DKS2 Computer to console porting, and Engine changes.

Thoughts on porting:
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(thoughts) I'm a PlayStation Fan, so I guess I'm biased, but I was upset to hear this change. I thought that Dark Souls was ported fantastically to the Xbox (and lets face it the PC port WAS an after thought so it didn't get as much time spent on it). It is one of the few games I've seen in which the difference between the original ports was nearly flawless (sans the game save protection on Xbox).
But despite my unease I'm just going to wait it out and see how it turns out.

Engine Changes:
With the changes in engine they have apparently locked the FPS at 30 on the Consoles and supposedly 60 on computer (we'll see) I think they may have gotten something most companies fail to do, Optimize their game, (its probably still being worked on but if they can live up to these claims I will be amazed and excited). From the game play trailer that was realized I was unimpressed with the textures used* (may be still in development). But the Animations, models and environment (dark and brooding) seem more than satisfactory.

*one of the things I loved so much about Demon's Souls and Dark Souls was the crisp and interesting textures.

I feel that the poll is unnecessary. It is objectively, a good idea to build the game on the most powerful platform and then downscale for the consoles. It takes less time and less effort than building the game with muddy textures and then having to ADD detail, or in other words, create entirely new textures that are higher resolution. I'm not a programmer (yet) so I don't know how upscaling code differs from downscaling code.

As for the textures in the trailer, the only part in which I feel unsatisfied with the textures was the tower with the blurry bricks at the top section. The rest look fine, and the textures shown in the IGN gameplay demo look pretty fantastic in my opinion.

The poll is mostly for those who won't bother to post, (I know I asked them to please explain but that doesn't always happen). As for The "most powerful platform" I can understand the down scaling Idea, but part of what From mentioned when they ported to PC was that they didn't have lots of experience with them. (this may have changed since then, IDK)
Thanks for taking the time to post though.

I voted for "this is OK idea".
I have no fears that this is going to affect too much on console versions as long as they don't mess up the controls in any way.
Just positive for the PC community, though I'm going to get it on Xbox : )

I like the poll.
It allows me to share my opinion without the need to defend it, which it will surely require, given it's nature.

I think it's a great idea.
It allows PC players to enjoy the game as it's intended and
IMO it won't effect the console versions in any way.

Graphics and performance can't scale up; they must scale down. It makes sense for Dark Souls II to go from PC to current gen console.

That being said, we know the next consoles will be more powerful than equivalent PC counterparts, so I hope they don't get stuck in this situation. If so, for Dark Souls III they risk either A) alienating the PC crowd by making the system requirements insane or B) alienating the console crowd by making the graphics worse than they could be for the sake of including PCers.

This is not in any way an invitation to begin arguing PC vs console with me. I'm just stating facts.

If I ever order a gaming PC and can get my Xbox controller to work,I'll get DkS2 on it.I may also get the console version as I can't always use my computer since I share a room with my brother.

How to get your Xbox 360 controller to work on a modern Windows PC:

Step 1: Plug it in.
Step 2: There is no step 2.


Also next-gen DRM is so far only a rumor.

KrazykevS10 wrote:If I ever order a gaming PC and can get my Xbox controller to work,I'll get DkS2 on it.I may also get the console version as I can't always use my computer since I share a room with my brother.

DE5PA1R wrote:How to get your Xbox 360 controller to work on a modern Windows PC:

Step 1: Plug it in.
Step 2: There is no step 2.


Also next-gen DRM is so far only a rumor.

Yeah using a 360 controller on a PC these days is just to easy. In fact PC games are catering to the 360 controller to the point where a mouse and keyboard aren't that necessary for PC gaming anymore, unless your playing FPS, then nothing beats a mouse and keyboard IMO.

I have around 50 games on Steam plus a few others that for me play better off Steam, and I rarely use my mouse and keyboard. Obviously this is personal preference, there are only a few PC game that require or strongly suggest using a 360 controller.

So long as they don't ruin the PC version with GFWL, I think that it's a great idea. Presumably From brought in some new people who are experienced with coding for the PC to add to their staff for this game to make up for their lack of experience with the PC platform.

GaryBlevins wrote:So long as they don't ruin the PC version with GFWL, I think that it's a great idea. Presumably From brought in some new people who are experienced with coding for the PC to add to their staff for this game to make up for their lack of experience with the PC platform.

I agree. IMO GFWL will not be returning to DkS2.
1. theres no sign of it on the DkS2 artwork cover.
2. so many people complained about it the first time that they probably took that input into consideration. Will have to wait and see.
I'm praying that GFWL wont be any part of the Souls series from now on.

I haven't managed to run my 360 controller with the only shooter I own,STALKER:Clear Sky.Maybe it's just my PC or the game.It's just that I grew up on consoles and find a keyboard difficult to use.If I have managed to learn by DkS2's release,I won't bother with Xbox on account of all the hackers and hatemailers.It's pretty hard to find a fair fight on it.

going from PC to XBox should be pretty simple for FROM, but i have some concerns about porting to PS3 since the architecture is so different from PC and XBox. porting to the PS4 would probably be easier than porting to the PS3 and come with fewer problems.

Nybbles wrote:going from PC to XBox should be pretty simple for FROM, but i have some concerns about porting to PS3 since the architecture is so different from PC and XBox. porting to the PS4 would probably be easier than porting to the PS3 and come with fewer problems.

understandable, but from has quite a lot of PS3 experience already so I don't think that will be much of a problem so long as they take the time to do it right.

LMAO @ thinking xbox has more hackers than PC...

Also, I believe I read they were developing it simultaneously, not just on PC then downgrading. The thing with creating a new engine, you know what platforms will be using it so you would develop it with said platforms in mind so I doubt ps3 will cause a problem.

As for the textures, what you see there is barely even an alpha form of the game that's been recorded while using a debugger. It's A. Not Finished and B. running on debug means its running more to spec than to art.

I am planning on buying it for PC since I for certain reasons can't make use of my PS3 very often. I hope this will increase the amount of PC users as well.
As for the poll: I hardly think it will change much. If anything, its for the better since a PC works "slightly" better then a console, thus making it much easier to port to consoles rather then vice versa.