This needs to be brough to the developers' attention and it needs to be fixed immediately.

The multiplayer system, its broken and glitched.

I'll explain in more detail now. My fiance and I both have been SUPER excited to play this game the way we played Demon's Souls together. Now after a bit of research I have learned that the new system is P2P (whereas Demon's Souls had servers) and in addition I have learned it is supposedly easier to summon when you are in the Way of the White covenant. Upon further reading I found the new P2P system is SUPPOSEDLY based on ping and location (the better the ping and closer the location the more likely you are of supposedly seeing someone's soul sign).

Guys...its broken. My fiance and I have 2 PS3's hooked up to the same router in the same room with two TV's side by side. We have a great connection with 12 MBPS down and NOT ONLY CAN WE NEVER SEE EACH OTHER'S SOUL SIGN, WE HAVE YET TO SEE A SOUL SIGN AT ALL. We are seeing player messages but never any soul signs. Now if the system is really a good implementation of P2P, honestly, we should be at least seeing each other's soul sign (our pings would be like....nothing?). I'm not sure if its not seeing the soul sign of my fiance playing in the same room because we are playing through a router so it thinks we're on the same IP or what...I can only guess. That's up to you guys to diagnose. So aside from the fact that I'm upset that I can't see the soul sign of the person sitting next to me; I have yet to see a soul sign or be summoned at all after quite a bit of testing. I have logged out / in at least 50 times now. Tried changing my connection to wired rather than wireless...you name it.

Something's wrong here FROM software. Please do the right thing and fix it as soon as you can.

Now onto my opinion of the multiplayer. Demon's Souls multiplayer was difficult to manage to at times but workable. The new system in Dark Souls is just really broken. I'm not sure if the decision for P2P was because of money but it feels like it. Just as the decision to go multiplatform seems to be which also degraded the graphics and environments. I can put all that aside though if I could simply play the way I want to play and the fact is I can't. I wish that I weren't limited in my ability to play with others. It's time to get over yourselves here. The game is amazing but don't let your pretentiousness get in the way of allowing people to play the way they want to. I agree with other threads I have seen...there needs to be a way of inviting people ESPECIALLY IF THE SYSTEM REMAINS THE WAY IT IS NOW (BROKEN AND UNWORKABLE). I was a huge fan of demon's souls and I can't explain how dissapointed I am. I wish I could get a refund. I have two copies of the game I preordered and bought now sitting on my shelf and I'm wondering will something be done about the multiplayer or am I going to be forced to accept horrible trade credit for what should have been a great gaming experience. I like collecting games but unless these issues get fixed I won't be keeping this for much longer.

I hope others can be honest about these issues as well and maybe they will get fixed.

I'm in a similar boat. My friend and I preordered the game and (naively) bought new headsets anticipating playing the game co-op just as we'd done with Demon's Souls (I know Demon's Souls didn't have voice chat, I don't know why I was excpecting Dark Souls to be any different). However, the two attempts we made and summoning failed, we never saw eachother's soul sign. In Demon's Souls it always worked on the first try as our pings are very similar (we only live a few miles apart).

I can understand why they went for a P2P system instead of using remote servers, because this should help the longevity of the game (Demon's Souls will have no more multiplayer period after the servers get shut down this year). Having said that though, I think they made it way too hard to play with friends in Dark Souls. Compounding this problem is that co-op in general seems like it will be used less in this game since their aren't as many drawbacks to being in "hallowed" form as there were with "dead" form in Demon's Souls.

In regards to your issue, I think the "same IP" thing may be part of your problem. You may need to forward different ports to each computer so that the game sees it as two different connections. On the other hand, if you are both seeing the guidance messages I would think maybe that's not an issue after all.

Sorry if I did more ranting that helping.

i know u have to be alive to see signs were u both hollow? that might have had something to do with it tho even if thats the case its still not good they also might have went the p2p route to remove some of the lagg that was in demons souls using a server

The devs said they intended the game to be this way.

Please send your concerns to this email address support@namcobandaigames.com

I agree with you.

there taking the theme of the game way to far honestly i mean cutting the easiest ways of comunication was bad enough but now u cant even play with friends? thats pretty bad

just like to chime in with the others here... you really pewped the bed on this one... i really hope it gets a patch with an item that directly allows multiplayer coop or pvp or something because as it stands, there is little to no incentive for me to play this game. it was a preorder for me and now im starting to regret it. my buddies are just thinking about going back to demons souls as at least we can coop in that one. this "new and improved" coop is a nightmare, and doesnt work period. how could you turn you back on your fans?? like, we didnt even WANT you to change anything couldve just been the same system as demons souls and it wouldve been fine but no, you messed with it and now as far as everyone i know who plays, its broken... pleaseeee HEED OUR CALL!! FIX MULTIPLAYER ARGHHH!!!@#!11

Im sure the MP and frequency of seeing signs can be patched/ fixed. Keep holding in there mate Not so sure it will ever be easy to specifically summon different people but would think in your situation particularly it shouldnt be a problem. Im in a clan and play mostly with overseas people and now Im wondering though if Ill be able to hoook up with them on occassion....

His fiance LOL

I've been having tons of co-op action. With randoms off course, but still.

Seems like this is a big issue for a lot of people, but personally I don't really care about this. I'm not saying you guys aren't welcome to your opinions, and by all means carry on and take issue with From for their decision, but personally I support the choice they've taken here. Lag was a massive issue in the PvP before, and from what I understand this has gone a long way to fix it (my game comes in the mail tomorrow, but from the JP videos it looks a lot less of a mess). For a game in which invasion is such a large aspect, I personally see the sacrifice of organization as acceptable to make the game play better in the way it was meant to be played.

Before I shut up, I just want to say one more thing. I hear a lot of people really bent out of shape simply because of the fact they can't play with a specific other person. The game is clearly great on its own, at least judging by reviewers are saying. Before you shelf the thing in a fit of rage, at least try to appreciate the game for what it is, not flush it down the toilet for what it isn't. If you can't play with a friend, try and compete to see who can get farther faster. Use their accomplishments as motivation.

Again, your opinions are still justified, but just be aware they're not the only ones out there. I wouldn't mind seeing a purely co-op focused Souls game myself, but I wasn't looking for that in this installment.



EDIT: I'm seeing that there are some other issues with the multiplayer. Seems like connectivity problems are a large issue, and that the servers are too underpopulated. That needs to change, but I do stand by my original points.

At least your arguement does allow for the fact that others can have a differing opinion. Nicely said mate

I agree with Vaxillus. This game is great even you can not co-op as you wish. Try to explore alone and find other benefits from the game. People are mad becouse they can not play with their sons, fathers... But this was not the main consern of the game developers, they wanted to make a hard game for people who loved hardcore gaming, and dark souls is hardcore game.

What a great OP! You wrote it down just perfect! It is indeed very difficult. The Demon Souls system was way better. It is not about the way they intended it (i love that!) but the way it works out.

I also agree with Vaxillus, because I really like the way Demon Souls was in randomness. No voice chat, no directed coop, just hope someone placed a blue sign to help you out. I love that system!! But not if they implement it the wrong way by empty servers or a lack of people u can connect with in a given area.

@TheBigLebowski, Accept the game what it is or play The Demon soul if you like it more or Little Big Planet co-op.

Yes, that being said, the replay value of this game went down the toilet. Seriously noone wants to play this game more than twice alone. Solo'ing everything gets boring. Demons Souls co-op was better. Dark Souls co-op seems like a flop

I made an account specifically to come to these boards and air my grievances about the multiplayer. I've put about 12 hours into my character now, and I've never seen a summoning sign. I lay down the white soapstone each time I enter a new area, and I've been summoned one time (the host died about 10 seconds after doing so), what an incredible coop experience so far -_- It would be nice if there is any way to patch these game crippling mechanics.

I'll give this is a bumpity. Also:

I made an account specifically to come to these boards and air my grievances about the multiplayer. I've put about 12 hours into my character now, and I've never seen another players' summoning sign. I lay down the white soapstone each time I enter a new area, and I've been summoned ONE time (the host died about 10 seconds after doing so), what an incredible coop experience so far -_- It would be nice if there is any way to patch these game crippling mechanics. The world seems so barren, with places like the new Londo Ruins and Sewers being completely devoid of multiplayer interactions.

It's funny when you think about it: Due to our support, Demon's Souls become a cult hit that made From more money than they'd anticipated. Dark Souls has been selling well thanks to word of mouth from dedicated fans, yet dedicated servers are still too expensive to run.

I hope Game Informer or some other outlet runs a story on this, it would be a bit more pressure to get the situation fixed.

You clearly don't understand fool.

^ Don't lower yourself to silly posts, let's try and keep this focused.

@Caramel: good point, and it's not some 'elite' thing to say, because without the support and word of mouth from the online co-op/PvP community, I'm 100% certain DS wouldn't have been slow burning hit it turned out to be. I really hope Namco are forwarding our concerns on to From...

Yeah, I've never seen a summoning sign either.. I'm in the same boat, couple friends and myself bought it so we could co-op with each other.. But if it won't even work on the same connection it looks like that's not happening.. >.<

EU got a patch guys I would have to think NA would not be far behind. Im on EU and definately getting MP - maybe not as many as Id like but its a start. Hold in there!

NA got a patch when we first loaded up the game on release, but that was to fix freezing server I think.

Are you able to play with friends though? If not I guess the fact that you're getting some form of multiplayer at all is a plus, but Demon's Souls is still the superior game until this is all worked out.

This is very upsetting for me as well. I have a hard time summoning others and I know that there are thousands out there playing right now.

What is even worse is that having no one their makes the covenants pointless. I am in the "Path of the Dragon" covenant, and I have not been able to face anyone because of how the online is set up. Dragon scales are a rare and I have found 10 in my play through. Essentially I will have to play through the game 8 times to max my covenant status.

That can't be what the developers intended. I know they wanted us to have a feeling of helplessness but I may as well play offline with how it is now. Without online, games get stale fast. I can't see this having the same replay value that Demon Souls had.