As you play through the game, every so often you can see the ghosts of other players as they are also playing their own games. Scattered throughout the game are bloodstains. If you touch one of these, you get to see the final moments of the player as he gets killed by an enemy. This feature can be a bit amusing. I remember when I first spotted the red eyed knight in 1-1. The entire area was filled with at 6-10 different bloodstains. Curious, I began touching them one by one to see exactly what happened. I was completely engrossed in watching all these brutal deaths at the hand of the knight, when I heard a scraping sound. I swiveled around, only to find the same knight that just killed all those people charging at me. I barely managed to avoid the first thrust of his spear before running as fast as I could in the other direction--with him chasing me all the while. After he broke off pursuit, I calmed down and decided to prepare a little more before trying to fight him... he still killed me the first time I did end up fight him

Players can also leave messages for one another, informing them of where valuable items may be hidden, traps may be placed, or especially difficult enemies me be lying in wait--one of those could have helped me against the knight, though I suppose all those bloodstains were warning enough.

The main parts of the game that will be affected by pausing will be: summoning other players into your own game/being summoned into another player's game, Invading another player's game/ being invaded, or any form of PVP.

Since all these features are part of single player on the server, conflict with even one of them means the pause feature can't work online. I suspect the game designers were also trying to keep the tension up by not allowing the player to truly feel safe anywhere outside the nexus.

The whole invasion concept sounds interesting. I don't know if I'll ever actually invade anyone, but I look forward to kicking the crap out of anyone who invades my game! :P The idea of "infecting" other people's games, or being able to send healing their way, sounds neat as well.

Edit: The whole idea of leaving each other messages and being able to see someone's death is an interesting take on multiplayer as well. If you summon someone into your game, is there a time limit to how long they can stay? Or can you, say, summon a friend and actually play co-op for a while?

You have to be in body form before being able to summon other players who need to be in soul form. You can only summon other players into a level in which the major demon still lives. Once the demon is killed, all souls are sent back to their own world and revived. If the summoned souls died, then they are simply sent back.

I just hope From Software puts some restrictions on invasion this time around. There's nothing more annoying than trying to successfully kill an invader who can soak damage and has a seemingly unlimited supply of "New Moon Grass."

No there's no time limit. They only go away if you kill a boss, or if you are killed, or if they are killed. They can also go away if they switch off.

You can only call blue phantoms (people who help you) when there is a boss to fight. If you are exploring a place where there is no boss to fight or the boss is already slain then you can't call a blue phantom but you can still end up fighting a online black phantom (people who fight you).

You can't summon a friend. You only summon randoms. You can also use a particular item to kick off blue phantoms so in a way you can try over and over and then summon your friend. But your friend has to be near your soul level.

In short, its not easy.

Yeah, you're right. I meant "I passed the training at first try". Dying or not with the boss didn't change anything.

I am not justifying. I am just saying that Demon's Souls is the hardest RPG in the market. Probably in the history. Still it is doable. I wrote since the beginning that there is a guy in Youtube that did a speed run in less than one hour. Without any single death, obviously. That guy really IS Superman to my eyes.

Let's say that I've got just a little pist off that the game made me starting in the worst scenario. PBWT the first time in 1-1 is more than a challenge, is a nightmare. It had to be optional for the beginners that still wanted to make use of the online abilities like the messages.

You need to play more RPG's. The early Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy games especially. Now THAT is hard. At least in DS there's a way around each obstacle (enemy) - physical or tactical. But in those, it's hours of grind or death. Limited magic, limited cash, parties too big or too small...

I suggest you start with FFIV DS.

Yeah, it is very linear. One can just chose theunlocked levels in the different sections. The levels in the sections may have some forks or open up a little, but basically they go from A to B. Still it doesn't feel much linear because one can always replay the levels that have been already completed. For looting, lizards (I strongly hope they are gone!!) or different scenarios depending on the world tendency colors.

If FF IV DS is like the original FF IV it's a piece of cake. I played it with an emulator, using the turbo option for the keys. I basically just hold attack in 95+% of the battles, watching the health and healing when needed. The only FF games for Playstation (meaning 1 to XIII because the old ones have all been ported) I didn't complete are FF1 & 2. Not because they were hard, because I've found them boring.

I don't know about Dragon Quest, but with "in the market" I meant right now. In the PS3 the hardest I played after DS has been Resonance of Fate. DS is not hard just because it is easy to die,  it is hard also because we pay for any mistake. One must always be careful. Not even in the Nexus one is safe. Throwing down the controller to answer a phone call or anything may mean to spoil the entire game. If L2/R2 get triggered they may hit a valuabe NPC that will be angry forever without giving his or her services anymore, autosaving on it. It happened to me with stockpile Thomas. All my inventory gone. I don't believe any other game has been so sadist. Not that I know about at least but for sure not in the previous generations, since autosave (with locked gamesaves) wasn't present.  Demon's Souls simply doesn't forgive.

I am pretty much sure it is working as designed. The artistic director chose to make it playing as if it was real life. During a fight in real life one would not stop to answer the mobile phone (just to make an example). I agree that it sucks, but that's the price to pay to be consistent with the philosophy behind the game.

For sure the developers are not so dumb to not know how to implement a pause button. That game is technically spotless. It doesn't even need an install. 

Resonance of Fate? Only if you're talking that secret carnival dungeon, whatever it was called (never finished it - I'd have to grind for hours, meh). Otherwise, it's pretty damn easy. Problems? Modify your guns to hell. More problems? Hollow Point/Metal/incendiary rounds. More? AP rounds, charge to infinity, cross your fingers for full scratch damage (which frequently occurs - and even if it doesn't AP rounds do a huge number on the enemy anyway - a viable tactic since AP rounds are so damn cheap, literally and figuratively). Outside of that dungeon, RoF is easy as pie thanks to exactly how much damage you can inflict and how much you can negate with various items, often killing most of the enemies in one single turn. I don't see how you didn't have trouble with FF IV if you had some with RoF.

Demon's souls - you have no one but yourself to blame, sorry :P You just seem like the crossroads of shitty circuimstances.

edit: Not to mention - a death in RoF is nothing to be afraid of. A little fee of a few rubies, and you're back in the fight.