Dark Souls + Demon's Souls + Bloodborne Megathread XIII. The Ringed City - Games

The quakestone hammer is super fun, so many people fall for the weapon art followup only to be flung into the skies [editline]2nd May 2017[/editline] I'm really enjoying my strenght run in general, as I have in past games :flex:

[QUOTE=Taggart;52177343]The reasoning is actually incredibly simple - it's [i]real[/i] lightning, from the sky. Lightning is blue. The lightning you are used to in Souls is *light*ning, a harnessing of the power of sunlight, which is yellow. Gwyn was the God of Sunlight after all.[/QUOTE] Real lightning comes in a lot of different colours, actually, dependant on the temperature of it. Hotter lightning is blue, shading toward white. As it gets cooler it goes through the yellow, gold, orange and red colours. Purple and blue (and white) is just the most common "real" sort. In terms of Lore, though, when we fight Soul of Cinder, one of his attacks is to throw a lightning spear into the sky. Then, we hear a very distinct thundercrack as he summons up a miniature lightning storm to barrage the fuck out of the player, which is sort of a similar situation to[sp]Gael's[/sp]fight, the difference being Soul of Cinder controls the lightning,[sp]Gael[/sp]just gets lucky. Unless, of course, there's another instance of a thunderstorm with visible lightning in the Souls series. I can't think of any off the top of my head, though. The only "rainy" section I can remember is Drangleic Castle, and that didn't have any lightning IIRC. On a more topical note, I'm gonna say upfront that I'm pretty down with an anime style Soulslike and Code Vein is looking alright to me. I do agree that the combat should have more impact, though. The one section where the character is slashing away at the... [I]Thing[/I]... Made it look quite floaty, which goes against the weighty, meaty feel of Souls-style combat. But in terms of artstyle, theme and overall idea? I'm honestly hopeful for it. I also really like the fact it's emphasising co-op. I know Jolly Co-Operation is often looked down on by veteran Souls players, especially in boss encounters (the whole "It's not a real victory unless it's solo!!!" mentality) but I played through the entirety of Dark-Souls II and III with my boyfriend and both were some of the best experiences I've ever had with the series, and gaming in general. Hell, come to it, the reason DSIII is so important to me personally is [I]because[/I] it was a shared experience. My BF and I got the game at the same time and played it start to finish together, we even 100%'ed it at the same time. I'd already played DSII once prior on my own, so playing DSIII as a co-op game from the start made the whole thing really great. Hopefully Code Vein does co-op well and doesn't turn into another Fjords of the Lawlin. With Dark-Souls out of the picture for, at bare minimum, several years, I'm hankerin' for more Souls-ey games. The Surge is looking pretty good, especially compared to the aforementioned Boards of the Gallin'. But I honestly prefer fantasy over Sci-Fi and I don't know if that game will have co-op. Also Bloodborne and Nioh aren't on PC (yet) so those are out of the picture for me, too.

[QUOTE=Ona;52177542]In terms of Lore, though, when we fight Soul of Cinder, one of his attacks is to throw a lightning spear into the sky. Then, we hear a very distinct thundercrack as he summons up a miniature lightning storm to barrage the fuck out of the player, which is sort of a similar situation to[sp]Gael's[/sp]fight, the difference being Soul of Cinder controls the lightning,[sp]Gael[/sp]just gets lucky. Unless, of course, there's another instance of a thunderstorm with visible lightning in the Souls series. I can't think of any off the top of my head, though. The only "rainy" section I can remember is Drangleic Castle, and that didn't have any lightning IIRC.[/QUOTE] I'm mostly referring to in the terms of the game when I say real lightning is blue. But again, Soul of Cinder is harnessing *light*ning created via sunlight (and in that phase [sp]is essentially Gwyn anyway[/sp]) while [sp]Gael's fight[/sp] is merely actual lightning. Whether it's striking due to some level of control or merely because of natural circumstances could probably be debatable, but it's not sun-harnessed lightning so it's just blue. I don't remember any other instances of natural lightning in the series myself, but we do know by lore that the lightning we're used to is yellow because it's sunlight.

[QUOTE=lintz;52176333][media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMjPfJg0fA0[/media] [/QUOTE] It's a bit too anime-ish for my tastes, to be honest. Also, after the, shall we say, [I]troublesome[/I] relationship I had with Nioh, I've become increasingly wary of Japanese Souslborne games

I'm not a fan of the artstyle for it. Both the color and the art direction for characters and enemies. The mask looks lame when it's complete and it looks too anime. Not anime because of the way the characters look, it just has that look of a light novel written by a 14 year old that has a superpowered protagonist with an edgy backstory and beautiful women lusting after his cock even though he has no personality at all or interest in them and everything is derivative of other works instead of being original.

[QUOTE=EliaMoroes;52177628]It's a bit too anime-ish for my tastes, to be honest. Also, after the, shall we say, [I]troublesome[/I] relationship I had with Nioh, I've become increasingly wary of Japanese Souslbourne games[/QUOTE] But Souls is Japanese. :what:

As long as its fun I don't mind. As much as I like Nioh I've played around 5 or so hours and I've encountered roughly 4 different types of enemy and its getting a little stale.

[QUOTE=RainbowStalin;52177707]As long as its fun I don't mind. As much as I like Nioh I've played around 5 or so hours and I've encountered roughly 4 different types of enemy and its getting a little stale.[/QUOTE] I have some hope for it, this is being done by the GOD EATER team isn't it? Those games were good.

[QUOTE=Taggart;52177617]I'm mostly referring to in the terms of the game when I say real lightning is blue. But again, Soul of Cinder is harnessing *light*ning created via sunlight (and in that phase [sp]is essentially Gwyn anyway[/sp]) while [sp]Gael's fight[/sp] is merely actual lightning. Whether it's striking due to some level of control or merely because of natural circumstances could probably be debatable, but it's not sun-harnessed lightning so it's just blue. I don't remember any other instances of natural lightning in the series myself, but we do know by lore that the lightning we're used to is yellow because it's sunlight.[/QUOTE] I know you're right here, of course, I'm mostly just pulling crap out of nowhere. I do, honestly, love to try and find Bloodborne connections in the Souls games, though. I maintain that Miyazaki is a very talented, creative and intelligent individual, and therefore [I]he cannot be trusted.[/I] When he said that the two games are separate, we must remember that this is the same man who assured us that the Pendant is the best starting item for Dark-Souls I. I could (and might) make a whole video on the numerous things that refute the whole "Bloodborne is a separate universe." thing. But just off the top of my head... - Marvellous Chester seems hugely out of place, design and personality wise, and states he comes from "the future". No explanation for his presence or backstory is ever given for him being in Dark-Souls I. Least of all in [I]Oolacile.[/I] Also, his "I'm totally friendly but will now attack you for no reason and get pouty about it if I lose." Thing draws some parallels to Bloodborne's Beast Plague. - The Way of White participates in "Undead Hunts" and their attire from Dark-Souls III seems to be heading in a "Healing Church" direction, fashion wise, and it's easy to see their ideals, mannerisms and traditions being re-branded in a future setting for the Healing Church. - The Stone-Humped Pilgrims, the Lycanthropes and the Pontiff's Beasts from DSIII are all pretty much dead-ringers for enemies in Bloodborne, albeit ones with different names. I think that the Pontiff Beasts is the most convincing one, though, seeing as in Bloodborne we have the "Watchdog of the Old Lords", which is essentially just a fire-infused (or perhaps [I]embered[/I]) Pontiff's Beast, and the name is fitting seeing as in DSIII those enemies are, essentially, the [I]Watchdogs[/I] of a [I]Lord.[/I] - On that note, the Pontiff's Left and Right Eye rings seem to be pretty much verbatim Bloodborne references. Both in how they work (emphasising aggression over defence) and what they do to people, lore-wise. - Also on a similar note, in BB, the "Pthumarians" which are referenced constantly as "An ancient race of beings that were more than human." bear a striking resemblance to the "Gods" in Dark-Souls, being tall, pale, lanky folk with a tendency toward magic. And their capital city was called "Ithyll", which sounds a hell of a lot like [I][B]Ir[/B][/I]ithyll in DSIII. (kinda like the "Drang" set from Drangleic) - A lot of the "Arcane" things in BB seem to draw very heavily from Dark-Souls style Sorcery, which itself is sourced by the very Bloodborne-esque Seath the Scaleless. I mean, just look at Oceiros in DSIII; he's practically a Bloodborne boss! We also have what appears to be Dark Sorcery in Bloodborne, used by several enemies, and Miracles, too! Heck, the Choir Bell is literally just a Miracle catalyst using a healing spell! - In Bloodborne we have enemies who are just straight up using Pyromancy: The Yharnam Shadows, for one, who are themselves a relic of the "Old World". Not to mention the Fire Paper and Bolt Paper seem to use the same principles as Dark-Souls Pine Resin. - Fire, itself, is used in much the same way thematically, too. Both BB and DS reference fire as being used to "cleanse" impurities from corrupted people and is effective against the same kinds of enemies. This doesn't even touch on the whole "Age of Deep" thing that got mentioned (but never fully addressed) in Dark-Souls III, but seems to have very strong parallels to Kos ([I]or some say Kosm[/I]) and the whole "Lovecraftian" angle for Dark-Souls III. Also funny how Aldritch got a vision of the Age of Deep and then devoured a god of [I]Moonlight.[/I] What do we fight at the end of Bloodborne? The [I]Moon Presence.[/I] I mean, maybe I'm just a crazy conspiracy theorist whose looking way too deep into some convoluted video game lore for my own amusement... [I]Or maybe that's just what Miyazaki [B]wants[/B] you to think!!! [B]I'm[/B] not crazy! [B]You're[/B] all the crazy ones!!![/i] [B][I]OPEN YOUR EYES, SHEEPLE!!![/I][/B]

I feel like I haven't seen enough of CODE VEIN to form an opinion on it. Some of the combat looked like enemies didn't even react to you hitting them but it's entirely possible they could just have high poise or something (they [I]were[/I] pretty big enemies), and the only other enemies we were shown in game were bosses, so of course they're gonna have poise. I'm hopeful! But then again, I'm also pretty positive when it comes to stuff like this, so eh. We'll see, won't we?

[QUOTE=Captain;52177693]But Souls is Japanese. :what:[/QUOTE] If you are referring to the anime-ish complaint, one of the main reason I like the series as much as I do is because the whole thing is a huge love letter to the western fantasy genre (more low fantasy than anything, but still) from a Japanese developer. This new game, however, well, I think Dr. C above put it best. If you are referring to my complaint about Nioh and other Japanese Soulsborne games ... yeah, the original series was made in Japan. Does this mean that every following Souls-inspired Japanese games [I]must[/I] be good?

[QUOTE=Captain;52177693]But Souls is Japanese. :what:[/QUOTE] Souls needed more katanas, after all :v:

[QUOTE=EliaMoroes;52178129]If you are referring to my complaint about Nioh and other Japanese Soulsborne games ... yeah, the original series was made in Japan. Does this mean that every following Souls-inspired Japanese games [I]must[/I] be good?[/QUOTE] I just think it's kind of weird to be weary of Japanese Souls-like games when there's only one (That I can think of), especially when the Souls series itself is also Japanese. Them being Japanese doesn't really seem like that big of factor is all that is. v:v:v

[QUOTE=EliaMoroes;52178129]If you are referring to the anime-ish complaint, one of the main reason I like the series as much as I do is because the whole thing is a huge love letter to the western fantasy genre (more low fantasy than anything, but still) from a Japanese developer. This new game, however, well, I think Dr. C above put it best. If you are referring to my complaint about Nioh and other Japanese Soulsborne games ... yeah, the original series was made in Japan. Does this mean that every following Souls-inspired Japanese games [I]must[/I] be good?[/QUOTE] honestly i think most games in general have an obligation to be good, but thats just me yknow?

It's not so much that it's anime-ish, it's how generic it is. I've seen this type of plot and artstyle before and the gameplay doesn't look fun since the weapons don't have an impact. One of the things I really loved about the claymore in DS is that it looked heavy with the way it was swung, same with the kirkhammer, that looked hernia-inducing heavy. Nights of Azure is a game I can say was also pretty derivative but at least that took good parts and was a pleasure to look at and play and had atmosphere. [QUOTE=PotatoArmada;52178538]Idk, looks ok from a first trailer.[/QUOTE] Yeah I'm probably jumping the gun. I should wait for more footage before I shit on it

Idk, looks ok from a first trailer.

If it turns out that combat isn't as floaty as it looked in that trailer and there are a bunch of weapons or armour to use then it might be pretty fun

[QUOTE=lintz;52176333][media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMjPfJg0fA0[/media] WE ANIME NOW BOYS [editline]2nd May 2017[/editline] developed by [url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shift_(company)[/url] [url]http://www.code-vein.com/[/url] screenshots mostly on here[/QUOTE] The contrast of anime characters and semi-realistic backgrounds looks a bit jarring. The designs look cool, and I do like some of the SFX. My only concern is that I hope it doesn't become too Dark Souls-y. The look of the characters makes me think fast decisive actions and timed dodges like God of War. I'd rather see this as a God of War clone, but its a moniker of Soulsborne which deals in more variety in combat so unless another video comes out with more gameplay footage its gonna end up like Lords of the Fallen; all the challenge, none of the fun.

Finally was able to beat Rom, The Vacuous Spider just now. This was the biggest grinding halt of progress I've had so far in this game. The fight it self was pretty simple, just required a lot of patience. I didn't realize this until later on, and was being too aggressive and not watching my surroundings enough to know when to engage properly. Tonitrus has been my new best friend for a while now by the way. That Bolt damage just melts most enemies I face now.

I just take Rom out with a flamesprayer. The fight is over in just a couple of seconds.

[QUOTE=Jarokwa;52178873]all it needs is character customization so that i can be an ugly goblin instead of some anime boy[/QUOTE] Or in the very least it could do what the original Nioh did and change the main character for the western release. Dr. C hit the nail on the head about everything that's wrong with the main character in Project Vein.

[QUOTE=PotatoArmada;52179578]I just take Rom out with a flamesprayer. The fight is over in just a couple of seconds.[/QUOTE] Would that have actually worked THAT well? Speaking of ranged weapons, I've only used the basic Hunter's Pistol I got at the beginning. Any recommendations on weapons to use in that category?

I wanted to make a cool lightning-built with the Swordspear, to change my style a bit from my usual Solaire-cosplay. Anyone have any clue why the +5 Swordspear does around half of the damage of my +5 Sunlight straight sword at 40 str, 40 dex and 50 faith? The lighting that results from the weapon art does like ~1300 damage but my normal hits do 200-300 whereas it's 500-600 on the Sunlight sword. With buffs the Sunlight sword absolutely obliterates the Swordspear dealing 800 while the Swordspear barely reaches 400. Does that weapon fucking SUCK or am I not understanding something?

SPLIT WEAPON DAMAGE

[QUOTE=lintz;52180840]SPLIT WEAPON DAMAGE[/QUOTE] And Straight Swords in general really

i cant believe they let us fight hatsune miku in code vein

[QUOTE=4yourmalice;52180732]Would that have actually worked THAT well?[/QUOTE] Skip to 1 minute in the video. [media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y87TQtFj6U[/media]

Dear god... y'know what I hate the most about the Dancer fight? The weird-ass lock-on behaviors. I hate that DS3 locks you off after breaking line of sight too long through the geometry. It's the sort of thing that gets you killed SO easily if you're trying to use the environment to your advantage like a smart person might. And if you're smart, that's what you'll do fighting the Dancer unless you're a fucking speedrunning ninja. While not done with my mage, I decided to try a pure Pyromancer simultaneously, and I wanted to try and beat the Dancer early that way. Level 30, two boss fights in, no Lords of Cinder fought. I mostly did it to see how well I could best Gundyr now knowing how to parry, and I killed him in one try this way, gloriously enough. But even with my purely projectile-based strategy, facing the Dancer so early is a bitch. Especially when each hit only does about 200 damage, and you need to sacrifice like four estus for magic refills. But yeah, it's infuriating to know you can have the Dancer just behind a pillar, go unlocked against your will, and end up getting a slash up the back because you're moving away but not facing her, like Finn from The Force Awakens. Or, she's behind the pillars while you get some distance in the arena, and by distance or line-of-sight, you lose lock, try desperately to reattain it, which flips the camera to face exactly away from an erratic opponent that strikes like a viper with very little warning. Because THAT isn't terrifying. Either way, I managed it, and now I'm going to level the HELL out of this character, thank you...

That's why you should rarely use lock-on in dark souls games.

[QUOTE=PotatoArmada;52182816]Skip to 1 minute in the video. [media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y87TQtFj6U[/media][/QUOTE] So I punched the shit out of my couch pillow, for nothing. This looks almost TOO easy.