New Benchmark (June): Au Ra Feedback

Hello, I already tried to post this as it's own post but I feel like no one is going to see it so I'm copypasting it here. And I apologize because I have been trying to have the pictures visible for 1hour to no avail. And I'm annoyed at this because I feel like posts without pictures are kind of missed... anyways. So there's only links. For reference, I decided to add a screenshot of the entire face with a bit of background showing so you can see it's actually the night/day and I'm not messing around X)

I couldn't help but notice a weird change in the limbal ring's reaction at night. Where the lighter rings look very nice glowing, you can't really say the same for darker rings. I don't really know if it was intended or not, but the glow of it makes it somehow disappear? (Well it doesn't help that my choice of colours is dark blue on light blue so it does seem invisible) Black limbal ring seems to be the only exception. I'm assuming it is because of the glow on a dark colour, it's just light theory really. My issue is that it was/is not like this as of pre-graphic update.
I joined here screenshots of my character currently, with the same colours
DAY https://ibb.co/HtH1fnk NIGHT https://ibb.co/SBZrPj7

As you can see, the limbal ring is still visible even at night. And that's the case for all "dark" limbal rings past a certain lightness.

Here is now the same colours but in Benchmark. As you can see the limbal ring is almost invisible in the night.
DAY https://ibb.co/3hYq7wk NIGHT https://ibb.co/2jZw01j

For reference, I am using the RGB: 36, 43, 56 in the benchmark as well as in current version. The before last darkest blue in the blue line.
Overall I don't know if it's just colour theory, an intended change, or a bug, but someone told me to post in on the forums maybe so that's what I did. Point still stands that it was way more visible in pre-dawntrail.
Here are some more screenshots, with other colours of the eye base while still keeping the same colour of the limbal ring so you can judge by yourself. Thank you for reading!

DAY: https://ibb.co/jbLKVYh NIGHT:https://ibb.co/wNJwpdg
DAY https://ibb.co/LP2RNrw NIGHT https://ibb.co/jkPXsJV
DAY: https://ibb.co/C6t2jnn NIGHT: https://ibb.co/2dMnQ4n

I would be really grateful if fellow au'ra players could give me their feedback on this because I didn't see anyone with this issue, as most people use a light limbal ring from what I've gathered. Please and thank you <3

(copying what I posted in the JP thread but in English)

Here is what my WOL looks like currently vs in the latest benchmark

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GPInDWvX...g&name=900x900https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GPInEgeW...g&name=900x900

These are the main issues for I would like to highlight:

1. Eyes + forehead scale

https://i.imgur.com/BQxOeY7.png
https://i.imgur.com/tC6LsNE.png

The eyes do look 'prettier' overall and I love the new highlights, but the pupils are still more dilated than they are in the current game, which changes the look of my WOL a fair bit. The limbal rings don't extend to the outer edge of the irises, making the larger pupils even more apparent. The top eyelashes also appear to be leaning more downwards, and the lower lashes around the middle look a bit shorter. The upper lid eyeliner isn't as dark either.

The forehead scale has lost its sharp pointed edges and the shape is slightly different.

2. Lips

https://i.imgur.com/tz2lcPD.png
https://i.imgur.com/agbONYB.png

The lips don't appear as 'flat' now compared to the first benchmark, which I'm happy about. Compared to how they are in 6.58 however, they also appear to be 'frownier', and the centre line isn't the same, so they give off a very different impression in my opinion.

All that being said, I really appreciate the devs doing all they can to listen to feedback, especially so close to Dawntrail's release date. Thank you so much!

Here is a close up of what I'm pretty sure are your colors in the DT bench (easier for others to see :-) ):
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...-gm?authuser=0
It does look like the the nighttime shot eats some of the saturation, but the ring is still there and the same size. There also seems to be a weird 'pop' of the ring in the DT bench that isn't in game currently. I only see it in my purple eye, so there might be something happening with lighter color irises.

Here is what my character's eyes look like current with different lighting vs bench.
For reference these are the colors: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...-gm?authuser=0

In game shot in my house and outside:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...-gm?authuser=0

What it looks like in DT:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...-gm?authuser=0

Note, I don't think the larger pupil size is helping this either.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lutin

Snip

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by SchwarzwaelderTorte

TLDR:
The color of limbal rings has drastically been affected through the graphical update. For some people this might not be an issue, or it’s something they can easily fix by swapping to another color swatch.
For others, the color they used more or less disappeared.
I fall into the second category.

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I use a very similar colour for my character's Limbal rings you do; it's so odd to me because at night they're close to (but not quite the same as) the colour they originally were. I wouldn't mind it if the glow it has at night was visible in the day too.

Here's a comparison between direct light, in shadow, and at night.

https://i.imgur.com/fkE90Y5.png

Thank you for your time Irishfae!!!! <3 I don't find the pupils to be an issue on my part, neither the ring size, but I can understand it for the people that don't like it. Maybe they should/will let people choose between old style and new style eyes? I think I heard/read something around these lines somewhere but I can't remember when and where. For me, just the saturation of the colour disappearing at night is the most weird to me X) Your purple also seems less saturated with the underlying light effect in DT. Interesting! It makes me wonder if it's intentional or not since it's not like this in current version as you said.

For M face 3, this is a minor thing compared to the floating scales/holes along the hairline but it still feels odd given the texture upscaling and overall improvement to other makeup and improved face texture aspects, so I wanted to try to articulate it anyway. :) Otherwise, I've been pleasantly surprised by most other changes.

https://64.media.tumblr.com/a8d2f312...cb676ccb63.pnj

https://64.media.tumblr.com/586aa958...06b64a8120.pnj

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Irishfae

I should really leave it with what I've already posted, but I just seem to keep going back.
So to add to what Taranok has pictures of. I snipped Kal's hair and tried to do some overlays. It isn't completely perfect, but I tried to get it as close as possible. I to get a head on comparison, but I just couldn't get it right, so hopefully these do.
((As a note, this rounding of the face occurred in my Viera alt too, really not sure why this decision was made))

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Thanks for the even easier to digest image with red marks pointing it out. The face was such a stark difference when I first saw it in the benchmark that I instantly knew it before zooming in. It really is, simply, a massively different face and profile. Really was stung by bees in the cheek.

sadly my au'ra lady got suddenly heavy eyebags :(
she had some before but they never were as visible as they are now. i can see them even from afar and it makes her look tired while before the subtle eyebags were a nice touch to make her look mature

benchmark (june) eyebags:
https://i.imgur.com/uTFJKJO.png

current version:
https://i.imgur.com/grFm7SI.png

A bit disappointing to see some of the continued feedback ignored, adding my voice to the mix to hopefully get some additional eyes on it or for at least some closure. There are so many grievances (completely misshaped eyes, lips, cheeks, jaws) that have gone ignored despite being repeated many times, while they continue to make random changes that weren't heavily requested at all.

Hello! Wanted to add my two cents to this after I tried the CC of the updated benchmark last night. I am very happy with the lighting and texture changes overall, as well as how the limbal rings look. My issues are, like many others here, with the mouth (*especially* the mouth), nose, and eye shape being very different to how they used to be.

For my Au Ra, I use face 2, mouth 4, and nose 3. The lips in both benchmarks appear thicker and have an inner curve to the upper lip that wasn't there before. The nose seems shorter to me, and the eye shape seems wider.

6.5 vs Benchmark 1.0 vs Benchmark 1.1
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...7e1243&http://

6.5 vs Benchmark 1.1
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...304fbc&http://

What I don't understand is why they felt the need to change options that were there, that people put many hours into choosing for their characters, rather then add them as new ones. In my case, I put literal weeks into choosing what I would prefer for my WoL. I take my character creation very seriously and, while it may not be the devs' intent, it feels like they're throwing all those hours and choices in my face, that they know better than me for what my character should look like.

What I think is the best solution would be to revert everything to how it was, update the graphics on them, and then add the new stuff as new options so that we have more diversity in our characters. Instead of replacing mouth 4 with a different style of mouth, add that as mouth 5, etc. To me that would make the most sense.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tarath

but it's clear that the new sculpts were left untouched for this update.

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I stand corrected, the face and nose have been slimmed down. I guess I blinded myself too much with artefacts such as face scales still floating from the previous benchmark. The face is still wider compared to the current version, but honestly I'm pleasantly surprised and welcome the adjustments.
https://i.imgur.com/Q7UFvSJ.gif
https://i.imgur.com/YIVQKro.gif

My criticism remains, however as long as the small oversights gets fixed, I'll be happy with my character. As much as I would love to have the old eyes and scales back as well, I'm starting to lose hope there.


On a different note, the shadow cast from the horns and clothes are pretty low res and jitters quite badly under harsh light. Hoping it's another oversight and gets looked into.
https://i.imgur.com/8EH9TVI.gif

I really do appreciate the developers taking the time and effort to address the player base's criticisms and release a (much needed) updated version of the benchmark; however, I feel that there are still several key concerns that I saw repeatedly brought up on both the English and Japanese forums that were not addressed. I have a lot to say, so I'm breaking my thoughts down into two posts, which will go over what I thought were major improvements and which areas I think still need to be touched up :)




Here are photos comparing how my character in the live game (6.58), the first benchmark (1), and the second benchmark (1.1) in two different environments:

[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/fAsLz2U.jpeg[/IMG]

[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/jlOcxjf.jpeg[/IMG]



The Improvements:

- The new shaders and textures look incredible, especially within the character creator itself! The new shaders gave my character's facial features (particularly around her eyes and nose) much more defined dimensions, which gets rid of much of the initial uncanny-valley feelings I had when I looked at my character within the first benchmark's character creator.

- The nose appears to have been slightly changed/remodeled, and it looks so much better than it did within the first character creator. In particular, it seems that the shape of the nostrils has been changed. It's a bit difficult to tell how much of this improvement is due to the nose actually being remodeled versus the new shaders adding dimension to the nose, but regardless it looks really good! The strange nose shape was one of my main concerns within the first benchmark, so I'm really glad that it has been updated.

- The limbal rings still look great! I didn't see much of a change in the limbal rings from the first benchmark to the second benchmark, which I'm really glad about because I think the first benchmark nailed their design. I love how they truly appear to be glowing now -- especially during the night!

Part 2 of my thoughts about the updated benchmark:



What Still Needs to Be Improved:

- While the lip shapes have definitely been improved upon, the updated benchmark’s new lips are still quite different from the original lip shape their characters had. For my character’s lips within benchmark, the 'descending' part of the top lip (where the top lip travels downward from the cupid's bow to meet the mouth opening) is concave instead of convex. This change in shape makes my character's lips look less plump and rounded, which takes away a lot of her original “soft” look.

- This complaint is specific to Female Au Ra Face 2 -- the dimple are way too subtle. While I am very happy that Face 2 got its dimples back in the updated benchmark, they are very difficult to see, and in some lighting, they are basically invisible. This difference in dimple visibility is probably because the dimples in the live game (6.58) are painted onto the face, whereas the dimples in the updated benchmark are modeled into the face so that they are affected by shadows and lighting. The dimples are an iconic feature of Face 2 and give the face a unique charm, so I am sad that the dimples are barely there. I think that this problem could easily be fixed by lightly shading in the dimple area so that it is still affected by lighting and shading but isn't nearly as subtle.

- Au Ra still have enlarged pupils. This was one of the most common complaints I saw within the forums (at least among Au Ra players), so I think it's very strange that the pupils were not changed back to their original, smaller size. My main problem with the larger pupils is that when they are combined with limbal rings, it really washes out your character's iris color. If you use limbal rings, then part of your character's eye color is already covered by the rings, so combining that with a much larger pupil prevents most of the original eye color from being seen. This is even worse on darker iris colors, as the pupils are relatively light in color and do not provide very much contrast against darker colors, causing the iris and the pupil to blend together into a dark gray-ish blob where it is difficult to distinguish one part from the other.

- ]The 'additional horns' that are part of certain Au Ra-exclusive hairstyles have still not had their textures updated, meaning they look very low-rez in comparison to all the new textures -- especially the updated facial horns and scales. From what I've seen, it looks like most of the hairstyles that have any type of hair accessory (additional horns, flowers, hair bands, barrettes, etc.) have not had their textures updated, which is strange since the hairstyles by themselves received updated textures. Aside from texture updates, I would also love to see the Au Ra hairstyles with additional horns get recolored versions in which the horns match the color of the Raen and Xaela facial horns and scale.

A lot of people are complaining about the bigger pupils... but I actually like them. I hope they don't revert that part... the eyes look less freaky with them a little larger. If anything, make the iris portion slightly bigger to compensate.

Gotta split this into two posts so this is part 1.

While there were some improvements to the general lighting etc. other things however feel completely unaddressed.

I could understand that if the new lighting requires them to make changes to the facial sculpt in order to keep the same character feel. But that does not appear at all why they touched the sculpting.

I mainly used Au Ra face 4 so I will focus on this but some of the complaints come in general.

1. As many people pointed out, the scale textures are not uniform, all optional scale textures are far more crisp for whatever reason.

https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...322&height=280

2. Face 4 still has quite massive dimples. They are so deep that they can throw their own shadow. This goes so far that depending on the lighting the face looks like a dented in plastic doll. I also think the stare looks a bit unfocused.

https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...366&height=335

3. I am unsure if this is simply a bug due to some weird lighting but the Au Ra face 4 horns throw a shadow onto the face that makes no logical sense

In this first picture you can see that the light is coming from the right side of the picture. However there is a small strip of shadow near the scales that gets projected onto the face

https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...861&height=544

Now if I slightly adjust the rotation (a few degrees) then this shadow gets pushed further into the face. However as you can still see by the nose shadow, there should be no shadow projected onto the face

https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...749&height=324

Here is part 2


4. Now weirdly enough it feels like they added Eye bags to most characters but since I am most familiar with face 4 I focus on this. I am not sure why those were added. Not only are they large enough to throw their own shadows depending on the lighting, this is quite the large change in the face sculpt in that these eye bags bulge outwards

Below you see a picture of the same character face from the same angle. Both the cheek and the eyebags are completely new and bulge outwards.

https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...870&height=636https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...893&height=636

Left is current, right is DT.

5. (and most important) Now for the most striking change, as already hinted at before, they for whatever reason decided to change the face sculpt quite heavily. If this was to ensure that the characters give the same feel under new lighting conditions I could understand it, but this is absolutely not what they did.

The face is far pudgier, as already pointed out in the previous point. I tried to overlay the two pictures relative to the top part of the hair hair and the large center scales.


Link to short video as conversion to GIF did not want to work: https://imgur.com/k0q3iZu

Then I transition in the video from DT->Current->DT and as said before the face sculpt is completely different. I understand that there is some high definition food in the game now but I didn't know my character indulged in it that much.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Asteri

SNIP

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Spent a bit comparing again and noticed new things for FemRa Face 2 while comparing from the side!

Apologies for the use of most likely the improper terms to describe this, my vocabulary for facial terms is limited. :'D

• The natural eyeshadow is of a different shape in DT, more pointed, going past the eye and curving upwards. It used to be more rounded and stopped with the eyelid.
• The top lip was a soft curve from the corner of the lip to the middle. Now it starts thinner and has a sudden raise when close to the middle of the lip, it gives a sharper triangular effect.
• Bottom lip is the reverse, where before it started thin and became more plump and now it is generally more plump all around.
• The chin is very noticeably changed too, it used to be full and rounded outwards, now it is rounded inwards.

I understand changes needed to happen, but I chose Face 2 because of its more rounded face with Jaw 1, because of its thinner lips for Mouth 3, because of it's more "girl next door" appearance compared to the traditional "prettier" looks. I'm very worried as I don't recognize my character in the Benchmark v1.1 outside of a very few specific emotes that widen the lips such as Chuckle.

I hope there will be some changes to it before Dawntrail releases, it worries me and dampers my excitement for the expansion because I no longer see the character I absolutely fell in love with years ago now. I don't want to play MSQ with a stranger... :(

Slider for comparison: https://imgsli.com/MjcwMDU4

Current VS Benchmark

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

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RhaesDaenys

A lot of people are complaining about the bigger pupils... but I actually like them. I hope they don't revert that part... the eyes look less freaky with them a little larger. If anything, make the iris portion slightly bigger to compensate.

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The biggest problem about the larger ones is that if you use the limbal rings, the actual color of the irises gets murky and I think increasing the iris portion isn't really an option in most cases. You can see with this eye type, the iris is already taking up most of the eye, not a lot more space available to play with.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...-gm?authuser=0

Quote:

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Asteri: I chose Face 2 because of its more rounded face

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THIS! This is why I chose Face 2 as well. It's very confronting seeing my WoL in both 1.0 and 1.1 Benchmark with the changes they've made to it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Irishfae

The biggest problem about the larger ones is that if you use the limbal rings, the actual color of the irises gets murky and I think increasing the iris portion isn't really an option in most cases. You can see with this eye type, the iris is already taking up most of the eye, not a lot more space available to play with.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...-gm?authuser=0

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I see this as an unfortunate realignment of how limbal rings are supposed to look. An actual dev art design choice.

Specifically, in HW, the limbal rings were implemented as a ring with an octagonal border on at least 1 side. Yes, it's not even a circle. There is a very hard edge between the limbal ring and the outer bounds of the iris, and the 2 share 0 colors with each other unless the player chooses to make them the same. DT's new design doesn't have a distinct region, instead opting to blend the 2 together. The limbal ring on the outside, the iris on the inside, a mix between the two.

To me, this is likely closer to what the devs initially envisioned but lacked the ability to make. This is also why limbal rings get a lot darker overall and why the 2 get muddy. Especially if you did a hyper-contrast like black iris with white limbal.

While I am personally not sad to see this changed, as I believe it looks more authentic to how this type of eye glow would exist in the game, I am also firmly on the side of adding the option for the player to have old-style and new-style rings. If you want a hyper-glow, you should be allowed to have it. If you want mixed glow, same. The problem is mostly that people are losing an option that already existed. Not that the devs wanted to retcon how limbal rings looked.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Taranok

I see this as an unfortunate realignment of how limbal rings are supposed to look. An actual dev art design choice.

Specifically, in HW, the limbal rings were implemented as a ring with an octagonal border on at least 1 side. Yes, it's not even a circle. There is a very hard edge between the limbal ring and the outer bounds of the iris, and the 2 share 0 colors with each other unless the player chooses to make them the same. DT's new design doesn't have a distinct region, instead opting to blend the 2 together. The limbal ring on the outside, the iris on the inside, a mix between the two.

To me, this is likely closer to what the devs initially envisioned but lacked the ability to make. This is also why limbal rings get a lot darker overall and why the 2 get muddy. Especially if you did a hyper-contrast like black iris with white limbal.

While I am personally not sad to see this changed, as I believe it looks more authentic to how this type of eye glow would exist in the game, I am also firmly on the side of adding the option for the player to have old-style and new-style rings. If you want a hyper-glow, you should be allowed to have it. If you want mixed glow, same. The problem is mostly that people are losing an option that already existed. Not that the devs wanted to retcon how limbal rings looked.

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It isn't the ring that is the issue (I actually like the update to it, though I wish the iris didn't extend past the ring - but this was an issue in the old version too.) It is the pupil now eating up more of the color than it did previously. So the actual colors seem to pop less.

So there's definitely improvement compared to the first benchmark but for one - the face shape seems different. It seems that the old one is more u shaped while the new one reminds me of a v.

That I could ignore but the biggest issues to me are the eye shapes and the lips. The lips seem more squished and smaller compared to what we have now and the eyes too. Genuinely to me it looks like two SIMILAR looking characters but still two characters over one.

It's a miss for me and yes I am aware this is dramatic but... it very much dampened my hype for DT

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

Coming back here, 1, to see everyone's beautiful lizards, and 2, updating my stance on the darker limbal ring fading at night, I don't mind it that much anymore. I mean I would like it if they kept it dark like currently but the more I look at it the more I don't mind it and even like it? Either way, whatever they decide I'll be happy in the end. I hope everyone's issues get the improvements they need <3

https://i.imgur.com/Ph8EU8l.png

The dark raccoon eyeliner needs to go. This isn't present on the retail build and it really detracts from the aesthetic I'm going for.

Posted this in the updated benchmark thread a little while back but since the Au Ra specific thread is still going strong, I figured this belonged here too.

With the updated benchmark, I was thrilled to see that the lighting and shading are much improved. However, I am disappointed that the changes that were made to F!Au Ra face 4 weren't corrected with this update. The mouth change is the worst offender, where it looks like there was no effort made to preserve the original mouth changes, but the subtle changes to the eyes and nose also contribute to the feeling of this no longer being my character.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...eecb9739df6c7&
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...be2d22392ef95&
I assume the eye being more angular in the current version of the game is due to the lower poly count- however, it's a feature I think should have been better retained in the update, since face 4's more angular features are why many players pick it.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...bf1a31e8dbfb7&
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...38e6e3bae0b32&
The new mouth looks like she's gotten lip fillers and is now stuck permanently smiling; the new dimples also contribute to the feeling that she's having an allergic reaction.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...c441f3625ebce&
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...20ceba1470da6&
Please, never smile again.

https://i.imgur.com/2j6BW8H.png

I want to start with the good! Look how much better the face 4 cheek scales are in the new benchmark, this is so nice. I have no idea if the devs will hear this from the english side of the forum, but I think they did a great job.

I'm a digital artist that works in 3D software and animation for a living. With that in mind I wanted to try and demonstrate my observations as clearly as possible... but also if it doesn't happen, I get it. There are how many faces in the game? like 60?

https://i.imgur.com/kh5kBd5.png

Modeling the subtleties of forms in 3D is actually quite hard, so I sympathize with the challenge. If I could pick one thing to fix though, it would be the mouth & cheeks.

https://i.imgur.com/HZX9nP4.png

Everyone and their dog has mentioned the pupil already, and a lot of people have noticed the eyelashes moved. Comparisons are my own, however.

https://i.imgur.com/U4MMyST.png

That last one isn't that important, and I don't really expect it to be changed, but I thought I'd show my appreciation for the old design.

That's all!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Evermomo

[
I'm a digital artist that works in 3D software and animation for a living. With that in mind I wanted to try and demonstrate my observations as clearly as possible... but also if it doesn't happen, I get it. There are how many faces in the game? like 60?


That last one isn't that important, and I don't really expect it to be changed, but I thought I'd show my appreciation for the old design.

That's all!

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Thank you for the drawings! (also love the owl/Zenos example :-D )

I'm rubbish with art so I was having a hard time trying to draw the 'what seems to be wrong' with the mouth and I think mouth 3 has the same changes to the curves, just less full than 2.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...-gm?authuser=0

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Irishfae

The biggest problem about the larger ones is that if you use the limbal rings, the actual color of the irises gets murky and I think increasing the iris portion isn't really an option in most cases. You can see with this eye type, the iris is already taking up most of the eye, not a lot more space available to play with.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...-gm?authuser=0

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I don't know, to me, you're using subtle colors for your limbal rings so I don't really see the difference being that crazy, especially when colors are changing ever so slightly due to lighting. You have a darker eye color on top of a dark limbal ring, so its going to blend a little.

I actually really like the blending quite a bit and am planning to turn on Limbal Rings for the first time ever because they don't look like boxy shapes in the eyes anymore and I can use it to enhance my characters eyes by making it look like a dull glow, rather than headlights.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RhaesDaenys

I don't know, to me, you're using subtle colors for your limbal rings so I don't really see the difference being that crazy, especially when colors are changing ever so slightly due to lighting. You have a darker eye color on top of a dark limbal ring, so its going to blend a little.

I actually really like the blending quite a bit and am planning to turn on Limbal Rings for the first time ever because they don't look like boxy shapes in the eyes anymore and I can use it to enhance my characters eyes by making it look like a dull glow, rather than headlights.

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No, that effect is something I've noticed on my male Au Ra alts too and I deliberately choose very bright/clashy limbal rings--it's not as extreme as it is with the gals since their eyes are smaller, but the iris color is a bit lost even with the larger "bright" rings, and is probably eaten entirely with the darker ones. (You can also see how dulled out a formerly very bright option was with the top Au Ra, which I really dislike because there's no option to get back to that old color--the next step up on the swatches is a lot paler.)

Size is off, but the effect is clear enough since it's about relative positions.
https://images2.imgbox.com/e1/69/1I2nBBnb_o.png https://images2.imgbox.com/c0/d5/cYZGpWtU_o.png

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rudje

No, that effect is something I've noticed on my male Au Ra alts too and I deliberately choose very bright/clashy limbal rings--it's not as extreme as it is with the gals since their eyes are smaller, but the iris color is a bit lost even with the larger "bright" rings, and is probably eaten entirely with the darker ones. (You can also see how dulled out a formerly very bright option was with the top Au Ra, which I really dislike because there's no option to get back to that old color--the next step up on the swatches is a lot paler.)

Size is off, but the effect is clear enough since it's about relative positions.
https://images2.imgbox.com/e1/69/1I2nBBnb_o.png https://images2.imgbox.com/c0/d5/cYZGpWtU_o.png

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From my perspective on both of those the new ones look better. The old ones just looks like they selected an area in MS Paint and pasted a color with no shading in that space. It looks rather awful. Its why I never, ever used it.

The new one looks like they at least tried to blend it a little better. While yes, its not as bright, perhaps that is just the trade off of better looking eyes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RhaesDaenys

From my perspective on both of those the new ones look better. The old ones just looks like they selected an area in MS Paint and pasted a color with no shading in that space. It looks rather awful. Its why I never, ever used it.

The new one looks like they at least tried to blend it a little better. While yes, its not as bright, perhaps that is just the trade off of better looking eyes.

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Limbal rings are literally glowing features (and not even natural ones according to some interviews, even if I ignore that bit). They should be rather stark compared to everything else, and if you hate them they're an optional feature. The harsh sharpness between the eye and the ring and hyper-saturation is an extremely desirable aspect of them to me, and having that muted sucks. All I ever wanted was for them to be less polygonal, and on top of that the muted colors are a huge issue if you use blues and greens because there's no way to return to the original saturation if it changed.

e: Also, hitting someone with a undertone of "your character choices are ugly" is not classy.

https://i.postimg.cc/Wb8tKWKN/aura.png



Honestly....



PS. Taken at exact same position at same sun, as seen on horns...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RhaesDaenys

I don't know, to me, you're using subtle colors for your limbal rings so I don't really see the difference being that crazy, especially when colors are changing ever so slightly due to lighting. You have a darker eye color on top of a dark limbal ring, so its going to blend a little.

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I'm using a very dark purple ring and lighter colored irises, but I would necessarily call it subtle, especially in better lighted areas (which that screenshot wasn't).

But this wasn't about the ring, as I said, I'm ok with the ring, it is the pupil size to iris color. We just see less of iris with the new pupil size, and for me, the iris color is a huge aspect of my character, which is now being diminished. I understand that it might not be as big of a deal to others, and that is fine too.

I'm really happy with the upgrade from the first benchmark to the second, it matches the current version of my character much better and I can actually recognize her as my character again. However, there's still some slight differences, especially with the lips. I'm extremely fond of her lips in the current game, and the benchmark still feel a bit pursed and fuller than in the current version, which isn't what I wanted when I picked Mouth 1 for her.

Current game
https://i.imgur.com/czSHRF4.jpeg

New Benchmark
https://i.imgur.com/7maobRa.jpeg

*edit: sorry about the links, I cannot figure out how to imbed images =\

Hello! First off, I would like to thank the dev team for their hard work on the benchmark, and for listening to feedback. Overall I think my character looks really nice in the update, but I wanted to chime in with one or two things that still bug me.

My main concern at the moment is what a few others have mentioned: her pupils are noticeably larger in the benchmark than in the live game. I feel this changes her vibe a little, and I prefer how they currently look. Here are a couple screenshots for comparison:
Current game
Updated benchmark


I was also comparing some of the automatic screenshots taken during the benchmark, and for some reason I have trouble putting into words, I feel she came out a little worse in the new one for this shot. I think maybe the deeper shadows highlight her eye bags more, which I'm not a huge fan of.
1st benchmark
2nd benchmark

I hope the dev team will get a chance to review our feedback and at least change the pupil size back to normal, as that would go a long way to making my character more like herself. Thank you for listening!

Took a few more comparison shots, best I can do without going into the character creator and losing her non-default hair.

It really is the extra pursed lips on mouth 1 for face 4 fem au ra that changes how my character's default expression looks like. If the mouth shapes were just like how it is now in the current game, the benchmark results would be near-perfect for her. I also think there's something with eyes that can be slightly adjusted, but I don't have the knowhow to say exactly what it is. I THINK it's a combination of the limbal rings not being as bright outside of nighttime, and the pupil looking dilated a tiny bit, resulting in her eyes looking lazier. But I could be off.

Current game
https://i.imgur.com/Q54IoSB.png

New Benchmark
https://i.imgur.com/JNssRSk.jpeg

Ahh didn't realize there was already an au ra feedback thread. I will repost what I posted in my thread though mine was more towards being positive.

New Positive Thread ---> https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...Au-Ra-Feedback
And here is my first post when I made feedback thread, this one is older though --> https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...itive-Feedback

First I want to start off saying thank you ffxiv dev team for the hardwork on the second benchmark.

I'm floored by how beautiful my au ra looks with the brand new lighting and thank you for fixing the seams and other issues with au ra.
I'm writing this because though many female au ra players are happy; The fourms usually isn't used to give positive feedback much so the people that are happy don't show it by coming here and since I'm happy with the changes. I rather not see anything reverted back, especially the eyes/bigger pupils which is the main reason they look so cute and doll like and my favorite part.

I'm a huge fan of au ra new eyes and big cute pupils and so are many others.
I'm sure SE/FFXIV dev team see's feedback from other Social Media sites than just the forums but in case they don't.
I took the time to look through X/Twitter to find people that were in love with their au ra to show the dev team people love the changes of how the new female au ra's look.

Here are some posts from happy female au ra plays. I'll start off by linking the highly popular ones.
I would also read the comments and quote retweets to see how much people were gushing over the new au ra and how pretty they are now.

https://twitter.com/elimido12/status...45452600279183 5.9k
https://twitter.com/ppr_choco/status...44015141261431 5.7k Likes
https://twitter.com/kazula_ggnr/stat...92179143323929 2k Likes
https://twitter.com/Ms_irene8D/statu...82195567231397 1.8k Likes
https://twitter.com/monamomm/status/1797591808534565081 726 Likes
https://twitter.com/FF14_DAM_/status...38494518337772 435 Likes
https://twitter.com/cheliseul/status...31807631728770 358 Likes
https://twitter.com/rtn_ff14/status/1797610464484151617 488 Likes
https://twitter.com/bunnalien/status...57335541936579 1.5k Likes
https://twitter.com/JWFF14_/status/1797548707254243759 435 Likes
https://twitter.com/alicia_cresw/sta...27577999130802 432 Likes
https://twitter.com/yami_xiv/status/1797650861008801970 1k Likes
https://twitter.com/dawnmoon_ff/stat...90100186190140 724 Likes
https://twitter.com/Tsubaki422_ff14/...45236200767944 193 Likes
https://twitter.com/_ria_ff14/status...05862004572461 792 Likes
https://twitter.com/_ria_ff14/status...41511923495385 696 Likes
https://twitter.com/zer0wife/status/1797535040194388004 2.3k Likes
https://twitter.com/franandneo/statu...79029291372923 2.1k
Here are a couple more to add to the feedback of how much people like their new au ra and think they're pretty.

https://twitter.com/VeleckVT/status/1798126792282460426
https://twitter.com/animefanrk2k/sta...50884976632028
https://twitter.com/spicywaifusauce/...32771475591219
https://twitter.com/Starthysta/statu...01889163305127
https://twitter.com/Liette96/status/1797705060883055078
https://twitter.com/Kriket_B/status/1797703885869678656
https://twitter.com/kaori_rokuyari/s...77169180840055
https://twitter.com/futurea_ffxiv/st...44574653030709
https://twitter.com/alexiareyesart/s...40657743528436
https://twitter.com/kikikajiriri/sta...59788186423430
https://twitter.com/H87762/status/1798488270948778065
https://twitter.com/hinahina01071/st...37942657376466
https://twitter.com/f_o_g_ff14/statu...22414844809287
https://twitter.com/Utatyan1321/stat...97001741488473
https://twitter.com/wh5dg/status/1797593183217766872
https://twitter.com/mamanowa_BnS/sta...66926589448631
https://twitter.com/CcS_lv/status/1797563376652234989
https://twitter.com/Rikuri_atau/stat...47906444222717
https://twitter.com/Luca_chocobo/sta...69104036012322
https://twitter.com/RipiCat/status/1797998969265721613
https://twitter.com/Azuriteien/statu...81928818467100

Phew that was a lot and I have more but I think I showcased a good amount and that there are many, many female au ra that love their new au ra such as their shiny pretty eyes/big pupils and textures.
Just based on my finds I think I can conclude that more people are in favor of the new au ra than the old and reverting back to 6.58 eyes and look.

Of course I can understand why some people might still want to revert fully back to their older look since they might've been the same look for years so don't take what I'm saying as if I'm against you please.

Thank you again FFXIV for the graphics update and making our au ra's look even more beautiful than before and I'm extremely happy and excited to play dawntrail with my new au ra!

Instead of advocating they TAKE AWAY what we've always had, maybe ask for, oh idk, large pupil to be added? -.-

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Windfire

Instead of advocating they TAKE AWAY what we've always had, maybe ask for, oh idk, large pupil to be added? -.-

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This statement confuses me. The pupils ARE bigger now and many of us want the original smaller ones, so we're asking for the new to be taken away and the old returned.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Plushy

Phew that was a lot and I have more but I think I showcased a good amount and that there are many, many female au ra that love their new au ra such as their shiny pretty eyes/big pupils and textures.
Just based on my finds I think I can conclude that more people are in favor of the new au ra than the old and reverting back to 6.58 eyes and look.

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Honestly, you have just as much, or more people on the forums with issues. Not sure you can drawn any sort of conclusion from a handful of twitter posts in regards to the community at large. In fact, some of the posts were actually saying that they had the same issues related on this thread.

I'm glad that they like their new look (and good positive information to pass along), but it doesn't mean that they didn't like their old one too