So I’ve been trying to switch to playing some games on my living room tv instead of PC in the office. The benefit is wife can sit and enjoy it too and kitties can sit on my lap. So I broke down and got an Xboxone controller, got DS1 all set and streaming to the the tv, and so far the experience has been horrible. The movements and controlling feels laggy and very imprecise. Even though I’m running at a high resolution the graphics look like mush, especially textures which are washed out. I thought I would insta-fall in love with it because everyone praises the series, but so far it’s been a poor experience. I haven’t even beaten the first boss. Problems with beating him come down to two things: I don’t have enough time before dying to learn much about control around him, and the controls themselves feel so poor.
I’m using steamlink over 50 ft. Ethernet cable for connection. I’ve tried playing at both 2560x1400 and standard 1080P. Computer is plenty powerful enough to handle it.
The PC version as is uses a fixed rendering resolution of 1024x720 and the framerate is capped at 30fps irrespective of the resolution you select. DSfix is a simple mod that enables 60fps and higher rendering resolutions. It is a must have for playing the game on PC.
Also, depending on what you mean by the first boss, you are supposed to lose that initial fight in the Asylum. After that you should have the freedom to get familiar with the controls before you face him the second time.
It’s a mod that unfucks the game. Unlocks framerate so you can play at 60 fps (this should take care of the lag), enables higher internal rendering resolutions to make the game look better, etc.
Do you experience input lag with any other games you play over steamlink?
You definitely want DSfix installed, and you want to tinker with it until you get a good frame rate. Its config is a text file, so you have to change a bunch of options by changing numbers to “1” instead of “0” after you put the files in the install directory.
But yeah, Dark Souls is one game where any kind of input lag will be killer. It shouldn’t be a problem though. I’m streaming Bloodborne from my PS4 to PC, and it plays flawlessly. And I’ve streamed Dark Souls from my Xbox One to my PC too, which also streamed flawlessly.
I had the exact same experience playing the game directly on the PC. It’s not your setup that is at fault, the problem is that they did an incredibly lazy job of porting the game to the PC. I stuck with the game for an hour before giving up on the series and the company.
I refused to play after I attacked the first NPC you meet. The game, up until this point, have failed to communicate how the game works. I.e. Now that the NPC hates me, he’ll always hate me, and you can’t ‘reload’ as there is no reloading.
Just chiming in to say that DS is very much worth the time (and some frustration) required to get it, I’ve dropped it twice before it clicked for me, and then became one of my 5 best loved games ever.
As for the first boss, try to avoid him - there is a door at the far left side of the room that you should use. After some more doing you will be ready for that boss.
and try not to attack people sitting quietly minding their business. Well, unless they start get up and shuffle towards you :)
Just to be different I will say that I have played through DS1 twice on PC without DSFix and have been very happy with it.
As for playing the game itself, Dark Souls prides itself in not holding the hand of the player. The opening area is basically the tutorial, after that the game will not tell you how to do anything. Read the red messages on the floor. Practice the controls they give you and try (I am not to good at this part) to remember them. Kill everything, except docile non-attacking NPCs.
Get a range weapon, either a bow or some kind of magic. And yes, you will die, and you will die often. But that is what makes not dying so special and satisfying.
I was exploring the game and it’s systems, like I would in any game,and punished for it. Usually I’d just reload and carry on, but in this case I just rage quit as the game was ruined. I couldn’t get past the crossroads without that guy chasing after me and killing me.
It’s pretty dumb but that’s early enough in the game to just restart.
Believe me, I’ve gone through all the stages of rage. Once you’re experienced enough to look past the annoyances you can focus on the good stuff. It just takes some investment.
Regarding the original post, I’d hesitate to use Steam link on a game that already challenges in so many other ways. Reduce the variables…
For players new to the boss fights, I recommend not even trying to attack. Practice running away while looking at the boss (claw grip, yay) or learning the enemy attack patterns and how to reliably avoid them.
