From Software Development & Speculation - Everything we know about their current projects

Chettlar · Jan 9, 2020

KeRaSh said:
Not sure what you mean, but that's what Valley of the Drakes feels like to me when you go from Firelink to Blighttone.
That connection actually has the exact opposite effect on me than it seems to have on you. The fact that something so dark and scary can be accessed from a calm place like Firelink in less than two minutes completely takes the atmosphere away from me. It doesn't feel like these places would and should exist so close to each other.

But literally all the places you mentioned have those rapid transitions. That's true for all the souls games.

KeRaSh said:
And this is kinda my point. I think the level design in DS3 is better than in DS1 despite the fact that it it not interconnected, not because of it.

The way you kept saying it made it sound like you thought it was better than DS1 because it wasn't connected:

KeRaSh said:
People fault DS3 for not being interconnected but I prefer DS3 because the larger areas feel interconnected with themselves without having to interconnect with every other area of the game. That's why I think certain DS3 areas viewed as separate entities without the context of the rest of the game are so well designed.

I don't understand why you think this is the case, as there is nothing that makes DS3's level design better that wouldn't allow it to flow naturally into other levels the way DS1 does. It doesn't feel like spit-balling when you keep saying things around that idea.

My point about area transitions is not that it isn't smooth. It's that it is so clearly a Path Between Two Levels. It feels really gamey. It doesn't feel like a real world even remotely. It just feels like I'm walking through a theater set or some weird theme park. Valley of the Drakes doesn't feel like that to me at all. It's a little area on the underside of the cliff beside firelink. I love that. The world is scary and just like the rest of the world, there are small places of respite. Firelink isn't even super safe, considering you literally have a graveyard right there in it with respawning skeletons. Valley of the Drakes isn't even directly connected to firelink. It's just the outside of the cliff that turns into a wall that the city is built on. Blighttown is the a result of the refuse of that city. So when you look down from firelink or other areas of the city wall you can look down and see Blighttown. That helps the world feel bigger because all those places you see are real places that are actually where you see them. You experience them. You go those places. They have physical place in the world. They aren't just nice little pictures. The whole world feels like one great big level. And even so, you have really well designed areas like the undead burg or blighttown that do not take away from that feeling, and only enhance it.

Maybe the transitions are a little quick in a few cases, but again that is the case for Dark Souls 3 as well, but worse. I mean, you literally listed Irythill of the Boreal Valley as a level you liked. That transition is bonkers. You go from this swamp into these tiny catacombs into this sudden snowy winter wonderland. Dark Souls 1 has nothing like that.

Like, how are you going to say oh going down the side of a cliff face...shouldn't be there...? But then you're fine with Irythill's rapid transition.

Lordran is built on a mountain, with its walls jutting up from the cliff faces to take advantages of the cliffs as already natural walls. But as such, you have canyons and paths on the sides of those mountains. Blighttown is within those walls, hence the giant drains. Valley of the drakes is outside those walls on the oppposite side. Pretty natural so far. Firelink shrine is simply a small shrine and graveyard outside of a great big church up on the wall, as a lot of graveyards are. I don't really see what's so weird about that?

And again, even if you think it is weird thematically, there's nothing gamey about it. Everything fits in a really normal way. You have a small shrine on the edge of a cliff. Down below on the side of the cliff are some small drakes, which I guess in this world like to hang out in that kind of area. Up above is the big stately church and township where all the guards have gone undead. Further out past the cliff is a presumably newer township that we don't really visit because there's not too much point in it. But given we can go to all these other places so naturally, most people don't even notice. The fact that most of the scenery is already committed to being physically real already sells the world.

Deleted member 2229 · Jan 9, 2020

Minor annoyances aside. I very much enjoy being in a position that allows me to do stuff for the community. These games mean just as much to me as they do all of you and it's a joy for me to be in a community of people who are as passionate about these titles as I am while also bringing something worthwhile to the table(at least when toxicity isn't involved). It also gives me opportunities to geek out and write paragraphs on games and design. Just know that I appreciate you guys just as much and I do all of this for you guys.

Chettlar · Jan 9, 2020

I have always seen CG trailers as initial introductions to the world, probably a while before gameplay is ready to be shown, as it will probably alter radically. Any time gameplay is shown too early and then has to be changed, to me honestly that feels worse. Especially with lore heavy games, a CG trailer is fine. It's an elevator pitch about what the game's setting and themes are. Although it is nice to see gameplay being followed up not too long after.

It's also really weird to me that some people really just want to know some games are in development and will be fine with just like a logo, but then if you pair the logo with a CG trailer then they don't like it and just want gameplay. I'm like, man I'm fine just knowing something about it. But maybe I'm weird for having such a huge part of my enjoyment of games tied to story, setting, and aesthetic style idk.

shuno · Jan 9, 2020

Huh? Digic made the Elden Ring trailer? Never would have thought that. While I love the ER trailer and watched it multiple times, I have to say it is one of their less impressive works. I remember that a few years ago, I read somewhere that From had its own cinematic department. I always thought they did the cinematics back then by themselfs. But going by the Sekiro cinematic, which I just learned was made by Digic too, that was probably bullshit?! I was always baffled by this, since they are a small studio and then such great cinematics.

Deleted member 679 · Jan 9, 2020

Sekiro's cinematic intro is their worst by far, imo. :C

LOVE the game, but that intro is dogshit.

Elden Ring's trailer is a masterpiece compared to that.

I actually thought they only made it for the trailer back when it was first released. I couldn't believe they'd put such low quality work into the actual game.

Omnipotent said:
Minor annoyances aside. I very much enjoy being in a position that allows me to do stuff for the community. These games mean just as much to me as they do all of you and it's a joy for me to be in a community of people who are as passionate about these titles as I am while also bringing something worthwhile to the table(at least when toxicity isn't involved). It also gives me opportunities to geek out and write paragraphs on games and design. Just know that I appreciate you guys just as much and I do all of this for you guys.

Awwwww <3

I also really appreciate how invested you are in the community. Too many "insiders" feel like they only care about the spotlight. They'll drop the bomb, enjoy the attention for a while and then fuck off. You're always hanging around and participating in actual discussion, that makes it feel a lot more like you're making that bridge between us and From than just "Omni is some guy who knows some stuff".

Res · Jan 9, 2020

I'm curious if that music from the digic trailer was from the actual game

shuno said:
Huh? Digic made the Elden Ring trailer? Never would have thought that. While I love the ER trailer and watched it multiple times, I have to say it is one of their less impressive works. I remember that a few years ago, I read somewhere that From had an intern cinematic department. I always thought they did the cinematics back then by themselfs. But going by the Sekiro cinematic, which I just learned was made by Digic too, that was probably bullshit?! I was always baffled by this, since they are a small studio and then such great cinematics.

I'm assuming Digic probably worked on portions of the trailer, since the video they put out only contained certain parts of it. From might've worked on the rest

Deleted member 2229 · Jan 10, 2020

Gbraga said:
Sekiro's cinematic intro is their worst by far, imo. :C

LOVE the game, but that intro is dogshit.

Elden Ring's trailer is a masterpiece compared to that.

I actually thought they only made it for the trailer back when it was first released. I couldn't believe they'd put such low quality work into the actual game.

Awwwww <3

I also really appreciate how invested you are in the community. Too many "insiders" feel like they only care about the spotlight. They'll drop the bomb, enjoy the attention for a while and then fuck off. You're always hanging around and participating in actual discussion, that makes it feel a lot more like you're making that bridge between us and From than just "Omni is some guy who knows some stuff".

I love you guys, and I hope I can bring some worthwhile joy and gifts in the new year

iiStryker · Jan 10, 2020

Muntaner said:
What do you think the "open world" crafted by FromSoftware in Elden Ring will look like, compared to the open worlds already out there?

I'm not expecting a huge map with symbols to clear. I'm also not expecting a mini-map (or a map indicator in general) in order to understand where to go. In my mind there is something similar to the map of Shadows of the Colossus. Or, I don't know, something like Irithyll or Anor Londo FULLY explorable. It's hard to explain.

im hopeful it's something akin to Dragons Dogma only with a larger scale

KeRaSh · Jan 10, 2020

Chettlar said:
My point about area transitions is not that it isn't smooth. It's that it is so clearly a Path Between Two Levels. It feels really gamey. It doesn't feel like a real world even remotely. It just feels like I'm walking through a theater set or some weird theme park. Valley of the Drakes doesn't feel like that to me at all. It's a little area on the underside of the cliff beside firelink. I love that.

I get that you have a deep lore appreciation for DS1 and its areas and like you described below and it could make sense for a small area like Valley of Drakes to exist there geographically but how is that not just a small transition area that simply exists to connect New Londo Ruins with Blighttown? This narrow corridor is the literal definition of a connection area. Why does it even need to exist in the game? Would it really be a worse game if it didn't have that connection?
Just because the look and feel of the area fits into the world geographically, doesn't mean it's a well designed area.
At the end of the day it's still a video game to me and I don't mind it if I encounter videogamey things like Irythill's rapid transition from swamp to snow.
I love the fact that both biomes exist in this game. I love geographical variety in games. That's what I hated about FFXV. They try to sell it as a big road trip / journey when you basically spend 90% of the time in one big area where everything looks the same.

Chettlar said:
Maybe the transitions are a little quick in a few cases, but again that is the case for Dark Souls 3 as well, but worse. I mean, you literally listed Irythill of the Boreal Valley as a level you liked. That transition is bonkers. You go from this swamp into these tiny catacombs into this sudden snowy winter wonderland. Dark Souls 1 has nothing like that.

See, to me that's not a bad thing. If both games have bad transition but the levels you transition to are better designed in one game then that's the clear winner for me. The fact that one game has worse transitions than the other game or the fact that it's too videogamey doesn't outweigh the actual deciding factor, the level design of the big areas.

Chettlar said:
Like, how are you going to say oh going down the side of a cliff face...shouldn't be there...? But then you're fine with Irythill's rapid transition.

Lordran is built on a mountain, with its walls jutting up from the cliff faces to take advantages of the cliffs as already natural walls. But as such, you have canyons and paths on the sides of those mountains. Blighttown is within those walls, hence the giant drains. Valley of the drakes is outside those walls on the oppposite side. Pretty natural so far. Firelink shrine is simply a small shrine and graveyard outside of a great big church up on the wall, as a lot of graveyards are. I don't really see what's so weird about that?

And again, even if you think it is weird thematically, there's nothing gamey about it. Everything fits in a really normal way. You have a small shrine on the edge of a cliff. Down below on the side of the cliff are some small drakes, which I guess in this world like to hang out in that kind of area. Up above is the big stately church and township where all the guards have gone undead. Further out past the cliff is a presumably newer township that we don't really visit because there's not too much point in it. But given we can go to all these other places so naturally, most people don't even notice. The fact that most of the scenery is already committed to being physically real already sells the world.

I'm not saying it's weird but theoretical realism is not really a deciding factor for me in this case. I'm just repeating myself here but that realism goes out the window for me when I can run from Firelink to Blighttown in such a short time. That's where the gamey feeling comes into play with DS1 for me.
Yeah, DS1 is doing a great job of selling the world but my point is still that I'd rather play in the world of DS3 because I simply prefer the level design of the different areas individually.

I feel like we're going in circles here and that is mainly my fault because I falsely tried to build my case on the basis of the connectivity of the areas when I actually just meant that I prefer the individual level design of the areas in DS3 to the individual level design of the areas of DS1. The connectivity, theoretical geographical realism and lore behind those areas does not outweigh that fact for me.

What is boils down to for me is this:
DS1: better world design
DS3: better individual level design

That does not mean that I think every level in DS3 is better designed than the levels in DS1 but that I prefer the sum of all parts of DS3.

Muntaner · Jan 10, 2020

I don't want to get hopes up or anything but someone on reddit spotted this japanese article, referring to the presence of Elden Ring @ Taipei Game Show:

https://www.gamespark.jp/article/2020/01/10/95910.html

Translated, it says that "only new trailers will be released".

I don't know if the source is reliable or whatever, just reporting it there since it is a speculation thread.

NLCPRESIDENT · Jan 10, 2020

Muntaner said:
I don't want to get hopes up or anything but someone on reddit spotted this japanese article, referring to the presence of Elden Ring @ Taipei Game Show:

https://www.gamespark.jp/article/2020/01/10/95910.html

Translated, it says that "only new trailers will be released".

I don't know if the source is reliable or whatever, just reporting it there since it is a speculation thread.

I started to make a thread when I first seen it slated on the Sony floor, but thought this was common knowledge already. Of course it's going to be a new trailer. The old trailers over a year old now. Whether we see raw gameplay (which we will) is another thing, but new trailer of course.

Muntaner · Jan 10, 2020

NLCPRESIDENT said:
I started to make a thread when I first seen it slated on the Sony floor, but thought this was common knowledge already. Of course it's going to be a new trailer. The old trailers over a year old now. Whether we see raw gameplay (which we will) is another thing, but new trailer of course.

Well, my feeling was that the general consensus is "same trailer from E3 with Chinese subtitles".
I didn't know it being a brand new trailer was so obvious.

DarkFlame92 · Jan 10, 2020

Omnipotent said:
Minor annoyances aside. I very much enjoy being in a position that allows me to do stuff for the community. These games mean just as much to me as they do all of you and it's a joy for me to be in a community of people who are as passionate about these titles as I am while also bringing something worthwhile to the table(at least when toxicity isn't involved). It also gives me opportunities to geek out and write paragraphs on games and design. Just know that I appreciate you guys just as much and I do all of this for you guys.

Please post as much you possibly can in general context,since we are starving for any kind of info.

And do it soon,if possible :-P

DarkFlame92 · Jan 10, 2020

Muntaner said:
I don't want to get hopes up or anything but someone on reddit spotted this japanese article, referring to the presence of Elden Ring @ Taipei Game Show:

https://www.gamespark.jp/article/2020/01/10/95910.html

Translated, it says that "only new trailers will be released".

I don't know if the source is reliable or whatever, just reporting it there since it is a speculation thread.

Maybe FROM has established already a good marketing presence in the west and wants to give some spotlight on the chinese market ? Just a thought

sackboy97 · Jan 10, 2020

Muntaner said:
I don't want to get hopes up or anything but someone on reddit spotted this japanese article, referring to the presence of Elden Ring @ Taipei Game Show:

https://www.gamespark.jp/article/2020/01/10/95910.html

Translated, it says that "only new trailers will be released".

I don't know if the source is reliable or whatever, just reporting it there since it is a speculation thread.

That sentence sounds more like "it seems it will be a debut of a new trailer, according to the website", which says something like "airing of a trailer"; I don't think they have any more info on the matter.

DealWithIt · Jan 10, 2020

One thing I'd like to see are some signs of life in the world. BB gives us this to an extent by making homes inhabited. I'd like even a bit more than this. I know that game design lends itself to ruins and abandoned kingdoms, but a real settlement or two, with people, even if they ignore you, and a bit more wildlife would be a nice departure. I really thought this was missing from GoW 2018, and even Sekiro to some extent.

Masagiwa · Jan 10, 2020

Muntaner said:
I don't want to get hopes up or anything but someone on reddit spotted this japanese article, referring to the presence of Elden Ring @ Taipei Game Show:

https://www.gamespark.jp/article/2020/01/10/95910.html

Translated, it says that "only new trailers will be released".

I don't know if the source is reliable or whatever, just reporting it there since it is a speculation thread.

If that's the case the show will be pretty much be E3 levels, new trailers for all of these would be sick but I have my doubts. Taiwan is a farily untapped demographic for all of those publishers. For some of them, its' the first time they market their games over there.

[*]The Last of Us Part II (Video Only)
[*]Marvel's Iron Man VR (Playable Demo and Video)
[*]Nioh 2 (Playable Demo and Video)
[*]Final Fantasy VII Remake (Playable Demo and Video)
[*]Trials of Mana (Playable Demo and Video)
[*]Marvel's Avengers (Playable and Video)
[*]Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Only)
[*]Resident Evil Resistance (Playable Demo and Video)
[*]One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 (Playable Demo and Video)
[*]Sword Art Online Alicization Lycoris (Playable Demo and Video)
[*]Tales of Arise (Video Only)
[*]Elden Ring (Video Only)
[*]Fairy Tail (Playable Demo and Video)
[*]Ys IX (Playable Demo and Video)
[*]Persona 5 Royal (Playable Demo and Video)
[*]13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (Playable Demo and Video)
[*]Granblue Fantasy Versus (Playable Demo and Video)
[*]Yakuza: Like a Dragon (Video Only)
[*]NBA 2K20 (Playable Demo and Video)
[*]Gungrave G.o.r.e. (Video Only)
[*]Yo-Kai Watch 4++ (Video Only)
[*]Way of the Samurai Gaiden Katanakami (Video Only)
[*]Gleamlight (Video Only)

NLCPRESIDENT · Jan 10, 2020

Muntaner said:
Well, my feeling was that the general consensus is "same trailer from E3 with Chinese subtitles".
I didn't know it being a brand new trailer was so obvious.

I think it will be. But FROM usually just adds snippets of new elements to their trailers until full blow out which will probably be E3.

At E3 2014 is when Sony announced BB (CG trailer) And at Tapei 2015 they had a full game demonstration. Not saying that'll happen, but some new info is almost a sure thing. If not I'll be just as disappointed as everyone else.

Deleted member 2229 · Jan 10, 2020

DarkFlame92 said:
Please post as much you possibly can in general context,since we are starving for any kind of info.

And do it soon,if possible :-P

Boy howdy, do I have a gift for you!

No but for real

The biggest single change in terms of design moving from Dark Souls to Elden Ring is the "open world". But there are a million open world games from MMO's to AAA games to BOTW, some very similar and some very different and some have even said "Well, isn't Dark Souls already Open World? [From a certain point of view]. So let's take a look at Elden Ring's Open World in terms of design.

Remember when you first played Dark Souls and how cool it was traversing the world, especially once you got passed the early areas and human settlements like Undead Parish? Entering Sen's Fortress, The Tomb of Giants and Anor Londo? All these incredible and varying locales that made this world feel much larger than it really is and the scale at which things were designed making you feel like this world was truly not built for the likes of you? It's something I definitely missed from later titles. But after the shininess has worn off you're able to start seeing that this massive world wasn't really all that massive and was, realistically quite small. I want you to think about that while also thinking about Miyazaki's quote of "we want to do things we weren't able to do with Dark Souls". Imagine a game in which that illusion was able to be made a lot more "real". Now open your (metaphorical) eyes to Elden Ring.

Due to the nature of the game being "open world" it's also able to more effectively capitalize on the concept of being able to see an area long before you reach it as well as looking back across the land to places you have already been, seeing how places connect and what not. This one of Dark Souls 1's most charming elements and it's been brought forward into Elden Ring in both a more natural way and on a much larger and more effective scale and I'd imagine that's a design element that most will appreciate, as I certainly do. You'll be traveling across the world and seeing places long before you're able to reach them. Imagine a scenario in which you arrive at the staircase like the one in the dungeon in DS3, looking out across a vast distance to see a castle like Archdragon peak. But instead of having to psychically transport yourself there you know that eventually you'll be able to cross that vast distance, bridge that gap and reach that castle to find what lies inside. The increased scale and scope is a hugely important pillar of this title.

That being said, this world is quite large. Before you start freaking out and going "but From said this isn't your typical open world, is this going to be a big, largely empty world with random crap sprinkled throughout the world just to fill the space?" Short answer: Absolutely not. Long answer: one of the pillars of design in Elden Ring is to create a meaningful and fully realized world (to the best of From's ability). Which doesn't mean collectathons, random and sparse packs of copy pasted enemies and a lot of landmass simply for the sake of having a lot of landmass. What's important is creating a variety of experiences for you to encounter and face throughout your journey while also making the world feel real and alive, like a place you can truly immerse yourself in and lose hours to and to a massively greater degree than in previous titles. As well as filling the world with interesting landmarks to draw your attention and help you familiarize yourself with your surroundings but also points of interest along your journey from one goal to another.

Areas will connect to one another like Dark Souls and I think it's worth mentioning that they are aware of the problems of the infamous Iron Keep > Earthern Peak and the increased space allows things like that to be avoided.

In terms of the landmass itself, it's far more similar to the works of Miyazaki's idol Ueda than anything else (at least outside of Fromsoft), so it's not just about having a super large mass of open field, but also degrees of verticality (where it makes sense) as well as natural transitions between the more open sections and the less open sections like castles and ruins and whatnot. When I mentioned Scotland in the original E3 post this is what I was referring to. Not Celtic or Gaelic Mythology (and such rumors had nothing to do with me). The landscapes of Scotland served as an inspiration for Elden Ring's landscapes. That being said you'll also be sure to see plenty of cool fantasy locales

"Alright, well, that's cool and all but after a while things might get a bit samey right? And I'm not seeing how this is really all that different aside from just being bigger" While aside from there being a number of different locales this is a great opportunity to talk about another massive change. A departure from static worlds to a more meaningfully and active one. What do I mean by this?

Looking first at past Fromsoft games Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro. These are all, largely static worlds. Things generally, don't really happen unless you're there to make them happen. Enemies might patrol a certain, small perimeter at best and during major player activated story events, enemy layout might change and or the behaviours of a few enemies might change in tiny ways. Such as the church giants in Bloodborne no longer patrolling the area and instead sitting on their knees. But overall, once you've been through an area once even after it's changed you generally know exactly what to expect and where to expect it. The player activated changes might indicate a change in time of day across the entire world that will persist until again, the player activates an event and changes it or other things that are, fairly superficial.

And looking at the vast majority of open world games, they have day/night cycles and weather systems and both are usually primarily if not entirely cosmetic.

So where does that leave us with Elden Ring? Starting with static/nonstatic. Elden Ring, like past games will have opportunities to effect and change things in the world. But the noteworthy element here is that the world will change on its own. I don't mean in any singular major sense but perhaps you're strolling down your typical route to get from point A to B, having a jolly time on your horse, blasting old town road and before you know it you're met with some sort of towering monstrosity. You've now got 2 choices. A try your luck and attempt to take down the beast. B: Pull a big ol nope and get your ass right out of there. Maybe you pick B, and end up taking a different route from now on…but who's to say it won't show up there too? Or even if it's the only one out there? Perhaps you've been traveling, see something cool and start traveling inside some ruins or a cave. You start making your way back out and hey, things look a lot darker outside than they did when I came in and the enemies that were here when I left aren't here any more…but some other things are. Perhaps there are ways to use this situation to my advantage, but perhaps I don't want to risk it. The game also has its weather cycles though I wouldn't expect anything particularly expansive or exciting in this department. Ultimately you're left with a world that feels a lot more alive and like I said immersive. Like this is a place where things live.

Accompanying this are some changes and improvements to AI and design that has found new ways to trick the player into a false sense of security before being murdered. We've now leveled up from things hiding behind a corner and popping out to either slit your neck or kick you off a cliff, now we've got more involved and elaborate jebait mechanics to go with a more sophisticated world (Though I'd imagine plenty of the usual will end up in the game as well).

With all this being added and all the work being put into making this title what it is, I wouldn't expect the likes of world tendency or insight this time around.

And all this is pretty much open and free for you to explore.

"But I like Fromsoft level design and hate open world games" There will, of course be plenty of your typically meticulously crafted areas for that too.

Alright, happy new years everyone.

Also shout out to this charity, for all the people who are going to end up looking at this post, please at least give this a look and at least consider doing your part to help out with the Australian wild fires.

AAFCC · Jan 10, 2020

https://www.google.it/amp/s/s.gamespark.jp/article/2020/01/10/95910.amp.html

It says only new trailer will be present at Taipei show. Time to hype up !

Deleted member 679 · Jan 10, 2020

Omnipotent said:
Boy howdy, do I have a gift for you!

No but for real

The biggest single change in terms of design moving from Dark Souls to Elden Ring is the "open world". But there are a million open world games from MMO's to AAA games to BOTW, some very similar and some very different and some have even said "Well, isn't Dark Souls already Open World? [From a certain point of view]. So let's take a look at Elden Ring's Open World in terms of design.

Remember when you first played Dark Souls and how cool it was traversing the world, especially once you got passed the early areas and human settlements like Undead Parish? Entering Sen's Fortress, The Tomb of Giants and Anor Londo? All these incredible and varying locales that made this world feel much larger than it really is and the scale at which things were designed making you feel like this world was truly not built for the likes of you? It's something I definitely missed from later titles. But after the shininess has worn off you're able to start seeing that this massive world wasn't really all that massive and was, realistically quite small. I want you to think about that while also thinking about Miyazaki's quote of "we want to do things we weren't able to do with Dark Souls". Imagine a game in which that illusion was able to be made a lot more "real". Now open your (metaphorical) eyes to Elden Ring.

Due to the nature of the game being "open world" it's also able to more effectively capitalize on the concept of being able to see an area long before you reach it as well as looking back across the land to places you have already been, seeing how places connect and what not. This one of Dark Souls 1's most charming elements and it's been brought forward into Elden Ring in both a more natural way and on a much larger and more effective scale and I'd imagine that's a design element that most will appreciate, as I certainly do. You'll be traveling across the world and seeing places long before you're able to reach them. Imagine a scenario in which you arrive at the staircase like the one in the dungeon in DS3, looking out across a vast distance to see a castle like Archdragon peak. But instead of having to psychically transport yourself there you know that eventually you'll be able to cross that vast distance, bridge that gap and reach that castle to find what lies inside. The increased scale and scope is a hugely important pillar of this title.

That being said, this world is quite large. Before you start freaking out and going "but From said this isn't your typical open world, is this going to be a big, largely empty world with random crap sprinkled throughout the world just to fill the space?" Short answer: Absolutely not. Long answer: one of the pillars of design in Elden Ring is to create a meaningful and fully realized world (to the best of From's ability). Which doesn't mean collectathons, random and sparse packs of copy pasted enemies and a lot of landmass simply for the sake of having a lot of landmass. What's important is creating a variety of experiences for you to encounter and face throughout your journey while also making the world feel real and alive, like a place you can truly immerse yourself in and lose hours to and to a massively greater degree than in previous titles. As well as filling the world with interesting landmarks to draw your attention and help you familiarize yourself with your surroundings but also points of interest along your journey from one goal to another.

Areas will connect to one another like Dark Souls and I think it's worth mentioning that they are aware of the problems of the infamous Iron Keep > Earthern Peak and the increased space allows things like that to be avoided.

In terms of the landmass itself, it's far more similar to the works of Miyazaki's idol Ueda than anything else (at least outside of Fromsoft), so it's not just about having a super large mass of open field, but also degrees of verticality (where it makes sense) as well as natural transitions between the more open sections and the less open sections like castles and ruins and whatnot. When I mentioned Scotland in the original E3 post this is what I was referring to. Not Celtic or Gaelic Mythology (and such rumors had nothing to do with me). The landscapes of Scotland served as an inspiration for Elden Ring's landscapes. That being said you'll also be sure to see plenty of cool fantasy locales

"Alright, well, that's cool and all but after a while things might get a bit samey right? And I'm not seeing how this is really all that different aside from just being bigger" While aside from there being a number of different locales this is a great opportunity to talk about another massive change. A departure from static worlds to a more meaningfully and active one. What do I mean by this?

Looking first at past Fromsoft games Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro. These are all, largely static worlds. Things generally, don't really happen unless you're there to make them happen. Enemies might patrol a certain, small perimeter at best and during major player activated story events, enemy layout might change and or the behaviours of a few enemies might change in tiny ways. Such as the church giants in Bloodborne no longer patrolling the area and instead sitting on their knees. But overall, once you've been through an area once even after it's changed you generally know exactly what to expect and where to expect it. The player activated changes might indicate a change in time of day across the entire world that will persist until again, the player activates an event and changes it or other things that are, fairly superficial.

And looking at the vast majority of open world games, they have day/night cycles and weather systems and both are usually primarily if not entirely cosmetic.

So where does that leave us with Elden Ring? Starting with static/nonstatic. Elden Ring, like past games will have opportunities to effect and change things in the world. But the noteworthy element here is that the world will change on its own. I don't mean in any singular major sense but perhaps you're strolling down your typical route to get from point A to B, having a jolly time on your horse, blasting old town road and before you know it you're met with some sort of towering monstrosity. You've now got 2 choices. A try your luck and attempt to take down the beast. B: Pull a big ol nope and get your ass right out of there. Maybe you pick B, and end up taking a different route from now on…but who's to say it won't show up there too? Or even if it's the only one out there? Perhaps you've been traveling, see something cool and start traveling inside some ruins or a cave. You start making your way back out and hey, things look a lot darker outside than they did when I came in and the enemies that were here when I left aren't here any more…but some other things are. Perhaps there are ways to use this situation to my advantage, but perhaps I don't want to risk it. The game also has its weather cycles though I wouldn't expect anything particularly expansive or exciting in this department. Ultimately you're left with a world that feels a lot more alive and like I said immersive. Like this is a place where things live.

Accompanying this are some changes and improvements to AI and design that has found new ways to trick the player into a false sense of security before being murdered. We've now leveled up from things hiding behind a corner and popping out to either slit your neck or kick you off a cliff, now we've got more involved and elaborate jebait mechanics to go with a more sophisticated world (Though I'd imagine plenty of the usual will end up in the game as well).

With all this being added and all the work being put into making this title what it is, I wouldn't expect the likes of world tendency or insight this time around.

And all this is pretty much open and free for you to explore.

"But I like Fromsoft level design and hate open world games" There will, of course be plenty of your typically meticulously crafted areas for that too.

Alright, happy new years everyone.

Also shout out to this charity, for all the people who are going to end up looking at this post, please at least give this a look and at least consider doing your part to help out with the Australian wild fires.

...Holy fucking shit, this game is Dragon's Dogma 3.

Herey · Jan 10, 2020

Omnipotent said:
Boy howdy, do I have a gift for you!

No but for real

The biggest single change in terms of design moving from Dark Souls to Elden Ring is the "open world". But there are a million open world games from MMO's to AAA games to BOTW, some very similar and some very different and some have even said "Well, isn't Dark Souls already Open World? [From a certain point of view]. So let's take a look at Elden Ring's Open World in terms of design.

Remember when you first played Dark Souls and how cool it was traversing the world, especially once you got passed the early areas and human settlements like Undead Parish? Entering Sen's Fortress, The Tomb of Giants and Anor Londo? All these incredible and varying locales that made this world feel much larger than it really is and the scale at which things were designed making you feel like this world was truly not built for the likes of you? It's something I definitely missed from later titles. But after the shininess has worn off you're able to start seeing that this massive world wasn't really all that massive and was, realistically quite small. I want you to think about that while also thinking about Miyazaki's quote of "we want to do things we weren't able to do with Dark Souls". Imagine a game in which that illusion was able to be made a lot more "real". Now open your (metaphorical) eyes to Elden Ring.

Due to the nature of the game being "open world" it's also able to more effectively capitalize on the concept of being able to see an area long before you reach it as well as looking back across the land to places you have already been, seeing how places connect and what not. This one of Dark Souls 1's most charming elements and it's been brought forward into Elden Ring in both a more natural way and on a much larger and more effective scale and I'd imagine that's a design element that most will appreciate, as I certainly do. You'll be traveling across the world and seeing places long before you're able to reach them. Imagine a scenario in which you arrive at the staircase like the one in the dungeon in DS3, looking out across a vast distance to see a castle like Archdragon peak. But instead of having to psychically transport yourself there you know that eventually you'll be able to cross that vast distance, bridge that gap and reach that castle to find what lies inside. The increased scale and scope is a hugely important pillar of this title.

That being said, this world is quite large. Before you start freaking out and going "but From said this isn't your typical open world, is this going to be a big, largely empty world with random crap sprinkled throughout the world just to fill the space?" Short answer: Absolutely not. Long answer: one of the pillars of design in Elden Ring is to create a meaningful and fully realized world (to the best of From's ability). Which doesn't mean collectathons, random and sparse packs of copy pasted enemies and a lot of landmass simply for the sake of having a lot of landmass. What's important is creating a variety of experiences for you to encounter and face throughout your journey while also making the world feel real and alive, like a place you can truly immerse yourself in and lose hours to and to a massively greater degree than in previous titles. As well as filling the world with interesting landmarks to draw your attention and help you familiarize yourself with your surroundings but also points of interest along your journey from one goal to another.

Areas will connect to one another like Dark Souls and I think it's worth mentioning that they are aware of the problems of the infamous Iron Keep > Earthern Peak and the increased space allows things like that to be avoided.

In terms of the landmass itself, it's far more similar to the works of Miyazaki's idol Ueda than anything else (at least outside of Fromsoft), so it's not just about having a super large mass of open field, but also degrees of verticality (where it makes sense) as well as natural transitions between the more open sections and the less open sections like castles and ruins and whatnot. When I mentioned Scotland in the original E3 post this is what I was referring to. Not Celtic or Gaelic Mythology (and such rumors had nothing to do with me). The landscapes of Scotland served as an inspiration for Elden Ring's landscapes. That being said you'll also be sure to see plenty of cool fantasy locales

"Alright, well, that's cool and all but after a while things might get a bit samey right? And I'm not seeing how this is really all that different aside from just being bigger" While aside from there being a number of different locales this is a great opportunity to talk about another massive change. A departure from static worlds to a more meaningfully and active one. What do I mean by this?

Looking first at past Fromsoft games Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro. These are all, largely static worlds. Things generally, don't really happen unless you're there to make them happen. Enemies might patrol a certain, small perimeter at best and during major player activated story events, enemy layout might change and or the behaviours of a few enemies might change in tiny ways. Such as the church giants in Bloodborne no longer patrolling the area and instead sitting on their knees. But overall, once you've been through an area once even after it's changed you generally know exactly what to expect and where to expect it. The player activated changes might indicate a change in time of day across the entire world that will persist until again, the player activates an event and changes it or other things that are, fairly superficial.

And looking at the vast majority of open world games, they have day/night cycles and weather systems and both are usually primarily if not entirely cosmetic.

So where does that leave us with Elden Ring? Starting with static/nonstatic. Elden Ring, like past games will have opportunities to effect and change things in the world. But the noteworthy element here is that the world will change on its own. I don't mean in any singular major sense but perhaps you're strolling down your typical route to get from point A to B, having a jolly time on your horse, blasting old town road and before you know it you're met with some sort of towering monstrosity. You've now got 2 choices. A try your luck and attempt to take down the beast. B: Pull a big ol nope and get your ass right out of there. Maybe you pick B, and end up taking a different route from now on…but who's to say it won't show up there too? Or even if it's the only one out there? Perhaps you've been traveling, see something cool and start traveling inside some ruins or a cave. You start making your way back out and hey, things look a lot darker outside than they did when I came in and the enemies that were here when I left aren't here any more…but some other things are. Perhaps there are ways to use this situation to my advantage, but perhaps I don't want to risk it. The game also has its weather cycles though I wouldn't expect anything particularly expansive or exciting in this department. Ultimately you're left with a world that feels a lot more alive and like I said immersive. Like this is a place where things live.

Accompanying this are some changes and improvements to AI and design that has found new ways to trick the player into a false sense of security before being murdered. We've now leveled up from things hiding behind a corner and popping out to either slit your neck or kick you off a cliff, now we've got more involved and elaborate jebait mechanics to go with a more sophisticated world (Though I'd imagine plenty of the usual will end up in the game as well).

With all this being added and all the work being put into making this title what it is, I wouldn't expect the likes of world tendency or insight this time around.

And all this is pretty much open and free for you to explore.

"But I like Fromsoft level design and hate open world games" There will, of course be plenty of your typically meticulously crafted areas for that too.

Alright, happy new years everyone.

Also shout out to this charity, for all the people who are going to end up looking at this post, please at least give this a look and at least consider doing your part to help out with the Australian wild fires.

Locations being inspired by Scotland brings a smile to my face. They've previously done great things based on other western architecture/environments. Hype!

Wintermute · Jan 10, 2020

AAFCC said:
https://www.google.it/amp/s/s.gamespark.jp/article/2020/01/10/95910.amp.html

It says only new trailer will be present at Taipei show. Time to hype up !

does it though? i've seen multiple people suggest it will just be the first trailer in chinese. clicking through to that article it has an update which the admittedly wonky google translate seems to say that it will be the e3 trailer.

do not go into the hype light.

Deleted member 4067 · Jan 10, 2020

Wow, salute Omni always bringing the hype

Muntaner · Jan 10, 2020

Omnipotent said:
Boy howdy, do I have a gift for you!

No but for real

The biggest single change in terms of design moving from Dark Souls to Elden Ring is the "open world". But there are a million open world games from MMO's to AAA games to BOTW, some very similar and some very different and some have even said "Well, isn't Dark Souls already Open World? [From a certain point of view]. So let's take a look at Elden Ring's Open World in terms of design.

Remember when you first played Dark Souls and how cool it was traversing the world, especially once you got passed the early areas and human settlements like Undead Parish? Entering Sen's Fortress, The Tomb of Giants and Anor Londo? All these incredible and varying locales that made this world feel much larger than it really is and the scale at which things were designed making you feel like this world was truly not built for the likes of you? It's something I definitely missed from later titles. But after the shininess has worn off you're able to start seeing that this massive world wasn't really all that massive and was, realistically quite small. I want you to think about that while also thinking about Miyazaki's quote of "we want to do things we weren't able to do with Dark Souls". Imagine a game in which that illusion was able to be made a lot more "real". Now open your (metaphorical) eyes to Elden Ring.

Due to the nature of the game being "open world" it's also able to more effectively capitalize on the concept of being able to see an area long before you reach it as well as looking back across the land to places you have already been, seeing how places connect and what not. This one of Dark Souls 1's most charming elements and it's been brought forward into Elden Ring in both a more natural way and on a much larger and more effective scale and I'd imagine that's a design element that most will appreciate, as I certainly do. You'll be traveling across the world and seeing places long before you're able to reach them. Imagine a scenario in which you arrive at the staircase like the one in the dungeon in DS3, looking out across a vast distance to see a castle like Archdragon peak. But instead of having to psychically transport yourself there you know that eventually you'll be able to cross that vast distance, bridge that gap and reach that castle to find what lies inside. The increased scale and scope is a hugely important pillar of this title.

That being said, this world is quite large. Before you start freaking out and going "but From said this isn't your typical open world, is this going to be a big, largely empty world with random crap sprinkled throughout the world just to fill the space?" Short answer: Absolutely not. Long answer: one of the pillars of design in Elden Ring is to create a meaningful and fully realized world (to the best of From's ability). Which doesn't mean collectathons, random and sparse packs of copy pasted enemies and a lot of landmass simply for the sake of having a lot of landmass. What's important is creating a variety of experiences for you to encounter and face throughout your journey while also making the world feel real and alive, like a place you can truly immerse yourself in and lose hours to and to a massively greater degree than in previous titles. As well as filling the world with interesting landmarks to draw your attention and help you familiarize yourself with your surroundings but also points of interest along your journey from one goal to another.

Areas will connect to one another like Dark Souls and I think it's worth mentioning that they are aware of the problems of the infamous Iron Keep > Earthern Peak and the increased space allows things like that to be avoided.

In terms of the landmass itself, it's far more similar to the works of Miyazaki's idol Ueda than anything else (at least outside of Fromsoft), so it's not just about having a super large mass of open field, but also degrees of verticality (where it makes sense) as well as natural transitions between the more open sections and the less open sections like castles and ruins and whatnot. When I mentioned Scotland in the original E3 post this is what I was referring to. Not Celtic or Gaelic Mythology (and such rumors had nothing to do with me). The landscapes of Scotland served as an inspiration for Elden Ring's landscapes. That being said you'll also be sure to see plenty of cool fantasy locales

"Alright, well, that's cool and all but after a while things might get a bit samey right? And I'm not seeing how this is really all that different aside from just being bigger" While aside from there being a number of different locales this is a great opportunity to talk about another massive change. A departure from static worlds to a more meaningfully and active one. What do I mean by this?

Looking first at past Fromsoft games Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro. These are all, largely static worlds. Things generally, don't really happen unless you're there to make them happen. Enemies might patrol a certain, small perimeter at best and during major player activated story events, enemy layout might change and or the behaviours of a few enemies might change in tiny ways. Such as the church giants in Bloodborne no longer patrolling the area and instead sitting on their knees. But overall, once you've been through an area once even after it's changed you generally know exactly what to expect and where to expect it. The player activated changes might indicate a change in time of day across the entire world that will persist until again, the player activates an event and changes it or other things that are, fairly superficial.

And looking at the vast majority of open world games, they have day/night cycles and weather systems and both are usually primarily if not entirely cosmetic.

So where does that leave us with Elden Ring? Starting with static/nonstatic. Elden Ring, like past games will have opportunities to effect and change things in the world. But the noteworthy element here is that the world will change on its own. I don't mean in any singular major sense but perhaps you're strolling down your typical route to get from point A to B, having a jolly time on your horse, blasting old town road and before you know it you're met with some sort of towering monstrosity. You've now got 2 choices. A try your luck and attempt to take down the beast. B: Pull a big ol nope and get your ass right out of there. Maybe you pick B, and end up taking a different route from now on…but who's to say it won't show up there too? Or even if it's the only one out there? Perhaps you've been traveling, see something cool and start traveling inside some ruins or a cave. You start making your way back out and hey, things look a lot darker outside than they did when I came in and the enemies that were here when I left aren't here any more…but some other things are. Perhaps there are ways to use this situation to my advantage, but perhaps I don't want to risk it. The game also has its weather cycles though I wouldn't expect anything particularly expansive or exciting in this department. Ultimately you're left with a world that feels a lot more alive and like I said immersive. Like this is a place where things live.

Accompanying this are some changes and improvements to AI and design that has found new ways to trick the player into a false sense of security before being murdered. We've now leveled up from things hiding behind a corner and popping out to either slit your neck or kick you off a cliff, now we've got more involved and elaborate jebait mechanics to go with a more sophisticated world (Though I'd imagine plenty of the usual will end up in the game as well).

With all this being added and all the work being put into making this title what it is, I wouldn't expect the likes of world tendency or insight this time around.

And all this is pretty much open and free for you to explore.

"But I like Fromsoft level design and hate open world games" There will, of course be plenty of your typically meticulously crafted areas for that too.

Alright, happy new years everyone.

Also shout out to this charity, for all the people who are going to end up looking at this post, please at least give this a look and at least consider doing your part to help out with the Australian wild fires.

Oh. My. God.

This is beyond amazing.

Thank you for all of this, Omni.

Deleted member 59519 · Jan 10, 2020

😮

^my face reading that, and I'm not even exaggerating

Jingo · Jan 10, 2020

Omni cut the bullshit already, when ia earthworm jim remake coming?

Blade Wolf · Jan 10, 2020

AAFCC said:
https://www.google.it/amp/s/s.gamespark.jp/article/2020/01/10/95910.amp.html

It says only new trailer will be present at Taipei show. Time to hype up !

I love my country but there's NO WAY they are showing the new trailer here, unless someone bribed Miyazaki with some nice bubble tea.

Wintermute said:
does it though? i've seen multiple people suggest it will just be the first trailer in chinese. clicking through to that article it has an update which the admittedly wonky google translate seems to say that it will be the e3 trailer.

do not go into the hype light.

Showing the first trailer in Traditional Chinese would be dumb cause they already did that last year :P

Kamaros · Jan 10, 2020

Omni is the gift we don't deserve.

thank you for the work you do for this community <3

takriel · Jan 10, 2020

Omni, you made my day (and weekend). Thank you so much.

Knowing that the interconnectedness of Dark Souls 1 is back really makes me happy, as I felt that was clearly missing from the later titles.

We might have an early game of the (next) generation here.

Deleted member 679 · Jan 10, 2020

I hope there's some level of persistency to the more dynamic world, though.

For example, I'm going somewhere through the usual path, and I find a huge enemy that was never there before. So I decide to fight it because fighting cool things is fun, and I obviously die.

So when I get back, the thing is no longer there, it moved on.

This sounds like a cool concept, this idea of "you may never see it again, you only get one chance" and stuff, but in reality I'm just gonna either reload the area a bunch of times or kill myself a bunch of times until the thing is loaded into that area again so I can try again.

DrROBschiz · Jan 10, 2020

Omni dropping the goods and potentially a new trailer being shown soon?

WHEW!

Kamaros · Jan 10, 2020

Blade Wolf said:
I love my country but there's NO WAY they are showing the new trailer here, unless someone bribed Miyazaki with some nice bubble tea.

i can confirm this is delicious, we have it here in Brazil and i drink every now and then.

Kamaros · Jan 10, 2020

Gbraga said:
I hope there's some level of persistency to the more dynamic world, though.

For example, I'm going somewhere through the usual path, and I find a huge enemy that was never there before. So I decide to fight it because fighting cool things is fun, and I obviously die.

So when I get back, the thing is no longer there, it moved on.

This sounds like a cool concept, this idea of "you may never see it again, you only get one chance" and stuff, but in reality I'm just gonna either reload the area a bunch of times or kill myself a bunch of times until the thing is loaded into that area again so I can try again.

this would be fairly simple to correct with the code, just make the player's death not affect the area of death, so the creature moves on while you are respawing.

Deleted member 679 · Jan 10, 2020

Kamaros said:
i can confirm this is delicious, we have it here in Brazil and i drink every now and then.

Always wanted to try it. Looks good.

Kamaros said:
this would be fairly simple to correct with the code, just make the player's death not affect the area of death, so the creature moves on while you are respawing.

I could see it working if the movement is somewhat slow and persistent, so that it's relatively easy to chase it on your horse after dying, but it also moves on for players who just want to continue with the main quest instead of keep trying.

Kamaros · Jan 10, 2020

Gbraga said:
Always wanted to try it. Looks good.

I could see it working if the movement is somewhat slow and persistent, so that it's relatively easy to chase it on your horse after dying, but it also moves on for players who just want to continue with the main quest instead of keep trying.

please do, it's a very good drink with an diverse amount of builds (flavor combinations) hehe

i do think they will aim for this mode of death not affecting the world to keep things fresh but yes, everything has limitations and we will find a way around eventually hehehe

AAFCC · Jan 10, 2020

Omnipotent said:
Boy howdy, do I have a gift for you!

No but for real

The biggest single change in terms of design moving from Dark Souls to Elden Ring is the "open world". But there are a million open world games from MMO's to AAA games to BOTW, some very similar and some very different and some have even said "Well, isn't Dark Souls already Open World? [From a certain point of view]. So let's take a look at Elden Ring's Open World in terms of design.

Remember when you first played Dark Souls and how cool it was traversing the world, especially once you got passed the early areas and human settlements like Undead Parish? Entering Sen's Fortress, The Tomb of Giants and Anor Londo? All these incredible and varying locales that made this world feel much larger than it really is and the scale at which things were designed making you feel like this world was truly not built for the likes of you? It's something I definitely missed from later titles. But after the shininess has worn off you're able to start seeing that this massive world wasn't really all that massive and was, realistically quite small. I want you to think about that while also thinking about Miyazaki's quote of "we want to do things we weren't able to do with Dark Souls". Imagine a game in which that illusion was able to be made a lot more "real". Now open your (metaphorical) eyes to Elden Ring.

Due to the nature of the game being "open world" it's also able to more effectively capitalize on the concept of being able to see an area long before you reach it as well as looking back across the land to places you have already been, seeing how places connect and what not. This one of Dark Souls 1's most charming elements and it's been brought forward into Elden Ring in both a more natural way and on a much larger and more effective scale and I'd imagine that's a design element that most will appreciate, as I certainly do. You'll be traveling across the world and seeing places long before you're able to reach them. Imagine a scenario in which you arrive at the staircase like the one in the dungeon in DS3, looking out across a vast distance to see a castle like Archdragon peak. But instead of having to psychically transport yourself there you know that eventually you'll be able to cross that vast distance, bridge that gap and reach that castle to find what lies inside. The increased scale and scope is a hugely important pillar of this title.

That being said, this world is quite large. Before you start freaking out and going "but From said this isn't your typical open world, is this going to be a big, largely empty world with random crap sprinkled throughout the world just to fill the space?" Short answer: Absolutely not. Long answer: one of the pillars of design in Elden Ring is to create a meaningful and fully realized world (to the best of From's ability). Which doesn't mean collectathons, random and sparse packs of copy pasted enemies and a lot of landmass simply for the sake of having a lot of landmass. What's important is creating a variety of experiences for you to encounter and face throughout your journey while also making the world feel real and alive, like a place you can truly immerse yourself in and lose hours to and to a massively greater degree than in previous titles. As well as filling the world with interesting landmarks to draw your attention and help you familiarize yourself with your surroundings but also points of interest along your journey from one goal to another.

Areas will connect to one another like Dark Souls and I think it's worth mentioning that they are aware of the problems of the infamous Iron Keep > Earthern Peak and the increased space allows things like that to be avoided.

In terms of the landmass itself, it's far more similar to the works of Miyazaki's idol Ueda than anything else (at least outside of Fromsoft), so it's not just about having a super large mass of open field, but also degrees of verticality (where it makes sense) as well as natural transitions between the more open sections and the less open sections like castles and ruins and whatnot. When I mentioned Scotland in the original E3 post this is what I was referring to. Not Celtic or Gaelic Mythology (and such rumors had nothing to do with me). The landscapes of Scotland served as an inspiration for Elden Ring's landscapes. That being said you'll also be sure to see plenty of cool fantasy locales

"Alright, well, that's cool and all but after a while things might get a bit samey right? And I'm not seeing how this is really all that different aside from just being bigger" While aside from there being a number of different locales this is a great opportunity to talk about another massive change. A departure from static worlds to a more meaningfully and active one. What do I mean by this?

Looking first at past Fromsoft games Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro. These are all, largely static worlds. Things generally, don't really happen unless you're there to make them happen. Enemies might patrol a certain, small perimeter at best and during major player activated story events, enemy layout might change and or the behaviours of a few enemies might change in tiny ways. Such as the church giants in Bloodborne no longer patrolling the area and instead sitting on their knees. But overall, once you've been through an area once even after it's changed you generally know exactly what to expect and where to expect it. The player activated changes might indicate a change in time of day across the entire world that will persist until again, the player activates an event and changes it or other things that are, fairly superficial.

And looking at the vast majority of open world games, they have day/night cycles and weather systems and both are usually primarily if not entirely cosmetic.

So where does that leave us with Elden Ring? Starting with static/nonstatic. Elden Ring, like past games will have opportunities to effect and change things in the world. But the noteworthy element here is that the world will change on its own. I don't mean in any singular major sense but perhaps you're strolling down your typical route to get from point A to B, having a jolly time on your horse, blasting old town road and before you know it you're met with some sort of towering monstrosity. You've now got 2 choices. A try your luck and attempt to take down the beast. B: Pull a big ol nope and get your ass right out of there. Maybe you pick B, and end up taking a different route from now on…but who's to say it won't show up there too? Or even if it's the only one out there? Perhaps you've been traveling, see something cool and start traveling inside some ruins or a cave. You start making your way back out and hey, things look a lot darker outside than they did when I came in and the enemies that were here when I left aren't here any more…but some other things are. Perhaps there are ways to use this situation to my advantage, but perhaps I don't want to risk it. The game also has its weather cycles though I wouldn't expect anything particularly expansive or exciting in this department. Ultimately you're left with a world that feels a lot more alive and like I said immersive. Like this is a place where things live.

Accompanying this are some changes and improvements to AI and design that has found new ways to trick the player into a false sense of security before being murdered. We've now leveled up from things hiding behind a corner and popping out to either slit your neck or kick you off a cliff, now we've got more involved and elaborate jebait mechanics to go with a more sophisticated world (Though I'd imagine plenty of the usual will end up in the game as well).

With all this being added and all the work being put into making this title what it is, I wouldn't expect the likes of world tendency or insight this time around.

And all this is pretty much open and free for you to explore.

"But I like Fromsoft level design and hate open world games" There will, of course be plenty of your typically meticulously crafted areas for that too.

Alright, happy new years everyone.

Also shout out to this charity, for all the people who are going to end up looking at this post, please at least give this a look and at least consider doing your part to help out with the Australian wild fires.

No but for real

The biggest single change in terms of design moving from Dark Souls to Elden Ring is the "open world". But there are a million open world games from MMO's to AAA games to BOTW, some very similar and some very different and some have even said "Well, isn't Dark Souls already Open World? [From a certain point of view]. So let's take a look at Elden Ring's Open World in terms of design.

Remember when you first played Dark Souls and how cool it was traversing the world, especially once you got passed the early areas and human settlements like Undead Parish? Entering Sen's Fortress, The Tomb of Giants and Anor Londo? All these incredible and varying locales that made this world feel much larger than it really is and the scale at which things were designed making you feel like this world was truly not built for the likes of you? It's something I definitely missed from later titles. But after the shininess has worn off you're able to start seeing that this massive world wasn't really all that massive and was, realistically quite small. I want you to think about that while also thinking about Miyazaki's quote of "we want to do things we weren't able to do with Dark Souls". Imagine a game in which that illusion was able to be made a lot more "real". Now open your (metaphorical) eyes to Elden Ring.

Due to the nature of the game being "open world" it's also able to more effectively capitalize on the concept of being able to see an area long before you reach it as well as looking back across the land to places you have already been, seeing how places connect and what not. This one of Dark Souls 1's most charming elements and it's been brought forward into Elden Ring in both a more natural way and on a much larger and more effective scale and I'd imagine that's a design element that most will appreciate, as I certainly do. You'll be traveling across the world and seeing places long before you're able to reach them. Imagine a scenario in which you arrive at the staircase like the one in the dungeon in DS3, looking out across a vast distance to see a castle like Archdragon peak. But instead of having to psychically transport yourself there you know that eventually you'll be able to cross that vast distance, bridge that gap and reach that castle to find what lies inside. The increased scale and scope is a hugely important pillar of this title.

That being said, this world is quite large. Before you start freaking out and going "but From said this isn't your typical open world, is this going to be a big, largely empty world with random crap sprinkled throughout the world just to fill the space?" Short answer: Absolutely not. Long answer: one of the pillars of design in Elden Ring is to create a meaningful and fully realized world (to the best of From's ability). Which doesn't mean collectathons, random and sparse packs of copy pasted enemies and a lot of landmass simply for the sake of having a lot of landmass. What's important is creating a variety of experiences for you to encounter and face throughout your journey while also making the world feel real and alive, like a place you can truly immerse yourself in and lose hours to and to a massively greater degree than in previous titles. As well as filling the world with interesting landmarks to draw your attention and help you familiarize yourself with your surroundings but also points of interest along your journey from one goal to another.

Areas will connect to one another like Dark Souls and I think it's worth mentioning that they are aware of the problems of the infamous Iron Keep > Earthern Peak and the increased space allows things like that to be avoided.

In terms of the landmass itself, it's far more similar to the works of Miyazaki's idol Ueda than anything else (at least outside of Fromsoft), so it's not just about having a super large mass of open field, but also degrees of verticality (where it makes sense) as well as natural transitions between the more open sections and the less open sections like castles and ruins and whatnot. When I mentioned Scotland in the original E3 post this is what I was referring to. Not Celtic or Gaelic Mythology (and such rumors had nothing to do with me). The landscapes of Scotland served as an inspiration for Elden Ring's landscapes. That being said you'll also be sure to see plenty of cool fantasy locales

"Alright, well, that's cool and all but after a while things might get a bit samey right? And I'm not seeing how this is really all that different aside from just being bigger" While aside from there being a number of different locales this is a great opportunity to talk about another massive change. A departure from static worlds to a more meaningfully and active one. What do I mean by this?

Looking first at past Fromsoft games Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro. These are all, largely static worlds. Things generally, don't really happen unless you're there to make them happen. Enemies might patrol a certain, small perimeter at best and during major player activated story events, enemy layout might change and or the behaviours of a few enemies might change in tiny ways. Such as the church giants in Bloodborne no longer patrolling the area and instead sitting on their knees. But overall, once you've been through an area once even after it's changed you generally know exactly what to expect and where to expect it. The player activated changes might indicate a change in time of day across the entire world that will persist until again, the player activates an event and changes it or other things that are, fairly superficial.

And looking at the vast majority of open world games, they have day/night cycles and weather systems and both are usually primarily if not entirely cosmetic.

So where does that leave us with Elden Ring? Starting with static/nonstatic. Elden Ring, like past games will have opportunities to effect and change things in the world. But the noteworthy element here is that the world will change on its own. I don't mean in any singular major sense but perhaps you're strolling down your typical route to get from point A to B, having a jolly time on your horse, blasting old town road and before you know it you're met with some sort of towering monstrosity. You've now got 2 choices. A try your luck and attempt to take down the beast. B: Pull a big ol nope and get your ass right out of there. Maybe you pick B, and end up taking a different route from now on…but who's to say it won't show up there too? Or even if it's the only one out there? Perhaps you've been traveling, see something cool and start traveling inside some ruins or a cave. You start making your way back out and hey, things look a lot darker outside than they did when I came in and the enemies that were here when I left aren't here any more…but some other things are. Perhaps there are ways to use this situation to my advantage, but perhaps I don't want to risk it. The game also has its weather cycles though I wouldn't expect anything particularly expansive or exciting in this department. Ultimately you're left with a world that feels a lot more alive and like I said immersive. Like this is a place where things live.

Accompanying this are some changes and improvements to AI and design that has found new ways to trick the player into a false sense of security before being murdered. We've now leveled up from things hiding behind a corner and popping out to either slit your neck or kick you off a cliff, now we've got more involved and elaborate jebait mechanics to go with a more sophisticated world (Though I'd imagine plenty of the usual will end up in the game as well).

With all this being added and all the work being put into making this title what it is, I wouldn't expect the likes of world tendency or insight this time around.

And all this is pretty much open and free for you to explore.

"But I like Fromsoft level design and hate open world games" There will, of course be plenty of your typically meticulously crafted areas for that too.

Alright, happy new years everyone.

[/spoiler]

Also shout out to this charity, for all the people who are going to end up looking at this post, please at least give this a look and at least consider doing your part to help out with the Australian wild fires.

This is awesome Omni, thank you for all you do for us !
Only thing that is not very clear to me: you said there is a weather cycle , though not so exciting ( so I suppose traditional sun/rain or snow ) , but there will be also day and night ? meaning, if for example I leave my joypad for 30 minutes in the open world, will i be able to see a sunny day turn into a beautiful sunset and then into night? I would love fromsoft experiment on this with nights as dark as dragon's dogma where you need a torch to move around... and maybe also at night some new horrorific enemies comes out in the wild to lurk the player.

DrROBschiz · Jan 10, 2020

Started a fresh Dark Souls 3 run with my friends last night and had an absolute blast in co-op

Hopefully we get details on how it will work in Elden Ring if its even available

Ferrs · Jan 10, 2020

Silly me I only saw Omni's Rickroll video at first and thought everyone here was trolling lol

Deleted member 679 · Jan 10, 2020

THAT WHICH COMMANDED THE STARS

Mentalist · Jan 10, 2020

Wow.

Omni's post takes me back to the A-LIFE system of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games where if you watched the wilderness for long enough, progressively stronger mutants would move in, displacing both the weaker types and any humans in the vicinity.

Obviously I don't expect the same time of a glorious procedural mess (in those games you could make your way across half the game world to find that a critical NPC was mauled to death by a mutated boar), but anything approaching that "feel" of a world that's alive, hostile and actively wants you dead would be an amazing accomplishment in my books.

(None of this is to say that I think From are trying to imitate GSC. Rather, From's unique approach seems to arrive to a similar feeling from a different angle)

Rogue Agent · Jan 10, 2020

One thing I really liked in Sekiro was when certain enemies attacking one another and I could just watch and then swoop in when the time was right. And it made sense story-wise too.

Anyway, I found Omni's post so fulfilling that I don't even care for a trailer now.

hideousarmor · Jan 10, 2020

That new omnipost <3<3<3
Thank you

Whenever I imagined the landscapes, I always thought of seaside cliffs and castle ruins at the very edges. Now i feel like the chances of this are high with the scotland inspiration. I suggest everyone lookup scotland ruins, some beautiful vistas.
I wonder if this'll also bring back swimming considering we'll probably get some lakes. Also that mermaid model shown at the fromsoft zbrush talk feels very much at home with this.

Imagine these but in fromsoft's style

The sense of scale being more present than ever and the Ueda likeness are welcome indeed. SOtC has one of my favourite open worlds ever (and lets be honest, they are talking about sotc cause the other two ueda games arent really open worlds). The transitions into different biomes feels super natural in that game.
My only complaint with sotc is that the game has few notable landmarks that you can see from the distance outside of the tower/bridges so It'd be hard to guide oneself without the map or the actual light that tells you where to go in that game. Great to hear this isnt the case in ER <3 makes me think we also wont have a map.

Naturally, omni's mention of "seeing places long before you're able to reach them " brings a lot of joy, I want a world filled with memorable places that have my imagination going crazy as I first approach them from afar. This is one of the elements that make wind waker one of my favourite titles but also the reason why I got burnt out when I realized you couldnt reach "that one tower" in the ringed city DLC.

Maybe that verticality means climbing is back from sekiro? I dont expect to see many ladders in the middle of nowhere 🤔

This all cements the world of as ER being more and more like a mix of the best parts of dark souls and shadow of the colossus. Sounds incredible.

But then there's so much more in that post... world changing on its own, time of day changes, AI being better at murdering the player (I really wonder what this could be...) and stuff we learned from other recent posts like the deconfirmation of the prosthetic arms and neither celtic or norse mythology
God I hope we get some new trailer in the next 3 months, my heart can only take so much but these little tidbits do help A LOT.

Lys Skygge · Jan 10, 2020

The "bobas" in boba tea are disgusting. The drinks themselves taste fine, but keep that boba shit out.

Can't wait for more Elden Ring news😬

Deleted member 679 · Jan 10, 2020

Yeah, I googled Scotland and it just looked like an Ueda game, hahaha. God, I need a new trailer.

Mifec · Jan 10, 2020

Post threadmarked.

Omnipotent thank you brother.

Raza · Jan 10, 2020

What are "the problems of the infamous Iron Keep > Earthern Peak "?

I haven't played DS2 as much of the others, but I was interested in this and wasn't sure what was meant.

DoubleTake · Jan 10, 2020

Omnipotent said:
Boy howdy, do I have a gift for you!

No but for real

The biggest single change in terms of design moving from Dark Souls to Elden Ring is the "open world". But there are a million open world games from MMO's to AAA games to BOTW, some very similar and some very different and some have even said "Well, isn't Dark Souls already Open World? [From a certain point of view]. So let's take a look at Elden Ring's Open World in terms of design.

Remember when you first played Dark Souls and how cool it was traversing the world, especially once you got passed the early areas and human settlements like Undead Parish? Entering Sen's Fortress, The Tomb of Giants and Anor Londo? All these incredible and varying locales that made this world feel much larger than it really is and the scale at which things were designed making you feel like this world was truly not built for the likes of you? It's something I definitely missed from later titles. But after the shininess has worn off you're able to start seeing that this massive world wasn't really all that massive and was, realistically quite small. I want you to think about that while also thinking about Miyazaki's quote of "we want to do things we weren't able to do with Dark Souls". Imagine a game in which that illusion was able to be made a lot more "real". Now open your (metaphorical) eyes to Elden Ring.

Due to the nature of the game being "open world" it's also able to more effectively capitalize on the concept of being able to see an area long before you reach it as well as looking back across the land to places you have already been, seeing how places connect and what not. This one of Dark Souls 1's most charming elements and it's been brought forward into Elden Ring in both a more natural way and on a much larger and more effective scale and I'd imagine that's a design element that most will appreciate, as I certainly do. You'll be traveling across the world and seeing places long before you're able to reach them. Imagine a scenario in which you arrive at the staircase like the one in the dungeon in DS3, looking out across a vast distance to see a castle like Archdragon peak. But instead of having to psychically transport yourself there you know that eventually you'll be able to cross that vast distance, bridge that gap and reach that castle to find what lies inside. The increased scale and scope is a hugely important pillar of this title.

That being said, this world is quite large. Before you start freaking out and going "but From said this isn't your typical open world, is this going to be a big, largely empty world with random crap sprinkled throughout the world just to fill the space?" Short answer: Absolutely not. Long answer: one of the pillars of design in Elden Ring is to create a meaningful and fully realized world (to the best of From's ability). Which doesn't mean collectathons, random and sparse packs of copy pasted enemies and a lot of landmass simply for the sake of having a lot of landmass. What's important is creating a variety of experiences for you to encounter and face throughout your journey while also making the world feel real and alive, like a place you can truly immerse yourself in and lose hours to and to a massively greater degree than in previous titles. As well as filling the world with interesting landmarks to draw your attention and help you familiarize yourself with your surroundings but also points of interest along your journey from one goal to another.

Areas will connect to one another like Dark Souls and I think it's worth mentioning that they are aware of the problems of the infamous Iron Keep > Earthern Peak and the increased space allows things like that to be avoided.

In terms of the landmass itself, it's far more similar to the works of Miyazaki's idol Ueda than anything else (at least outside of Fromsoft), so it's not just about having a super large mass of open field, but also degrees of verticality (where it makes sense) as well as natural transitions between the more open sections and the less open sections like castles and ruins and whatnot. When I mentioned Scotland in the original E3 post this is what I was referring to. Not Celtic or Gaelic Mythology (and such rumors had nothing to do with me). The landscapes of Scotland served as an inspiration for Elden Ring's landscapes. That being said you'll also be sure to see plenty of cool fantasy locales

"Alright, well, that's cool and all but after a while things might get a bit samey right? And I'm not seeing how this is really all that different aside from just being bigger" While aside from there being a number of different locales this is a great opportunity to talk about another massive change. A departure from static worlds to a more meaningfully and active one. What do I mean by this?

Looking first at past Fromsoft games Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro. These are all, largely static worlds. Things generally, don't really happen unless you're there to make them happen. Enemies might patrol a certain, small perimeter at best and during major player activated story events, enemy layout might change and or the behaviours of a few enemies might change in tiny ways. Such as the church giants in Bloodborne no longer patrolling the area and instead sitting on their knees. But overall, once you've been through an area once even after it's changed you generally know exactly what to expect and where to expect it. The player activated changes might indicate a change in time of day across the entire world that will persist until again, the player activates an event and changes it or other things that are, fairly superficial.

And looking at the vast majority of open world games, they have day/night cycles and weather systems and both are usually primarily if not entirely cosmetic.

So where does that leave us with Elden Ring? Starting with static/nonstatic. Elden Ring, like past games will have opportunities to effect and change things in the world. But the noteworthy element here is that the world will change on its own. I don't mean in any singular major sense but perhaps you're strolling down your typical route to get from point A to B, having a jolly time on your horse, blasting old town road and before you know it you're met with some sort of towering monstrosity. You've now got 2 choices. A try your luck and attempt to take down the beast. B: Pull a big ol nope and get your ass right out of there. Maybe you pick B, and end up taking a different route from now on…but who's to say it won't show up there too? Or even if it's the only one out there? Perhaps you've been traveling, see something cool and start traveling inside some ruins or a cave. You start making your way back out and hey, things look a lot darker outside than they did when I came in and the enemies that were here when I left aren't here any more…but some other things are. Perhaps there are ways to use this situation to my advantage, but perhaps I don't want to risk it. The game also has its weather cycles though I wouldn't expect anything particularly expansive or exciting in this department. Ultimately you're left with a world that feels a lot more alive and like I said immersive. Like this is a place where things live.

Accompanying this are some changes and improvements to AI and design that has found new ways to trick the player into a false sense of security before being murdered. We've now leveled up from things hiding behind a corner and popping out to either slit your neck or kick you off a cliff, now we've got more involved and elaborate jebait mechanics to go with a more sophisticated world (Though I'd imagine plenty of the usual will end up in the game as well).

With all this being added and all the work being put into making this title what it is, I wouldn't expect the likes of world tendency or insight this time around.

And all this is pretty much open and free for you to explore.

"But I like Fromsoft level design and hate open world games" There will, of course be plenty of your typically meticulously crafted areas for that too.

Alright, happy new years everyone.

Also shout out to this charity, for all the people who are going to end up looking at this post, please at least give this a look and at least consider doing your part to help out with the Australian wild fires.

Thank your for blessing us. This all sounds soooo good.

I honestly LOVE the stuff about the world not waiting for the player to change it. I wonder what kind of effect that will have on NPC questlines and/or bosses?

hideousarmor · Jan 10, 2020

Raza said:
What are "the problems of the infamous Iron Keep > Earthern Peak "?

Its just level design that doesnt make sense

somehow, at the top of this tower an elevator takes you up into a giant castle surounded by lava

leon9506 · Jan 10, 2020

Omnipotent said:
Boy howdy, do I have a gift for you!

No but for real

The biggest single change in terms of design moving from Dark Souls to Elden Ring is the "open world". But there are a million open world games from MMO's to AAA games to BOTW, some very similar and some very different and some have even said "Well, isn't Dark Souls already Open World? [From a certain point of view]. So let's take a look at Elden Ring's Open World in terms of design.

Remember when you first played Dark Souls and how cool it was traversing the world, especially once you got passed the early areas and human settlements like Undead Parish? Entering Sen's Fortress, The Tomb of Giants and Anor Londo? All these incredible and varying locales that made this world feel much larger than it really is and the scale at which things were designed making you feel like this world was truly not built for the likes of you? It's something I definitely missed from later titles. But after the shininess has worn off you're able to start seeing that this massive world wasn't really all that massive and was, realistically quite small. I want you to think about that while also thinking about Miyazaki's quote of "we want to do things we weren't able to do with Dark Souls". Imagine a game in which that illusion was able to be made a lot more "real". Now open your (metaphorical) eyes to Elden Ring.

Due to the nature of the game being "open world" it's also able to more effectively capitalize on the concept of being able to see an area long before you reach it as well as looking back across the land to places you have already been, seeing how places connect and what not. This one of Dark Souls 1's most charming elements and it's been brought forward into Elden Ring in both a more natural way and on a much larger and more effective scale and I'd imagine that's a design element that most will appreciate, as I certainly do. You'll be traveling across the world and seeing places long before you're able to reach them. Imagine a scenario in which you arrive at the staircase like the one in the dungeon in DS3, looking out across a vast distance to see a castle like Archdragon peak. But instead of having to psychically transport yourself there you know that eventually you'll be able to cross that vast distance, bridge that gap and reach that castle to find what lies inside. The increased scale and scope is a hugely important pillar of this title.

That being said, this world is quite large. Before you start freaking out and going "but From said this isn't your typical open world, is this going to be a big, largely empty world with random crap sprinkled throughout the world just to fill the space?" Short answer: Absolutely not. Long answer: one of the pillars of design in Elden Ring is to create a meaningful and fully realized world (to the best of From's ability). Which doesn't mean collectathons, random and sparse packs of copy pasted enemies and a lot of landmass simply for the sake of having a lot of landmass. What's important is creating a variety of experiences for you to encounter and face throughout your journey while also making the world feel real and alive, like a place you can truly immerse yourself in and lose hours to and to a massively greater degree than in previous titles. As well as filling the world with interesting landmarks to draw your attention and help you familiarize yourself with your surroundings but also points of interest along your journey from one goal to another.

Areas will connect to one another like Dark Souls and I think it's worth mentioning that they are aware of the problems of the infamous Iron Keep > Earthern Peak and the increased space allows things like that to be avoided.

In terms of the landmass itself, it's far more similar to the works of Miyazaki's idol Ueda than anything else (at least outside of Fromsoft), so it's not just about having a super large mass of open field, but also degrees of verticality (where it makes sense) as well as natural transitions between the more open sections and the less open sections like castles and ruins and whatnot. When I mentioned Scotland in the original E3 post this is what I was referring to. Not Celtic or Gaelic Mythology (and such rumors had nothing to do with me). The landscapes of Scotland served as an inspiration for Elden Ring's landscapes. That being said you'll also be sure to see plenty of cool fantasy locales

"Alright, well, that's cool and all but after a while things might get a bit samey right? And I'm not seeing how this is really all that different aside from just being bigger" While aside from there being a number of different locales this is a great opportunity to talk about another massive change. A departure from static worlds to a more meaningfully and active one. What do I mean by this?

Looking first at past Fromsoft games Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro. These are all, largely static worlds. Things generally, don't really happen unless you're there to make them happen. Enemies might patrol a certain, small perimeter at best and during major player activated story events, enemy layout might change and or the behaviours of a few enemies might change in tiny ways. Such as the church giants in Bloodborne no longer patrolling the area and instead sitting on their knees. But overall, once you've been through an area once even after it's changed you generally know exactly what to expect and where to expect it. The player activated changes might indicate a change in time of day across the entire world that will persist until again, the player activates an event and changes it or other things that are, fairly superficial.

And looking at the vast majority of open world games, they have day/night cycles and weather systems and both are usually primarily if not entirely cosmetic.

So where does that leave us with Elden Ring? Starting with static/nonstatic. Elden Ring, like past games will have opportunities to effect and change things in the world. But the noteworthy element here is that the world will change on its own. I don't mean in any singular major sense but perhaps you're strolling down your typical route to get from point A to B, having a jolly time on your horse, blasting old town road and before you know it you're met with some sort of towering monstrosity. You've now got 2 choices. A try your luck and attempt to take down the beast. B: Pull a big ol nope and get your ass right out of there. Maybe you pick B, and end up taking a different route from now on…but who's to say it won't show up there too? Or even if it's the only one out there? Perhaps you've been traveling, see something cool and start traveling inside some ruins or a cave. You start making your way back out and hey, things look a lot darker outside than they did when I came in and the enemies that were here when I left aren't here any more…but some other things are. Perhaps there are ways to use this situation to my advantage, but perhaps I don't want to risk it. The game also has its weather cycles though I wouldn't expect anything particularly expansive or exciting in this department. Ultimately you're left with a world that feels a lot more alive and like I said immersive. Like this is a place where things live.

Accompanying this are some changes and improvements to AI and design that has found new ways to trick the player into a false sense of security before being murdered. We've now leveled up from things hiding behind a corner and popping out to either slit your neck or kick you off a cliff, now we've got more involved and elaborate jebait mechanics to go with a more sophisticated world (Though I'd imagine plenty of the usual will end up in the game as well).

With all this being added and all the work being put into making this title what it is, I wouldn't expect the likes of world tendency or insight this time around.

And all this is pretty much open and free for you to explore.

"But I like Fromsoft level design and hate open world games" There will, of course be plenty of your typically meticulously crafted areas for that too.

Alright, happy new years everyone.

Also shout out to this charity, for all the people who are going to end up looking at this post, please at least give this a look and at least consider doing your part to help out with the Australian wild fires.

holy shit, my heart can't take this, this is too hype

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