[Graphical Update Feedback] Eyes and Limbal Rings on Au ra

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Originally Posted by Catwho

This. I think they're doing a better job of blending the limbal ring. Combined with the improved lighting, it looks like it's darker, but it's still a distinct outline.

Edit: For me the real improvement is the scales. They look crisp instead of muddy on the improved textures.

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Why do you think Au Ra picked limbal rings to begin with? Because they want them to be bright LED rings! They want the eyes to look unnatural compared to other eyes. To me, the change makes Au Ra eyes look less distinctive, and I am not a fan. If you don't like the LED rings, just take them off.

Yikes... 4 threads on the Limbal Rings and I'm over here thinking this is a huge improvement.

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Originally Posted by Remish

Yikes... 4 threads on the Limbal Rings and I'm over here thinking this is a huge improvement.

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Sorry the Au Ra's in favor of LED rings are getting left out because of the change.

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Originally Posted by Zeastria

I fear the graphical update isn't gonna be an upgrade but downgrade.
Because a lot of the contrasts we have gets blurred out. :(

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That is such a hyperbolic statement worthy of the official Final Fantasy forums. lol

The Elezen is the same face with updated normal maps. Elezen have suffered the most from bad normals creating shadows where there was not meant to be/didn't match the model, so the difference will be more striking. Elezen players probably know exactly what I mean when I say there is just random permanent shadows on our faces. As for the eyes, it seems his eyelashes (YES!) are covering the eye shine they showed later on in the presentation. The one that moves around based on the light. As an Elezen player, the updates shown were amazing and I can't wait to see the improvements on my character.

I'm in the camp of the Au Ra eyes looking better, but I don't have that strong of feelings about it.

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Originally Posted by Remish

Yikes... 4 threads on the Limbal Rings and I'm over here thinking this is a huge improvement.

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Keeping both options is a very easy solution

Will reiterate, that people should be expressing the concern, whilst taking stock/image of their characters resulting looks/settings-options.

Incase the worst comes to worst and there is dealbreaking effects on the character.
With hope you may be able to recover.

The thing is though, the fact that the requirements have changed mean that overall the graphics need it.

And like I said In the other thread, it can also be natural glow. (Unless you want to imagine your self as a CPU GOD) Bioluminescense is a thing(and in fantasy, I'm willing to be there can be a race that has some build in their limbal ring)

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in the end, the concern of people should be ensuring that SE knows of the concern of the existing Au Ra Players. Whilst also Including the "Natural/Glowless" crowd.

Glow/No LR > Glow/No LR/"Natural/Glowless"

Rather than the potential, No LR/"Natural/Glowless" that will throw people off their characters, as it definitely is a obvious effect.

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Do not fault those who like the more matte color for limbal rings. but that shouldn't brush under the rug the fact that it could just remove some appeal, or the look existing players had with their Mains/Alts.

I use non glowing ones that match the eye colour a little bit, but I have used the more vividly coloured ones before and they do look nice to see on other characters that make it work, so I hope that it still has a bright/glowing look to it on the lighter colour range for limbal rings.

I don't think the limbal rings ever actually glowed though, they're just incredibly bright in contrast. If the lighter colours will show as richer or deeper in the graphical update rather than the brighter, washed-out look they have now I don't know if it'll even be possible to keep both options.

Overall I think it's a great improvement to give a more cohesive look, especially for the hair and eyes in general, if you have a character with a deeper/darker skintone then some of the hair colours from the first column are so bright it almost looks like a graphical glitch. But I can also see why it would suck to potentially lose a feature you like or are used to have on your character like the hyper-contrasting limbal rings.

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Originally Posted by Larirawiel

So the polygon count will not increase after the change.

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Originally Posted by LianaThorne

Model on the Elezen is the same, the textures are very different and that's why it looks like model changes.

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The polycount increase is pretty obvious if you look at the ears. They’ve also explained in the Technical Art panel in detail how they’ve remade each of the models to be able to morph between each face to improve their workflow.

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Originally Posted by LianaThorne

It's just makeup 101 here basically.

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I agree with that though, a lot of the changes stem from how they’ve applied eyeliner and eye shadow around the eye (it’s most noticeable on the Lalafells from the Las Vegas Keynote).

But still the problem remains: some faces look different from how they used to because of that, and it conveys a noticeably different image of the character. After the Las Vegas Keynote my biggest complaint was the eyelashes (they seemed less long and full than what we currently have), but with the screenshots they showed today I am less worried about those.



I do agree that low polycounts and texture resolutions have not been generous with M Elezens (and M Au ra face 2 lol), so I definitely welcome improvements in that area, but it bothers me that they lose some of their stylized features that made them unique to make them look more realistic... and with less personality, in my opinion.

For people who play Au ras with more natural looking limbal rings this is also not a downgrade, obviously, I'm sure Yugiri for instance will look great with that change.

But the current way this feature is implemented allowed us for more flexibility in how we wanted our character to look, and, most important of all, it really goes against that promise of "your character will still be the same", or "preserving the existing style", as they put it in the Technical Art panel today.

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Originally Posted by Yencat

I don't think the limbal rings ever actually glowed though, they're just incredibly bright in contrast.

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Yeah, I've seen people say that but I've never really known if it was true or not. But what's interesting is that it FEELS like it for some people, it gives some range in what you can achieve, and with the new visuals we lose some of that stark contrast between the two colors, so if it's an integral part of your character lore or something it's a bit of a bummer...

MSQ 6.0 spoilers

Personally I like how it mimics the eyes of the Ancients, as if they had inherited it from them. It's not some headcanon I'm super attached to, but it was a nice thing to think about.