Dawntrail Graphics Update - Eye Strain

Bump because even if Square is looking now, the more players that see this thread the more support we can amass and the better into we can get on what's an issue and how

Adding to this. Never had an issue with eye strain prior to 7.0 and have been playing since ARR, both on console and PC. After experimenting with all of the available graphic settings over the last week since the start of early access, I think the root of the issue is the bloom (which we can’t turn off) and the new lighting on everything. My eyes have a lot of difficulty focusing and it makes duties way more difficult than before. It’s notable worse in the new areas and the old ones, but still present in the old. I think the best solution would just be to give us more options to adjust levels of bloom. I think the example of the aetherytes and crystal effects that others have mentioned is the best example of what I’m talking about.

One way of addressing the issue of eye strain (without taking away things from people who aren't experiencing it) would be to implement some manner of toggleable "eye strain mode" that reduces the sharpness of textures (for both terrain and character/NPC models) removes motion blurs, blinking, intense light effects, etc.

This would feel right at home in the accessibility tab in the game settings. As a person with somewhat sensitive eyes and plenty of experience in all things eye strain-related, I'd be more than happy to be part of the beta testing process.

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Originally Posted by Wind-Krysvein

Well then.

I have been made aware, via official tech support, that the developers are indeed aware of this situation, and are keeping tabs on this forum post as they work on a solution.

Getting them to admit as much has been a tad too difficult for my personal liking, but better late than never. This should at least quell some of the anxiety surrounding the topic.

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SUPER excited to hear that! My apologies if talking about a refund made them less likely to admit it!!
Thank you everyone for your show of visibility! Every one of you who said you had the same issue helps!

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Originally Posted by Wind-Krysvein

One way of addressing the issue of eye strain (without taking away things from people who aren't experiencing it) would be to implement some manner of toggleable "eye strain mode" that reduces the sharpness of textures (for both terrain and character/NPC models) removes motion blurs, blinking, intense light effects, etc.

This would feel right at home in the accessibility tab in the game settings. As a person with somewhat sensitive eyes and plenty of experience in all things eye strain-related, I'd be more than happy to be part of the beta testing process.

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I would prefer the settings to be individually toggleable rather than bundled together. After all we all have different eyes and comfort levels, and may only want to turn off some of the things you mentioned. Plus more granular settings would be useful even for those who don't have vision issues, so it would be a win-win for everyone!

But yeah it's definitely an issue of accessibility. I have some problems with my eyes but in most games it only makes it difficult for me to read text or look at HUD elements that are too small or placed too far apart. This was never a problem in FFXIV and still isn't, light mode is easy on my eyes and I can enlarge the text and resize and move around HUD elements. So I wasn't expecting to have a problem with the other graphics, which unfortunately I am. Here's to hoping we get settings that help with the motion blur and the excessive brightness of some effects.

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Originally Posted by Kiet

I would prefer the settings to be individually toggleable rather than bundled together. After all we all have different eyes and comfort levels, and may only want to turn off some of the things you mentioned. Plus more granular settings would be useful even for those who don't have vision issues, so it would be a win-win for everyone!

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Very true! I didn't mean to imply that I'd want all the options to be force-bundled together, but I can see how it could look like I did.

But yeah, the more settings we have for adjusting the graphics, the better.

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Originally Posted by Araxes

Adding to this after my last post. While i get used to it after a while, i notice how playing FFXIV makes me very tired after a short while since the update. I just had a nap cause i felt i hadn't slept after playing a few hours. Then went back playing and felt tired again after half an hour.

Edit: it is even worse if used with FSR and the inbuilt sharpening filter. The sharpening Filter is extremely taxing on the eyes.

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To me it's the blurriness and the sharpening combination. It's fine when I'm standing still, but the whole background darkens and turns blurry when you start moving. It's at the point I can barely play the game properly without it distracting my eyes.

This shows the difference between standing still and moving for me

https://i.imgur.com/SVmrIW5.png

That's driving me nuts too! Thank you for the picture.

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Originally Posted by usagilove

To me it's the blurriness and the sharpening combination. It's fine when I'm standing still, but the whole background darkens and turns blurry when you start moving. It's at the point I can barely play the game properly without it distracting my eyes.

This shows the difference between standing still and moving for me

https://i.imgur.com/SVmrIW5.png

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Yes! This has also really been bothering me :( !

Some of the color themes were awful and also strained my eyes but this is nothing new. I really wonder who comes up with the color palette. P12 is a prime example. I had tears from how bad the migraine was from playing in that awful setup. Imagine practicing p12s for hours. By the end of it, I was feeling pure agony. I had to play close to black and white and everything severely dulled down so as not to go mad because of the pain.