Final Fantasy XVI will finally benefit from a performance patch on the day of its release, bringing long-awaited improvements. Square Enix had originally decided not to offer a Day One patch, expressing its confidence in the final version of the game, although it hinted that this decision was not final.
Final Fantasy XVI patch available on day one, but not mandatory
At the recent Final Fantasy XVI live launch event, the developers finally announced that a patch would be available from day one, focusing mainly on performance improvements.
Here’s a detailed look at the patches included:
- Fixed a control issue that could cause progress to stall in very specific circumstances.
- Fixed a problem that could cause the game to close unexpectedly in very specific situations.
- Optimized performance in several places.
- Fixed a few minor text errors.
It is important to note that this update will not be mandatory. Square Enix has also specified that it will be relatively light, with a download ofaround 300 MB.
Even in the free demo released on PlayStation 5, Final Fantasy XVI’s performance seemed to be a problem. In addition to solving optimization problems With the Day One patch, the developers have also taken into account player feedback following the release of the demo.
In response to another frequent criticism regarding the presence of numerous cutscenes in the demo, producer Naoki Yoshida explained that this was due to the first act of the story, which features more staging than later parts of the game. He assured us that the game would evolve towards a more balanced Eikon Challenge sectionwith long scenes at crucial moments in the story. He also expressed his conviction that the captivating story would captivate players, who would no longer care about the length of the scenes.
Japanese players expressed their dissatisfaction with the desynchronization of lip movements, and Square Enix explained that this had only been done for the English version, as the work would have been too complex otherwise. Attempts to use artificial intelligence to adjust lip-sync in Japanese were unsuccessful. The developers have therefore encouraged players to play Final Fantasy XVI using English voices and subtitles in their native language.
Square Enix is also examining the possibility of adjusting or completely disabling the motion bluras well as other options to come, such as camera movement speed and deactivation of the auto-tracking function.
The developers also explained the structure of the demo, which focused on combat, but will later open up more by offering explorable areas. This is why there is no mini-map, as the team wants players to concentrate on observing the world rather than navigating it. However, a map will be accessible at certain points using the touchpad.
Final Fantasy XVI will launch in 2 days, on June 22 on PlayStation 5.