1. Character Creation System in the Benchmark

The character creation system was created over ten years ago, based on the release version of A Realm Reborn. Although it used the same processes as the actual game, certain aspects (such as weather) were combined to create special conditions exclusive to character creation. This was done to present the texture resolutions and shaders at their best based on the quality standards at the time, which included the PlayStation 3 version. Furthermore, its light sources take advantage of backlighting which, in this case, proved detrimental for showcasing the upcoming graphical update.

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.

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.

The following points are some of the factors that will be resolved by applying the graphical update of the actual game to the character creation system:

• 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)

The special conditions created for the existing character creation system are largely responsible for the points outlined above. Changing these settings should greatly improve the situation, and I would appreciate it if you could bear with us as we work on updating the benchmark.

2. Issues Related to Certain Data and Processes

Based on the wide range of feedback on the official forums and social media, we were able to pinpoint a number of issues in the data and certain processes which manifested due to our need to modify an enormous amount of data. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience these issues have caused.

Naturally, these issues are steadily being addressed as we finalize our development of Dawntrail. However, these issues remained in the benchmark due to simple data-related errors or neglecting to reflect the upcoming changes to the benchmark environment.

The following are examples of issues which fall into this category:

• A.An issue with unimplemented high-resolution textures, including those for certain playable races.
• B.An issue pertaining to special data processes.
• C.An issue with necklines for playable races under certain circumstances.
• D.An issue with uncorrected scaling for the mouth of certain playable races.

The above issues can be corrected, and I would appreciate it if you could bear with us until they are resolved. Naturally, these issues will be addressed in the release version of Dawntrail.

3. Correction and Replacement of the Dawntrail Benchmark

In order to resolve the points outlined in 1 and 2, we are planning for a replacement of the benchmark software. As we require some time to investigate the issues and reconstruct the benchmark environment, the timing and further details of the replacement will be announced later.

We will also continue to make adjustments which incorporate as much of your feedback as possible into the revision of the benchmark, as well as the release version of Dawntrail.
(Due to the issue of release dates, however, there are likely to be some differences between the benchmark software and the release version.)

My apologies for asking you to bear with us as we address the points of concern. The team and I will continue doing our best for the graphical update and Dawntrail’s release, and we would appreciate your continued support!