Final Fantasy 14 Will Get A New Benchmark

Final Fantasy 14 producer and director Naoki Yoshida stated that, in response to player feedback and concerns, the Dawntrail PC benchmark will be replaced. While Yoshida did not say when the new Final Fantasy 14 benchmark program would be released, he confirmed that portions of the character creator were overlooked and apologized for the mistakes.

During the annual 14-hour Broadcast stream on April 12 and 13, Yoshida pulled back the curtain on the Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail PC benchmark, which allowed players to not only see how their characters would look in the upcoming expansion, but also create character data for the Female Hrothgar race. Along with Dawntrail, the first major graphical update for Final Fantasy 14 will be released, which makes the benchmark an ideal tool for players to test their PCs and see what upgrades could be made ahead of the expansion’s July 2 release. The current benchmark for Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail can still be downloaded from Square Enix’s website, and requires nearly 4GB of storage.

Following the release of the Dawntrail benchmark, some Final Fantasy 14 players expressed their concerns over the lighting and how their character’s features were changed. In a Lodestone post, Yoshida confirmed that the benchmark client would be replaced. Yoshida also stated the character creation environment of Dawntrail should have been updated to match the new graphics, but was overlooked as the developers prioritized other facets of the expansion, and apologized. Yoshida pointed out that “lifeless” eyes that lacked pupil highlights, flattened facial features caused by backlighting, and glossiness issues due to certain weather conditions would be among the top character creator issues being addressed.

Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail PC Benchmark Issues

• “Lifeless” eyes due to a lack of highlights in the pupils
• Facial contours appearing flattened due to incorrect lighting conditions caused by backlighting
• A lack of gloss or excessive appearance of gloss due to character creation-exclusive weather conditions (i.e. the use of thunderclouds)
• An issue with unimplemented high-resolution textures, including those for certain playable races
• An issue pertaining to special data processes
• An issue with necklines for playable races under certain circumstances
• An issue with uncorrected scaling for the mouth of certain playable races

Yoshida also stated that other issues related to data and processes in the Dawntrail benchmark and the expansion’s full release will be addressed. Yoshida said feedback from players on social media and the Final Fantasy 14 game forums allowed him and the developers to pinpoint some issues that manifested due to the sheer amount of data being modified as part of the graphics update. Yoshida also provided examples from a non-exhaustive list, including unimplemented high-resolution textures, neckline issues for certain characters, and incorrect mouth scaling. It remains to be seen which specific changes between the benchmark clients will be made.

However, Yoshida did not state when the updated Final Fantasy 14 benchmark would be released. With a full calendar of events that will take place before Dawntrail is released, only time will tell when the new benchmark will be available.

Final Fantasy 14

Final Fantasy XIV’s original release was less-than-stellar, with many fans blasting the game for its array of issues. This prompted developers to cancel the MMO and rebuild it as Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. Since then, the title has seen a massive resurgence and has quickly become one of the best MMOs ever made, with hundreds of thousands of subscribers online at any given time.

Released

August 27, 2013

Multiplayer

Online Multiplayer

Engine

Crystal Tools

ESRB

T for Teen: Alcohol Reference, Animated Blood, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence

Metascore

90

Platforms That Support Crossplay

PC, PS4 & PS5

PS Plus Availability

N/A