As expected, Elden Ring will launch alongside a day one patch, designated version 1.02. Elden Ring already went gold in January, meaning it was essentially cleared as safe software to use on the platforms it's releasing on, but that doesn't mean the work of the developers at FromSoftware has ceased. Version 1.02 looks to clean up the player experience for those jumping into Elden Ring immediately upon launch, with some technical adjustments and bug fixes.
According to reviews from a variety of critics, Elden Ring is FromSoftware's highest-rated game yet, but even the most lauded games rarely release without some performance issues. So far there hasn't been reports of anything game breaking, just relatively minor issues with frame rates and the like. Perhaps most interestingly, the 1.02 day one patch primes Elden Ring for future implementation of ray tracing, which the game currently lacks. The extent of the planned ray tracing features is unknown, but will likely come to all platforms that it - PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
In the patch notes announcement from preloaded Elden Ring for its initial release time will have a subsequent in order to engage in co-op or PvP. It's also important to note that in an early technical analysis by Eurogamer's Digital Foundry team, the PC version suffers from "severe and distracting frame-time stuttering issues" because of Elden Ring's use of DirectX 12, even while the game is running on version 1.02.
Patch Notes For Elden Ring's Version 1.02 Day One Update
Unfortunately, FromSoftware is notoriously cryptic and imprecise in the patch notes it provides for its games, and Elden Ring doesn't appear to be an exception. The patch notes listed by Bandai Namco, in their entirety, are as follows:
- Improved player controls
- Addition and adjustment of BGM (background music)
- Text adjustments
- Balance adjustments
- NPC event fixes and adjustments
- Fixed frame rate drops under certain conditions
- Fixed text bug in some languages
- Fixed a bug that prevented the Xbox wireless headset from working properly
Strangely, for those who purchased the Digital Deluxe Edition, it is also recommended that the update be applied to the Digital Art Book and Soundtrack. It's tough to say exactly what all these changes mean, especially since only a select few were able to play before the day one patch for comparison. Although the game still doesn't run flawlessly, those hoping to play immediately on console shouldn't have too many issues. Digital Foundry's analysis did suggest running Elden Ring's PS4 version on a PS5 for optimal frame rate, but this does affect other graphical components like foliage density as well. Those looking to play Elden Ring on PC may have more performance issues, and might consider waiting for a subsequent patch or until a more thorough analysis has been done.
Source: Bandai Namco Entertainment, Eurogamer
