NIS America has sadly released a statement announcing that the PC version of their action-RPG Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana is getting delayed to an unspecified date in the future, mentioning the continuous framerate and other technical issues as the prime reason for postponing the release. Apparently the team approached the PC version as a port from the PS4 release, however, the difference in the architecture of both platforms has proved to be too big to be able to run the game at an acceptable pace.
The plan of the company is moving the development of the port to a third company that will focus exclusively on delivering an viable version of the game. For any disappointed PC users who pre-ordered the game, the company has set up a website to ask for a refund citing the delay as the reason.
Thankfully, this is a separate issue from the Nintendo Switch port, which is still scheduled for this summer. It will also have no effect on the relocalization patch that improves the script, graphic text, and introduces re-recorded audio of the game on PS4 and PSVita, which will still launch on January 30.
Below you have the full statement by NIS VP and COO, Mitsuharu Hiraoka:
“To all of you who have been anxiously awaiting the PC release of Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana, we have a very regrettable announcement: we are once again pushing the release to an as-of-yet indeterminate date. We sincerely apologize for this delay, and we would like to explain in detail the reason why we are proceeding with the delay. This decision was not made lightly, and we understand that many of you will be upset about this news. For that, and most importantly, for the delay, we are very sorry.
Please note, however, that this announcement does not affect the relocalization update patch planned for January 30th for the PlayStation®4 and PlayStation Vita versions of the game.
Low framerate issues and memory leak problems were apparent from the earliest PC builds we received. To help combat these, we looked into the drawing processes, which lead to an overall improvement in performance. However, we are still encountering framerate drops in specific circumstances. The systems regulating these framerate issues are heavily reliant on the architecture of the original PlayStation 4 version and, as such, are not existent in PC architecture. The memory leak issues are somewhat less complicated and expected to be resolved this weekend. But in order to solve these issues, we have determined that we must modify the core level of data in the game.
As the PC version of the game was originally envisioned as a port, we avoided touching the core programming as much as possible and focused on PC performance optimization. However, in light of the feedback of those who have participated in the second beta test, we have concluded that we cannot avoid modifying the core programming.
Once the changes from the relocalization efforts have been implemented at the end of this month, we will be moving development to an entirely different developer who will primarily focus on frame rate improvements as well as other PC optimizations. Once that process begins, we will monitor the progress and determine the release schedule. We will also be sure to give regular updates to our progress.
Again, we truly regret that we underestimated the severity of the issues that have surfaced (and how long it would take to resolve them), and for that, NIS America sincerely apologizes to all of you for this unexpected delay. We are fully aware of how much our fans have been anticipating this release, and will do our very best to launch the game the way it is meant to be launched: without any issues, game-breaking bugs, or errors.
If you have made a pre-purchase on Steam and would like a refund due to this delay, please use the link provided below:
http://bit.ly/YsVIIIPC_refundprocess
For any purchases or pre-orders made outside of the Steam channel, please contact the corresponding refund support for that channel.
Thank you very much for your understanding, support, and patience through this time.
-VP and COO, Mitsuharu Hiraoka”
