Male Miqo'te Face 4 changes (Benchmark feedback)

male miqo'te face 4 got drastically changed. so much that it changes the expression of the character, something fantasia can't repair.

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



changes:

• mouth looks like it's smiling, less serious and more cat-shaped in the benchmark

• eyes look more slim with the heavy shadow, less lively and more tired

• eyebrow shape changed to be slightly wavy, being less expressive and more thin than before (thick eyebrows are turned on for this character)

• eyelid form has changed and is more round now (which further changes the expression)

• shadows under the eyebrows got lighten up, making the character look less serious and more calm

comparison: (left shows benchmark, right endwalker version)

https://i.imgur.com/stoHB4S.png
comparison shows the visible eyeshadow changes that also change the appearance of the eye-form itself

https://i.imgur.com/W5cHjAi.png
further comparison shows the changes of the eyelid and changed expression

https://i.imgur.com/691gYm9.png
the sketch shows the eyebrow flow that has changed

this post shows the detailed difference between the current mouth shape and the one of the benchmark:
https://x.com/banana_qote/status/1797585680333467721



the biggest issue i have are the smiling mouth and the dead eyes since they are the reason the character's vibe has completely changed

You're totally right, I have the same issues with the updated graphics tbh. I just saw your tweet on twitter haha :'DD!

Here's my old:
https://i.imgur.com/8EquLqi.png
And new:
https://i.imgur.com/7RwYOFg.png

I really loved this face but now it looks so cunty... :/

thank you for sharing your comparison! really shows so much how the changes affect our characters vibes ;o;

https://i.gyazo.com/32108fba11027fb8...b5838845de.png
https://i.gyazo.com/020de5b2adb6c252...8d94b076cf.png

the upturned lips on all mouth options really does change the overall neutral expression for face 4's...of course i think we all appreciate the devs hardwork, but i hope they take a look at this issue in particular and maybe consider altering it. i wouldn't mind changing to a different mouth option if i didn't want the slight smile, but every option does have it.

https://imgur.com/a/ekKCpUS he looks completely different

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

Yeah, I am not the biggest fan of the change in the mouth shape.
I also think as a suncat, the slit pupils feel a bit undefined.

https://i.postimg.cc/YC5yjPsV/image.png
https://i.postimg.cc/B6TvRRrG/image.png

Adding my voice to this, he went from serious and stoic to dopey

I posted this to a different thread that goes into depth on the lip issue, but I'll repost here as well.
(Other thread: https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...-Miqo-te-Mouth)

The mouth is definitely the worst change for face 4 male miqo'te. The lips are very obviously reworked, particularly the upper lip and lip corners as you've mentioned.

Personality of individual characters aside, I think it defeats the purpose of having a "straight face" emote if the default/"straight" face has curved lip corners that make them perpetually smiling.
And I like having my characters smile, I make my male miqo'te smile all the time and he is a cheery guy! But it shouldn't be forced onto him by default.

https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...550&height=303

Also, the eyes for lighter eye colours STILL look very "dead/soulless".
There's still far too much shading on the upper half of the eye, and the new catchlights are hardly visible unless you zoom in and angle your camera up.
The exceptions are eye types #4 & #6 where the catchlights are more visible (I use #3).
The shading also obscures the cat-eye pupil/slit, which is something I consider quite fundamental to the character identity of my miqo'te, or any other Seeker miqo'te for that matter.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...eb4fc17b92760&
(Left: CURRENT / Right: BENCHMARK 1.1) Eye type #3 comparison

Even beyond that, the eye shapes have changed for the worse too.
The current eyes look more angular and have more character to them, but it seems like the benchmark eyes have all been smoothed over a bit too much, which really removes the charm of the original look.

The graphics quality and lighting have improved a lot, no doubt.
But no amount of lighting fixes can help a fundamentally different face sculpt/feature.

I'm hoping the devs do hear out the feedback and concerns to make changes even after this 1.1 update, but it's looking bleak since Dawntrail is only a couple weeks away.
I'm trying to remain optimistic but I don't know if I can fully enjoy Dawntrail, or continue to enjoy any aspect of FFXIV post-7.0, if these drastic changes are permanent going forward.
So much of my enjoyment of the game comes from my characters, so it's been really upsetting to see this happen.

Same problem here :( The overall vibe of the character has significantly changed with this benchmark in a way it hadn't with the first one. The Face 4 mouth is the most egregious issue, but I believe there were other changes to the face shape and eyes that lend to a very different feeling overall.

Current/First Benchmark/Second Benchmark
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...24c1866f6fc33&

I feel the same way. I love the design of my main, a grumpy serious cat, but with this update, I don't recognize him anymore. The lips aren't the same, way too shaped, smiling and he looks sleepy. I wouldn't mind if these shapes were available to the players who like this kind of design as options (because letting players have choices is always good) but I would really like to keep the current design we have :(

https://estenn.net/images/depannage/...chmarkFF14.png