New Dawntrail Benchmark - Show your WoL's before and after: Part 2

Overall, I like it better then the previous Benchmark.


https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...3f6f4f3b17092&
Current (PS5)



https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...20f36bb7be805&
New Benchmark

https://i.imgur.com/N0Y4FZs.png

Before the graphics update, on the top eyelid you can see the inside of the eyes slightly, which I always thought looked weird. In the first dawntrail benchmark (middle pic) they added eyeliner to that part of the eye which I think looks so much nicer. In the new benchmark they have removed it :(
It would be nice if they added cosmetics options so you could choose if you want the eyeliner there or not.
Overall though I think the face looks nice, it's just the eyeliner that I'm a bit disappointed with.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LuminaFaerie

https://i.imgur.com/N0Y4FZs.png

Before the graphics update, on the top eyelid you can see the inside of the eyes slightly, which I always thought looked weird. In the first dawntrail benchmark (middle pic) they added eyeliner to that part of the eye which I think looks so much nicer. In the new benchmark they have removed it :(
It would be nice if they added cosmetics options so you could choose if you want the eyeliner there or not.
Overall though I think the face looks nice, it's just the eyeliner that I'm a bit disappointed with.

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I will say your lips and nose look so much better.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Larirawiel

The problem is, the lighting in the live game is a completely clusterfuck. It produces so many errors in many common situations. A better lighting may feel unfamiliar for the first week or so.

Cheers

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This is true, my Midlander can look wildly different depending on lighting in the live game, hopefully the lighting change if nothing else will make it consistent.

Also, if they have adjusted the mouth rigging for better lip movement in emotes and talking then I suspect every single person will have to accept at least some variation in the mouth area, they can probably minimise it but not make everyone 100% same lips as before. This might be unavoidable, even if they try.

I am 400% happy with the changes they made. My character looks recognizable again. Also, the new lighting in the crystal backdrop is amazing!

https://i.imgur.com/F6jDUla.png

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...1ecf7f4f3c9d2&
Current vs benchmark 1.0 vs benchmark 1.1
Updated benchmark is miles better than the previous one, but I still feel like the mouth is too different from the original. It would be nice to have more angular eyes again as well. I'm very happy with the fixed nose shape and that she no longer looks high as a kite, at least.

I unfortunately think my character got a lot worse when it comes to the benchmark.
I adore some of the changes made to the lighting and models but with my face pick, the eye shape & brows shape especially have taken a severe hit and it's hard to recognize him now.


The front pictures are ESPECIALLY damning xd link to imgur album is here
https://imgur.com/a/LVgGJQa


Worst offenders imo

- all brow shapes lower/angrier so my guy just looks constantly pissed off now

- bottom half of eyes now completely different shape
- the "small" iris size got smaller, this is perhaps the WORST of the three because it's so obvious



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

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

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

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

It's a massive improvement from the old benchmark, I didn't hate how he looked previously in most lightings but the Gridania lighting did everyone super dirty lol. The only thing that still bothers me is the mouth shape, I love the current cute mouth and I'm sad to see it go :( Still, overall I'm happy and I can live with the small nitpicks, it's the beautiful boy I know and love <3

https://i.imgur.com/T57Aw5Y.png

I feel like my Miqo improved even from her original look, I'm honestly kinda blown away. I was crushed when they gave her that massive mascara and took away all the features that made her look like her but now she just looks absolutely fantastic, her eyebags are more prominent, she somehow looks even angrier and more determined as she should and the eyebrow makeup blends better with the actual brows. I was ready to say goodbye to her but instead she evolved, I'm so happy man

Some changes so seem more noticeable, others not so much unless we look closer.

For Female Au Ra with Horns that Curve Forward (ie: Avalonia before)

I noticed on my more tan than pale Au Ra, that a Line/Shadow would appear on her face during the final parts of the benchmark(The heroic final blow/hit scene).

Which like said, is just the shadow of our own horn appearing on our face, where as on the previous Benchmark Version(1) it never appeared.

So the lighting again, clearly had been adjusted.

My WoL's eyebrows are grey now? current retail and the original benchmark are white, and new benchmark has them as grey.
https://i.imgur.com/m9G6xSF.jpeghttps://i.imgur.com/4SyOKiJ.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/hRmmpAV.png

I'm still really disappointed with how my character turned out in the updated benchmark. It just doesn't look like the same character to me, nor does it look like an improvement. I realize Male Highlanders aren't as common as some of the other races but I would appreciate seeing them get some love with needed fixes.

https://i.imgur.com/w48y4cD.jpg

Left is Endwalker, Right is Dawntrail. Face Type 2 is being used.

Mouth Type 4 - The lips appear larger, both in width and height. This is likely because the shape of the upper lip has changed. Significant space has been added into the cupids bow, where previously nearly none existed. Mouth Type 4 is the smallest sized mouth available to male Highlanders and should remain as a small option, rather than being sized closer to the other larger options already available.

Hair - The hair, while more detailed when zoomed in extremely close, seems much less detailed when viewed from any reasonable distance. I believe this is due to the lack of shading that is now present in the hair, causing it to look very flat.

Hair - Two-tone colors no longer blend nearly as well as they used to, and for the lighter color I am using the darkest shade available. I can not make it darker without switching to a different color entirely. Again, this seems to be a problem with lost shading or variance in its color, so rather than each tone having areas that are slightly lighter and slightly darker and allowing the sections to blend together better, each section now appears separate and distinct (which is not good when it's supposed to be a blend).

I have not seen these issue on all hairstyles, so it seems to be a problem with this particular hairstyle.

Face Paint (Eyebrows) - The placement of these markings is positioned significantly higher on the brow than it was pre-Dawntrail. This makes the character look more "surprised" all the time. Please return the eyebrow face-paint to the position they currently occupy in Endwalker.

Face Paint (Eyebrows) - Even with the darkest color (black) selected, the shade appears lighter or less vibrant than it currently is on live. This makes it difficult to pass these markings off as eyebrows, as the lighter they appear the more fake they look.

Nose Type 6 - From brow to tip, the entire ridge of the nose is now more squared off and blocky, where as previously it was more smoothed/rounded. This gives the ridge the appearance of being wider.

Skin tone (RGB 169, 133, 104) - The skin tone has changed and is darker than it is on live.

Jaw Type 4 - The chin is a bit shorter than pre-Dawntrail, making the head look more squared instead of oval.

Of all of these, the most important ones to me I would like to see fixed (those with the largest impact) would be the issues with the hair, the eyebrow facepaint, and the mouth. At least then I would feel like my character is "close enough" to what I have now, although even then it still feels more like a downgrade than an upgrade (which is disappointing given the work/time that went into the graphics update).

Here's my Comparison:

[Current] - [Benchmark 1.0] - [Benchmark 1.1]

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


I'm overall happy. I think I got lucky that my character is coming through pretty much the same as he is. He looks a bit younger but that doesn't bother me a lot. Overall, I can't complain.