Following the release of the official Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail graphical benchmark a couple of months back, community feedback has prompted the game’s development team at Square Enix to move forward with a second, updated version – expected to feature many of the same features of the original but with updates to the character creation and graphical settings.
Originally slated for launch by the end of May, the updated benchmark release has been postponed until tomorrow. The reasoning behind this slight disparity in release dates was an issue causing software instability, which has since been corrected. Additionally, a scheduled power outage at the development offices over the weekend would prevent immediate follow-up on any post-release issues.
Final Fantasy XIV Online producer Naoki “YoshiP” Yoshida took to the official Final Fantasy XIV Lodestone website with information on what has been implemented into this second benchmark tool. You can read the full explanation via the Lodestone article, or scroll down for a summary of the announcements, which includes graphical improvements, character design traits and an update to Fantasia being incorporated into Version 7.0 to facilitate the first stage of graphical updates implemented alongside Dawntrail’s release.
Character Creation Environmental Parameters
Environmental parameters such as lighting, positioning of light sources, and weather for the environmental maps have been reconfigured to align with the first round of graphical updates. These changes apply to both the benchmark and the game itself from Dawntrail onwards.
Lighting in Character Creation’s Aetherial Background
The Aetherial Background, originally designed with blue lighting, now includes a variant with plain lighting. This change helps visualize characters’ skin tones under normal conditions without drastically altering the character creation experience.
Removal of Vignette Effect
The dark translucency effect around the character creation menu options has been removed to avoid influencing the colour perception of character features, such as hair and skin. This aims to present characters closer to their in-game appearance.
Character and Character Creation Revisions
Pupil Highlights and Lip Gloss: Highlights rendered based on lighting processes, enhancing character eyes and lips.
Facial Impressions, Smile Lines, and Skin: High-resolution textures and normal maps have been redrawn to closely match the state of Patch 6.58.
Correction of Low-Resolution Hair Sections
Self-Shadowing Optimizations: Improvements were made to self-shadowing processes, ensuring a better appearance for all hairstyles.
Environmental Lighting Adjustments: Adjustments were made to maintain a three-dimensional appearance for characters even when backlit or in shadow.
Free Phial of Fantasia Through Quest in Patch 7.0
The graphical update for Dawntrail includes significant changes to shadows, lighting, and shaders. This may result in subtle differences in character appearance. If you find yourself in this predicament, you will not need to purchase a new phial of Fantasia to facilitate that change. A phial of Fantasia will be available from a new quest in Patch 7.0, allowing players to fine-tune their character’s appearance. Additionally, a new feature will enable players to re-edit their character’s appearance multiple times within 60 minutes of using a phial of Fantasia.
Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail is the next upcoming expansion to Final Fantasy XIV Online, and will be available on the PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S platforms starting 2 July 2024.
