Dark Souls Impressions - The FINAL Update

Amazing chest ahead, try holding with both hands
Try thrusting
Tight spot ahead
Amazing view
Weakness: Tears
Fatty ahead

Something something praise the sun

Hurrah for skeleton!
Don't give up, skeleton
Try miracles, skeleton
Good job, skeleton
skeleton, help me

Hurrah for skeleton!
Don't give up, skeleton
Try miracles, skeleton
Good job, skeleton
skeleton, help me

Who says consent is the measure of value to a competitive game?

I do. Consent is the measure of value for all human activity.

In Street Fighter, you are not forced to fight people online. You have options to kick people you don't want to play against from your server. Every fight is consensual.

It's a fighting game, and you have to give your express consent for each fight.

Good game design.

All games have variables that consent does no account for, what if your opponent is more skilled than you because of naturally fluid MMR? What happens if your opponent uses weapons or strategies you never explicitly permissed?

All that matters is if I want to play you in the first place. If I don't want to play you, I should be able to kick you out. Anything beyond that doesn't matter. It's similar to anti-natalism in a way--I wouldn't have a single motherfucking problem with life if you could simply consent to your own birth, but you cannot do that.

Likewise, you can't consent to being invaded in Dark Souls, and I consider that shit game design. SHIT game design.

Once you solve that problem, I don't give a fuck about any other variables--you've solved the one big variable that matters. You don't have to consent to your opponent using certain strategies--that's retarded. If you don't want to play someone you know is going to use a particular strategy, don't play that person. That's the game.

Oh, that's because whether or not those things matters depends on the context of an individual game. Want to know why there aren't popular gametypes like that? Because it favors the home playing field at all times. You are only consenting to play when it is within your comfort zone. It is not an objectively worse or unethical design, it is a different design made for the purpose of incorporating elements of challenge and risk, because those elements are what make games rewarding when your risks pay off as a result of your skills. With this consent shite you are arbitrarily holding up as the standard of a game, you are just eliminating the value of game design itself.

Because I don't think that particular design choice has any value.

Indeed--it has negative value.

It's like you're reading a book meant to be a tragedy and complaining that it is objectively worse to the reader because it doesn't make them feel happy in the end compared to a fairy-tale. You refuse to acknowledge what the intended effect of the damn thing is and then try to give it some objective value or quality.

What a categorically shit comparison. A better comparison would be if I were reading a book, and every once in awhile, someone tried to snatch the book away from me as I was trying to read it, for absolutely no reason whatsoever. I ask them why, they tell me, "It's part of the experience."

If that's part of the experience, then it's a shit experience.

>4 likes on this post
What a joke.

I doubt anyone actually understood the points you were making.

Also just become human at bonfires

No.

You can however argue that the invasion system doesn't work well towards that effect.

That's definitely part of the argument I'm making.

Obviously, you don't have to fucking agree, but on principle, I shouldn't be forced to play games with anybody that I don't explicitly want to. It's a piss-simple request.

The fact that my only other option is to make the game significantly more difficult for myself is bad design. You call it "risk/reward"--I call it, "there's better ways of doing this."

Also just become human at bonfires

No.

Man you're just making it hard for yourself.  You're  going to get annoyed and quit. Just listen to us.

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I will admit that From handled the invading poorly and the PvP gets WAYYY too much praise in Dark Souls. It's not that the mechanic itself is poor, but there are a myriad of issues plaguing the PvP that make it really not worth your time for the most part.

Thank you.

I've been thinking, though--since I want my review to be as thorough and fair as my last three, maybe I should go human every once in awhile, if not just for the sake of having experienced it and knowing what that aspect of the game is like, so I can at least mention it in the review.

On the other hand, beating the game full Hollow would be a feather in my cap. Now I don't know what to do.

If you're reviewing a game you need to explore all aspects of it.

If you're reviewing a game you need to explore all aspects of it.

See, I know you don't want me to go full Hollow, because you don't want me to potentially fuck up the experience for myself, or whatever. I appreciate the sentiment, but I'm gonna have to think about it more.

I'll mull it over as I read the game's manual--which is probably something I should've done before I first played.

Let's be honest, Verb not reviewing PvP isn't much of a loss, considering most PvP focus is towards the end game when you have your build done.

Is there anything I'll be able to use as a progress bar in this game?

Half-Life 2 had chapters, Halo had levels, Fallout had the main quests... Does Dark Souls have anything?

If it's boss names, or something, fuck it--I won't bother. Those are a tad spoiler-y, and I could go without knowing them.

I sure wish I could try the PvP

basically every Dark Souls 1 invasion ended up with me getting front backstabbed and 1 shot

and in Dark Souls 2 I was getting stunlocked at the the top of the Belfry tower when my invader was still at the bottom floor



You could use the Boss Names as a progress bar and just only type them in as you defeat them so it doesn't spoil anything

Is there anything I'll be able to use as a progress bar in this game?

Half-Life 2 had chapters, Halo had levels, Fallout had the main quests... Does Dark Souls have anything?

If it's boss names, or something, fuck it--I won't bother. Those are a tad spoiler-y, and I could go without knowing them.

We generally use locations, as we all generally go to places in a certain order, as you'll find, you can get to most  places from the get go, but you're just not ready for them.

So just say 'Completed -location here-' and basically we'd all get the picture, and trust me, you'll remember the names of these places.

You could use the Boss Names as a progress bar and just only type them in as you defeat them so it doesn't spoil anything

Ah, good idea. I'll just put "[Yggdrasil slain]" up there, or whatever, and record it in the OP. That'll work.

Let's be honest, Verb not reviewing PvP isn't much of a loss, considering most PvP focus is towards the end game when you have your build done.

Well, let's remember--it's apparently not just PvP that I'll be missing out on...

Let's be honest, Verb not reviewing PvP isn't much of a loss, considering most PvP focus is towards the end game when you have your build done.

Well, let's remember--it's apparently not just PvP that I'll be missing out on...

Item drop isn't even noticeable. The only thing you're missing out on is the extra estus, and you could easily just turn human, upgrade, and then go die. No one would ever invade you in that amount of time.

I'm just offering you a solution to your problem. You're the one rejecting it for the principle. But I'm done talking about it.

Or you could just......play the game offline, play as a human, have all the benefits without the worry. When you feel ready, turn it online and pwn Giant Dad.

Or you could just......play the game offline, play as a human

I didn't know this was an option. I thought playing offline and going Hollow were one in the same.

So what's the point of going Hollow if you can just go offline to avoid player invasions?

Or you could just......play the game offline, play as a human

I didn't know this was an option. I thought playing offline and going Hollow were one in the same.

So what's the point of going Hollow if you can just go offline to avoid player invasions?

You can see player 'soapstone' mark, pretty much small hints on whats ahead of you, they're mostly dependable. There's also some factions you can join for online play which don't require you to become human. But no, if you have Humanity, then you can become human. Online connectivity is for PvP and Co-op PvE only, it doesn't effect the base game in any way other then the above.


(uhhhh, 'Humanity' is a consumable item you use at Bonfires to become human)

Or you could just......play the game offline, play as a human

I didn't know this was an option. I thought playing offline and going Hollow were one in the same.

So what's the point of going Hollow if you can just go offline to avoid player invasions?

Literally none. While offline you get all the benefits of being human (except for being able to read player messages or summon other friendly online players to your own world - but that's obvious)

No lies.

I honestly thought people would have brought up that point in these countless debates you've had.

Or you could just......play the game offline, play as a human

I didn't know this was an option. I thought playing offline and going Hollow were one in the same.

So what's the point of going Hollow if you can just go offline to avoid player invasions?

I honestly thought people would have brought up that point in these countless debates you've had.

I did on the second page, no one seemed to notice.

You can see player 'soapstone' mark, pretty much small hints on whats ahead of you, they're mostly dependable. There's also some factions you can join for online play which don't require you to become human. But no, if you have Humanity, then you can become human. Online connectivity is for PvP and Co-op PvE only, it doesn't effect the base game in any way other then the above.

(uhhhh, 'Humanity' is a consumable item you use at Bonfires to become human)

...Huh.

Well, I guess that settles it, then.

I'll go human, but I'm strictly playing offline.

I did on the second page, no one seemed to notice.

Eh, I might have missed it, actually. My bad.

I honestly thought people would have brought up that point in these countless debates you've had.

Fucking right?

God.

q_q

Notice me senpai?

Or you could just......play the game offline, play as a human

I didn't know this was an option. I thought playing offline and going Hollow were one in the same.

So what's the point of going Hollow if you can just go offline to avoid player invasions?

I thought I told you this. No, I know I did. But I got lost in this stupid argument of consent vs mechanics.

I'm just forgetting everything :/

I thought I told you this.

I'm just forgetting everything :/

Yeah. No one's told me that shit in my two years of arguing about this fucking game.

Or maybe they have, and I just didn't know what they meant at the time? I dunno.

OH WELL NOW I KNOW

Yeah, just play offline if you want to avoid being invaded

It's not ideal, but... You'll get to properly review the game at least, without having to skip out on being human