Yoshida acknowledges FFXIV Dawntrail Benchmark complaints, updated version on the way

The Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail Benchmark launched on April 14, giving players a tool to test their PC hardware for the coming expansion and some time with the MMO’s new character creator and graphical updates. Some of the changes were a delight to see, others…not so much.

Director and producer Naoki Yoshida acknowledged as much today, via a Lodestone post. He confirmed several hiccups in the new benchmark application, admitting that some things that should have been updated have been left as they were previously, resulting in less-than-optimal lighting. He also promised a new benchmark to better reflect the Dawntrail upgrades, while clarifying it’s still a test — all of those options may not make it into the replacement application.

Yoshida explained the team “received positive feedback and reactions from players” regarding some Dawntrail changes, but mostly stuck to addressing the problems FFXIV’s community highlighted, noting they’d “seen others express their concerns.” In his update, the director outlined their plans going forward, highlighting specific problems and fixes on the way with a new version of the benchmark. For the character creator, he highlight three specific concerns:

A. “Lifeless” eyes due to a lack of highlights in the pupils
B. Facial contours appearing flattened due to incorrect lighting conditions caused by backlighting
C. A lack of gloss or excessive appearance of gloss due to character creation-exclusive weather conditions (i.e. the use of thunderclouds)

via the Final Fantasy XIV Lodestone

Additionally, Yoshida said there are other issues with “certain data and processes,” and — while not mentioned by name — some of those seem to point to specific problems the community highlighted, like strange seams in models and scales on the Au Ra. On the Lodestone, he noted problems like, “unimplemented high-resolution textures” for some FFXIV races, and “an issue with necklines” as data-related problems they’re fixing, clarifying they are not intended to be present in the retail version of Dawntrail.

For all of those make-overs-gone-wrong, the director apologized and explained they’re still incorporating feedback. Perhaps it’s at least a little more comforting for those of you disappointed with the FFXIV tweaks to your Warriors of Light, but texture issues aside, the character creator has historically hasn’t caught anyone’s good side. Yoshida explains that, too, as some of the benchmark’s lighting uses PlayStation 3 lighting techniques.

When will the updated FFXIV: Dawntrail benchmark be available?

There is currently no confirmation as to when the newly updated benchmark software will be available to download, as Yoshida asked for some time to ‘investigate the issues and reconstruct the benchmark environment’ before going on to say that the release date for the updated benchmark will be provided at a later date.