Character graphical changes are NOT in an acceptable state, please make it optional

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

There a some changes made that I knew I would just have to get used to since they are artistic changes and not the fault of lighting or broken textures.

The skin in direct lighting is much, much better. In shadow, it reverts to the waxy look I'm not fond of. With the updated lighting, my character now has a slimming effect on her cheeks and chin, eye bags, and a more youthful look. Not happy about her looking younger, but it is what it is.

For things that weren't a lighting issue such as the corners of the lips being straightened instead of a small smile, larger pupils, droopy eyelashes (outer corners of the eyes are "pinched in"), and dimmed limbal rings in bright lighting (in night lighting they glow)—I had hoped this would be changed since, although small differences, it changes the expression of the character.

There is also the separate issue of missing scales on face#1:

https://i.imgur.com/JMH0CyP.png

And another issue when zoomed out the head base can be seen through the hair:

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

---

Overall, I'm not completely dissatisfied, but also not as happy as I hoped to be. I know I'm probably just being nip-picky, but I've been staring at this character for 8 years, so it'll take me a bit to adjust to her updated look.

Moved my earlier post to: https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...26#post6470926

A list of things I have noticed in regards to the current graphical update version shown in the newer Dawntrail Benchmark

- F Au Ra lips still appear duck-like and too plumpy (have heard this reported on Miqote too) mostly in the upper lip
- Eyelash volume has been reduced in certain areas, making certain eyes appear lashless or as if wearing too much mascara in certain places
- The colours have changed, certain shades of eyes/hair/skin notably do not appear the same anymore
- Vacant stare still remains, character faces feel more generic and samey
- Eye shape rounded on all races, notably affects Miqote, Viera and Au Ra
- Iris too big for "small" iris setting
- Iris texture's colour blend makes eye appear different
- Eyes feel too shiny/glowy sometimes, notably in daylight, like a mini version of ShB Minfilia
- White hair on certain hairstyles glows unnaturally in certain lighting
- White hair eyebrows are darker compared to their current appearance
- Au Ra scale texture appears simplified and jagged around the edges as opposed to the original pattern

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ElizanderNorisse

I agree.

Here is the same character but with the same hairstyle used in the benchmark.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GM5kZhjW...jpg&name=large

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GM49gb6W...pg&name=medium

---

Hi.

The graphics really look good, but unfortunately, the lips remain the same for face #4 of male midlander hyur. I hope that it is possible to make them as thick as they currently are.

New:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GPJp8VyW...pg&name=medium

Old:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GM5kZhjW...jpg&name=large

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TheVegetable

My character(s) can't even be adjusted to look the way he used to. The options are just completely gone. Absolutely fucked over.

---

I am sorry for you and everybody who "lost" their original character. I still do not understand why they changed so many things and as i said: My Wife also switched cause she thinks that her character looks completely different in the graphics update.

I guess i got lucky with my character creation choices. Even got my Fangs back.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Araxes

I am sorry for you and everybody who "lost" their original character. I still do not understand why they changed so many things and as i said: My Wife also switched cause she thinks that her character looks completely different in the graphics update.

I guess i got lucky with my character creation choices. Even got my Fangs back.

---

I assume it's not intended, just a failure to capture the original look. Having done art myself, I know how difficult it can be to capture the finer details when recreating something. But I wish they'd be more dilligent with it and put in the effort to fix it.

In light of the release of benchmark 1.1 I've come back to share new comparisons;
https://imgur.com/L6OoaI5.gifhttps://imgur.com/NLw2S2N.gif
Admittedly I initially had no motivation to do this because I'd distanced myself a little since I just don't want to keep thinking about things I don't like, but I probably can't rest easy until I feel I've done all I can do on my end to highlight the differences. The rest will be up to the devs and majority vote, I suppose.

Not much has changed, so my feedback in my earlier posts here and here still largely stands.

So compared to benchmark 1.0, they have made the eyeliner less dark;
https://imgur.com/IVyStLN.pnghttps://imgur.com/prhAa0Z.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/9FaKc0W.png

The good thing about this is that it visually makes the eyes appear less small, though I still would like for them to try and have it resemble the old shape more as described in my post on the japanese forum:
https://imgur.com/C6hmAGi.png

Aside from this, I have actually noticed two new things that are, in my opinion, worse than they were before.

Firstly, there is now a visible seam alongside the rims of the eyes;
https://imgur.com/eF4PXt3.png

Secondly, they seem to have removed the texture or normal map (whichever it could be) that originally created the double eyelid. In benchmark 1.0 the eyelid still resembled the patch 6.58 one, though because it has been removed the existing eye-socket now seems to function as the eyelid instead. It makes the eyes look much more prominent and round, and it looks a little odd from up close as it is more of a dent than a fold.

Here is a comparison of the eyelid shape;
https://imgur.com/tjupcBp.png

The new eyelid fold either does not exist or is close to the eye-socket now, which already existed in benchmark 1.0. However, the new lighting makes it more noticeable;
https://imgur.com/XQi5HSx.png

The stronger shadows from the improved lighting now also make the fake smile effect from the lips more noticeable;
https://imgur.com/ivImLi6.pnghttps://imgur.com/1xKbYIz.png

I don't want to be a pain in the butt about it. I respect the devs a lot and I know they're trying their best. But I hope they can fix some things even if it's after release of 7.0.

But to end this post on a more positive note; I did in fact notice the improved highlight in the eyes, as well as dynamic highlights on the hair. The fangs, due to their changed position, are more noticeable with various emotes, which is nice :)

Gonna copy paste from another thread.

I do wish to share that I do notice the awkward neckline on my character now, which for some might be difficult to notice, but is something I've seen before with specific gear pieces, only now it's part of the model itself (no gear impacting it).

https://i.imgur.com/1DJ6bfw.png

I'm adding a second image to line where I see it, to help. It's 100% easier to see on the right side of the neck vs the left due to my lighting.
https://i.imgur.com/iH9d5bx.png

My biggest issue is the contrast changes due to the lighting implementation, especially the eyes, which also have the murky catch lights; I noticed slight form changes on the eyes (and lips) but my poor miqo eyes look wrong even when I change colors, they're dull marbles! (also the hair shading looks weird to me now!) She looks like a bit of her soul has been sucked out ;_;

I think the art team and the lighting people aren't working well together on the overall issues, that's why we are getting lighting based artifacts and seams (normal maps can be a pain!) Hopefully fixes will be implemented, at least for the glaring hair/seam issues and the catch lights in the eyes!

1.1 Bench with color change for hair+eyes || Live
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...960&height=416

I want to give the developers some credit and say that the recent benchmark release is so much better than its initial release. Overall, I feel as though I don't have many complaints in relation to other races. My biggest issue is still just with Face 2 Au Ra.
https://i.imgur.com/5xpSeYW.jpg
My favorite thing about Face 2 Au Ra is how silly it looks. It sets itself apart from the other Au Ra faces in that regard. I feel the change on the new benchmark is an improvement from the first; but its a massive departure from the original face seen in the endwalker. I think that the new face Two Au Ra could be a unique face option in its entirety; if the developer's goals are to be as faithful to the original, the mouth size should return to how it was in the endwalker. The face looks like it's trying too hard to come off as an "improvement" but doesn't seem to understand or capture what made the original face so unique.

Going to repost this and hope that they see it and fix my Hyur's face.

https://i.imgur.com/7r7eFup.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jeeqbit

Meh, change happens. I really don't think any of this is gonna change at this juncture. You're almost certainly getting a free fantasia to find a look that you like. A new look for a new ten years.

---

That's the thing, I don't want to change the appearance of my character. Why am I forced to fix something that should've been the same?
And what if I change it? When it hopefully will be changed then I can buy an other fantasia and change it back to the original state?
This whole issue should not be handled this way.

I'm not fixing something that shouldn't be an issue in the first place...[/QUOTE]

After looking into my character in detail, I noticed a few differences from the update. I don’t have any photos to show. Nor do I know how to share from my mobile if i did. But, for the most part my character is fine. I can live with it. Things like skin color being a bit different can be fixed with the free Fantasia I guess. And the lip color needing to be changed at the crystal bell. However I noticed for Face 2 of the keeper of the moon miqote, her cheeks have very noticeable redness/pink tone that wasn’t noticeable before, and it’s not in any of the other faces. I picked a very very light skin tone originally to look pale and kind of ethereal. And now she looks “alive” I guess you can say, due to the noticeable cheek coloring in face 2 and the skin color change in general. Playing in character creation with her loaded appearance and changing the skin color, really shows how pink/red it was when I switched to go more pale, and then flip back and forth.

Also noticed the face paint for outer eye shadow hardly does anything except making bottom lashes look thicker now. Where as before it actually looked like eyeshadow and covered the waterline on bottom and part of the lid on top, now I can barely see a difference even with picking dark vs light for the same color. And after looking closer, it really makes the waterline look really thick for some reason. Unnaturally so with all eye options. The face paint would help that empty space if it was actually in the water line like it used to be. Also, I have always used the brightest white color for her eyes. They used to be so bright they almost glowed a bit, and now it’s more dull. But not too much to make me absolutely hate it. But I did notice it from looking at old pictures on my phone.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bloodrayne2452

Also noticed the face paint for outer eye shadow hardly does anything except making bottom lashes look thicker now. Where as before it actually looked like eyeshadow and covered the waterline on bottom and part of the lid on top, now I can barely see a difference even with picking dark vs light for the same color. And after looking closer, it really makes the waterline look really thick for some reason. Unnaturally so with all eye options. The face paint would help that empty space if it was actually in the water line like it used to be. Also, I have always used the brightest white color for her eyes. They used to be so bright they almost glowed a bit, and now it’s more dull. But not too much to make me absolutely hate it. But I did notice it from looking at old pictures on my phone.

---

Guess it's same issue as face 3 lashes. They are both longer, cleaner and attached further out on the eyelids. Previous ones were shorter and stuck out in multiple directions.

The eyebrows also lost some finer details, like empty spacing between some hairs.

Adding to this thread, my character's original face is completely gone. All of the male viera faces are much different from their original models, and Face 4 especially has been entirely overhauled and is now unrecognizable as a result. The facial proportions between their release and Dawntrail update are entirely different, notably in the facial proportions, smaller jaws, eyes being farther apart, and most of their face mass and lower face/jaw missing, leaving the face looking gaunt and squished.

I attempted to use a fantasia to make tweaks, but the face shape is entirely different, there is no longer a square jaw option. I'm not sure why male viera were all given similar jaws and much smaller, younger-looking, teenage faces.

I chose Face 4 to give my character a more mature look and a longer face it no longer gives that impression, leaving faces that are all a similar shape. It was really jarring to log in to a face shape that didn't resemble the original even slightly and I haven't played at all yet as a result.

https://u.cubeupload.com/evalli/d322...3554580Ari.png
https://u.cubeupload.com/evalli/99a2...1913649Ful.png
https://u.cubeupload.com/evalli/53ff...0240628061.png

Female Miqo'te Face 3 with Mouth 4 makes me sad. I had the cutest miqo'te in the universe, but after the update, if you look at me face to face, straight on, my upper lip texture looks like i have an underbite and that my chin pokes out more than it should. But when you look at my side profile, things don't look as bad. Image 1 and 2 are before update. Third and fourth images are after the update with my ugly lips and weird underbite (side profile is cute but straight on face to face is offputting.

https://i.imgur.com/aTt7ztv.png

https://i.imgur.com/fuv8zad.png

https://i.imgur.com/hRIkfy5.png

https://i.imgur.com/IpZ9Cpp.png

My miqo went from being the cutest thing ever imo, to being weird looking.

This is unacceptable. If they don't give us options to revert character models for "You" and "others" or "all players", I may have to resort to becoming a modder so that i can commission a mod maker to make a mod that makes me look like my old vanilla self. This is that important to me. You can't just mutilate my Feathetaria like this. I'm sad.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Feathetaria

Female Miqo'te Face 3 with Mouth 4 makes me sad. I had the cutest miqo'te in the universe, but after the update, if you look at me face to face, straight on, my upper lip texture looks like i have an underbite and that my chin pokes out more than it should. But when you look at my side profile, things don't look as bad. Image 1 and 2 are before update. Third and fourth images are after the update with my ugly lips and weird underbite (side profile is cute but straight on face to face is offputting.

https://i.imgur.com/aTt7ztv.png

https://i.imgur.com/fuv8zad.png

https://i.imgur.com/hRIkfy5.png

https://i.imgur.com/IpZ9Cpp.png

My miqo went from being the cutest thing ever imo, to being weird looking.

This is unacceptable. If they don't give us options to revert character models for "You" and "others" or "all players", I may have to resort to becoming a modder so that i can commission a mod maker to make a mod that makes me look like my old vanilla self. This is that important to me. You can't just mutilate my Feathetaria like this. I'm sad.

---

I still think your cat girl is cute :3
But I understand your point. When I saw my WoL in the new update I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. It made me feel like "I don't really want to play right now..."

Personally I think these changes are here to stay now though. The best we can get now is maybe a patch that improves these new faces?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by wynnaura

I just took some more side by sides of my Miqo'te Moon with Face 2 - Eyebrows 4 - Eyes 6
https://i.imgur.com/q1qWAcM.png
https://i.imgur.com/APRTyUd.png
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...ality=lossless
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...ality=lossless
the face marks look more like paint (especially on the forehead)
Eyebrow shape has changed and kinda look more chopped?
Eyeshape change + eyeliner?? and some smaller lip change

https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...960&height=482
Mouth changed and most important .. the fangs ;_;

https://i.imgur.com/iGg2Fps.png
I also noticed a change in this particular hairstyle as they now added a space for ears... ??
They also fixed the gap in the neck

---

I almost forgot i posted this in May 2024 ;-;