A Suggestion - How to Make Characters More Realistic

[ScarletDawn]

Tbh if they did take the water effect and turn down the shine abit, it would reflect skin more realistically. Atm there is no real reflections in the first image, which skin normally does shine a tiny bit.

[tymora]

For skin simulation, we use a technique called subsurface scattering.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsurface_scattering

[ScarletDawn]

For skin simulation, we use a technique called subsurface scattering.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsurface_scattering

Maybe with the DX 11 they will improve the texture mapping to match the new shaders.

[Nutz]

Actual subsurface scattering would be a massive resource drain that simply couldn't be done with so many characters on screen. I do agree, however, that skin is a bit too 'dry' and flat in this game. The 'wet' shader is a step in the right direction I suppose, but still not right (for wet or dry). Dry skin should have about as much specularity as the wet shader shows, but with less gloss (the highlights should be almost as strong but more dispersed). Wet should have a bit more specularity and much more gloss (nearly pure white highlights that are very small), ideally aided by an animated normal map of water running down the skin, but that might be reaching too far.

[Lucke]

I'd like to see our characters sweat, as disgusting as that sounds. In Coerthas, we know it's cold, not just from with snow everywhere but we can see our characters breath. Compare that to hot regions such as Thanalan and Costa. In Thanalan, during a heatwave, we may see heat rising from the ground, but there's no physical effect on our characters like in Coerthas.

While in Thanalan and UD, while at rest, we may be sweating a little bit after awhile of being there. AFter fighting for awhile, we may be sweating more heavily than just sitting around UD.

[BreathlessTao]

I wish wet effect actually looked right instead. Hair remains the same, only becomes more lucid. Locks don't glue together, hair gravity isn't affected, no dripping anywhere, no water drops on surfaces (hat brims, etc).... The wet effect in this game feels pretty cheap, only a "let's turn everything into latex" effect on all your character and mount.

But honestly there are other graphical aspects that should deserve fixes even before that. Such as the sea remaining flat even during thunderstorms, lack of pools on rain, lack of filth in the Tangle where morbols lives and the Castrum dumps its sewer wastes...

Couldn't agree more, but I do believe this and any other graphical deficiency of this level can safely be traced back to "PS3 limitations" (or heck, even "bandwidth restrictions", for all we know). Meaning it's unlikely to happen until SE drops PS3 support and upgrades its network infrastructure (and forget that we don't live in the 90's anymore). :/


(Yet another post that had to be edited because it was a staggering 6 characters over the pointless 1k limit.)

[Bishop81]

For skin simulation, we use a technique called subsurface scattering.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsurface_scattering

This.

It would further increase processing cost though.

I believe there are some things in the game that already have SSS like the round hanging lamps in Gridania.

[Darlan_Ashwood]

Thank for your reply. About the "oily", I did say "adjust this effect to a appropriate amount", I did not mention that the skin should look like in the second picture. Compared with many of the real photos in direct sunlight you will find that the skin has strong reflection effect, not like in the first picture.

Super models put oil on their skin tho

Also, I don't think they are going for an ultra realistic look for this game. But Somewhere in between cartoony and realistic. I personally like it the way it is but that's just me..

[kyuven]

Also, I don't think they are going for an ultra realistic look for this game. But Somewhere in between cartoony and realistic. I personally like it the way it is but that's just me..

This. You can't draw the line too close to the "edge" or else you get the uncanny valley. Look at other games that go for the "glossy" look and end up having everything look like it's made of plastic.

[Bishop81]

Couldn't agree more, but I do believe this and any other graphical deficiency of this level can safely be traced back to "PS3 limitations" (or heck, even "bandwidth restrictions", for all we know). Meaning it's unlikely to happen until SE drops PS3 support and upgrades its network infrastructure (and forget that we don't live in the 90's anymore). :/

People really need to stop blaming the PS3 for all of FFXIV graphic deficiencies.

Firstly, PS3 aren't the only "low spec" machines out there. Low end PCs have to be taken into consideration too.

Secondly, SSS for realistic skin is very much an "optional" feature - like full reflection for water. SE already allow significant visual differences between PC and PS3 which will only get larger with the release of the DX11 client adding parallax mapping for the ground and tessellation for water.