Benchmark/Graphics Update - Show your WoL's before and after

Thanks I hate it.

Dittoing everything people said about the mouth looking drastically different. That's also going to have knock-on effects on every single one of her facial expressions.

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

Her eyebrows are noticeably thinner with zero options to make them thicker in the CC. Her smiles look sarcastic now because they made her mouth narrower and just pinched up the edges. The lip shine is gone. I'm very happy for the people who like their new characters but I'm absolutely devastated.

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

How on earth did they manage to make her face less round???

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kogekigami

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...4f3b053ea0967&

Utterly downgraded i hate it!

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It's present in several other comparisons too, but this was the one I was looking at when the words came to me:
new look looks like sticker on top of background, like the character and forest dont exist in same space at all.

Lala mouths:

Before:
https://i.imgur.com/Tak78Z5.jpg

After:
https://i.imgur.com/I1B9fil.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Azurhi_Muhn

And here we see Azurhi both pre-and post-good graphics adventure

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GLJDZ2MW...jpg&name=large

...boy, I sure hope I can still fix FFXIV's godawful saturation with reshade after this update

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99% of before/afters of Keeper girls make me more upset than I could have expected.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Skivvy

Lala mouths:

Before:
https://i.imgur.com/Mlg42c7.jpg

After:
https://i.imgur.com/I1B9fil.jpg

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That's uncanny... OwO'

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nebty

Thanks I hate it.

Dittoing everything people said about the mouth looking drastically different. That's also going to have knock-on effects on every single one of her facial expressions.

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As a fellow Face 2 haver, I share your pain :( They completely messed up the lips and I really hope they can be changed back to how they were.

I'm undecided on the changes.

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

https://i.imgur.com/AuSy4XK.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SweetestLily

the hightlight dot made a WORLD of difference and I want it back

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GLIYxi2XsAAELhJ.jpg:large

This is someone elses beautiful character that i added the highlight dot back into on the bottom image using paint and to me its night and day . Both images are 7.0 moon miqote

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Honestly, they just need to do this and I wouldnt gripe nearly as much about everything else ...

I play an Ardbert NPC clone as my main!

https://i.postimg.cc/QdFKVB72/GLIj06-WWo-AAHRNO.pnghttps://i.postimg.cc/HsHtJtWf/Screen...-14-135136.png

I acknowledge being overly picky, but I really, really dislike the changes. His jaw changed a fair bit due to the shading but the worst of it is his eyes, which are distinctly differently shaped- he looks like a completely different person now. I'm really surprised, considering he's got the most base face! I checked in the benchmark as well as CC and his eyes and facial structure look even more jarringly different in the benchmark.

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

Both pictures are the updated version. Just popping back here to say somehow the sunlight in the creator is the biggest enemy and makes the colours go bonkers. In the blue screen my viera actually almost looks like he always did, which is okay with me.
Again, in the benchmark he was super nice, so idk what the deal with the visuals in the creator are.

https://i.imgur.com/hzqd0jO.png

https://i.postimg.cc/Bn3pgVpd/mew.png
https://i.postimg.cc/mZ08cDHZ/mew2.png

I'm not sure about the new face.. I like the scales but I miss my shiny lips. The new version is also less colourful than the old version.

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Originally Posted by Burmecia

99% of before/afters of Keeper girls make me more upset than I could have expected.

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the light in her eyes, gone. the vibrant blue of her hair, also gone. a weird greenish tint to her skin, there now for some reason

https://i.ibb.co/GnkSVpT/2024-04-14-...-Benchmark.png

I'm very happy with the update personally. I have a feeling some of the issues people are having are due to char lighting being maxed out or something. Idk just a guess.
We need a char creator overhaul tho. Some of the issues people are having would be fixed with a simply gloss slider on the lips.

Honestly, I feel like to them for some reason an update is 'let's make everything softer, doesn't matter if it loses detail'....It really sucks, I haven't checked the benchmark because I'm really scared what they did to butcher my girl.

https://i.imgur.com/UTkwxUp.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/TvJjhJk.jpg

I think mine looks ok. Though I am very generic anyway.

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Originally Posted by Luciel-Nyx

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

Both pictures are the updated version. Just popping back here to say somehow the sunlight in the creator is the biggest enemy and makes the colours go bonkers. In the blue screen my viera actually almost looks like he always did, which is okay with me.
Again, in the benchmark he was super nice, so idk what the deal with the visuals in the creator are.

https://i.imgur.com/hzqd0jO.png

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This makes me feel a little better thank you ^^ Also your bun looks great

This isn't the same person. Her face feels entirely reshaped, her eyes feel different and have no light in them. The eyebrows even have a different style. They did exactly what they claimed they were trying not to do and now there's no way they'll fix even half of it before launch, even if they felt like trying. Gross.
https://i.gyazo.com/2bd41e04beb46fc4...937d074498.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Luciel-Nyx

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

Both pictures are the updated version. Just popping back here to say somehow the sunlight in the creator is the biggest enemy and makes the colours go bonkers. In the blue screen my viera actually almost looks like he always did, which is okay with me.
Again, in the benchmark he was super nice, so idk what the deal with the visuals in the creator are.

https://i.imgur.com/hzqd0jO.png

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Yeah, the actual character creator is pretty cursed. The foliage, landscape textures, environmental details, buildings, etc. are all as they are in the current game, no upgrades, and I'm willing to believe the same applies to the lighting and shadow quality. In essence, I'm presuming that what the character creator now has is the 2.0-6.5 environment including its lighting, with just the character models and shaders being different. Whereas the actual benchmark has everything updated as intended.

I mean, it's also really dependent on skin tone too. Regular white person skin is fine but...

https://i.imgur.com/CzVtuR1.png

The more realistic lighting is pretty awful for less natural skin tones and it wasn't always like this.

Female Midlander Face 1
https://i.imgur.com/qpKsOWE.png
There are a few notable changes (looks like she finally got some sleep) but overall it's something I can get used to.

However, the lighting in character creation does the whole thing no favors, especially not in the Gridania area. It seems as if there are no clear light sources to reflect in the eyes, which makes them look rather dull.
https://i.imgur.com/1mWZA8s.png

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Originally Posted by Cerbolt

This makes me feel a little better thank you ^^ Also your bun looks great

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Glad it did then c: And thank you!

Let's see, there's going to be quite a bit here..


BEFORE AND AFTER:
https://i.imgur.com/HYwS9Fz.png


The Raen I will keep unchanged, though I don't like how less distinctive the lips are on my Xaela at the moment, so I will likely fantasia the Xaela over to Lips Type 1. Might have to tweak the skintone, but I'll have to see.

End result with changes
https://i.imgur.com/ODT8gGj.png

Overall, I would say I'm quite content with the changes.

They butchered my girl :( :( :(
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GLJWsSmW...jpg&name=large

He looks completely different after the edit. I really liked this face because of the cheekbones, but its one defining quality is now gone. He looks a lot softer/rounder now. I made his skin darker and hair slightly darker too and it brought back some of the lost definition as the shadows/highlights are more prominent on darker skins. But he still looks quite different. Do I hate him? No, but it's gonna take some adjustment for him to look like a completely different character after all of these years. I'm sure I'll get used to it. I played 1.0 and ARR was an adjustment too.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...f1bfecabff6ee&

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Originally Posted by SweetestLily

the hightlight dot made a WORLD of difference and I want it back

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GLIYxi2XsAAELhJ.jpg:large

This is someone elses beautiful character that i added the highlight dot back into on the bottom image using paint and to me its night and day . Both images are 7.0 moon miqote

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That's because her pupils are way too big. I have the same problem with viera in 6.0 and I'm using the small iris size as a partial workaround. After playing with the benchmark for a bit I already hate how dead my character looks like in game now by comparison.

Saw comment earlier about how we shouldn't use the standard (blue) background, but the outdoor images aren't really any better.. :rolleyes:

Au Ra;

https://i.imgur.com/hCEDRK3.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/JUTvnkq.png

Miqo'te;

https://i.imgur.com/K9ETe65.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/WBUY01i.png

Type 3 face and eyes. The eyes appear wider and rounder. The waterline size increased. All this together gives "crazy eyes" vibes. The skin has a more yellow undertone.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...398a81e0c3c16&

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...c8a4b1a57490f&

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...30f83e90afac5&

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...71bf37353e92d&

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...82eabc1538bbf&

Hate it, she looks completely different. Rounder face, smaller lips, the nose is angled more down, the eyebrows are less defined, the eyes are completely different. The hair feels more flat and straw-like, like it's been dried out

For some, it's most def an improvement, like the lala's, they look smashing with the new upgrade. Rest...I am not convinced yet.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Antharaes

For some, it's most def an improvement, like the lala's, they look smashing with the new upgrade. Rest...I am not convinced yet.

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Didn't they say they didn't really change much for lalas?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by blueaether

It's not the worst but I'm not a fan.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...ddd756e84bb02&

I don't like the way they made his eyebrows and nose thinner. There's no options for thicker eyebrows either, this is as thick as they get. I'm honestly not a fan of the change in lip shape either, especially the thinning of the philtrum.

I didn't think they would change our characters features :(

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Im on the same boat as a hyur midlander, completely different face for me as well. I ended up having to change skin tone, hair color, eye color... features... to make mine look decent.

https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...687&height=266

I tried to pose her similar to benchmark screenshot (and failed lol).

Look not quite the same..?

https://64.media.tumblr.com/0bcd13ea...3c97b842b3.pnj
Genuinely horrific. If they AT LEAST. AT LEAST fix the eyebrows being so sparse comparatively then I will find a way to live with it, but in general, it is unforgivable what they did to male viera.

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

https://i.imgur.com/R0JsM2d.png


Over all, I'm not too upset with the changes—I'm actually rather happy. My character still looks like herself for the most part. I'm happy the skin no longer looks plastic on fair tones, some darker tones are weird though (the scales have unfinished edges that show if you have dark skin and also look flat). There are a few things that feel off to me, but with time I may get use to them.

The limbal rings color is darker now, so they no longer 'blend' well to me (this could be because of lighting. The current chara creator has harsh bright lighting, while the benchmark shows new dulled/ realistic lighting). The pupils are also larger for some reason, and that's probably what bothers me the most. I would prefer if they stayed small. I also prefer the old shine to the new one.

The lips are softer and no longer have a shine to them. It doesn't look too bad with the color and shape I use, but her faint smile is no longer there. At least it isn't like some of the Viera lips that are so rounded out they look like they had gotten bad lip injections...

TLDR: The larger pupils are the most erroneous thing here for me, along with the lash line being changed from pointed to droopy. For me, that changes her face the most. The other thing is the skin in bright lighting looks off and too transparent (when viewed in the benchmark cutscene). Scales still look flat and pasted on.

I'm not allowed to share graphic images on the forums.
New version looks attrocious.

https://i.postimg.cc/XJ0RW96y/face-comparison.jpg

Not happy.

/edit
With matched gamma, still not happy.

Just to bring my thoughts into this. For my 2 main characters, I think they turned out fine:

Male Midlander:
https://imgsli.com/MjU1NTU4

Female Aura:
https://imgsli.com/MjU1NTYx

I purposefully kept the lighting and camera position consistent between the 2 images to better compare, exact pose is a bit harder (ie. i didn't try too hard on that front), (if anyone wants me to upload them as separate images, let me know). However, I think they turned out better in both cases.

I do agree though, some do look a bit off and not quite right. Some of the racial features being less prominent is also a cause for concern.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...ea5256d96add3&
She looks like a completely different character to me...

I can't get images to cooperate rn, so no pictures, sorry!

While I am overall fine with how my lad looks with the graphics update based on images and video my friend very kindly sent me, when watching the benchmark it struck me that the eyes seem to lack a reflective shine. This makes everyone, but especially WoL, look "dead-eyed." I've seen other people talking about this as well.

I personally feel that the shadows in the eyes are too dark but the change that is devastating for me is that Fyllo's hairstyle has been stripped of his dark tipped ears. It's one of my favorite features and it cannot be fixed with a fantasia.
I wish the ear markings were a 'facial feature' instead of being tied to hairstyles.

I don't understand why all the other dark tipped ear hairstyles ported over fine but this one got washed out.

Please Yoshi P. Give my baby his dark tipped ears back!

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