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Let's talk graphics, UI quality and mouse combat in Dragon's Prophet!
Kuldebar
Member UncommonPosts: 67
OK, I have seen some negative criticisms of the game's graphics, DP is definitely not in TERA's or GW2's league (especially the avatars) but it really isn't that bad and not a show stopper for me at least.
However, I have noticed something that drives me up the wall:
- The AA (FXAA or TAA) in-game doesn't actually appear to work.
I run the game at my native resolution of 1920x1080 and I still get some really crawly, icky jaggy aliasing happening and that is with 8x MSAA forced in my RadeonPro profile for the game. This is my biggest beef with the graphics at the moment.
Outside of that, there's been some decal popping here or there and some stuttering distant animations, but nothing too serious.
User Interface is mostly fine except:
- There is no ability to move stuff around or change the layout of rows or columns on the Hotkey bar
- Unable to resize UI elements
The combat mechanic and chained skills are nice, not as nice as TERA's but workable but for one thing:
- The little icon for left and right mouse button is your only indicator for firing a chain? (I'm only level 7 so forgive me if I am missing something, please enlighten me)
I don't like staring at icons for prompts or cues in an "action combat" game, is there something that I am not seeing here? The combos and chains seem rather numerous; I'm not sure if in combat it's working for me like in other games. (Yes, TERA 
)
Anyway, just some of my ponderings and observations.
Those who tread with ill intent
Beneath our sacred firmament,
Whether of Hammer or of Tree,
Albion's might shall strike at thee!
Comments
Remember, this is a f2p game made in taiwan of all places. It is not in their interest or business model to provide even remotely current graphics and assets, nor the options we expect from well funded p2p or b2p titles. Their incentive is to spend as little as possible on this game, pump it out fast, and then generate revenue from the business model. They know that gamers who play these f2p games are more likely to hop around to many f2p games to keep interested, rather than stick to one and invest more time and money into it, which is why these things are mass produced with very little production value.
I'm actually enjoying the game in terms of the game play combat being slightly different from other mmos. Aside from the occasional random Client crashes, I'm willing to put up with it for the time being to explorer more of the game at higher levels (currently level 15).
The UI is probably one of the worst out there and not being able to customize it just makes it worse. No UI scaling and no way to add / move, or take away hotbars is a bad thing. For me at least. Unfortunately I don't see this getting any attention in the near future.
I just hope this game gets more and more updates and fixes what needs to be fixed (UI included). Hoping it doesn't get left as just a cash dump and ignored. I guess time will tell.
I criticized the game when I first tried the beta a while back, but in that case I had played to only level 5 or so. The OP's points about the inability to customize the UI is a valid point. Also, the mini map overlay does not work properly in some parts of the game.
But after having now played up to level 32, I am enjoying the game. The downside is that the game does have some of the usual types of quests, such as go fetch X amount of Y, and those mobs are way too crowded together, similar to most Eastern style games, yet I was surprised by the size and detail of the cities and world map in this game, as well as the number of quests to do.
The flying on and taming of dragons is pretty much the hook of this game, although I personally actually like the quest writing as well as the ability to train in mounted combat and mastery skills. As I said, I am only in the low 30's atm, so all I can say is that I am having fun; I think most reviewers gave up on this after only a few levels, and it's my opinion that you would be doing yourself a disservice by dismissing this game so quickly.
At my level, it's not pay to win yet, so I am keeping my fingers crossed as I go. Unfortunately, most updates are only for the marketplace, but on the flipside -- pretty much everything that your character needs drops frequently, namely, gear and potions.
I'm thinking the game is more pay for comfort like to let dragons sleep, and to expand inventory. This game did not keep me hooked first time around and I got so bored with it.
But the first time I got a dragon mount, and flew away with it, it was pretty awesome. So it is only later on when you discover how deep and rich this game is for a F2P mmo, it is actually astounding. In my opinion however, they did not do the game a great service by launching early (open beta), but I think it is pretty cool now. The cities are pretty decent and the monsters are well imagined.
Additionally, sure Tera is easier if that is what you are referring to: Special attack, normal attack evade, and repeat, but damn I did not like it. There is some depth in Dragons prophet which I really like. The cons are stuff like I have not really seen any major story, but that is probably my fault for skipping over the unvoiced quest communication. I'll probably not even know the plot at lvl cap. The dungeons are also imaginative, and I could solo the first one, which is absolutely excellent. I would say that the Action combat is probably a bit better than Neverwinter once you start filling the quickslots as you level.
Additionally, dunno if they made a change, but at the beginning you level very fast. Kill a monster and level kill two and level sort of thing.
And it is a massive game. NOT to be compared with a ftp game, and it says a lot that this can keep my attention where FFXIV:ARR/Rift, Tera etc. could not. I Do not know why I am drawing that simularity.
At the beginning as with any MMO there are a couple of things to figure out, but it is a pretty decent game.