Based on the DERP Malamute avatar, the company has gone on to transform the ‘base’ of that avatar into 8 different species of domestic canine. All of the avatars do well at mimicing their target breed, though some do better than others. In this review, we’ll see which ones are successful at turning a Malamute into another Domestic Canine.

Out of the Box:

We’re going to do this review a bit differently. Each breed will receive a mini-review with close-ups of each breed of Dog, as well as what stands out about that specific variety. If you want the usual in-depth SLARF review, please refer back to the DERP Malamute Review (Click here). Functionally and Feature-wise, the DERP Dogs are almost exactly the same as the DERP Malamute, though there will be slight variations depending on breed.

Before we go into specifics on each breed, we’ll talk about what all of them have in common. Texture-wise, the avatars are all very, very true to the breed which inspired the variety of dog purchased. Some markings are complex, while others are more simple and slightly more plain. In some cases, the texture quality of some of the DERP Dogs exceeds that of the original Malamute avatar. The avatars with the strongest textures will be clear to you in the accompanying photos.

Build-wise, each breed has been constructed neatly; minimal creases are present anywhere on the body, though the muzzle crease sometimes presents itself on the head (depending on colouration of the avatar). Many of the attachments are similar to the Malamute’s, except certain avatars will have more ‘fluff’ prims on them than others. The same can be said for the multitude of different tails, and the differences in ears between breeds.

DERP BEAGLE

First up is the DERP Beagle. This modification of the Malamute includes the removal of the ‘fluff’-prims for a more streamlined, short-haired look which works out well. The markings are each spot-on, with soft transitions between Beagle whites, browns, and blacks. The floppy ears are an additional touch to the avatar, hanging off the head in just the right shape and position for a beagle-ish effect. Finally, the thin, arching tail finishes off the visage with good markings. All in all, this modification is rather complete, cute, and reflects well on beagles.

DERP CORGI

Corgis are relatively smaller dogs with a very distinct appearance, so it’s a little bit more difficult to get an avatar based on a large dog to become a smaller dog. This avatar does away with with the chest fluff, but keeps the cheek and leg fluff. With this avatar, we find another tail that DERP will use on some of their other Domestic Canine avatars. Compared to the Beagle tail, this one is fleshed out to be thicker and fluffier. This produces a somewhat ‘generic’ tail that works well on the multitude of different breeds we have to still discuss. Some who prefer their Corgis to have a shorter tail can easily resize this one.

The addition of taller, wider ears goes a long way towards making this avatar a clear Corgi. While I personally believe the ears to be at a reasonable size, some enthusiasts may wish them larger. Additionally, all of the avatars come in at the same height; fairly tall with the same body types. To make this avatar an ultra-convincing Corgi, I would recommending shortening the limbs and size; making the avatar look a bit more stocky and compact. Otherwise, another successful canid.

DERP DALMATIAN

The DERP Dalmatian is almost exactly the same structurally as the DERP Beagle, though the legs and cheeks have some fluff to them, unlike the Beagle avatar. Structurally, the avatar is slightly less convincing to be a Dalmatian, mostly because of how short and slightly blunt the muzzle is. However, the floppy ears, the tail, and most definitely, the spots, make the avatar all the more distinguished as a Dalmatian. As you can see on the head, the eyes are surrounded with large black spots, and the head and body are covered with a spattering of spots all over. The skin could have benefitted from a little pink on the front of the body to mimic shorter bellyfur of a dalmation and make up for it being devoid of spots. Additionally, while not a huge fault of the creator, having large hindquarters stretches the spots on the back a lot.

DERP DOBERMAN

The first thing that stands out about this avatar is its textures. Covered in the distinctive markings of Dobermans (i.e. Brown/Black or Two-Tone Brown), this avatar stands out from all the other Canines in its group not only because of its markings, but because of how different a colour scheme it has. The creators have pulled everything off remarkably well, right down to the eyebrow-spots over the eyes. Additionally, ample shading and highlights really give the avatar some visual depth. It would seem that the more non-whites there are in a texture, the generally stronger the texturing becomes for these dogs.

As a whole, this Doberman comes with a docked tail, as well as a choice between two floppy or two straight ears. The photos above show one of each; users can easily mix and match. In the end, the final image is of a rather believable little Doberman avatar all around. Definitely one of the most successful of the batch.

DERP GERMAN SHEPHERD

Next up is the German Shepherd. This avatar, like the Doberman avatar has a lot of colour, contrasts and transitions in the fur. The fur is very neatly textured and easily invokes the image of a German Shepherd very well. The biggest change with this avatar is the ears that point out to the sides of the head. For this avatar, the shape of the head and the face isn’t strongly GSD, so it relies completely on the textures as the way to identify the avatar. Thankfully, it does so with reasonable strength. In the end, while users can easily make a convincing German Shepherd with this avatar’s great textures, it isn’t the strongest at reflecting its breed.

DERP BORDER COLLIE

Here we have two different varieties of the DERP Border Collie; one based in Black, the other based in brown. The photo above alternates between them. Here, we see that the “fluff” has been picked up again on the legs as well as the shoulder-chest fluff. Altogether, we get the idea of extra fuzziness, much as we’d expect from a Border Collie. The ears differ from the other Dogs in how they flop forward slightly cartoon-ishly, nudging the avatar into the general direction of a Border Collie. All in all, this avatar pulls off the Border Collie look well.

DERP BERMESE

The Bermese version of the DERP Dogs is structurally the same as the DERP Border Collie, meaning that this Dog relies completely on the textures to seperate it from the DERP Border Collies. The biggest clue is in how the markings differ in comparison to the Border Collies. Anyone who knows their dogs will be able to mark this out as a Bermese Mountain Dog, but those with a less knowledgeable base in canines will likely mistake it for a Border Collie.

DERP POODLE

Finally, the DERP Poodle. This is, without a doubt, one of the most unique avatars of the whole bunch, what with being a poodle. This avatar comes in either black or white. The photo above shows that this avatar completely does without the spiked fluff, instead, using idealised ‘poofy’ fur clumps in all the right places. It absolutely works for this avatar; from the hair-do to the little poofs of hair at the end of the tail and at the bottom of the leg. The textures on the avatar are simple, but are well shaded/highlighted enough to keep them from looking flat. Coined with a little bit of adjustment of the facial settings, someone can have great fun with this poodle.

Features and Heads-Up Display (HUD):

This avatar is completely controlled by its HUD, which maintains the simple, user-friendly interface that DERP has employed in their last few avatars. The photo above shows both the Control HUD and the Eye-Colour HUD.

Customisation:

This avatar comes as modifiable and copiable, so customisation is fairly easy. The head-size is small, but the shape of the head may mean that some third party hairs will need a little editing.

Conclusion:

The DERP Dogs are all succesful at replicating their respective breeds, despite each variety being based on a single ‘base’ shape and avatar. Some of the avatars are closer to their real-world counterparts (i.e. the Border Collie), while others rely more on their textures rather than build to get the breed identification across (i.e. The Bermese). Regardless, each breed presents itself as a very viable choice for their respective domestic canine breeds. Interestingly enough, these avatars often prove to keep a consistent amount of ‘cute,’ regardless of breeds. Each of them tends to appear naturally friendly and personable, though people can make the dogs look more disgruntled through the usage of the expanded facial expression options. Overall, while still fundamentally the same avatar, each breed brings something new to the table.