Benchmark/Graphics Update - Show your WoL's before and after

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Originally Posted by faiarrow

Nah, no tools available - I actually play on PS5, which is why I fret a lot as it's a what-you-see-is-what-you-get deal there.

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Sheesh. I'm sorry to hear that.

This is why they didn't change characters much. They said they could have been far more drastic, but they know people are attached to their looks like this, and even these small changes are upsetting some players.

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Originally Posted by HawkeScream

Someone please tell me if Viera players are loud enough they can still fix/adjust. I'm like actually gonna cry lmao

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Doubtful. The character you design in the benchmark is meant to be able to be used directly in the character creator upon release (or with the free Fantasia you get). If they changed it, the benchmark would lose part of its purpose and confuse people who are using it for that purpose.

Whether we like it or not, I think we need to accept this is all final.

No complain on my end (before/after):
https://i.imgur.com/Xq12RuM.png

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Originally Posted by LuciaMirain

I think she looks lovely on both but after closer inspection I can totally see why you would feel this is off. Her nose is different her lips and chin as well. I feel like vieras got hit HARD by this change. All our features are essentially gone. I feel like my character got hit inthe face with a paddle or she had massive amounts of botox injected.

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It feels like her face lost all of its depth and became very flat. Her brow bone, eyelids, and lips being nonexistent bothers me the most. It looks to me like her lips lost their shape as well? Instead of her lips having shape, it's just a flat line now. Even after running the benchmark itself, no amount of fancy lighting makes her look any better.

I think the only thing about this that I wish hadn't changed is the lipshape. Her bottom lip is slightly too full. Otherwise, for me this is a straight improvement in every way!

BEFORE

https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...588&height=701 https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...702&height=701
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...351&height=350 https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...635&height=701

AFTER
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...564&height=701 https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...617&height=701
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...591&height=701 https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...707&height=701

They don't look bad but not a fan how the colors are noticeably more dull. Yes, they look a lot better in cutscenes than in the CC, but how they look in cutscenes isn't exactly how they look ingame either. I honestly don't know who to trust and I'm scared lol


https://i.imgur.com/GmsHdDp.png

https://i.imgur.com/uwQ37wa.png

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Originally Posted by Jeeqbit

This is why they didn't change characters much. They said they could have been far more drastic, but they know people are attached to their looks like this, and even these small changes are upsetting some players.

Doubtful. The character you design in the benchmark is meant to be able to be used directly in the character creator upon release (or with the free Fantasia you get). If they changed it, the benchmark would lose part of its purpose and confuse people who are using it for that purpose.

Whether we like it or not, I think we need to accept this is all final.

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Looks like when male Viera came out in benchmark is when they had the original extreme ridiculous slouch, which they did fix before EW. It's a game that is constantly getting updated, I don't think we have to accept anything as final.

https://i.imgur.com/g5Xw1L0.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/Cm60MFi.png
Female Au Ra Raen face 3. Sure, the scales have better textures, but in return, I get:
- Dull eyes, no limbal ring glow
- Bigger pupils make her look tired and lifeless
- Thinner, less dark eyebrows
- Lighter and more ashy skin tone
- Way lighter and less saturated makeup
- Different horn and scale color
- Nose is more defined (the single change I like)
- Dull, lifeless hair with no shine
- The lips are totally different. Just a flat :| where she once had a slight:} shape. Thinner, no shine, different color.
She doesn't even look like the same character to me.
The longer I look, the more upset I get. Frankly, this is completely unacceptable. My male Miqo'te looked fine, so what happened here??

I don't like what they did with the Keeper eyes and lips. I look like a soulless husk now... Also make clanmarks more visible again T_T



https://i.imgur.com/JCktOj6.png https://imgur.com/a/HSl6BFs

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Originally Posted by yurukii

I think the only thing about this that I wish hadn't changed is the lipshape. Her bottom lip is slightly too full. Otherwise, for me this is a straight improvement in every way!

BEFORE

https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...588&height=701 https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...702&height=701
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...351&height=350 https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...635&height=701

AFTER
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...564&height=701 https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...617&height=701
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...591&height=701 https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...707&height=701

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I played around with au ras and face four looks AMAZING imo. I have played faces 1-2 and 4 before and I think face four got the most upgrade and they look soooo good now compapred to before.

All I'm seeing is personality is the price for being yassified lol

I feel like the impression of his face changed somewhat, but I'm happy with it. Thinking of changing his jaw though.

https://i.imgur.com/kxudgRh.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/ZRkx2gV.png

Also one of my alts got a massive glow-up. I was sort of anticipating this because although I'm fond of this face it has to be one of the worst graphically, but I didn't think it would be to this extent.

https://i.imgur.com/rFys1oJ.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/mE4YBr6.png

Very pleased with this one and love how he looks with the new hair.

The skin tone definitely looks more muddied, but I could match the new with the old in the character creator. Horns looks super sharp.

I'm not a fan of the eye color losing its shine and black hair looking gray. Even the makeup under the eyes looks worse. So far it feels a downgrade in most parts.

https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...146&height=645https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...146&height=645

https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...146&height=645https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...148&height=645

I think part of the problem for some of the races is the eye tilt seems slightly off, which could be an actual issue considering how much focus was trying to give the eyes more life. Having the eye textures sit just a touch off from what they used to be makes a big difference. Characters go from looking intrigued to disinterested (or the opposite seemed achieved with the Elezen male).

There are some other differences as well, of course, but the eyes are what my eyes jump to in almost every post that is unhappy with the changes.

Hello! First time writing on the forums, and what prompted me to do it now were the shadows and highlights of eyes in the benchmark. Personally I found the deadpan expressions of my characters rather jarring, but this problem doesn't seem to apply to all the races (for example no complaints when I was creating a hrothgal). Below is an example of couple of my characters, original on the left, benchmark version on the right (ignore viera's different skin tone, I didn't have the model saved). I couldn't get proper highlights appear on the eyes no matter how I turned the camera, and the miqo'te's eyes completely lost their distinguished colour being so overcast constantly. I later made his eyes slightly lighter to have second look at the benchmark, and while it's an improvement I'd still personally take even the static highlight back. Of course benchmark only gives a limited look, but I thought to bring this up anyway :D Otherwise I don't have complaints, though I can agree with some other gripes posted here even if they don't apply to my characters.
https://files.catbox.moe/3dflt8.png

https://i.imgur.com/TbfoGkl.png

Pretty darn close! I had to make some slight color adjustments because textures react to light differently in DT. She seems... cuter, and I'm a little unsure how to feel about it. Gotta wait to see what it's like with current glams on.

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Originally Posted by WistfulWind

I feel like the impression of his face changed somewhat, but I'm happy with it. Thinking of changing his jaw though.

https://i.imgur.com/kxudgRh.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/ZRkx2gV.png

Also one of my alts got a massive glow-up. I was sort of anticipating this because although I'm fond of this face it has to be one of the worst graphically, but I didn't think it would be to this extent.

https://i.imgur.com/rFys1oJ.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/mE4YBr6.png

Very pleased with this one and love how he looks with the new hair.

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You are so right! Bottom face definitely got the biggest glow up for male middies. That face looks so good I might make an alt for it.

http://i.gyazo.com/955ecf052905efc69815ed50812bf768.jpg

http://i.gyazo.com/30c906fc399535c6a96148079eb1376f.jpg

I can see a change, so I guess I'm happy, but didn't expect much

[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/o3XkRHV.png[/IMG][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/Ycyeeak.png[/IMG]

Gonna be even more of a hot ass femboi. Top-old, Bottom-7.0
My character is cute either way but 7.0 is definitely a improvement.

It's very good. Yes, some parts are a little different and slightly alter the vibe, but it's to be expected. It always happen, and in fact after getting used to the new one, old shots of the old characters will look horrible by comparison (this is exactly what happened with WoW's character updates)

These show how SSS lets characters look ok even in lighting conditions that looked awful before:

https://i.imgur.com/wMJyzmq.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/mnRK7w2.png

https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...898&height=576

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...72dd4a25c5e23&

This might be helpful for some, but try slightly darker skin colors if your character looks wrong in the benchmark.

Now she looks so death inside... I think i cant love her anymore! :O


https://i.imgur.com/H6gKvfi.png

https://i.imgur.com/U0ff67R.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/2ZouULy.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/zDQI2ou.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/xrmDwWu.png

Thanks, I hate it.
https://i.gyazo.com/71dddab8359addad...e9bdde5e64.jpg

Points of contention:

• Skintone is different for no reason, skin looks either too dull or too shiny depending on light
• Dead eyes, vacant stare, where did the light go? Am I dead inside?
• Light eyelashes are barely visible, one of the unique features of M!Viera ruined
• What happened to my nose???
• Mouth looks flat and low res. It was perfect before, why ruin it?

Creepy plastic skin
https://i.imgur.com/P5YlQmL.png

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...97d9a9686d0d6&

I like it, no changes made.
May darken the hair slightly?
My guy looks WAY more chill, lol.

https://i.imgur.com/24857hY.png
Left is before, right is the benchmark. Mostly fine, but the colours seem washed out and/or looking lighter than before (this is the same in the benchmark itself beyond the character creator), and the eyes seem less glossy or detailed in a way despite having the new reflectivity added to them.

The hair has an odd additional texture to it that looks bad, horizontal rather than going with the direction of the hair itself, and various hairstyles have accessories that are presented like they should have metalness just...don't have metalness. The hairstyle Yoshida uses on his Sampo character is a prime example of this.

The other thing is that the tattoos and face paint in particular are still equally lower resolution and could be cleaned up a bit more.

https://i.imgur.com/yctkGWg.png

Probably the biggest thing for me is that the Elezen have translucency with lighting directly behind their ears as shown previously in their streams, but this is not present with the Lalafells. Is this something that we're to assume their ears are thicker in structure, because on the other hand this is one of those details that I thought would've been across the board for all races in general, and that it's a bit disappointing to see that this is not the case.

I do love the gear materials as the fabric and leathers look fantastic!

(This was on maximum settings on PC, for a point of reference).

This is what it looks like to skip on sunscreen:

https://i.postimg.cc/rpPwtS9q/Chara.png


This is what it feels like :(

https://i.postimg.cc/mZzSXH8q/Screen...-14-124929.png

Generally I like the graphics refinements/resolution improvement that the benchmark showed (especially when running the actual thing), but I'm having a pretty hard time coming to terms with the changes that happened to my character's hair highlights:

https://i.imgur.com/fns7co3.png

I currently love the light fringe + braid combo that the highlights give, and instead the graphical update seems to remove both of these and significantly shift the highlights to instead happen on the back of her head, which I really don't like. Trying to make my peace with this change, but it broke my heart as soon as I loaded her appearance data into the benchmark.

They should have kept mouth position and size the same. No idea why they felt like they need to change it. Mouth isnt as impactful if you make them better but it sure ruin things massively if you get it wrong....

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Originally Posted by faiarrow

I posted it earlier in the thread, but:


I've also noticed hellsguard really did get shafted in their nose marks even on M!Roe - the face type that usually has a nearly pitch black nose tip is so pale now it's a joke. A lot of people note the coloured pupil things as a technical limitation in the previous engine but it was always very striking on roegadyn and made them stand out even more beyond their general other racial traits compared to, say, F!highlanders. To me the dark pupils make Sko look very... offputting.

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Im with ya, she looks flat and boring now. I completely understand why they felt the need to announce that they will be giving free fantasias to everyone.

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Originally Posted by Shikiseki

This is that it looks like to skip on sunscreen:

https://i.postimg.cc/rpPwtS9q/Chara.png


Can't believe they've done this to my char :(
But that's fine, Hrothgals are lookin hella cute!

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You're in the wrong Final Fantasy, Strangers of Paradise is that way ->

Here's my girl before and after.

Really sad about the lip/mouth shape, it completely changes her feel and I don't think it looks like the same character :(

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GLHaiDBX...pg&name=medium

I created a GIF to show the difference; it looks a lot better with the old lips, much more like her!

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...c5d8d8ff992e2&

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Originally Posted by Taliriah

It's very good. Yes, some parts are a little different and slightly alter the vibe, but it's to be expected. It always happen, and in fact after getting used to the new one, old shots of the old characters will look horrible by comparison (this is exactly what happened with WoW's character updates)

These show how SSS lets characters look ok even in lighting conditions that looked awful before:

https://i.imgur.com/wMJyzmq.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/mnRK7w2.png

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Huge improvement. She looks great.

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Originally Posted by CuteBucket

https://i.imgur.com/g5Xw1L0.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/Cm60MFi.png

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I think I'm leaning more towards the updated version.
Idunno, the eyes feel more calm and peaceful with the update, instead of giving me the sad vibes from the current one.

https://i.imgur.com/WNglDf6.png https://i.imgur.com/4YmzZfx.png

The redness in the ears from the subsurface scattering is a bit much on my skintone. But for the rest it's growing on me? Maybe a tad too soft, and I miss the deeper mouth corners.
I'd kill for a wrinkle slider or something.

Am glad the lipcolor is proper black now though.

Mine are a bit mixed. My Hyur and Miqo'te are fine. New Hyur is definitely better and the Miqo'te differences are so small I'm unlikely to want to change anything. I wasn't sure about the total lack of shadows from the jaw in image 2 but that is likely just lighting as it looked fine in the rest of the benchmark. I think I prefer the old lips on all, but it's a minor thing to me.

The Viera, however, I much prefer the old one. I did change the hairstyle from my usual to compare, but it's more the eyes that I don't like. The shape seems different and they look far brighter than I like. But, with a bit of time and adaption, perhaps I can find a balance.

Hyur

https://i.imgur.com/5j8WjZ4.jpg


Miqo'te

https://i.imgur.com/TE1nP7B.png


Viera

https://i.imgur.com/JPbhh5Y.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/bzGWpAM.png

I really don't like her new mouth.

- The mouth has lost its clear outlines.
- When the light is directed at the face, ugly dent appear in the corners of the mouth, which spoils the face as a whole and makes it unpleasant.
- The texture of the lips became plastic.
- Most of all, it reminds me of the outline of Aura mouth on Miqo’s face.
- Overall, it seems like she had a botched facelift or the doctor gave her a Botox injection incorrectly.
- The mouth is a very important part of the face, which can irreparably change the entire appearance, which is what happened in this case.

UPD:
I spent a lot of time looking at the details. From some angles and in some lighting it looks a little better. But if you zoom in on her face... The mouth has terrible textures. And if they are still somehow visible on the lower lip, then the upper one has no texture at all. The lips are flat and sloppy and stand out in stark contrast to the really good textures of the skin, eyes and hair.
I can only hope with all my heart that this will not remain like this and that it will be corrected.

https://i.imgur.com/rMIf7c0.png

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jojoya

I think part of the problem for some of the races is the eye tilt seems slightly off, which could be an actual issue considering how much focus was trying to give the eyes more life. Having the eye textures sit just a touch off from what they used to be makes a big difference. Characters go from looking intrigued to disinterested (or the opposite seemed achieved with the Elezen male).

There are some other differences as well, of course, but the eyes are what my eyes jump to in almost every post that is unhappy with the changes.

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I was wrong here. It's not eye tilt, it's camera tilt.

I finally got around to starting on screenshots. The extra detailing means a tiny change in camera angle is making a bigger difference than it would with the old graphics. Very noticeable with eyes and jawline, somewhat noticeable with lips.

If your look is bothering you, see if a small change to camera angle makes a difference.

Black hair is still very faded in comparison to current. That I'm not fond of but it's not making me unhappy enough to want a Fantasia.

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Originally Posted by AirisRay

I really love my character and was going to play with her for many years to come. I never intended to change she, redo she, and I don’t need free fantasia, thank you. For 2.5 years I haven’t changed anything about her except her hairstyle. I just want to get back the familiar facial features that I loved so much. I really love her and I'm sad at how you "improved" her.
I look at her now and see how beautiful she is and it saddens me to realize that in a few months I will no longer see this face that is so dear to me.

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Exactly how I feel about my own character, especially with the mouth. I understand you completely :(

I have mixed feelings, since the cute aspects, are a bit gone in the update, she seems a bit lifeless, might grow up to me
left benchmark, right current

https://i.imgur.com/PEDsMuh.jpg