The FF14 Dawntrail expansion draws ever closer, and with it the long-awaited graphical update for the decade-old MMORPG that’s also set to arrive in Final Fantasy 14 patch 7.0. Following the recent release of an FF14 benchmark tool that allowed players to test out the new-look models in the game’s character creator, while also trying out the new playable female Hrothgar race, concerns have been expressed among the community about the way the overhauled models look. Game producer and director Naoki Yoshida thanks players for the feedback, providing an explanation for the issue and sharing the team’s update plans.
The Final Fantasy 14 benchmark tool is a great way to make sure your PC is ready to handle the new minimum requirements that the graphics overhaul will demand when you’re heading into the new expansion for one of the best MMORPGs around. With the FF14 Dawntrail release date now just over a couple of months away, it’s a good idea to make sure that you aren’t caught off-guard come launch day.
The benchmark also allows players to use the in-game character creator to create designs in the new and improved graphical style, or see how your existing Warrior of Light will look post-update. Unfortunately, many players have expressed concerns with how their characters appear, citing lifeless eyes, flattened facial contours, and characters that look either too glossy or too dull depending upon the weather conditions. Fortunately, Yoshida explains that these changes are actually specifically related to the game’s character creation tool.
“The character creation tool was created over ten years ago, based on the release version of A Realm Reborn,” Yoshida writes in a blog post. He explains that the light sources and aspects such as the weather create “special conditions exclusive to character creation,” with the intent to show off the textures and shaders “at their best based on the quality standards at the time” across a range of potential environments. These combined factors “are largely responsible” for the issues mentioned above, he concludes.
“The character creation environment should have been updated, but was overlooked as we prioritized the development of Dawntrail and tuning the graphical update in the actual game, for which I would like to apologize,” Yoshida says. “We are currently expediting a rework of the environments and light sources of character creation for both the actual game and the benchmark; once that is complete, the current benchmark will be replaced.”
Yoshida also notes a handful of other issues that have arisen as part of the benchmark, including some missing high-resolution textures, and both necklines and mouths not scaling or aligning correctly in some cases. “The above issues can be corrected, and I would appreciate it if you could bear with us until they are resolved,” he concludes. “Naturally, these issues will be addressed in the release version of Dawntrail.”
While we await the new benchmark tool, and Dawntrail itself, make sure to get your FF14 Island Sanctuary looking as nice as possible before you head out on adventures anew, or take a look through more of the best story games on PC.
You can also follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides, or grab our PCGN deals tracker to net yourself some bargains.