Final Fantasy 15 demo to be updated early June
UPDATE: Demo update out now. Here's what it does. (Warning: ultra tough monster alert.)
UPDATE 09/06/2015: The Final Fantasy 15 demo update is out now.
Reports indicate it weighs in at 3.4GB, so get that download started.
The update tweaks the camera and targeting systems, adds additional quests, enhances the battle system with additional combination techniques, rebalances and bug fixes, and, according to Square Enix, triggers a more stabilised frame-rate.
Here are the headline changes and additions that come with version 2.0, courtesy of the Square Enix blog:
- You can now fight the Catoblepas. That's the big monster in the lake. In version 2.0 one of them comes out of the lake onto land where you can fight it. Be careful though, it apparently takes 20 minutes to defeat with all four characters at level 99 and it can still knock you out in one hit.
- You can now warp out of battle to certain locations
- There's a new dodge roll
- New character interactions (in the field/environment and during camping)
- New team combo attacks using all four party members
- Additional side quests involving just you/Noctis and one other party member
Meanwhile, Square Enix revealed a raft of features it wanted to add to the Final Fantasy 15 demo but couldn't. Square Enix is trying to add them into the game for launch, though.
- You will be able to buy/sell items in bulk
- Each dropped item has specific uses; for instance, some of the dropped items can be used to customise the car
- The team is looking into making the BGM and environmental effects richer
- We will be looking into finding a way to address the issue with the player's stamina depleting (while sprinting) that was mentioned by many Japanese fans
UPDATE 04/06/2015: The Final Fantasy 15 demo will be updated on 9th June, Square Enix has announced.
During the latest Active Time Report, director Hajime Tabata confirmed the Episode Duscae 2.0 patch will be released at 4pm UK time on Tuesday, 9th June.
There's footage of the new and improved Final Fantasy 15 demo below.
ORIGINAL STORY 18/05/2015: Square Enix will release an update for its Final Fantasy 15 demo in early June, the company has said on Twitter (via Siliconera). It had once been due in May.
The update brings Episode Duscae, which launched alongside Final Fantasy Type-0 HD in March, up to Ver. 2.00. It enhances the cooperative move system (Active Cross Battle), adjusts the camera targeting system, fixes bugs and adds balance adjustments.
The update may also stabilise the demo's frame-rate. Digital Foundry's analysis of the Final Fantasy 15 demo found the PlayStation 4 version hovers around 30fps with extended drops to 25-28fps during most combat scenarios, with the Xbox One version a 5fps deficit in comparison.
"As it stands, this particular demo produces perhaps the lowest level of performance we've seen in an Xbox One game to date," Digital Foundry said.
In the video, below, Final Fantasy 15 director Hajime Tabata and marketing manager Akio Ofuji run through the data gathered from a recent Episode Duscae survey, which we covered in detail last month.
Final Fantasy 15 is still without a release date.
