Conveniences or just poor design?

[Verdite]

Anyone else feel that lifts detract from the series' overall medieval, low tech, primal atmosphere? At first when I used lifts in DS1, I thought it gave the game depth, made it seem like you were ascending into somewhere not easily escapable. But since I have been playing DS2, I noticed a number of out of place lifts, placed in convenient locations, contrasting the natural feel of DS1.
I am curious as to why lifts take prescedence over stairs or natural inclines in the newest masterpiece.

[HwitVlf]

I hardly notice such anachronisms because they're so common in games these days. A lift doesn't feel overly out of place in a fantasy game- not like it would in a strictly medieval game such as Warband.  But I still think the more "authentic" a game feels, the easier it is for a player to get immersed and 'believe' their environment.   

I certainly would prefer a precarious spiral staircase over a boring lift. But if a developer has to ration their time/money, I would rather see it put into good creature design or better camera control etc.

I feel the same way about unrealistic architecture- that is, things like an unbraced catwalk which sticks 200 feet out into midair, or a broken stone-block arch whose remaining sides stick way out in mid air ignoring realistic gravity. Such things are so common that you don't really notice them, but if a structure is especially realistic, I really does stand out as "premium content".

[JC Bailey]

There really weren't that many lifts in the game, only about 5 that I can think of. I don't think they ruin the experience though, pulley lifts existed even back in the dark ages, they aren't exactly advanced technology. But yeah, I was disappointed with the level design, they are just branching paths that don't interconnect at all like in Dark Souls.

[Verdite]

Pulleys are different to mechanised lifts that elevate you 10 meters into the air, I think.

[HwitVlf]

It actually sounds neat to have some logical mechanism behind a lift like a pulley or lever system, but usually they just use the 'magical floating' system. 

[dmpdesign]

Master Taffer, I agree with you on the world layout...I liked the game mechanics better in DS2 as far as the removal of finding friends restrictions, the ease of travel early on in the game and so on, but the game did feel more disjointed than DS1.  Areas didnt seem to naturally flow into each other quite as well as the first game and the level design felt more like a web of paths extending from a center point rather than an encompassing environment.

To me, world of DS1 was better, playability with friends was much better in DS2.  I also liked the weapons etc in DS1 better, I found too few useful weapons in DS2, and way too long spent using a fiery long sword in that game :(  Its almost like DS2 was more designed to be played through several times to enjoy it where as in DS1 you didnt need to get to NG++ to get all the stuff.