Modder Fixes Dark Souls PC Port in 23 Minutes

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

Use a game pad for the controls. I was telling people this the moment it was announced. The game was tightly designed around a gamepad (mostly the PS3 controller).

This is not acceptable from a company that has the funding to hire someone with a modicum of talent to fix it.

FromSoft is a really small company. They aren't rolling in money.

 

[GameChanger]

If Fromsoft is smart, they hire this guy and make him check their pc-ports. It gets them another bug fixer who probably is very motivated to do so, and the community applauds them for not acting like EA, which is really easy these days.

For one I don't really care about the resolution problem, I just play PC-games because there is only one tv in our house, and most of the time people are watching stuff on it. PC-gaming is just my little zone of comfort where I can't be bothered by anyone else.

However, I do think that FromSoft should have dropped their dignity and asked someone for help. They were honest about having trouble with porting, but that's no excuse to keep playing the "we don't need help"-game.


Either way, back to Minecraft, still need to farm some obsidian.

 

[4RT1LL3RY]

Oh, Escapist. One page in and various people have people have already declared their unyielding hatred for: PC gamers, console gamers, and Linux gamers.

OT:
Bethesda releases a game with so many bugs, it could easily be described as broken:

OH WELL, MODDERS WILL FIX IT, BETHESDA IS TEH BESTEST DEV EVAR (OTHER THAN VALVE OF COURSE!)

From Software releases a game with minor graphical issues:

HOW DARE THEY MAKE ME PLAY AT 30 FPS!??!?! I AM GOING TO BOYCOTT!!!!!!!

All the more proof that From Software is a terrible developer and should quit the industry.

If From Software is so terrible, how come Dark Souls was one of the best games of 2011? Oh, wait, I forgot, THAT VERSION WAS FOR DIRTY STINKING CONSOLE PEASENTS, IT DOESN'T COUNT!!!!!111!11!

The 30FPS cap is the reason I didn't buy the Need for Speed: The Run on release. When I play Dirt 3 at max with 120fps on a 120hz screen I see no reason to be limited to 30fps for no reason. At least that got patched though so its ok.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

FromSoft is a really small company. They aren't rolling in money.

CD Projekt RED has just over half the staff that From Software has (112 Vs 208) and yet they managed to avoid stepping on their own dicks when making their first port to console (and this is FS's 2nd port to PC).

 

[proghead]

Well, the Japanese aren't much of PC gamers, and thus it shows in their PC ports. Same with Konami or Capcom. They're mostly 1:1 conversions. Just look at the Silent Hill ports for example. They probably even think they're "keepin' it real" by not changing "the experience" or something...

You wanted the game, and you got it. All strings attached. AFAIK it didn't run all that smoothly on the PS3 either.

 

[AJax_21]

Well, the Japanese aren't much of PC gamers, and thus it shows in their PC ports. Same with Konami or Capcom. They're mostly 1:1 conversions. Just look at the Silent Hill ports for example. They probably even think they're "keepin' it real" by not changing "the experience" or something...

You wanted the game, and you got it. All strings attached. AFAIK it didn't run all that smoothly on the PS3 either.

Capcom actually put out pretty good ports with DMC4 and RE5(shitty GFWL aside).

 

[FeloniousMonk]

Does anyone that uses the word 'entitlement' in a pejorative sense even know what the word means?

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.386197-Why-Im-entitled-to-be-entitled

Anyone who uses this word in the context of this incident is exhibiting a deplorable disregard for the English language, in addition to being flat out wrong.

 

[natster43]

It sucks that the game came out poorly, but hey at least people are working on fixing the problems so everyone can have a better experience with it.

 

[Tamrin]

I know this stuff isn't easy, but when some random dude fixes something broken you didn't care to do in less than half an hour the Time vs. Money argument is totally thrown out the F`ing window and raises some serious questions about other games that were ported and never fixed.

 

[gaminghard]

I presume that this (from a programmers point of view) should be a simple fix, since he managed to do it so quickly and without knowing the code for the game. 3d jocuri [http://www.jocurile.us/joaca/jocuri-3d.html]

 

[Doom972]

That proves that it they could've fixed it, but were just too lazy. I might get Dark Souls eventually but I'll probably avoid any games from this developer in the future.

I doubt it was laziness. I sincerely believe that they just didn't understand how important this issue was to American/European gamers, since PC gaming is not incredibly popular in Japan barring MMOs.

I do believe, however, that the next time they make a PC game, if ever, it will definitely not suffer the same faults that this version did, and will at least outsource the port to someone else.

It's a part of their job to know what their customers are expecting. All they had to do was to play just one PC game to understand what is expected of them.

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

Jesus, this is like throwing a tennis ball against a wall. No matter how skillfully and clearly the PC crowd points out why this slipshod, mess of a port is unacceptable, the others just dont get it.

We get it. Dark Souls was your little darling and ran great for you. Fantastic. But it's got some issues that need to be addressed now that it's on the PC.

Guys, address the people willing to listen and debate intelligently, but ignore the children. They'll yell themselves sleepy in a little while and go away.

Good to see the fixes are coming from somewhere anyway. Maybe when this game is bargain binned and the issues are dealt with as best as possible, I'll check it out.

I'm mostly quoting you because you bring up a great example of what I'm talking about.

Look, I understand that 30 FPS on a PC is not very good. I understand that the resolution locks and control issues are a big deal. I understand that you see the game as a mediocre port because of it.

But when you demean ever person who plays on a console, acting like you are so much better than them, and acting like only good games are on PCs, while every console game ever has been crap, you're going to have a tough time convincing people to give a shit what you say.

And console gamers, same goes for you. PC gamers aren't entitled because they want a port that actually utilizes the capabilities of a PC. And 30 FPS on a TV is not the same as 30 FPS on a computer. Are there games that run better at 30 FPS than 60? Yes, as playing Mega Man 2 on an emulator has proven. But most modern games feel better when they run at maximum capabilities. And holding back those capabilities is counter-intuitive to producing a quality port.

TL;DR, both sides need to address their points in a mature manner. Acting condescending towards anyone disagreeing with your opinion and building strawmen is not the way to get people to pay attention to you. Or rather, they will, but the result will be the opposite of your intention.

 

[Nurb]

This is great news. There is no excuse for releasing a game in such a poor quality and charging 40 bucks for it. People are in the right to expect a minimum quality for the games they purchase.

How is it bad quality? I was led to believe it was the same exact quality as the console version.

it is the same quality, but that's a travesty to your standard PC elitist.

CTRL + C
CTRL + V

Complaints for an inexperienced company making poor decisions are completely legitimate
Complaints for delivering a poorly produced product are completely legitimate

There is no excuse for releasing a game that locks FPS at 30 and at resolution that was common in 1998, there is no excuse for allowing sloppy controls on the devices most of the customers use, and there's no excuse for forcing paying customers to create fixes for the above.

People pay money, and they deserve to have expectations for a product of reasonable quality for the money they pay.

I can't believe this industry, it's the only one where a company can make a poor product and tell customers to fuck off if they don't like it, then wonder why sales aren't as good as they thought.

 

[Khayl]

Lol @ what this thread has become...pc elitists vs console fanboys. Now, a REAL gamer knows that you must balance both the dark and the light side...own both systems. Dark Souls is a perfect example. While admit that pc has alot of advantages over the console, I played, finished and ENJOYED DS 6 months ago. Without complaint I might add. The pc release has been out for 24 hours, and the Interwebz are ablaze with your bitching. Lol @ gamings master race

 

[Something Amyss]

Either way, FROM gets money. And we may or may not get a patch. Probably not, but I don't really care, I'm having fun with it.

Kudos to you, then. Normally, that might be sarcasm. But all things considered, it's a plus to see people enjoying a product.

People pay money, and they deserve a product of reasonable quality for the money they pay.

These "issues" were well known before the game ever came out. You guys all have the option to not purchase something if you find it to be of poor quality. But the PC community demanded this game, and they got it. Now they're complaining that the game is substandard, despite there being no actual standard.

Maybe next time specify instead of "please make this game on PC," you mean "please make this game using these exact parameters." The PC community has done nothing but complain since the announcement that they would get what they asked for.

Yeah bro, them PC gamers and their standards, so entitled for making sure the product they're thinking of spending their own money on conforms to their taste, it's sickening. They even have the gall to provide feedback to the developer.

Sweet strawman, bro.

No, you're right, It's 100% ok to charge people the same money for a COMPLETELY INFERIOR experience.

Same as what? Inferior to what? There are PC titles with "bad" framerates and resolutons all over. Many at full price. So it's not inferior to PC gaming in general, which has no fixed standard. It's not inferior to the original game (well, unless you count using a keyboard as a navigation tool)

We're such entitled shits for demanding the same quality for our money that PS3 users get.

I'm confused. You want a game where the framerate drops to 10FPS and has a resolution of roughly 720P?

You got it. So where the hell's the problem?

Or, by saying "the same quality" do you mean "better quality?" Because...What you got IS the same quality. With some bonuses, I'll add.

How dare we to actually expect not to get shafted on our own dime!!

While we're knocking down strawman, allow me to say: Yeah, how dare we expect people to actually be informed consumers!

Oh, company is inexperienced? Well that fucking excuses everything. Think I'll go start a construction firm and when buildings collapse and kill dozens of people I can just say I lacked experience, and it will be 100% all right after all.

This analogy might work if people begged you to build said building. As it is, I hope I never get fixated on a hobby so much that a "bad" port is as serious as a collapsing building.

And the risks, oh god. So many people wanted the game to be released on the PC, not to actually BUY and PLAY it, heaven forbid. No, it was all a BIG practical joke to make the poor developers spend time away from their sick grandmas.

Yes, because as we all know, what is said on the internet is a legally binding oath, and people never break that binding oath. (cue images of MW3, ME3, and every other AAA game in the last five years being played by boycotters). And, of course, no company has ever been let down by sales that don't match the demand of an online petition.

Take it from me. I'm a rocket scientist/martial artist/neurosurgeon/rock star, and I vowed to buy ten copies! I mean, if you're going to deride me for thinking people (rather demonstrably) can't be taken for their word, you must believe me, right?

Serves all the sods who bought an unplayable mess right for being such assholes.

LOL. This game is not unplayable. Stop over-dramatising things just because you personally don't like how they turned out.

Also, as all these problems were known before, why the hell did these so-called "assholes" buy the game, anyway? Seriously, this puzzles me. If the framerate and resolution are such serious issues, why weren't people informed enough to go "wow, low frame rate and resolution, this game's going to be an unplayable mess?"

And if they were informed enough, why did they buy it anyway?

 

[A Satanic Panda]

Clever modder, knowing how tricky a coding problem can be it's not surprising that the answer came from a source outside one relatively small company.

Not tricky at all actually. It's very common practice to replace a the d3d9 library in games with a custom tooled one.

The ENBSeries does exactly that, only instead of raising resolution, it just added color correction, bloom, depth of field, etc. Or if you have a mod that lets you move a fixed view point, or change the field of view, replacing the d3d9 library is really not that new.

My guess is that FS never got around to adding a UI for custom graphics and not coding a library to support changes in graphics. That kind of stuff actually takes time and money to do.

 

[Nurb]

These "issues" were well known before the game ever came out. You guys all have the option to not purchase something if you find it to be of poor quality. But the PC community demanded this game, and they got it. Now they're complaining that the game is substandard, despite there being no actual standard.

Maybe next time specify instead of "please make this game on PC," you mean "please make this game using these exact parameters." The PC community has done nothing but complain since the announcement that they would get what they asked for.

Arkham Asylum, Arkham city, Assassin's creed games, and any number of action games do not have those problems and work fine on PC. THAT is the minimum quality paying customers expect. You'd be saying something too if your console game had instructions for keyboard and mouse pop up or not have it optomized for console hardware, resulting in poorer performance than expected and gamers would not accept that from a PC port. So all your points mean nothing when complaints are legitimate.

 

[CronoT]

So, how long before he gets arrested?

Step 1: Using an unwritten rule taken from SOPA, he's charged with copyright infringement.
Step 2: He counters by saying he was just doing their job, because they were too lazy to do it.
Step 3: The lawyers get involved, and everyone huffs and puffs like monkeys throwing feces.
Step 4: The case settles out of court, wasting everyone's time, mostly the tax payers.
Step 5: He gets hired by them or some other studio to make or clean up games.

Why don't we just skip to step 5 and get it all over with. This isn't Sony trying to save face because they got schooled by a 20-something.