From Software 'n such

[guigui]

Over 24 hours without updates on Elden's progress by shmups members. Either game is bad and they dropped it, or they drowned in it.

[Austin]

Still drowning in it, yeah.

[BIL]

Is Dark Souls' PS4 version good? I think I'm gonna play that, then get a PS5 for Elden Ring, hopefully with its teething issues sorted out.

Still absolutely bonering over BB revisit, though. Even better the second time around.



Nothing else scratches my respective Hardcore Killing and poofter horror/adventure loremonger itches like this game.

Spoiler

Man I love everything about FW to Bergy. Dream action-horror game.

Thought I'd be H4RDCOR3 and go Hunter's Nightmare immediately post-Ammy (lv40), but it was a bit Euroshumpy for my liking (as in, Vickies eating six straight V-ATKs), so I scarpered after settling for a tag champ battle with Henny-chan vs THE DOBLE V CONNECTION. Came back right after reaching Byrgenwerth's lamp (lv70), had a grand time. HN is fulla exotic stuff I don't need, but which fetches mad cash when sold, so it wasn't all that hardcore tbh.

Feel like I learned how to actually go toe-to-toe with Kozmo's raeg moed, this time around. Finally realised you're meant to get close to dodge his Pink Shite Shotgun, while the brutally head-clashing Marv Rematch in Loran gave me a clue about parrying his direct attacks. Marv, his Loran upstairs neighbour Abby and Koz are MAH BOIS. Game's best three duels imo, and just masterful punishing 3D action in general.

[Sumez]

Over 24 hours without updates on Elden's progress by shmups members. Either game is bad and they dropped it, or they drowned in it.

The latter.
Also there's a rule in this thread that you can't say your opinion on a game until you've finished it at least five games, and played the DLC.



At the absolute final stretch of the game, and while I do think I can think of a couple of negative things to say about the game, all of which are a natural consequence of its open world nature, it's drowned out by the positives. Elden Ring is still an absolute master class in video game design. It's insane how much stuff it has to offer.

[Stevens]

Drowned.

I'm at 36.5 hours and I bought it last Friday. That will be 40+ by the time I go to sleep.

[Immryr]

i'm at thirty something hours in too. my opinions of the game seem to be about the same as sumez. it's really great, only minor negatives are due to the open world stuff.


Bil: Ds1 is great on ps4. they slightly messed up how the lighting looks in the remaster for some reason, but otherwise it's a great version of ds1.

[BIL]

Excellent, ta bud.

[Steamflogger Boss]

Over 24 hours without updates on Elden's progress by shmups members. Either game is bad and they dropped it, or they drowned in it.

I'm 70 hours in. I kinda post about it more on another board where I'm more active.

[Austin]

Yeah BIL, Dark Souls Remastered is great. Should run at a solid 60fps on PS4 like, 99% of the time. Includes the DLC too. Curious as to your thoughts on it when you play it.

[BIL]

Cheers bud, great to hear the DLC's in! Will report back for sure - to be honest, I'm thoroughly re-addicted to BB at the moment, and could very happily play it all week - I'd assumed Loop 10+ would get boring, but it actually hits a weird kind of equilibrium... you're strong as hell with near-infinite END, and have all the toys you could ever want, but big enemies and bosses still hit for 3HKOs, and LVLUP is a cool 1.6mil eggos, so it still feels incredibly brisk.

Spent all evening mucking about in Hamlet reacquiring my Big Sharky techniques - whoop dat ass! I remember when I used to be SCURRED! - and staging... SHARK WAR III





It really hit me this time around, this is pretty much my GTA. Used to spend hours chilling out watching my older brother play San Andreas when we were kids, some of my favourite gaming memories actually - but try as I might, I could never get anything out of it myself. BB is roughly the same concept - a world of comically violent possibilities! - but tied to meat n' potatoes HARDCORE KILLING discipline, and tight, almost arcadey (yet contemplative!) stage+boss design. All in all, a surprisingly bottomless glass cannon toybox - like a 3D action SOTN, with the vital addition of vicious meaty technical carnage.

But as much as BB's movement and combat hooked me, the stage design and sheer craftsmanship of the environment is the other big pull - so I've been looking forward to DS1's level design, especially with so many of my favourite peeps here including you noting its excellence. Imma get it on before the month's too far gone.

[Stevens]

Just hit 42.

Dear lord the area I am in now is just incredible. All of it. Wow. S tier.

[Blinge]

Rofl no one plays BILBorne like Birru.

fighting everything AND the shark asshole in that area at once!?! cmon!! ahah

DS1 to me is much much more of a toybox but the combat won't give you so much of a chubby as bloodborne's did.
But you can definitely view it as part of the honing/learning process that lead to BB eventually!

on a minor note they fucked with lock-on distance and ruined it a little bit in the remaster. No idea why or how, something about long range spells not targeting very well.. If that's the only thing it affects then who cares because fuck magic users ololol

https://youtu.be/_r4NC2e8pUc - shitpostin' 2017

[Blinge]

Also there's a rule in this thread that you can't say your opinion on a game until you've finished it at least five games, and played the DLC.

You're allowed if the DLC isn't out yet

inb4 i played demon souls literally a decade ago, and every souls game inbetween and i think ds3 is way easier!!
now where are my crayons i'm hungry

[Austin]

DS1 to me is much much more of a toybox but the combat won't give you so much of a chubby as bloodborne's did.
But you can definitely view it as part of the honing/learning process that lead to BB eventually!

Not gonna lie, I feel like after him starting with BB first, everything else in the Souls series is probably going to come off as a major step back in comparison.

[Blinge]

alas, can't be helped.

but is it a problem? is there enjoyment to be had in DMC1 if you love 3?
probably!

[BIL]

TBH I like DMC1 better than DMC3 I love the third game's controls, but the Tony Hawk stuff only goes so far for me; first game has a vicious simplicity, like Guilty Gear vs Super Turbo. Less woo-hooo! more BITCH IMMA KILL U

Around BB's release, I'd constantly see people saying "if u play it liek Souls, U GON DIE " and looking at videos, I was like "So you quickstep through swings to hit em from the back??? Yo! That's Shinobi!" But I liked the cut of Souls' jib since the first Demon's thread appeared here way back when (still got the sealed copy of that game I bought after everyone here went nuts for it ). All good in the hood.

(DEM FEELS are a big draw too, I'm a sensitive sort not many hardcore killing games that regularly make me feel bad for the poor big bastards I'm taking down - like the time I accidentally hit Vicky in the nuts with a slapshot this goes right back to the Otogis, now I think about it. decent DMC1-gen slashers, but absolutely gorgeous dark Heian fantasies. reaching Bergy's moonlit lake was an instant recall to the first Otogi's haunted sea. when I read an interview with Miyazaki where he talked about this scene I was like YEEE THATS MAH BOI)

[Blinge]

nah, you can still evade through enemies swings and hit em in their buttbutt

can't wait to hear about your esperience!

[BIL]

Out of curiosity, what did the "play like Souls = GON DIE" thing really mean? It's been a riddle of sorts... feel free to withhold if it's a spoiler or something.

[guigui]

Basically, in the beginning it came down to : no turtles in BB.

[BIL]

Aha, makes sense. Many instances in BB where hanging back = dead (Maria comes to mind).

All the Reddit bros calling mah boi BIG SHARKY "bad game design" need to understand! If you hide from em, they gon EAT YO ASS LIKE JEFFREH DAHMER

[Blinge]

It's an error, basically.

The correct version would be a less catchy:
" If you play a passive playstyle like is possible, but optional, in Souls - you'll die"

Ie, holding shield up, playing wait and see. Block then counter-attack vs enemies.
Or poise-tanking... having enough heavy armour on that you get a super-armour effect on your attacks, won't flinch/be interrupted.

but that's not the playstyle I gravitated towards in Souls anyway - I played it almost like bloodborne to great effect.


(on a personal note - my souls habits *did* get me killed against larger bloodborne bosses because I'd just be trying to hug them constantly and quickstep at 11 O'clock direction. In Ds2 I never rolled backwards.. I was always moving forwards or past. when BB bosses filled the screeen and had hard to read animations and attacks I got fucc. I've come to realise that vs a lot of BB bosses it's a great idea to quickstep in and out of range.. land use all directions to your advantage.)

Edit: yeah Gui summed it up much better

[BIL]

(on a personal note - my souls habits *did* get me killed against larger bloodborne bosses because I'd just be trying to hug them constantly and quickstep at 11 O'clock direction. In Ds2 I never rolled backwards.. I was always moving forwards or past. when BB bosses filled the screeen and had hard to read animations and attacks I got fucc. I've come to realise that vs a lot of BB bosses it's a great idea to quickstep in and out of range.. land use all directions to your advantage.)

This is why I consider Loran's Abhorrent Beast BB's formally best duel, and a highlight of each loop. He's small enough that you can always see his head and hands, so I've got no excuse when he slaps the shit out of me. And indeed, while you're generally best off quickstepping into 11/1o'clock to evade his jabs and swings, riding dat butt too hard will provoke a vicious backhand response (ABBY AINT BOUT THAT ) that makes deft temporary retreats advisable.

Forbidden Woods Ver is great too! Blimey, you scared meh!

[Blinge]

Each loop? The chalices are consistent right?

If you wanted to fight him again you can just make the chalice again at any time

[Steamflogger Boss]

Just hit 42.

Dear lord the area I am in now is just incredible. All of it. Wow. S tier.

There are so many awesome looking areas in this game that I can't even know which one this is about. I've been really impressed.

[BIL]

Each loop? The chalices are consistent right?

If you wanted to fight him again you can just make the chalice again at any time

Oh yeah I know - I always redo Lower Loran once per loop. With the gorgeous air of bronzed sandy ruin, it's like the Vagrant Story sequel I never got.

Spoiler

^^^ I be fappin 2 dis

Also Marv rematch, mans buffs up nicely after his disappointing loss in Ol' Yharny.

Except when this happens I mean. Happens more often than you might think! Them fight night nerves!

https://youtu.be/_r4NC2e8pUc - shitpostin' 2017

Missed this. Could never be arsed with BB's limited selection of projectile magic. A dedicated Arcane run does sound fun for a change of pace though, as does a Bloodtinge one, where hopefully the minigun and cannons aren't wastes of me fookin time.

More than ever, I'd like to see a BLAME Souls, where guns do equally meaty n' horrendous carnage to blades and clubs. More than a simple stat tweak, I mean turning mahfuckas' assholes into steaming ravioli (while they attempt much the same on you!)

As for my normal play, Beast Roar aka Best Roar aka PARL FIST is invaluable for shutting down mansized foes, but that's strictly so I can get me fookin bonesaw all up in they boat race naw mean

[Stevens]

Just hit 42.

Dear lord the area I am in now is just incredible. All of it. Wow. S tier.

There are so many awesome looking areas in this game that I can't even know which one this is about. I've been really impressed.

Since you are further than me:

OBVIOUS FUCKING SPOILERS BELOW

Spoiler

Raya Lucaria Academy. Feels like that shit was lifted right from Yharnam but with five plus years more experience in game development. Seriously blew me away. Capped off with a great boss fight. Let the Rom/Rennalla theories fly.

[Blinge]

turning mahfuckas' assholes into steaming ravioli

Haha, it's possible in BB but you really have to go out of your way to do it.
there's bullshitto involved

https://youtu.be/MD-ZX1Fv3N4

unless you just mean cosmetically, then I can't help you there.
Ha that reminds me there's a character perk you can use in Fallout: New Vegas called "Bloody Mess!" its only purpose is to make ravioli

[guigui]

Ha that reminds me there's a character perk you can use in Fallout: New Vegas called "Bloody Mess!" its only purpose is to make ravioli

Bloody Mess is in the original Fallout too, best mandatory perk in the whole series.

[Sumez]

Since you are further than me:

OBVIOUS FUCKING SPOILERS BELOW

Spoiler

Raya Lucaria Academy. Feels like that shit was lifted right from Yharnam but with five plus years more experience in game development. Seriously blew me away. Capped off with a great boss fight. Let the Rom/Rennalla theories fly.

If the level design there blew you away, there's an area a bit later in that's gonna absolutely floor you.

I can't remember if I mentioned it in this thread already but I think some of From's best level design is present in this game. Unfortunately it's not consistent all the way through, but the highs are really fucking high!

[BIL]

I had a Fallout-loving buddy who called his Bloody Mess runs "Hokuto no Ken mode."

turning mahfuckas' assholes into steaming ravioli

Haha, it's possible in BB but you really have to go out of your way to do it.
there's bullshitto involved

https://youtu.be/MD-ZX1Fv3N4

unless you just mean cosmetically, then I can't help you there.

Yeah, thinking more of a more fundamental aesthetic shift - guns, rockets and lazors on equal footing, rather than as garnish. Plus lots of hideous melee weaponry (swords, claws, hentai tentacles), and a healthy amount of HAXXOR tricks. And landmines, EMPs and other goodies! All in a BBesque high-risk/high-yield glass cannon combat model, ie you're agile and deadly, but mistakes that more mainstream-friendly action would shrug off will maim you. I wouldn't want a techno-Souls to just reskin itself from Berserk to BLAME!, even if it'd undoubtedly be a good time. I could imagine some crazy shit, in that kind of Matrix-influenced malleable cyber dungeon (BLAME!'s a good read, very self-contained; I need to check back in with its companion piece Biomega... it's been years, as I like it with my ongoing manga EDIT: oho! it's done, nice)

But for now at least, there is THE FUTURE OF CYBER WARFARE:

Spoiler

Brutal

Loved the video. (had no idea guns did 2x damage on parried enemies! very interesting...)

Spoiler

Holy fuck BB looks amazing at 60fps. I'll inevitably wade into unofficial patching at some point, if Sony doesn't get around to it. (I'd actually take quickloading over 60fps though - BB's framerate has never bothered me)

Flipping the doll set is a highlight of every run. (one thing about the loops, that I was glad to be rid of on my Loop 1 revisit - the "great ball of fire" trap doesn't scale with enemy HP, so those huntsmen who get mowed down right before Gaz are eventually just pushed around a little. felt good to see the fuckers properly CROOSHED once more

also I never noticed the torch bro actually lights the trap, for his ogre BFF to punch. cool. also ALSO never noticed the nearby ladder and its secret passage is primed to do a bit of Animal Doctor 64 on piggeh's arsehole down below!)