Anonymous edits have been disabled on the wiki. If you want to contribute please login or create an account.

Warning for game developers: PCGamingWiki staff members will only ever reach out to you using the official press@pcgamingwiki.com mail address.
Be aware of scammers claiming to be representatives or affiliates of PCGamingWiki who promise a PCGW page for a game key.

Difference between revisions of "Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition"

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
(patch updates and a few workarounds for lower speced machines, plus a few cleanup edits)
Line 17: Line 17:
 
{{ii}} Using a [[#Controller|Controller]] is highly recommended over keyboard and mouse controls.
 
{{ii}} Using a [[#Controller|Controller]] is highly recommended over keyboard and mouse controls.
 
{{ii}} If using keyboard and mouse controls, apply the [[#DSMfix|DSMfix]] to improve mouse control issues.
 
{{ii}} If using keyboard and mouse controls, apply the [[#DSMfix|DSMfix]] to improve mouse control issues.
−
{{++}} Use [[#DSfix|DSfix]] to increase rendering resolution.
 
 
{{--}} A poor port of the console versions of the game with few PC options.<ref>http://uk.pc.gamespy.com/pc/dark-souls/1225854p1.html</ref>
 
{{--}} A poor port of the console versions of the game with few PC options.<ref>http://uk.pc.gamespy.com/pc/dark-souls/1225854p1.html</ref>
 +
{{++}} Use [[#DSfix|DSfix]] to increase rendering resolution along with many other options.
  
 
'''General information'''
 
'''General information'''
Line 41: Line 41:
 
</gallery></div>
 
</gallery></div>
  
−
{{ii}} [http://darksouls.nexusmods.com/mods/446/ HD textures] and [http://darksouls.nexusmods.com/mods/21 fonts] are available to download
+
{{ii}} [http://darksouls.nexusmods.com/mods/446/ HD textures] and [http://darksouls.nexusmods.com/mods/21 fonts] are available to download.
  
 
=== DSfix ===
 
=== DSfix ===
 
{{ii}} A [http://darksouls.nexusmods.com/mods/246/ GUI for DSfix] is available for inexperienced users
 
{{ii}} A [http://darksouls.nexusmods.com/mods/246/ GUI for DSfix] is available for inexperienced users
−
{{++}} DSfix increases the rendering resolution for better visual quality; without it the game outputs [[Wikipedia:Anamorphic widescreen|anamorphic]] 1024x720.
+
{{++}} DSfix increases the rendering resolution for better visual quality; without it the game outputs [[Wikipedia:Anamorphic widescreen|anamorphic]] 1024x720. It also allows the 30fps lock to be lifted, HD or other alternate textures to be used, as well as giving options for Anti-Aliasing (AA), Screen space ambient occlusion (SSAO), Depth of Field (DOF) blurring, Anisotropic Filtering (AF) and many other features.
  
 
{{Fixbox|1=
 
{{Fixbox|1=
Line 56: Line 56:
 
}}
 
}}
  
−
=== 9/17/2013 Patch makes game unplayable for those uses mods ===
+
=== 1.02 Patch (2013-09-17) breaks compatibility of many mods ===
−
{{++}} DSfix has been updated to version 2.1 which corrects version 2.01 issue with this patch. (unlockfps now works!).
+
 
 +
The main executable was patched so any mod reliant on locations in the executable/RAM need to be updated.
 +
{{++}} DSfix has been updated to version 2.1 which restores the unlockfps option, although any other settings that were broken by the latest patch have yet to been restored.
 +
{{++}} DSVfix is no longer required as all of its fixes have been implemented into the game.
 +
{{++}} DSMfix has been unofficially updated by a fan of the project.
 +
{{++}} DSCfix has been reported to be unaffected by the patch.
 +
 
  
 
===Skip intro videos===
 
===Skip intro videos===
Line 96: Line 102:
 
* Delete DSCfix.dll, DSCfix.ini, and DSCfix.log.
 
* Delete DSCfix.dll, DSCfix.ini, and DSCfix.log.
 
}}
 
}}
 +
  
 
== Game data ==
 
== Game data ==
Line 303: Line 310:
  
 
== Issues fixed ==
 
== Issues fixed ==
 +
 +
===Improving FPS on lower-spec machines===
 +
 +
{{Fixbox|
 +
{{Fixbox/fix|Adjust settings in DSfix}}
 +
{{ii}} Disable anti-aliasing. (aaQuality 0)
 +
{{ii}} Use lowest guality SSAO (ssaoScale 3)
 +
{{ii}} Set a resolution lower than your native display to improve performance on older machines, at the cost of upscaled blurriness and aliasing.
 +
}}
 +
{{Fixbox|
 +
{{Fixbox/fix|Adjust settings in game}}
 +
{{ii}} Disable motion blur.
 +
}}
 +
{{ii}}Certain areas of the game are more demanding on your hardware causing slowdown in-game. It seem the engine, when faced with an area where it struggles to keep at 30FPS, will cut down to 15FPS. The most famous is Blighttown, but large animated characters can also produce this slowdown.
 +
{{++}}Unlock the FPS cap with DSfix (unlockFPS 1), set the frame cap at 30 (FPSlimit 30) and enable vsync (enableVsync 1) For the most part you will have the same experience, but where the game would usually dip to 15FPS it will only drop as far as it needs to (results dependant on your machine).
 +
 
=== General low performance ===
 
=== General low performance ===
 
{{Fixbox|1=
 
{{Fixbox|1=

Revision as of 12:06, 24 September 2013

Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition
Cover image missing, please upload it
Developers
From Software
Publishers
Namco Bandai Games
Engines
PhyreEngine
Release dates
Windows August 23, 2012
Icon overlay.png
Icon overlay.png
Icon overlay.png
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition on Wikipedia
Icon overlay.png

Warnings

For Games for Windows - LIVE on Windows 8 or later, install the latest Games for Windows - LIVE software.
Dark Souls
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition 2012
Dark Souls II 2014
Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin 2015
Dark Souls III 2016
Dark Souls: Remastered 2018

Key points

Using a Controller is highly recommended over keyboard and mouse controls.
If using keyboard and mouse controls, apply the DSMfix to improve mouse control issues.
A poor port of the console versions of the game with few PC options.[1]
Use DSfix to increase rendering resolution along with many other options.

General information

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Template:Availability Table

A Games For Windows Live (GFWL) account is required to play the game.

Essential improvements

Using DSfix with in-game anti-aliasing enabled causes the game to only use part of the screen.
HD textures and fonts are available to download.

DSfix

A GUI for DSfix is available for inexperienced users
DSfix increases the rendering resolution for better visual quality; without it the game outputs anamorphic 1024x720. It also allows the 30fps lock to be lifted, HD or other alternate textures to be used, as well as giving options for Anti-Aliasing (AA), Screen space ambient occlusion (SSAO), Depth of Field (DOF) blurring, Anisotropic Filtering (AF) and many other features.
Instructions

1.02 Patch (2013-09-17) breaks compatibility of many mods

The main executable was patched so any mod reliant on locations in the executable/RAM need to be updated.

DSfix has been updated to version 2.1 which restores the unlockfps option, although any other settings that were broken by the latest patch have yet to been restored.
DSVfix is no longer required as all of its fixes have been implemented into the game.
DSMfix has been unofficially updated by a fan of the project.
DSCfix has been reported to be unaffected by the patch.


Skip intro videos

Instructions

DS Connectivity fix by M0tah

Main Thread

Download

Instructions


Game data

Save game location

Template:Game Location Table

Save game cloud syncing

Template:Save Game Cloud Syncing

Video settings

Template:Video settings

Borderless fullscreen windowed

Instructions

3D support

The game suffers from poor 3D support.
Instructions

120Hz

Instructions

Input settings

Control scheme tips from Tru3Magic.

Template:Input Settings

Keyboard

Unintuitive default keyboard scheme, for example, 'End' brings up menu (and 'Escape' does nothing).

Mouse

Mouse controls feel very jittery, with very unintuitive results when the camera collides with a wall or the floor.
Instructions

Remapping

Mouse 4 and 5 cannot be remapped.[2]

Controller

'Hot swap' between keyboard and mouse controls and controller is available.[3]
Use of controller is highly recommended.[4]
Works well with the DualShock3 using XInput Wrapper. PS buttons textures can be found here

Controller not working

Instructions

Controller with wrong mapping

Non-Xbox 360 controllers most likely have incorrect button mapping.
Instructions

Audio settings

Template:Audio settings

Network settings

Signing into Games For Windows Live is mandatory for the first time, and a connection needs to be maintained for multiplayer.
Instructions
Instructions

Issues fixed

Improving FPS on lower-spec machines

Instructions
Instructions
Certain areas of the game are more demanding on your hardware causing slowdown in-game. It seem the engine, when faced with an area where it struggles to keep at 30FPS, will cut down to 15FPS. The most famous is Blighttown, but large animated characters can also produce this slowdown.
Unlock the FPS cap with DSfix (unlockFPS 1), set the frame cap at 30 (FPSlimit 30) and enable vsync (enableVsync 1) For the most part you will have the same experience, but where the game would usually dip to 15FPS it will only drop as far as it needs to (results dependant on your machine).

General low performance

Instructions
Instructions
Instructions

Low performance ATI/AMD

Appears that ATI/AMD graphics cards are underutilised.
Instructions

Low performance Nvidia Optimus

Instructions

Crash VSFilter.dll

Crash occurs after start screen.[5]
Instructions

Progress bar stuck during installation

Problem may be caused by setup utility getting stuck whilst installing DirectX and Games For Windows Live.
Instructions

Minimize with multiple monitors

When playing with two screens, the game seems to minimize.
Instructions

Windows 8

Instructions
Instructions
Instructions
Instructions

System requirements

Windows
Minimum
Operating system (OS) Windows XP/Vista/7 or newer
Processor (CPU)
System memory (RAM)
Hard disk drive (HDD) 4 GB
Video card (GPU) ATI Radeon HD 4870 - GeForce 9800 GTX+

References