When From Software issued the statement this week about Dark Souls 2 being downgraded, they said, “A developer is always challenged with creating the most rewarding gaming experience while delivering continuity in graphical quality, gameplay dynamics, and balance within the game,” but failed to go into specifics about any changes. Following this, Namco Bandai told Videogamer that they now consider the Dark Souls 2 downgrade case closed, and likely won’t comment any more on the matter.
Shortly after Namco Bandai said they wouldn’t comment any further, Forbes posted a report about information surrounding Dark Souls 2’s downgrade, based off information from “a source close to the development.” In this, the source says that it came down to “a playable framerate.”
The source then explained:
The early builds that the screenshots came from were playable, but only just so. The game was not in a state where it could be sold at that point. I strongly suspect that they were focusing heavily on delivering a top-notch experience on PC and underestimated the challenges the new systems would pose on PS3/Xbox 360. That’s my analysis, anyway. But, factually, the early builds played like Blighttown the entire game.
I sincerely don’t think they intended to deceive, but in the end they sacrificed a huge amount of graphical fidelity at the very end of development because they couldn’t resolve the framerate in any other way. They had to promote the game with screens and trailers, but at that time even they had no idea they were going to have to drop the settings so much, I suspect.
I want people to know the truth. I know a lot of people just feel lied to, but I think the reality is a bit different. It doesn’t mean they handled it properly, but I think they made the only decision they COULD make in the end. The game would have been much worse without the change (as in, many would call it unplayable and broken).
If framerate truly is the reason for any sort of downgrade, are you okay with it? Or are you too busy dying in the game to care? Let us know in the comments below.
[Via]
