[Graphical Update Feedback] Eyes and Limbal Rings on Au ra

My Wol has ever had her red limbal rings and the high contrast and visibility of them is key point of her look.

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

I hope they give us the option to keep that.

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Originally Posted by AmayaKatolis

My Wol has ever had her red limbal rings and the high contrast and visibility of them is key point of her look.

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

I hope they give us the option to keep that.

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Very Pretty/Beautiful.
Mine rarely are shown.
But they take a blending look. From Red/Pink/Purple(Lilac) depending on how the color is set up.

Clear Cut as all the threads ask.
An option to chose between muted colors or brilliant ones.

As for those of us who suffer on other threads like darker skin tones, or Roe Eyes. Hope the devs notice our worries and concern of the loss of the races unique traits.

Personally I love the new Au Ra look and how soft the eye glow is. But as a Au Ra player and for my fellow players too it would be swell if they added the option in the character creator & the Aesthetician to increase or decrease the intensity of the Au Ra's eye glow so people can keep the current sharper glow we have now while still keeping the soft eyes.

I gotta say I'm mostly excited about the texture upgrades. Even though some characters will look different, it's overall a more realistic and smooth look, which I like. I can easily adjust to my character looking slightly different. The only thing that concerns me is the limbal rings. While I think the new look can be nice, it's a HUGE difference from how it currently is. They talked about not wanting to change things too much, and kept their word to that... except for au ra? I don't mind if they want to make them look non-glowy like that, but at least give players a glow vs non glow option. My character's bright red contrast is a key part in who she is... I don't want that to go away. Even if it's something like adding a luminescent filter over it maybe? I just really hope they allow more options like that for players who don't like some of these changes.

I would Like for the Au Ra Limbal Rings to be a bit brighter, I've always envisioned them having a slight glow and this is a step in the opposite direction for me.

Throwing my two cents in that I also really do not like the limbal ring changes for au ra, or the pupil changes for roegadyn (I'm not super sure of what they did for miqo but I'm still on the side of Don't Touch regardless). They give a lot of character as they are and make them really interesting looking characters. I know what the devs said about the rings, but the way they are has made them really good for implying actual naturally glowing eyes and overall make them so much more vibrant. Roegadyn pupils also are just really gorgeous as is, I have an alt with purple eyes that just wouldn't look the same with the black pupils and I've got a themroe friend whose character would lose so much of their charm if the eyes change to this planned one.

(Somewhat tangential) I'm also concerned about the elezen one because it looks like not only some odd lighting, but like there's a new model there with how the polygonal corners on the chin are smoother. And I'm worried that means they're going to be taking away the harsh features stuff like male elezen face 2 has, or deemphasize stuff like the larger lips of face 1 or the aquiline noses both have for the sake of this "smoothing". Beyond the fact that they're underrepresented features in general, they're severely underrepresented in xiv and just the presence of a small hooked nose is notable. I'd prefer if they added a wider variety of features - especially to get rid of this idea they have that women can't have large hooked noses? and also just more large (Actually large) lip options - but the elezen screens one makes me concerned they're going to tweak what we already have and deemphasize those features. I don't know if it'll be mild or severe messing with the models, but I really do not want to see more homogenizing of facial features when there's already so few actual options there.

Definitely hoping for luminosity becoming an option. Being able to give more depth to the characters that don't use bright rings would be very nice - the black limbal trick helps, but isn't perfect - but I very much don't want it to come at the cost of the designs that rely on the high contrast of bright limbals. Hard to imagine some of the striking bright-color-on-black looks working half as well under this paradigm.

I like that you can finally see the iris color of the Au Ra, but I wouldn't mind if they bumped the glow of the limbal rings back up as well.

As for facial expression, I am BEGGING for "idle expressions" similar to "idle stances" !!! Let us choose an expression for WoL to have when just standing there so we don't look like zombies. I'd like my wol to stand there looking happy to be there. I think that would help with the concern here too.

I never liked that led rings, so I am very happy about the new more blended look. :)

It's interesting that the people who are welcoming the change keep talking about their Au ra character being lifeless or looking like a zombie... that blasé expression on F Au ra face 1 is exactly why I picked it lol, because it contrasted with other, more "natural" and human-like faces, and it adds a lot of character to uh, the character. But I agree with goldenophanim that characters will look less lifeless anyway with the highlight, which isn't really visible in Au ra eyes at the moment unless you're at the right camera angle, it's not so dependent on the limbal rings themselves.

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Originally Posted by goldenophanim

The elezen guy's eye shines are hidden by his longer lashes in the new style and it's part of what makes him look depressed.

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And yeah, ironically enough, some new faces look more lifeless because of that change... in the Las Vegas Keynote video Highlander M and F, Roegadyn M and Au ra M kind of lose their shine, although Au ra M seems to be doing better in the London Keynote screenshot. Maybe it's because their eyes are very "sunken in", but again I think adding more character in the eyes matters more than making the lighting realistic in this case.

It's great to see people posting screenshots of their characters too! It really shows how much the limbal rings have an impact on their design, and how much will be taken away from it.

Adding some of mine, although the limbal rings aren't as bright as others that people have shared, the contrast with the iris really makes them pop out even from a distance.
https://i.imgur.com/m2l4IwO.png

I hope the au ra limbal rings still glow. I think the charm point of them is how freaky they make my wol look

I'm very excited about the upcoming scale rework, and also very glad the devs considered the earlier user feedback regarding the texture/sheen of the horns!

However, like most others here, I'm also a little concerned about the future appearance of the limbal rings (and their glow).

I have always considered the limbal rings one of the more unique elements of the Au Ra design, and I have created all my Auri characters with this visual in mind. It's especially important for the character I started the game with, to the point I used my Fantasia potion just to make the irises darker for a higher limbal ring contrast.

As seen in the screenshots below, the limbal ring glow is also the vocal point of each sample. All the images are taken from the game without any color editing outside of gpose's own settings.

https://i.postimg.cc/prFwv2fG/image.png

I hope that the people who enjoy their character's more eerie and visible limbal ring effect will be able to do so in the graphic update as well.

I'm really excited for the change myself-- I always wished that the limbal rings blended a bit more seamlessly, and prefer a more natural look.
That said, I hope there's maybe some sort of slider for the people who want a more glowy option for the limbal rings, or a light/dark option like there is for lip color.

I'm torn on the change. I love the new look: how natural it is, how clear and life-like the eyes become. The possibility of having two-tone eyes is really exciting, and the models look incredible. For a long time I avoided applying the limbal rings to my WoL (or used a darker, less noticeable color) because I didn't like the glowy look, and that era Me would have gone absolutely nuts over the changes.

That said, my character now has the uncanny limbal rings for a lore reason. They're subtler than some characters I've seen, but I purposefully picked them to

reflect the light poisoning the WoL goes through in ShB.

Those events irrevocably changed how she looks and the limbal rings are integral to that.

tldr; I think the ideal solution would be to allow us to toggle (like the dark/light for lip color, for example) or maybe use a slider to vary the intensity of the color, if that's possible. I'm sure there are considerations I can't even fathom, but that seems to be the "simplest" way to make all Au Ra havers happy.

I really appreciate all the work that's gone into making Au Ra eyes what they are (and what they are is beautiful). I'm just concerned a large portion of the fanbase might lose such a key part of their characters' identities/expressions. I hope all Au Ra players get to see their characters they way they've imagined them, glow or no glow.

Thanks for listening!

I actually don't mind the softer look of the limbal rings, but what would be awesome is if those softer rings still held a glow to them. I can't tell with the example picture since the character is outside with warm color eyes. The updated version is a awesome change so I am not against this. I play a male Au'ra that has black eyes and pure white limbal rings which helps the contrast since my whole eyeball is black. I'm fine with this change if the glow is still there.

I'm suming myself to the group of au ra players who wanted their led limbal rings back, in case that won't be an option!

Might as well add mine, but I've been in both camps of subtle and LED for effect! Personally, I'd prefer if they could be split colors instead of this proposed change...orz
https://64.media.tumblr.com/596f6694...b684fea10b.jpg
The green makes her eyes look radioactive, while the second is a nice happy-medium between the two colors to give the impression that they're glowing. It's a fun effect and I'd hate to see it go away. The same goes for roegadyn and miqote eyes; just stop with the homogenization TToTT

I find it amusing people keep arguing about the whole "uniqueness" aspect of the eyes when the reality is 90% of the playerbase is Au Ra anyway.

They probably should just cancel the graphical update on Au Ra since players are already satisfied with them anyway (well besides the lack of customizations) and just focus on the other races that need it.

I never liked the Limbal Rings, and I prefer the enhanced version in the update. With that said, it could really do with a slider to adjust the brightness of the limbal rings as an addition in the update. I feel like that would be the perfect compromise.

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Originally Posted by Atelier-Bagur

I find it amusing people keep arguing about the whole "uniqueness" aspect of the eyes when the reality is 90% of the playerbase is Au Ra anyway.

They probably should just cancel the graphical update on Au Ra since players are already satisfied with them anyway (well besides the lack of customizations) and just focus on the other races that need it.

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Almost Concerning how some players/users takes in some threads contradict the overall in others.

Regardless of that.

We mean uniqueness in the sense that it has been a feature of the race since inception.

For example, there are many who don't like the fact that Viera don't have tails.(myself included) but we wouldn't force them to add as such to the game cause it's clearly omitted for reasons.(though being honest, highly likely to never existed for technical reasons from their origin FF)
[If they ever did, one would ask for a toggle, cause we know others face the nostalgia and know the race as tail-less]

The effects and features that exist overtime become part of their ingrained features. No handwaving of bugs or Low Poly features removes that.

Players just want HQ versions of what has been.

and in this cause just like Viera are kinda unique for not having a tail. Au Ra have one of their known Features in their Limbal Rings.

A toggle is all that is asked. Unique to the Race.(saying that a certain percentage of a race has it, when they are a race that is know to have said feature is just STATING THE OBVIOUS, to push asides points/logic that cannot be denied)

Hello,
I have been subbed/playing nonstop for about 10 years ongoing. I love the limbal rings having that glowing effect.
If players do not want glowing eyes they have the option already to turn them off.
Please do not remove this feature about this race.
Thank you for all your hard work SE.

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Originally Posted by Gember

I actually don't mind the softer look of the limbal rings, but what would be awesome is if those softer rings still held a glow to them. I can't tell with the example picture since the character is outside with warm color eyes. The updated version is a awesome change so I am not against this. I play a male Au'ra that has black eyes and pure white limbal rings which helps the contrast since my whole eyeball is black. I'm fine with this change if the glow is still there.

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Judging from other examples, there is just zero glow in the current versions of the limbal rings, like at all. It became more of a gradient and it gets lost unless you zoom it now.

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Originally Posted by Atelier-Bagur

I find it amusing people keep arguing about the whole "uniqueness" aspect of the eyes when the reality is 90% of the playerbase is Au Ra anyway.

They probably should just cancel the graphical update on Au Ra since players are already satisfied with them anyway (well besides the lack of customizations) and just focus on the other races that need it.

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Disagree. I like the rest of the changes for the eyes. I just dislike the fact the limbal rings no longer glow and wish for them to glow again or have the option to be allowed to glow!

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Originally Posted by GTK0HLK

Almost Concerning how some players/users takes in some threads contradict the overall in others.

Regardless of that.

We mean uniqueness in the sense that it has been a feature of the race since inception.

For example, there are many who don't like the fact that Viera don't have tails.(myself included) but we wouldn't force them to add as such to the game cause it's clearly omitted for reasons.(though being honest, highly likely to never existed for technical reasons from their origin FF)
[If they ever did, one would ask for a toggle, cause we know others face the nostalgia and know the race as tail-less]

The effects and features that exist overtime become part of their ingrained features. No handwaving of bugs or Low Poly features removes that.

Players just want HQ versions of what has been.

and in this cause just like Viera are kinda unique for not having a tail. Au Ra have one of their known Features in their Limbal Rings.

A toggle is all that is asked. Unique to the Race.(saying that a certain percentage of a race has it, when they are a race that is know to have said feature is just STATING THE OBVIOUS, to push asides points/logic that cannot be denied)

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I just wish we had more sliders.

I'm also not a fan of this change, so +1 to this thread.

I'm not even trying to be a stickler about it, I genuinely think most of the graphical changes are good. I love the male Elezen change shown in the initial post in fact. The spirit of the characters are still there, just slightly smoothed out and more stylistically aligned to newer races/faces like the Viera's. At least in my view.

HOWEVER, even without the glow effect, straight up diminishing the high contrast like this makes the colors fundamentally different, which is the biggest issue IMO. I have a male Au Ra character with orange eyes that I agonized choosing the right shade of gold limbal rings for; with this update that color would probably appear as...what? Orange? Brown? And it's very possible that whatever shade I had before would simply no longer exist on the color scale with every shade losing its luster in this update.

And...well...I guess how much bigger the female Au Ra's pupils became slightly bothers me too, but I can live with that change... I feel like it might look strange with some dark limbal ring colors, though.

logged in just to say please keep the change, i like how it looks blended

just show more options because I'm sure there are brighter options... we've only seen ONE.

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Originally Posted by RhaesDaenys

logged in just to say please keep the change, i like how it looks blended

just show more options because I'm sure there are brighter options... we've only seen ONE.

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It's not only the limbal rings of the female Au Ra who has one of the brightest yellow options that turns into a much softer, warmer color. The male Au Ra who was used to show off the new metallic reflection on the PLD gear--who literally has bright white limbal rings in the "before" image--gets his color diminished so much that his limbal rings blend completely into his dark grey sclera. I ain't feelin' too hopeful.

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Originally Posted by Atelier-Bagur

I find it amusing people keep arguing about the whole "uniqueness" aspect of the eyes when the reality is 90% of the playerbase is Au Ra anyway.

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https://i.imgur.com/GqG9lXJ.png

Source

Uh huh.

Elfs are rare. :)



Cheers

I'll also chime in my support to keep the limbal rings bright, even though I don't typically play Au Ra. An option to change the glow would also be appreciated, but by default they should glow as that's how they act currently, and the graphics update should do its best to keep to the original designs as much as possible. I feel like if people don't like the glow, the option to turn them off is already here, so nothing would change for those that dislike it.

The updates for Au Ra eyes look awesome, but they definitely shouldn't lose their stand out glow.

Part of how I selected the eye color on my Moonkeeper Miqo'te was also the way the highlights almost glow.

I do like that the updates seem like they'll lessen the "resting B-(expletive) face" default on Elezen. I'm hoping that it'll help reduce that for my partner's Midlander as well. He generally looks like he just does not want to be wherever he is standing at a given moment, and I'm forever having to play stop/start umpteen times with the various talking speeds in gpose to get it to look like anything else.

At least one Elezen in my FC is constantly emoting because she gets frustrated by that "resting B- face" aspect, and has tried to adjust makeup and face selection to mitigate it. (She turns off the chat text to avoid spamming!)

the limbal ring glow should stay, it's VERY iconic of them. on top of that i really want them to keep the shiny horn look on au ras, it helps to accentuate the shapes of the scales much better

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Originally Posted by SchwarzwaelderTorte

https://i.imgur.com/GqG9lXJ.png

Source

Uh huh.

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An exaggeration for sure, but doesnt detract that Au Ra are extremely popular and you almost always see them everywhere.

I love my au ra's ring lights and i'll be real sad if they're gone... she won't look nearly as menacing :(

I agree, I'm not an au'ra main but many of my friends are and feel the same... We love the glow! :(

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Originally Posted by Atelier-Bagur

An exaggeration for sure, but doesnt detract that Au Ra are extremely popular and you almost always see them everywhere.

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Au Ra are incredibly popular, but I believe they mean that the ability to select bright limbal rings is a feature unique to Au Ra and they'd potentially lose that.

With most races only having 4 faces to choose from even the least played races in this game aren't actually all that unique.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Atelier-Bagur

I find it amusing people keep arguing about the whole "uniqueness" aspect of the eyes when the reality is 90% of the playerbase is Au Ra anyway.

They probably should just cancel the graphical update on Au Ra since players are already satisfied with them anyway (well besides the lack of customizations) and just focus on the other races that need it.

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Adding exceptions just opens up a whole other can of worms. They designed the new shaders and eye models for everyone.

The main reason why I even HAVE an Au Ra is the bright limbal rings that make them look so unlike anything else I've seen. The limbal rings shining bright, making them contrast massively against the main eye color and making them glow, is something I spent half a day picking out and adjusting, picking the contrast I liked most.

I don't really care if it's less technically impressive than the new design, it's what I wanted and liked. Like, yeah, the updates are technically impressive and I adore the work put into it, but I simply do not believe there is a need to make it impossible to have the high-contrast glow I chose on purpose. I did not make my Au Ra have smooth seamless colors, I made her have freaky alien eyes. I expect to be able to keep freaky alien eyes.

I guess I'm one of the few who finds them kind of goofy and cheap-looking? It's very... edgy, evil PS2 villain-like, lol, but I appreciate that's a completely subjective impression. The only reason I have ever liked or used them is a) to give a stronger black outline to the iris or b) to create a gradient effect, which, surprisingly, is what they now seem (?) to be suggesting was what was intended from the start. The deliberate super-bright, high contrast effect looks jarring and makes them appear kind of dead-eyed, which I think is a real problem with Au Ra in general - you have to actively work to make them not look soulless.

...but some people dig that effect from the looks of it, which is fair enough. I do think, though, that it's more of the same with regards to the other graphical update complaints so far - people have become so attached to their characters that they've come to perceive graphical limitations as character traits, and I think once they get over that, they'll warm up to the new looks more than they think.

As is, its easy enough to make a gradient with the current system. If they were not intended to "glow" then they should never have offered the ability to make them so bright.