# Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin details - 1080p/60fps, Soul Memory, and more



## Simon (Feb 6, 2015)

> In Dark Souls 2, your ability to join someone's game (whether as friend or foe) was determined by something called "soul memory" — basically a stat tracking how much currency a player had earned and spent throughout their total time in the game. Many players complained about this system, as it was difficult to determine the best soul memory range to ensure that you could find people to play with or against.
> 
> From Software isn't dumping soul memory altogether, but Yoshimura says that players will now have ways to control the range of soul memory that the game searches for when connecting to other players. This will also allow friends who want to play co-op together to find each other more easily, a long-standing request from many fans.
> 
> "I'm not saying players can directly communicate with their friends, "Yoshimura says. "Indirect communication with other players is the unique aspect of the Dark Souls franchise. We're not going to change that. But we will let players control soul memory to at least let them match more easily."





> In addition to different enemies in different locations and enemies from the DLC making their way into the core game's zones, Yoshimura says that enemy AI has been improved across the board. More dense packs of enemies have been placed in some areas, and they'll now track players for much longer, effectively ending the strategy of just running past less bad guys.







> Other alterations seem to be in place mainly to keep returning players on their toes, like a new NPC Dark Phantom called the Forlorn, who can invade and attack you anywhere online play is possible. If you've built up a sense of security about your surroundings, he can show up anytime to destroy it.



 <-- There's also a PS3 vs PS4 Graphic comparison here



> Part of mastering a Dark Souls game is understanding the characteristics and locations of your enemies. According to Yoshimura, Scholar of the First Sin wipes the slate clean. "Enemy placement is completely revised in all areas of the game. It's not just several areas, it's all areas," he reiterates. "What makes this unique is that it completely changes the gameplay. For example, there were a lot of fireman looking zombies in the Forest of Fallen Giants, but you will recognize that the number of [these enemies] has increased. Also, their AI is improved. Previously, their AI was not that smart. It was easy for players to escape from zombies without actually fighting them. They're smarter than before. They'll basically chase players all the way down until they get killed, so it's really difficult to escape from them."
> 
> Yoshimura explained that beyond new enemy placement and improved AI, there will also be certain types of enemies that appear where you least expect them to. "Right after you start from the bonfire in the Forest of the Fallen Giants, you will see this hippo-looking guy in the River. He wasn't there [before]. Remember the elevator that takes you to the boss arena? There were no enemies there, but this time there are! All of those hardcore Dark Souls fans [probably] remember safe areas, but these are no longer safe. They need to come up with a completely new strategy in order to conquer each area in Scholar of the First Sin."



The Forlorn:


>





> The jump to PS4 has given developer FromSoftware an opportunity to paint a more pleasing picture. The native 1080p resolution, upgraded lighting effects, and cinematic filters give the game a richer, cleaner look compared to the PS3 version.
> 
> But the biggest improvement comes from the improved framerate — 60 frames per second according to Bandai Namco representatives. The increased fluidity translates into more responsive movement and combat, a major advantage considering the game’s famously unforgiving difficulty.





> Then there are the gameplay adjustments. You won’t be able to rely on your memory to cakewalk the PS4 game because some enemies and item locations have been changed. Enemies will follow you more tenaciously, even through fog gates — a terrifying, potentially ruinous side effect of PS4′s expanded RAM pool.
> 
> Some weapons are also being tweaked. I noticed that the Fire Long Sword, a powerful early-game weapon that saved my butt countless times on PS3, seemed to be way less durable in this version. In other cases, a producer told me, weapons that were largely overlooked may be easier to find, or be adjusted in other ways.
> 
> Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin on PS4 also includes all previously released Dark Souls II content expansions: Crown of the Sunken King, Crown of the Old Iron King, and Crown of the Ivory King, so there will be no shortage of things to do and monsters to kill.


----------



## The World (Feb 13, 2015)

> Enemies will follow you more tenaciously, even through fog gates — a terrifying, potentially ruinous side effect of PS4′s expanded RAM pool.


----------



## Deathbringerpt (Feb 13, 2015)

So you guys are paying for this game again, huh?

And why would you do that?


----------



## The World (Feb 13, 2015)

I don't have a PS4 so nope 

when I do in the way way future price should drop significantly by then


----------



## Enclave (Feb 13, 2015)

I'm going to be far too busy with Bloodborne to play this.


----------



## Buskuv (Feb 13, 2015)

Enclave said:


> I'm going to be far too busy with Bloodborne to play this.



Same.

I will, however, probably end up getting it at some point.

Maybe if sales are good enough we might get updated ports of Dark Souls or... maybe even... Demon's Souls?

Please?


----------



## Simon (Feb 13, 2015)

I didn't play any of the DLC, sooo I might.

edit: Thinking about it now, depends on what is coming out this summer, need something to play during the long dry spell.


----------



## The World (Feb 14, 2015)

Dr. Boskov Krevorkian said:


> Same.
> 
> I will, however, probably end up getting it at some point.
> 
> ...



I wish


----------



## Kind of a big deal (Feb 16, 2015)

Literally counting the days. Probably the 60 frames per second is the thing I'm most exited about. I hate it on the last gen when the fps dips and your timing for rolls and blocks starts to get all wonky. Especially with bossfights. It was worse with DS than with DS2 but still would happen sometimes.

Second most exiting thing is the ring that stops your soul level. Finally some normal PvP instead of these maxed out opponents all the time.

And the new enemy placement makes it interesting to go through the game again, although I think it will just be in a few places that it's significantly different. Aside from a few extra enemies I'm not expecting too much from it. 
However some youtube guys who got to play a preview version said that some enemies would do patrols now, making the world feel more alive rather than all of them just standing guard and waiting for you, which, if you think about it, is a bit silly. That IS cool and I hope they implemented this everywhere because you'd need to learn and remember their paths instead of just their position and there's fewer 'safe' spots.

As for the enemies following you everywhere, I don't really ever skip any enemies anyway so I don't think this will affect me too much.


----------

