothing about the story and lore. All I've heard is Seen Bells theory that the game is a bit of an MGS2, with Drangleic being a deliberate attempt to replicate Lordran and the throne of the story being the folly of sequels. So far, from what's said by the witches, I get the impression this is either a separate, artificial world like Ariamis' painted one, or one that has been created more recently, with the Place Betwixt being like the grey crags and arch trees of the first game.

Overall, though, I'm enjoying it so far. It looks gorgeous, lots of pretty lighting and big seas. The characters and monsters look great, too, and it feels amazing to play a Souls game with this fidelity and frame rate.

Coooool! Good luck Drunka. Given that you guys pointed me in the right direction at my low ebbs with the original, I immediately want to chime in where I might know something - "Drunka, you've not got the Butter Knife of Majula yet", that sort of thing.

In DS1, I:

Mot necessarily bad, but harder for yourself than it had to be. Also, speak to me when you're done about "Boobs as Reward".

Congrats but you are one crazy person Jimbob. Also the catacombs is my favourite area in the entire game.

Having played it first, I like some of the mechanics in Dark Souls II better - for example, the way Humanity (and the lack of) is handled - but I can see some of the copy/paste/Photoshop of some of the characters / ideas from DS1. So yes, I think I'm aware of a few things that aren't going to trouble M. Night Shyamalan...

Also, I hate the crawly skeletons... don't tell me I "can't see them", videogame... I bloody can!

Just had my third nice big session on Dark Souls II (I've poked around a few times grinding or clearing paths, which I'll come to in a minute). So far:

In the Bastille, I've killed the Ruin Sentinels and reached either a courtyard where the Pursuer kills me or a wet cellar where a big two headed lad kills me
In the woods, there's one route where ghosts kill me or another where a slightly stronger version of the cyclops kills me.
In Heide's Tower of Flame, there's a dragon I can't even get near before it kills me, but I killed the Dragonrider first time and made my way down to the Wharf.

So next up, I think I'll explore the Wharf.

The simple bonfire warping, and the huge varied world, does have its charms. I like that there are lots of different routes I can take, and I can go in either one at my leisure. The combat and gameplay still feels amazing and the game is really pretty. That said, there are quite a few niggles I'm feeling.

The world feels very disjointed. I don't have a clear picture in my head of what's connected to what or how it all fits together. I think this is somewhat thematic; this is a land on top of the ruins of the land before, which followed the land before that and so on. This is a cyclically repeating folly, and its held together by tenuous ropes of magic. But it just doesn't have that beautiful feeling Lordran had.

And much as I like getting a little further in one direction then jumping to another, the very obvious level-gating doesn't feel as slick as the way Dark Souls genuinely let me tackle the bells either way round, or the four lords in any order, or do things like Sif and the Hydra really early. I was barely scratching the big knights at Heide, but I went to the Bastille for a bit and now I'm killing them in a couple of hits. It all feels a bit more like a numbers game, which the first game hid quite well. I don't think I'd ever finish a Onebro run on the first game, but I can't even imagine it here!

On what Jimminy Jim Jim said about the mechanical improvements: for me, it doesn't really feel that way. The way enemies stop respawning is useful here, but I don't find myself thinking it would be useful in Dark Souls so much as thinking it was a quick fix for the fact that this game relies on some really cheap mobs of enemies. Similarly, the humanity in the first game was a little more cumbersome, but at least Hollowing wasn't so annoying! I'm playing it the way people say one should play Demon Souls: half health is what I think of as my health bar, and I go human as a special power-up for tough bosses and stuff.


That all sounds really negative, I know, but I am really enjoying the game, and thinking about it a lot and wanting to play more. "Not as good as one of the greatest games of all time" isn't exactly a damning indictment!

Jimbob wrote:

Also, I hate the crawly skeletons... don't tell me I "can't see them", videogame... I bloody can!

I don't know if this will please some of you but theres been hints of a Demons Souls Remaster for PS4.

I do want to get round to playing Demons eventually, so Muss' PS4 and a copy of that would be bangers.
I'd like to see Dark Souls given that treatment, with some of the sections the creators have admitted were rushed sorted out.

I done old Heide's tower of flame first in vanilla DSII which isn't suggested though I didn't have a dragon to contend with in that version.

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I heard about the Demon souls rumour too but I think it's just wishful thinking.

I started a couple of the DLC areas for DS2 today and I have to say I wasn't having a lot of fun. They seemed to be ridiculously difficult to the point where I just wasn't having any fun whatsoever and ended up just running for long periods of time. I'll persist, but I'm not exactly over the moon with it right now

I'd be well up for a Demon Souls remake/release

That surprises me; word on the street was that the DLC was the best bit of DSII.

I was looking into picking up a copy of Demon-y Souls for the PS3, but I'll hold off for now. Besides, I haven't finished DS1 yet. Therefore, please DO NOT RELEASE THIS REMAKE, IF IT EXISTS, UNTIL 2017.

I'm trying to think of the foresty ghosty bit that's giving you grief, Drunka. Hmmm... it's been too long it seems.

Also, I worked out how to use the Skull Lantern properly, which made life a lot easier. As did remembering everything I forgot about divine weapons from, like, 2 hours ago.

There have just been so many groups of enemies that I simply can't fight, has been getting me incredibly angry. I don't think I'm too bad at this point having platted all 3 of the other games and finished my playthrough of 2 so surely I can't be to blame here...

I doubt it be a remake just a simple HD remaster that it runs at 1080p 60fps and textures improved. Some are reckoning it be announced at PSX next week.

It makes sense to come back unlike some remasters as it did sell well but the Souls games really took of after Dark after word of mouth of Demons which people would of missed. And Bloodborne sold really well.

That I think there's money there for them and a bigger audience now which want to see where the Souls games started.

andyman949 wrote:

I started a couple of the DLC areas for DS2 today and I have to say I wasn't having a lot of fun. They seemed to be ridiculously difficult to the point where I just wasn't having any fun whatsoever and ended up just running for long periods of time. I'll persist, but I'm not exactly over the moon with it right now

When are you tackling the DLC areas? From what I've heard, you really shouldn't play them until you hit late game.

Jimbob wrote:

I'm trying to think of the foresty ghosty bit that's giving you grief, Drunka. Hmmm... it's been too long it seems.

I think the ghosts are just an unimportant side path. They look like the ghosts you see of other players online, but they attack you!

To clarify; I'm playing Scholar of the First Sin, so there will be differences.

JayMoyles wrote:

andyman949 wrote:

I started a couple of the DLC areas for DS2 today and I have to say I wasn't having a lot of fun. They seemed to be ridiculously difficult to the point where I just wasn't having any fun whatsoever and ended up just running for long periods of time. I'll persist, but I'm not exactly over the moon with it right now

When are you tackling the DLC areas? From what I've heard, you really shouldn't play them until you hit late game.

Post game first playthrough. I wasn't doing Brume Tower first (it wasn't the ice place either but I can't remember a single thing about the place it actually was ), though I've not enjoyed that any more. Finally got to the boss of Brume earlier and bloody hell, I can't do it...

The ghosts are pretty much the main enemies in that area I think. Proper annoying that you can't lock onto them.

Drunkalilly wrote:

[
To clarify; I'm playing Scholar of the First Sin, so there will be differences.

Yeah, there was definitely no dragon at Heide's in vanilla DSII.

I'm assuming I need a cursed/ holy weapon, like the skellingtons and g-g-g-ghosts in the first game.

I certainly didn't, just used my good ol' fire longsword

After a night last night of exploring the unnecessary No Man's Wharf and sleepily banging my head against walls, I had a pretty decent sesh this morning.

Spoiler:

andyman949 wrote:

There have just been so many groups of enemies that I simply can't fight, has been getting me incredibly angry. I don't think I'm too bad at this point having platted all 3 of the other games and finished my playthrough of 2 so surely I can't be to blame here...

Maybe it's a level thing or even your armour? Each dlc definitely sticks to a certain theme of enemies.

Drunkalilly wrote:

I'm assuming I need a cursed/ holy weapon, like the skellingtons and g-g-g-ghosts in the first game.

Fun fact: I sprinted through this ghostly woods area when seeing it for the first time & only fully explored it much later in my play through.

Could be, I'm still wearing a basic armour set. Haven't got anything that stood out as a must wear. Any recommendations?