Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition

Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition

Developer(s)	From Software
Publisher(s)	Namco Bandai Games
Engine	PhyreEngine
First release date	August 23, 2012

Dark Souls

Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition	2012
Dark Souls II	TBA

Key points

A poor port of the console versions of the game with few PC options.

Use DSfix by Durante to increase rendering resolution.

Using a Controller is highly recommended over keyboard and mouse controls.

If using keyboard and mouse controls, apply the DSMfix to improve mouse control issues.

General information

Steam Hub Discussion.

Steam Forum.

Availability

Source(s)	Store unlock	Notes
Amazon
GamersGate
GameStop
Green Man Gaming
Retail		Completely optional Steam unlock.
Steam

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

Improvements

Game window renders in small box unless in-game anti-aliasing is turned off while using DSfix.

• Unmodded and DSfix modded game.
• 

  Unmodded - Eurogamer.

• 

  Modded at 1920x1080 resolution - Eurogamer.

DSfix by Durante

No matter what resolution you set in the options, Dark Souls will render an anamorphic 1024x720 picture and stretch it to fit the user's chosen resolution.

A few interactive examples of the game running with and without the DSfix:

• http://imgc.rauch.co.uk/957
• http://imgc.rauch.co.uk/955
• http://imgc.rauch.co.uk/956

DSfix • Link DSfix increases rendering resolution, providing more detail and graphical fidelity. 1) Download the Dark Souls internal rendering resolution fix. 2) Disable in-game anti-aliasing. 3) Place the folder dsfix and the files DSfix.ini, DSfixKeys.ini and DINPUT8.dll into the game directory - normally C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Dark Souls Prepare to Die Edition\DATA\ 4) Adjust the game resolution in DSfix.ini using Notepad (for example, renderWidth 1366 renderHeight 768). Set the internal rendering resolution to higher than your native display resolution to create a supersampling anti-aliasing (SSAA) effect.

Skip intro movies

skipIntro 1 • Link Add skipIntro 1 to DSfix.ini

Borderless fullscreen windowed

borderlessFullscreen 1 • Link Add borderlessFullscreen 1 to DSfix.ini

Game data

Save game location

	Location
All versions	%USERPROFILE%\My Documents\NBGI\DarkSouls\

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
GameSave Manager		In database.

Video settings

Graphics option	Native	Notes
Widescreen resolution		See DSfix.
Multi-monitor
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed		Enable borderlessFullscreen 1 in DSfix.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		See DSfix.
Anti-aliasing (AA)		Creates an overly blurry effect (does not work with DSfix).
Vertical sync (Vsync)

3D support

The game suffers from poor 3D support.

3D Vision fixby Helix • Link Use together with DSfix. 1) Download the fix from Helix Mod's web site. 2) Extract the content to Dark Souls DATA directory \Steam\steamapps\common\Dark Souls Prepare to Die Edition\DATA. 3) Extract DSfix to another folder. 4) Rename d3d9.dll to res.dll 5) Copy res.dll to your DATA folder inside Dark Souls. 6) Open up DX9Settings.ini 7) Make sure it looks like below, where ProxyLib should be changed to wherever res.dll is on your system. [General] ProxyLib=C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Dark Souls Prepare to Die Edition\DATA\res.dll UseEndScene = false

Input settings

Control scheme tips from Tru3Magic.

Input Settings	Native	Notes
Remapping		See Remapping.
Mouse acceleration		Mouse deceleration reported.
Controller support		See Controller.

Keyboard

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

Mouse

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

DSMfix • Link This fix maps right analogue stick of a controller to the mouse, producing a much smoother experience. Some additional problems caused by negative acceleration. 1) Make sure DSfix is installed first. 2) open DSfix.ini and change: dinput8dllWrapper none to dinput8dllWrapper dsmfix.dll 3) Download DSMfixand extract its files to the same directory where DSfix.ini is. 4) Use the dsmfixgui.exe interface to adjust settings such as sensitivity and mouse inversion.

Remapping

Mouse 4 and 5 cannot be remapped.

Controller

'Hot swap' between keyboard and mouse controls and controller is available.

Use of controller is highly recommended.

Controller not working

Controller driver reinstall • Link Game detects 'first' controller driver. 1) Uninstall controller drivers. 2) Reinstall controller drivers. If using Xbox 360 Controller, use these drivers: Wireless drivers Wired drivers

Controller with wrong mapping

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

Use X360ce • Link Use X360ce to fix the issue by emulating the official Xbox 360 Controller. 1) Download X360ce. 2) Put xBox360ce.exe into the Dark Souls directory (usually C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Dark Souls\DATA\ 3) Start xBox360ce.exe and confirm creation of all dlls. 4) Controller should be detected. Test all buttons and sticks. 5) Open Dark Souls, which should now detect the non-Xbox 360 Controller as an official Xbox 360 Controller.

Network settings

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

Manually forward ports • Link Port forwarding must be enabled on: TCP port 80 UDP and TCP port 3074 UDP port 88 UDP and TCP port 53 TCP port 443

UPnP forwarding • Link With UPnP enabled on your router, ports will automatically be forwarded. In the GFwL console under Network Settings it must say "UPnP is available, in use". If not, refer to this guide on how to enable and fix UPnP issues.

Issues fixed

General low performance

Data.exe Priority • Link Reportedly working with Nvidia cards. 1) Open Task Manager. 2) Set priority of data.exe to a higher value.

Disable AMD Cool'n'Quiet • Link Disabling AMD Cool 'N Quiet in your BIOS can also fix the issue with low FPS.

Processor affinity • Link Set processor affinity to only 2 of the available processors.

Low performance ATI/AMD

Appears that ATI/AMD graphics cards are underutilised.

Set Catalyst Control Center 3D Profile • Link This fix sets a new 3D profile for the game. 1) Enter Catalyst Control Center and 3D Application Settings (advanced view). 2) Tweak settings by unchecking 'Use application settings' and switching sliders to the right. 3) Apply the 3D profile to Dark Souls.

Low performance Nvidia Optimus

Force Optimus To Use Nvidia Instead Of Intel Graphics • Link 1) Go to Nvidia Control Panel (Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > NVIDIA Control Panel). 2) Go to Manage 3D Settings > Program Settings. 3) Add both executables (DarkSouls.exe and data.exe), and set the preferred graphics processor for both to Nvidia graphics instead of auto.

Crash VSFilter.dll

Crash occurs after start screen.

Rename VSFilter.dll • Link

Progress bar stuck during installation

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

End Install Processes • Link 1) Make sure DirectX and Games For Windows Live are individually updated. 2) Win+R taskmgr and open the 'Processes' tab. 3) When dxsetup or gfwlsetup show up, cancel the processes. Note: the gfwlsetup may appear only briefly. 4) This should allow installation to continue.

Minimize with multiple monitors

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

CursorLock • Link Fix bounds the mouse to a single screen. 1) Download CursorLock. 2) Open CursorLockSetup.exe 3) Shortcut > Program Mode. 4) Set darksouls.exe in the 'Open Program' field. 5) Set data.exe in the 'Lock Program' field. 6) Click 'Create Shortcut', and run the game using this shortcut.

Windows 8

DarkSoulsWin8Fix • Link Download and extract DarkSoulsWin8Fix (currently offline due to exceeded bandwidth). MediaFire mirror PCGW mirror Run gfwlivesetupmin.exe. Run Games For Windows Live and update. Close the program. Run gfwlivesetup.exe. Copy Xlive.dll to %windir%\system32\ Run Games For Windows Live. Run Dark Souls.

Reinstall gfwlivesetup.exe • Link Reported fix for Windows 8. Uninstall Microsoft Games for Windows – LIVE Redistributable. Uninstall Microsoft Games for Windows Marketplace. Download this version of gfwlivesetup - sdrv.ms/O2WvBt. Uncheck compatibility mode.

Steam compatibility with Games for Windows Live • Link Uninstall Games for Windows Live. Install free version of Microsoft Flight through Steam (it is silly as it sounds, but MS Flight will solve gfwl compatibility). Launch Dark Souls.

Steam Compatibility settings fix • Link Go to steamapps\Common\Dark Souls\DATA. right click DATA.exe and go to properties. Go to compatibility tab and uncheck "Run as Administrator". Click Apply.

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	Windows XP/Vista/7 or newer	Windows XP/Vista/7 or newer
Processor (CPU)	AMD Phenom II X2 545 3.0 Ghz - Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0 Ghz	AMD Phenom II X2 545 3.0 Ghz - Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0 Ghz
System memory (RAM)	2 GB	2 GB
Video card (GPU)	ATI Radeon HD 4870 - GeForce 9800 GTX+	ATI Radeon HD 4870 - GeForce 9800 GTX+
Hard disk drive (HDD)	4 GB	4 GB