Final Fantasy XIV Director Announces Update to Benchmark Tool

Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, the next major expansion in the award-winning MMO, is only a few months away. Ahead of its anticipated release, Square Enix recently dropped a free benchmark tool for players to test whether their setup can handle 7.0’s improved visuals. Unfortunately, while there’s been some positive feedback, many players feel like their characters have lost their spark with the new update.

In a new blog post, the producer and director of Final Fantasy XIV Naoki Yoshida addressed the feedback, promising upcoming changes.

“The character creation system was created over ten years ago, based on the release version of A Realm Reborn,” Yoshida began. “Its light sources take advantage of backlighting which, in this case, proved detrimental for showcasing the upcoming graphical update.”

The producer explained that the character creation system was made to show off the quality standards of the time, including the power of the PlayStation 3.

“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,” he continued.

“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.”

Points to be addressed include the “lifeless” eyes of the characters due to a lack of highlights in the pupils and improved facial contours.

Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail will be released on July 2 and players preordering the expansion will be able to play a few days early on June 28.

The long-awaited release will bring with it a level cap boost from 90 to 100, a new playable race, two new DPS classes, new cities, new dungeons and raids, a new limited job, and an entirely new story arc.