The following are some of the PR videos released; the first one is a “making” video of their booth setup (which also included a VR viewing section) while the second is video taken from this setup during G-STAR 2023. They’ve yet to release the PR gameplay footage, but you can see shots of the game in the clips.
As Smilegate RPG mentioned in prior PR’s, the mobile version is being built using Unreal Engine 5. This write up on Inven (KR) provides a bit more detail about the mobile version (and includes video of the combat and UI, class preview section, etc). There will be at least 7 classes in total (for the initial launch); classes that are present on the PC version are heavily modified (in terms of their combat skills) for the mobile form factor. There is auto-run (like to the next quest location), BUT there is no auto-hunt system (unlike many mobile RPG’s that allow hands off play, Lost Ark Mobile will require player input for more complex battles since the only thing it does during an auto-run, is auto-attack when needed).
The main story quest from the PC version seems to also be replicated in the mobile version, where it happens to be of higher quality (the article specifically mentions the Wall of Glory cinematic scene all the way to the fight with Valtan; it notes that the NPC gestures, talking, and motions are more natural due to the use of Unreal Engine 5).
Instead of using the mobile combat system (derived from Heroes of Incredible Tales) utilized in many mobile RPG’s, Smilegate RPG is using their own system which allows keyboard/mouse input (they had demonstration versions also running on PC monitors with keyboard/mouse control which can be seen in the following). Changes can also be seen that were made to some cutscenes (it shows a much higher fidelity cinematic of the Morai Ruins boss for example).
Now consider the size of most mobile device screens, this UI is not going to be what I call the best user experience (especially for those who already have “fat finger/boomer reflex” issues with a regular keyboard. But you can clearly see the intent of Smilegate RPG; they’ve essentially recreated Lost Ark PC (Unreal Engine 3) in Unreal Engine 5, and will likely use this as the basic foundation for upgrading the graphics engine for the PC version in the future. Content like Abyssal Dungeons and Legion Raids are also recreated (the article simply notes the demonstration versions are more forgiving and have unlimited potion use).
While some of the prior PR noted cross platform play, this article didn’t really mention anything about what Smilegate RPG might have said about that. Since the mobile version has changes to class skills and what not, it’s pretty clear there won’t be any sort of cross play with the existing PC version and this mobile version. So I’m taking that prior PR to mean cross play between the different mobile platforms the game will be releasing on like Android, iOS, and Nintendo Switch.
The takeaway is that the mobile version isn’t the usual cutdown experience that most mobile versions tend to be. That also means the same item level treadmill sort of grind is going to be part of the mobile game play experience (that is unless Smilegate RPG tunes all of that stuff down). Remember, mobile game play even in MMO’s, tends to be quicker paced (especially in the primary Asian market where the demographic tends to play mobile games on rail transport/in shorter sessions). So it will be interesting to see how this mobile version is tuned when it comes to that grind element. What I can see is how a lot of the convenience aspects with easing gear honing at the higher end, can (and will) be heavily monetized.
Since G-STAR 2023 just wrapped up, expect there to be more videos and articles in this coming week from the KR game press.
