Lucas didn't announce the overseas sales numbers for Dark Souls.
But after talking it over with Lucas, Target Software decided to reveal the ga's first-week sales to celebrate and help with the next stage of promotion.
Gaming industry forum.
"Dark Souls is selling really well overseas!"
"That's not too surprising. After all, sites like GaSpot gave it such high scores."
"Yeah, I never would have thought a ga like Dark Souls, which goes against the usual trends, could do this well!"
"Even though Dark Souls is still within the ARPG frawork, its gaplay design and core ideas are totally different from half the ARPGs out there. Do you think its success can be copied?"
"I think it's possible. There are plenty of players who enjoy the challenge. As long as the difficulty is fair and well-designed—not just hard for the sake of it—even if it doesn't reach Dark Souls' numbers, it shouldn't do badly."
"Good point. And right now, apart from Dark Souls, there's no other ga of this type on the market. Lots of potential here!"
"While you're still talking, the smart ones are already studying it and preparing new projects!"
While industry designers are wondering if soul-like gas can beco a lasting category, ordinary players are much simpler. They're just happy that a ga they love is doing so well.
And more importantly, with results like this…
The sequel is practically guaranteed.
From the little hints in Dark Souls, it's obvious the sequel has huge potential.
"Did you hear? Dark Souls is selling really well overseas!"
"Yeah, and it's got great reviews. It's especially popular in Europe and Arica!"
"Haha, check P Station—there are tons of funny videos of foreign strears getting wrecked by the ga."
"Not just funny. It reminded of my first ti playing Dark Souls. Sadly, by the second and third playthrough, my overpowered build just steamrolled everything, and I never felt that thrill of dying again."
"Bro above, stop pretending to be a lonely master. Finish a few more runs, then let a monster hit you once and see what happens."
"What I'm more curious about is when the sequel is coming. With sales this good, why isn't Lucas rushing it out already?"
"I'm not worried at all. Hitting ten million sales worldwide should be easy. The real question is when they'll release it."
"Co on, it's obvious! Lucas has probably already finished the concept art for the sequel and is leading the whole team in endless overti to make it happen!"
"Hehehe… Fire Keeper… hehehe… my Fire Keeper…"
"Bro above, you're way too obvious!"
...............
At this mont, Lucas was clearly not doing what the players imagined—working hard on the sequel.
He was actually taking it easy.
For Dark Souls' random mode, Lucas had already discussed it with Hector, and it was mainly up to Hector's team to handle it.
It didn't take long to develop the new mode—less than a week, basically.
Most of the work went into testing, mainly to see if the random appearance of different bosses in various locations would cause problems that stop players from progressing.
If this were just a workshop mod, then it wouldn't need such detailed checks.
If progress got stuck, players could just quit, delete the save, and start over.
But this mode was released officially by Nebula Gas, which ans it's part of the actual ga content.
So if players encounter a ga-breaking situation, that would clearly be Nebula Gas' fault.
That's why it had to be thoroughly tested before release.
As for the new mode, players can customize it.
For example, they can choose to randomize only item drops, aning the ga's progression remains the sa as before.
Monsters and bosses stay exactly the sa—only the items dropped after defeating them are randomized, with nothing else changed.
They can also choose to randomize only enemies, except for certain bosses like the Soul of Cinder at the Kiln of the First Fla or Wolnir in the Catacombs. In that case, all other enemies and bosses in the ga would spawn randomly.
So when you wake up in the Cetery of Ash, you might face not a bunch of hollows, but a group of Black Knights, Frost Knights, and Lothric Knights.
Of course, you can turn on both options for a full-on wild run.
A good way to test if your luck is "Europe-tier" or "Africa-tier."
…
There wasn't much fanfare—just felt like a small routine update.
Lucas announced the release of the new Dark Souls mode on his official blog.
For the overseas version, it had already been sent to Target Software.
Once it passes review in each country, it can go live there too.
Considering the ti difference, that would take at most three or four days.
Lucas and Nebula Gas also posted the full update notes on their blogs.
At first, players didn't think much of it, assuming it was just a tweak to so stats and multiplayer features.
But after reading the patch notes, many players were caught off guard.
This update actually added a whole new mode to Dark Souls?
"Random mode? What's this update about?"
"Uh, it makes bosses, enemies, drops, and loot in the ga all random!"
"So items on the map and loot you pick up won't be fixed anymore—they'll be random? aning I could start in the Cetery of Ash and find a Dragonslayer Greataxe in that coffin?"
"That sounds kinda fun! Getting endga gear right at the start would make you unstoppable, right?"
"Unstoppable my ass. If you're not skilled enough, getting those weapons is pointless—they eat stamina fast, and enemies can parry you easily."
"Who cares! Didn't you read the notes? You start with extra souls, and you don't need to level up at the Fire Keeper—you can do it right at the bonfire. Obviously made for lucky players like us!"
"This sounds super fun!"
With the new mode out, many players eagerly opened the patch notes to see exactly what changed.
After reading, a lot of Dark Souls fans were a bit excited.
Many of them had already moved on to higher NG cycles.
Especially the hardcore grinders, who had already collected most weapons, gear, and items.
Other than those hardcore players who still tirelessly explore the world of Dark Souls,
so regular players who have already cleared the ga multiple tis now only replay it once in a while, or go into PvP for so fair duels with like-minded people.
Or they might act as righteous Sunbros, helping new players who can't get past certain bosses to take them down together.
This update, however, clearly gave many players who were starting to feel bored sothing fresh to look forward to.
The content is still the sa, but with this random mode, the variables are now much greater.
(End of The Chapter)
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