Did you free Biorr to have him help you? I could see Penetrator being Flamelurker-like with his speed and aggression but since he focused all his attacks on Biorr I was able to finish him off with about 7 or 8 blasts of soul arrow. Even if I hadn't intervened I think Biorr could have managed himself.
He was very helpful when that world was all said and done. He did a fine job of distracting the blue dragon, and after quite a few attempts to get to the damn thing (I killed Old King Doran - and so world tendency shifted toward black, making things quite a bit more challenging) on my second visit there Biorr somehow found himself in a spot where the dragon could not hit him; so as he whittled away the dragon's health I ran by and used almost everything I had-- arrows, kunai, throwing knives-- on the thing, and still had to use a ton of soul arrows, letting my MP fulling regenerate once. Finally he fell.
Then Ostrava, then the False King, who is a really annoying boss. Very reminiscent of Flamelurker in that you're constantly having to run away from him charging at you. Hard fight, but I'm done with Boletarian Palace now.
The Nexus has gone all organ music-creepy on me.
I'm currently navigating 3-2; very eerie.
Soul level 84.
If being wrong's a crime I'm serving forever
I actually offered my summoning services for the first time ever in this game the other night. I was always terrified of summoning someone or being summoned so I never did it. Somehow I overcame that fear in Dark Souls, mainly because I spent more time with it and became more comfortable in my ability to actually help someone and/or receive help without looking like a total noob.
Anyway, I never realized there was a grading system. So a guy summons me for the Tower Knight fight. I help him all the way across the walkway and through the boss, and he gives me a C! What the heck!
Regardless, I'm amazed (and pleased) that after all this time the servers are still running.
Rule #2: Double-tap
Going back to Demon's Souls after so much time with Dark Souls has been a fun experience. I can tell my skill level has increased quite a bit, and I don't mean that arrogantly. I originally played Demon's Souls super-defensively, and found it quite intimidating at the time, but I was running around parrying/riposting blue-eyed knights with base equipment.
It definitely feels less polished than Dark Souls. The animations aren't as fluid and the controls seem not as tight. Also, to my eye the graphical quality is not as good either. But more importantly than those things, it's even more obtuse in many ways than Dark Souls. The whole World Tendency thing for one. I do not miss that. Nor do I miss item burden. Or soul form.
I don't think I'm being controversial by stating that it's harder than Dark Souls (not to mention darker), in large part because of those last things I mentioned. Overall it just feels a bit clunkier. For instance, if you want to do a few summon runs, you must do this (assuming you don't want to affect World Tendency): place summon sign; get summoned; defeat boss; go back to Nexus and suicide off a high ledge; repeat.
I know there are many people who prefer DeS, so I'm not advertising these observations as anything but subjective. I've even seen people comment on how they thing DeS's graphics are superior. Hmm, I don't know about that one, but you see my point I hope. I consider Dark Souls an improvement in almost every way. Still, it's fun to go back to the one that started it all (ignoring King's Field of course). I think this very thread is one thing that drew me out of lurker mode on this site.
Rule #2: Double-tap
I never actually made it very far in Demon's Souls. Comparatively speaking. I beat Dragon God; I got to but didn't beat the Storm King; I was stuck on Penetrator in Boletaria; and I'd visited but not spent much time in Latria or the Valley. After I finished Dark Souls I decided I'd go back and play Demon's, thinking, well, how hard could it be?
Pretty frakin hard, as it happens. You're right about the clunkiness too. It's very possible to mismanage your build in Demon's Souls to the point that you've painted yourself into a corner and can't make forward progress (this is actually what happened to me on my first play, either that or I suck). Plus World Tendency and soul form are nonsense. And I never had any luck with summons or being summoned. I managed to bring a player in to help with Flamelurker, but that's about it. It was such a huge part of my Dark Souls experience that doing without it really hurt. I lost interest in the "play Demon's Souls" project after a couple hours, but I'd still like to play through at some point.
The games are on the same engine, which saw an iterative release between them but nothing major. From clearly got a lot better working with that codebase. I don't know much about PhyreEngine except that it's free and remarkably flexible, to the point I'm surprised it's not used more. DS2 will also use it, I think, so I'm really curious to see what else they're able to squeeze out of the thing.
Life is the misery we endure between disappointments.
It's a tough call. On the one hand it is a game worthy of completing. From's creative juices were flowing pretty well when they designed Latria and its bosses. So it would be a shame for you not to see it. As for the Valley, it's such a dreadful place that it's difficult to recommend if not for the emotional impact of the final boss.
On the other hand, barring the story, there's nothing DeS did that DkS didn't do better.
I honestly am not sure I would have been able to get through it without wiki help.
I always enjoy your musings on industry technology, Steerpike. I find such information absorbing for some reason. I don't mean to suggest that DkS is a huge leap above DeS in the graphics department, but it is a clear improvement. Even so, you can see where they picked their battles so to speak. All one has to do is take a closer look at the trees in Darkroot. They look like stage props. It's that whole idea of budgeting for realistic sales. We've discussed this before but it bears repeating that From's management seems to have an excellent handle on the concept.
Rule #2: Double-tap
For me, what I noticed was the walls. You know early, in Boletaria? Lots of straight gray walls, very cloned. Having just played Dark Souls I really noticed them, because in Dark you'd have ivy, a crack, barrels and other stuff on the parapets, that sort of thing. I think less a matter of attention to detail than one of what they were able to squeeze out of the engine.
I enjoy watching a console's lifecycle pass because it's amazing how developers learn the tricks of each platform. Month before last I finished The Last of Us, a game that comes damn close to photorealistic at times, and felt like spending an hour with another Naughty Dog game so I popped in the first Uncharted. This is like ten minutes after the credits rolled on Last of Us. And looking at it, the toothpaste hair, the waxy skin, the unmoving eyes, it was just so amazing to see how far they've come in the space of one generation. Each time they learn to squeeze a little bit more out of the machine. Probably the Atari 2600 was the greatest proof of this, you think of, like, Combat vs. Pitfall 2.
I got to see Latria because a buddy of mine was staying on my sofa during the period of the real Demon's Souls infatuation and he went there after Boletaria, the crazy bastard. That place was terrifying, something about it just freaked me right out. No place quite like it in Dark Souls, though I'm sure they could repeat if they wanted to. Some of the DkS2 preview videos give the same vibe.
Life is the misery we endure between disappointments.
I guess this initiative by community member Peeve has kinda worked:
There are a ton of people playing Demon's Souls tonight, and as a warm up for the all-nighter Dark Souls 2 beta, it's sort of wonderful. I've had quite a few summons already.
Been replaying DeS a lot over the past week. It's amazing going back to it after playing seven billion hours of DkS ... in a way it makes DeS better because I'm now better at Souls all around and appreciate it much more.
I made a straight-sword and miracles character; it's a lot easier and less intimidating to play the game than when I first did as a Royal with almost nothing but magic.
I enjoyed Latria and the Valley a lot more this time around too. I think those and Boletaria are my favourite worlds. Yeah, 3 out of 5 are my favourite. And the Shrine of Storms is pretty great too. Only Stonefang is kinda meh. And even still, it's a heck of a grind.
Having a lot of fun with DeS.
If being wrong's a crime I'm serving forever
A similar hankering has been in my possession for some time now, but I really want to finish DkS2. And I keep buying games, I should play some of those as well. Dammit.
Botch, you have my sympathy - moving is thoroughly unpleasant, except maybe when you're in college. In college moving is just an excuse to drink beer with friends, and easy too, since college students can move their stuff in their furniture, because their furniture is milk crates. When you're a grown-up, your furniture is made out of furniture, which doesn't double as a box and is often quite heavy.
If you were in college, you could remove your PS3 from its milk crate, upend that milk crate, put the TV on it, and BAM. Temporary setup.
Hmmm. I meant this response to be a little more uplifting... more of a "buck up chap, I feel your pain" kind of thing. Sorry about that. Buck up young chap, I feel your pain!
A Steam copy of Hatoful Boyfriend might cheer you up. I'm just saying.
Life is the misery we endure between disappointments.
And I keep buying games, I should play some of those as well.
Nah! Consumption! That's where it's at!
Hatoful Boyfriend. Isn't that about, um, pigeons or something? And that name just drives me nuts. Hatful-o-Boyfriend? No. Hateful Boyfriend? Also, no. Gah! What is a Hatoful anyway?!
Yeah, I would say more about moving, but the trauma is still too fresh.
Rule #2: Double-tap
I beat Demon's Souls yet again maybe a month ago. It's worth going back to, World Tendency, soul form and all! And there are still a good deal of people playing it online. The thing is, as long as there are PS3s and PSN and the internet Dark Souls will live forever. But Demon's Souls online could disappear at any time. Somehow the magic lives on to this day, 5 years later and counting, but who knows when it will be shut down for real? And that's a really sad thing because while it will still be a 10/10 game, it will be a 10/10 game with something missing. Something missing that can never be regained.
...
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If being wrong's a crime I'm serving forever
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