7.0 Feedback - Male Midlander

So far all of my characters have looked really good with the overhaul, but unfortunately, I couldn't really feel the same for one of my Midlanders.

I use Face 6, and I was very obsessed with how the lips looked for it. It's almost like my character was going :3, but as soon as I put him in the benchmark to see how he looked, I was very disappointed to see the charm lost. His lips look flat and less defined now, and I don't like how they look very much.
The character creator's camera is awful so his face looks a bit distorted, so the lips are the only problem I have right now.

Old -> New
https://i.imgur.com/f433F9T.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/jH9uO2N.png

Does anyone else feel the same with their Midlander?

https://i.imgur.com/U6EZ2i3.jpeg

I am happy with the change for my Midlander. He looks much better now. ^o^

Same here, very disappointed, they DOES NOT look like the same person to me.
NEW← →OLD
https://i.imgur.com/jsKRtDG.png

I have expressed my utter disappointment and feedback elsewhere. But here's the quote anyhow (putting them on hidden cause wordy!).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rein_eon_Osborne

The overhaul definitely upsets me in plenty ways. OP have raised many of my current issues so I'm just going to add my comparison pics plus few comments on my own.

First, the pics themselves.

Today (taken in Aesthetician, and changed hairstyle because unlockable hairstyle aren't available):
https://i.gyazo.com/9c432b0e8610f24c...eb66a5e38e.jpg

And this is from Benchmark (copied 1 to 1 from saved appearance feature in login screen):
https://i.gyazo.com/be47da47a188f63a...c4eb450e15.jpg

I... am speechless. He's like a totally different character.
[-] Eyes missing today's catchlight texture would left him looking 'soulless' in places without proper lighting.
[-] Waxy/"Ken doll" skin texture. I can see his cheeks proper now but they looked out of place & he looked like he just aged 15 years to the future lmao.
[-] His lips, particularly the philtrum (upper lips) are thinned beyond recognition. Now I don't have the 'average lips thickness' option.
[-] Inconsistent shade of color on skin, lips, & hair. It looked like the only way for me to get what I wanted is to make them darker by 1 square but this might also impose an issue to my already established glamour aesthetic on him over the years.
[+] Upside? His stubble now follows his hair color proper instead of staying black all the time.

A gem of a finding though... let's have a closer look to his stubble.

Today:
https://i.gyazo.com/1f296cb89e291bc6...634d86b503.png

Benchmark:
https://i.gyazo.com/d77b44368fb40cd7...befe319781.png
"Oh my-- what the-- omg honey what happened to you???"

Yeah... so what's with that oddly cut stubble underneath his chin? Also I do want to add that the stubble is now probably too soft or less defined. But this is a rather minor gripe than what I've mentioned so far.

Oh yeah! Did I mentioned of having to change his hairstyle? Yes I did! This is what he looks like proper:
https://i.gyazo.com/14d775aee6ff8b83...164cd23f06.jpg

Please also, add the option to use the unlockable hairstyles. Look at how much of a missing hairstyle has ripped him off his character(s).

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Overall? I'm very disappointed with how this turned out. It feels like they've taken 3 steps forward but then do a 15 steps backward after.

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YES! The old lips for Midlander face 6 had volume, and seemed to be always "Puckered". It added some Cuteness to the face and was one of the charm points of face 6. I think these things: Highlights on the lips, visible catchlights on the eyes) are important to keeping the character looking the same.
Heres a comparison of my character (hopefully the link will work LOL. Me not tech savvy, unga bunga smn main and all.)

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...d06655f0d9475&

And here's a comparison I threw together in a paint program with the changes in mind: Adding catchlight, slight shadows on the lips to bring back a bit of the smile, and some contrast on the nose to bring it forward. otherwise I'm pretty satisfied with my character, but I feel like the Catchlight is a Big big "please add this to the character lighting" thing for me and many others.


https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...7479f7ca3ff44&

Sorry if these images are huge, enjoy my blorbo breathing in your personal space ig. Im mostly happy with him but catchlights are a must for this game, otherwise, you get the "my character Is being mind controlled" vibe.

It seems to me that the designers paid attention to isolated details of the characters' faces, individually analyzing eyes, nose, mouth, jaw, etc.
However, they forgot to analyze the entire work, the final face and how far it is from the original face. This can be seen in the links below. When seen up close, the face doesn't look that different, but from afar, when you look at it as a whole, it doesn't appear to be the same person.
I can't recognize my character after 9 years of playing Final Fantasy XIV. I'm very sad about this.

https://imgsli.com/MjU1ODQx

https://imgsli.com/MjU1ODQw

https://imgsli.com/MjU1ODM4

Yeah, mine also looks fine.

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

And

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

Seems like a net positive to me.

I'm mainly upset with the loss of my eyebrows and facial hair. Something about the face 5 for Midlander male also looks older to me, but I can't put my finger on what is causing it.

Here is an example: https://imgsli.com/MjU1NjE2

I like everything else except for the fact that face 1 Midlander definitely suffers from their eyebrows being too thin. The eyebrow change alters the look a bit too drastically where he doesn't quite seem like the same guy. I'd be happy if they restored the look of the previous eyebrows as they weren't incredibly thick in the first place. I've noticed other races not having such major change to theirs so I'd be fine with something improved but adjacent to what we currently have.

https://i.imgur.com/M70lUgt.png

I also have a similar issue with my midlander's eyebrows.

https://i.imgur.com/3bLqpaw.png
(current vs benchmark)

Both lighter and maybe thinner than the original. Would love for this to be adjusted or a toggle? I know other races have eyebrow toggles. Besides this, I really have no complaints for how my midlander has changed specifically.

I thought my eyebrows were gone on the benchmark but yours really are gone. My hope is that they just didn't have time to really work on fixing these and they are already aware of this issue because it's very different.

https://i.imgur.com/812UTQ1.png

https://i.imgur.com/wiNejp0.png

link to the screenshots in a larger format, I didn't want to post 1920*1080 images https://imgur.com/a/I6Rysv6

I've been trying to figure out exactly the issues that make my character look so unrecognizable and I think I finally have an idea. I understand that face 7 is the Hiroshi/Meteor face, and has always had some more (albeit faint) aging details than face 5. However, I feel as if the aging effects come off a little too strong. My character in particular is meant to be older, but this has aged him significantly. When I first fantastia'd to this face in 6.0, it was because I wanted the older appearance of Hiroshi/Meteor from the 5.0/6.0 trailers, not the 7.0.

• The tear duct on 7.0 face feels incredibly sharp compared to the 6.58's rounder one. I feel like this, along with the darker waterline gives the impression of a sterner expression.
• 7.0 cheeks have a sunken in effect, which adds to the more aged up look.
• The 7.0 mustache has a different shape than 6.58 version, along with the beard not appearing as dark, leading to (as some have mentioned) the beards almost disappearing with lighter hairs.
• The lips have a pallid appearance, and the upper lip looks thinner.
• No screenshot, my apologies, but the beard mesh clips underneath the jaw. This can be seen in their standard idle pose in the character creator.
• My biggest issue - and this is across races and not just for Midlander - is that the sclera feels too bright, too white and along with the new eye catch, the eyes look like marbles. They also slightly change the eye color to feel lighter.

There are some features I do like however. The addition of the nasolabial fold, for example! The eyebrows feel more filled out, which seems to be a rare change as many eyebrows look thinner. I can see the translation of features, how the nose and (mostly) the mouth carried over. The eye shape (sans tear duct and the waterline) carried over down to the eyelid. The under eye wrinkles, the crows feet. I love these features. But with the addition of the skin texture, he's giving "forgot to wear sunblock at the beach a few too many times."

I actually don't mind how my middy turned out (aside from the eyebrows) but what's with the weird flat seam across his mouth and the two dark notches beneath his lip?

https://i.imgur.com/hizvvu7.png

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wasselin

I'm mainly upset with the loss of my eyebrows and facial hair. Something about the face 5 for Midlander male also looks older to me, but I can't put my finger on what is causing it.

Here is an example: https://imgsli.com/MjU1NjE2

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That's a great side by side comparison and a good summary of some of the general issues I've seen. It's not just the facial hair. The DT face looks flatter and washed out or over-exposed to me. The shape of the nose is different, the jaw looks rounder. It's not a "bad" face but if I could characterize it I'd say it looks generic rather than customized. I feel the same about my Elezen.

Yes, I feel my midlander has a much edgier appearance thanks to the washed out look. His face looks less warm and open and he just looks tired. Perhaps appropriate given everything the warrior of light has gone through, but not exactly what I have grown used to.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Luca_

I actually don't mind how my middy turned out (aside from the eyebrows) but what's with the weird flat seam across his mouth and the two dark notches beneath his lip?

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Similar but more severe mouth dint has been modeled into miqo face 3 also, it looks absolutely bizarre