After careful examination of the feedback from all regions, we are now working on improvements, adjustments, and bug fixes. We are making these refinements not only in preparation for Dawntrail’s release, but also to apply as many of the updates as possible to the benchmark.
The character creation menu’s various environmental parameters (such as lighting, positioning of light sources, weather, etc.) will be reconfigured to match the upcoming first round of graphical updates.
We completed the bulk of this on Saturday, April 27, which several of our lead artists are currently reviewing and fine-tuning. Once they are finished, I will be conducting my final inspections after Friday, May 3. The various revisions of environmental parameters will be applied to not only the benchmark, but the game itself from Dawntrail onwards as well.
We compiled a list of feedback from all regions and categorized the points as bugs, data issues, or sections in need of further attention. We then decided a direction for each point, which our character artists and rendering programmers are now correcting and adjusting accordingly. Concurrently, several of our lead artists are reviewing and fine-tuning the finished data.
The Development team’s tasks are scheduled to be completed on Wednesday, May 15, and my final data review will take place on Thursday, May 16, where I will be thoroughly communicating anything that catches my attention, on the spot, for immediate correction.
Given the immense amount of data in need of review, the QA team’s final inspection will require about another five business days after the Development team has finished their part.
The tasks outlined in points 1 and 2 are already underway, but because we are handling a significant amount of data to address as much of your feedback as possible, we will require some time before the updated benchmark is ready for release.
The replacement of the benchmark is currently scheduled for May 23, or later during that week, but we are not yet able to confirm a definite date. My apologies for this.
Having said that, our players graciously provided a tremendous amount of feedback with screenshots, which helped us quickly determine our direction for fixes and adjustments, as well as identify points to address. We hope to return this favor by addressing as many points as possible, and I would appreciate it if you could bear with us a while longer as we solidify a release date for the updated benchmark.
Our reviews and finishing touches for the release version of Dawntrail are going smoothly, and while they are being carried out in tandem with the additional tasks for the graphical update mentioned above, rest assured that our Development, Operations, and QA teams, and I are collectively giving our all. (Ideally, I would have liked to share some screenshots of the review process, but as you can imagine, I was unfortunately short on time…)
I will be sure to report back once we confirm further details about our progress and release date for the updated benchmark!
