I've got to be honest, when the latest Dragon's Dogma 2 trailer was shown during PlayStation's January State of Play, it wasn't one of the things that really grabbed my attention. That's probably just because I'm not much of a medieval fantasy RPG fan on the whole, but that likely makes me something of a minority.
- DRAGON' DOGMA 2 // © CAPCOM -
In fairness, looking back at the trailer without other distractions, the battles against huge dragons and the array of other mythical beasts do look quite good. There is no shortage of magical effects either, and the whole thing is set against vast open landscapes to serve as the setting.
All the more reason then, that it is good news to hear that the game will include a photo mode for virtual photographers to fill their fantasy boots...or is it?! Of course, Capcom doesn't have the greatest track record with photo modes – Resident Evil Village anybody? – so what should we expect from Dragon's Dogma 2?
- DRAGON' DOGMA 2 // © CAPCOM -
Well, there isn't a huge amount to go on just yet, apart from this one screenshot that was shared by the @DD_Capcom social media account. It was posted along with the caption, "This game also has a photo mode, so be careful!", presumably in reference to the fact that it shows the character and companions fighting a, well actually I don't know what that is.
That's partly on account of the magic effects covering it up, but also because of the obscene amount of chromatic aberration that has been applied to the image. If nothing else, this screenshot tells us that the photo mode includes an aberration feature then. I just hope there is a way to turn it off!
- DRAGON' DOGMA 2 // PHOTO MODE -
There is more to be learned from this little preview though; a thirds grid is visible to aid composition for a start, and the button legend on the left includes three reset options – one for the camera, one for the current tab, and one for all settings – as well as the inputs to hide the UI, exit the photo mode, and rotate the camera.
That last one is assigned to the RS but it's worth noting that there is nothing shown for the LS. A single camera rotation option, plus the fact that the character is dead centre on-screen makes me think that we are probably looking at a tethered orbit camera here. Or worse still, the same as we saw in RE Village with a fixed camera that only rotates on the spot.
- DRAGON' DOGMA 2 // © CAPCOM -
Moving onto the UI and what is the 4th of 6 separate tabs that is titled Screen Effect 2. We can see options for colour filters and their intensity, lens distortion, and as predicted, chromatic aberration – both with intensity sliders and on / off toggles.
At the very bottom of the UI is a tooltip for the selected filter setting reading "Change the colour effect applied to the screen", and there is also a Help button. It will be interesting to see what tips that has in store, I doubt it will answer the question "help, why can't I actually move the camera around?" though.
- DRAGON' DOGMA 2 // © CAPCOM -
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