Ys VIII Multiplayer, Graphics Updates, and Stability Enhancements Added

Major Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana changes have arrived, thanks to a patch revealed at the NIS America PAX South 2020 panel. In addition to a number of gameplay improvements that will make Ys VIII look and run better, a new experimental feature has been added: multiplayer. The patch can be immediately downloaded and used with the game, and it continues NIS America’s efforts to try and make it a better game after a rocky launch.

Here’s how the Ys VIII multiplayer works. It is a cooperative mode only available at certain points in the game. It is also experimental, so it will not be working perfectly and it doesn’t have support just yet. If you have two characters in your party and two Xinput controllers, then at certain segments another person can join you for local multiplayer if you have chosen to add it as an option via Launch Options in Ys VIII’s Properties in Steam.

Here are the full Ys VIII patch notes, followed by images showing how the game looks before and after the new graphic enhancements.

GRAPHICS

• Graphics Quality Improvements – Arbitrary main rendering resolution, better anti-aliasing, higher-quality post-processing effects, and a high-end super-sampling option
• Better Frame rates – Greater gameplay smoothness with more accurate timing and animation sync at all frame rates, 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)

INPUT/UI

• Mouse Control Redone – Improved camera mouse controls, replacing joystick emulation with direct 1:1 control
• Individual Key Bindings – Movement keys are now individually bindable, and added a keybinding for walking (slow movement) with keyboard/mouse controls
• Natural Control – Changed default bindings to fit common usage by PC gamers

STABILITY & PERFORMANCE

• Now 64-bit – Switched to 64-bit build to address space fragmentation issues in long sessions
• Save VRAM – Fixed multiple video memory leaks
• Crash Fix – Fixed potential crash when switching between languages
• More Crash Fix – Improved render thread synchronization to prevent specific types of race condition crashes
• Faster I/O – Removed superfluous asset encryption
• Optimized Shadows – Improved shadow rendering performance by preventing unnecessary memory traffic

MISCELLANEOUS

• 100% Achievement on KB/M Control – Fixed the unlocking of some achievements when playing with keyboard/mouse controls
• Typo Fixes – Fixed several typos and dialogue/text issues throughout the game
• Cloud Save Data – Fixed slightly-too-low cloud save limit when using a very large number of saves

NEW CO-OP MODE

• 2-Player local co-op mode has been added

About co-op mode:

• Need to supply two Xinput controllers
• You must have 2 or more characters in the party in order for the second player to join the game
• SP is shared
• Second player does not receive the “AI cheats” (i.e. AI-controlled characters only take half damage, whereas second player in co-op mode will take the full amount of damage)
• Not officially supported and limited support will be available for troubleshooting

To enable co-op mode:

1. Open Steam libraries through the Steam client.
2. Right-click on Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA, and click “Properties”
3. Click “Set Launch Options”
4. Input “–coop” into the parameter and click “OK.”
5. Launch the game
6. Press “Start” on the second controller to enable second player

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana is immediately available for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and PC. It will also come to mobile devices in 2020.