FFXIV will be getting its first graphics update by the time its next expansion rolls around. Producer Naoki Yoshida teased the improvements during the “Next 10 Years of Final Fantasy XIV” segment of the February 18, 2022 Letter from the Producer Live broadcast. Though the game received various improvements and updates to its visuals over the years, the team is calling this FFXIV‘s “first graphics upgrade” as a way of setting expectations. Calling it the “first” implies that a “second” and more will follow, allowing the team to implement changes in stages with testing. This development will be ongoing until the 7.0 expansion releases. Yoshida also made clear that while these upgrades would likely cause the game’s minimum required specs to change on PC. However, they will not drop support for the PS4 version, at least through the 7.0 expansion. In fact, optimizations for the PS4 version are in the works to allow players more control over their graphics settings. Similarly, the game will continue to support as broad a range of hardware specifications as possible for PCs. The firstĀ FFXIV graphics update will target the appearance of characters. This upgrade will include higher resolution textures, improved shaders, and adjustments to lighting to improve the looks of characters and gear in-game. Yoshida showed off some results from their first month of testing higher-resolution textures and shaders, as well as experiments with improving lighting on characters. The results included looks at some of the in-game player races. He commented that Lalafell characters were the most challenging to improve, because their faces have few places where making things “more realistic” would be a clear benefit. Aesthetically, the team isn’t aiming for the photorealism or extreme detail expressed in many standalone releases (Yoshida mentionedĀ Horizon: Forbidden West‘s graphics as an example of something that would be unfeasible forĀ FFXIV). Check out the gallery below for captures from the presentation.
![FFXIV 'First' Graphics Update Will Arrive in 7.0](https://www.siliconera.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Final-Fantasy-XIV-Graphics-Upgrade.jpg?fit=800%2C450)
FFXIV ‘First’ Graphics Update Will Arrive in 7.0
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Published: Feb 18, 2022 10:55 pm