[mauve]

nico's signup page is completely in English now, so it's not really that big a deal to get an account. If it's not in english, go hit the boxes down at the bottom of the page to switch.

(admittedly this forces you to the new video player which is kind of a downgrade, but still)
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twit

[Talbain]

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[mauve]

So that's where that gif is from.
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twit

[Swimmy]

I just started a Belmont run. Whip only, wanderer set, no shield, miracles, one whip eventually ascended to divine and the thorn whip ascended to fire, throwing knives and firebombs allowed. This is infuriating and great, I highly recommend it.
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[diplo]

?

[Swimmy]

That's actually a bit better looking. Might have to get some hollow warrior stuff on instead.
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[diplo]

Don't forget that the whip in Haunted Castle powers-up to be a morning star and sword!

[misadventurous]

this only lends further credence to my belief that dark souls is the best modern castlevania :B

i just realized you can see the tops of the three great ash trees you pass through in ash lake from fire link shrine (the great hollow is visible in the distance, the massive tree over the shrine is the one with great magic barrier in it, and a branch from the stone dragon tree can be seen sticking out above the cemetery -- and isn't it awesome how the trees just jut out through the rock like that?) i was pretty fucking stoked to learn this. i also love how you can see the tops of the arch trees sticking out of the fog in the lowest part of the tomb of the giants. is the implication that they're holding up the world?? god why can't all game settings be as cool as lordran

is it weird that I've played the beginning of the game a load of times? i have a habit of starting new characters and not lasting much past the two bells. northern asylum is such a painless tutorial and the beginning areas are so immaculately paced and designed. it's like world 1 of super mario bros., it just doesn't get old.

[Talbain]

[Oh God Spiders No]

Is the Abyss the lowest thing? I feel like I may have asked this before. I can't really tell if it's "under" the world or if it's just sort of a contained cesspit pocket dimension somewhere. Ash Lake feels like it's much lower down.
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[diplo]

Where you confront Manus? It's not nearly as deep as Lost Izalith. That's the deepest, unless Ash Lake is juuuust barely lower down.

[Oh God Spiders No]

No, that's Chasm of the Abyss. I meant The Abyss, where you fight Four Kings.
Of course, they're probably actually the same place, just at different points in time.

Yea, i guess Lost Izalith is a strong contender, too, now that I think about it. You enter the Demon Ruins at the same Z-level as you enter the Great Hollow, but then there's an enormous drop to get down to the minotaurs, and then another down to the palace where you fight Demon Firesage, and then a HUGE descent into Lost Izalith, and then another big drop to get down to Bed of Chaos.

But, it would make sense that the Abyss is the endless black area that you can fall into even at the bottom of Bed of Chaos and Ash Lake.

What makes it all confusing is that it's hard to tell how far you fall to reach the Abyss from New Londo.
But! Since it is this huge dark space I guess the top of it might not be "flat", but could have peaks and valleys. Maybe the place where you enter it is relatively high up, but other areas in the game might kind of dip past its threshold here and there. Also, you're definitely not at the bottom of it when you fight Four Kings, because you can see that the Kings and Kaathe are rooted deep, deep down.

So I guess the Abyss has to be the lowest, since even when you're in it you can't see the bottom?

Does the White Abyss have any special significance? The Kiln seems like an ordinary, albeit post-apocalyptic city; why is it separated from the rest of the universe by that magic barrier. Maybe it was some magic of Gwynn to shield the rest of the world from the fires of his kindling. Whatever in-game explanation there is, I feel like this is the clearest analog to the Bifrost, Bridge to Asgard.
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[GcDiaz]

Now I'm gonna have to load that 3D map of Lordran again...
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Steam/PSN/Xbawks: GcDiaz

Let's bring sexy back!

[mauve]

iirc the bottom of the bed of chaos is the lowest point in the world, wish ash lake just above it.

the abyss where you fight the four kings actually has walls and is an enclosed area, and it is incredibly annoying when you accidentally find one when you're trying to evade.
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twit

[Ymer]

You ever had the blue drakes glitch through a wall and then receive their souls sometime later? I read that you can actually find their drops in The Abyss if you then go there after which I just find incredible.
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[diplo]

How deep is the Room of the Lord Bonfire? Is it disconnected from the rest of the map?

[GcDiaz]

It really is, but the model viewer puts it right below Firelink anyway. But the fact is you cannot walk to the Kiln in real time, it takes a cutscene.
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Steam/PSN/Xbawks: GcDiaz

Let's bring sexy back!

[Iacus]

[Talbain]

Agreed Iacus.

[GcDiaz]

So here's a question...my XBL Gold sub just ran out and I have zero intent to renew. Am I really barred from any online play on PC now? How do the PC-only silver subs do it?
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Steam/PSN/Xbawks: GcDiaz

Let's bring sexy back!

[Schwere Viper]

[GcDiaz]

Yes, but if you came into it as a paying console subscriber? It now tells me that my Gold has expired and sends me straight into Offline mode.
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Steam/PSN/Xbawks: GcDiaz

Let's bring sexy back!

[Talbain]

[GcDiaz]

Well strangely enough, this morning I was able to get on with no error messages. Just in case I parked myself in the forest with ring equipped, surely enough I got summoned.
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Steam/PSN/Xbawks: GcDiaz

Let's bring sexy back!

[apfEID]

I am constantly amazed at how far people can push the limits of this game. I think I'd be flabbergasted if someone did this to me.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/gew5iG_RvuY
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Te Occidere Possunt Sed Te Edere Non Possunt Nefas Est
http://ageoffire.tumblr.com

[Oh God Spiders No]

[mauve]

[apfEID]

just posted these Shadow Tower screen grabs on my souls/tower/field tumblr:



http://ageoffire.tumblr.com/post/69655918156/quelaags-ancestor-in-shadow-tower-ps1-screen

Someone posted a picture of the Firelink Shrine Firekeeper showing up in either Shadow Tower Abyss or King's Field IV, so I've been on the look out for any other references or ancestral ideas... there's a the floor is fire stage and a VoD/BlightTown style poison/acid stage in Shadow Tower as well.
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Te Occidere Possunt Sed Te Edere Non Possunt Nefas Est
http://ageoffire.tumblr.com

[Oh God Spiders No]

Should we mention how Dark Souls is like a 60% remake of Demon's in terms of NPC plotlines, enemy movesets, boss fights, areas, etc...
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[spectralsound]

yeah both the Souls games pretty heavily build upon what King's Field did, particularly King's Field IV. those Quelaag ancestors actually have roots in a similar enemy from King's Field III called an Alchemine. which i'm sure has further roots in some folkloric creature but you get the idea.

some more references off the top of my head:

- the snake men in Sen's and the Archives bear a resemblance to the Widda from King's Field IV
- the final areas of King's Field IV and Demon's Souls are very thematically similar (summon Lovecraftian horror, descend into said horror's gaping maw)
- the Boletarian soldiers in Demon's Souls bear a resemblance to the expedition troops in KF4
- for that matter the opening story bits of both games are similar; a king (Lucien IV/Allant XII) led astray by dark forces (Idol of Sorrow/Old One) and bringing ruin to his kingdom (Heladin/Boletaria)
- a dying NPC gives out an important key in both Dark Souls and KF4
- the hilarious propensity (started in King's Field III) of both series to feature wells to jump into near the beginning that instantly kill you
- both KF2's Melanat Island and Demon's Souls' Stonefang Tunnel are host to vast, dubiously managed mining operations
- maybe kind of a long shot, but KF3 had an enemy called a Skull Fighter that could be the ancestor of 4-x's black skeletons (though the Skull Fighters are far weaker)

i haven't played much of either Shadow Tower (alas) so i can't speak to any similarities there. i do know KF4 lifted its weapon durability system almost wholesale from the first Shadow Tower, and that the first game's structure of separate "realms" was likely a predecessor of Demon's Souls'.
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[OffalAl]

[Talbain]

Kitten made these and I thought they were pretty cool so I'm reposting them:



I'm not sure what the last one's about, but it's still pretty neat.
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[misadventurous]

i hell of want to emulate & play through the four king's field games + shadow towers soon. i guess to tide me over before i get a chance to try demon's.
i watched a little video of shadow tower abyss the other day and it straight up looks like a first person demon's souls, same stats and carry weight and all.

the bosses in this game are seriously pathetic aside from ornstein & smough, it's kind of funny

they all just try to intimidate you by being big and scary and having big scary lifebars as soon as you get over your fear they're a snap. that's the biggest lesson i've learned from dark souls: don't be scared! be confident & courageous & you will be rewarded! i like that :)

the second biggest lesson i've learned is "circle strafe + stab 'em in the butt it never fails"

EDIT: why not

[Ymer]

I too was kind of disappointed by the bosses past O&S. I'd seriously recommend getting the DLC though if you're looking for another hell of a challenge.
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[misadventurous]

i beat it (for the first time)

i appreciate the total lack of fanfare for gwyn. it makes him feel less like The Final Boss. he's just one more guy you gotta fight.

good ending too (i walked away from the fire)

[Ymer]

Did you find the Darkwraith covenant? It might make your ending somwhat more clear.
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[misadventurous]

i didn't find it on this file actually, but i knew about it and understood the implications of leaving the fire. i felt like it would suit my character better.

a lot of the game is spoiled to me now but that's okay. the true dark souls starts here, and all that.

[spectralsound]

kitten and i did a few co-op playthroughs late this year. i used it as an excuse to do Belmont Build Mk 2, me being the female Trevor to her Sypha. she about wanted to murder me by the end of it for picking a build that was so goddamned sucktastic.

the second run (i affectionally called it "The 1.02 Squad") was her idea: her as The Legend, me as Havelmom #8479 until i decided i liked the "wasteland cop" getup i had going better (burger king greataxe + wanderer coat + sorcerer hat + any arms and legs with poise).

we were halfway into Artorias + Ornstein when both our ps3s bit the dust. she could replace hers. i couldn't. ;____;
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[Kitten ClanClan]

yeah both of our ps3's died within literally 2 days of each other, it was total bullshit

as soon as i scrambled to find a black friday deal still going on for a ps3 (at k-mart of all places), luna's fucking YLOD'd :(

at least my dead one still plays ps2 games, just not bd discs
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[misadventurous]

god i want to play this online. but i have no xblg + i hear the 360 version sucks for online anyway

[Kitten ClanClan]

it has more hatemail but way less gankers than ps3

ps3 is gank city, just constant invasions by people with lightning weapons and high level pyromancy and 99 humanity (which drastically increases defense at low soul levels) at lower levels being jackasses

you're more likely to run into a hacker on 360, but a lot less likely to have to deal with constant ganking
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