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Wait, so what is the relationship between the plot and main characters of Dark Souls 1 and 2, if any? Besides being cursed undead I mean.
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Jan 30, 2015 20:39
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I think they only really touch at the end.
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Jan 30, 2015 20:42
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paragon1 posted:Wait, so what is the relationship between the plot and main characters of Dark Souls 1 and 2, if any? Besides being cursed undead I mean. They live in the same world(s) where time is funky and weird, and DS2 guy comes a couple hundred/thousand years after DS1 guy. That is the entire relationship. Oh, and to upgrade his estus flask, DS2 guy tosses ashes into a bonfire that are hinted may have formerly been DS1 guy. Or some other guy who rebuilt the world since the DS-world is basically in a constant cycle of "poo poo sucks, time and space are wonky and every now and then an rear end in a top hat from a parallel dimension tries to stick a knife in you or kick you off a cliff. Maybe this next zombie guy can make the world suck a bit less before he goes insane from being undead."
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Jan 30, 2015 21:05
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paragon1 posted:Wait, so what is the relationship between the plot and main characters of Dark Souls 1 and 2, if any? Besides being cursed undead I mean. Ah, that would be telling, wouldn't it? Truth be told, the writers themselves seem to be a little unsure of these details and an uncharacteristically shoddy translation obfuscates the truth even more. Either way, we'll get to it later. A lot later. For now, the important thing to remember is that 2 takes place in the same world as 1, separated by centuries, or even millennia. If something doesn't make sense, you can probably explain it with "time and space are convoluted". It's a bit lazy but it's the only way to explain certain nonsensical events.
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Jan 30, 2015 21:43
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I prefer to see the stories of any of the Souls games as being more about themes and concepts than straight narratives. I mean, you spend each game fighting representations of Big Ideas as bosses and metaphors as rank-and-file enemies. If you try to make a traditional story arc out of that stuff, you'll get... exactly what people do with the Souls series now: speculative lore videos on YouTube and long threads of people tossing around fan theories.
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Jan 30, 2015 22:15
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paragon1 posted:Wait, so what is the relationship between the plot and main characters of Dark Souls 1 and 2, if any? Besides being cursed undead I mean. (I've only seen Geop's LP of DS1 and this one of DS2 so take all this with a grain of salt...) Well a character a few updates ago mentioned something about a war and some giants, maybe some jerks from DS1 decided to go on a jolly crusade? Trees seemed pretty important in Lordran and there's plenty of dead giants turning into trees around...
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Jan 31, 2015 00:07
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paragon1 posted:Wait, so what is the relationship between the plot and main characters of Dark Souls 1 and 2, if any? Besides being cursed undead I mean. "Dark Souls 1 got stupid popular, far more so than Demon's Souls, got us recognition and money; we'd like that again. We'll even throw in some of the parts of Dark Souls 1 we think people like without understanding why, exactly, they like them." A big problem I realised I have with Dark Souls 2 is that, unlike Demon's Souls and Dark Souls 1, animation priority doesn't exist. At least not all the time. Every action in previous games you were committed to unless something smacked you out of it, and if you pushed a button to do something in the last second or so of another action's animation, you would perform that action as well. From simple things like gestures (you can't queue up gestures, yet you can roll/backstep out of them at any point) to more meaningful gameplay concepts like fog doors and levers, it bugs me constantly.
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Jan 31, 2015 00:34
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frozentreasure posted:"Dark Souls 1 got stupid popular, far more so than Demon's Souls, got us recognition and money; we'd like that again. We'll even throw in some of the parts of Dark Souls 1 we think people like without understanding why, exactly, they like them." My real big problem is how enemies spin like loving tops. I realize that many enemies were a bit on the easy side to chump in DaS1 but in DaS2 they "fixed" this by making the vast majority of enemies with a big, slow windup spin around like tops. Think you dodged that attack? Nope. For the most part bosses at least don't do this, but there are some really nasty exceptions to the rule.
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Jan 31, 2015 04:37
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It's really obvious when they walk slow, but spin faster than their legs are moving so they sort of slide-turn. Or when their torso twists in a really odd-looking way due to the armor..
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Jan 31, 2015 04:41
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Bonus Update~ How might Hal have handled things under different circumstances? Expert Swordsman Samuelle looks at other ways to deal with bosses.
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Jan 31, 2015 07:06
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Dazzling Addar posted:Bonus Update~ Hahahaha, that ballista trick. 
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Jan 31, 2015 13:06
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Since I can't play DS2 for poo poo, I've never made it to the pursuer. But I've always been wondering why in no LP I watched anyone ever uses tha drat ballistae on him. Is it that hard to get him in front of one without parrying him?
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Jan 31, 2015 13:34
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anthrax posted:Since I can't play DS2 for poo poo, I've never made it to the pursuer. But I've always been wondering why in no LP I watched anyone ever uses tha drat ballistae on him. Is it that hard to get him in front of one without parrying him? It's not easy, but at the same time speedrunners manage to do it 10 out of 10 times, so it's not outside the realm of possibility. Also, Samuelle needs to look into becoming a full-time pugilist. 
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Jan 31, 2015 13:38
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Funny thing about that ballista, if you're playing co-op, it can hurt the co-op buddy too! Guess who got shot when he and his buddy figured out the ballista was interactable?  inthesto posted:It's not easy, but at the same time speedrunners manage to do it 10 out of 10 times, so it's not outside the realm of possibility. 
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Jan 31, 2015 13:55
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ChaosArgate posted:Guess who got shot when he and his buddy figured out the ballista was interactable? guess who does this whenever they get summoned for the Pursuer. 
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Jan 31, 2015 14:31
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inthesto posted:It's not easy, but at the same time speedrunners manage to do it 10 out of 10 times, so it's not outside the realm of possibility. I'll go ahead and disagree, it's actually absurdly easy if you know the setup. I suck at Dark Souls as a rule but I can very consistently ballista the Pursuer, it's about the one speed run trick I can pull off. You do the folowing. 1: Run to the barrel by the cart immediately on entering. 2: Roll forward under his swing. 3: Run to the ballista. 4: The Pursuer always stops to wind up a ranged attack here. 5: Fire the Ballista until he dies. The only thing to worry about is picking the right spot at 1 and it's fairly generous. No parrying or baiting the boss needed. E: There's a good commented speed run if you want to know what the stupid speed run tricks are. Massive spoilers for the rest of the game, obviously. Re: powerstancing, I went high strength my first time through and found it very good versus regular enemies. Powerstance attacks come out fast and stagger almost anything with big enough weapons, if you don't just one shot what you're hitting. It tends to be less useful on bosses because if you fail to stagger then the recovery times leave you open to get hit. Xerophyte fucked around with this message at 19:42 on Jan 31, 2015 |
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Jan 31, 2015 15:05
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Powerstancing is what makes fists good in Dark souls 2. Well, that and proper scaling, but it really is the powerstancing. The powerstanced L1 is really good at breaking poise and doing a boatload of damage with the caestus. Plus it's fast enough that the recovery time is not massively long. The L2 certainly is, but that one's for style points. I mostly find the ballistae to be a death trap, really. I don't like parrying in DS2, so I never do it, and usually in co-op I'm almost guaranteed to get shot by it and murdered because I'm actually trying to fight the boss.
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Jan 31, 2015 17:53
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anthrax posted:Since I can't play DS2 for poo poo, I've never made it to the pursuer. But I've always been wondering why in no LP I watched anyone ever uses tha drat ballistae on him. Is it that hard to get him in front of one without parrying him? It's effective if you can time it correctly, otherwise he'll just smash it to bits, I just dodge his attacks and kick his metal rear end, that's the easier option.
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Jan 31, 2015 19:26
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heenato posted:Powerstancing is what makes fists good in Dark souls 2. Well, that and proper scaling, but it really is the powerstancing. The powerstanced L1 is really good at breaking poise and doing a boatload of damage with the caestus. Plus it's fast enough that the recovery time is not massively long. The L2 certainly is, but that one's for style points. I have to wholeheartedly agree about the powerstanced L1 for the caestus. It's really quite effective and satisfying. On the ballista though, not moving when you hear the massive KA-CHUNK of one being readied might be your own fault. (Also, that's why you get the summoned person to be the bait.  )
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Feb 1, 2015 00:00
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Update! A real one this time!  They have no style. They have no grace. These guys have a hole for a face.
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Feb 1, 2015 07:29
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Lucatiel has the coolest outfit in the game.
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Feb 1, 2015 07:40
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The Dark Dwellers have really dumb looking arms. It's hard to take their designs seriously. They look like something someone made in Spore.
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Feb 1, 2015 08:03
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D_W posted:The Dark Dwellers have really dumb looking arms. It's hard to take their designs seriously. They look like something someone made in Spore. The best Fromsoft monster designs are the ones that are simultaneously creepy and goofy as gently caress.
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Feb 1, 2015 08:06
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The thing I like about the dark dwellers is that they're not really terrifying adventurer killing monsters. They're territorial but they are so completely scared witless of light and fire they seem like an organic part of what might live in a dank underground bay. In a certain way, they're kind of endearing.
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Feb 1, 2015 08:34
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They do have a cool AI pattern. Do enemies ever fight each other in this game? It would re-enforce the dark dwellers animal-like AI if they would drag off the hollows.
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Feb 1, 2015 10:29
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There are actually instances of enemy infighting in the game, but only in very specific areas. It isn't a universal mechanic, most enemy attacks simply do nothing to other hostile entities. Which is kind of a shame, because there are definitely some points like No-Man's Wharf where it would really add to the experience. It's pretty cool when it does happen, though!
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Feb 1, 2015 10:36
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D_W posted:The Dark Dwellers have really dumb looking arms. It's hard to take their designs seriously. They look like something someone made in Spore. Honestly I think this was one of those instances of gameplay enhancing intended lore, because while that do look ridiculous, they do so much damage and inflict so much bleeding from such a long distance that the player can't help but recognize them as dangerous. I also really like how they aren't completely cowed by the light and you still have to be really careful fighting them after lighting the place up, it makes them feel more... I guess believable isn't really the word here, but it does convey the meaning I want
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Feb 1, 2015 15:49
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Ahh, geez. The group of sleeping undead in that one room can actually be a little tricky if you're too cautious. I tried luring them out a couple times when still new to the area. (See: Rolled into a crate or something that woke them up, also.) It, uh, didn't work out so well between the three of them and the archer on top of the building. It wasn't until I hit the breaking point of 'I don't care anymooore' after so many deaths and charged in that things went smoothly. Turns out playing aggressively is sometimes the better solution!
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Feb 1, 2015 17:52
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Actually, the Dark Dwellers always looked really creepy for me. There's something spidery about those arms how they connect to the body/head. And I'm heavily arachnophobic. Which totes isn't the reason I keep bitching about giant spiders being an overused and boring setpiece in RPGs. Erm. Still, No Man's Wharf is loving great and I wish more areas in the game were made with such attention to detail and inspiration.
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Feb 1, 2015 17:57
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The binoculars are really good for pure spell builds (something which I love you can do in this game, even if hexes could charitably be called overpowering) because you can use them to aim spells. I really like this LP by the way. Souls games can bring out a lot of vitriol in some people (especially when comparisons arise  ) so a nice chill, comprehensive playthrough is really great.
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Feb 1, 2015 18:28
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Vicas posted:Honestly I think this was one of those instances of gameplay enhancing intended lore, because while that do look ridiculous, they do so much damage and inflict so much bleeding from such a long distance that the player can't help but recognize them as dangerous. I also really like how they aren't completely cowed by the light and you still have to be really careful fighting them after lighting the place up, it makes them feel more... I guess believable isn't really the word here, but it does convey the meaning I want "adds verisimilitude" is the phrase you are looking for, I think.
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Feb 1, 2015 18:30
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Update! The Life and Times of a Cupboard
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Feb 2, 2015 01:00
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Using life protect rings is pretty boring, so good decision. Also the actual name for the long-arms is Dark Stalker, fyi. Fun fact: one of the changes in the upcoming patch is to make Chameleon work on enemies. The Heide Knight sword is fine at hitting crystal lizards with its 1handed r1s. Flexile Sentry is a pretty disappointing boss. For a guy with two sides, he doesn't do a good job of covering his backside (whichever one that happens to be at that moment). Some of his attack patterns hit behind him, but he can't attack independently with both sides, which sucks. Would be hard to make work properly I guess.
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Feb 2, 2015 02:36
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At some point in the past, From released a patch that made Lucatiel actually worthwhile to summon. Beforehand, she was made out of wet cardboard and would constantly fall into the closest bottomless pit or never make it through a fogdoor. Pretty much every other NPC summon merits summoning, but it got to the point where I'd just whack her for her hat and be done with it.
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Feb 2, 2015 03:17
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Oh man. That item that turns you into a prop is hilarious! I wonder if there's a prop hunt multiplayer mod for the PC versaion. A bit a of a suggestion for your commentary. I noticed a lot of breathing and you might want to put a slight gate on the commentary track or use Audacity's noise reduction tool to reduce it.
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Feb 2, 2015 04:56
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The breathing is pretty much entirely because I'm still getting over this infernal cold. To the best of my knowledge I was already noise reducing all of it but I guess my nose is stuffier than I thought. I'll get on that.
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Feb 2, 2015 05:13
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It's ok. I'm an audio person and tend to notice things like that.
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Feb 2, 2015 05:39
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Well, your LP has convinced me to get back into the game! The crows were very, very kind to me at the beginning, too.
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Feb 2, 2015 05:49
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Should be probably be noted that Varangians aren't fake Vikings, they're real Vikings who took a wrong turn somewhere. Guess you could call them lost Vikings. edit: Also kinda disappointed you didn't mention the Flexile Sentry's arena gimmick, it's pretty drat cool if rather annoying. anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 08:40 on Feb 2, 2015 |
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Feb 2, 2015 08:29
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anilEhilated posted:Should be probably be noted that Varangians aren't fake Vikings, they're real Vikings who took a wrong turn somewhere. Guess you could call them lost Vikings. That sounds like a mechanic Samuelle might tackle in the future. The Flexile Sentry, I mean, I don't think he knows very much about transdimensional vikings.
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Feb 2, 2015 10:02
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