Female Au Ra Face 4 - Benchmark Feedback

The graphics update looks great! However I think they really dropped the ball with Face 4 female Au Ra. They NAILED the scale and horn textures on Face 1 with rough, jagged ridges and points, but Face 4 just looks dopey by comparison due to the softer/smoother face scales and horns, among a few other issues.
I'd suggest changing up a few things to make it look less silly and more in line with what's currently ingame:

-Smaller pupils
-Horns less cylindrical, more diamond shaped; rough and ridged
-Sharper tips on face scales and horns
-Less depth around mouth corners and a smoother nose transition

What do you think?

Images: https://imgur.com/a/SkvMklo
GIF Comparison: https://imgur.com/a/kV2dOIa

(And here's how my char looks now vs how she looks in the benchmark. It's not pretty! https://imgur.com/a/sMiUl7m)

NGL I quite like how my face 4 au'ra looks in the benchmark.

I agree with your feedback, I was horrified that the character I'd designed to be a fighter, someone to stand in front on the battlefield, someone with rough edges and a stern expression, now has dimples of all things. Dimples and a pout and full on roundification of the face. If I wanted a super cute princess character I have three other fem au ra faces to choose from, why did they need to do it to the one face that was not like that?

I do not like it, the aesthetic of my character has changed.
https://imgur.com/a/EoqPklo

Quote:

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Originally Posted by yurukii

NGL I quite like how my face 4 au'ra looks in the benchmark.

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Mine looks like a wax dummy now, and not a good one :') https://imgur.com/a/sMiUl7m

Quote:

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Originally Posted by narumi_nm

Mine looks like a wax dummy now, and not a good one :') https://imgur.com/a/sMiUl7m

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I got the good end of the stick haha. Have you seen her in the actual benchmark outside of the character creator? I'm noticing the chara creator lighting doesn't agree with weirder skintones.

Before vs. After here. I initially didn't like her much but seeing just how expressive she's become in the actual benchmark, *instantly* made me love her even more. Only thing I'd change is the lip shape being a bit too full.

https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...588&height=701
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...564&height=701

That's precisely what's bugging me too much, is the too full lip and the dimples???? at the corners of her mouth. It makes her not look like my character anymore. And yes, I did go into the actual benchmark, I only liked it more when her face was in shadow and thus I couldn't see most of the changes. :') If it's improved by not being able to see them then I have to accept that I don't like the changes.
https://imgur.com/a/ne2RiCu

Quote:

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Originally Posted by yurukii

NGL I quite like how my face 4 au'ra looks in the benchmark.

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Au Ra has no apostrophe.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Canadane

Au Ra has no apostrophe.

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I don't care.

+1 about the dimples, they weren't present originally and adding them detracts from the overall "tough girl" aspect of face 4. Adding to that, I think the added definition around the lower eyelids makes the character look somewhat bug-eyed.

Apart from those two things, I think everything else looks pretty alright. Especially the horn, scale, and tail textures- they've looked like mud for so long, it's fantastic to finally see them in high definition

Also the forced eyeshadow, makes me so frustrated. What about RBF face 4 makes them think that we want to look cutesy? I like that we finally have lips and a bit larger of a nose option, but the rest is just disappointing. Forced makeup, softer, long eyelashes...........idk, I'm tempted to fanta to a bunny boy because I can get their faces closer to what my wol oughta be.

https://64.media.tumblr.com/76a6b198...4c6ddbc931.pnj
https://64.media.tumblr.com/ff8ba017...56a78c0d66.pnj

Also, genuinely how dare square lighten her. That's the darkest I can go without it going some weird green, and then they tint her green anyways in some lighting, make her greyish in others, and lighten her??

I would love for them to consider giving us back the sharper, more angular features. I know the noses were essentially triangles, but I loved it. They removed female face 4's character identity as a whole -- they were not meant to be so rounded out. I really hate how my character was changed. If they gave us the benchmark options + our legacy options (what we have now), I would love that soooo much. An option for new and old, if you will.

https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...202&height=676

https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...202&height=676

I agree that the new face 4 is too soft. I liked the fierce look my character had before, but now she's much more neutral.

Edited to add: The pupils also seem much larger now, and it makes our eyes look less focused.

Her philtrum is so wide that she looks like a different person...

I totally agree. I liked that my character looked like a warrior while also still being pretty. Now she doesn't look like she'd ever be on a battlefield with that pout she's got going on. It's actually a nice lip option but it's not a good replacement for the old one. https://i.gyazo.com/faafff115e0bd70b...e7168a7538.jpg

I didn't even realize Face 4 now got dimples omg?? I need to check my Au Ra now bc she uses that face
and I agree they got rounder and softer, which is ironic bc the graphics update also changed mine's limbal rings to glow more(?) that she looks both soft like a young girl and terrifyingly like a ghost at the same time lol.

They softened the eyes. My current eyes look angry/determined, the new ones look much more mellow.

Luckily for me, female hrothgar are exactly what I've always wanted in this game, so I will be switching. But I would be disappointed if I had to stay as a female au ra.

Her entire face has been softened, eyes and mouth especially. I specifically gave her the features she has so she's more stern than the other faces and options, and the changes make her less stern and more soft, the opposite of how I made her and want her to look like. I can't simply change her features without making her look even more different, her stern looks and fierceness is one of her defining traits.

Current, then Benchmark
https://i.imgur.com/0L6xJ49.png
https://i.imgur.com/XJWDVmP.jpg

Current, then Benchmark
https://i.imgur.com/rHDUXEs.png
https://i.imgur.com/vTfoiJV.jpg

Just wanted to add my thoughts in the hopes that it'll get changed.

I use au ra face 4, mouth 2, eyebrows 3.

The shape of the mouth has completely changed, and it makes the character's whole face look different.

https://imgur.com/a/OgUjRo4

This makes it look like she's gone for a lip filler. It makes her face look puffy and fake. Honestly, it makes me feel kind of icky, because it's like she's been edited to adhere to some kind of doll-like beauty standard - like she's been made to seem more cutesy and rounded, as if a load of botox and filler has been forced on her.

Additionally, the angle of the eyebrows has been relaxed, making her look less stern.

https://imgur.com/9dKm71X

Also, her nose (nose 1) has been turned up.

Essentially it feels like the lips, nose, and eyebrows have been switched to another kind - the lips most of all. I'm very unhappy. I don't want to play a softened, beautified version of my au ra who's pouting at me all the time. I want the shapes of her features to remain consistent with those I originally chose.