A major new update has just been released for Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA. The improvements to this exciting adventure include graphics, performance, input, and UI. They have also even added in an experimental new local co-op feature! The game is also on sale 50% off to celebrate. You can find a full breakdown of the changes at the steam community page for the game. Here is the rundown of the new graphics updates from that page:
- Graphics Quality Improvements – Arbitrary main rendering resolution, better anti-aliasing, higher-quality post-processing effects, and a high-end super-sampling option
- Better Framerates – Greater gameplay smoothness with more accurate timing and animation sync at all framerates, improved frame-pacing, and high refresh rate support
- High-Quality Shadows – Complete shadowing revamp featuring improved standard shadow filtering without performance loss; new, higher quality filter options; resolution options; and even additional shadow casters
- More Depth in Environments – Implemented HBAO+ ambient occlusion as an alternative higher-quality SSAO option, providing more depth and plasticity to all scenes
- Improved Draw Distance – Added a draw distance setting which applies to grass/clutter, monsters, and NPCs, completely eliminating pop-in on the highest settings
- High-Quality Textures – Added high-quality texture pack (generated from original sources, partially with AI upsampling, and full mipmaps)
For input, they’ve improved camera mouse controls. Joystick emulation was replaced with direct 1:1 control. Movement keys are now individually bindable, and there is now a new binding option for walking (slow movement). In addition, some of the default controls bindings were modified to “match common usage by PC gamers”.
Here are several before and after comparison shots from the press release that show the graphical improvements:
Other changes include the game now being 64-bit. They removed superfluous encryption of assets for faster I/O. They’ve fixed some video memory leaks, and a potential crash that could happen when switching languages. The rendering performance of shadows also got some optimization in this update. Some other bugs were fixed, like issues with some achievements unlocking when using keyboard/mouse controls. Other fixes include typos in game text, and “slightly-too-slow cloud save limit when using a very large number of saves”.
Lastly, they go over the new, experimental local co-op mode. You’ll need two XInput controllers to use it, and your party must contain at least two characters in order for a second player to join. SP is shared in coop play, and the second player doesn’t get the AI cheats. It notes that this means normally AI-controlled characters take half damage, but the second player in co-op will take full damage. They also note that this co-op mode is not officially supported, but that limited support will be available for troubleshooting. If you want to enable this mode, you’ll need to follow these steps:
- Open your Steam library through the Steam client.
- Right-click on Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA, and click “Properties”
- Click “Set Launch Options”
- Input “–coop” into the parameter and click “OK.”
- Launch the game
- Press “Start” on the second controller to enable second player
